#Edgeworth is standing in the room with him in this scene they were just too cowardly to have his sprite on the screen for this line

[abluescarfonwaston]

Anyway Meet the Robinsons with 9 year old Phoenix (Filler last name here) the day before the class Trial. Trucy Woopsies back in time using a magic pocket watch for reasons. For conflict reasons they end up jumping Forward in time to the Edgeworth-Wright mansion. The pocket watch breaks and she frantically attempts to fix it.

When Pearl comes in and sees Phoenix. (Cue panicked screaming) 

She manages to shush Pearl and shove a beanie over Phoenix’s hair (the only way anyone can in canon recognize him).

“You going to have to go by Feenie for now. Don’t you dare tell anyone your real name or else- TIME TROUBLES. And keep that hat on. Also no lying. Everyone will Instantly know.”

“O-Okay?”

We have this huge house full of strange people who are all family??? And Love each other??? There’s Ema and her science experiments that cause a huge explosion. They end up in Trucy’s magic room. Kalvier’s guitar filled guest room. Kay’s Ninja (thief) room. Gumshoe and Maggie and their rugrats are running around setting up for something. Apollo is video calling in from a robot. There are two older women called the Wright’s constantly making puns and laughing. Maya is in the kitchen and offers Feenie some food. You remind me of my brother.

Just so. Much. Family. 

And at the heart of it all is this calm and serious grey hair man. And maybe he should be scary but honestly he looks like a dad. Phoenix isn’t well versed in what Dad’s look like. But he is. That man is Dad shaped. 

Anyway we get that conflict scene where Phoenix enters a room only to find something of value is shattered on the floor. Immediately someone enters the room after him and he’s terrified he’ll get accused again.

“A CRIME! INVESTIGATION TIME! :D!” 

And theirs just this whole Team of Family sweeping the crime scene for evidence. Ema, Kay, Gumshoe. Who broke Papa’s Defense trophy? Trucy trying to keep them from questioning Phoenix too hard. Athena pulling up her mood matrix and Apollo on the robotic skype machine with his bracelet like ‘okay tell us what happened.’

Phoenix gets nervous because it looks like he’s going to be accused again because he was found at the crime scene and then-

“Hm. Kay do you have any evidence that supports a verdict.”

“Not much I’m afraid.”

“Then I suppose since the Defense is out we shall have to rely on the prosecutors code. As it stands-”

“Wait!” His voice halted them. They turned to stare. “W-What if the reason I didn’t see the person who broke it was because...” Uh... “They weren’t a person?”

An eyebrow raised.

“L-Like a mouse? If it was small then I wouldn’t have seen it but it could have fallen off the shelf for ‘no reason!’”  

“... An interesting theory. Detectives?”

“...!”

“SQUIREL!” 

(Queue chaos involving a squirrel and Pess.)

(Squirrel is escorted off premises.) 

“Haha, well i suppose it’s time for the verdict. Not guilty.”

“You know Mr. Wright would really like you!” “Yeah, you were a little turnabout terror just now! Be careful or he’ll be asking you to intern for him!”

“Good job.” And a pat on the head from Edgeworth.

Well that’s the most positive affection Feenie’s had from an adult in years. Excuse him while he starts crying. Edgeworth is immediately concerned- as is everyone else.

“I’m sorry! I just! I wish I had a family like this!”

Edgeworth Immediately with the adoption papers. ‘Ah this will make a far better birthday gift than those absurd t-shirts. Wright loves adopting children’

The entire Family banding around Feenie like WE’RE YOUR FAMILY NOW NO TAKE BACKS. YOUR STUCK WITH US

Trucy and Pearl panicking in the background like ‘no no no no’

Trucy yanking Phoenix’s beanie off to reveal his hair. 

The gasp.

The pull away.

‘okay so i’m not from this time but- but no one cares about me back there so it’s fine! I can just stay here.’

“Oh Phoenix. I’m so sorry. But you have to go home.” 

“NO!”

Larry - the ‘villian’ of this story ‘helping’ Phoenix. (he’s being manipulated by Kristoph (maybe Dahlia? Hm) Phoenix seeing a world in anarchy because he ran away from the class trial that day. Because Phoenix wasn’t there to be saved by Edgeworth. To save Edgeworth. To save Maya. To meet Trucy. 

Them setting the time line right. 

Feenie getting to say goodbye - no not goodbye, see you later - to his future. Phoenix coming home from work to have that sweet moment at the end of the movie of ‘you keep fighting, you keep trying and loving and trusting and promise. It’ll get better.’ 

Feenie seeing Edgeworth and Wright holding hands. Matching rings around their fingers. Surrounded by family that loved them so much. Trucy - the light of his world - taking him home. Her hugging her Daddy to be goodbye. 

Larry reconnecting with the friends he’d thought abandoned him. Edgeworth stepping up and Defending Phoenix in the class trial. Gregory meeting Phoenix and being like ‘oh actually I know a couple that was looking into adoption. I could help them push it through.’ (The Wright’s. Two lovely women who adore Phoenix.)

Just keep moving forward.

[x4-to-da-ice]

Gyakuten Saiban 3: Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth musical reaction post

I'm watching Gyakuten Saiban's 3rd musical and I need to talk about it somewhere so here I am. It's my real time reaction to scenes so it could get messy lol

And of course, this contains spoilers.

I read on the wiki that the plot was Edgeworth time travelling and meeting his father, but I really didn't expect they'd make him go back that far. Gregory's only 21 in this musical. Wild.

How did Edgeworth just waltz into Gregory's office and acted so surprised that it's "Edgeworth Law Offices"? Did Gregory operate in secret and decide not to put a sign at the door that says this is Edgeworth Law Offices or did Miles not read the sign.

So not only his dad but apparently his mom worked there too. What a turn of event ToT

The person on the phone asked for "Edgeworth" and the man answered "Yes I am indeed Edgeworth" even though the other party CLEARLY didn't mean him XDD What a man.

Miles: "I was at the scene with an acquaintance-" Gregory: "Oh! Your friend?" Miles: "MY ACQUAINTANCE! Please don't misunderstand."

Aww Edgey Larry's gonna be sad. And you probably don't know how much Gregory wants you to have friends.

lol at Gregory who just happened to encounter a man who shares a same surname with him but he doesn't give a shit.

"Edgeworth is such a rare surname but you still share one with him... Could he be your dad?" Edgeworth: *chokes on his tea*

This scene is funny but how could she even come up with that idea? You don't usually ask a grown man if a 21-year-old man is his dad. Unless you know this man time leaped. She could have said "your brother" and it'd make much more sense.

Now Larry, the one who totally should have questioned Edgeworth about his dad instead of that woman, never did so. He doesn't even seem to have the slightest idea that Gregory is Miles' father. He just went "Gregory Edgeworth... oh, that defense attorney?" while he canonically previously knows Edgeworth's dad is an attorney, and there's just no way he wouldn't question his friend. "Gregory Edgeworth... Wait Edgey!! That's a defense attorney with your surname! Don't tell me he's your dad?!" ...should totally have happened in this scene, but it didn't.

Who decided to dress young Edgeworth like this 😭 I would understand if this was Miles under Manfred but he's still with his dad in this scene and he already dressed like a von Karma.

I've arrived at the battle of the decade

I wonder what they were trying to imply by making Edgeworth wear the suit that symbolizes his admiration for Manfred von Karma.

Gregory: "Will we... meet again?"

Next time they meet, he will be cradling a baby in his arms, seeing the kid grow up as he showed immense interest in law and looked up to his father, teaching that kid everything about the most valuable traits of a defense attorney and showing him the right way that he learned from a man named Miles Edgeworth years ago.

Kinda sweet, kinda awkward but all nice.

"When the day come, I'll stand with you in court as a defense attorney who seeks the same truth as you."

It's too bad that he won't live long enough to see Miles in court as an attorney.

"Wait! Your child... when he reaches 5 years old, he'll break the glass in your living room. Please don't get mad at him."

This part is PURE GOLD 100 points for whoever wrote it.

Of course his parents look so confused what is this man talking about 😂

Edgeworth's last scene with his parents is satisfying. A neat ending for both sides.

I hope this is a friendly hug because I don't need more romance after the whole thing with Wright and Leona-

but I guess it's not platonic after all. Still it was not exploited much further so that is that, I have no complaint.

.

Alright I've reached the end of the musical. I had problems with some particular parts of the musical but overall I enjoyed it. All the actors are amazing. My biggest regret is that I have no idea how the case went because my Japanese ability is too shabby to understand a court trial. I hope someone will sub it soon T_T

[ssygir]

Happy 20th Anniversary, Ace Attorney!

I have been insanely busy with work and directing a big musical for my local community theatre, so I've barely had time to enjoy my favorite thing, Ace Attorney, or hang out on tumblr. HOWEVER... I have been using as much time as I can steal from my days to work on that sequel to Turnabout Feelings. It hasn't flowed as easily as Turnabout Feelings, and *many* things about it may still change, so I'm not ready to start posting it on AO3. I haven't even decided on a title yet. 😝 But, in the spirit of celebration, I'd like to post a couple of excerpts from what I've written, with the caveat that the whole dang scene/chapter might be scrapped. For now, though, just enjoy it as a stand-alone bonus ficlet.

Excerpt 1: Phoenix was used to Miles’s lavish Beverly Hills home by now - he’d spent many a weekend there since their return from Paris two years ago - but it had taken some time. First of all, it wasn’t anything like he’d initially pictured it. The house was incredibly sleek and modern, both inside and out. Not at all the stuffy, antique architecture and decor he’d imagined, but clean lines, minimalist design, and far too much white. Phoenix never asked, but he’d concluded that Miles had hired an interior designer, since only a few small pieces here and there betrayed Miles’s true aesthetic; a grandfather clock in the foyer, an ornate chess board in the media room, and a portrait of Gregory Edgeworth in an antique frame in the upstairs hallway. Otherwise, the house normally looked as if it was staged by a high-end realtor, and hardly ever touched. Which, incidentally, was true - Miles was rarely home, and when he was there, he spent most of his time in his bedroom.

All of this Phoenix had grown accustomed to. This time, however, as Phoenix walked through the door, he practically had to pick his jaw up off of the floor. The house was thoroughly decked out in elaborate decorations. Black and red tablecloths covered every surface, topped with bouquet after bouquet of red roses. Black and red streamers zigzagged above them through the foyer and snaked up the bannister of the stairs, and twinkling fairy lights cascaded down the walls. Phoenix could see the dining room just to his right, where more of the same sight greeted them. Black chair covers adorned the chairs, and a red sash was tied around each with a large bow in the back. The dining table was set for six, with place cards at each setting. Rose petals were scattered along the surface, and the centerpiece was a glittering replica of the Eiffel Tower, no doubt a callback to that very night two years before. Above all of it hung a black banner that said “Happy Anniversary” in elegant white script.

“Wow!” gasped Trucy.

“Yeah…” was all Phoenix could say. What else was there to say? He’d already laid into Miles earlier for always going too far, but this was even worse than he’d imagined. I should have known, he thought. He can’t do anything halfway. “...You really went all out,��� he finished faintly.

“You don’t like it,” responded Miles. It wasn’t a question.

“No… no, it’s…” Phoenix noticed the pitch of his voice was too high, and he cleared his throat as he forced a smile. “It’s beautiful, really.” It is beautiful, it’s just too much. We’re talking two years of dating, not fifty years of marriage. Excerpt 2 “As you all know, I credit Phoenix for changing my life. There is no doubt I would have walked a dark path without his light in my life, and I… I am thankful for him every single day.” Phoenix could feel his face growing hot, and he lowered his gaze to his empty crème brûlée dish. The whole evening had turned out lovely after all, but now Phoenix was again uncomfortable with just how overboard Miles was taking it. Miles’s grip tightened on his hand.

“And so, I feel I would be remiss if I did not express my undying gratitude, and my joy, and most importantly, my love… in the only way I think appropriate.” Miles slipped his hand out of Phoenix’s, and Phoenix looked up just in time to see something that gave him a strong sense of déjà vu - the sight of Miles sliding out of his chair to kneel on the floor… on one knee. Miles reached into his pocket, and Phoenix’s mouth fell open as he produced something small and shiny. A ring.

Yes, they’d talked about marriage. But only in “somedays” and “maybes,” perhaps when Trucy went off to college or when Phoenix got a better job, and certainly not until the current mission they were on was completed. Yes, it was something he wanted - desperately - but only when the time was right. Hell, he hadn’t even wanted to move in together yet, despite Miles’s insistence that he had more than enough room for him, Phoenix, and Trucy, so why not? And Phoenix’s answer had been to wait until they were engaged, something Phoenix had thought was surely further down the line. The past two years had gone by in the blink of an eye. He wasn’t ready.

And yet… Now that he looked into Miles’s expectant grey eyes, he was overcome by his love for the man. The man who had transformed from a bitter and cold adversary to the warmest, most caring partner in life. The man who always went above and beyond and would jump through a thousand hoops just to make sure Phoenix was okay. The man who, despite Phoenix’s spectacular failures, chose to be with him every day, and was now asking to be with him forever.

“Phoenix Wright. Will you marry me?”

Phoenix’s heart began to hammer in his chest. He could feel all of the eyes in the room on him.

[marithlizard]

Ace Attorney: Rise From the Ashes (Day Three, Trial Latter) (part 7)

Last episode, my client finally deigned to give me some information.   Thirty seconds before court resumes,  in files that caused my assistant to burst into tears and run away.  

Whatever's in there will have to wait till after Marshall's testimony.  Jake, buddy, no. Even Qrow Branwen wouldn't drink on the witness stand.   Probably.

Edgeworth attempts to stop Marshall from confusing the judge with the power of sarcasm, but in vain.   Slacker Cowboy will not be fenced in by anything.  He proudly announces he was at a bar when the "murder"  happened in the room he was supposed to be guarding, and can  he go now?

Marshall: I'm not complaining about your beard,  judge. I'm just saying I don't care for it while I stand here pretending to shave with this big knife. Your security officers? My kinda guys.

I just don't see him putting in all the effort to dress up as Goodman. He doesn't even bother to view his own security tapes before erasing them.  (How much priceless footage has been lost, tragically unseen?  The afternoon when Gumshoe was in there with his "Teach Yourself Tango" cassette tapes could have brought joy to millions on Youtube.)    So he must've come in afterwards, to do what?

Marshall says he didn't set foot in the evidence room that day.  Yay! I love it when they tell me provable direct lies. He seems unbothered by the sight of his own bloody handprint from the crime scene. Coincidence! That was his locker!  The "murderer"  just happened to put their handprint over his old one!  Plus the murderer was wearing gloves, duh!  

...And just how does he know that? "I read the reports."  Marshall, you haven't read a report for years, unless you were really bored in the bathroom. You are going down, pardner.

"Too bad it wasn't me in that video" - excuse me?  The video you supposedly have not seen and did not know existed?   Challenge accepted.    Finally I get to point out the obvious discrepancy I noted earlier,  the thing sticking out of Marshall's locker in the second half.  (I would LIKE to also point out the bloody handprint on Gumshoe's locker that is not in the video at all, but nobody seems interested in that.)

We educate Marshall on the new-fangled doohickeys known as fingerprint locks.   I come up with a dazzling set of alternate theories to explain the evidence so far:

The tape was cut and spliced to remove key events;

Marshall was in the room along with "Goodman", hiding behind the mascot which you must admit looks extremely hidable-behind;

Marshall did it on instructions from Goodman, who left him the outfit/ID card and set up the jammed locker door for him;

Ignoring me, Phoenix and Edgeworth between them insist Marshall was "Goodman" and the jammed locker was a wild lucky coincidence.  That's much less satisfying than my version, but okay.  The thing sticking out of the locker must be Goodman's trenchcoat, spattered with Meekins' blood.   Should be easy enough to check. After all -

uh

after all the police department has to be able to get into the lockers if a detective is unavailable (dead, fired, etc).  There's probably a master key hanging on a wall in the IT room that anyone could take.

Perhaps I will not mention this fact in court.  MOVING ON

We establish that Marshall-dressed-as-Goodman pulled the knife on Meekins when asked to show an ID card (which would clearly not have matched his face).   I guess I owe the mailman a small apology.    With some helpful and only slightly condescending nudges from Edgeworth,  Phoenix  gets the idea about the trenchcoat in the locker.

Marshall: I guess NOW you guys are doing your jobs.   Big change from two years ago, huh?

Edgeworth has no answer.  You could apologize, you know...   We move on to confession time.

Marshall says he did do it on his own, unable to stand by while the evidence was destroyed.   The blood is Meekins', of course  (Edgeworth did you not even request a test? I hope you did and were ignored), the knife was his own,  and the ID card was "returned" to the ground in  the parking garage.  We're not going to question that rather unique choice?  No?  Okay.

Edgeworth thinks it was just luck that the glove was jammed in the door.  But even that wouldn't have happened if Goodman hadn't been into the locker himself earlier.  To take out the SL-9 knife and hide it in the parking garage?   For...Lana to find? Is that why Lana was there?

(Oh hey, there's the trademark no-raise-for-you threat from Edgeworth, but about Meekins.  Marshall clearly never gets raises.)

Marshall says the evidence was already gone when he opened Goodman's locker.  He must mean the knife, since the glove and the broken vase were right there for us to find later. Or was there more?  Edgeworth says it's still missing, without specifying.  Specify, people!

Belatedly I realize that I can read the SL-9 file Lana handed me while pretending to listen to Marshall.  What is in here that involves both Lana and Ema?  

Six victims.  The last one is "Neil Marshall". Okay that explains...a lot.

Lana and Ema are listed as witnesses.  Gant and Lana were co-leads.  I try waving the case file at Marshall, but the judge reprimands me.  Ugh.  

I go back to paying attention to testimony.  Edgeworth unbends enough to say he's certain Joe Darke was guilty in the SL-9 case and deserved to die.  Marshall is certain something "went down" at the trial that no one will talk about.  Having got that off their chests, people are now willing to listen to me.

Oof.  Marshall's older brother was a prosecutor who got the same big ugly trophy  Edgeworth was just given.  Joe Darke killed him, leaving for the first time evidence behind, and Edgeworth took over this mess as his first case.  I'm thinking  a) that must be the falsified evidence that Angel was talking about,  b) no wonder Edgeworth wasn't inclined to look too hard at that evidence, and c) no wonder he sees the trophy as a mockery.

Marshall says his brother could not have been killed by Joe Darke??  Oh, he just thinks his brother was invincible.  Easy enough to dismiss that as a grieving delusion, but there's a pile of fired/demoted/killed/framed detectives to confirm foul play here.

"This mystery has finally been cleared up"  no it hasn't,  where is the missing evidence that Marshall was trying to look at?   Hidden at the probably-actual-murder scene, that's where.   Ignoring me on the other side of the screen,  Edgeworth briskly moves to wrap up and convict Lana.

(Thankfully Phoenix knows that the simultaneous timing can't be coincidence, so I don't have to yell at him about it.)

Nobody is going to ask about Lana's motive, or question the blithe assertion that she's the only one who could have murdered Goodman.  Even Marshall is smirking at us - whose side is he on anyway?

"There were no errors in the testimony of the witness Angel Starr!" - excuse me, I just choked on my drink.   Edgeworth her swiss-cheese testimony was YESTERDAY.

The best Phoenix can come up with is "ARRRGH".  We can't be doomed, but what is going to save us?   Hi, Ema!  You got a plan, or just grit and desperation?

Grit, desperation, and fast talk, well done Ema you have learned the entire AA repertoire.  Plus puppy dog  eyes that not even Edgeworth can resist?   That's it she is now the star of this game series.  

