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attorneys-against-court-violence · 1 year ago

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It's too late for me to think coherent thoughts but I did want to at least call attention to this.

At the end of Dual Destinies, after the lawyers had done so much in so little time to unravel the phantom's schemes, I wanted to point out the way Simon reacts to each of them (and Aura) in their efforts. He's a pretty cagey guy - he's had a psyche tutor, a prosecutor's career and 7 years in jail to teach himself how to keep his emotions under a lid, so it's interesting to look at how and to what degree he shows trust and appreciation for the people around him.

Phoenix

Phoenix helped pull both Simon and Athena from their respective traumas and reassured them that there is no way either of them are guilty of murder. The closest to a "thank you" Simon gave him was entrusting him with the psyche profile. Which IS a big deal given it's the only tie he's had to Metis for seven years, so that more than speaks for itself. Of course he knew that Athena was the one who would make the best use of it and... well, was the defendant at the time. Still, passing it off to Wright (especially after speaking his disdain of attorneys as money-grubbing liars to his face in 5-DLC) is quite the gesture for the above reason.

I'm... lightly dubious about the relation they each have in regards to "The Dark Age of the Law". Phoenix's incident was much more unprecidented than yet another prosecutor being found guilty of murder. On top of that, Simon being responsible the people's mistrust due to his conviction is a bit silly when those aforementioned prosecutors were already found guilty.

But this isn't about that. This is about Simon and how he shows faith and appreciation of others. Joining Phoenix hand-in-hand in cutting the phantom down once and for all - a beast that Simon has abhored a lot longer than Phoenix ever could - is a pretty hefty sign that he has faith in the man. He by all rights earned it by unatangling the incident that chained him and Athena in the first place!

Miles Edgeworth

Edgeworth - as affective as his actions may have been up to this point (not at all) - had a vested interest in Simon's freedom as both subordinate and victim of what was essentially a kangaroo court. While his motives and theory on the matter went against Simon's wish to cover for Athena, Edgeworth was still the one Simon gave the honour of undoing his shackles. Quite a bit of trust and gratitude there despite their motives clashing at points. Just a shame we. Uh. Don't really get a chance to see why the two of them trust one another aside from wanting to end the Dark Age of the Law. Which sadly means I don't have much to share in this segment. Regardless, letting Edgeworth be the one to undo his cuffs is gesture enough to prove his opinion of the man.

Aura

Aura had done and threatened dreadful things to get to this point. Even still, without her hanging a guillotine over the legal system there likely wouldn't have been a chance of a re-trial to begin with (which... makes me wonder what the hell Edgeworth's been doing this entire time but anyways-). She very clearly believed Athena was the one at fault and went to great lengths to indict her, yet Simon did not waste time laying blame onto her for threatening the person he was protecting; she was desperate, frustrated and as much in the dark about what had actually happened as anyone else. Simon knew that, thanking her personally for giving them all the astronomically unlikely opportunity to finally put their phantoms to rest and apologising for the anguish he had caused through his self-sacrifice.

Simon tends to have a knack for seeing people for what they are beyond the surface. Beyond their connection as siblings, it would be easy to write Aura off as cruel and unreasonable, though we are given plenty to help us see her in a more sympathetic light despite that. Simon's self-sacrifice was a key cause of a lot of pain for her and they both share some grief over the loss of Metis Cykes. He doesn't really have a reason to drag her down any further, already feeling guilty for helping her along the path to desparation, and he already knows how she felt about his tutor.

Few people understand the emotionally closed-off and blunt such as the Blackquills and the Cykes quite like Simon does. Aura is no exception and his affection (stunted as it is) is apparent.

Athena

Athena goes without saying; of everyone in the WAA who was involved in the phantom's ultimate defeat, it was her he singled-out to thank and acknowledge for her incredible efforts in saving him from his sentance. He pretty clearly tells her in that moment that she's more important to him than his own life - a demonstrable fact given his actions and a powerful thing for someone so cagey and uncooperative to say. When the master of concealing his emotions wants you to know that you're an exceptionally important person to him in an uncharacteristically forward way, that's a huge deal.

She's the reason he went through with his conviction in the first place. He would lay down his own life if it meant she didn't have to bear the guilt of a crime so horrid as murdering her own mother. Simon even went as far as to emotionally distance himself, build up an image of an irredeemable criminal (likely reflecting how he felt about taking the blame as his mentor's/sister's partner's killer).

I suppose it helps that Athena can already read his intent through tone of voice. It means he can tease her while she knows it's all in good faith, yes, but it also means there's little point in keeping secrets from her. Now that he has no reason to do so, he's free to tell her something you would hear him say about seldom few, if any; that she is more important to him than his own life.

