#(Trucy don’t need love to be happy)

[im-still-watching-anime]

apollo: valentine’s day is a corporate holiday it isn’t even that special

trucy: you were just yelling and blushing for three hours because klavier got you a bear that says “i wuv you bear-y much”

apollo: that’s not fair those emotions were because i’m afflicted with feelings for klavier and NOT because of capitalism induced romance

[ask-the-turnabout-terror]

um, mr nick? is trucy, um, well, i mean, does she like girls? or like uhhh-

-pearl

“… I honestly don’t know.”

[periwinkla]

I’m gonna ask a bunch of narumistu shippers this but how do you think Iris would react seeing that happen? Also how would your dream Narumitsu wedding play out, and would pearl be invited? I just have so many questions! I also love your art!❤️❤️❤️

Hi anon! <3 (I'll talk a bit about SOJ so - some minor spoilers ahead) I think Iris would be happy for them. If anything, she would be relieved she didn't ruin Phoenix's faith in love. They both got closure at the end of AA3 as he forgave her by telling her that she was the person he thought all along, and it seemed like a load was lifted off of her. Honestly I'm a bit bitter they didn't even make Pearl mention her during DD/SOJ because they mentioned Gumshoe, so I don't understand the problem there. She’s Pearl's sister, and we know absolutely nothing of her fate after AA3. I myself don't think much about the whole wedding thing, so the following is something I came up with just now that you asked. Haha.

First, we need to talk about the SOJ dlc. Would they even get married? For Phoenix, it seems he would want to, so that's out of the way. For Miles, I think he's so defensive about it that it could only mean he actually wants to, as well. For the record, I’m one of those people who doesn't want to get married, and I don’t think marriage is for everyone / every couple... but I just feel like that's the impression he gave off. Mentioning how romantic the flying chapel is doesn't help his case. Why did he even have the thought? Why did he think it was necessary to mention it out loud and to Phoenix of all people? 

That out of the way, we need to ponder the extent to which the AA world follows real world laws, because by JP law they can't legally get married. It could also be that it doesn't in this instance, which isn't entirely impossible since Phoenix was able to adopt Trucy (i researched this a bit some months ago - apparently single men especially can't adopt girls, but take it with a grain of salt as I couldn’t confirm it - I would need to go look at gov sites and you need to know JP well enough for that… and I don’t). Then again maybe Takumi just didn't know/didn't care. So who knows. But this isn't the only instance where AA laws would differ from JP laws, anyway. Either way, I think it would be really sweet if they got married in Kurain and Maya officiated it. Kurain seems to have different laws in the first place, and although most certainly they would be against marriages between men in particular… Since Maya became the master, I would think she would push to change that. And I think they would get married quite a few years after SOJ, so she would have had enough time to do so (the con of this would be that at least legally, their marriage wouldn't be recognized where they live if it wasn't permitted there as well - I think?). I particularly appreciate it when stories acknowledge and explore real world problems... so that's probably why this line of thought came to me.

I also think the Kurain thing is more fitting for them generally speaking (even if they could get married where they live), because they're both very reserved people. But they would still want their most important people around. And of course, Pearl would be invited, as she is one of these people. Also she will cry buckets during the ceremony.

As for the wedding itself, there would probably be some kind of disaster like a murder happen, let's be honest. Maybe a couple of them even. And maybe some kidnappings. Ghosts may be involved. And at the end of the final trial they would go off to Kurain again and get married at like midnight or something out of frustration and acceptance at the impossibility of their life ever going according to plan. Also Trucy would walk them both, together, down the aisle. And maybe she will make the rings disappear for a few moments, because why not. Just a final heart attack for the day to end it in a fitting manner.

Also thank you!! It makes me happy to know you enjoy it <3

[hazyla]

Woah woah, okay. So I just finished spirit of justic except for the special episode. Current thoughts from a foggy memory:

realizing this post is super long so it’s under the break, also soj spoilers

Implied that Phoenix and gumshoe correspond on their own when Phoenix mentions something to Edgeworth. When he’s questioned about it he just says something like “I have my sources…” and Edgeworth tells him to inform his source of a paycheck cut.

Even though Athena got a case of her own to do I feel like she didn’t have as strong of a presence and idk man balancing three lawyers kind of a crazy move

I found rayfa oddly charming because of her silly insults

Not utter dogshit but I see why people generally dont like dual Destinies and spirit of justice as much

My mom misses gumshoe

I did not call the queen being powerless like at all

if there’s another ace attorney game I want a dedicated scene about Apollo and Trucy getting told the truth

Hard to pick a favorite case but I think I liked case 2 and turnabout storyteller just bc it was pretty fun. Also can not believe Athena’s case was the super short filler one!

would’ve appreciated more Maya

cannot believe they just added on characters that were never previously mentioned. Oh yeah, there’s a secret fourth group gramarye member. Apollo? He actually has a brother and was left behind by his foster father at about fifteen or so.

Did the archaeologist guy just… steal a bunch of shit from Adrian’s exhibit? He had literally everything. Good god I wonder how he felt about that scroll having gravy on it

on the plane ride back why did Trucy sit (and fall asleep on) Edgeworth instead of idk her father. What did Athena really want to sit there or something. It’s very cute but also why

Actually Maya and Edgeworth should’ve sat next to eachother on the plane so they can debate about plumed punisher. “You gave away your one of a kind steal samurai themed watch FOR A RIPOFF KEYCHAIN” and then he throws her off the plane (personally, of the belief he would throttle ms inmee [not actually])

about that, it’s so funny to me that he ranted about the show to Datz, a guy he just met and is a revolutionary

Need to mention that Edgeworth’s cravat gets attacked by a dog, I don’t even have a comment I just need to iterate that fact

The breakdown scenes were fun and dynamic but idk I didn’t care for them that much

kind of thought they were gonna channel Apollo’s dad Jove fucking justice

It was funnier when I, for a split second, assumed that since nobody knew the name of his father that Apollo chose his last name to be Justice.

just now realizing that Apollo who shares a namesake with the god of music has two musician parents now

I am so happy that the 3d sprites look better than in dual destinies I don’t know if I could take it if they looked like that again

My mom’s favorite character design is Rayfa’s (but her favorite character is Susato who has nothing to do with soj)

Maya should get an “I survived TWO kidnapping” shirt because everyone wants leverage over Phoenix.

From what I saw online before playing the game I thought nahyuta would be super insanely awful, and then they introduce him as a level headed guy. Then I think oh he seems okay, and then he tells Apollo to go to the depths of hell and that he’ll be reincarnated as a piece of shit

When investigating phoenix tells Edgeworth that he think’s he’d like a gaudy house, to which Edgeworth is offended. And then Phoenix makes fun of him for his bright red sports car in his mind.