Ema takes the stand herself.  And she brings up the OTHER HANDPRINT.   Your Honor, I love her.  Ema Skye: Ace Attorney has a nice ring to it.

While we were in court she ran back to the evidence room and examined it!  Didn't find anything, but still, the existence of that handprint has to mean something.  It wasn't  left by Marshall but by some unknown person with gloves.

Phoenix don't be ungrateful, she caught the ball while you were floundering and is throwing it back to you.   Catch it! No, not like that!   Mention the gloves!

He goes off on another tangent instead.  Something is missing from the floor plans?  What do you want, marked emergency exits?  

"Something that when drawn will completely change the meaning of the blood mark".   The only thing I'm drawing is a blank.   Pick an item...the glove? the fingerprint dust? the...the mascot?   Why?

Oh, I see. Phoenix draws him in immediately in front of Gumshoe's locker, so that no one could have gotten to it.  I thought he was  further back.  But it's true that on the tape Marshall-as-Goodman walked in front of him,  not behind him.    Fine, boyo, you are provisionally still  the main character, but you're on thin ice.

The gloved handprint must have been left before or after the incident  on the tape.  Who else was in the evidence room, per the log?  Edgeworth himself, and the person with the mystery all-7s  ID.  Both before.  

(And is this related to the large amount of blood on the trenchcoat, which as noted seems an awful lot for a cut on the hand?   Marshall, if you were lying all this time   you're a better actor than I gave you credit for. )

Phoenix isn't bringing up any of my excellent points, but  Edgeworth is still flummoxed.  He demands a time for what we are apparently now calling the other other murder, or just The Incident.  I show off the ID log.

After we all dramatically pretend to suspect Edgeworth,  he snidely points out that not even he could murder Goodman, wipe that gloved handprint  and take away the body in the ten minutes before Meekins first showed up.    Now finally we can focus on the Mystery Sevens.

(Oh, right - Edgeworth told us Gant sent him to the evidence room to fetch something from an unrelated case. Obviously to set him up for a trap to be sprung later.)

Something I hadn't thought about but should have - Goodman had to have opened his locker previously for the glove to get stuck in it  (since we're pretending IT master keys don't exist).  He's only on the ID log once.   Therefore, the previous time he must've come in with Mystery Sevens.  

So who was it and how do we prove that it was Gant?

Turns out not to be hard. Edgeworth says Mystery Sevens is an ID reserved for high-ranking staff, "executive officers".  (What terrible opsec!)  Even during a murder trial he's not allowed to ask questions about such exalted personages - unless one of them is formally charged with a crime.    I guess it *is* the sort of setup I'd put in place if I were a villainous bureaucrat. Marshall is so disgusted he drops the cowboy slang.

It's not slander if it's true, Edgeworth.  You seem to be the only one who doesn't know how corrupt your workplace is.

Marshall seems to have gained several IQ points from sheer suppressed rage.  He asks Lana straight out in open court if the SL-9 evidence was fishy - and it's such an obviously good question they have to put her on the stand.

(You know, Phoenix, while she's here, you could ask her for her version of events in the parking garage.  I'm just saying.   You have no statement from your own client.)

Marshall: Can you look me in the eye and say the complete evidence for SL-9 was presented fairly in court?  

Lana:  Nope!

Stunned silence and then so much shouting court has to be adjourned. I was not expecting her to admit it! But it must have been a relief, to come clean. And if she's facing the death penalty, what has she to lose?

[rivalsforlife]

Posted this on twitter yesterday, but I thought I’d post it here too - scene from Miles’ perspective post-chapter 5 of my fic the catch-up game, because I wanted more Dadworth so I wrote more Dadworth! Enjoy.

-----

“Huh, totally thought I’d be the first one here today,” said a familiar, cheery voice, and Miles looked up to see Kay enter the records room and shut the door behind her. “Heya, Mr. Edgeworth! Did you bring Mr. Wright along today?”

The mere mention of Wright stung. “No.”

“The esteemed That Man is too great to dig through lowly prison records, huh?” Kay teased, and normally her teasing would cause mild annoyance at its absolute worst, but -- “Hey, grouchypants, what’s up? You were in such a good mood yesterday. You didn’t get into some sort of lover’s tiff with Mr. Wright --”

“We are not ‘lovers’, and to insinuate otherwise is extremely inappropriate workplace behavior, Kay Faraday!”

Kay recoiled, eyes widening in shock, and Miles felt an immediate wave of guilt. “Kay. My apologies. I shouldn’t have shouted.”

“S’okay. Sorry for being so immature.” She looked down, her kicked-puppy expression reminiscent of Gumshoe. 

Oh, damn it all. “No, Kay, I’m sorry,” said Miles, and Kay looked up. “It’s just -- Wright and I… we had a… disagreement.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Mr. Edgeworth.”

Miles made a faint noise of acknowledgement. “Don’t concern yourself with it. We have work to do.”

He turned back to the file he’d been reading, sifting through it. He was acutely aware Kay was not doing the same.

“... Okay, this is getting a little awkward, here…”

Miles looked up again. Kay was standing near him, arms outstretched. Ah.

“I know you’re not a huggy kind of guy, Mr. Edgeworth, but if you need -- oh!”

“Thank you, Kay,” said Miles, barely audible, as he awkwardly put his arms around Kay’s shoulders.

Kay tightened the hug. “Anytime, Mr. Edgeworth.”

He’d hugged Kay once before, after that horrible day in April ten years ago, when Miles had put everything on the line to help her, had truly felt that desperation to save someone. Or, more accurately, Kay had hugged him, unexpectedly, cornering him on the way out of the Grand Tower to bury her face in his shoulder and thank him for all he did, and apologize for all she put him through.

Miles didn’t hug people. He didn’t seek out that sort of physical contact. Lately, Gumshoe would hug him sometimes if he got caught up in his own excitement, nearly breaking Miles’ ribs, but Gumshoe was the kind of person who showed he cared through physical affection, so Miles understood. He’d hugged Franziska exactly once in the airport the day she left after the Engarde trial, and neither of them had talked about it since. Kay, twice now.

Wright, he’d seen Wright hug his family and friends enthusiastically, but never Miles himself, and that ached.

Trucy had hugged him too, a few times, particularly when she was younger, and it caused the same kind of warmth Miles felt hugging Kay. Had Kay been younger, when they met again ten years ago, or had Miles been a little older, wiser, more stable --

“Geez, it’s really hitting you hard,” said Kay, muffled by his coat. “It’ll be okay, Mr. Edgeworth. You and Mr. Wright were friends before I was even born, right? Whatever’s going on, you’ll work it out.”

“I appreciate your faith in me. Kay, to me, you’re --” He drew back, just enough to look down at Kay, her eyes bright green and inquisitive. Miles’ resolve faltered. “Nevermind. We should get to work.”

“O-Okay,” said Kay, and though she did look a little confused, she drew back from him and turned her attention to the files. “Can’t believe they didn’t bother digitizing these things… I mean, what century is this? We’d have this done in ten seconds if they kept the database updated!”

“I don’t think they thought prison therapy animals would ever come up in a court case, Kay,” Miles informed her, smiling softly to himself as she huffed and picked up the file he’d abandoned.

It was good to have her here, as a reminder that no matter what happened between him and Wright, he still had friends and family to fall back on.

[agoldengalaxy]

Doing the Right Thing

read on AO3

After the trial of Jeff Master goes south, Detective Badd doesn’t think it can get any worse. And then it does. The hardened detective finds himself adopting the ten year old son of the only defense attorney who had ever earned his respect.

--

Badd had seen his fair share of terrible trials, but this? This had to be the absolute worst. If he had hated Von Karma before, he certainly despised him now.

Gregory Edgeworth had been so thorough, so intelligent and unrelenting in defending his client and trying to find the truth. But it hadn’t been enough. Von Karma had been cheating, forging, but all it earned him was a measly penalty. And this meant Jeff Master would be convicted for something that he didn’t do.

But court was adjourned, and there was nothing that could be done about it now. He knew Gregory would never give up, though.

As he was walking out of the courtroom, Badd adjusted his old trench coat, intent on leaving before Von Karma or anyone else could see him. Perhaps he would visit Edgeworth’s office later on to see if there was anything he could do to help.

But before he could leave, a terrible earthquake began shaking the building. People around him began to scream, and the power quickly went out, bathing the courthouse in darkness. Badd straightened up and did his best to keep the people calm, herding them to safety under tables and away from the walls and windows where something might shatter.

“Detective Badd! Look out!” A familiar voice called out to him, and he glanced up, noticing a piece of the ceiling dangling precariously above his head. He quickly dodged out of the way just as it came crashing down in the spot where he had previously been standing, then looked up, seeing Ray Shields standing against the wall. He looked terrified, but relieved to see he was alright.

Badd glanced around at everyone else, making sure they were safe, then made his way over to the boy, placing both hands on his shoulders. “You alright, kid?” he shouted over the rumbling, and Ray nodded. Distantly, Badd wondered why Gregory wasn’t with him, but there were more pressing matters now. He turned, protecting Ray from any more falling debris. It took a long while, but eventually, the trembling came to an end. “Is anyone hurt?” he asked, gaze sweeping around at the cowering people huddled against the wall. He got some ‘no’s, but besides that, they were mostly quiet, so he sighed, heading toward the double doors the best he could in the dark.

Opening them up, light poured into the room, making them all squint, and people slowly filed out onto the streets, shaken but otherwise okay. Soon, it was only him and Ray left. The boy grabbed Badd’s arm, looking even more scared than he had during the earthquake. “Detective, Mr. Edgeworth and his son are in the elevator. They must be stuck!”

“The elevator…” he repeated, feeling his heart sink. The power had gone out, which meant if they hadn’t reached the lobby yet, then Ray was right. They had to be stuck. He sighed, looking down at him. “All right...they’re gonna be fine. Just...take some deep breaths...okay?” Ray fell quiet, nodding, breathing in and out, while Badd took out his phone, calling the fire department.

It took hours upon hours. The fire department was taking care of other things around the city that had lost power, though eventually they made it to the courthouse. Hours passed, and the firemen wouldn’t let Badd come close to the doors as they worked on them. Ray called out to Gregory, but they got no response. They’d been stuck in the elevator for hours, so Badd wouldn’t be surprised if they were unconscious due to lack of air.

And finally, the doors were pried open.

The sight before them was enough to elicit silent shock; silence that only lasted a moment, because Ray ran as fast as he could toward the nearest trash can before he began retching. Badd soon had feeling shoot back into his legs and he pushed the firemen out of the way, stepping into the elevator and kneeling beside the young boy that could only be Gregory’s son, and the other man whom he recognized as a bailiff. “One of you, call the police. Now! Someone else, call an ambulance! These two are still breathing!”

The firemen saluted and ran off. Badd held his breath as he walked over to kneel beside Gregory, looking at the blood that dripped down his lip, his crooked glasses, and the nasty wound in his chest. His hands shook as he reached into his trench coat, pulling out a pair of gloves, and pulled them on. He picked up one of Gregory’s wrists, checking for a pulse, but as he had expected...he was too late.

Badd had seen his fair share of terrible tragedies. He was a hardened detective. But still, he felt anger and grief bubbling up in his chest as he stared at Gregory, the man who had fought for the truth no matter what the cost.

And now he was gone.

The paramedics arrived soon after, and Badd stood up, instructing them to be careful and not touch anything around the elevator except the boy and the bailiff. The little boy looked pained, breath coming fast and short even while unconscious as they lifted him onto the stretcher. Badd stepped out of the elevator, finding Ray had left the trashcan and was now standing by the doors, looking incredibly pale and shaking head to toe.

“Raymond…” he said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder to ground him. “You know the boy...right? You should...go to the hospital with him.” To get the poor kid away from this crime scene, and to make sure that Edgeworth’s son wouldn’t wake up alone.

Ray opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. So he simply closed it and nodded slowly, walking out the door in between the two stretchers. As the paramedics carrying the bailiff walked by, Badd insisted they let Ray go along and that they give him a shock blanket. They were in no place to argue, considering the bad shape the poor boy was in.

While he waited for the police, Badd looked around, wincing as he knelt beside the body again. The man that used to be so warm, polite, and genuine, taken much too soon. He inspected the gun on the floor, finding one round had been shot, and knew that that bullet was still embedded in the wound in Gregory’s chest. It looked pretty clear to him; the bailiff must have shot him, for some reason. But he supposed there were always different possibilities.

When the police and forensics team arrived, Badd stepped out of the elevator, explaining what he knew. Afterward, he glanced toward the doors and noticed there was a small hole in one of them: perhaps a bullet hole. Frowning, he stared at it for a moment and then turned, searching for another bullet somewhere along the floor.

But he found none. He even asked for help, but there was never a second bullet found, and the gun in the elevator had only fired one round. So that hole had to have been made by another gun; perhaps not even during this murder. It made his head spin. But…

He was going to be the lead detective on this case. He owed that much to Gregory.

He stayed at the courthouse for a little while after, and finally stepped out once they had taken the body away to do an autopsy. There wasn’t much investigating to be done; the crime had happened in an elevator, and there wasn’t a second bullet or gun. It had to have been the bailiff, but the Chief was convinced there was a foolproof way to figure out the true culprit. Badd didn’t stick around to hear what it was. He was too drained.

It was already nearing eight-thirty, which meant this terrible afternoon with the trial had turned into a completely terrible day. He adjusted his collar as he stepped into his car, looking at himself in the mirror. He looked just about as exhausted as he felt; more so than he had after any other crime scene he’d ever investigated. There were two poor children on their own, one who lost a father and one who lost a mentor, and the courts had lost one of the best defense attorneys in the country.

How could this have happened?

He drove in silence, barely even paying attention to the road, finally parking outside the hospital. He knew that visiting hours would be over soon, but he intended on visiting with that bailiff...though he figured that could wait for the time being.

Popping a new lollipop in his mouth, he stepped inside the hospital, finding the waiting room relatively empty. He couldn’t remember the boy’s name, so he just asked if there was a room for ‘Edgeworth.’ The nurse directed him down the hall, and he thanked her and walked toward the room. Even a few feet away, he heard screaming, and his heart broke, but he pushed on.

Inside the room, the boy sat on his cot, tears streaming down his face as Ray and another nurse tried to calm him, holding him back from getting up from the bed. Badd had seen a lot of terrible sights in his lifetime, and he had to admit, this seemed to be the absolute worst.

“D-Detective Badd!” Ray exclaimed, seemingly relieved to see him, though his eyes were just as red and puffy as the child’s. The distraction of the detective entering the room seemed to be enough to at least stop Gregory’s son from trying to escape, though he shook violently where he sat.

Badd was never perfect with children, as he often (unintentionally) intimidated them. It wasn’t something he could help; he was a hardened detective, so of course he wouldn’t look very friendly. But this little boy, only about ten years old, even while sobbing, looked so much like Gregory, the man who thought the world of his son. He reached into his pocket, slowly pulling out another lollipop, and offered it to the boy. The nurse tried to explain that outside food was not permitted, but he glared at her long enough that she trailed off and rushed out of the room.

“Hey, kid...My name’s Tyrell Badd...I’m a detective,” he said softly, holding the lollipop out further. The boy stared at it wordlessly for a long time, before weakly reaching out to take it. He unwrapped it slowly, hands shaking.

“Y-Yeah. I saw you testify this morning…” That’s right. Master’s trial seemed so long ago, he’d almost forgotten it was only a few hours ago.

Ray walked over, pulling Badd to the corner and out of earshot of the boy. He was looking a little less pale, but tear tracks were still clearly visible on his cheeks. “Prosecutor Von Karma came by earlier,” he whispered lowly, not letting go of the detective’s arm. Normally, Badd would be annoyed, but he was more shocked than anything else at the moment.

“What?” His blood boiled at the mention of that name. “Why?”

For a moment, Ray looked like he was going to cry again. “...He wants to adopt Miles.”

The words hung in the air for a long time while Badd tried to process them. Von Karma, adopt Gregory’s son? He clenched his jaw, staring down at Ray, who was clearly thinking the same thing. There was no way that could happen. They wouldn’t let it.

“...Does the boy know this yet?”

“Yeah. He agreed to it, but…” Ray trailed off, shaking his head. “I think he was a little afraid of him. Von Karma seemed to be extra angry tonight, probably because of his penalty.” He huffed a sigh. “But I heard he was also taking Mr. Edgeworth’s dea -” his voice broke, “- passing pretty hard. It seemed he hurt his shoulder during the earthquake, so that probably didn’t help.”

Badd didn’t buy it. The prosecutor had something up his sleeve, and he didn’t like it one bit. He glanced toward Miles, who seemed to have tired himself out, because he was just quietly sitting with his head bowed, the lollipop in his mouth.

When he looked back at Ray, he was crying again. “I-I offered to take him in, but I’m only eighteen and I don’t even have my own place…the nurses said no.” He wiped at his cheeks. “Please, D-Detective Badd...you have to do something.”

The detective placed a hand on Ray’s shoulder, hoping to ground him again. “Okay...easy, Raymond. Just breathe. It will be alright.”

He walked over to the cot, slowly sinking down in the seat beside it. To his surprise, the boy spoke up first. “D-D-Did you know my father…?” His voice sounded so broken, and Badd had to swallow hard as he nodded.

“Yes, I did,” he answered quietly. “We worked together...on this past case.” Miles nodded, finally looking at him. He seemed to be analyzing him, perhaps figuring out if he was someone he could trust after such a terrible day. “So you...don’t have any extended family…?”

The boy shook his head, grasping a fistful of sheets in one hand and the lollipop stick in the other. “N-No...my parents were only children and my mother died when I was little. It w-was just me and my father.” His eyes welled up again, and Badd sighed softly.

As unprepared as he was, he didn’t want to let Von Karma, who had lied to get an innocent man convicted, to take this boy under his wing. He drew in a deep breath, then let it out carefully. “Kid...Miles. Do you want to live...with Prosecutor Von Karma?” There was a long pause as Miles looked away, as if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. “It’s okay...tell the truth. I won’t...get mad.” If Miles wanted to, then that was his choice.

“I…” he glanced up at Ray, who was standing quietly off to the side, gripping one of his elbows. “H-He said Father would want me to live with him. He said he would take care of me.”

Badd’s blood boiled again, and he leaned forward a bit in his seat. “But do you...want to live with him? Forget everything else...what do you want…?”

Miles stared at him, wide-eyed, and a few more tears rolled down his cheeks. “W-What choice do I have?” he whispered. “Ray c-can’t take me…”

Shaking his head, the detective reached up, taking out his lollipop for a moment before popping it back in. “No...he can’t. But I can.” They locked eyes, and Miles blinked. Ray gasped. “I don’t want you to...feel like I’m pressuring you, kid,” he insisted, “but I’d be happy to...take you instead. If that’s what you want.”

Miles’ gaze flicked toward the lollipop stick, then to his own, and finally toward Ray, who was still rather shocked. Badd figured he couldn’t blame the kid; he was kind of surprised, himself. He was already graying, certainly aging much faster than he would like to admit, and in no way prepared to take care of a child on his own, but...as a detective, he wanted to help people, and that included this broken little boy. He didn’t want a corrupt man such as Von Karma to taint him, or even worse, hurt him further.

“I…” the boy’s breath hitched and he looked up at Badd again, eyes brimming, and nodded. “I-I’d like to live with you instead, sir. If that’s okay.”

Relief flooded Badd’s chest and he nodded. “Very well...I will speak with the nurses.”

Ray let out a quiet sigh, looking between them. Clearly, he was extremely relieved. “That’s great. Miles, you’re gonna love Detective Badd. I know he’s a little scary, but he’s super nice.” Badd glared at him for a moment, but Ray didn’t seem bothered. “And I’m gonna come visit all the time, okay?”

