#and everyone points at manfred for being a shitty dad

[theredcuyo]

So, I convinced a very dear friend of mine to play ace attorney and she's almost finished raise from the ashes, she got to the part of Miles' letter just now and asked me about it

I cried, i didn't tell her why tho, but that was me thinking about JFA, which... yeah, now that i think about it, did Franziska know that her brother wasn't dead?

It's been a good while since i played that, but i don't think they ever specified if she knew

She was in for revenge for him tho

But like, if she didn't knew he was alive, that's a big f*cking yikes, lost her father and brother in less than a year?, damn (we know she at least has another older sibling and a niece, but still that's like half her family)

Just imagine that, also, can we talk about how betrayed she must've felt?, as a matter of a fact she CRIES when talking to him later and i feel like the fandom puts Phoenix's reaction over hers a lot (not to count her reaction in AAI2 too when Miles "abandons" her again)

Which yeah, i get it, Phoenix pulling a legally blonde and then being hurt is interesting, but also, like, family is also a thing? and thanks to AAI we know that they had always been close and having a sibling disappear and sort of fake their death sounds really f*cking painful

Even if she knew Miles was still alive, she saw him so hurt to do something this drastic and not only that, but almost quit being a prosecutor all together (again, very important in their bond)

No wonders she went protective and vengeful sis against Phoenix

[pinksweatergettingbetter]

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

Okay folks. this is it. part 1 of the final chapter

here we go.

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trial day 2?? oh yeah i forgot they split this game up in the worst, uneven way possible 

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wow that cutscene was

something alright

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wow datz actually managed to hold onto the snow globe. kudos?

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what the fuck

i think i heard it wrong but Dhurke’s objection sounds like an old man 

I'm pretty sure i heard it wrong 

missed the bass

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who was that no– oh Garananana

i guess she's gonna be the final boss instead huh

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im so tired i cant even snark properly 

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“is that kosher?”

i like it

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oh god

what.... what is she wearing 

i mean

fuckin

TALK about madonna-whore complex. oh yeah, time to turn super evil?? bear your midriff! show off dem tiddies! 

look, SOJ. theres only one bad bitch in ace attorney who can pull off floaty tendril hair, and its NOT ga’ran.

i cant believe i have to look at this train wreck for the rest of the trial

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“heh heh heh. its all coming back now. the feel of my blood pumping through my veins”

this is perhaps because youre actually moving now, your eminence.

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can we just dispense with the trial and have a good old fashioned anime fight? cmon apollo, spike up that hair and grab your BFS. 

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“meep”

WHATS WITH THE MEEPING

BONNY DID THAT TOO

SOJ ITS 2016 ...ACTUALLY ITS 2028 YOU HOLES

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everyone in the court: :O what??? whats wrong with rayfa??? why is she sad???

oh i dunno maybe because her fucking Father just got brutally murdered?? maybe??

what the fuck is up with SOJ characters being dumb as a bag of bricks when it comes to other peoples’ feelings regarding death of loved ones???

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phoenix: shits fucked, thats why?? apollo: OHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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“seems like she's worse off today than she was yesterday”

hey game you'd better not be implying any shit 

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“discipline”

soj

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alright, back after another longass break. i can do this.

( That’s oddly compassionate of him, all things considered )

I was about to defend Nahyuta because what kind of person wouldn’t try to spare a child from witnessing that kind of trauma... but then again, this is the Sadmad who purposefully tried to trigger someone into losing a trial so

(shrug emoji)

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grana’s gone into full HORHORHOR BITCH MODE 

partially I'm totally numb because i dont have any stakes in her newfound ebilness, and partially I'm tired of this weird new trend of child abuse in the new games 

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“Barbed head.”

oh my god 

the first person she goes to after realizing that her caretaker is gone is fucking Phoenix 

im gonna cry 

“ive been reduced to “royal robe remover”” NO NICK YOU’VE BEEN UPGRADED TO DAD BY SOMEONE WHO’S NOT YOU

( ‘It’s like she’s grooming Mr. Wright to be Nayna’s replacement’) 

I know this game is all about confusing bullshit for heartwarming moments and vice versa but guys 

good lord

my heart

i really needed that 

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(sigh) they really couldn’t get someone who sounded like a fucking 14 year old to do her voice?? really???