Would’ve loved a reference to some older characters, like Iris who is just like never brought up again. Anyways, what’s with spirit channeling families and being super fucked up

i am so sorry to say that Apollo looked like really good in that one cg with his hair antenna down (the one where he almost drowned) (not my best moment)

How in the world did Apollo survive as a teenager? If dhurke left him 10 or so years before this he’d be about fifteen? Did he just get dropped off at a boarding school, who the hell took care of him and how did he become a lawyer.

Why didn’t Amara just resume the throne herself? Idk if I totally missed something but isn’t she still a rightful heir

Khura’in spent EIGHT HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ON A LIE. THEY WERE DONATIONS. AND FIVE YEARS OF LABOR (Amara’s tomb)

So funny to me that nahyuta drags Ema around everywhere like a little ragdoll back and forth country to country

The pun names in this one were wild 🤪 (suggested emoji)

oh god what if Edgeworth and rayfa were to talk about plumed punisher

Yeah we’re back to this, edgey’s sitting in a rebel hideout with lizards hanging from the ceiling and he watches the plumed punisher??? I kinda forgot the timeline but either Maya is currently kidnapped or dhurke’s in jail “oh okay I’ll stay behind” “let’s turn on the tv” “what the fucj is this”

One time phoenix’s phone went off and I jumped out of my seat because I also have the steal samurai theme as my damn ringtone

I get that it’s just fun sprite stuff but where does nahyuta get all his necklaces? How does his floating ribbon work?

In aa4 with my vague recollection, there’s a scene that kind of made me assume Ace attorney definitely took place in some weird fantasy land that coexisted with real world. (It was something that had to do with the founding fathers? And apollo “yes I know what America is” justice, like they currently don’t live there. It was some exchange during the case where klavier’s guitar blows up). Guess how surprised I was when oh golly now they’re full blown Americans!

since I mentioned aa4 and I already got off track everytime my mom hears that song (which Apollo made his ringtone) she complains about it and gets bad flashbacks. She told me everytime she hears a piano arrangement she thinks about the case. Maybe it wore off by now but it was her version of blue badger

Uendo was my favorite witness

Yeah I don’t think I have anything else to say, what a nice note to it on.

Nope I remembered something, queen ga’ran made me want to use the royal we.

[turnabout-cosmic-clockwork]

HEY, ACE ATTORNEY ROLEPLAYER. 🙂

Are you…

over 18?

a literate, character-driven writer?

searching for a laid-back group of AA superfans and/or a detailed plot which is — we promise! — shockingly easy to jump into?

(bonus point) a fan of the glorious cast of more minor characters who give the series life?

YOU MIGHT BE WHO WE’RE WAITING FOR.

TURNABOUT COSMIC CLOCKWORK is a small but passionately active AA Discord server covering all of the games (yes, even PLvsPW). We’re strictly 18+ but prohibit ERP, though other mature themes do occur in line with the theme of the series.

Something has gone wrong with time itself. Many of the famous faces you recognise have been caught up in it, having found a mysterious new phone about their person which allows them to enter a chatroom full of familiar and new people in the same situation. Moreover, there are these weird blue portals showing up. Step into one, and you can find yourself in another part of the timeline entirely.

Rayfa’s found out about the revolution early and somehow wound up friends with Matt Engarde. Kay (2019) has adopted Miles (2027). Athena (2028) and Metis (from mere days before her demise) had a mother-daughter dinner while Aura (days after Metis’ death) tries to come to terms with what her grief made her do will do? Might have done? Tenses have become kind of hard to manage. Especially with Esmeralda Tuspells time-hopping to capture the likeness of all the most interesting future criminals, and Apollo briefly finding himself in the midst of Sholmes’ experiments in 1900…

Come and join the party: can you help us figure out what’s gone wrong with reality, and hopefully stay vaguely sane along the way? Or add to the madness… we’re open to that too.

Vital stats

18+, mature themes (no ERP or drug use)

No upper or lower word counts; we ask that you’re literate and happy to meet prose partners’ word count and play speed

No strict activity checks: we like to see you regularly, but don’t prescribe X posts per week

Up to 6 characters per writer

Reserve characters for two weeks while you whip up a sheet for them

Hop into the IC chatrooms any time for casual fun, start up DMs with friends or to make introductions to someone new, and write narrative threads 1:1 or in groups in our well-organised IC forum.

Many of the main characters are taken but anyone else you can think of is wide open. The list below is extremely non-exhaustive, but we’d especially love…

AA1-3

Dick Gumshoe — Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth hasn’t given anyone a pay cut in too long

Pearl Fey — Trucy would love a friend of similar age

Adrian Andrews — Matt like, seriously needs to call his manager, dude

Mike Meekins — we miss(??!) the tinnitus from the megaphone

Diego Armando - where would we be without our coffee-loving tragedy?

AA4-6

Apollo Justice — Klavier misses Herr Forehead, and we probably need someone to tell us WE’RE FINE.

Amara Sigatur Khura’in — Nahyuta and Rayfa need their mom; Dhurke misses his wife; and Thalassa and Datz are capable of making new friends just fine, but they’d love to see her again too

Juniper Woods — Athena’s got her mom back, but she’d still love to talk to her bestie

Herman Crab — we don't have a modern doctor… but will a vet suffice?

AAI

Justine Courtney — Sebastian needs a good (?) influence on his side!

Shi Long Lang - Bring us the wolf!

Great Ace Attorney

Mael Stronghart — Londoners feel like everything is out of order without their fearless legal leader

Genshin Asogi — the Professor has returned. One Asogi may not be enough

Rei Membami — Susato is perfectly capable of taking down wrongdoers on her own, but a combo attack with her dear friend is far more powerful

Herlock Sholmes — the game is afoot! There are mysteries yet to solve here. Iris Wilson - we need our little lady genius!

[heaven-s-black-box]

Bad Luck-Wrightworth, ensemble, oc insert

Return to File- Event Masterlist

Recovery date: July 30th, 2020

Description: Wedding

Notes: An entry from my 2020 research project into the universe of Ace Attorney. This entry can be read alone of with 4th of July. You can find the next entry here. This is an entry involving a descendant of a traveler, following the death of her mother it was determined Sky would be better off staying with Miles Edgeworth. This is an OC insert, the fantastical technobabble is just for looks

Click for related entry series

Word count: 1 297

Back to directory

Phoenix frowned as he tried to straighten his tie in front of the full body mirror. It wasn’t really crooked, but he wanted everything to be perfect today. Sighing, he undid it for the millionth time, and tried to straighten the crinkles that had formed. He turned around to ask Trucy for help, only to notice she was gone, along with Maya. Although he didn’t have long to ponder, as there was a knock at his door.