Miles nodded meekly, biting down on the lollipop and chewing slowly. “Okay,” he muttered. Badd held a hand out, and Miles slowly handed over the stick, which he threw out for him. “H-How long do I have to stay here?”

“Probably just the night,” Badd explained. “You weren’t injured...but they’re going to want to check on you.” He glanced at Ray as he stood up. “Stay here...I’m going to go talk with the nurses.”

Ray saluted, taking the seat the detective had previously occupied, and then Badd walked out to the front desk, explaining the situation. It took awhile to figure out, including many of the nurses grilling Miles and Badd with questions, but eventually, they agreed to let him go home with him the next day.

By the end of it, visiting hours at the hospital were over, and Miles was struggling to stay awake. Badd walked to the side of the cot, feeling just as exhausted, and helped him lay down, pulling the sheets over him. “Get some rest...I’ll be here...when you wake up tomorrow.”

“Thank you…” he whispered, then immediately fell asleep before Badd had even pulled away. He took a step back. He was really going to adopt this kid...He watched for a moment, then glanced over at Ray, who was still sitting beside the bed.

“Come on...I’ll drive you home.” Ray got up slowly, rubbing tired eyes, and thanked him a couple of times as they walked outside of the hospital.

The car ride to Ray’s apartment was completely silent - partly because the boy had begun dozing off, and partly because Badd was too busy thinking. Would Gregory be okay with this decision? Ray certainly seemed to think so, and perhaps he had convinced Miles of this, too. He still had a lot of work to do; he had to ask Miles what he remembered, and the bailiff, too. And the Chief still had that “foolproof way of knowing the truth”, whatever that meant.

The next morning, Badd came to the hospital as soon as it was open and signed Miles out. He took off his coat and draped it over the boy’s shoulders to protect him from the cold and led him to the car. They grabbed some things from the Edgeworth residence; clothes, books (strangely, the kid didn’t have many toys) and got Miles settled into Badd’s extra room. His apartment wasn’t anything special, but it was something.

It was a lot of work, but it soon looked like a child could possibly be living there. “I’ll go...prepare some lunch.” He turned to leave, but felt a small body press itself against his legs. Tiny arms wrapped around them, and Miles cried.

“Th-Thank you, sir…”

Badd hesitated, then reached down, gently ruffling the boy’s hair. “You’re welcome, kid. It’s gonna be alright, I promise.”

He hoped that promise could be kept. He knew nothing about parenting, but he was going to try his hardest, for Miles’ sake.

[nijiirorhyme]

NaruMitsu/WrightWorth Fic: Lights, Camera, Action!

Fandom: Ace Attorney

Ship: Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth/Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright

Warnings: None

Tags:Alternate Universe - Actors, Other Additional Tags to be Added, More characters to be added

Description: Rookie actor Phoenix Wright can not believe his luck as he scores his first major acting role in one of the most anticipated movies of the year. But, what was better than starring in one of the most anticipated films of the year? Starring in one of the most anticipated films of this year with famous actor Miles Edgeworth.

A Wrightworth acting au where two dorks (eventually) fall in love!  

Chapter 1/?

Alternatively, it can be read here!

Text underneath cut!

Act 1 Scene 1

 October 5th, 11:00pm

 Phoenix’s Apartment

Phoenix COULD NOT believe his luck. It was as if lady luck herself were watching over him specifically, feeling so sorry for him that she had to throw him a bone. He could not thank her enough. It seemed as if his life were doing a complete turnabout. Up until now and ever since he had graduated from some third rate university’s performing arts program, he never had the pleasure of striking a role anywhere near being a part of the main cast, but this, this was different. Sure, he had made small cameos as extras in movies, but none of those were enough to give him the boost he needed to put his name on the map. This was the real deal. He would have lines to say, scenes to act, parts where he’d be the one in the limelight. He was just offered the biggest acting gig in his entire life.

‘Lady luck, I know I asked you for help last night,’ he thought to himself, ‘but you didn’t have to go this far for me!’

But, what was better than starring in one of the most anticipated films of the year? Starring in one of the most anticipated films of this year with someone who was currently the world's most famous actor. Miles Edgeworth, a man who the world knew nothing about personally, but that his acting was absolutely phenomenal. Everyone— even their mothers and grandmothers— knew of him, but, it wasn’t until Pearls dragged the man to see one of her cheesy, sappy romance movies starring the mysterious man himself that he finally saw what justified the hype around him.

Romance movies weren’t really Phoenix’s thing as he tended to sleep through most of them. What he could recall of the movie, however, was that the plot was pretty standard; the main female protagonist living her life in poverty while her male counterpart was born into a wealthy family. After the two miraculously begin to date, the couple struggles to find acceptance from the man’s family as they already had a fiance picked out for him. This was all quite cliche in Phoenix’s book, but there was one scene in particular that stuck out to him.

Failing to gain acceptance from the man’s family, the man and the woman impulsively run away together during an explosive argument that erupted between the four. Well, more-so drove away, but that was besides the point. The rain pelted down upon their car as they drove down the winding road as fast as they could, but that had been the man’s fatal mistake. As they came upon their final turn, the man lost control of the steering wheel and the speed they had garnered caused the car to topple over several times before it finally came to a stop. Somehow (though Phoenix thought this defied all odds), the man was fortunate enough to only receive injury to his right arm and was able to wiggle himself free from the car, however, his girlfriend was more than misfortunate. The adrenaline pumped through his blood as he ignored his arm’s cry in pain as he tried to wretch her free from the car. His hands were covered in her blood as he laid her on his lap, knowing the inevitable that she would succumb to her injuries before they were even able to call for help.

His eyes looked into hers, a mix of pain and regret swirling around in his dark orbs. He drove too fast, he should have taken his time, he was about to lose the love of his life— Her voice was enough to snap him out of his thoughts, the booming sound of the thunder almost deafening. She gave him her final words, and just like that, the final bit of life evident in her eyes finally fades and her body goes limp in his arms. The man looked up to the overclouded sky, the rain beating upon his face as he gave  the heavens one last dramatic scream of her name before the movie faded away into a pitch black.

Throughout the entire scene, all Phoenix could do was stare at the big screen. There was something mesmerizing about the way Miles Edgeworth acted. He analyzed the actor’s every move, even the subtle ones that would be invisible to those who didn’t graduate from a third-rate performance arts program, yet contributed an overarching mood to the entire scene. The way his face contorted and twisted and scrunched up in pain as he was filled with regret from his actions, the way his eyes looked into hers in desperation that this was all just a dream— that he wasn’t just about to lose the one he fought so hard alongside, it left a heavy feeling in Phoenix’s chest that almost burst forth from it in the form of tears. Miles Edgeworth brought life to a character from a movie genre Phoenix hated, and not only made him sympathize with the corny character, but almost made him tear up, which to this day he still could not believe.

Phoenix was never a fan of romance movies, especially the ones that Pearls picked out (though he never voiced his complaints aloud) because he thought he could feel his teeth rotting away in his mouth from the sheer sappiness and disgusting sweetness of them, but this one was the only one he approved of.

… Even though it was at the expense of his own friend’s enjoyment.

Phoenix sighed at the memory of what happened afterwards. Pearl was the type of hardcore romance fan who only gravitated towards romance movies where the couple lived happily ever after at the end. Why she chose this movie was beyond Phoenix. Perhaps she glossed over the summary of the story after selectively reading the part where the female protagonist goes from “rags-to-riches” and thought it was something along the lines of Cinderella, completely missing the “this tragic story of her attempt to go from rags-to-riches”... or something. She was so depressed that even Phoenix offering to watch her favourite lovey-dovey romance movie for the gazillionth time wouldn’t cheer her up.

From that point on, Miles Edgeworth swept up the nation’s awards that year for his acting in that movie, including the “Best Male Lead Actor of the Year” award at the Movie of Movies Grand Prix— and to Phoenix, rightfully so. The man’s performance was amazing, yet he couldn’t help wanting to pick a bone with the panel of judges who thought that it deserved “Best Movie of the Year”. He totally thought that the Steel Samurai movie deserved to win (not like he had a bias or anything because his friend Austin Powers starred in it); just because one actor’s acting was remarkable, did not mean that the rest of the movie lived up to such a word.

This was the man that Phoenix had the pleasure of working with and although a part of him was excited, an immense sense of pressure ruined it. Miles Edgeworth was a man who had years of experience under his belt in comparison to himself. That fact in itself was enough to make the butterflies in his stomach awake from their slumber; he hadn’t felt this nervous in ages.

Phoenix glanced at the thick booklet of papers in his hand titled "No Time for Turnabouts: Script”, its thick blocky text staring back at him. With an unsteady sigh, he flipped it open to the first page. If Phoenix wanted to impress Miles Edgeworth at tomorrow’s pre-production meeting, there was only one thing he could do. If he couldn’t rely on his acting skills to impress him, the least he could do was come prepared to what he was about to walk into.

 October 6th, 10:00am

Global Studios: Dressing Room

“For the last time, must I act with such an incompetent rookie?” Miles looked at his manager, eyes narrowed fiercely in an attempt to assert his dissatisfaction at the current situation. “He’s not had any starring roles within the span of his career,” is what a quick IMDb search of the other’s peculiar name told the man. “In fact, I’ve never heard of him before.”

The girl sitting adjacent from him brought a dainty teacup to her lips, taking a sip of her tea before placing it back on its saucer with a cold clink, the cunningness of her eyes colliding with his own, “And like I have told you when you foolishly asked several foolish times before this, it is not within my control,” she shrugged, her mouth curling into a shit-eating grin, “You’ll just have to suck it up, little brother.”

Miles scoffed, but she had a point. It wasn’t his manager, Franziska Von Karma, hiring the cast for this movie, it was the director. This director was someone who he had worked with in the past and every single time, Miles had loved every single creative direction he had taken with the movie; as did the audience, each movie of his being met with positive reviews from viewers and film critics alike. Miles did not doubt his abilities and because of his positive reputation within the film industry, if he wanted to hire a rookie whose career only consisted of being an extra for a few scenes in a few big movies, all he could do was put his faith in him. However, just because he put his faith in him did not mean he approved.

He took a sip of his own tea, before he glanced at the expensive watch adorning his wrist. Today was their first proofreading of the script. There, Miles could finally see who this Phoenix Wright man was.

“Come now, you fool, or we’ll be late.” Franziska was already rolling up her whip in a neat circle and heading towards the door.

Miles put his tea cup down on the glass coffee table, moving his hands to fix his jabot as he stood up. Miles Edgeworth was a man with high standards, and whoever this Phoenix Wright was, Miles hoped he could meet his expectations.

 October 6th, 10:00am

Global Studios

Phoenix’s days couldn’t have been getting any better. The rookie actor was known for never being on time for anything—often receiving a scolding from Maya as a result—but just this once, he had managed to be punctual— if not a little early— for the one thing that mattered the most. He thanked god that he had the foresight to check whether or not he had set his alarm for A.M instead of P.M before he went to bed last night. Phoenix checked himself in the mirror once before he left the house; donning a plain white dress shirt and navy blue slacks. He adjusted the tie around his neck, the last thing he wanted to do was make a bad impression. Giving himself one final hurrah, encouraging himself in the mirror with “you can do this”, and “you got this”, he left his small flat with his head held high.

However, at this point in time, the closer he got to the time of the pre-production meeting, the more nervous he felt. He stood outside the meeting room, checking his wristwatch as he shifted in place from the heels of his feet to the balls of them.

“Nick!” Behind him, a set of hands placed themselves on his shoulder as a familiar energetic voice spooked him out of his nervousness, causing him almost to jump out of his skin. “Are you nervous?”

Phoenix peered over his left shoulder, unsurprised at who it was. It was Maya, who decided to meet him at the studio. If Phoenix had to go in there alone when his agent was perfectly capable of accompanying him, he would curse her to hell and back.

He clutched his chest, heart beating rapidly in his ears. Then, he relaxed and exhaled an exasperated sigh as if this has happened one too many times, “You scared me, Maya!” He exclaimed. “How many times are you going to do this?”

Even if he used the fingers on both of his hands to count all of the times Maya has done this to him before an audition or anytime he was nervous for that matter, he couldn’t. Mainly because for one, he had been to several auditions in the past few years; and two, he didn’t keep track of how many times she did. He stopped counting after the fifth time when he knew it would become a regular occurence.

“Would it be bad if I said never?” Maya giggled.

Phoenix sighed again, “I figured as much…”

“I’m sorry, Nick! It’s just so funny every single time. Remember that time before that one audition when I scared you so bad you spilled your cup of water all over yourself and it looked like you peed your pants-“

Before Maya could say anymore, Phoenix covered her mouth with his hand, wrenching it back in disgust after he felt something wet against his palm. Maya stuck out her tongue and grinned  childishly as Phoenix furiously wiped his hand against his pant leg. He exhaled, “If I asked you to let that go, I’d get the same answer as before, wouldn’t I?” At this point, defeat would be the only option to settle for.

She put her hands together like she always did and with a big smile on her face, she nodded, “You know me so well.”

The two of them continued their friendly banter, most of which consisted of bringing up terribly embarrassing events that had happened to them in the past in an attempt to embarrass the other. This calmed Phoenix’s nerves immensely; Maya always knew how to calm him down despite always scaring him half out of his wits.

“Are you nervous?” She asked, shifting the topic of conversation to something more relevant than reminiscing on their past embarrassments.

The question was like a reality slap, reawakening the butterflies he had thought he thoroughly rid himself of. “Of course, this is my first time ever getting something better than being an extra. A lot is riding on this, Maya.”

“It’s okay Nick!” She jabbed him lightly in the shoulder… Whatever her definition of “lightly” was. Phoenix rubbed his shoulder. That was definitely going to bruise over. “Just remember this, this is your big chance! Your break-through! Your primer!”

“I think you mean ‘premiere’...”

“All eyes will be on you! If you do great, then you’ll get more work!” She encouraged him, jumping to stand in front of him. She closed one of her eyes while she formed her fingers into a rectangular shape as if she were filming him. Even though it wasn’t a real camera, he still felt a little embarrassed, his cheeks flushing a light shade of pink. While he appreciated the sentiment, he knew where this was going.

“But…” He added on for her.

“But, if you mess up in your usual ‘Phoenix Wright Fashion’, then you can kiss your non-existent acting career goodbye!” She said in a type of pure adolescent innocence, putting her hands on her hips.

Phoenix shoved his face into his palm, “Thanks Maya…”  

“Any time.” She beamed at him, genuinely convinced that her words were words of encouragement instead of ones that felt like he had been stabbed in the heart.

Suddenly, as if something had caught in the corner of her eye, she looked down the hallway. “Psst, Nick!! Nick!!” She ecstatically whispered in a half-whisper-half-regular tone. “Is that Miles Edgeworth?!”

Phoenix followed her line of vision to the figure emerging from one of the many rooms down the hall. He knew that burgundy suit from anywhere, the feature that many people recognized him for. There was no one else in the world who could wear a suit that colour and could successfully pull it off, in Phoenix’s humble opinion.

The tall man stalked down the hallway accompanied by a shorter woman which Phoenix assumed to be his agent, Franziska von Karma. Although they weren’t close yet, he could feel the immense pressure in the air from the dignified aura that the two created. There was something intimidating about their aura, an elitist air that clearly separated the two individuals who were experienced in their field from the two weren’t-- almost as if it screamed ‘don’t talk to us’. Was that how it was around every famous actor?

“T-They’re coming closer to us! What do we do, Nick? Do we introduce ourselves?” Maya panicked, the words flying from her mouth at a mile per minute.

“Well, we are standing in front of the meeting room and from today on, he is our co-worker,” Phoenix whispered back to her, his tone more hushed than hers. “I think… I think we should greet them.” He suggested.

The two nodded as if they had come to an understanding by looking into each other’s eyes. Then, on the mental count of three that perfectly aligned with their arrival, Phoenix stiffly began, “Hi! I see we’ll be working together, Mr. Edgeworth. In that case, i-it’s nice to meet you!” He stuck out a hand, hoping the man would outstretch his own to shake it.

The man came to a stop and instead of getting a comforting smile and the handshake he desired, all Phoenix got was a piercing glare full of annoyance. “Mr. Wright,” he scoffed. “I would ask that you keep your interactions with me at a minimum and you do not waste my time by trying to talk to me.” With that, Edgeworth strode past him into the now open meeting room, his agent following behind him, smirking at Phoenix as she entered.

After recovering from the utter shock known as his first impression of the famous actor he had only seen on the big screen thus far, Phoenix turned to Maya, hoping that she would confirm that what just happened was just his mind’s cruel idea of a joke. Unfortunately, Maya nodded at him, confirming that what just happened was in fact not a figment of his imagination. For some reason, the famous Miles Edgeworth disliked the unknown rookie, Phoenix Wright.

‘What…’ Phoenix gulped. ‘What did I do..?!’

[youngbounty]

Five Reasons I Won’t Watch the Anime, But Will Watch the Movie

I don't have many good things to say about the Ace Attorney anime and have my reasons for why I refuse to watch it. Admittedly, I have watched a few clips here and there to see how its version of some, if not many, of my favorite scenes from the game compare. As expected, it continually disappoints. Had it been just Manfred Von Karma adopting Miles Edgeworth that I hated from the anime, I would've watched it regardless. Even during the days I was into Yu-Gi-Oh, I was still willing to watch the worst season of that show, Capsule Monsters, because it still felt like Yu-Gi-Oh no matter how poorly done it was. The same can be said for Ace Attorney. If it feels like Ace Attorney, I will watch it regardless.

The Ace Attorney anime did not give me the same type of excitement the game had. Much to my amazement, much of the reasons why I absolutely refuse to watch the anime version of Ace Attorney is the opposite reasons why I am more than excited to watch the live action movie adaptation. Even when watching some of the spoiler clips of the live action movie, including some of the changes made, gives me the joy and excitement I never got when watching the Ace Attorney anime. To understand this, I will give you my list of reasons for why I refuse to watch the Ace Attorney anime and how the live action Ace Attorney movie differs from those reasons.

Changes From the Game

In any medium, changes are necessary in order to fit the medium. The Danganronpa anime, for instance, makes certain necessary changes during the day breaks. Instead of seeing Makoto meeting with each character and being given their underwear, after unlocking five or three friendship events, it mostly cuts to important scenes. Of course, this does mean sacrificing what bond he's made to the other characters, but that sacrifice is necessary in order to keep the story going. Some scenes from the game are cut from the anime for timing purposes. The Ace Attorney anime doesn't do either of those things.

I have complained about the anime's change in having Miles Edgeworth be the adopted son of Manfred Von Karma, but that's just the tip of the ice berg of changes done in the anime. Other changes I've also seen will go from giving Miles a dog named Missile – who was actually Dick Gumshoe's dog in the game, to having Maya gain the bullet from Gregory by stealing it from Von Karma's office – because that is totally not illegal or destroys the sacrifice she made to gain that bullet in the game, to making Celeste Inpax Adrian's older sister – yeah, because that doesn't destroy the symbolism of Miles Edgeworth's suffering, to the biggest disappointment of no psyche-locks, aside from that tease in Farewell my Turnabout that felt like the creator was sticking their tongue at us. There are more stupid changes, besides these, but I'd rather not list them all.