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rayfa: (looks like she's going to die and collapses)

apollo: this is not good...

gee apollo you really think so? 

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wait a fuking second 

we went through the whole dance cutscene and we’re not even going to see the pool??? does that mean the priestess has to be conscious and present for the images to be visible? ...and how does that work, anyway? 

i just realized, a medium could use a pool to see the dead, but how the hell could they project it for others to see?? does she literally open a portal to hell???

(sigh) i just regret sitting through that cutscene again

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“cabal of traitorous lawyers”

i love that

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(Seriously Dhurke? This is no laughing matter.)

this basically sums up Dhurke’s entire personality 

...yknow, i know what they were trying to do with his character– i really do. i know he’s supposed to come off as a dashing, cavalier rebel who laughs in the face of danger. 

but they overshot endearingly irreverent and ploughed straight into fuckwaddome. if you want a character to be charming, they need softer moments too. Dhurke isn’t a bad person, but he’s kind of an asshole when you get right down to it, and nothing so far is proving otherwise. 

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ok ive heard Dhurke’s Objection again and it doesn't sound like an old man– it just sounds about as overblown and ridiculous as Manfred von Karma’s (not to mention about as deep)

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LET DHURKE SAY BITCH

... i guess

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another perfect example of Dhurke being kind of a fuckwad: he keeps needling the queen and baiting her in ways that could get himself killed, which would be all fine and dandy if he were the brave resistance leader being tortured for information in the bowels of a dungeon.

...but here’s the thing.

IF YOU DIE, DHURKE, APOLLO AND PHOENIX DIE TOO. DID YOU FORGET ABOUT THE GODDAMN DC ACT? ITS NOT JUST YOUR DEAD ASS ON THE LINE HERE SO SHUT YOUR SASSY TRAP AND THINK ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN YOUR *AMAZING WIT* FOR ONCE.

you’ve got 2 extra lives on the line here.

...3 if my suspicions are correct.

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stop calling him son please you abandoned him in an orphanage and didnt contact him for 14 years.

...and if he can’t call you ‘dad’ you have no right to call him ‘son’

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coming back to this after ghost trick has convinced me that one of ga’ran’s lackeys miiiiiight be related to Cabanela, baby

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“Wright... I can see we are kindred spirits, you and I! Hah-ha ha ha ha ha!!”

NO

NO 

NO

NO

FUCK YOU DHURKE 

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“It’s pretty easy to spot the difference between a soulless man and the soulless shell of a man”

ok that did get a laugh out of me, good job dhurke.

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apollo: pls dont get us killed dhurke: mmmm ok ill try but I'm not promising anything lol

://///

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“But remember, son, if you truly believe in me, you should be able to prove my innocence.”

do i even have to list how many reasons thats wrong and a shitty thing to say

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“Such Insolence”

You’ve been beat out, Not So Fast

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Ga’ran used Gust!

Apollo flinched and couldn’t move!

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“I could behead you at any time”

she's got a point; she’s a fucking despot, there’s no reason to actually hold a trial. i mean i guess she wants to shut up the rebels but just killing them would be a lot easier and its not like she has any qualms about murder

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“Aw shoot, ya got me.”

again, not an appropriate reaction for whats going on buddy

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lol get fucked kjudge

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DGFUFUS OH COOL

WE GOT GUILTY (excited cheers from the audience)

the applause and the shots of everyone with :O faces is making me feel like i just won a gameshow 

wheres my cheesy jingle 

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also i love how Dhurke’s like “oh shit!! my assholishness has directly resulted in my son’s death!!! did NOT see that coming!!!!!!!!!”

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again the sound mixing is drowning out the background music (sigh)

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“your benevolence? I’d be happy to lend an ear if you’d like to talk!”

>this is it, this is why he leaves the series guys. Apollo is too good for these sinful games.

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DAMNIT DHURKE, YOUR SHIT MOUTH IS RUBBING OFF ON YOUR SON

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hmm

we’ve got an april may here

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“Rayfa, I shall buy you a new servant”

so Kooraheen practices slavery..? I mean, she.... she said ‘buy’, not hire.