“Come in,” he said, turning back around.

“Phoenix?” Came a soft voice, and he looked up to see Sky standing by the door. He smiled.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be helping your dad?” He laughed, before huffing and undoing his tie again.

“Here, let me,” she said, turning him around and looping his tie. She continued to speak, “Trucy and I decided to switch. You both seemed pretty nervous.”

“Miles is nervous? He’s not regretting this, is he?” He could feel his palms starting to gum up, what would he do if that was the case?

“Yes, he is nervous, but he’s not running. Don’t worry.” Sky finished his tie, before straightening out the rest of his suit jacket. It was a dark, midnight blue, and her father was wearing a dark red one. For once, Miles had abandoned his cravat in favor of a tie. “Trucy and I figured you’d feel better if we switched places for a bit.”

“Heh, why is that?”

She smiled at him, “Because sometimes you need outside reassurance.” She wrapped her arms around him, in a surprise hug, and he stumbled back a bit. “There is no one else in the world I trust to make papa happy, than you. I’m honored to call you my other daddy.”

“And there is no other family I’d rather be a part of than yours,” he smiled, feeling a little choked up. The door opened suddenly, and Maya burst in.

“Hey Nick! Ready to get married to the love of your life?”She laughed, and Sky headed towards the door.

“Hmph, the defense was born ready!” The two girls rolled their eyes.

---

“Miles Edgeworth, how on earth do you not know how to tie a tie?!” Franziska scolded, as she undid his tie.

“It was perfectly fine Franziska,” he sighed, letting his sister redo it nonetheless. Just as she finished, the door clicked open.

“Uncle Miles?” Trucy asked, poking her head in. “Actually, I guess it’s papa now,” she laughed.

“Trucy, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your father?” He asked, as Franziska said something about guests and left.

“Nope! Sky and I switched, we wanted to make sure neither of you got cold feet.” She walked over to the mirror, and straightened the bow holding her hair in a braid.

“Why? Is Phoenix regr-”

“Oh no! Daddy’s just been nervous something will go wrong. After all, we’ve got quite the cast at this wedding. At least half the wedding party has been accused of murder, including you and daddy!”

“Oh… I suppose you’re right,” he joined her by the mirror, and tried to straighten out some small folds. “I-I don’t think I ever asked, how do you feel about all this?”Trucy looked up at him, before tackling him in an awkward side hug.

“There’s no one better to be my second papa! You make daddy and me happy.” She smiled. Their conversation ended with a knock at the door.

“Hey pal? You ready to go?”

“Heh, the prosecution has no objections.”

---

Down stairs, the guests were mingling, and looking for good seats. Not many people had brought a plus one, as Phoenix had invited pretty much everyone they knew. Some of the berry big circus members were in attendance, along with Will Powers, and plenty of other old clients. Even Wendy oldbag was there, although she was heading security for the event. Miles had been worried about inviting her, but once she’d heard who he was marrying, she began to ramble about always knowing there was something between them. It was actually quite sweet.

As for the bridal party, Maya and Gumshoe were Phoenix and Miles best man and woman respectively. Phoenix’s groomsmen and women were Larry, Athena, and Apollo, while Miles’s were Kay, Simon, and Klavier. Trucy and Sky would be the ring bearers, Pearl was the flower girl, and Franziska was going to walk Miles down the aisle. The judge had offered to officiant the wedding.

Other noteworthy attendants were of course Raymond Shields, who Miles was sure would have brought Katherine Hall if she weren’t in jail, Sebastian Debeste, who was attending with judge Courtney and John marsh who’d brought Cody as his plus one friend (there weren’t many children and they figured he’d want someone his age) . Nahyuta and Ema had of course been invited, along with queen Amara, Rayfa, and Datz. Lamirroir had been invited both as a guest, as Trucy and Apollo’s mother, and to sing their first dance. Maggie Byrde was also there, as Gumshoe’s plus one, the Delite’s and Iris Fey. It truly was a busy event, although still rather small, the characters more than made up for it.

“It’s finally happening!” Athena squealed. Her, Juniper, Kay, and Robin were standing together near the altar.

“Thena, calm down,” Juniper laughed at her friend.

“I’m so excited!” Robin yelled. “These two are t-o-t-a-l-l-y the ultimate power couple. Bad guys stand no chance around them!”

“I know! It’s great to see Mr. Edgeworth and”, she put on her stiff Edgeworth impression, “That man,” she dropped it before continuing, “getting married. They complement each other so well.”

“Can everyone please get to your seats!” Maya yelled from the doorway, “It’s show time!”

Anyone not in the bridal party made their way to their seat, while Phoenix entered, and stood by the altar with his groomsmen and women. Once everyone settled down, the wedding march started. It came through the speakers loud enough to be heard outside the room, they’d triple checked. So where was everyone else. Phoenix frowned, Miles wouldn’t get cold feet this last minute, something had to be wrong. 

All questions were answered when a very annoyed Franziska walked in and told them to cut the music.

“The wedding is one hold, there’s been a murder.” Everyone groaned in annoyance.

“Oh no! Is Mr. Edgeworth alright?” Regine asked.

“My baby brother is fine. No one in the wedding party was murdered.” Phoenix could tell she was trying to avoid causing a scene by giving as little information as possible.

“Who’s the accused?” Adrian Andrews asked. 

“It seems the wedding caterer has been murdered… and the suspect is Miss. Edgeworth…” This caused an uproar.

“What! Is it a requirement to be accused of murder to join the Wright family?!” Apollo asked exasperatedly, this earned a few laughs, including one from Phoenix.

“Welp!” Ema said, as she shuffled out from her seat between Nahyuta and Rayfa. “Let’s get this over with, the sooner the better.”

“You can’t seriously be planning to finish the case fast enough to finish the wedding today!” Max yelled.

“Mr. Galactica,” the judge said, “Anything is possible when it come to Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth. Not to mention we have plenty of detectives and Lawyers here, I am certain we can prove her innocence quickly. We can catch the killer another day.” This earned a round of agreement.

“Alright!” Phoenix said, clapping his hands. “Let’s do this.” He went to head for the door, only to be stopped by Maya and Athena. “What?”

“It’s bad luck to see the groom before the wedding,” Maya said.

“And you definitely don’t need anymore. So just stay here Mr. Wright, we’ll clear this up quickly,” Athena finished. He sighed.

“Fine, but keep me in the loop!”

[weena-mercator]

it has LONG been a thought of mine that Phoenix got Miles to watch all the VHSs he owned (plus stuff at Larry’s place, trips to Blockbuster, movies that came out in theaters that year) when he first became friends with Miles and learned he hadn’t really watched many kid’s movies. So Miles saw The Lion King with Phoenix but probably just once when he was 9 and so he really doesn’t remember it well.