There were changes in the anime that I did like, but they were mostly additions that broadened the story and most of it was from the first season. Come to find out, the first season of the anime was done by a different studio, while the second season changed studios. It's pretty clear that the first season at least was putting love and care into the show, whereas the second season felt more like a lazy cash grab with no real potential. I'm not asking for an anime adaptation of Ace Attorney to be by the books, but I am asking for heart and the anime didn't feel like there was any heart. I felt more love for the show in Yu-Gi-Oh Capsule Monsters and even The Last Airbender live action movie than I did with the Ace Attorney anime. Not to say there wasn't anyone working on the anime that weren't Ace Attorney fans, but the ones that did work their best were not the ones in charge of orchestrating the project. I will say the voice actors and those in charge of the music did put their heart into it.

The live movie adaptation of Phoenix Wright do have changes from the game, but unlike the anime adaptation, these changes do feel like necessary changes in comparison. One of the major changes in the live action movie is the setting of DL-6, which is the Evidence Room and not the elevator. Because the film was low budget, it's understandable why they may've had to change the setting. Also, it would be hard to film in a closed space. While Miles passing out makes little sense in the movie, it also can be left up for interpretation such as maybe the shock of thinking he shot his father by accident. Another change was having Gregory wear his trench coat from Miles Edgeworth Investigations 2, which I find to be an excellent Easter egg. Another change was how Phoenix Wright obtained the bullet shot in Gregory Edgeworth, that being from inside The Thinker clock/statue. While it belittled Maya's sacrifice in the anime, in this one, it creates a connection between Maya's and Edgeworth's trial that is necessary for the film adaptation. A film cannot work in the same way as a game, since a movie needs to follow a single plot line. It also doesn't sacrifice Maya's sacrifice, since the tasing scene is still in the film, but at a different location with different circumstances.

Not to say the film won't have any flaws, but it's clear there was more heart put into it based on the changes. It never tries to change the relationships between the characters from the game, make characters do things they normally wouldn't do in the game or give things that originally belonged to another character. The live action movie kept to the game as much as it could. Because of how much heart was put into the live action movie, I had thought it was a fan movie at first. Heck, there are scenes where we see Edgeworth stand from the Defendant's Bench to defend himself. Sure, the anime had that too, but not until the very end. Even then, it wasn't as good as the  live action movie, where Edgeworth is heavily involved and not just sitting in his bench twiddling his thumbs, while Phoenix is cross-examining a bird. Not to say the game had Edgeworth do anything until the end, but there weren't enough graphics to see him respond to anything. Anyone that does an anime or movie adaptation is expected to show more than what the game provides. When you compare the responses from the characters in the anime and the movie, it's clear the movie shows much more responses from the defendant and the entire gallery, while the anime does not.

As I said, changes are sometimes necessary when doing adaptations to other mediums and the movie's changes feel much more necessary, while the anime's changes feel aggrivating.

Semi Futuristic, Conducting Trials and Presenting Evidence

The anime adaptation has a very lazy way of showing us that Phoenix Wright takes place in a semi futuristic world with 2000's technology. It does this by... showing us technology we already have in this day and age? Imagine if someone were to make a Back to the Future reboot where Marty McFly goes to 2015 and instead of seeing a Utopian future full of jaw dropping technology and hover boards, we get technology we use today. Sounds kinda boring, doesn't it? Well, that's what the Ace Attorney anime feels like.

There's nothing amazing or uniquely different about the Ace Attorney anime that catches the viewer's eye. What I liked about the game was that it introduced us to certain kinds of tech that were amazing and made us feel we were in another world. We were introduced to new ways of development and magic. Fingerprint analysis could be used by common people, you could analyze pieces of evidence without touching it, you can record data in a court record before the police arrive and, because magic also exists in this world, people treated it as something that commonly happened. In the anime, we get to see screenshots of evidence on TV, have Phoenix handling evidence even though he's not allowed to do that and watching a not Utopian future that feels too much like the real world today. Yay.

The Ace Attorney live action movie not only makes it known that this is a semi futuristic world, but shows it to us. You have evidence in holographic screens the Defense or Prosecution can pull up and push to the person they're showing it to. When the Defense wins, holographic confetti is released toward the gallery, which I find much more satisfying than Gumshoe throwing it. This makes it to where the Defense doesn't have to handle evidence and present it much more efficiently. Because trials are expected to last no more than three days, you really feel the pressure from Phoenix Wright. It feels like something that exists only in this world and not ours.

What the live action movie did was something asked and expected by the fans. They want Ace Attorney to feel like a semi futuristic world. They want the trials to feel pleasant to look at. The anime did do a good job with adding some wind effects to the objections, but that was the only cool thing done. There wasn't anything fresh and new beyond that. Also, no psyche-locks, which I felt was one of the biggest disappointments. It felt like a missed opportunity with what the anime could do with the animation in using the magatama to break the psyche-locks. Well... that and showing Phoenix throwing his phone to Edgeworth in Farewell my Turnabout in animation. Co'mon, am I the only one that wants to see the epic phone throw in animation!?

Pet peeves aside, with what I've seen the live action movie provide with presenting evidence, I am looking forward to seeing what else they bring to the table. Perhaps hinting the magatama?

Easter Eggs

The anime showing Easter eggs or not is irrelevant, because I see non. I asked someone, who had only seen the Ace Attorney anime if Gregory is ever seen with Raymond Shields or have any discussions about IS-7. The answer was no. We get nothing out of IS-7.

The live action movie gives us Gregory with his trench coat he used when investigating IS-7. It gives us Apollo Justice's Objection song that is used at the end of Phoenix's Objection song. The movie ends with Farewell my Turnabout, letting us know it's not expecting a sequel, but tells us that Phoenix Wright does not end with Turnabout Goodbyes either. The live action movie makes it clear there is no sequel, but shows us there is more to look forward to. This is something I never got from the anime.

The anime only tells the story it wants to tell us and no more. Many people ask for an anime adaptation of Apollo Justice, but I don't want there to be one. There was a huge split in the game, so in order to do an anime adaptation, that would mean the creators will have to put love and heart into it. Unfortunately, I never got that from the anime. Not even a hint of what's to come or even the events of Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies or Spirit of Justice.

You want to talk about change, how about instead of Miles Edgeworth being adopted by Manfred Von Karma, he's adopted by Raymond Shields? Then, when Miles gets older, he leaves to work for Manfred Von Karma and we get a heartbreaking scene of Miles saying hurtful words to Raymond Shields. Heck, how about instead of Phoenix giving Miles a dog named Missile, it's named Pess. Not only would it be showing love for the show, but acknowledging the creator's idea for the character. Another change fans would love is Miles Edgeworth eating a swiss roll with Gumshoe and Kay in Turnabout Beginnings. Maybe have Phoenix read a Newspaper about Miles Edgeworth revealing the Yatagaratsu to being Calisto Yew.

Again, going back to Yu-Gi-Oh Capsule Monsters, the idea 4Kids came up with was based on a game introduced in the manga. While the monsters were replaced by Dual Monsters, the game play was still the same. It may've been the worst season, but it at least was aware of what the fans wanted and looked forward to. The same can be said for The Last Airbender live action movie. Granted, it sucked and the characters were blander than a cardboard box, but it at least kept story and characters consistent with little to no changes in the flow of the plot and characters. I never got that from the anime.

I will admit, I liked how the creators did base many of the expressions from the sprites, but it felt like that these additions were from a simple google search. You can find sprites of the characters. You can also search on wiki for the summery of the game play and walk through. Again, the first season did feel like they were trying to follow the plot and characters, while giving the fans what they wanted. Though, afterwards, the animation and everything just stood on a straight line instead of improving.

If I had to choose, I will always be thrilled to watch an adaptation that feels like it was made with love and care by fans and for fans.

Cheap and lazy

The anime is lazy with its animation and what they can do with it. There was a clip of when Godot threw his coffee at Phoenix, then we see it magically disappear in the next scene. There were some people that thought I was nitpicking when I complained about it, but it had nothing to do with realism. It was because it was lazy. I would have preferred Phoenix turning the coffee into a rope and whipping Godot than using cheap tricks like that. That's aside from the fact that the animation feels cheap when compared to the game.

I know that with animated series, it is treated differently than a cartoon movie, because it's continual, but that's not an excuse when you consider what the live action movie did on a low budget. Cheap and lazy is different from low budget film. Despite being on low budget, the live action movie worked their hardest to make the movie as exciting as possible. Sure, there were goofy moments, but they were done for comedic effects to distract us from the dark elements. The characters showed much stronger emotions when compared to the anime adaptation.

Now, Maya's character in the film was one thing that felt like a fail and I would agree with that, but the rest of the characters showed such strong emotions that worked naturally off each other. Just from the trailer alone, I could see that the actress that played Maya tried her hardest to put so much emotion into her character that lost her sister and dealt with the hardships of a spirit medium. Phoenix Wright deals with the pressure of being a Defense Attorney and shows the emotions of losing his mentor, then is about to lose his best friend he worked so hard to become a Defense Attorney to save. You see the intense emotion and pressure with being accused of murder by his own mentor he worshiped like a god. Again, there's a reason why I thought this film was fan made.

The intense emotion shown in the live action movie reminded me of a stage play done at an Anime Con on Farewell my Turnabout where Phoenix is talking with Shelly De Killer. There's a moment he has with Edgeworth where he is in tears, because of Maya's situation, then hearing words of wisdom from his friend to not give up. That tugs my heartstrings and just watching the trailer of the live action movie did the same to me. Seeing Phoenix watching the ghost of his former mentor pulled on my heartstrings compared to the anime's version of it. Also, no I did not watch the live action's scene of Maya's ghost before the anime's; it was the other way around. Seeing Phoenix in the live action version looking like he's about to cry and struggling not to is much more heartbreaking than watching the anime's Phoenix on the ground in the middle of the courtroom doing the same thing and looking like a fool.

When you see a low budget movie touching hearts by doing their very best with what they have, it shows they're not just showing cheap tricks. I feel the anime could've done much more instead of using cheap tricks. Going back to my no psyche-locks complaint, when you have a two second scene of psyche-locks breaking in an imagery that shows more dimension than the game, it feels more like a middle finger than an Easter Egg. I don't want to see cheap parlor tricks, I want to see the best freakin' adaptation to a beloved game the world has ever seen.

Love VS Money

As I have stated, I do believe that the Ace Attorney anime was originally planned by those that genuinely loved the game. Many of the ideas placed into it like the Signal Samurai and giving Edgeworth a dog feels like something brought by a genuine fan. Though, at some point, the anime lost its way and it makes me wish it was like the Danganronpa anime and just stuck to one season. That being said, I don't think it was full of people that didn't care about Ace Attorney. There were certainly fans of the game in the development team, but there were those that I suspect cared more for money than love for the franchise.

The live action movie felt like it was done by fans. Even those that didn't know the game seemed excited about working on this project. I'm not going to say that people that work on a good movie adaptation are going to be full of fans, but it needs to be driven by fans. It's not going to feel genuine otherwise. The Ace Attorney anime didn't feel genuine and perhaps it's because Season 2 was done by a different studio.

Think of it this way, what if there was a trailer of a live action adaptation of Yu-Gi-Oh? Wouldn't you want to see holographic images projecting from a duel disk or watching the characters going inside a holographic box that projects different climates or environments with monsters that look realistic and 3D looking? What if instead of that, you got TV screenshots of the play cards and monsters in 2D pixels fighting and defeating each other as if you were at a Yu-Gi-Oh game Anime Con? Wouldn't that be disappointing?

I think you guys get the idea. In any anime adaptation of a game, I expect it to feel like it came straight out of the game itself. That's what the live adaptation of Ace Attorney feels like. It feels like they took the game out of its cartridge and placed it in the real world. Sure, there are changes, but they don't feel like a disappointment or  missed opportunity. The Ace Attorney anime feel like there were too many missed opportunities and changes no one asked for.

In any case, I look forward to watching the live adaptation of Ace Attorney, because it feels genuine, it feels like the kind of movie I looked forward to as a fan. When I finished the trilogy, I remember nagging about how Ace Attorney would be the perfect movie for Hollywood to adapt to live action, because there wouldn't be many scenes to shoot and the only chapter of the game to focus is Turnabout Goodbyes. If they want to go farther, then Turnabout Sisters and Turnabout Goodbyes with the other ones brushed to the side. Apparently, I wasn't the only one asking for this, because the live action movie did exactly that.

If there is any chance to give Ace Attorney another chance for a live action adaptation, I'd like there to be little to no changes and to give something to the fans that they look forward to.

[pitviperofdoom]

AA daemon ficlets are just really comforting and fun to write. So here’s another!

Maya’s POV is really weird to write because she’s a 170-year-old witch so like she’s still Maya but she also says dope shit sometimes.

---

The glass between them frustrates her.

It seems to Maya that whenever they talk face to face, there is either glass between them or the threat of glass hanging over their heads. And now she is free but the glass remains, because he has taken her place in that cage.

Because Redd White has put him there.

Aunt Morgan often speaks longingly of the old days, days that Maya is too young to remember well—when a witch could slay a man for an insult and no one batted an eye, much less put her on trial for it. Normally her aunt’s bitter words make her uncomfortable, as they once nettled Mia, but now…

Now part of her wishes she could turn back time two hundred years, just so she could put an arrow in Redd White’s heart herself. For Mother, for Mia, for herself, and now for Phoenix Wright.

He puts on a brave face for her benefit, his smile bright and reassuring even though it has to hurt, with his face bruised and ugly scratches across his nose and one cheek. The smile and the marks are nearly enough to blind her to the darkness beneath his eyes. But even if she couldn’t read his face, his dӕmon is too big to hide.

Mother knew how to read dӕmons, including human ones, because as queen it was a useful skill. She taught Mia before she disappeared. Now she’s gone and Aunt Morgan says humans aren’t worth their time, so it was left to Mia to pass on what she knew to Maya. Dogs are expressive dӕmons, she’s found, and Wright’s Dawn looks like she’s been caged for days, not mere hours. Her head is low, her tail between her legs, and her white fur is ragged and unkempt.

“Please tell me there’s something I can do,” she says. “You need evidence, don’t you? I’m not a lawyer, or a detective, but I am a witch. If there’s somewhere I need to search, or retrieve something, or question people—well, most people don’t say no to witches.”

“No,” he says firmly. “No, don’t do any of that. That’s what got me in here, and it’s what got your sister killed.” Maya swallows her anger and grief at the reminder. “Besides, I know a few things about White that I didn't before, and that’s what tomorrow will be about. He’s going to ‘prove’ me guilty by going up on the witness stand and lying. All I have to do is pick apart his lies until the whole story falls apart. Hopefully, I’ll get him to crack that way.”

Maya nods. She knows about that part of human legal customs, because Mia told her about it. It was one of her sister’s secrets to success. But it doesn’t feel like enough. “Isn’t there anything I can do?”

“Cheer us on tomorrow, I guess,” Dawn replies.

“I can do that!” she says eagerly, almost too eagerly. Aunt Morgan would be appalled at the display. “I can stand beside you in court, can’t I? Now that I’m not a prisoner anymore?”

He blinks at her, surprised. “W-well, I guess? You could act as my co-counsel, but…”

“I’ll do it,” she says fiercely. “You stood with me when no one else would, and you sacrificed your own freedom to give me mine. This is the least I can do for you, short of killing Redd White with my own hands.”

One of the officers shifts uncomfortably, and Wright splutters. “Okay, definitely don’t do that,” he says. “Because then you actually would be guilty of murder, and there’s not much I could do about that.”

“I won’t,” she says, offering a reassuring smile. “I don’t want to make this any harder for you. Even if I do think it would make things easier…” Wright gives her a pained look. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding. I’ll stand with you in court tomorrow, and maybe I can find a way to support you properly.”

“It’ll be fine.” Phoenix smiles again, wincing when it bothers his bruises. “Trust me.”

She wants to believe him, she really does. But Dawn’s tail is still between her legs, and the fear shines through in their eyes. There is no promise of victory, only tenuous hope.

Maya returns to her sister’s office that day, because there is little else that she can do but wait. As she approaches the building, she comes across a familiar face leaving it. In an instant she is wary, because the first thing he did upon meeting her was arrest her, and now that she’s free, she isn’t sure where that leaves them.

“Um... hello, Detective,” she says, and he startles like a big, ungainly rabbit.

“Oh! Y-yeah, hello, uh, Miss Witch! Detective Dick Gumshoe, at your service!” He stands rigidly before her, wide-eyed. At his feet, his pit bull dӕmon pants nervously and tries in vain to tuck her stubby tail.

“Can I go in?” she asks. “I won’t disturb anything, if you’re still looking…”

“By all means, Miss Witch! Don’t worry about disturbing anything, we’re finished here and the crime scene’s been cleaned up!” He shuffles out of her way, and she realizes that he’s afraid of her. And why wouldn’t he be? He accused her of her sister’s murder. A little over a century ago, that would have earned him an immediate arrow through the heart.

“It’s Maya,” she says, taking pity on him. “Maya Fey. Thank you.”

“No problem, Miss Fey! Sorry for yesterday, just doing my job, very glad to see you’ve been released! Have a nice day, ma’am! C’mon, Bobbie, let’s go.”

He and his dӕmon make a hasty retreat. Maya watches them go, then walks into her sister’s office. She sits down by the window where Mia’s body lay, and doesn’t move until her legs are stiff and achy, and the sunset casts long shadows throughout the room.

There’s a plant in the corner, still green and healthy, but the soil is dry to the touch. While she waters it, Zech flies to the desk to have a look at the computer. The distance tugs at their bond—another reminder of the ritual they haven’t completed, and that Mia won’t be there when they do.

When she’s satisfied with the plant’s condition, Maya goes to her dӕmon’s side to find the computer on and Zech scrolling through it. “What are you doing?”

“Just trying to answer an earlier question,” he tells her. “Since Phoenix already knows about Redd White, and we know that White’s dӕmon is—”

“A water moccasin,” Maya says. “Also known as a cottonmouth. I remember what Mia said.” On the screen, an encyclopedia article on the Felidae family slowly loads.

“I figured that was self-explanatory,” Zech says dryly. “So I thought it might be helpful to glean what we could from Mr. Edgeworth’s dӕmon. Starting with what she is. Maybe it'll give Phoenix an edge.”

“Makes sense.” Maya sits down in her sister’s chair, doing her very best not to think of it that way. “Let’s see what we can find.”

And they do. It doesn’t take them nearly as long as Maya feared, and she shares a triumphant look with Zech before sitting back and turning the machine off.

“Well, that’s interesting,” Zech says, feathers ruffling eagerly. “And rare, isn’t it?”

“Among humans, yes,” Maya replies, tickling his ruff feathers. “Almost unheard of, with witches.”

“Obviously.”

She’s not sure if it will help. But Mia says that court is a battle fought with information, and if Maya cannot fight with Phoenix tomorrow, then the least she can do is arm him.

Phoenix looks worse, somehow. He doesn’t look like he’s slept much, and beneath his battered smile, Maya can see that he’s scared. Dawn hardly looks any better. Her fur is still poorly groomed, her tail droops, and she presses close to her human like she’s afraid they’ll be separated.

“I’m fine,” he assures Maya when she asks. “I mean, if you think about it, however this trial ends up, I did what I said I’d do. Win or lose, you’re still innocent.”

She scowls, even though Aunt Morgan has always told her that it makes her look childish. “That’s not good enough,” she argues. “You’re innocent, too.”

“I know. And you know that, too. That’s what matters right now.”

“When this is over, everyone else will know it,” she reminds him.

She’s not sure how to describe the way his face softens at that. For the first time since yesterday, his dӕmon’s tail gives a tentative wag. “Thank you,” Dawn says softly.

“I’ve hardly done anything,” Maya answers, a little flustered.