A Man of His Word

It's worth noting that Simon - doofus that he is - plays the whole honour-bound samurai thing straight. When he trusts you, he REALLY trusts you and will make exceptions that he wouldn't for anyone else. How do you think Fulbright got away with so much despite Simon's insistence on handling his mess on his own? The white-clad doppleganger practically had full-reign because he had, through false earnestness, earned Simon's utmost trust.

How willing Simon is to say to your face that he values you is highly dependant on how honour-bound he is to do so. Phoenix was the one that helped him and his lot on a practical level, though only have a passing connection to him. A small (but significant) gesture is plenty to get the point across. Edgeworth is a fellow co-worker, now boss, of his. How personally they know each other is for debate, but it's safe to say Edgeworth was invested in Simon's situation more than most others seemed to be. Allowing him to undo his handcuffs - those things that binded and shocked him for at least a year - a degree or two above what others who've proven themselves would get. Aura is Simon's sister. His appreciation for her and apologies for hurting her all the more through his false confession is expected even without the samurai nonsense. That Simon holds family in high-regard should not be a surprise.

Then there's Athena. Daughter of his mentor Metis, the one who guided him through his journey in psychology and even in his legal cases. The brilliant woman whom he treated as sovereign when she was alive (noted by Phoenix to be the actions of a lost soul more than anything). Athena - aside from getting along quite well with him despite her conditions - is seemingly the only direct descendant of that person, and her greatest treasure. I don't recall many people that, if spat upon, Simon would be enraged on their behalf besides Metis. Vehemently denying that she coldly used Athena for research while slamming the witness stand in anger.

Athena was the most important person to Metis so it stands that she would be very important to Simon as well. The fact that he was willing to die for her - even in spite of his sister's wishes - speaks volumes all on its own. The fact he felt the need to state outright his gratitude, how deeply he cares for Athena, for a man who'd rather let his actions speak for him? That is someone I can believe he would go to hell for and come back with a smile on his face.

Oh, and there's also Apollo.

Apollo...?

Do he and Simon even talk after the courtroom bombing? Then again, he was off on his own quest to unroot the seed of doubt in his mind rather than anything to do with UR-1 and so-on, so probably not much to say there. I am a bit surprised though, since Athena's innocence regarding Clay's murder was forefront in the lad's mind and Simon was the one to read out the forged fingerprint test that ultimately indicted her. Both of them putting so much stock into Fulbright's investigation had led Athena to be arrested in the first place (a fact Apollo is PISSED about), though neither seem to exchange words on it, nor do they the fact they were both driven by personal reasons in the trial prior to the bombing given how Simon criticised Apollo for that much.

(The "scumbag" referring to the phantom, not Simon.)

Although... later on, Simon finds it necessary to place his trust in Apollo's "cheat" (the same power that got the boy doubting Athena in the first place, which he revealed in the section prior) in order to weed out "Fulbright"'s lies and uncover the truth about the lighter that damned an important friend to both of them.

Notice Taka leaning in ready to swoop on Apollo before Simon turns to pet him, like he's assuring the bird that there's no need to be violent with Apollo this time. Apollo is the first lawyer to whom Simon voiced his disdain for defense attorneys. He accuses him of plotting to stall for time in order to forge evidence (which - given Apollo's history - would be quite the cut to the guy). He hacks away at him freely, calling him out for being biased in the case of Clay's murder. But once Apollo made his intentions clear in his "what's faith without doubt" bit and Phoenix removed said doubt, Simon allows him to conduct himself as he wishes. Despite implying that he still isn't a fan of the ability itself.

It's a nice turnabout given how brash he was with the lad. Part of me wishes they got more - more than he did with Phoenix at any rate - but I'll leave that for another time.

So What?

The what's pretty straightforward; Simon Blackquill often shows wordless gratitude to those who aren't strictly important to him, but did help him in very key ways. He's a closed-off guy who'd rather let his emotions go unspoken, though you can usually tell when he thinks of you in a good light.

It's the times where he does voice his appreciation of others - to go out of his way to make his feelings heard by those people - where you see who he values most in his life. His sister recieves both a thank you and an apology. Athena is told that she is more important than Simon's own life. The moments do warrant it too since they take place during and after the UR-1 retrial - easily the most emotionally turbulent day of their lives, save for the incident that brought it about in the first place.

#ace attorney spoilers #dual destinies spoilers #aa5 spoilers #turn your thinking around!#prosecutor birdman #the wright man for the job #the king of prosecutors #twin horned devil #the cykes brigade is totally cyked!#mr fine #hey look! a post that's been in the drafts and not a sudden ad-hoc essay!#bit of a long one too so watch out

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