Fast forward to when Phoenix has adopted Trucy and is now showing her all of his childhood favorites and Miles comes over while they’re in the middle of watching The Lion King (which works whether you want to hc this as they’re already together - as I do - or he just happens to swing by as they are close friends).

Stampede scene and follow up with Scar and Simba happens and Edgeworth just starts crying in that way that’s so out of nowhere where all of a sudden it sounds like you’re choking out tears.

Even if it’s been years since he was proved not guilty of his father’s murder, it just hits him hard. Phoenix has to stop the movie and have Trucy go do something else to entertain herself for a bit so he can comfort Edgeworth because he knows Miles does not want to have this happen in front of Trucy (or anyone else, we KNOW from PWAA trilogy and AAI games that Edgeworth only shows his vulnerable side to Phoenix).

I think Phoenix is a lot more emotionally vulnerable during this time period, but seeing Miles like this really activates his natural ability to be like he was before he was disbarred - which is being there for someone no questions asked. I think Phoenix is just very good at providing comfort for others but he’s more insecure about himself in general with the disbarment, but when someone he loves is in need of support he doesn’t hesitate.

Anyways, Phoenix just holds Miles and lets him get it all out and once he’s more composed, Phoenix is like “you know, you don’t have to right now, but maybe it would help if you finished the movie at some point so you can remember how it ends. Because he lost his dad and went through a lot, but he also was able to grow and become stronger once he confronted the past and started to accept who he was and worked to be more open again. And that’s exactly what you’ve done. And maybe it can’t be a perfectly happy ending because nothing can change what happened to your dad but even if he can’t be physically here, he’s still able to see you and is so proud of you.”

Miles may cry more after that because man, I would.

Phoenix asks Trucy if they can watch/do something else and they’ll go back to that movie some other time. And a few months later the three of them watch it again, but fully this time and Phoenix and Trucy are both holding Miles’ hands during it.

Ace Attorney vs Lion King

1. Dad’s rival kills the dad

2. Body is discovered

3. Son believes himself to be the killer

4. Son reunites with childhood friend

5. Everyone discovers the true killer

Pretty similar huh?

[princesssunnybee]

When It’s Over

Phoenix’s first thought as he watches the bailiff drag Kristoph away in handcuffs is, “I sure know how to pick ‘em.” He isn’t filled with rage, or sadness, or disappointment. He doesn’t try to lunge after him, he doesn’t scream, or cry. Phoenix stands and watches. He thinks back to Dahlia, how he reacted when she was found guilty for murder. He thinks back to how he stood in that courtroom with Mia at his side, throat hurting and heart broken. His heart doesn’t break now, at least not in the way it did with Dahlia. Now, he stands there and thinks “I sure know how to pick ‘em.” Trucy is by his side in an instant and he pulls her to him and kisses her temple. She’s his lifeline, and she knows that. “Let’s go home, Daddy,” she says softly, taking his hand and pulling him out of the courthouse.

Phoenix doesn’t sleep that night. He sits in the living room with the TV on, thinking about Kristoph. The six months they spent together in misery. The actual relationship had been over for months, almost as soon as it started. Phoenix isn’t an idiot. He can spot a murderer when he sees one, it’s kind of his job. Or, was. Kristoph took that from him too, though. If Phoenix is being honest with himself, the reason he stayed with Kristoph for as long as he did was so he could keep tabs on Kristoph. Keep your enemies closer and all that. It’s easier to know what a psychopath is up to when you’re in their bed.

In fact, Phoenix crafted rules when it came to Kristoph in the last few months of their relationship. First and foremost, never let him near Trucy. Phoenix can tolerate a lot of shit. Dragging his baby girl into it is something he won’t tolerate. Kristoph was never to set foot in the Wright apartment, something Phoenix made sure of. He put protections into place, when Ema was babysitting Trucy (which happened too often in Phoenix’s opinion, but he couldn’t exactly make his own hours at the Borscht Bowl Club), she knew never to let him through the doors of the elevator. Ema is one of the few people that Phoenix trusts, the lengths she went to so that Kristoph never set foot near their front door is one of the biggest reasons why.

Second rule, never give him important details about anything. With Kristoph, nearly everything important to Phoenix was on a strictly need to know basis. Need to know basis being any time he needed an excuse to divert suspicion from Kristoph discovering the jurist system in which Phoenix was investing all of his time. He was careful with continuity. If he told Kristoph he was visiting Khura’in with Trucy, he’d take Trucy to Khura’in and they’d catch up with Maya. If Phoenix happened to be working on the jurist system through Zoom, then so be it.

Phoenix’s third rule was implemented in the last month leading up to Kristoph’s arrest. With this nagging suspicion that Kristoph was trying to get rid of him per say, Phoenix wouldn’t eat anything that Kristoph had any part of. It really helped that Kristoph wasn’t much of a cook, allowing Phoenix to carefully look over the food and drink without too much of a fuss or without drawing too much attention to his true goal. The man had a nasty penchant for poison and Phoenix had no reason to believe that wouldn’t extend to the man Kristoph presumed to be his devoted lover.

The fourth and final rule was almost as important as not letting Kristoph near Trucy. Almost. Playing the part of the doting boyfriend wasn’t exactly easy for Phoenix, who was quickly growing to hate Kristoph’s guts towards the end there, but it was necessary to keep Kristoph at bay. To keep him clueless about the jurist system and everything that Phoenix knew along with it, Phoenix had to be a good boyfriend, a loving partner. In the first two months of their relationship, Phoenix has to admit that he was very charmed and enamored by Kristoph. He had a very charming demeanor, something darker and meaner only lurking under the surface when you really looked for it. When you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s almost impossible to detect. That’s when Kristoph started being a little meaner with Phoenix. When he started trying to manipulate and abuse him into doing his bidding. Phoenix knew better, he had seen the same tactics when he was with Dahlia. The third month of that relationship was when Phoenix put the rules into place, rules so that he wouldn’t get attached, and more importantly, rules so that he wouldn’t get hurt. Phoenix remembers the night that he realized everything. How Kristoph had framed him, and how even then he was making attempts to control him. That night, Phoenix did something that he hadn’t done in a long time. He called Edgeworth.

Tonight, Phoenix has the same instinct. He checks the time, picks up the phone, and lets it ring. He isn’t sad, maybe a little bitter, definitely happy that his plan worked, but not sad. When Edgeworth picks up, Phoenix can tell that he’s smiling.

“I heard the news. Congratulations are in order, Wright.”

“Thank you. Maybe now we can work on getting my badge back.”

“Naturally. I can come back to the states for a while, maybe pull some strings at the prosecutor’s office.”