“No, really,” Phoenix says. “You… it means a lot that you’re standing with me. With us. It really does. It’s just, we know what it’s like to have everyone against you but one person, and—” He hesitates. “I guess… thanks for being that one person, this time.”

“We haven’t done anything you didn’t do for us,” Maya reminds him.

The moment ends when Dawn goes rigid, and Zech lets out a warning croak, and Maya turns to find Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth approaching them, with his long-legged cat dӕmon stalking at his heels. This time, her hunter eyes pass over Maya and Zech to settle upon Dawn instead. Edgeworth’s eyes are likewise on Phoenix. Maya may as well not even be there.

“Wright,” Edgeworth says coolly.

“Edgeworth.”

Are lawyers always like this? If they were witches, the spells would already be flying. Human justice is a strange thing, if those who uphold it are at war with one another.

“I received a call from the Chief Prosecutor today,” Edgeworth says. He is straight-backed and composed as he speaks, his voice calm and conversational. At his feet, his dӕmon’s tail flicks from side to side, and her claws slide from their sheathes. Steady, serene, and ready to pounce.

“Did you?” Phoenix asks. He’s not quite as good at sounding calm.

“Apparently, anything that the witness says on the stand today is to be taken as the absolute truth,” Edgeworth goes on. “And the judge’s verdict will agree with it.”

“The judge, too?” Dawn yelps, pawing at the ground. Phoenix curls his hand into her bristling fur, either a calming gesture or a warning one.

Edgeworth ignores her. “I’ve been assured that any objection I make will be sustained, and any evidence I present will be accepted without question.”

Dawn starts forward, pulling against her human’s grip. “And you’re just fine with that, are you?” she growls.

“Dawn,” Phoenix warns her, tightening his fingers in her fur.

She pulls herself free to round on him, teeth bared. “Phoenix, the entire court is in White’s pocket and he’s telling us to our faces, I can’t just—”

“Save it for the courtroom,” he tells her shortly. His eyes haven’t left Edgeworth.

The prosecutor finally deigns to look at Dawn, if only for a moment. “I suggest you keep better control of your dӕmon, Wright. For an outburst like that, you’d be held in contempt. Though I suppose that would save everyone else a great deal of time.”

Phoenix shifts, in such a way that it’s almost a flinch. “So you’re saying I’m guilty, then,” he says, his voice tight. “End of story?”

“I’ll do whatever is necessary to obtain a guilty verdict.”

Maya sees red.

“How dare you.” He may be a head and a half taller than she is, but she is almost one hundred and fifty years older, and still young enough for her grief to boil over into fury. “Just yesterday you were convinced that I was guilty! Have you changed your mind so easily?” She feels Zech’s claws dig into her shoulder. “I’ll bet you don’t even have a shred of evidence that Phoenix is guilty! All you did was listen to that man’s lies and decide that your job was done!” Her eyes blaze. “Do you even care about finding my sister’s murderer, or would you rather cage another innocent and tell yourself it’s victory?”

The cat hisses at their feet, and Zech rasps out an answering challenge.

Edgeworth’s expression darkens, but he doesn’t back away. “Innocent? Can you even say for certain that he is? Or that anyone is?” His eyes return to Phoenix. “Criminals lie to escape justice, and they slip through the cracks thanks to cheap tactics like the ones I’ve seen you employ. All I can hope to do is have every defendant declared guilty.”

Phoenix holds his gaze for a moment longer, while Dawn growls and Maya swallows another furious outburst. But when Phoenix speaks, there is no anger, only sadness. “You’ve really changed, haven’t you, Edgeworth?”

In an instant, Maya’s rage plunges into ice-cold water. She looks to Phoenix in shock, and sees the answer to her question written all over his face.

It’s more than just the animosity between opposite sides of a conflict. There’s history there. As cold and aloof as Edgeworth holds himself, there is something deeply personal in this.

“…Don’t expect any special treatment,” Edgeworth says, and turns to go. His dӕmon glares balefully at them before turning to follow. The time for parley is over, it seems.

Except, it’s not.

Dawn steps forward. Her voice, laced with a growl, echoes in the lobby. “Thea.”

Halfway across the room, the cat dӕmon freezes. Edgeworth pauses as well, turning back to urge his dӕmon onward.

“Dawn,” Phoenix murmurs, but she doesn’t listen to him. She steps forward as far as their bond will allow, standing tall with her tail held high for the first time since Maya saw them in detention yesterday.

“Come on, Thea. This is wrong and you know it.”

“The only thing I know,” the cat replies calmly, “is that you are the defendant, and that makes it our job to find you guilty.”

“You’re being played,” Dawn growls. “I know you’re not in his pocket too, but you have to see that!”

“I don’t have to listen to this.” The cat takes another step toward her human.

“What happened to you and Miles?” Dawn demands. “Don’t you see what you’re doing?”

Edgeworth's face turns thunderous. The cat’s tall ears turn back, flat against her head, and she whirls around and storms back to face Dawn with a snarl. “What did you expect, Dawn?” she spits. “That we would throw away everything we’ve worked for, for—what?” Her lip curls back scornfully. “Childish sentiment?”

Dawn’s tail drops, and her white coat bristles with fury. When she finally speaks again, her voice is harsh with disappointment. “It’s not about sentiment, Alethea. I just thought you were smarter than this.”

Maya can almost hear the cat dӕmon’s claws scrape against the tile. Without another word, she whips around and stalks after Edgeworth.

Beside her, Phoenix’s hands shake. They don’t still until his dӕmon is within reach again, offering her fluffy coat to curl his fingers into.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I’m sorry, I just—”

“I know.”

“I couldn’t just—I had to say something—”

“I know.” Phoenix straightens up, his face set. “We’d better go in.”

This is their last chance for a private word. Maya catches him by the sleeve before he makes it to the door. “She’s a hybrid.”

He looks at her, confused. “What?”

“There’s a breed of cat called the Savannah,” she explains. “Though, it’s not really a breed in the truest sense. It’s made by crossing a domestic cat with a serval—that’s a wild cat from Africa.”

Her meaning dawns on him, and his eyes widen.

“I’m not sure if it helps,” she says. “Maybe it doesn’t. But hybrid dӕmons are said to indicate some kind of… split. A contradiction or duality in the soul.” She squeezes his arm in what she hopes is a reassuring way. “So, you could be right about him. He’s a hunter either way, but he may be more conflicted with himself than he lets on.”

The hope in his eyes is nearly enough to make her cry.

[bindingties]

Pawn

(( dunno what to say it’s like midnight & im out here posting fics i made of my own aus bc yes ))

“Prosecutor Gavin?”

Klavier jumped, barely avoiding dropping all of his files with the movement.  Still, he managed to turn and flash Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth an easy-going smile.  “I didn’t hear you come up.  What can I help you with, Herr Chief?”

Edgeworth frowned. “Would you mind coming to my office?” Klavier felt a bead of cold sweat roll down his back, but the smile did not falter as he nodded.

“Of course, just let me set these files down first, ja?”

---

For having the entire back wall be windows, the Chief Prosecutor’s office managed to be incredibly oppressive.  The rich, dark wood and subdued magenta tones of the furniture devoured the midday sun. He spotted a chessboard across the room and seeing the way those magenta pieces surrounded the blue one, paired with the pawn statue nearby, made him feel hunted, trapped.

Despite his discomfort, his eyes lingered on that blue piece.  It had a spikey quality to it and reminded him of….

“Please take a seat, Prosecutor Gavin.”

Klavier flashed a smile, mentally keeping hold of the spikey pawn for later, and sat down.  “How may I help you, Herr Chief?”

Edgeworth sighed and took a seat of his own.  The sense of being cornered grew; this felt like the interrogation room and Klavier wasn’t terribly keen about being the one getting interrogated.

“Have you been feeling well?”

A melodious laugh cut through the tense air as Klavier waved the concern off with a gentle flick of his wrist.  “Of course!” His brow furrowed with innocent concern despite the knot taking root in his stomach.  “Do I not seem alright?  Have I made a mistake somewhere?”

Edgeworth shook his head. “No, but I talked with Wright the other day.”  As Wright’s name left Edgeworth’s lips, so too did the blood drain from Klavier’s face.  He saw Edgeworth take note of the change with a slight, decisive nod.  “He mentioned the scene you made in the courthouse and I have noticed that you’ve been stressed and on edge ever since.”

Something in Edgeworth’s eyes grew sharper, not fully accusatory, but probing all the same. “Additionally, you have been accessing many of the files on Wright’s old cases.  I am, let’s say, curious about this string of odd behavior.”

Klavier swallowed, mind whirring to think of a suitable lie.  “I…”  He pointedly cut his gaze away.  “Hearing that Herr Wright was moving to get his badge back and seeing him in a new suit just….”  His stomach twisted and he had to fight down bile as he remembered that impostor standing beside Herr Forehead like he belonged there.

“It brought back memories of both the Gramarye and Misham trials.  I was reminded of how badly I screwed up and… And I guess I wanted to finally learn about the man whose life I ruined.  Finally do the due diligence I should have done when Kris had first come to me speaking on Herr Wright’s character, ja?”

He finally looked back toward Edgeworth, halfway bracing to be called out on his lie.  Instead, his boss’s face had softened the slightest bit.

“It’s not your fault what happened to Wright.  I know it’s easier said than done, but you cannot torture yourself over what you think you should’ve done or agonize over what hindsight shows clearly now.” Klavier couldn’t help but recall his conversation with Lana Skye and found himself wondering if he could make Edgeworth hate him as quickly as he had made her.

No.  Edgeworth might already secretly resent him, but there was no reason to give him an excuse to be more blatant or even fire him.  He needed the access to official records that this job provided.  He needed the way it instantly opened doors, gave him ample reason to be just about anywhere he wanted to be.

So, he sighed, sheepishly smiling.  “I just… it’s hard not to fixate on, to worry about, ja?  But I’ll keep your advice in mind, of course.”

Edgeworth nodded, the corners of his mouth crooking upwards.  But then they fell, and his expression grew somber again.  Klavier felt the oppression of the room grow even stronger.

“But there was one thing that is concerning me.  I decided to speak with Mr. Justice on the matter as you two are somewhat close and he said that you kept going on about Wright being, well, not actually Wright.” There was no question posed; Klavier got the sneaking suspicion that Edgeworth wasn’t sure what question to ask.

On the other hand, Klavier wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond to that.  It wasn’t as if he could deny it, not with Herr Forehead’s words against his own.  How was he supposed to rationalize his reaction when there was nothing rational about the situation that they were all in?

They both became shrouded in a damning silence.

Eventually, though, Edgeworth sighed.  “This is not an order, Prosecutor Gavin, I want to tell you that first.  However, I would recommend seeing a professional. I know you had been put on leave following Vera Misham’s trial, but you immediately went back into the deep end of work once you were cleared to return to the office and haven’t taken a vacation since.  Perhaps you ought to take some time off, see if you can find someone to help manage your stress and how you feel about the events surrounding the Misham trial.”

Klavier smiled, though he knew he would not be heeding that advice and the way Edgeworth bit back another sigh suggested that he knew as much too.

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer.  Please just keep what I’ve said in mind, alright?”

Klavier nodded and stood, making his way to the door.  As he did, he spared one last glance at the chessboard.  “That’s an interesting chess set, Herr Chief.”

Edgeworth chuckled, pink dusting his cheeks.  “It is a custom set; a bit garish now that I think on it; it’s a bit arrogant to represent yourself in your own chess pieces.”

“Nothing wrong with having items to match your aesthetic, ja?”  Klavier assured, lightly flicking his thumb on his chain belt.  “But you don’t seem very blue or spikey; do those pieces represent someone else?”

The pink got a little bit deeper.  “Ah, just an old friend.”

Klavier paused; it had to be Wright.  Who else had hair like that with a blue palette?  Better play along with this worldwide lie for now, though, lest he end up with mandatory psychological leave and therapy sessions.  “Ach, I was hoping for gossip, but I don’t know any spikey-haired people in blue.”

An odd expression passed over Edgeworth’s face at that, but as soon as it was there, it vanished.  He shooed Klavier off with a put-upon sigh. “You’re dismissed, Prosecutor Gavin.  Take care of yourself.”

Klavier nodded and walked out, feeling the slightest bit more grounded in his pursuit.

[elderstiefel]

A Night to Forget - Miles Edgeworth x Phoenix Wright

Read also on AO3! Leave a comment & kudos if you want!

Summary :  Closeted gay man Miles Edgeworth decides to step out of his comfort zone for a night out on the town. But it all comes crumbling down when he bumps into a familiar face

The chain of events that led Miles Edgeworth to be standing in the middle of a gay club on a Saturday night was an interesting yet all too familiar one.

It started with the usual stress. Many sleepless nights mulling over cases; falling asleep on the office couch and waking up as the sun peeked through the blinds, ringing in another day of work. Rinse and repeat.

Stress can make you do some interesting things, many of which Miles thought he was immune to. Though he had come close to ripping his hair out from the root or throwing an expensive brandy glass against the wall, he always seemed to manage to calm himself down and be rational.

Managing the usual work-related stress was something that was second nature to him.

The stress of being a 25-year-old closeted gay man in the city with no time to do anything was something he was still trying to figure out.

It didn’t help when his two worlds collided, and he had to spend the day staring the stupidly handsome and annoyingly persistent Phoenix Wright in the face during a court session.

He convinced himself that his crush on Wright was brought about by the two sides of himself battling it out in his mind; his suave professional persona and the scared gay boy in the closet who just wanted to come out and have some fun.

Besides, he couldn’t seriously have feelings for Phoenix Wright. They were natural enemies. Wright was so annoying…brilliant, but annoying.

Going out on the town was one of those things way out of Miles’ comfort zone. He was rightfully accused of “not getting out much” but God, he didn’t think he was that terminal. It took a quick swig of vodka and a 20-minute pep talk to get him out the door.

He felt rather…sexy in his tight-fitting grey sweater and even tighter fitting burgundy pants. Not uncomfortably tight, more like made to fit his body just so. There was something about the way his clothes were tailored that made him irresistible to look at…or so he’d been told. He wasn’t planning on bringing anyone home tonight but he knew he definitely could if the opportunity came about.

This night spending too much money on drinks and pretending to know how to dance to popular songs was supposed to help him blow off steam. Let loose a little bit. God knows he didn’t have any opportunity while living in a Von Karma household, but being a grown man with a more than adequate income and one free night to himself, he wasn’t going to pass it up.

Forget the cases. Forget the court. Forget Manfred Von Karma. Forget that stupid Phoenix Wright. To hell with it. Tonight was his night.

Or so he thought.

He felt a vein pop in his neck when he spotted Phoenix Wright, dressed in a shirt and jeans that were impossibly tight, sitting at the end of the bar. He was wearing that stupid dorky grin on his face, and his stupid giggle as he cracked a joke with the bartender could be heard over the music. And My God, he looks so stupidly gorgeous-

It wasn’t until Phoenix was offering up an awkward wave that Miles realized his cover had been blown. Blown to absolute fucking smithereens.

It wasn’t like Miles could pretend he hadn’t seen Phoenix. He was still staring at him, wide-eyed, his feet glued to the club floor like a deer caught in the headlights of a semi-truck.

He couldn’t run, at least not that far. Sure the club was crowded but the shock of grey hair scrambling away would be easy to track down in the crowd.

The thump thump thump of the music turned into a dull buzz in the back of Edgeworth’s head as he tried to plan his escape. Panic made his vision go blurry, but he was quickly brought back from the void when that familiar voice called out to him.

“Miles? Hey, Miles!”

He was absolutely appalled by the greeting, his hands flying up to cover his mouth as if he was about to be sick.

Don’t scream my name in here you moron, I can’t be spotted in here, don’t act like this is so fucking casual why the fuck are you here-

“Edgeworth, are you alright?”

As soon as he noticed Phoenix had left his chair and oh fuck he’s coming this way, his feet finally let him move to hightail it out the door.

He didn’t create any scene at all, but Miles’ anxiety made it feel like every eye in the room was on him as he crashed out the door.

Everyone knows. Everyone saw me. Miles Edgeworth, the demon prosecutor, also a massive queer.

He held his head in his hands and tried to catch his breath in the alley beside the club. The dull thumping of the music bled through the brick wall he leaned up against.

Strings of words repeated over and over in his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe but the words grew louder and louder. That voice…

Von Karma might be on death row but his words would forever live on in Miles’ head.

Failure. Queer. Pansy. Degenerate.

“…Miles?”

He jumped when a warm hand rested on his shoulder. He peeked up through his fingers at Phoenix, who wore an expression that was the perfect mix of awkward and sympathetic.

As much as he hated being seen like this, especially by someone like Wright, he couldn’t find the strength to straighten his posture and make eye contact. His eyes remained pasted on the concrete.

“… Wright. I-”

“Didn’t expect to see me here? I could say the same thing to you.” Phoenix offered a warm smile, one that persisted he was being genuine and not trying to poke fun.

“…please don’t-”

“Miles, trust me…I won’t tell anyone. Not even Maya, when she starts pestering the life outta me, asking where I’ve been. If you don’t want anyone to know…I get it.”

Miles’ eyes darted up to Phoenix for a brief moment, and he felt a jolt in his stomach that sent his eyes flying back to the ground.

Bracing himself on the brick wall, Miles straightened his back and cleared his throat as if nothing was wrong and he didn’t just have a near mental collapse in front of his work rival.

“I just…I found myself free this evening. And this- it’s not something I usually enjoy but-”

“You don’t have to explain it to me, I get it. Work is, uh…it’s a bitch! Let’s be honest.” Phoenix chuckled, reaching to scratch the back of his head.

Miles hated himself for noticing the fabric of Phoenix’s shirt stretch over his chest and how the sleeves strained at the biceps.

Miles crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat once again as if that would help him assert himself in this situation.

“I didn’t know you were gay.” He said bluntly, his eyes darting back and forth between Phoenix and the wall in front of him.

“Yeah, well… being gay is one thing. Being a lawyer is another. I think I do a good job of keeping my personal and professional life separate. But…damn, being a gay lawyer, there isn’t time to do anything!” Phoenix threw his hands up in exaggerated exasperation, offering another chuckle that Miles warmly responded to.

“You’ve got that right…” Miles felt just the tiniest bit more comfortable, much to his surprise. Because God, this was awkward. He knew the working relationship he and Phoenix had would be forever changed but for some reason…he didn’t give two shits. Something about Phoenix’s openness made all the shame melt away.

“But when you’ve got time…you might as well use it.” Phoenix slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. “And being a lonely gay in the club can be intimidating…”

“What are you implying, Wright?”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

____________________

Miles didn’t know what came over him, but he found himself, sitting next to Phoenix Wright of all people, at a gay bar, sipping on a $14 drink.

And it wasn’t his first $14 drink either. Phoenix started out getting them some cocktails that came with little paper umbrellas and candied fruit.

Experience tells us that these drinks are the most dangerous because they sneak up on you.

Miles twiddled the tiny paper umbrella between his fingers and sighed a bit more wantonly than he would ever care to admit.

“So…I never really came out to Von Karma, God knows I couldn’t. I thought I hid it pretty well but…he found my diary and…”

“Damn…I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how he reacted.” Phoenix rested his cheek in his hand and downed the rest of his drink.

Miles shivered a little bit as the memory flashed through his mind. “It wasn’t my proudest moment. I like to think everything he put me through shaped me into a better man but that was…terrifying. I thought he would send me away or…worse. All for writing about sneaking a kiss with a boy during lunchtime.”

Phoenix moved in a little closer to Miles. He could tell Miles needed a shift from cold memories to more awkward and funny ones. He wanted to see him smile.

