#because why the fuck would you do that klavier

[hychlorions]

i win because i dreamt about klapollo building a house together and kissing on the floor of their bedroom 💥💥💥💥

[blueskittlesart]

i am an athena cykes defender forever and ever until the day i die but god. somewhere out there there is a universe where apollo justice got actual follow through and it kills me that i am not living in it

[riseninsaturn]

one day i’ll write an articulate post about why the gavin brothers are the most emotionally repressed people in ace attorney and maybe ever but in two entirely separate ways but as of right now whenever i think about that very concept i feel like screaming into a bottomless well so that idea is on hold

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

Due to overwhelming popular demand (literally one person), I will now elaborate! The screenshots made this really long, so it's going under the cut.

I know I said 'not all that nice' in the original post, but I think a better word for what I read in Klavier would be that he's 'unfeeling' or 'callous', and I believe that largely comes from my initial impression of him. Many people cite the "This is the first time I've ever felt this way with a man" line as one of his most impactful early scenes, but, honestly, it didn't do much for me. Instead, the first time I properly took notice of Klavier was when he says this in Wocky's trial:

The first time I read that, I went, "Oh. He's demented."

And maybe that's a bit harsh, right? We don't know much about Wocky, but he is part of the mafia and under suspicion of murder here. Maybe Klavier's malicious glee at his soon-to-be untimely demise is warranted or excusable (though I would argue that it still takes a certain kind of cruelty to laugh right in the person's face). But that's the thing. This moment isn't a one-off instance but, rather, indicative of Klavier's oddly flippant attitude regarding death and other people throughout the game.

His rant in Turnabout Serenade about his keys, guitar and the dead body is probably what comes to mind quickest in this regard, but I would argue that Klavier's entire approach to court is a pretty obvious tell on this front. I don't think it's controversial to say that Klavier sees his cases as just another performance — what with the "Let's rock!"s and talk about everyone else "sharing his stage" — but he seems to treat the people involved like they're performers, too. There's a certain callousness that comes with his rockstar gimmick, which extends to his treatment of witnesses and suspects. Wocky is one thing, but Vera?

Like, the girl collapsed in front of you and is now knocking on death's door, Klavier; could you drop the showman-speak for one minute?

Maybe it's because Machi is a child, but I feel like this coldness of his comes across most clearly in Serenade. See, Klavier has a reputation for being the most straightlaced and honourable of the prosecutors, and I agree with that assessment! (I think. I don't remember what Blackquill is like, but for now, I agree.) His willingness to work with the defence is respectable and his dedication to the truth undeniable... but I think that only extends to truths he can see himself.

An interesting thing about Klavier is that he's never really behind Apollo in comprehending the truth of their trials, and he pursues it doggedly whenever he scents it. However, in the time before he realises what's actually unfolded, he pursues the truth he's determined with that same unbending zeal. He needs to understand what's happening — to be in control of the narrative at all times — to function at his usual pace. At the end of Serenade's first day of investigation, Klavier implies that Machi has been arrested because the powers that be required a swift arrest, but by the time the trial starts, he's 100% committed to sending that 14-year-old to the gallows. And he's not above using somewhat underhanded tactics to do it either.

There's a sort of ruthless edge to Klavier's treatment of not just Machi, but almost everyone involved in this case. He insinuates that Apollo might be lying about his witness testimony, knows why Lamiroir "saw nothing" yet chose to keep silent and have her brought out onto the witness stand to discredit her,

implies that Ema is the least useful detective on the force then embarrasses her on the stand by having her take the fall for the misunderstanding over Machi's eyesight,

straight up lies about not speaking Borginian to keep Machi from testifying, although he was translating fluently for Lamiroir just minutes prior

and even has his own updated autopsy report moment:

And are these all technically above board tactics to get to the truth? Sure (unclear about the lying, which he also does in the Misham case). But they're still mean-spirited, and his entire demeanour speaks of him just... not caring whom he hurts in his crusade for the truth. The feelings and reputations he damages on the way don't matter because they don't aid him in his goal. Finding the truth isn't about justice for victims or protecting the people caught in the crossfire to him. He wants the truth because... it's the truth. In that sense, he's a lot like og trilogy Edgeworth.

Something else Serenade makes clear is that this brusqueness towards people isn't exclusive to acquaintances and strangers; Klavier treats his loved ones with equal impassiveness. When Daryan crops up as a suspect proper later in the trial and Klavier is prepared for it, he ploughs forwards with that same unyielding efficiency and careless air. The few times he does lose his composure, it's largely due to the revelation of his own unwitting role in the crime. And when it's at last proven beyond a shadow of doubt that it was Daryan, his friend, his partner, the first detective he ever worked with, who tried to set him alight and killed someone, all Klavier has to say is,

... A cool, clean cut. No unsettled feelings, no messy loose threads. Just the hard truth and the calm acceptance of it.

It's the same with Kristoph later on — honestly, I'd argue it's even colder there. With Daryan, he had time to process the possibility and prepare for it. With Kristoph, it happens abruptly in court, and I'm not even sure that Klavier wholly believed Kristoph's original murder charges. There's a line right when he begins helping Apollo against his brother, where he says, "Honestly, I wanted to believe you", and I think the Shadi Smith charge is what he was referring to then. Even so, he puts it aside (much like Daryan, the few times he loses his composure are when he realises how he's been manipulated) and continues with his usual showy efficiency:

It ends, interestingly, harsher than it did with Daryan:

And there's something impressive about that, isn't there? That ability to come to terms with yourself and deal with your emotions so succinctly and conclusively. But isn't it also vaguely terrifying? It's murder on both counts here, so maybe it's a bit hyperbolic to say this, but it almost comes across like there are no second chances with Klavier. Like he sees other people, like himself, as being "simple", without room for greyness or capacity for meaningful change. People are fundamentally good until they do an inexcusable act, and then they're unforgivable and he's better off without them.

There's the argument to be made that Klavier's actually much more affected by these events than he lets on and this is just him masking his emotions to be professional, and I totally agree that that could be it, but I also don't think it fully is? I don't see Klavier as being one for masks, to be honest. I believe him when he says he tries to live simply — even the above examples I've given of him being unkind aren't parts of him he tries to hide; he's rather open about being apathetic, hence why I wouldn't call him manipulative. Like he says, he prefers to "keep things civil" because it helps him find the truth, and he's not particularly secretive about his friendliness being anything deeper than that. So, rather than him 'masking' his true emotions, I'd say it's more akin to him shoving those complicated feelings into a box, stashing it somewhere deep inside himself and refusing to ever examine it to the point where it doesn't affect his life in any obvious or even conscious way.