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“she would have left shoeprints”

do

do you know what evaporation is your malevolence 

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wait wait wait

that doesn't make any sense 

the only prints leading out are from Inga, but the prints inside the building are from Nayna? how did she avoid leaving prints leading inside, then?? did she just long-jump over the dirt path???

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the guards are not fanboying, apollo, they’re toadying. there’s a difference.

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apollo: maybe the place he was stabbed and the place he died were different 

(the game only continues after you carefully explain what dying of blood loss is three years later)

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to be completely fair, there are actually stories of people who were unaware of being stabbed 

furthermore, when you get stabbed, you’re not going to be the most rational human being on earth. 

phoenix, don’t give sadmad that point, especially when he’s currently assaulting your protege 

now, as i was saying, Apollo’s suggestion that Inga was stabbed in the back and then ran into the temple is perfectly plausible; running to shelter from an attacker is probably the first thing you’d want to do when injured, and the tomb was a pretty safe place, i’d wager. 

tbh i really don’t know why they’re arguing about him feeling the pain as that wouldn’t really impair his movement considering he was stabbed in a place that wouldn’t affect his ability to walk???

but yeah apparently he was doped up to shit so 

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...i highly doubt back pain medication is strong enough to negate a stab wound. on the other hand, if it is and your back pain is THAT intense, Inga, you need to see a fucking doctor pronto.

...yeah shots straight into the spine is one step away from surgery; not to be an asshole but I'm not sure Inga was doing so well anyway before he went 

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huh. are they really gonna give us an actual choosable choice to abandon Dhurke and save our own skin? Cause that would be interesting; a lot like the old games where you could “”choose”” to defend a client or not.

to be clear here, though, i wouldn't choose “no” even as much as i dislike dhurke. we know (sigh) that he’s innocent, and even if i dont like him it’s our duty to defend his shitty ass

OH HOLY FUCK

THERES THE CHOICE

wow. y’know SOJ, i dont much like you, but you fuckin Did That. well done.

also thank you for the Justice pun it is much appreciated.

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“And while I can’t say I’m used to it, this isn’t exactly my first rodeo”

FWHAT

>game flashes back to the Ahlbi case

DSKJFLS THIS IS LITERALLY THE “at second rodeo: this isn't my first rodeo” POST

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YES OK WE’VE SEEN THIS CUTSCENE TWICE NOW ALREADY

WE GET IT, RAYFAS GOT COLD FEET ABOUT BEING QUEEN

MAYAS IN THE GAME 

OK

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phoenix: allow me to mansplain how rayfa is feeling despite how fucking obvious it is. after all, we know our players have the mental and emotional capacity of goldfish!

oh hey mansplain is a legit word in the dictionary 

cool!

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why are they building this up?? just fucking tell Rayfa to do her stupid dance again and get on with it; we already did this at the beginning of the trial 

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“Hmm... Indeed. It would be problematic.”

ohohoooohohohhhihgjhgo

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oh her nails are actually tiny pen 

thats neat 

thank goodness Kooraheeneese is an up-and-down written language– otherwise they’d have to make a whole new animation for the english game teehee

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“....................But... Horn Head needs my help”

oh my heart

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dan she just straight up begone’d her 

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see the one thing that falls flat here is that, during a regular trial, the prosecution saying “oh, ok, have it your way; you can try to prove your theory” holds up a little more since they... you know. don’t have absolute power.

where as, with Garananana, its more like she's just a huge posturing pushover. especially since every other minute she's saying “ok, I'm gonna kill you for REAL now.”

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rayfa: b but if i fail you'll be killed!!! i dont get it...

apollo: i literally just finished explaining that I'm 100% ready to die for my shitty job that was like 5 minutes ago

it is sweet to see that he’s cheering her on though. good big bro 

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I'm finding small solace in this beautiful moment of “your foreign dad and bro are here for you babe reach for the stars”

Athena’s probably flashing a double thumbs up from the gallery too

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“But... I finally know now. I know in what I can trust”

Bobby, from the afterlife: YOU’RE DOING AMAZING SWEETIE 

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Garan: What??? my tiny 14 year old daughter is going to do a thing i don’t want her to??? fuck there’s no way i can shut her up. not even with all of my large adult man guards who could easily just escort her out of the courtroom without any resistance because they’re my fucking royal guards and I'm the Queen

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oh shit she took off her own cape

im so glad i muted the game so her awful voice actress couldn’t ruin this cool moment

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and now as this long ass cutscene plays out again, i simply cannot help but wonder about the poor choir and how long they’ve been on standby 

where do they keep the choir during trials 

whats it like singing the dance of devotion song every trial 

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oh finally here we go. alright, lets see what the magic party pool has in store for us this time 

...o ...ok then

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OH! OH SHIT 

Inga’s face blind?!