“My parents never really suspected, y'know…I went through law school, and I never really had time to experiment or date. I had a few girlfriends in grad school but uh…well.” Phoenix gestured to the club around him. “You can imagine why those didn’t work out.”

Miles smirked and chuckled to himself, thankful for the change of subject. “Ah, the first girlfriends…I remember mine. Lovely girl.”

“Nice tits?”

“Oh, the nicest. And such a… curvy, womanly behind.” Miles tried his best to match Phoenix’s vulgarity.

They both snickered and simultaneously reached for their glasses, only to realize they were both empty.

“Ah, well…I’m outta cash.” Phoenix patted his pockets with a sad sigh.

“I’ll get the next round, pick your poison.” Miles reached for his wallet and pulled out $40 cash. Phoenix gasped and crossed his arms in such a childish way it almost made Miles lose it.

“Damn, Mr. Prosecutor came loaded! Why was I paying this whole time?!”

Miles let out a laugh that would certainly be deemed ungentlemanly and Phoenix melted a little in his seat.

“You offered the first drink. And you got so tipsy you just kept going.”

“What can I say, I can’t help but buy a handsome man a drink. Or two. Or four.”

Both of them felt the same flush in their cheeks, and they didn’t know if it was the alcohol or that they were both becoming aware of how much they shifted closer to each other during their conversation.

“Well…I can return the favor. I too enjoy splurging on handsome men.” Miles fiddled with his paper umbrella again, his eyes darting up to meet Phoenix’s.

The fruity drinks were certainly filling him with confidence, and he reached up and tucked the umbrella behind Phoenix’s ear, letting his fingers brush ever so gently across the skin of his neck on the way back.

The shiver that traveled through Phoenix was ungodlike and it nearly knocked him off his chair.

“I mean…maybe we could just take this back to your place? I know you have that good shit. The expensive stuff, aged for 40 years in an oak barrel and filtered through gold.”

Miles rolled his eyes and stuffed the cash back in his wallet. “It’s such a sophisticated drink, you can’t just down it like these subordinate cocktails.”

It wasn’t until Miles slipped his wallet back into his pocket that the reality of Phoenix’s question hit him like a ton of bricks.

He just asked to come home with me.

The next breath that left Miles’ lips was shaky. He glanced over at Phoenix, who was looking at his shoes and absentmindedly swirling the fruit in the bottom of his empty glass, staining it maraschino cherry red. He could tell he was just as nervous as he was.

“…it’s a bit of a walk.”

“It’s a nice night.”

____________________

Miles awoke the next morning on his living room couch, a painful crick in his neck and a pounding pressure swelling behind his eyes.

The first sight that greeted him, aside from the blinding sunlight that he immediately resented, was two empty glasses sitting on the coffee table. A few puddles of spilled brandy speckled the glass tabletop.

The night before was returning to him in bits and pieces. The club, Phoenix Wright, the paper umbrellas, the walk home…

He glanced down and drew in a quick breath at the sight of Phoenix sprawled on top of him, out like a light with a small string of saliva trailing from his lip onto Miles’ sweater.

Both of the men were fully clothed, minus shoes and socks, and both equally looking like absolute hungover messes.

A wave of relief washed over Miles as he realized they didn’t…do anything last night.

He’d never forgive himself if he and Phoenix Wright shared a night of passion and he couldn’t remember it.

As he lay there with Phoenix snoozing on top of him, a few more pieces of the night before came back to him.

They continued their talk about Miles’ closeted childhood. About how Von Karma drilled it into his mind that it was a phase he’d outgrow, and that if he didn’t, Von Karma would scare it out of him.

They talked about failed girlfriends, failed straight sex, and had a hardy laugh over that.

They talked about their first times with other boys…how liberating it felt. How good it felt to realize they weren’t broken.

After that, the night became a blur.

God, did Phoenix mention if he was a top or bottom? I can’t remember…

The sleeping man stirred on Miles’ chest and let out a rather loud yawn.

“Urgh… God damn it. This is why I don’t do this often.” Phoenix groaned, forgetting where he was and nuzzling into Miles’ chest.

“The aftermath certainly doesn’t seem worth it…” Miles tried to sit up but Phoenix kept him in his reclined position. He didn’t mind.

After sitting in comfortable silence for a bit, the gravity of the situation started to hit both of them. Miles cleared his throat and decided to break the silence first.

“Um… Wright.”

Phoenix scrunched his nose up and shifted to sit up. Leave it to Edgeworth to make things professional again.

“I know you mentioned you keep your personal and professional life separate…I strive to do the same.”

Phoenix rubbed his eyes and sat on the opposite end of the couch, distancing himself from the other man (as much as he didn’t want to, as much as he just wanted to snuggle back up with him and fall asleep).

“Yeah…you don’t have to tell me twice. This was… I had fun last night. But I don’t see how this has to change anything.” Phoenix offered a smile, to which Edgeworth returned.

“Yes, I agree. I had…fun.” Miles ruffled his hair, trying to smooth it out to no avail. “You’re right, this doesn’t have to change anything. I will remain vigilant in court and-”

“And I’ll be there to kick your ass.” Phoenix cut him off, smirking proudly.

Miles rolled his eyes and shot a look at Phoenix. And then another look. And then a sharp feeling rose in his stomach that was much more urgent than the hangover nausea that was cursing him this morning.

“What are you looking at? Do I have something on my face?”

His eyes were glued to the red and purple splotches left all over Phoenix’s neck and collarbone.

He swallowed hard as his eyes darted to the button of Phoenix’s jeans, his fly wide open just like his own. He shuffled his legs at his sudden realization.

Phoenix’s hair, instead of its usual spiky glory, was tousled like it had been previously ravished by hungry hands.

His heart in his throat, Miles returned his eyes to the messy coffee table in front of him. More memories of last night came seeping back into his mind and he felt his face grow hot.

“Uh… nothing. I had a good time with you last night. Good talk.” Miles’ hand flew to his own neck on instinct, and both him and Phoenix blushed wildly, knowing they were both sporting matching neck accessories.

It’s a good thing the next trial isn’t until Wednesday…

[hotel-japanifornia]

The Reversal of Sisters - A 1-2 AU fic

Chapter 5: The Final Act

Summary: There was only one strategy they could think of to defeat him. 

(can also be found on ff.net and ao3)

Mia and Phoenix silently walked to the defense’s bench and waited for the trial to begin. Although they were nervous about today’s trial due to the events that transpired the day before, the two hoped that things would turn out for the best. Soon after, the judge walked up to his bench and pounded his gavel. This signaled the beginning of the trial and caused the courtroom fell silent as he spoke.

“The court is now in session for the trial of Ms. April May!” The judge declared.

“The prosecution is ready, Your Honor.” Edgeworth said calmly.

“The defense is ready, Your Honor.” Mia said.

“Mr. Edgeworth, please give us your opening statement.” The judge requested.

“Of course, Your Honor,” The prosecutor bowed courteously before continuing, “Yesterday, we discovered that there is one other possible suspect besides Ms. May. Since then, we have managed to locate the person that was staying with her and wish to call them up to the stand. By hearing their testimony, the prosecution wishes to clear up any doubts that Ms. May is the killer.” Edgeworth declared.

“Very well then, call your witness.” The judge demanded.

“The prosecution wishes to call one Mr. Redd White to the stand.” Edgeworth informed. Soon after Edgeworth made his statement, the double doors were opened by a couple of guards and Redd strode up to the witness stand. Once there, he sneered evilly at Mia who glared in response. 

“Witness, please state your full name to the court.” Edgeworth urged.

“You wish to know the full title of my personage?” Redd inquired.

“Er...your name?” Edgeworth asked once more with a quizzical expression on his face.

“Yes, that’s what I said! Do my locutions confuse?” Redd inquired.

“Witness...name!” Edgeworth begged, looking exasperated by the witness’ refusal to cooperate

Don’t those two look like quite the pair? Mia thought as she listened to their conversation.

“Fine, my name is Redd White but my friends call me “Blanco Nino”! I am the fabultastic CEO, or in your common terms, President of beautatious Bluecorp!” Redd introduced. 

“Witness, did you know the victim?” Edgeworth questioned.

“Nope. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Never seen nor heard of her before.” Redd replied.

“Did you happen to witness the moment of the murder from the Gatewater Hotel?” Edgeworth inquired.

“Oh yes! It was a most ghastlening sight indeed!” Redd reminisced, looking ‘horrified’.

Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right! Mia thought.

  Hold it!

  “Your Honor, according to the Bellboy’s testimony, both the witness and the defendant were missing at the time of the murder.” Mia pointed out, slamming her hands on the desk.

“Tsk Tsk. Ms. Fey. At the time that the Bellboy came in, our witness here was in the bathroom.” Edgeworth explained.

“Indeed. Had he stridalked in a few seconds later, he would have seen me!” Redd remarked.

“If there are no further questions we would like to hear your testimony, Mr. White.” The judge requested.

“Oh, but of course!” Redd said.

  Witness Testimony ~ Witness Account

“Let’s see, it was about 8:20, I believe.

I was quietly perusifying...er, ‘reading’ some papers by the window.

Then I heard a bedlam from outside.

Surprised, I turned to look at the building across the way and saw a most horrificating sight!

Ms. May was struggling with a small girl with a topknot.

The girl tried to wrestle an object out of Ms. May’s hands, but alas!

Ms. May gained the upper hand and hit her once.

The girl staggered back towards the window before she was hit again and was struck down.”

  “Hmm, I see. Ms. Fey, you may commence your cross examination.” The judge allowed.

“Yes, Your Honor.” Mia replied. I better be careful with what points I press on this time. Any wrong moves and I could be in trouble. She mused with a disgruntled expression on her face. 

  Cross Examination ~ Witness Account

“Let’s see, it was about 8:20, I believe.

I was quietly perusifying...er, ‘reading’ some papers by the window.

Then I heard a bedlam from outside.

Surprised, I turned to look at the building across the way and saw a most horrificating sight.

Ms. May was struggling with a small girl with a topknot.

The girl tried to wrestle an object out of Ms. May’s hands, but alas!

Ms. May gained the upper hand, and hit her once

The girl staggered back towards the window before she was hit again and was struck down.”

  “The girl staggered back towards the window before she was hit again and was struck down.”

Objection!

  “Mr. White, according to the autopsy report, the victim died of a single blow.” Mia reported, holding a copy of the autopsy in her hands, “Yet, according to your testimony, you said she was struck twice!”

Redd’s mouth went agape at this news. He looked at the stand as if he was trying to find the words to respond to Miss Fey’s argument. Before he could reply however, Edgeworth spoke.

“Mr. White.” Edgeworth called. Redd looked up at him and Edgeworth gazed at him as if trying to remind Redd of something. He blinked for a moment before his eyes lit up as if he suddenly remembered something.

“Oh...yes! That’s right, I forgot to mention an importantiful detail about what I saw!” Redd recalled. He gazed at the judge hopefully, “Your Honorableness, may I amend my testification?”

The judge closed his eyes in deliberation for a moment before nodding, “Yes, I don't see why not.” He accepted.

“Thank you very much, Your Honorableness. I am in your deepest gratitudity!” Redd proclaimed, looking at the Judge gratefully

  Witness Testimony ~ The Struggle

“Ah, I remember clearly now!

The girl wasn’t struck twice.

She was pushed into something, quite forcefully too, I might add!

After she had been pushed, she staggered back towards the window

It was there that she was struck!”

  “Ah, I see. So she was pushed.” The judge remarked.

“It was dark, especially in that office. I couldn’t exactly see what happened with clearitudeness.” Redd explained.

“That does make a degree of sense. Ms. Fey, you may begin your cross-examination.” The judge said. 

If it was dark, how would you even know that there was a murder going on? Mia thought with an incredulous look on her face.

  Cross Examination ~ The Struggle

“Ah, I remember clearly now!

The girl wasn’t struck twice actually.

She was pushed into something, quite forcefully too, I might add.

After she had been pushed she staggered back towards the window

There, she was struck down.”

  “She was pushed into something, quite forcefully too, I might add.”

Hold it!

  “What was this ‘something’ that she was pushed into?” Mia questioned.

“It seemed to be a lamp of some sort. I thought I heard the sound of glass breaking during their struggle and immediately afterward, the room went pitch black and it became nearly impracticossible to see anything.” Redd specified.

Didn’t you just say that the office was completely dark before she was pushed? Mia thought.

“Ms. Fey, is what the victim bumped into when she was pushed relevant to the case at hand?” The judge asked.

“Yes, your Honor.” Mia replied.

“Very well then. Witness, please append your testimony.” The judge ordered.

“But of course, Your Honorableness!” Redd complied.

  Appended Testimony ~ The Struggle

“Ah, I remember clearly now!

The girl wasn’t struck twice actually.

She was pushed into a glass lamp which caused it to fall over and break.

After she had been pushed she staggered back towards the window

There, she was struck down.”

  “She was pushed into a glass lamp, causing it to fall over and break.”

Objection!

  “Excuse me, Mr. White. But I would find it hard to believe that you could see this glass ‘lamp’, let alone hear it crash.” Mia remarked.

“Oho, and whatever do you mean, Ms. Fey?” Redd questioned. Mia pulled out the floor plans for the crime scene and presented them.

“Look at this. As you can tell, the glass light stand is out of the range of vision that one would normally see if they were to look into the window.” She indicated the area where the glass light stand had fallen and pulled out the bag of glass shards, “Which brings me to my next point: look at these glass shards!”

“You can’t even tell that they come from the glass light stand!” Edgeworth remarked.

“Right, which begs the question: How would the witness possibly have known that there was a glass ‘lamp’ in the office and that it had fallen down?” Mia inquired. She gazed at Redd with a determined glint in her eyes.

“Witness, answer the question!” The judge demanded. Beads of sweat dripped from Redd’s brow and after a few moments he slammed his head on the stand then he quickly shot up and let out a loud scream.

“Order! Order! What is the meaning of this, witness?” The judge demanded.

“Urrgh...” Redd groaned. Edgeworth smiled cockily and his head turned to look at Redd.

“Witness, don’t you think it’s time to confess to your crime?” He asked. Redd gazed at him in horror.

“W-what do you mean?” Redd asked.

“Why, the crime of wiretapping of course.” Edgeworth revealed.

  Objection!

  “My client already confessed to the crime of wiretapping during the last trial. That matter has no relevance to the issue at hand!” Mia slammed her hands on the desk as she reminded the court

"Hmph” Edgeworth shrugged and shook his head, “Ms. Fey, need I remind you that your client kept that crime hidden from you, her own defense attorney. Can we really take her word for it?”

Grr. Mia thought. She glowered at Edgeworth who looked unfazed and continued speaking.

“Anyway, Your Honor. I request that we hear the witness’ confession.” Edgeworth demanded.

“As you wish, the witness may give his confession.” The judge allowed.

Witness Testimony ~ The “Wiretapping”

“4 days before the murder, I stepped into the Fey & Co. Law Offices.

I had done it to place the wiretap.

It was there that I saw an absolutely beautacious glass light stand!”

  “I see. That makes sense.” The judge closed his eyes in contemplation. Once he opened his eyes, he turned to gaze at Mia with a serious expression on his face, “Ms. Fey, you may question the witness one last time. But be warned, if you do not find any contradictions, the cross examination period will be over and I will readily hand down my verdict. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor. I understand.” Mia acknowledged.

Cross Examination ~ The “Wiretapping”

“4 days before the murder, I stepped into the Fey & Co. Law Offices.

I had done it to place the wiretap.

It was there that I saw an absolutely beautacious glass light stand!”

  “It was there that I saw an absolutely beautacious glass light stand!”

  Objection!

“Mr. White, it’s not possible for you to have seen the glass light stand 4 days before the murder.” Mia stated clearly.

“Really, Ms. Fey? Do you have evidence to back that up?” The judge inquired. Edgeworth shrugged and shook his head with a cocky smirk on his face.

“Of course she doesn’t.” Edgeworth remarked.

“Actually, I do.” Mia revealed with an equally as cocky smirk on her face.

“What?!” Edgeworth exclaimed. Mia pulled out the bag containing the note and handed it to the judge.

“Your Honor, what does the back of this note say?” Mia probed. 

“A glass light stand. Purchased on September...4th.” The judge read aloud. “And for 1,000 dollars too! That must’ve been one fancy glass light stand!” He remarked.

“Whaaaaaaat?!” Edgeworth exclaimed. Redd looked absolutely flabbergasted. Mia walked up to the witness stand and faced him.

“There’s only one way you could have possibly known about the glass light stand.” Mia claimed. Edgeworth slammed his hand on the desk.

“How? How could he have known?” He inquired.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Mia challenged. She whipped around to face Redd once more and glared at him, “He was in the office on the night of the murder!” 

The gallery fell into a murmur. It was so uproarious that the judge had to bang his gavel to get the crowd to fall silent once more.

“Order! Order! Does the witness have anything to say regarding these accusations?” The judge questioned.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaah!” Redd slammed his head on the desk and screamed once more. The judge banged his gavel and stroked his beard in thought. Edgeworth turned to the Judge desperately.

“Your Honor, the defense is clearly badgering the witness with these baseless accusations!” He remarked.

“Your Honor, the witness has screamed like this twice before and has been unable to provide an answer when asked about the glass light stand! He is clearly demonstrating suspicious behavior!” Mia indicated.

“Hmm, I have to say I agree with Ms. Fey on this one. His behavior regarding the glass light stand is at best, slightly suspicious.” The judge remarked.

“But, Your Honor-” Edgeworth began to say but was cut off by Redd.

“No, stop...I confess. I hit her...with the ‘Thinker’.” Redd confessed.

“Witness, are you telling us the truth?” The judge questioned.

“Yes...the glass light stand was... knocked over during our struggle…” Redd admitted.

“Hmm, very well then. I see no reason to continue this trial” The judge commented. A couple of guards walked into the courtroom and handcuffed Redd White. Once they left, Ms. Fey stood at the defense bench with a calm expression on her face. Meanwhile, Edgeworth looked absolutely flabbergasted.

“Before we end this trial, there is one last thing that must be done. Will someone please lead the defendant to the stand?” The judge demanded. A couple of guards escorted Ms. April May to the stand and left her to hear her verdict. April’s gaze remained fixated on the judge as he spoke. 

“Defendant, although you were not the killer as suspected, wiretapping is a serious crime. You will be tried for that at a later point in time. Do I make myself clear?” The judge told her.

“I understand, Your Honor.” April responded calmly.

“Very well then” The judge nodded, “On the charge of murder, I hereby find the defendant….”

  Not Guilty

  “Court is now adjourned.” The judge declared. The pound of his gavel signaled the end of the trial and everyone exited the courtroom.

After the trial was over, Phoenix and Mia had lunch together to celebrate their victory in the trial. Once they were done eating, Phoenix and Mia went their separate ways and Mia proceeded to ride her motorcycle to the building where the Fey & Co. Law Offices was located. She walked up to the office and unlocked the door. 

Mia passed through the reception area into her personal office. Once there, she headed towards her desk and sat down. She opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a picture. It was of a girl sitting on a beach who was holding a conch shell up to her ear. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling happily. Mia smiled fondly at the picture and warmth shone in her eyes as she gazed at it.

I got him, Maya. The man who murdered you and ruined our mother’s life has been brought to justice. You can rest easy now, my sweet sister. She gazed at the photo for an hour or so more before placing it on her desk in such a way that it was facing her. 

A day later, she was asked to identify her sister’s body by the police. After that for the next few days, Mia was swamped with paperwork but she managed to persevere through it. Eventually, the day of her sister’s funeral had come. Although she was still in the middle of completing paperwork, Mia made the effort to be at the funeral. She tried to remain stoic throughout the service but once she began to deliver her eulogy, she couldn’t prevent herself from choking up and started sobbing after she was finished.