The one moment we know Klavier was truly conflicted about in his life (the forged diary page) he dealt with by, essentially, running away from. He left the court behind, threw himself into his band and only returned to it when it was forced into his lap, which relates back to how I think he only purses the truth relentlessly when he can see it clearly. He didn't look deeper into that diary page because it would have affected his simple relationship with Kristoph. We kind of see him do the same thing with the Gavinners, actually. Prior to Serenade, he's extremely proud of his band and brings up their achievements often. But after Daryan's arrest, he disbands the Gavinners and starts saying things like their lyrics comprised "ridiculous flights of fancy". There's a decisive effort to distance himself from that debacle, and I think he treats the people in his life much the same way.

There are also less significant moments that point to him not quite caring about other people's situations and his need for control — like when he glares at Ema for interrupting the Misham trial proceedings, though she did so to help them get to the truth; and when he sends Apollo tickets at 20% off though he's the millionaire rockstar and Apollo's the one living paycheck to paycheck — and one that sticks out is his case with Phoenix.

When Klavier warns him against using the page, and when he mocks him for the fraudulent evidence later, he says Phoenix has "embarrassed" himself. Not that Phoenix has made a decision that will ruin his reputation and leave him potentially without a means to support himself, just that he's "embarrassed himself". And I think that's adds another element to his unsympathetic treatment of people.

Klavier is sometimes just... a rich asshole HAHA I don't think he sees how certain hardships can push people to do awful things or really understands what desperation is like. When he's confronted with the darkness behind his cases and the nuanced circumstances that led to the people involved doing what they did, he treats them as amusing diversions, another element of the greater show that is the trial. And when you see how he reacts to complications in his own life, you kind of see why. He would never be driven to act in such a way because he doesn't allow those events to affect him. Whenever something goes wrong for him — really wrong, not just minor inconveniences he can moan about — he just... cuts the problem out. Keeps things neat and simple and moves forwards to a place where everything is, once again, within his control.

And, you know, maybe I'm just reading too much into moments that aren't meant to be taken particularly seriously — they do all fall under his self-absorbed rockstar gimmick, after all, but I don't know. I look at these moments in relation to one another, and I'm not sure he's as simple as he'd like himself to be.

wait, no. i think my ACTUAL hottest aa take is that i don't think klavier is all that nice

[inbarfink]

Ace Attorney Lawyers Ranked By Their Abilities in Physical Combat

Winston Payne: I’m pretty sure the average Tumblr user could kill Winston Payne with their bare hands.

Sebastian DeBeste: Look, the only reason why this wimp ranks higher than Payne is because he is so sopping wet pathetic that there is a significant chance that his opponent will just start feeling bad about kicking his ass and punch themself in the face instead.

Klavier Gavin: While Klavier is a physically fit young man who is known to keep his cool in extreme situations, he is also a giant law-abiding nerd who has never thrown a punch at anything that isn’t an inanimate wall. It probably wouldn’t be that hard to shove this guy into a locker.

Miles Edgeworth: Look, Miles is an even bigger locker-worthy nerd than Klavier. Anytime anyone, friend or foe, suggests a violent solution he just gets freaked out and begs for them to follow procedures. And no AA Lawyer is more easily thrown off his rhythm and startled than he is. He might have some bulk under the magenta and frills (or at least some impressive leg muscles from climbing 12 flights of stairs every day for like seven years), but he has no idea or will to actually use them in a fight. However, he did try and stare down a man who was aiming a gun at his back that one time and managed to keep his cool throughout all of this.

So like, he’d probably talk a big game and try and intimidate his opponent into not engaging - but if that won’t work he will get his ass thoroughly whooped. And then he’d try to sue them, which is what his threats were about all along.

Apollo Justice: Actually a considerable step up in power-levels from the previous ones. Apollo might be smol, but he is Done With Your Shit and this gives him Strength. Not to mention that one time he successfully tanked an explosion. His famous Chords of Steel can also serve as a tactic to confuse or weaken his enemies.

Kristoph Gavin: Although he is primarily known for his schemes and poisoning, he did kill a man with a single blow to the forehead with a bottle, showing he does have some decent upper-body-strength to use in a fight. And being known as ‘the Coolest Defense in the West’ means he can keep his calm even during hectic combat. But he’s also very pretentious and his constant pontifications might just be the perfect opportunity for someone to smash his face in.

Blaise Debeste: Okay, look, is Blaise a scary tall man who successfully stabbed a woman to death with a candelabra and constantly carries around a deceptively-powerful lighter and has like, implied, motorcycle gang background? Yes. But also I think anyone who encounters Blaise Debeste face-to-face is overcome with such bloodlust rage that it might give them an edge in the battle against him.

Mia Fey: Mia ranks fairly high on the Battle Scale considering the one time she was faced with a violent altercation she just tried to escape and it… didn’t end well.

However, in the two times we get to play as her it’s also clear that she wants to Punch. All of the Things. While Apollo is fueled by being Done With Your Shit, Mia has righteous anger - so I think in a situation where she is actually prepared to do battle she would be able to throw a few decent punches. Also assuming we are talking about Mia while she was still alive, there’s also her Spirit Channeling powers to account for. While we’ve never seen them on screen, Maya told us they are “first rate” and I believe her. Maybe she could channel the spirit of a great warrior to try and get an edge in combat?

Manfred Von Karma: While he also has the same Bloodlust-Inducing-Factor as Blaise, and he does seem less physically fit even though they’re about the same age - I feel like his cane could do more serious damage than Blaise’s lighter. And he has that dangerous fucking Stun Gun on him to easily neutralize opponents. Plus, he did tank that one gunshot he got in the shoulder. Manfred’s opponents might have Rage on their side, but also you cannot underestimate the power of his sheer Spite.

Godot: On one hand, Godot has shown an ability to keep his cool in very dangerous situations. He can smash a coffee cup with his bare hands and barely react, showing that he’s decently strong and resilient to pain. And he is yet another proud (?) member of the exclusive “Lawyers With a Body Count Club”. And while stabbing a waifish, 155cm college student (and part time-poisoner) in the back isn’t exactly the most epic demonstration of battle prowess in the history of Anime Lawyers - he did it (and moved the body and doctored the crime scene and prosecuted in court) while tanking a knife slash in his face, showing his pain-resilience once again, as well as general tenacity that would also be useful in battle. Also, he can summon an infinite amount of hot coffee mugs at will, which must make for a decent improvised long-ranged attack.

On the other hand, his health is also heavily implied to be deteriorating and that he’s basically dying over the course of the final case… possibly due to all of that physical exhaustion. If a fight goes longer than just a single backstab, I feel like these health complications are gonna harm Godot’s performance.

Phoenix Wright: Okay, so this is actually the hardest one to place. I keep flip-flopping on where to put him, especially compared to Mia, and Apollo. Because unlike most other lawyers currently ranked below him, he is a disaster when it comes to being on the offensive; Phoenix Wright is a total wimp who has never returned a punch in his life. However, he is also almost supernaturally durable, unbelievably lucky and deceptively strong. If a solid iron door, a raging freezing river and a speeding car didn’t manage to take him down, what chance does a fellow human, even a more combat-capable one, have???