Y’know I did have a few thoughts about that when we discovered his notebook but I didn’t think they’d actually go that route... though, thinking about it now, it is pretty convenient.

...ok everyone’s freaking out. maybe they’ve never heard of face-blindness? ...or maybe its not face blindness after all

im pretty sure it is though

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i dont know why but everyone being like FUCK ITS GOD and phoenix being like “whoops shits trippy now” made me laugh pretty hard

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ok i gotta say I'm actually a little invested now, even if its just because i think face-blindness is an interesting thing to incorporate into a murder case. again, a convenient thing, but an interesting thing all the same.

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ahh fuck i keep forgetting how the stupid seance works 

welp, there goes one of my souls... (sigh)

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..apollo you dont need to show her the picture of her dead father to say “he had a cell phone”.

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the voice was coming from INSIDE THE PHONE 

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RAYFA HAS A PET FROG????

WHAT

SHOW US THE FROG SOJ

SHOW US THE FROG! SHOW US THE FROG! SHOW US THE FROG! 

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...why would Rayfa interpret the sound of the warbaa’d (something she’s familiar with) with a lion’s roar (something she’s unfamiliar with) ??

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oh i see thats why Vore Machine is an idiot 

for plot convenience 

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Datz Are’bal, a man who throws fire crackers at children.

...sounds like an are’bal guy.

bahdum-tshh

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“The joker who got a kick out of startling Ahlbi with his Dragon Snot Snaps”

...something tells me that if Datz found out about Youtube, he’d be one of those “””prank””” channels.

also WHY ARE THEY CALLED SNOT SNAPS

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

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“happy-go-lucky”

i think you mean vaguely sociopathic

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(sigh) ive finally been worn down to the point where i need a walkthrough. ive... been beaten...

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boy ahlbi’s just a font of knowledge isn't he 

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DID SHE JUST BREAK HER NAILS OFF

PLEASE SAY THOSE WERE STICK ONS

HOL SHIT

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MMMM LAY IT ON ME NICK

face blindness 

... i mean theyre not calling it that but thats what it is 

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yeah yeah channeling blah blah come on! youre in the LAND of channeling !

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shduhjahdjk

I'm picturing Inga running into his own dead body and flipping his shit 

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oh man. thats the end of Trail 2 part 1.

guess i’ll see you guys on the other side... heheh. 

[ladyloveandjustice]

Miles, Kay and Simon really are interesting to contrast as a trio because all three of them instantly bonded over the fact they lost their fathers at a young age...but the specific circumstances are very different and are what led them down different pasts.

Kay is the most emotionally healthy out of the three. She had a loving father who she held no conflicted feelings towards and the relatives she mentions she was sent to live with don’t seem to have been abusive, though she also doesn’t seem particularly attached to them either. (I headcanon that they’re good people, but kind of awkward and distant and treated her more like a guest than a family member, unintentionally). She definitely has scars (Kay hides it well, but I think she has some anger. issues. Her desire to punch everyone in the face is mostly treated comically, but she did genuinely try to attack her dad’s killer when she found her, and nearly died because of it. I think there’s some real hurt behind some of her recklessness) but she was always able to maintain her belief in the world and other people and is generally idealistic. She was also able to meet Miles, and he really has stepped in to be someone she can depend on like family and has only reinforced and encouraged her ideals.

Miles had a good and loving father, but was immediately sent to live with an abusive father figure when he died. He also developed a lot of conflicted feelings towards his dad as a combination of the guilt over thinking he killed the man, coming to resent defense attorneys and Manfred basically manipulating him into being the antithesis of his father. He became very screwed up and started going down a bad road and in his own words “became unable to believe in anything”. However, he did still have positive memories of his dad and childhood friends. And then one of those friends specifically came along to show him kindness and prove to him there were still people who loved him, and it set him on the right path again. He’s doing a lot better now, but still gets plagued by PTSD and other issues.