As she began to leave the funeral, she felt a warm and playful breeze. She turned around but saw nothing behind her. Despite this, she couldn’t help but smile before turning back to leave once more.

Court Record:

Evidence:

Attorney’s Badge - Proof that I’m an attorney. I always make sure that it stays polished so it shines when I show it off.

Maya’s Autopsy Report - Time of death: 9/5 at 8:20 PM. Cause: blunt force trauma caused by a single blow to the head by the Thinker. Death was instantaneous.

Floor Plans - Floor plans of the crime scene: the Fey & Co. Law Offices.

Glass Shards - The broken remains of an expensive glass light stand that I purchased the day before the murder. Unfortunately, it’s broken beyond recognition.

Strange Note - A strange note with a message written with the victim’s blood. The message reads, “Examplibit A”. On the other side of this note is a receipt for a glass light stand I purchased the day before the murder.

Maya’s Cellphone - My little sister’s cellphone. Has our last conversation recorded. The only other indication that it was hers is that it seemed to have fallen from something. Despite that, the phone seems to be in good condition.

The Thinker - The murder weapon. Looks like a statue but is actually a clock, although I took the clockwork out. This is where I hid the important papers and is what I was going to give to Maya for her to hold on to on that fateful night.

Wiretap - Found in Miss May’s hotel room. Used to tap my phone.

Profile:

Phoenix Wright - My student. Although he is still new to the profession, he has a lot of potential and is determined to find the truth.

Maya Fey - The victim of this case and my little sister. I meant to give her an important piece of evidence for an upcoming trial on the night of the murder. Never could I have imagined that things would turn out like this...

Detective Gumshoe - Homicide detective at the local precinct. In charge of the initial investigation.

Miles Edgeworth - A gifted and ruthless prosecutor who will do anything for a guilty verdict. He looks familiar but I can't put my finger on where I’ve seen him. 

April May - The defendant of this case. Stayed at the Gatewater Hotel on the night of the murder and came to my office to retrieve some papers. Tapped my phone on the day of the murder at the request of Redd White.

Bellboy - Bellboy at the Gatewater Hotel. Did not witness the crime firsthand but noticed that April May and Redd White were missing during the night of the murder.

Redd White - CEO of the information gathering company, Bluecorp. In truth, he has built his company through blackmail.

Fin

[marithlizard]

Ace Attorney: Rise From the Ashes (Day Two, Investigation Former) (part 4)

(There’s so much to speculate on at this point in the game that I ended up just plain narrating all the events in detail.  It was fun to write - but is it fun to read? Or do people prefer the less wordy format?)  Today on Ace Attorney, we have our mission clear in mind:  bring down Stinkyhead Gant the police chief,  thereby saving both Lana Skye's life and Miles Edgeworth's career.  And oh yeah we should probably figure out who killed Detective Goodman.

Twice.

Simultaneously in two different places. Could be twins, but my money's on the second victim being someone else dressed up in a white trenchcoat and fedora, and Gant was playing elaborate word games at the trial to technically not lie about it.    No idea why. 

A quick review establishes that the two crime scenes are 30 minutes apart by car, and then we're off to the parking garage to do Science(tm), I guess?

Ema announces that no body was found in the evidence room murder.  Huh.  That certainly wasn't mentioned at the trial!  How, exactly, do you ID a  nonexistent body? In particular, why would you think it was someone who was provably elsewhere and also dead?

Also Ema: Murder, sure, but my sister would NEVER erase evidence,  that's unthinkable!

She's all excited about spraying for blood traces. And she has a point that we can't trust the police. Pink glasses on, new game mechanic engaged, and... we find some splotches right next to the car trunk.  Not enough for a fatal knife fight, though.  Lana's shoe has more blood on it than the ground.

Hello, lunchlady.  You're  much more friendly today.  Though your bentos are no more appetizing than usual.

Angel Starr:  Yes, I totally lied about  these key facts to make my enemy seem more guilty. But you haven't caught me in any lies about these OTHER things, and that's what's important!  

Instead of pointing out that we have no reason to trust ANY of her testimony,  Phoenix muses that the photo she took must have a Clue in it.  Hm.  Re-examining it, I see:

Lana still has both shoes on and they do not match the shoe submitted as evidence.  Clue or low production values?  

 Lots of blood on her trenchcoat, no scarf, gloves, she's about to shut the trunk.  But she didn't, since the crime scene outline tape shows the body was hanging out of it when found.

I dunno, man.  The Clue eludes me. We ask Angel about her past as a detective instead. I get the distinct sense she is bragging about having tortured suspects.  

Ema rises ten points in my estimation for a perfect delivery of the obvious food-poisoning insult.  Angel barely notices, though; she's too busy being bitter about the case that got her fired.  The SL-9 incident - same name as the tag on the knife, no surprise there.

Our victim Goodman was the lead detective on the case, she says.  The knife was the murder weapon (duh), and in her  eyes the case isn't over.  (Goodman probably thought the same. Does Lana?)  But it seems that's all she wants to say.   We give up and head to the police department.   There's another crime scene that could use a dose of Science.

The moving doll is still out front.   Inside, the head detective won't talk about the situation, but will brag about his plush version of the doll.   The other detective at his desk is working on his Agatha Christie fanfic.  I'm not exactly sensing grim determination to avenge a fallen colleague, here.

We reach the security guard office.   Cheesy cowboy decor, eleven booze bottles plus a full glass right on the front desk, and a line set up for hanging laundry. Somebody sleeps under his desk and has no fucks left to give.  A lasso "trap" in front of the inner door looks like something set by Wile E. Coyote on an off day.

Ema's imagination is good enough to compare her sister to a cactus - but not good enough to think of using the ID card in our inventory to get into the evidence room.  Or looking up stuff on the conveniently unguarded security computer.  Instead we stand around waiting for Marshall until I give up.

Detention center:  Lana is being interrogated.   Will she be charged with both deaths, common sense not being an obstacle around here?     But no, Phoenix remembers that Gant said they'd caught a suspect for the second murder.  I really hope it's not Gumshoe.

The Prosecutor's office doesn't seem to be available right now.   With no other options, we head back to the lunchlady and try again.   I throw everything in my inventory at her this time.    To my surprise, she has some solid observations to make:

- If Angel hadn't witnessed the crime, Edgeworth would've been the obvious first suspect.  ...Was that the plan?  I assumed before that she was planted at the scene as a witness, but now I'm not so sure.

- She's backed off from her blind rage against Lana enough to admit that it's very odd for such an organized person not to have brought her own murder weapon.

- She could've taken her photo from the overlooking guard room, instead of spending five minutes running all around the edge of the parking garage and climbing a high chain link fence.  Her testimony looks fishy because of that.

Ema points out that lying on the stand is fishier.  Angel retorts that her testimony was "disregarded" before in THAT case, and she was determined not to let it happen again. Do tell, lunchlady.   Vent your bitterness at us.

And she does.  (Flashback image:  Angel, Goodman, and Marshall bent over a  map, with a fourth person mostly hidden by the speech bubble.)    The prosecutors, she says, were desperate for decisive evidence of guilt.  They did not find it...so they used fake evidence to convict and execute the suspect.  And then fired or demoted all the detectives involved.

Oof.  So, falsified evidence *isn't* common practice here,  depite the rumors about Edgeworth.  It's so rare and so unacceptable that this level of coverup was needed to prevent major scandal.  Angel has reason for her hatred of prosecutors - but who exactly was responsible?  Edgeworth was new on the job at the time.   It would have been Lana, pressured by Gant.  And that's why Lana has been a cactus ever since.  

I still don't like Angel, but she's smart enough to recognize Phoenix will serve her ends. She gives us an actually tasty-looking lunch!  I thought it was a present in recognition of allyship, but no, it's a bribe. Presumably the smell of steak will lure someone back to his assigned guard post.

Ema blurts out her concern for Marshall, who apparently was a lot nicer before SL-9 and did not use to refer to her as a baby cow.  Angel assures us Marshall is not one of her many boyfriends.  I'm not sure why this makes Ema feel better, but it does.

Back to the PD we go with steak in hand.  

Gumshoe is not arrested! He'd tell us who is, but we only have one piece of protein in the inventory and there's no need to trade it for the name.   I can easily imagine who would be "having a good cry" in detention...but I can't imagine him doing murder.  Even the judge wouldn't buy a whopper like that.

Waving the steak around at the security guard office fails to summon Marshall, so we head back *again* to lend the Sniveling Mailman a handkerchief.   (Phoenix is racking up a lot  of taxi or subway expenses, here.  And he won't have the heart to bill Ema if Lana is convicted.)

S.M. Meekins,  left hand thoroughly bandaged,  can't imagine himself doing murder either.  He is very confused and very loud.    I am confused too, about why the guards haven't taken his portable  loudspeaker away.    But his garbled tale of woe clears things up for me if not for our heroes.

Meekins saw a "suspicious person" in a white trenchcoat and fedora on the monitors in the guard office, went into the evidence room and asked him for his ID. The guy pointed a knife at him and Meekins freaked out  and tried to attack. Then he fainted and awoke alone with a bleeding hand.  Soo...There's no body because nobody died.  Gant is just *claiming*  there was a murder because

well um because

Why would he claim that???  It's easily disproven.  The security videos would normally show what happened clearly so they must've been deleted,  or the cameras weren't working.  And Marshall was not at his post.  

Ema, bless her heart, connects the lack of dots and points out there was no murder - so why is Meekins in jail?  Apparently there IS a security tape, I was wrong, and it shows the crime...and that it really was Goodman in the evidence room.

Twins? Lies?  But which parts are  lies?   I throw some inventory items at Meekins just in case, and he recognizes the knife.    The broken-tip knife with the SL-9 tag that was found in Edgeworth's car muffler, wrapped in Lana's scarf.   Meekins is incoherent so Phoenix  writes it off - but I don't.  

Twin Goodmans AND identical knives is too much even for this series.  And that means the real lie is about the time.  Goodman was not in the evidence room and the parking garage simultaneously.  He was in the evidence room first, perhaps? Getting the knife?    But the security video must have timestamps...

I really want to see this security tape now.   So we take our meat back to the police department, only to find Gant bullying the chief on duty. You.  YOU ARE EVIL AND CONFUSING.  I'm going to leave a 1-star review on ratemyvillain if you don't organize your nefarious plot better.

Gant is demanding that everything of Goodman's be found/removed, down to the trash in his wastepaper basket.   (But he's happy to stop and chat with us and slander Edgeworth some more, with a bonus suggestion that Phoenix too is corrupt for having "proved" his innocence last game.)

The duty chief must not like being bullied, because he shows us something he kept back: a lost item report Goodman half-filled-out  on the day of his death.  It doesn't say what was lost.  His ID,  perhaps?

Surprisingly (suspiciously),  Gant is willing to let us investigate the evidence room. He even gives us a guest ID card.   And Marshall finally deigns to show up to work, though with the clear intention of not actually doing any.

Meat:  deployed Marshall:  impressed Me: ...those two ARE dating, and moreover communicating in a secret code of boxed lunches.    It suits them.

"Steak filet lunch" apparently signals "render all assistance".   Marshall willingly admits he's a grade-A slacker and doesn't even bother to understand the security system.  (That explains the lasso.)  He still doesn't want to tell us what the SL-9 case was about, but reminds us it was officially closed two days ago on evidence transfer day.    

(That's the key to everything that happened  on the day of the murder, isn't it?  Goodman took the knife (and maybe more?) from the evidence room to keep it from being permanently "archived".   He was killed for it - but someone protected it by hiding it in the car muffler, and now it's in the court record.    That knife must be the key to solving SL-9.   ...And that's why Gant showed up at the courtroom! He must be *so pissed* that this deadly piece of  evidence is back in the public eye, it's a real danger to him.  Okay! Now I have the shape of what we're dealing with.)

Marshall hasn't bothered to look at the security tape, but from what Meekins told us, other officers have.   (Wait. Is that a safe assumption?  Since all that matters is Gant's official talking points. they could simply be claiming the tape shows Meekins stabbed Goodman.   I'd say this was implausible but I live in the US in 2020. ) 

Ooh, this looks useful - a list of every use of the card reader on the day in question.  4 different IDs are recorded.  2 of them must belong to Goodman and Meekins.   One is nothing but sevens, that's certainly not ominous.  

Next: the evidence room!

[aceprosecuties]

85 or 83 blackmadhi!!!!! your choice!!!

83. “It’s always been you.” 

Send me a number and a pairing!

—–

“Mother,please drop it.”

Nahyutanever liked having this conversation, so he often tried to stop it before ithad the opportunity to begin.  But itwasn’t always easy to get the former queen to let go of something when her mindwas set.  And when he was trapped in aroom with her, waiting for their guests from California to arrive, he couldn’tphysically run away.

“Althoughyou will only be regent until Rayfa has mastered spirit channeling, you stillought to consider it seriously.  You’realready twenty-six, dear.”

“Am Ibut an old crone, then?”

“That’snot what I’m saying,” Amara sighed, feeling frustrated with her son’spushback.  She didn’t understand why hewas always like this whenever this particular topic was brought up.

“That’swhat it sounds like,” Nahyuta clapped back, trying to not let his annoyanceturn into anger.  “Will I be unwedable bythe time I hit twenty-eight?”

“No,but-”

“AndI didn’t exactly have time to think about these sorts of things, you know,”Nahyuta reminded her, harshly.  “She made sure of that.”  Ga’ran wouldn’t let Nahyuta have manyvisitors, and the ones she did allow were usually loyal to her or only allowedto be with him for a short while.  On theoff chance he was able to engage in any sort of consensual activities withanyone, they were for one night, and usually Nahyuta did not even get theirnames.

“I know that,” Amara responded with anequally harsh tone.  She didn’t like thatNahyuta was insinuating that she did not remember all that he sacrificed.  “But perhaps something should bearranged.  Having someone by your side asyou rule would be in Khura’in’s best interest.”

“Sowhat…I marry someone to please this country for two or three years and thenhave to stay with this stranger for the remainder of my life?”

“Royaltydoes not often have the luxury of love,” Amara said, echoing a sentiment thather mother had passed down to her and her sister.  

“Easyfor you to say, since you did havethat luxury,” Nahyuta snapped, hoping that he could end this pointlessdialogue.

Luckily,he received some help when the doors opened, and the guards announced thattheir foreign visitors had arrived.  

Nahyutahad been working closely with Miles Edgeworth to develop a closer relationbetween their two countries; Edgeworth had been helping him with the rebuild ofthe legal system from behind the scenes, to which Nahyuta was verygrateful.  There was much that Edgeworthknew about various legal systems across the world, and his knowledge washelpful and appreciated.

However,Edgeworth had a companion on this trip. One that Nahyuta was not expecting.

AtEdgeworth’s side was Prosecutor Simon Blackquill.  He stood out in the room like a sore thumb;Khura’in’s royal chamber was decorated with vibrant and elegant colors, so theharsh monochromatic Blackquill was extremely out of place.  What was he doing here?  Nahyuta swallowed a lump in his throat thathad suddenly developed.  Did Edgeworthdrag him along?  Did he volunteer to comeof his own volition?  

“ChiefProsecutor Edgeworth,” Nahyuta smiled and walked up to his guests, ignoring thevarious questions running through his mind. “We are, as always, honored to have you here.”

“Thankyou very much, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi,” Edgeworth responded, as respectful asever.  Nahyuta’s eyes traveled to Simon,who had his arms crossed and looked…bored, if anything.  How disrespectful of him.

“ProsecutorBlackquill.  I’ll admit I wasn’texpecting to see you,” Nahyuta said, speaking as though it wasn’t a big dealthat Simon was here.   Few images flashedin his mind: Simon’s bare back glistened in sweat, his hair wild and out of itsusual ponytail as Nahyuta watched him writhe and moan.  Simon on his knees in front of him, withNahyuta’s hand twisting in those black and white strands.  Simon grabbing Nahyuta’s jacket in a way thatsurely was going to wrinkle the expensive fabric, all to pull him into adesperate kiss…

Memories.  Ones that Nahyuta did not need to be actively remembering right now.

Simonjust smirked.

“Unhappy,Sad Monk?”

Disrespectfulas always.  

Nahyutawanted to take him somewhere right now to teach him a lesson.  

Theirlittle secret arrangement had gotten a bit out of control, he would admit.  It was meant to only be physical and only be once. But that turned into twice…and then three times…and then more and more;whenever Nahyuta was in the states now, he would find himself at ProsecutorBlackquill’s apartment during the night, wanting some stress relief from hisconsistently busy schedule.  He neverstayed for breakfast though.

Itwas annoying when that Panda began invading his dreams, though.

Sure,it was a very nice break from thenightmares of his past, but Nahyuta found it frustrating nonetheless.  And then when Simon started just popping upin his thoughts on their own…he wasn’t sure exactly what to do.

Whenhe mother would speak to him about marriage, he had always dropped the subjectsomehow or told her no.  But recently hewould think about Simon goddamn Blackquill too; if he was married, he wouldhave to end…whatever it was they had, and he had zero desire to do so.  

Butit was only physical, he would tell himself. Nothing more.

“Blackquill,you are a guest here,” Edgeworth reprimanded. “Please show our hosts the same respect you would show me.”

Nahyutawas surprised when Blackquill nodded.  “Ofcourse, Edgeworth-dono,” he said, before looking again at Nahyuta.  “Thank you for having us, Sahdmadhi-dono.”

MilesEdgeworth was the only person in the world capable of making Simon Blackquillact like that.  It was almost magic, andNahyuta found it weirdly fascinating.  

“Ofcourse.  While we’re happy to have you here,I still am wondering why you’vedecided to come,” Nahyuta responded, still a bit confused.

“Ithought that it would be best for me to learn your country’s legal proceedingsfor my own edification.  Edgeworth-donoallowed me to come as a sort of…ambassador,” Simon explained, not breaking eyecontact with Nahyuta for even a second.  “AndI suppose to see the sights.”

Nahyutaknew what “sights” meant here, and felt a bit warm.

“Wellthen,” Amara said, coming up from behind Nahyuta and smiling at theirguests.  “I suppose we should not keepyou two waiting.  You’ve had a long trip,and I’m sure you’re both hungry and tired. Please…this way.”  She beganwalking out of the room and Edgeworth followed, striking up a conversation withher as Nahyuta and Simon trailed behind them. Nahyuta was very well-trained in appearing different than how he felt;his almost blank stare ahead did not give away his rapidly beating heart.

Whileat dinner, the group postponed any discussion of work until the next day,instead choosing to just share stories and the like.  Rayfa joined them for dinner, but she wasuncharacteristically quiet, saying that she was trying to keep her mind calmfor her training in the morning, and she left without saying all too much.  

Whichwas…for the better.  She and Simon wouldlikely not get along very well.

Afterdinner, the guards took Edgeworth and Simon to their rooms, and Nahyuta watchedSimon walk down the hall for an uncomfortably long time, tensing when Simonlooked back at him.  He resisted the almostoverwhelming urge to follow him, instead finding his way back to his ownbedchamber.  

Unfortunately,Nahyuta found himself unable to sleep. Blackquill was on his mind, and all of their past activities keptrummaging around in his head until he was no longer able to stand it.  It was late enough that most people should besleeping – with the exception of the night guards – so Nahyuta soon foundhimself walking out of his room and towards a certain destination.

Hewent to the guest room that Simon was occupying, but instead of seeing a closeddoor, he saw a guard standing next to an open one.  When Nahyuta requested to know whereProsecutor Blackquill was, the guard informed him that Simon had said he wasunable to sleep, and wanted to walk around outside.  Another guard accompanied him.