Calisto Yew: She’s not even a real-lawyer! She’s a Secret Spy who successfully pretended to be a Lawyer for years! She’s got a gun, she’s got a knife, she's got crossbow bolt as hair decorations, she probably has some combat training from her time in Interpol… While she’s clearly more specialized for espionage and infiltration, and not as physically strong as Lang, she’s still got an impressive advantage over most of the regular people who went to Law School. In fact, her skill with barefaced lies and manipulation might also be a skill she could use in a fight to catch her opponent off-guard.

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi: Nahyuta is, in fact, one of the few AA Lawyers to canonically participate in what I would unambiguously call a ‘fight’ (rather than a ‘murder’), when he single-handedly disarmed and apprehended a Defiant Dragon rebel in the sorta-canon ‘Spirit of Justice’ Prologue video.

Like, that rebel guy probably isn't the world's greatest warrior, but the Defiant Dragons have been around for enough time to give their members at least some basic self-defense/combat skills… more so than the average lawyer on this list at minimum. And Nahyuta very easily crab-stomped him. Showing that he has strong nerves, some amazing reflexes and the martial art skills to knock a man unconscious with a single blow. Not to mention the seemingly supernatural skills with his prayer beads, which he already uses as a sort of ‘weapon’ in court. Also that... thing he did to Apollo's bracelet that one time.

Nahyuta might be just straight-up Magic, that's pretty OP.

Franziska von Karma: Look, Franziska might not have official martial-arts, guns, or Literal Magic Powers - but what she does have is sheer determination and force or personality. Franziska von Karma has been intimidating grown men since she was a 149 cm tall 13 years old with a riding crop (I mean, one of those men was Miles, but still…..). She had once whipped Phoenix Wright into unconsciousness in a temper tantrum, and like I already mentioned that taking him down is quite a feat. She is also very resilient - while the shot to her shoulders was designed not to kill her, being up back on her feet doing investigation stuff a day after is still very impressive! Her whip might not be as dangerous as a sword or a gun, but she will not relent until she defeats you.

Simon Blackquill: Let me just give it to you straight, Simon Blackquill is 1.88 meter tall, he owns a katana and a trained attack-hawk (giving him both short range and far range advantage), he can break solid metal chains with his bare hands, he can cut your hair halfway across the room with a feather. Not to mention how he could probably use the whole psychological manipulation in battle to intimidate or goad his enemy. There’s not even a lot of funny or interesting points to bring up, he is literally an action movie character who just happens to also be a lawyer.

Athena Cykes: Athena Cykes is the strongest lawyer. One day, she’ll be stronger than whales. I believe in her.

[nyaagolor]

How do you rank the prosecutors on order of homophobia

forgot about this in my drafts for literally months oops. Anyway. Finished now!!!!

So I made this post a while ago that has some of the prosecutors and antagonists, but if you want a ranking of EVERY prosecutor (not including DGS bc i haven't finished yet) huzzah!!

Simon Blackquill: Not actually homophobic but he gets points docked for siccing Taka (known homophobe) at Klavier (known bisexual) for stealing his pretzels from the office pantry that one time. 3/10

Blaise Debeste: I think he's gay but he made me look at that ugly ass beard for far too long and I consider that disrespectful. out of principle? 8/10

Sebastian Debeste: Just look at him. 0/10

Miles Edgeworth: Bratworth was simultaneously gay, homophobic, and a misogynist, and eventually develops into a man who is only like 1.5 of those things. he's getting better. 5/10

Byrne Faraday: I don't really think he cares much about gay people he's busy being a single father and stealing shit. For the apathy? 2/10

Klavier Gavin: He's extremely gay and does a lot of work for the gay community but making Ema Skye deal with him is explicitly lesbophobic so 4/10

Godot: He has a lovely wife but whatever he was doing with Ron DeLite was probably not osha-compliant. I don't know what that means for his sexuality or stance on gay people and neither does he. ?/10

Ga'ran: I think she has a lot of other problems she should deal with first but considered she's bigoted to defense attorneys I don't think her being homophobic would be that out of pocket. Not sure I want to find out. 7/10

Neil Marshall: Have you ever been a gay bar? This guy would do NUMBERS. Also, real cowboys support gay rights. 0/10

Gaspen Payne: Being homophobic is actually why he got fired by the prosecutor's office and Winston is really fucking embarrassed about it. 10/10

Winston Payne: You'd think he'd be homophobic but you can't work for the Japanifornia Prosecutor's Office and hate gay people or you would actually go insane. He's like that one suburban guy who uses terms from the 60s but has the spirit. However, his ally lapel pin is really ugly so 3/10

Jaques Portman: He was calling Edgeworth slurs even before realizing he was gay. 9/10

Lana Skye: Dated Mia in college but refused to explain that to Ema because she has a lot of internalized homophobia and other weird issues of self. Repressed yuri personified. 1/10

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi: He supports gay people but gets all his talking points from the internet so even though he's supportive he's also incredibly fucking annoying about it and no one wants to invite him to brunch because of it. Stop using twitter for fact-checking you jackass. 2/10

Franziska Von Karma: Despite the fact that her lesbianism is so strong it borders on misandry, I think she has a lot of internalized homophobia so she spends the first 25 years of her life being a judgmental little shit. She'll get better dw about it. I believe she can bring that number down with time. 6/10

Manfred Von Karma: I think when he finds out Edgeworth is gay he starts going to gay bars and picking up dudes just to show Edgeworth he has way more rizz than him. Considering how people in my notes have told me on numerous occasions how much they want him carnally, I think he could actually pull it off. In that respect I think he's done a lot for the gay community. It ends up cancelling out somewhat because I think he'd be kind of an ass about it. 4/10

[johnconstantinesdick]

So close to writing one of those “betting on wrightworth” fics where the twist is that Klapollo are krisnix truthers

Just like. Apollo references Phoenix’s bad taste in men at some bar association event only for everyone around him to immediately get on his case for insulting Edgeworth.

Athena’s like “don’t be rude Apollo, Mr. Edgeworth could hear!!”

Apollo: why does it matter if Edgeworth hears. I’m sure he knows all about Mr. Wright’s horrible romantic decisions :\

Kay steps in and is like woah buddy Mr. Edgeworth may be a stick in the mud but Mr. Wright couldn’t do better than him!!

Apollo is like. Yeah. Because Edgeworth is a catch?? I don’t know what you’re trying to say.

Klavier butts in and asks if Kay seriously thinks Wright would date their boss?? Like huh??

Klavier and Apollo are now being treated to the most incredulous looks known to man.

Apollo (now convinced that people are trying to fuck w him): Mr. Wright would never make a good romantic choice in his life. Don’t try to pull one over on me. I was there for the divorce.

Kay: they got DIVORCED????

Sebastian: they got MARRIED??????

Klavier’s like [fake German voice] nein Herr Forehead I know for a fact it wasn’t a divorce. Because I had to dispose of the unused engagement ring.

Apollo is like finally some gossip that makes fucking sense while everyone else is like you think PHOENIX WRIGHT was fucking your BROTHER???