“That’s really not necessary, Miles.” They sit in comfortable silence for a bit, listening to each other’s breathing, and really, that’s the biggest difference. With Dahlia or Iris, or both, and Kristoph, it never felt like this. It never felt comfortable in the silence, maybe because with them, their silence was heavy with guilt or secrecy.

“How are you feeling?” Edgeworth asks after a while.

“I-” Phoenix cuts himself off, not wanting to lie. Edgeworth brings that out in him, wanting to be honest, wanting to be a better man, a good man. He knows that if he voiced that, Edgeworth would argue that he is a good man. Phoenix doesn’t know if that’s true, though, not anymore. He’s lied and cheated and even forged evidence that he gave to an unwitting defense attorney that reminded Phoenix a lot of himself. And Trucy. Who he’s hiding the truth from about her mother and Apollo. He isn't a good man. He wants to be for Edgeworth. He wants to be for Trucy, and even Apollo. So, he tries again. Lets out a bitter laugh, and tells the truth, voices the thought that’s been nagging at him since he watched the man he spent the past 6 months with break down.

“Well. I sure know how to pick ‘em, huh, Edgeworth?”

[abluescarfonwaston]

Trucy and Maya sign Phoenix up for Queer eye after his name is cleared. By the time filming starts he’s decided to study for the bar again and is honestly excited to have some help putting his life back together.

They tear apart his house and drag him for the fact he is wearing socks with sandles and his closet is nothing but sweatshirts and beach clothes. He Does have an old like shakespeare costume in the depths of his closet that Johnathan puts on as well as the Furio Tigre shirt. They check out the magic equipment and Phoenix goes on his proud dad rant about how she’s the light of his life and so talented and he loves her-

Jonathan takes him to the salon for a hair cutting. Under the Beanie his hair got kinda long and gnarly. He didn’t want people to recognize him and even know the idea of it’s still a little anxiety provoking. But he also Wants to look good again and feel confident. Jonathan gives him a scruff trim too and they stop at a goatee. They laugh and Phoenix sends a picture to someone. Oooh your boyfriend? Haha not exactly. They end up going clean shaven tho. As they’re walking out Phoenix stares at his phone and goes. Huh. Maybe we should have kept the goatee.

Antoni asks him what he can cook. He proudly announces he makes the best pancakes. And that he can make a few other things that aren’t blatant depression meals. That what he knows he learned cause he wanted to take care of Trucy but he’s a little ashamed at how often the priority was ‘just make sure she eats something’ because he was too exhausted for more. That he Wants to have this big family dinner with all the people who helped and supported him while he was disbarred. Antoni teaches him how to make a big roast for special occasions and some easier healthy meals for normal days.

Bobby helps him reestablish his house, reducing the clutter that Phoenix has been too tired to clean himself along with making the space more usable to the big groups of family Phoenix wants to be able to host here without embarrassment. 

Tan takes him out to get new clothes. Before he does Trucy actually pulls Tan aside and says her uncle already got Daddy a new suit and can we arrange it so Daddy finds it because it’s perfect but Uncle Miles is worried he’s putting the pressure on too hard since Daddy’s already taking the bar exam for him again (again?) and-

Tan gets him a wardrobe that is more presentable and upscale for court/everyday. They ‘find’ a blue suit with a red tie. Phoenix breaks down crying and Tan is Very concerned but - No... I just... I know who made this suit. That jerk. Of course he already had a suit made for me. I love it. It’s perfect.

And Karamo and him talk about how he has all these people he owes so much to now because he couldn’t have done this without them and he doesn’t know how to even start paying them all back and honestly he was such a bastard these last few years and he’s not even sure how to stop being that person sometimes even though he Wants to. He wants to be that trusting person that Believes in people again. And maybe they all expect him to go back to being that person and he doesn’t want to disappoint them because he loves them so fucking much especially after they went and did this for him too-

And Karamo stops him and asks him if he saw the video that his family submitted asking them to come help Phoenix. Which he hasn’t.

Daddy gave up everything for me. To make sure I grew up happy and loved and he did. He’s the best Daddy in the world. And I want him to be happy. Just as happy as he’s made me.

Nick’s been there for me, when no one else was. Just. Over and over again. Believed in me when no one else did. Pearl give Trucy the camera and come tell everyone how awesome Nick is. He just needs a little help remembering that. Cause he’s a idiot sometimes.

Wright is... he’s my oldest and dearest friend. He’s brilliant and kind and he saved me. And if there is anything I can do to help him reclaim his proper place in the courtroom I would do it, without hesitation. Once you see him in court you’ll understand exactly why I- Kay. Kay why do you have a camera?!

You said you’d do anything Mr. Edgeworth!

I- what is this about?!

“You know you’re friends better than we do but I don’t think they’re keeping score. And if you really want to show your gratitude, beating yourself up over it isn’t the way to do it. You could start by saying thank you instead.”

“Heh. I told Edgeworth that same thing.”

And they invite the whole Wright family over to the big thank you feast. He’s cleaned up and wearing a nice Dad sweater. He gets dog piled in hugs and then Maya yells at him for not making hamburgers instead. Edgeworth shows up a hour late with a bottle of wine and a faint smile.

“Wright I was lead to believe you purchased a suit recently? If you’re done covering yourself in flour,” I’m gonna cover you in flour. “Would you like to show us.”

“Don’t expose the kids to your suit fetish Edgeworth.”

“That’s not! Wright just-. Put the damn suit on Wright.”

“Hahah yeah okay.”

He does and everyone tells him how great he looks and damn is that a waistcoat? Someone’s grown up. And not just out. 

And Edgeworth just watches him with quiet tender eyes as everyone else talks.

“Wright?” Hm? “You’re missing a part.”

“Huh? I got everything! I double- no - Triple checked!”

“You forgot this.” He opens his palm. A shiny golden badge in it. “Congrats on passing the bar exam.”

The episode is a fan favorite.

[selfdestructivecat]

For the headcanon ask (again!!! Sorry I just love hearing your thoughts you have such wonderful headcanons I cannot get enough) how about Apollo and Ema?

No need to be sorry! It makes me really happy that you like my headcanons! And I love sharing them, so honestly it’s a win-win.

Apollo and Ema! This is a fun combination!

(And yeah, you could probably guess by now that these include Klapollo. I’m WEAK okay!?!?)

Realistic Headcanon: They both share a love for sci-fi movies and tv shows. When they hang out one-on-one, it’s usually to watch one of these shows and point out all the scientific inconsistencies.

Honestly, ripping on movies in general is a pastime both of them enjoy. This extends to the Gavineers music, an album that they both love to hate (although they tone it down when Apollo learns that their criticism actually hurts Klavier. They may not be big fans of the music, but they do care about the artist.)