Simon, meanwhile, never had a loving father. His dad didn’t give a shit about him and he knew it, even as he struggled to please him. Then he lost his father and was immediately thrust into abusive situation after situation- the police harassed him, the head of his orphanage was corrupt and he even came to distrust his childhood friend, believing he had betrayed them. He had zero support from anyone. The only person who he trusted, who genuinely cared for him and and acted as a parental figure, was, ironically, a ruthless assassin. But even that person couldn’t really be there for him, being on the run from the law and all. So Simon really became unable to believe in anything. Why would he? Unlike Miles, he had nothing to hold onto and no person coming to his rescue. He sunk so deep into distrust, paranoia and despair that he started killing and even dragging innocents into his revenge scheme.

Simon is, in a lot of ways, who Miles could have become without both the positive memories of his father and without Phoenix coming to his rescue. Simon rejected childhood friend and shut him out, Miles came to trust and love his. 

So yeah, they are birds of a feather- but they’re also all very different. And I think that makes Simon hate Kay and Miles all the more. They were thrust into shitty, traumatic situations like he was, but they had people to save them. Simon didn’t have that. He really didn’t have to frame Kay for murder, there was no reason why she specifically should have been the one to take the fall- he could have chosen anyone. But I think he hated Kay for being able to lose everything and come out whole, for pointing out they had this thing in common she was able to overcome thanks to luckier circumstances and he wasn’t. And I think he wanted to hurt Miles in framing Kay too. He resented that Miles had been saved when he hadn’t.

Sure, they’re birds of a feather, but they also couldn’t be more different, and he wants them to know that. 

[edgequill-moved]

do the whole aa ensemble. all of them. i dare u

sondcr said: ok fine at leaaaast trucy, gumshoe, pearl, edgeworth :p

i was honest to god sitting here thinking “i wonder how long it’ll take me if i actually tried” and i almost opened the character roster on court-records.net adn started a draft

HERE ARE HEADCANONS UNDER A READMORE!! and here’s the original meme

trucy!!!

headcanon a: she always gets detention at school for doing weird shit like pulling snacks out of her magic panties in front of the principal. jinxie is usually in detention with her for falling asleep in class so she doesn’t hate it too much

headcanon b: she secretly taught herself how to use throwing knives from a youtube video tutorial

headcanon c: she has no idea how to form attachments properly. it’s either she has no interest in you or you’re her whole world, and there’s no way to know which. also: she’s constantly in doubt that phoenix and apollo actually care about her since she’s so used to family popping in and out of her life, so every time phoenix flies off to europe during the seven-year-gap she’s deathly afraid he won’t come back (’:

headcanon d: OK LOOK THE WHOLE STORY OF HOW PHOENIX ADOPTED HER IS SO WEIRD TO ME so i’ve retconned it. in my head, the day that she lost her father & nick was still in a daze from losing his badge he was like “uhhh sure i guess you can stay with me til another family member comes to pick you up” but then no one.. did….. so he sort of accidentally ended up assuming a parental role rather than being like “alright i’m ur new dad” from day one (which always seemed a lil creepy to me ngl)

richard “dick” gumshoe

headcanon a: HE LOVES HIS WIFE MAGGEY AND THEIR 2.5 KIDS AND THEIR DOG (MISSILE) SO MUCH

headcanon b: he loves singing and humming all the time and it annoys the shit out of edgeworth (and ema at first but then he grows on her and they have singalongs sometimes at the precinct)

headcanon c: he’s probably got sickeningly low self esteem because everyone uses him as their punching bag and he keeps getting paycuts so his healthcare is probably shitty so like :’’’’’’) he’s probably depressed as hell (at least during the trilogy) and it WORRIES ME

headcanon d: this isnt so much a headcanon as just a Rant but i really wish we got to see more of gumshoe getting the proper recognition and appreciation he deserves…. u don’t just accidentally become a detective so clearly he is super smart and good at his job

pearly (hers are a lot shorter but it doesnt mean i luv her any less i promise..)