[demonadelem]

I'm not aromantic but I really like aromantic Ema Skye as a concept.

She thought she had a crush on Edgeworth but she really idolized his "I'm married to my job, I don't have time of women" schtick. She sees herself in being so dedicated to the job that she doesn't want a relationship. Wether in reality Edgeworth was a closeted gay man and/or somewhere on the aro/ace spectrum too.

Ema couldn't identify that her sister and Mia Fey were romantically attracted, resulting in the "intellectually attracted" line because why would you be attracted to a person if it's not intellectually. Ema eventually grew up and figured out she was just projecting her aromanticism.

Reacting to Klaviers/Gavinnners love songs with "that literally sounds insane, how do you put up with that," just being a little hater like she is, now fully embracing her aromantic identity. Ema is only a hater to Klavier because he's the kind of guy who believes in love at first sight and soulmates and then for fucks sake sings about it.

I think it's really interesting how it can recontextualizes the different aspects of Ema Skye.

[t440]

i exceeded the reply character count limit

@nimcest here is your AA fanbase lore. it is very messsy and scattered but i hope you enjoy... anyone else can read as well but be warned it is long

so, basically, my concept of "how things went wrong" is kind of complicated. basically, before the ds rereleases of the original trilogy, as i'm sure you know, all of the games were not in english. they were either played on the GBA or, extremely rarely, on windows xp, in japanese. (gyakuten saiban pc is such a fascinating thing to have happened. anyway)

we started to get english releases VERY tenatively with the DS games, and at the time, no one actually expected it to do well in the US, and so the early fanbase didn't really expect the full trilogy translated, so they actually fan-translated part of aa3. but unfortunately, AA did extremely well.

the fanbase grew somewhat in response to the first 3 games officially being translated, but not… massively. most of this early fanbase was "chill like that" due to being internet users in the late 2000s who were posting about a DS game. not a very cool thing to do at the time, and many people posting online were pretty down with the whole yaoi nature of things.

aa4 did change things somewhat by being released quickly with a translation, but not… much? like frankly things didn't go downhill at that time- as you can see from the glut of early 2010s gavincest. same with dual destinies, honestly!

but when the cultural change of fandom puritanism hit hard, it was a bit after dual destinies released… and it hit the aa fanbase particularly hard. it was an influx of people who hadn't had this context, didn't care, and didn't really even realize that "unnecessary feelings" was the most stupidly gay line in text at the time

i've given this much background for a reason, because my guess as to what happened kind of depends on the fact that AA Was like… a pre-internet puritanism fanbase, heavily based upon an (accurate) perception that the games were inspired by BL, for a game series that was a pretty early example of a SFW visual novel. it was just pretty heavily accepted that AA was gay, and early on, most fans actually knew the japanese names of the characters- which is why we say narumitsu.

and why we DON'T say kyouodo and instead say klapollo... is that, unfortunately, aa4-aa5 didn't have much time to breathe before the influx of people i mentioned above that triggered the weird reactionary vibe of the fanbase. these poeple felt threatened by the fanbase that existed and so went VERY hard in the other direction. that's actually why the edgeworth asexual headcanon exists... it came about in like 2013-ish, during the height of the homophobic concept that AA was Not That Gay.

it's like. if you find pre-apocalypse english klapollo, ever, compare it to modern klapollo. both of these base themselves off of the text of the games, right? but early klapollo often actually tries to engage with the ... You know. Fact that these two people were kindaaaa abused by the same guy. And also said guy kinda sorta is klavier;'s brother, who looks basically the same as him. whereas you'd be hard fucking pressed to find any modern-day klapollo that does this, because the reactionary hatred of anything complex won against the evil homos.

(same thing applies with narumitsu, godonaru, etc etc. in eng speaking circles- narumitsu got Generic Yaoi-ized, despite the... well whatever the fuck happened during the 7yrgap. and godonaru was sentenced to the Problematic Bin. Also godot is problwematic i guess, god forbid a man do antyhing)

the belief that AA was not actually influenced by japanese law also came about during this time, as anyone who followed aa4's development would know undeniably that this was literally about a fucking japanese legal system change. obviously aa is commentary, even without that fact, but like. it was undeniable with that info.

and that's also why we have the weird dichotomy of "blackbright", simon blackquill x The REAL BOBBY FULBRIGHT vs "phantomquill", which is ... you know, simon x the phantom. (blackbright is, as you know, stupid as fuck, because we dont even know what the real bobby fulbright was like, and we never meet him.)

both new Normie fans and new fans who were internet teens just were not, dar ei say, chill like that. and seeing the actual dark shit the previous eng fanbase produced at the time of the internet getting even more mainstream AND the puritanization of fandom? it just cultivated a really violently reactionary attitude.

aaaand that's why narukiri was absolutely sacriligeous to talk about at the time. like, actually seirously, the level of phoenix/trucy. because these people were anti-narumitsu at worst and genericizing it at best. and a lot of the people who were pro-narumitsu, generic as it was at the time, were specifically possessed with the attitude of "good representation is the only representation"... which again, was pretty normal early 2010s fandom.

and then we got spirit of justice, and the fanbase expanded further, and further, and then we get to the absolute hell we see in late 2010s aa fanbase where they seriously, actually think that narukiri wasn't like, intended. and they hate phantomquill. and they're like seriously just racist against godot. and so on.

we're beginning to see things get better, i think? for one, capcom localized aai2, which is the most explicit about abuse by far... and i seriously just think they didn't localize it because of that earlier on. and beyond that, we're seeing narukiri, Period. we're even seeing fucked up content of it more.

but like. seriously speaking. 2014 aa fandom was maybe one of the worst things, possibly ever, and i am so happy we are 10 years away from that. god bless

[octahyde]

Do you have any original characters for TWST?

(As a preface I do have another OC I ship with Chenya, Beau Rhodes, but… I haven’t done much with him besides conceptualizing him. Maybe I should do more since I don’t talk about it enough but TreyRid really really is my romantic canonxcanon TWST OTP and I love it desperately even if I never talk about it. I’ve also been fucking around lately with middle freak Ortho having a form he can use on the surface but ehhh that’s not really an OC thing.)

Ok here it is… The #yumeshit lore post. I actually wanna start getting into like the yume community on BlueSky or something because it has a lot more male yumes than tumb (or rather twit does but my main is a permalocked personal and they’re all slowly but surely jumping ship to BlueSky LMAO), so I might as well explain The Lore in detail. 

As a preface I spend a LOT more time thinking about them when they’re older, because 1) self actualization and 2) why would I EVER want to willingly think about being a teenager again. I literally describe high school as “a haze of undiagnosed mental illness, and also drama club”. no thanx. It’s just not like… too lore noteworthy vs the stuff that actually happens in canon lol.  Here’s what they look like as adults. I’ve mentioned working on a Shrouds piece that took 2 months I finally finished last week, and this is it:

(Side note- along with being a tgirl I hc Idia is a double below the knee amputee after the incident that killed Ortho)

also feel like I should say… Trix’s views on Rook don’t reflect mine LMAO. I have mixed feelings on Rook, but overall my feelings lean positive towards him. He’s a total freak and it’s funny as fuck and I love it. So if you like him don’t try to take the dynamic too personally, it’s the way it is for a laff more than anything.