Unrealistic (but hilarious) Headcanon: Ema gives Apollo the Shovel Talk when he starts dating Klavier. She doesn’t act like it, but she does care deeply for Klavier, and she would honestly feel horrible for the man if he got his heart broken. And she likes Apollo, but she just has to be sure that he won’t hurt Klavier.

Apollo is too endeared to be mad, surprised by Ema’s sudden protectiveness of the German prosecutor. Unfortunately he is sweared to secrecy not to tell Klavier about the Talk, Ema too embarrassed to let Klavier know that she doesn’t actually hate him, but Apollo remembers. And whenever Ema is a little shit about him dating Klavier, he always has ammo to throw right back at her.

(Klavier ends up finding out about the Talk anyway, much to Ema’s horror. He’s insufferable for days.)

(More Headcanons Below!)

Heart-Crushing and Awful Headcanon: Due to her forensic capabilities and the soft spot both the Chief Prosecutor and Nahyuta have for her, she’s constantly flitting back and forth between Japanifornia and Khura’in. She becomes an unwilling messenger between the WAA (plus a few others) and Apollo, bringing letters, occasionally packages, and even simple words wishing the other well.

It’s a more emotional job than she would have thought. She watches helplessly as Trucy finally breaks at the knowledge that Apollo really wasn’t going back, as Athena smiles sadly and gives her a care-package to deliver to her former coworker, as Mr. Wright reads a letter from Apollo with a mixture of pride and anguish. She sits with a heartbroken Klavier late at night, a few drinks towards tipsy, as Klavier coats Apollo’s most recent letter in tears.

She watches as Apollo, one of the strongest and most stubborn people she knows, crumples like a tower as he opens the first care package from the Agency, bawling loudly as he clutches a hand-knit sweater in his hands and tries not to get snot and tears over the other knickknacks and letters still sitting in the box. She watches him break into tears anew when he reads Klavier’s letter, an emotional piece that curls to the back of the page.

She can feel the homesickness like it’s a palpable thing. All she can do is offer a shoulder to cry on and hope that it’s enough.

Unrealistic Headcanon that will probably never happen: They’re both on the spectrum, with Apollo hyperfixating on law and Ema hyperfixating on forensic science! It’s something they both bond over, because while their other friends are far from ableist, they don’t understand like they do. (Although I would say that Trucy and Athena are exceptions, being on the spectrum as well, but since the focus of this ask is on Apollo and Ema I’ll save that for another time.)

Aside from their usual banter, they would often dissolve into excited rambling whenever they were left alone, info-dumping about their interests without the fear of being annoying or too much. It’s honestly really adorable, but point that out and you’d be dealing with two angry, indignant people who are ready to throw hands.

Thank you so much for all the asks! I promise that I don’t mind, so there’s no need to apologize!

Send Me a Character or Relationship (platonic or romantic), and I’ll Give You Some Headcanons!

[voiidegg]

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY. WHAT THE HELL

i was literally screaming at 3am from all these damn revelations and i don’t know how the hell to write it all so i’m putting a cut here. also spoilers :P

APOLLO AND TRUCY ARE HALF SIBLINGS!!!!!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY THIS MAKES ME!!! U GOT PHOENIX THE DAD, TRUCY AND HER BIG BRO APOLLO AHH THATS SO CUTEEEE

i actually clipped the very moment i worked out they were related but i need to ask a friends permission to post it since her voice is in it too lol (i instantly noticed the bracelets and it felt like something clicked together in my brain)

i was genuinely fucking tweaking when the pic of the gramayres showed up because THAT DAMN SINGER FROM TURNABOUT SERENADE WAS THERE. genuinely fucking tweaking but couldn’t make the connection at the time. i knew it was an old pic bc of zak being there.

also, ZAK WAS THE VICTIM FROM THE FIRST CASE?!!!?!!!?!! AND TRUCY AND PHOENIX KNEW??!!!!?!!??! i knew i recognised that pic on the wall of the agency too much!! it was bugging me for so long!

i am really happy all the magic stuff went to trucy in the end, i was starting to get really bad vibes from the uncle dude. especially with the 7 years ago case. i felt so bad for phoenix, he had no idea that paper was forged.

speaking of that, KRISTOPH. THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL. BLACK PSYCHE LOCKS???? i’ve only ever seen red ones. and the creepy face showing up on his hand… did bro genuinely make a deal with the devil or something?? i was freaked out. everything went back to him it gave me absolute chills. he tried killing a sweet girl :( i love vera sm :(( i cant tell you how happy it made me that klavier wasn’t in cahoots with his brother though, i think i would have been real disappointed in him if that happened. thank god they didn’t go that route. klavier is deffo one of my fav prosecutors (sorry franziska!)

i thought it was well mad one of the jurors was apollo and trucy’s mum. also side note, the mum is very pretty :3 i can see why phoenix chose that though, i honestly gave him not enough credit lol. he’s a smart man.

the end genuinely made me cry. the way phoenix and thalassa spoke of their kids and how phoenix will take care of them and how they’re important to him made me fucking WEEP. phoenix is such a good daddy T^T

and on an unrelated note, seeing gumshoe in the case 7 years ago made me so happy. i missed that teddy bear :3 seeing meekins was another story, no damn wonder zak escaped LMFAO. nah i’m too harsh on meekins i genuinely like the guy he’s funny

100/10 game. on to the next one!!

EDIT: i was also really happy to use the magatama again. i missed it, it was fun to use. that entire section was fucking awesome and i had so much fun playing it

AFTER SO MANY YEARS IVE FINALLY STARTED APOLLO JUSTICE

i know absolutely nothing about this game or the next two and i’ve avoided spoilers for so long and i just finished the first case and i have one thing to say

WHEN DID PHOENIX BECOME A DILF GOD DAMN

also the first case was absolutely bonkers for a first case my god

[snezfics-n-shit]

Sicktember Day 28: Chronic Illness

Fandom: Ace Attorney Characters: Godot, Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice, Trucy Wright Notes: Godot receives an unexpected visit from the staff of Wright Anything Agency. Set just after the events of Apollo Justice, there are some spoilers for 4-4, but I tried to keep them at a minimum. Godot is still in prison but almost on his way out, granting him privileges such as unfamiliar faces greeting him in the infirmary. He’s not yet sure if that’s a good thing.

  If Godot could speak to himself seven years ago, he would have said being in prison made him a lucky man. When the lingering effects of the poison took hold, which they did often, there was at least a prison infirmary not at all far from his cell. He was starting to get used to the convenience of it all, so much so that his rapidly approaching release date felt like something to dread rather than look forward to.