Nahyutaknew he should just…try going back to sleep.

Insteadhe was outside, roaming around in an effort to find Prosecutor Blackquill andhis guide.  They wouldn’t have goneoutside of the palace grounds at night, so he figured it wouldn’t be too longuntil he was able to find them.

Luckily,he was right; he eventually located the pair walking through the gardens.  Simon had apparently found one of his mother’sbirds and was making a new friend; the little animal was resting in his handcomfortably while he spoke to it, pointing up to the sky as if he was showingit constellations or something.

Itwas…endearing.  

“ProsecutorSahdmadhi!”  The guard noticed him andbowed slightly as Nahyuta approached. Simon looked over and smirked a bit.

“Towhat do we owe this pleasure, Sad Monk?” Now that Edgeworth wasn’t around, Simon could act as he desired.  

Good.

Nahyutainstructed the guard to leave them, and waited until the man was out of sightbefore approaching Simon.  

“Beautiful,isn’t she?”  Of course, he was speakingto the little bird that Simon still had in his hand.  

“Yes.  Though I usually prefer birds of prey myself,”Simon responded, lifting his palm up to let the bird fly off; he watched as sheperched herself in a nearby tree.  

“I’maware,” Nahyuta remarked, remembering how much Simon’s beloved hawk despisedhim.  Too many times had Nahyuta neededto fend off talons or deal with some scratches on his body.  Of course, Simon never offered any sort ofcomfort.  He would just tell Nahyuta tostop pissing off Taka.  

Whatan annoying, disrespectful, and godless man he was.

“Theyare my mother’s,” Nahyuta continued, looking up at the tree and seeing a fewmore.  He said nothing for a moment, andthen for reasons he wouldn’t have been able to explain, he mentioned: “She’sbeen…telling me that I need to wed soon.”

Washis mind playing a trick on him, or did he actually see Simon tense up andfrown after that statement?

“Why?”

“Shethinks it would inspire more confidence in the new regime.  Having someone at your side as you rule ismore…customary, I suppose.”   He laughed,though there was little joy in it.  “It’sfunny…I just escaped Ga’ran and now my mother wants to clip my wingsagain.  So to speak.”

“…Areyou going to do it?”

Nahyutastared at Simon.  He waited, thinking ofwhat he should say in this moment.  Helooked at Simon’s face, as if memorizing every little detail of it.  Unlike Nahyuta’s eyes, which were so trainedto show little emotion, Simon’s eyes gave him away a lot of times, even when hewas trying to hide his deeper thoughts. Right now, there was a…fear in them. Fear of what?  Of losing Nahyuta?

“…Itwould be in my royal duty if I did.  Ialways need to think about what is best for Khura’in.  I don’t have the luxury of always thinkingfor myself.”

Simonscoffed, but said nothing in response at first. He turned his head away angrily, his jaw clenching as his fists balledup at his sides.  

“Verywell then.  I’ll leave you to it.”

Simonstormed past Nahyuta in a hurry, but Nahyuta caught his arm and prevented himfrom leaving.  

“Wait.”

Simonlooked back at him, and again his eyes gave him away – he was hurt.

“Idon’t always have that luxury, but it doesn’t mean I don’t do it, you know.”  Nahyuta squeezed Simon’s arm tightly, afraidthat if he let go, Simon would storm off and that would be the end.  “I’ve been…avoiding the discussion as much aspossible.  Perhaps she is right that itwould be better for the country but Idon’t have any desire to marry right now. And there is something that has been on my mind…that has been making mewant to ignore this royal duty of mine.”

“Oh,and what would that be?”  Simon asked thequestion accusatorily, causing Nahyuta to laugh a bit.

“You’rean idiot sometimes, Panda.  It’s you.” Nahyuta smiled, practically hearing the fast-paced beating of his heartin his ears.  “It’s always been you.  Even as I tried to deny it…tried to tellmyself what was between us was just physical…”  He was shaking now…this was his confession,wasn’t it?  How was Simon going torespond?  Was he going to yank his armback and walk away?  Yell atNahyuta?  Laugh?  

Hedid none of those things.  

Instead,Simon brought one hand to the back of Nahyuta’s head and pulled him into a deepkiss.  And when Nahyuta let go of his armto put his hands on Simon’s chest, Simon used his free hand to cup Nahyuta’scheek, careful not to break the contact between their lips.

Howlong did they kiss?  Nahyuta wasn’t sure,but he did notice that both of them were panting softly when they broke apart,faces still close as their foreheads touched.

“Don’tget married.  Go on a date with meinstead,” Simon whispered, his face flushed from both the kiss andembarrassment.  “A real one.”

“Iguess I could do that,” Nahyuta answered, before bringing Simon in to kiss himagain.

Needlessto say, he had to tell his mother that any future wedding was cancelled.

[leonawriter]

I Burned So Long, So Quiet

Gods AU fic masterpost

Fandom: Ace Attorney

Characters: Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, Trucy Wright

Ships: Phoenix/Edgeworth

Summary: The words are said in the silence of night, while they both could have been sleeping, and Phoenix's fiery warmth surrounds them. An answer comes so long that Miles starts to wonder if they were in the process of being forgotten.

...

I slept there the night you said ‘I think I’m falling in love with you,’ igniting a great unendurable belongingness, like a match in a forest fire.

I burned so long so quiet you must have wondered if I loved you back. I did, I did, I do.

Everyone I Love is a Stranger to Someone, Annelyse Gelman 

 ...

It's years - only one or two, really, but in some ways it feels both longer and shorter - after he's admitted to Edgeworth, albeit in not the easiest nor best way, that he isn't human. That sometimes he thinks of what it would be to choose to no longer exist. Although those thoughts have been coming less frequently, as of late.

They're at Edgeworth's place, when it happens.

He'd always remember what it had been like not long before, either - him and Miles on the couch, with Miles even leaning into him in a way that he'd have never imagined might be possible before this - before everything - before his world was turned upside down, and everything was taken away. You win some, you lose some, had come the thought, although he'd winced slightly, just a little, at the reference to gambling when he was nowhere near the Borscht, and they didn't play poker at Miles'.

Trucy's sat in a plush armchair, fast asleep, swamped in it. He could see the soft rise and fall of her chest and the relaxed look on the girl's face from where they were.

...

Phoenix and Trucy were staying the night. It had been decided only within the week, only in the amount of time it had taken their most recent landlord to decide that they weren't paying enough rent, that they weren't doing enough. It would take time to find a new place, if they didn't want to just start living out of the Agency offices - which Miles was still opposed to on principle - but for now, they were treating it like a... sleepover, was what Trucy had called it.

Trucy had her own room in his place, from the sheer amount of times her father stayed out so late in his 'job', and the times when he didn't come back for days due to independent investigation. He'd even given her a key, just in case of something like this happening - or if there was an emergency and she had nowhere else to go. He'd seen her off to bed a while ago after they'd woken her up to tell her that she'd get aches if she slept in the chair all night, comfortable at first or not. He should know.

The habit he and Phoenix had gotten into of the both of them sleeping in the same bed was something that they had fallen into both gradually and all at once, both of them feeling more at ease and more rested because of it, and because of that, not wanting to stop.

As for his own reasons, Miles had even admitted to Phoenix's face that part of what helped was the fact that Phoenix tended to be so warm. Never enough to overheat, even in summer, but always warm.

This isn't the height of summer. It's autumn, and there's rain drizzling down outside. Even though his own central heating was enough to stop the cool breeze from bothering either of them, one of Phoenix's arms was drawn around him, and the comparison between Phoenix and a bird extending its wing wasn't lost on him, and given that his friend's name was more than a little literal, it had probably come into his head for good reason.

With Phoenix's warmth around him, the nightmares that still came on other nights from time to time faded away into merely bad dreams, unable to have any real hold on him.

He found himself thinking of the way that Phoenix would look when he woke up, sunlight streaming through the windows and making it seem as though for just a moment Wright had just forgotten to shave and hadn't brushed his hair.

Remembered that it wasn't his imagination showing him these things, because he'd lived through those mornings, too many times to count, now, too many hotels when they weren't even at home in America.

His mind wandered from that realisation to the smile he'd seen Phoenix wear when they'd been in London just a few weeks ago, the one he'd worn when he thought no one was looking, when they'd taken Trucy to the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studios for her birthday and she'd started giggling when they'd found the animatronic of Fawkes. How he'd leaned in and said, with all seriousness, that they'd had a few details wrong in the feathers and beak, but not to tell Trucy herself.

He remembered with fondness the various exasperated and frustrated expressions Phoenix wore whenever they'd sat in on a trial that had a jury, whenever they'd argued the points of how it worked and how it failed.

Miles sighed, content, a feeling settling somewhere in his chest. Something that was hard to put words to at first. And then, when he had, it was obvious.

"I think," he said, more of an under-the-breath mutter than fully spoken words, "I think I'm falling in love with you."

And the moment he's said it, he freezes, unsure if Phoenix has heard, despite it being the dark and silence of night when spoken words hurt the ear, and unsure if he wanted them to have been heard - not at all, no, but yet, maybe not yet - and there's nothing he can do either way.

Phoenix's breathing hitches around him as though maybe he has heard, which doesn't help Miles' stress levels, but he doesn't say anything, and eventually, they both sleep, Phoenix's warmth still encompassing him all around.

This is what it must feel like, Miles thinks. Love. It's warm.

...

Phoenix wakes up to the warm feeling of sunlight against his face, and a coolness that means Miles is already up, as well as the sounds of both birdsong and coffee being made.

The words he heard the previous night still ring in his head, like a chant or prayer he'd heard long, long ago that had given him power from belief - but unlike then, this is making him heady from just one person, from one person's words.

I think I'm falling in love with you, Miles had said.

Phoenix's breath hitches, the fire of his heart rising and burning brighter, and he looks up when Miles puts his head through the door of his room - their room, it could be said, when he comes to stay with Trucy, but he hadn't wanted to assume too much - and says that breakfast is getting ready, and Trucy is waking up as well.

Miles, who looks at him warily, cautiously.

They don't talk about it over breakfast, not with Trucy there, and they don't talk about it when Miles drives Trucy to school and drops her off at the gate, hugging both him and Miles before heading off.

It's an awkward thing to bring up as Edgeworth's driving to work, and certainly not in the car park under the prosecutor's office where they part, Phoenix in his hoodie and sandals surrounded by displays of wealth in the form of expensive cars and suits worth more money than he's ever had to his name - in this lifetime, at least.

It's a few days and nights later when Miles sighs and looks away, caught between some fear and longing he hasn't yet put into words, and maybe won't ever will.

"I didn't know if I should say anything," Phoenix says, sitting safely on the edge of the couch, beanie in his lap and hair ruffled, looking up into his friend's startled eyes. "I knew what I felt, after all. I didn't know how you felt, not until you said... that." If anything, the look on Miles' face was becoming more anxious, not less, which wouldn't do at all. "You weren't the only one. Falling, I mean."

Which was ironic, wasn't it? He was a bird, he was fire, and fire rose up - it didn't fall. But then, he was more than a bit human as well, especially right now and after all this time, and falling came all too easily to gravity-struck humans.

Somehow, despite the fact that he was the one sitting down right now and Miles was standing up, it felt more like Miles was the one looking up at him.

"I wondered. I - you didn't say anything. I wondered if perhaps you hadn't heard. Or you were pretending that you hadn't."

Phoenix is up in a single moment, looking Miles dead in the eye.

"I did hear. I did - I always did love you, even when I don't think we'd realised that's what it was yet. And I do now. Gods, I love you." He laughs. It isn't the bitter laugh that he gives to other people nowadays, but it isn't entirely unbroken, either. "I was more worried that you'd start to think I wasn't the man you once new."

Miles shrugged, hands upturned in the air, smile far warmer than when he'd ever been in court. 

"And how many times have we both changed? Wright - Phoenix. When I said that, the other night... I meant all of you, not just the presentable parts."

...

AN: I'd been going through Doctor Who fanfics after rekindling my love of the fandom after several years, and found a work that referenced the poem, and said that it'd been doing the rounds on Tumblr, which made me curious, which made me want to look it up, and when I did... I had an almost immediate mental image of the middle scene. One that I absolutely had to write out.

Timeline wise, set not long after 'Once, We Were Gods'.

[thelibraryoflazy]

Farewell, My Prologue

Thanks to this post and youtube slyly recommending me a bootleg of The Great Comet of 1812, I wrote an Ace Attorney song parody of “Prologue.” Unfortunately I don’t have enough people and musicians in my back pocket to take a stab at recording it, but here are my lyrics and original song for reference.

Enjoy!

PHOENIX:

There’s a man carrying out a plan somewhere

And Maya isn’t here

There’s a kidnapper hiding out there somewhere

And Maya isn’t here

 ALL:

There’s a man carrying out a plan somewhere

And Maya isn’t here

There’s a kidnapper hiding out there somewhere

And Maya isn’t here

And this is all in your record

You are at the courthouse

Gonna have to study up a little bit if you want to keep with the case

‘Cause it’s a complicated kind of murder

Everyone’s got five psyche locks

So look it up in your record

We’d appreciate it, thanks a lot

Da da da

Da da da

Da da da

Pearl!

PEARL:

Pearl Fey is young

She loves her cousin with all her heart

 ALL:

She loves her cousin with all her heart

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

MIA:

Mia is good

Wright’s first advisor and brightest friend

 ALL:

Wright’s first advisor and brightest friend

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 MILES:

Miles is trusting, an old friend to Phoenix

The prosecution, he’s just arrived

 ALL: The prosecution, he’s just arrived

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 And this is all in your record

You are at the courthouse

Gonna have to study up a little bit if you want to keep with the case

‘Cause it’s a complicated kind of murder

Everyone’s got five psyche locks

So look it up in your record

We’d appreciate it, thanks a lot

Da da da

Da da da

Da da da

 Engarde!

 ENGARDE:

Matt Engarde is hot

He spends his money on murder and wine

 ALL:

He spends his money on murder and wine

Engarde is hot

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 DE KILLER:

De Killer is precise

Hired assassin, extraordinaire

 ALL:

Hired assassin, extraordinaire

De Killer is precise

Engarde is hot

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

FRANZISKA:

Franziska is fierce, and harsh with the foolish

Quick with a whip, and perfect at law

 ALL:

Quick with a whip, and perfect at law

Franziska is fierce

De Killer is precise

Engarde is hot

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 Miracles and evidence, do we still have the time?!

Our Witnesses!

 ADRIAN:

Adrian Andrews is anxious

 GUMSHOE:

And Gumshoe is brave

 ADRIAN AND GUMSHOE:

Testimonies, totally messed up

 OLDBAG:

And Oldbag’s just for fun!

ALL:

Oldbag’s just for fun!

Oldbag is fun

Adrian is anxious

Gumshoe is brave

Franziska is fierce

De Killer is precise

Engarde is hot

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 And what of Phoenix Wright?

Dear, bewildered, and hardly alright

What of Phoenix Wright?

Scared, determined, and fighting for time

What of Phoenix Wright?

What of Phoenix Wright?

What of Phoenix Wright?

And now for my commentary because I worked hard and want to write my own retrospective. If I could put a read more UNDERNEATH a read more, I would.

The original joke I made half an hour into an eight hour work shift was “And Miles isn’t here.” About twenty seconds later the weight of “Maya isn’t here” hit me, and I spent the next seven and a half hours trying to write this song parody and work at the same time (and worked more on it on and off for the next four days). I nearly changed course while thinking about the entire musical as a whole because the idea of disbarred Phoenix singing “I used to be better” is deeply upsetting. Since my gateway song was Dust and Ashes, I also considered going the Rise From the Ashes route, but ultimately kept on with Farewell, My Turnabout. Something about this musical and Farewell, My Turnabout just feels right to me.

I couldn’t find anything as succinct as ‘There’s a war going on out there somewhere’ so I settled for changing the lyric a few times. I considered making all four different, but I liked having the whole company echo Phoenix’s lines back to him. Also, most of my other takes were goofy. “There’s a cat making noise in a house somewhere” and “There’s a bear with a lens in it’s eye somewhere” felt a shade out of place (though the dream of sticking the line “Stuffed bear snatched up by Edgeworth” into this musical remains. Don’t let me take on this project). I also had “There’s a blackmail tape out there somewhere” which I do like but I feel that it’s a bit too specific for this intro.

I like how the name sequence wound up. Maya, Pearl, Mia felt appropriate. Mia was a tricky one to write because the names Natasha, Anatole, and Pierre are all HORRIBLE to work around, but I kept her description as good because she fits any definition of the word. Pearl loving Maya very much felt like a very sweet, natural fit. I stand by my decision even if loving one’s cousin makes half the internet think of the ‘localization choices’ of a certain Sailor Moon dub.

Miles is a grande dame of Moscow in part because I wanted more syllables to work with, but I also like having him a little earlier in the song to mark his importance. I left writing his piece to last because it deviated a huge amount from the original text and I also wasn’t sure where to begin. And yet, after all that consideration, I decided to make fun of him instead by drawing attention to how he’s ‘just arrived.’ Rude.

I considered keeping old-school because... it’s not wrong? What are you even wearing around your neck, Miles (and where can I get one)? A friend of mine who is partway through Rise From the Ashes suggested ‘fuchsia’ and while that is absolutely hilarious, I did already make fun of Miles once. Twice, if we count ‘and Miles isn’t here.’ I went with trusting for a few reasons. One is that this is the first time we see him talking about pursuing the truth. And he really, really, TRUSTS in that. He smiles so much in the scene where he first comes back? I had forgotten? Just how much? That’s not entirely relevant, I’m just overwhelmed because I watched that earlier. We also see him trusting in other people much more readily than before, and trust in general is a big deal in this case. Phoenix TRUSTS HIM?! OOPS I MADE THIS ABOUT NARUMITSU.

Matt Engarde’s part wrote itself (as did the chorus, oh my god. It wanted to be written). De Killer, on the other hand? THE WORST. I had more trouble with his part than anybody’s. It’s partly because his name is KILLER and assassin is so many syllables and good synonyms are hard to come by and I couldn’t make hitman work and the names Anatole and Pierre had the nerve to be in the line originally. But, I won. Take that!

Franziska had to be fierce. I wanted to use “Franziska is fierce and always perfect” because perfect has to be somewhere and I think Dolokhov’s original line about not being too important would be truly insulting to her (Show him how it’s done, Franziska). Unfortunately, I was having trouble with her second line, so I swapped things around a bit.

I threw out ‘minor characters’ in favor of ‘our witnesses’ so even though I think Gumshoe is good, ‘Gumshoe is brave’ is probably the best sentence I’ve ever written in my life. Adrian Andrews is anxious because co-dependant is a lot of syllables, and I think it’s fair to say she’s got a lot of anxiety. I feel, really, really bad that I couldn’t fit Will Powers in. I ran out of room.

Now you might be saying, “Objection! Oldbag isn’t fun!” And you would be right. It makes me laugh because CAPCOM thinks Oldbag is for fun. Why else would she be in so many games? I considered making the line “And Corrida is dead!” but ultimately decided to make the speaker a witness. And the tone doesn’t quite suit Will Powers, he’s a bit shy for the last rousing call. I’m sorry, WP.

And what of Phoenix Wright? Goodness, that was a near save. The stresses on Pierre don’t fit anything! I did originally want to keep the line “Dear, bewildered, and awkward’ intact by adding ‘at times’ to the end, but then when I went for ‘fighting for time’ in the other line, I switched out awkward. Writing that last bit about Phoenix made me emotional. I love him.

And that’s Farewell, My Prologue!