Beatrice “Trixie” “Trix” Hart is a catch all self insert of mine; mostly for platonic yume. (She was made as a self insert assistant for Klavier Gavin, hence the name, and is also platonic with syl(gags) sylv(throws up in my mouth a little) Sylvain Jose Gautier. If you wanna know about those you can ask ig, I don’t have a ref for 3H Beatrice but I did draw AA Trixie when I came up with her.) She started out as a girl (and I still view her as such in those universes) but for TWST he’s specifically a guy because. Well. This game made me realize I was a transhet man and especially yume helped me sort that out along with being st4t exclusive LOL

Trix is a Pomefiore second year bnuuy beastman from the Shaftlands, Class C (same class as Azul and Jamil). It just kind of really conveniently worked out that my sonas usually have upright brown bnuuy years like the Snow White bunnies and I’m so artistic Pomefiore was the only dorm that makes sense LOL. His Book 7 cameo on Rook’s shelf…

He’s in Film Research Club, and is unique because he joined specifically for crew work, not acting. He’s very extroverted in club and with people he’s close to, but he can be surprisingly introverted when he’s not comfortable. (Ambivert moment). He specializes in practical magic with his sewing and art, and Hates PE. (He likes flying, though.)

His unique magic is My Sweet Heart, which lets him see memories and emotions from people if he grasps their right hand and puts his hand over their heart. 

Caycay is his Number One BFF. I don’t know how they met his first year, but it was basically an immediate click (#trans recognizes #trans. #real #recognizes #real.). Trix walks to class with him every morning, and they frequently go to cafe collabs on the weekend and after class, being sure to leave some of their food out of their magicam posts lest they earn the wrath of their wardens LMAO. If Trix needs someone, Caycay is There for him.

Him and Vil are also VERY close. During his first year, there was an incident that lead to him being roommates with Vil, despite her being a second year and him being first. Trix Really does not like to talk about it, and while Vil would be fine telling people, she doesn’t out of respect for him. She also appreciates someone around club that’s enthusiastic about crew work, and tends to let him lead costume and prop work.

It’s Very clear he has a huge crush on her and that she doesn’t reciprocate. Sometimes she might throw him a bone and give him a little extra praise though LMAO. They do have a very bad fight toward the end of Vil’s third year though, and they go years without talking after. 

His closeness with Vil leaves him some leverage for defending Epel. (#nonpassing recognizes #nonpassing. #real recognizes #real.) It’s mostly in vain, though, but Epel appreciates being looked out for a LOT. Especially because, despite how artistic and fashionable Trix is, his personality is MUCH more down to earth than other Pomefiore students. He’s the biggest advocate for Epel transferring to Savanaclaw his second year and someone who Epel confides a lot into.

Rook’s nickname for him is Monsieur Lapin (Floyd’s is Sea Bunny. Floyd doesn’t come up so I figure I might as well say it heh.). He hates Rook. He thinks Rook is a freak. Especially as a beastman he thinks Rook is super fucking weird. Rook loves Trix’s artwork and his personal journey with beauty and adores him a lot as his beloved underclassman. He knows Trix hates him. He doesn’t care. Trix hates him So Much.

He doesn’t know Ortho much minus the guy who sits next to Caycay’s companion pre Book 6, but once Ortho joins Film Research Trix gets attached REALLY fast. He’s always wanted a younger sibling so he dotes on Ortho constantly, and they rec each other anime and games all the time. (Trix gets him into Professor Layton and he LOVES it.) He learns… a lot about Idia and Ortho’s relationship through this.

Lilia also got asked to tutor him for history once because Trix can’t do homework For Shit and needs help finishing assignments despite his test scores. This backfires because they don’t get anything done ever, but most importantly for The Lore they trade socials and thus Trix is friends with Muscle Red and knows who he is.

Ok. Now the meat of it. The #yumeshit. 

I think it’s probably obvious, but Trix is a nonpassing trans guy. NRC being an all boys school makes him feel safer, but… when he’s not at NRC, even if it’s just in the foothill town, he girlmodes. Being misgendered hurts a lot less that way. (No this is not projecting. Just kidding it is. Please help me.)

As a way of getting respite from this, he VTubes as a magical boy with a voice changer. I don’t have a proper ref but his sona is like the best design I’ve ever done and I’m lowkey mad about it. Anyways. While his interests aren’t really a secret irl it’s always kind of surprising when someone that doesn’t know him finds out he’s into nerdy things, but he gets REALLY invested in the games he’s playing and he has A Lot of info and interpretations to share. And despite his bright design, he gets most excited from horror. He’s not a huge indie by any means but he has a solid following. 

And when Muscle Red sees there’s a well known horror game Gloomurai likes on the docket, well, he HAS to invite them to watch his friend with him! They’ve been telling him how their favorite speedrunner retired and they need someone new to watch, anyways. 

Idia’s very pensive at first, seeing such a bright and sparkly character playing Resident Evil 7, a horror game with a very disgusting atmosphere and themes to match. Probably going to overreact to everything and pretend to be super scared and upset to look cute for views. But he’s watching with Muscle Red, and he wouldn’t make her watch something cringey like that, would he…?

As the game starts up, he starts gushing about what an amazing atmosphere the game has. The entire thing is filthy, and that leads to an overwhelming feeling of dread and disgust- even moreso with the family. His eyes light up when he points out an early scene is referencing The Blair Witch Project.

When it comes to things outside of gameplay itself, he really knows his stuff. Despite how mad him dying for the hundredth time on an extremely easy stealth section makes her, it’s nice to see such a passionate horror otaku. She almost doesn’t mind it because she likes listening to him talk. (Almost.)

Idia starts watching him with Muscle Red regularly. She’s too shy to talk in chat, so she just gives a lot of questionably large donos when he does things. 

He gives a lot of half joking “thank you for funding my doll collection” responses at first, but then says Gloom should chat if they’re comfortable. He’d love to get to know someone who is giving him all this money, and they’re considered a legend in chat for it. She’s nervous (she has no idea why), but she does slowly start chatting and attaching messages to her donos. Soon, she’s a regular in the chat and community. 

So active, in fact, she finds herself with a dm asking for her discord one day. A message follows shortly after about how he appreciates her involvement and wants to get to know her better- now that she’s more talkative, he thinks she’s really funny. 

From there starts a quickly blooming online friendship. They talk whenever they get the chance, though he strictly has to go to bed early or he’ll get chewed out by his housewarden. (A female housewarden…? Is he even forced into the girl dorms at his school?) Idia’s never forthcoming with private info, though, and he seems pretty hesitant with how feminine he is irl to give much past vague detail, either. 