If he could speak to himself seven years ago, he might have even warned not to be so hard on Wright. Not only had he forgiven the man for crimes Godot felt himself guilty of before projecting them onto the closest person to Mia he could find, but it wouldn’t even be a year before Phoenix Wright: the man who seemed unstoppable, would have his entire world fall apart beneath him.

Sure, Wright wasn’t poisoned, and as far as Godot knew, the man hadn’t lost a lover to murder, but Godot swore he could see himself in the newspaper image just above the headline declaring Wright’s career was over. 

If there was one thing he and his past self could agree on, however, was that Phoenix Wright, quite frankly, looked like shit.

“Look, Polly! I think I see Mr. Gavin in the hallway!” The peppy girl in the magician’s garb called out by one of the indoor windows. Thank God she didn’t appear to be another entertainer sent to ‘lift spirits.’ “Do you think he’s here for–”

“We’re here for Mr. Godot, remember?” The red suited man, who apparently had a really weird name, redirected the girl’s attention to Godot’s bed. Damn, maybe she was going to subject him to an hour of magic tricks meant to entertain children after all.

“Heh, kids, right?” Phoenix had a grin that looked permanently plastered on his face from the moment Godot saw him enter the infirmary. What did he have to be happy for? Unemployed, followed in by a couple of oddly dressed strangers, wearing a hat that Godot’s heightened sense of smell could tell needed a good wash.

“What do you think I know about kids?” Godot asked before he broke into a fit of coughing muffled by his hand. “What are–” he hadn't finished coughing yet, “what are you doing here? Did you get some kind of traveling circus troupe together now that you’re not a lawyer?”

“Daddy helps me run the Wright Anything Agency!” The strangely dressed girl piped up, alternating from standing on her feet to balancing on her toes. Godot wasn’t even going to ask what she meant by ‘Daddy;’ it was probably best he didn’t know. “He brought me and Polly here to meet you and cheer you up since you’re sick!”

“Well, if you wanted to use the fact I’m only in the hospital and not,” Godot waved his hand towards the trio, “doing whatever it is you’re doing now, it may just work.”

“Well, Polly’s a lawyer like Daddy was!” The girl boasted as if this ‘Polly’ was her child. “And Daddy introduced a new jurist system into the courts!”

Great, so they were here to brag. Godot sank back into lying down with a weak grumble.

“If you come back to the prosecutor’s office upon your release, Mr. Godot, you might get to see the MASON system in action. It’s really impressive, if not a little confusing.” ‘Polly’ said. “Or if you want, you could get into defense again.” He mumbled something about needing an extra hand in cleaning the office.

“It’s called a MASON system?” 

“Yeah!” The girl beamed. “I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean, but,” she put her right hand to her chin in thought, “Daddy said when he pitched it to the judge, he loved the name! It’s judge-approved!”

“Speaking of judge-approved…” Phoenix started, digging through his pockets and pulling out a surprisingly neat envelope, without a wrinkle in sight. “Here. We got everyone we could find at the courthouse to sign this. It was Trucy’s idea.” He gestured to the girl. So her name was Trucy? ‘Trucy and Polly…’ yup, they were definitely some kind of circus troupe, at least part time.

Godot was surprised to see how many names he recognized on the card. Even the wild mare herself signed it. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself imagining her whipping the ever-living hell out of Wright before finally giving in to his request.

“Mr. Wright said you couldn’t see red on a white background, so everyone used black pen.” The man with the strange name pointed out. 

Godot had to give that statement the benefit of the doubt, since he wouldn’t be able to tell otherwise, but he made a mental note to ask his cellmate to check once the medical staff decided he wasn’t teetering on the edge of death if he were to leave his bed.

“You like it?” Trucy looked at Godot with a wide smile. 

“Not bad at all.” Godot couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.”

At least it wasn’t magic tricks…

“I almost forgot! Daddy said I could perform my latest magic tricks for you!”

Dammit.

[generalherasyndulla]

angst 15 and/or fluff 5. narumitsu

Sorry this took awhile but I hope it was worth the wait dude.

5. “OH you’re jealous!”

“You can’t be serious, Wright.”

“C’mon Edgeworth you know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to.”

“And you know that I’m hardly equipped to watch over a child.”

“Awww don’t be like that, Trucy loves you. Plus, it’s only gonna be for an hour, maybe 2 hours tops.”

“What’s so important that you need someone to watch over her so last minute anyway?”

“Well…” Phoenix laughs nervously. Miles can’t see Phoenix through the phone obviously, but he can easily picture Phoenix rubbing the back of his neck as he laughs. He’s probably wearing that stupid hoodie that he has no right looking as attractive as he does in it.

Not that Miles spends a lot of time thinking about the attractiveness of Phoenix Wright or anything.

Oblivious to Miles’ imaginings, Phoenix continues, “So I was planning on going out to dinner tomorrow. I was going to leave Trucy with Maya for the night, but Pearl’s come down with a cold so that’s out. I guess she’d be fine by herself for a bit, but I hate leaving her alone. Normally I’d just cancel but Kristoph already made the reservations and-“

Oh. “Oh, I see.”

He shouldn’t say yes to this. Sure, he’s gets along with Trucy well enough, but he’s never spent any time alone with the girl. Besides he often ends up having so much work to do at home that he’ll hardly have the time to keep her entertained, even if he knew how to do so in the first place. Which he doesn’t because he doesn’t know the first thing about childcare, not really. Sure there was Franziska when they were younger but those were completely different circumstances. Besides, he has absolutely no desire to watch Phoenix’s daughter while that man goes gallivanting off with Kristoph Gavin of all people for the evening.

“Please, Edgeworth.”

Unfortunately, Miles has yet to learn how to say no to Phoenix. Maybe someday he’ll learn. Evidently, today is not that day.

Which is why he’s now spending his Friday evening at home with a 10-year-old girl sitting on the couch flipping through tv channels while he gets some paperwork done. Or he attempts to anyway. It’s a little hard to get work done when one’s mind is preoccupied by... inconvenient thoughts. Such as thinking about Phoenix having dinner with Kristoph Gavin. Which is fine. Phoenix has every right to spend time with others – even that other is Kristoph. Although it seems to be happening a lot lately, as far as Miles can tell. It seems like almost every time Miles tries to make some sort of plans with Phoenix, he is busy with prior plans with Kristoph. Which if it were once in a while that’d be one thing but nearly every week seems excessive in Miles’ opinion. Not that he spends a lot of time thinking about Phoenix and what he does in his spare time. Certainly not.

There’s no reason to get so obsessive about the whole thing. Besides it’s just dinner, going out to dinner doesn’t mean anything. He’s gone out to dinner with Phoenix a bunch of times and that’s never really meant anything, obviously. Although lately most of those times have been with Trucy present. Dinner alone and dinner with a kid are two very different concepts. Miles isn’t exactly an expert on these sorts of things, but he knows that much at least.