headcanon a: she doesn’t get a very good cell/wifi connection in hazakurain so she and trucy send each other snail mail and decorate the letters with doodles and stickers and glitter bombs and whatnot

headcanon b: she’s got the scariest death glare in the whole village (she inherited it from her mother).. don’t u dare fuckin cross her

headcanon c: she misses mia almost as much as maya does and regrets not getting to spend more time with her before she died

headcanon d: it would have been cool if pearl aged a single day between aa3 and her cameo in aa5

edgeworth (hoooOOO BOY)

headcanon a: pess is his psychiatric service dog who helps calm him down during earthquakes and other things that trigger his ptsd!

headcanon b: sometimes he lets klavier, simon, yumihiko, & ema (and kay whenever she sneaks in) come in & take naps in his office because look, somebody’s gotta use that couch and his subordinates are all just about as traumatized as he is. they all deserve a break

headcanon c: ha ha haaaa………… i have so many Sad Thoughts about this guy how do i pick which ones to write about. uhh ok this one is pretty common among members of the fandom but i think about it a lot and it’s pretty crucial to my understanding/interpretation of him as a character, so: (( #suicide tw )) when he left the “miles edgeworth chooses death” note, he wasn’t sure at that point whether he meant it literally or not. this has been explored in lots of fics before too, including either l/egal p/artners or t/urnabout t/oast, i can’t remember which (maybe both?)

headcanon d: seeing edgeworth’s discarded aa5 concept art at first was VERY!! ALARMING!!! to me bc some of it looked dangerously similar to manfred von karma’s style, which you’d think he would be like, actively rejecting at this point in his life? so in my head he’s starting to chill out a bit. like he even wears t-shirts on the weekends sometimes. they’re ridiculously expensive t-shirts and he looks bomb as hell in ‘em but still. he can be Casual sometimes. sometimes.

[modusoperandi]

Lana: ☎, ✗, ☛ / Miles: ☯, ⊗ (pre-Turnabout Goodbyes), ✏

Lana:

List three or more people they would call out for during an emergency: Pre SL-9 it’s Gant, Angel, or Neil. Post SL-9 it’s just Gant, yikes, though in the AU with Neil living and being in on the evidence-forging she probably would only call out for Neil. She would almost call out for Angel, and then think better of it. At these points, she doesn’t call out for Ema, because she doesn’t think that Ema can save her--she still thinks of Ema as a child. I don’t have a name yet for post-prison verse, but Ema and Simon are probably the entire list because I don’t have much planned out for this verse yet besides Shitty Apartment Adventures. (She needs friends.) 

Explain how they portray feelings of hostility or dislike: Lana can be mean as hell (jfc when she shows up in her first scene and she’s like “Funny. I thought I told you not to come here. Or is my memory failing?” YIKES). But if she’s lukewarmly polite, she doesn’t have very strong feelings for you. Prickly Cactus RFTA Lana is mean because she wants to drive everyone off, but that doesn’t mean that she dislikes them--she thinks she’s doing it for their sake. Really, with Lana, you’re damned by faint praise.

What is their typical response to being given orders?: “who do you think you are?”

Miles:

Do they believe for every darkness there is a lightness? If not, why?: No, he doesn’t. The only duality that matters to him is truth or untruth, and there are a thousand untruths for every buried scrap of honesty. There’s no balance to it, just the arguments--and the truth has no bearing on who wins.

What is something that causes them to question themself?: I haven’t gotten to any of the other early Edgeworth-y things yet, but I imagine he had to do some real hard moral gymnastics to get to a place where thoughts of his dad spurred him forward as a prosecutor, from being certain that he wanted to be a defense attorney when he grew up. I don’t suppose “I became a prosecutor to avenge my dad and to punish myself” is a thing that like, happened without a lot of really misguided soul-searching. So really, the answer is Manfred von Karma. And then Manfred von Karma again, but like, the opposite way.

What are their creative outlets?: Miles turns everything into a competition so he kind of loses that creative aspect when it’s something he turns into winning, like playing instruments. Still, I think the closest thing he’d get to a creative outlet is his love of the Steel Samurai. I can’t quite see him getting into art, but it seems like he kind of gets super into decorating stuff. Miles Edgeworth accidentally marathoning like 12 billion reality tv shows about interior decorating with the occasional Say Yes to the Dress thrown in there