Meanwhile, Trix has to be incredibly careful when lights out and Rook makes the rounds with how late he’s staying up. He is the number one person Trix would rather Die than see his conversation history when confiscating his phone. Gloom’s rude but funny and he loves hearing about X Obscure Game Yaoi Ship. (Sometimes he becomes a casual fan of the series and ship in question- he has been commissioned a LOT to draw her Star Rogue OTP by her.) (He also gets converted to Luisley probably.)

Offline, though, Idia and Trix’s relationship is… awkward. One time during remedial gym lessons when both of them had to run laps in his first year, Trix started complaining about missing club and how he needed to fix his make up, and Idia, being Idia, made a really snide comment about it. Trix snapped at her, and while to him it was just having a bad day, Idia… never really recovered from it. 

In the next year her only exposure was daily convos that were way too peppy for so early in the morning with the extrovert that sat next to her. (I’ve always hced Idia and Caycay sit next to each other in class and straight up forget this isn’t actually canon on a regular basis.) At some point, he started taking curious glances at Idia, which didn’t help at all.

Trix starts getting suspicions about Idia from the few times he does hear her talk, and how similar it sounds. Has he met her before…? But surely he would remember knowing someone as distinctive as Idia, right? 

He has absolutely zero involvement in Book 6 also. With everything going on (because their vice warden ROOK LITERALLY LEFT WITH NO WARNING OR BACKUP PLAN, BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DID, HE IS THE WORST PERSON ALIVE WHO HAS EVER BEEN BORN), him and his roommate end up being the ones to take charge and keep Pomefiore in order. I feel like with Idia yumes in particular Book 6 is a Big Thing because like, Book 6, so I feel like this is important info.

(He IS in Book 7 though. His dream is in between Epel and Rook’s. It’s about being amab :’( He doesn’t take waking up and being back in his actual body well.)

Her and Ortho coming back clear any doubts in his mind: Gloom suddenly leaving on the night of the incident, with zero word since, only to long back on with a “sry, irl stuff happened,” the day after the Shrouds come back? She’s Gloom. Especially getting to know Ortho in club and listening to him talk about her, there is literally no other option. 

He was planning on confronting her about it… then Book 7 happened. Obviously how it ends could change this, but for now once everything’s settled Idia gets a discord notif saying he has to talk to her, and he wants to in person. She tries to say it would be too hard to arrange, only to get a simple response: “Ignihyde Lounge. One hour. You’ll know when you see me.”

She is, unsurprisingly, horrified. How did he figure out? Does he hate her now that he knows she’s a freak? Is he coming to tell her how he can’t believe he befriended someone so pathetic? He’s going to tell everyone all the things she said in confidence. “Lol, you guys thought Shroud was a freak before? Get a load of this!”

Luckily, Trix told Ortho about it. He’s able to coax Idia out and helps her to the dorm lounge, holding her hand along the way. 

And indeed, the one Pomefiore uniform in Ignihyde’s dorm lounge sticks out like a sore thumb. Her heart rate explodes. He’s who she’s been talking to this entire time?! No. No. Absolutely no way. She’s not doing this. She tries to turn and run away, but her brother’s death grip (why did she give him all that strength?) keeps her in place.

He looks around awkwardly as he walks up. “Hey, uh… sorry about that time I snapped at you. Ortho told me it really freaked you out.” Trying to calm her down would hopefully make this easier.. “Do… you want to go somewhere more private? You’re even paler than normal.”

Yes. I do. Alone. And I want to forget this even happened. Unfortunately for her, the look on her bother’s face told her it was a mandatory quest. Defeated, she leads him back to her room. 

He sits uncomfortably stiff on her bed. Idia hides in her chair, turned away from him. He tells her that he doesn’t hate her, that he doesn’t think she’s pathetic. No response. Luckily, he invited Ortho for backup. 

“He really wants to be your friend, Idia! He’s the still same person you’ve been talking to online. And he’s really nice. He’s the one who recommended those games to me!”

Taking a cue on how exhausted she is mentally, Trix gets up and walks to the door. “Just… think about it, okay?”

Think about what? The fact that this person she got close to was actually a loud extrovert who hung around a bunch of normies? That he knows all of the rumors about her? Forget real life- he could go online and tell everyone what a freak Gloomurai was irl, too. 

They don’t talk anywhere for like a week and Trix doesn’t walk to class with Caycay, but then they do talk it out. It’s really hard and REALLY scary for Idia, but she’s able to accept him into her life as a friend. He ends up being a really big pillar of stability for her, and he already knows about her own transness and boymoding which makes him even safer.

And… that’s how they are to the end of her third year! Friends. And really, not looking for anything past that. 

Idia gets a really REALLY nice condo in the Kingdom of Heroes for her internship. (Which she mostly even only uses the upper half of. Smfh) She also gets two cats; a white one, Clear, and a gray one, Ryoji. I’m sure you can guess who they’re named after. Reminder that Idia is canonically a fujoshi. Anyways.

Trix visits during school breaks with Ortho… he also stays in Ortho’s room with him while he’s there. For the most part it’s a lot of just comfy stuff like gaming and watching movies, Ortho taking Trix out to see things and such. Over Winter break while visiting Trix edits one of the Film Research pieces for the culture fair bc he’s club president now… By the time of said fair with 4th years presentations it’s very obvious to like Everyone how they feel. (And they probably know it themselves but try to ignore it because neither feels ready for a relationship).

A really REALLY big point worth noting during this time period (and this is all I’ll say bc I know it’s a difficult topic) is that they see each others cutting scars for the first time. They never really comment on or talk about it, but there’s a wordless understanding and comfort between them afterwards. 

Idia’s staying on the surface for at least a few years to see if researching with Olympos resources can give any new perspectives on blot or her curse. If Trix wants to stay for his internship, there’s plenty of room. She doesn’t admit it, but she really wants him to stay. Unfortunately, though, he’s always been interested in the Queendom of Roses and opts for an editing internship with a publisher there.

It’s more of the same; he visits her more regularly because he’s not limited to NRC’s schedule, and he still streams and she still watches and talks to him. He also adopts Chunky who LIVES FOREVER AND NEVER DIES, EVER. There’s an undeniable closeness between them but neither are still ready to actually act, even if it’s clear they may as well already be together lol. 

During this time she also starts getting him transformation potions to help with dysphoria from STYX while he transitions.

After his internship, he’s able to get a job at the Kingdom of Heroes office of the publisher he interned for. He may or may not have chosen to transfer on purpose- there’s plenty of space there, anyways, so much so he can have his own room big enough to both sleep and work in. Ortho’s out on his own acting internship with Vil’s agency, so for the most part it’s just them and their cats in this huge place lmao. It’s really easy to coexist because there’s space when they need it and Idia’s like entire gamer zone on the upper level when they wanna do stuff together. It works out really well.