Why should it matter if Phoenix has a romantic interest in someone. That’s a perfectly normal thing for someone to want and if Phoenix is happy then that perfectly fine… But why did it have to be Kristoph of all people. Miles hasn’t interacted much with him and Kristoph had been polite enough during the few interactions they have had but Miles doesn’t trust him. He’s not one for intuition mind you, evidence and logic are much more tangible and easier to work with, but he'' make an exception in this case .

And Miles' dislike for him has nothing to do with how much time he’s been spending with Phoenix, thank you very much. It’s just that Phoenix deserves better, that’s all.

“Mr. Edgeworth? Mr. Edgeworth!?” Trucy exclaims breaking Miles out of his awful pondering.

“I’m sorry, did you need something?” Miles shakes his head in a futile attempt to banish the thoughts consuming his mind.

“I've been trying to get your attention forever.” Trucy says. She then tilts her head and looks as if she's examining something. “You’ve been gripping your pen awfully hard, and it doesn’t look you’re writing much.”

Great, he was so obvious about being distracted that even a child could notice. Perfect, just perfect. “I’m fine, I just have some things on my mind. Nothing you need to worry about.”

“…It’s not me, is it?” She asks in a quiet voice, her face showing an unreadable expression.

Oh, wonderful job Miles, you managed to make the child upset. Why did you agree to watch her again? Oh, right your complete inability to ever say no to Wright. “Of course not, like I said it’s nothing to do with you.”

“Good.” Trucy grins and Miles find himself giving a small smile in response. “Yes! I made you smile! Daddy said that was something no one could ever do! He’s never gonna believe me.”

“What sort of ridiculous ideas about me has Wright been filling your head with.” This was the man Miles’ thoughts focused on - how foolish.

“Your grip on your pen tightened when you talked about daddy.” Trucy stares intently at Miles as if he’s some sort of specimen being studied in a lab. “Were you thinking about daddy?”

Miles’ eyes widened a bit. He knew the girl was perceptive for her age, but he wasn’t expecting her to be able to figure him out that easily.

“So, it was about daddy!” Trucy continues. “You and daddy didn’t have a fight or anything? Did you?”

“O-of course not!”

“Hmmm.” Trucy strokes her chin as she continues to stare at Miles as if he were on trial and she was a lawyer seeking the truth. It would be endearing, if Miles wasn’t on the other end of it. “I guess daddy wouldn’t go out for dinner with Mr. Gavin if –“ Trucy freezes midsentence as her eyes widen. She clutches her arm rubbing at the skin by her bracelet.

After a moment of silence Trucy finally speaks up again. “You clutched your pen really tight when I said Mr. Gavin.”

Okay, so once again she’s on the right track but that doesn’t mean anything. Trucy is an incredibly bright child but at the end of the day she’s still only a child. She couldn’t possibly –

“OH, you’re jealous!” she suddenly yells out triumphantly.

“Urk-“ He should deny it. It’d be easy enough to deny it. Because of course he’s not jealous that the man he’s in lo- cares deeply for is having dinner alone with Kristoph Gavin of all people. What is there to even be jealous of. He’s just concerned that Phoenix has been spending so much time with Kristoph lately. There’s something off about Kristoph that he just can’t put his finger on. Jealousy is completely unrelated to that. But before he could so much as utter an objection, Trucy continues.

“You ARE jealous!” Trucy exclaims, seemingly oblivious to the chaos her words have brought. “ I knew it!”

Miles holds his head in his hands. The only thing worse than realizing you can’t deny your true feelings is realizing you can’t deny your feelings because even a child can recognize them. Maybe if he stays quiet Trucy will move on from her revelation and leave Miles to wallow in peace. Or maybe the Earth will finally show him some kindness and swallow him whole ending all of this.

Alas, neither option seems to be happening because Trucy walks up to Miles and begins to hesitantly pat his arm in what's clearly meant to be a comforting fashion. “It’s okay Mr. Edgeworth. Daddy likes you a lot. He smiles more when you visit. And they’re real smiles too. Only the best people get to see daddy’s real smile. I don’t think he ever real smiles with Mr. Gavin.”

This was not happening. Miles Edgeworth was not being reassured by a child, Phoenix Wright’s child specifically, regarding his place in Phoenix’s life. What’s worse is her words actually are affecting him, slightly. There is no way he has sunk this low. And yet all the evidence seems to indicate that he indeed has. He tried to speak up to protest but it seems to once again be a futile endeavor.

“Most importantly I like you better than Mr. Gavin, Mr. Edgeworth. He doesn’t even come to my magic shows like you do.” Trucy says with the kind of confidence only children have. “So there.” She punctuates the last bit with her hand on her hips with a proud expression.

Despite the complete and utter absurdity of this entire situation, Trucy’s words are nice to here. He may not be good with children per se but it’s a comfort to know that despite everything, both Wrights clearly care for him. Not that he ever doubted that Phoenix cares, even if it’s not necessarily the same way he does, but still hearing it spoken out loud like that is nice.

“That’s enough, Trucy,” Miles says, attempting to compose himself. “Now what will it take to make sure your father has no idea this conversation ever happened?”

“Hmm…” Trucy considers this for a moment. “Ice cream?”

Miles chuckles slightly. It’s a simple enough request at least and it seems Miles is incapable of saying no to both Wrights. “Very well.” He stands up off of his desk to get his keys. “I believe there’s a place not too far from here.”

“Really, thanks Uncle Miles!” Trucy pauses immediately after what she just said. “Oh, that just slipped out.”

“That’s alright,” Miles smiles at the child, quick to reassure her. “You may call me that, if you wish.”

“Okay! Thanks, Uncle Miles.”

[askaceattorney]

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ojii-chan,

Studying in a stage-like environment, huh?  The standing and music we could do, but I’m not sure how we’d go about making her room look like a stage.  Not in a way I can afford, at least.

I’m in agreement that our public education system is need of some serious change, but just because you managed to sway some teachers doesn't mean I’d be as successful with an entire school board.  Trust me, if parents’ opinions had much influence on their teaching methods, things would be way different right now.  It’ll take way more than one angry lawyer to turn the tide.

I’ll be happy to let Trucy try out your methods of studying.  She loves listening to music, so maybe it’ll brighten her mood a little.  I don’t know why I didn’t think of that myself.

It’s good to know you’re okay with nicknames, but you still haven’t dealt with Maya.  Her sass levels are off the charts.

(If there’s one thing I didn’t inherit from you, it’s thick skin.)

-Phoenix Wright

[4ragon]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Shit nope crying again)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[rivalsforlife]

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!