There are a whole bunch of headcanons of mine about STYX and the Shrouds and their relationships that I’m not really comfortable going into. However, when they overblotted together, Idia and Ortho did something… really traumatic unrelated to Middle Freak Ortho’s death that Idia blames herself for. She still has regular nightmares about it, and while Trix usually isn’t around from the breakdowns because he’s in his room when they happen, this time he fell asleep upstairs and heard all of it.

He goes in to check on her, and she’s really closed off. He’s eventually able to get her to tell him what happened and her guilt, but… He already knew. Ortho told him years ago when they were all still at NRC. He was waiting for her to tell him on her own terms.

Idia does uhh not take this being hidden from her well! He rationalizes that knowing it and never judging her and standing by her side this entire time means he truly does care and doesn’t blame her. He holds her hand and for the first time says it:

“I love you.”

Idia looks at him wide eyed for a second before turning away.

“You need to leave.”

He’s allowed to stay- she’s not going to just throw him on the street- but he is not allowed upstairs near her. She needs time to process everything. Especially how he hurt her trust. 

Eventually they are able to talk it out though and end up in a relationship. YIPEE!!!!!! Ortho moves in permanently around this time with his internship over with his 2 dogs to add to the family. :)

There’s a lot of stuff with STYX and Woe I haven’t fuuuuuully sorted out the details of, but Idia does eventually have to go back for a while to put her research to use and put an end to things. I think this period is really tough because she does Not want Trix to see what a horrible place it is and how it’s the source of so many awful things it was so she tries to leave him. She doesn’t obv and she’s able to successfully find a solution to the Phantom problem.

Once she’s back, though, she does have a near immediate breakdown- with it all over, her brain can actually like. Process what her life was up to that point and she just kind of snaps. She ends up hospitalized for a few months to keep her safe from a HORRIFIC schizophrenic break. Trix uses STYX Bux for a place to stay so he can visit her near daily and help her through it. There’s also a REALLY bad incident with Ortho.

Minus that though from there it’s… really just them being happy, healing, and transitioning with each other. Idia becomes an indie game dev and Trix becomes a horror writer. He still streams (she started vtubing somewhere along the way too), but they’ve never publicly posted about their relationship. It’s really funny because it’s like blatant but they just try to act like it isn’t LMAO.

As they get older, they move to a small, quiet place in the Queendom of Roses. They have 3 kids (who I also have ocs for but that’s WAY too cringe) who are very well loved. Ortho also lives with them and they have a very happy family. :)

TL;DR: Idia wins the VTuber Fuck A Fan contest.

[manyothermusingsofmine]

so huyandere posted this on twitter with the notion of like “did anyone write a detailed analysis of kristoph’s solitary cell already bc why is there a pink chair. Insane.” and like I don’t know if it counts as a detailed analysis but I certainly have Opinions about this. I’m a bit sick though so this is really rambly and not on track in the slightest. and if you click the read more it’s all there so uh like

Okay first of all I’m going to have to fact check this but I feel like the wiki told me Kristoph apparently talked the guards into getting him all this stuff?

-one wiki search later- “He managed to call in some favors to some of the prison guards whom he had befriended to get various items into the cell, turning it into something of an office.”

Okay yeah so that’s fucking terrifying? Kristoph already doesn’t strike me as the type to have legitimate friends because everyone is a means to an end with him, but- bro that’s not pulling favors that’s mafia boss behavior what the hell.

But like the bigger Thought I have about the whole thing that derails a little from huyandere’s original question is just. The fucking paralells between Simon and Kristoph? Like okay no hear me out actually.

They’re the same character archetype, in a way. They’re both cool, collected, kinda detached loners- arguably the flip side of each other’s coin because where their character wildly diverge is in motive. Kristoph’s whole motive in his story is greed and envy; wanting the fame and fortune others have and feeling like his rightful place in the spotlight is being usurped by people who don’t deserve it Simon on the other hand’s whole motive is undying loyalty to protecting someone he cares about. He’s on deathrow for a crime he didn’t commit, but can we not gloss over the fact that he’s doing so to protect Athena, who, at this point if the story gets spun in her direction, would befall the same faith? That’s -deskslam- why I’m so mad actually that Simon and Klavier don’t interact in Dual Destinies. Like, at all. And that’s a fucking crime because no matter how you spin that their dynamic would be so interesting! Like, would Simon’s similar demeanor freak Klavier out and does their coworkership therefor become kind of strained and uncomfortable? Or are you like me and do you think that Simon takes one look at Klavier and goes “-Markiplier voice- oh he’s traumatized” and instinctively adopts this weird rockstar prosecutor as his brother because eh what’s another adoptive sibling at this point. And in that case does Klavier look at Simon’s behavior and just go “well thats similar to what I was used to anyway so yeah you can stick around.”? Also I’m not done you clicked on this that was your choice entirely it’s even more fascinating to think about Simon and Kristoph spending even one day in the same jail establishment because first of all I feel like Simon would look around that jail cell and just go “show off” and leave it at that. And while I think the fandom has a point in that Simon probably wouldn’t like Kristoph, have we even considered how much Kristoph would fucking loathe Simon? Simon is pretty much the better version of him because Simon has honor and loyalty; things Kristoph definitely lacks. Furthermore with his background in psychology and just the general way he is Simon wouldn’t fall for any of Kristoph’s manipulation tactics, and there’s not much else Kristoph can do because there’s no way in hell that he would win in a physical fight against Simon; the man’s build like a fucking tank come on now. Do you have any idea how much it would piss Kristoph off that he has this absolute powerhouse of a man in a cell next to him and the bastard’s completely immune to his manipulation skills?! And before I forget the fucking?? paralell?? between Simon owning a trained hawk that I can only assume he trained himself which takes time and talent and trust and sfmdfmg the sprite of him petting Taka makes me feel things. Vs Kristoph having a dog where the general consensus seems to be that it’s a golden retriever, which makes me feel things as someone who has owned golden retrievers and who knows their unconditional love, because he wants to be loved unconditionally with no questions asked FDS,MFNSDFG,MNDF,GM-

[cenviswasteland]

do u think kristoph gavin is a mommy issues haver or a daddy issues haver. or if both which one does he have worse. idk why im asking this i just wanna know what u think - 💾

FLOPPY DISK!!! i missed you, nerd. let's talk about it!

so, canonically we know fuck-all about the gavin family outside of klav and kris. this is both a blessing and a curse. from what i can tell, there's a semi-popular fandom headcanon where papa gavin was also a defense attorney, but i cannot find sources at the moment. there's a high possibility that i just made it up.

my personal thoughts on the gavin family? i do like the "papa gavin is a defense attorney" thing, so i'm keeping that. and although i can't name an occupation for mama gavin, i think she was very wealthy. in general the gavin brothers give me "born with a silver spoon" vibes, so i'm extrapolating. of course, with mom having all the money in the world to throw around and dad being no financial slouch either, the boys would get basically whatever they wanted.

(note: from here on, i'm going to focus on kristoph since that's what the ask is about. i might make a follow-up with some thoughts on klavier later though. lol)

the thing is, a lot of work goes into "keeping appearances" in wealthy families, like the old money that mama gavin was steeped in. that extends to the children as well. first-born kristoph, the shining light of the new generation, was expected to be the perfect young man from the beginning. as soon as he had some grasp on fine motor skills, he was learning the violin and the piano. he's supposed to be a well-rounded boy, after all. he had private tutors, teaching him an expedited course. he's the gavins' boy, of course he's gifted academically. he was always dressed well, and scolded for playing with his tie or cufflinks or hair. he was taught his manners; always eat your first course with the smallest fork, always keep a light smile on your face, always say "bless you" when people sneeze. don't slouch, don't be crass, don't raise your voice. "behave yourself, kristoph. remember where you came from."

i do think that as time went on and kristoph grew, it was his father's voice that rang more loudly in his ears. he'd get into petty fights with his mother about little details. but he looked up to his father. more than anyone in the world, he looked up to his father. how could he not? his father was awesome. he always won the case for his clients, no matter what, and they always looked so happy! so kristoph started showing an interest in law, and his father was more than happy to show him the ropes. in between the legal jargon and the textbooks, he picked up on the little things: how to "tell" when a client is "worth your time". how to "find" evidence that wasn't there before. how to make a witness "tell the truth".

is this to say that kristoph has "daddy issues" because of how he shaped him? no, i don't think so. i think if you were to ask him "what made you want to get into law?", he'd still say that it was because of his father.

does that mean that kristoph has "mommy issues" because his mother was the one pushing kristoph into the shape of the old money family's son? no, i don't think so. he never stripped away those influences-- just look at the "beautiful nails" line in 4-4, or how he holds himself so elegantly and precisely.

if you want a specific answer, i think both of his parents gave him issues. hella issues. but he doesn't really go agonizing "ohh my dad ruined my life" or anything.

at the end of the day this is all headcanon. like i said, the AA fandom is really working with scraps when it comes to anything gavin-family related, so i might just be waffling into the air. send more asks if you want lmao.

thanks for reading. peace love and little donuts or whatever lol

[neutrallyobsessed]

AHORA SI VIENE LO CHIDO

I DON'T SHIP IT!!!!!!!!!!! >X000

Why don’t you ship it?

Opposites reppel each other like the plague kinda ship. Maybe the hate is not entirely reciprocal but Apollo literally wants nothing to do with Klavier, his existance annoys him to no end and only puts up with him because of work and his boss' daughter likes him but he dreads this HE DREADS THIS!!!!! Klavier is chill tho, he's famous, he has haters and Apollo is just another one, one that he is sort of legally allowed to be more of a dickhead lol, of course he'll take the chance

Apollo worked with his brother and never knew him. The first time he saw Klavier he was like (why does he look so familiar?) and Klavier's response is basically to quote Riley Freeman to him, like that wasn't flirting, that's called MOCKING!!!!! and brother do these guys just throw insults at each other left and right, nothing but venom and disdain towards another~~

I also don't like Famous Person x Person Who Doesnt Like/Care About Famous Person dynamics. Like are yall fr how is that a good dynamic???

What would have made you like it?

Maybe an Apollo Justice 2 where their off the clock dynamic is explored? Literally ANYTHING that shows them being just a bit more casual and cordial and not just the Profesional Civility™ they exibit when they're not at each others throats (in the killing matter, not the hot sexy way)

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

AT LEAST IT'S NOT A RED X BLUE SHIP I GUESS?? maybe their mutual hatred is healthy and ppl headcanon Klavier as bi, which is good, this implies he likes women which is always good

Klapollo tastes like: FUCKING NOTHING!!!!!!!! You come at me saying this is one of the best foods you ever had and then you hand me an empty plate and I'm like BITCH??? Like yeah sure, when the food is imaginary it can tastes as good as you want but I will not play along with this bullshit. You give me the WrightWorth 2 package and I'm like THIS BITCH EMPTY YEET

[noxiatoxia]

love the gavincest thoughts

using this ask as a springboard to talk about them more bc we as a society do not talk about them enough. cw incest noncon darkfic you get it

though meant to be a gag, these pages from the anthology make me crazy. it's such a minor thing but it shows A) Kristoph would straight up gaslight his little brother even way back then and B) Kristoph had no issues using this form of abuse on Klavier even over mild things like breaking something in the house.

Now I be going off the rails a bit because I haven't played AJ in a hot second so the smaller details may be lost on me. But we do know Kristoph is cold, calculating, willing to play the long game (7 years to be exact) and willing to use his brother in any way that benefits him. He is also not above murdering a little girl. So we can gleam a lot about his character from these things alone.

What I find interesting are two things: 1) Though being the conscious, direct reason Phoenix lost his badge, Kristoph was the only one on the board of attorneys to vote against a strict punishment, and 2) when asked why he killed Zak Gramarye, several black psyche-locks appear (Phoenix's magic ability to see when people are lying.) The black ones, from what we know, imply a secret or other that the individual is subconsciously hiding. For reference the literal only other character in the series seen with black psyche-locks is Athena, and the reason she had hers was due to intense PTSD, as they surrounded the murder of her mother that she witnessed as a child. She couldn't remember what she saw at the time because she had repressed it so heavily, hence the locks.

As for the first point, it is either a way to keep his enemies close (which I believe is most likely, given how paranoid he is), it was a way to mock Phoenix, or he may have felt an ounce of guilt at his actions.

The second implies interesting things for Kristoph. We all know he lies and shit constantly, but telling us there are things even HE isn't aware he's hiding from himself is fascinating and makes me insane in the head. Since it's related to the 7 year old murder case, one can make many guesses. But honestly, one of my lead theories is it pertains to feelings of guilt. It's the one thing we don't ever see Kristoph express over his crimes. Over what he did to Klavier. And I have to think, deep down, he's not this evil guiltless guy. I think a part of him very deep down feels awful for what he did. He probably didn't expect the situation to spiral so far out of his control, resulting in him having to commit murder to cover his secret up. And in order to save himself from the guilt these new, fast-paced developments brought, he had to quickly delude himself into not feeling guilt for it.

(Now granted he DID always plan to kill Misham with the stamp, but my gay ass can't remember if it was the plan to kill Mr. Misham or Vera. Or both.)

Anyhow let me rope this back to the main topic. INCEST !!!

I think with all that we know of Kristoph, he could and sadly probably would do absolutely anything to Klavier so long as it benefited him or sated whatever whims he had. After all, literally all this 7 year BS started bc he just wanted to get Phoenix fired bc he thought he was annoying. PETTY AS FUCK. So I can see him abusing Klavier for equally as petty reasons...although, in my head, I like to believe Kristoph does have a soft spot for Klavier in some ways. He does love his brother and care about him. he just cares about himself way more, so Klavier's own feelings don't really come into play.

And analyzing the "why Kristoph would do it in the first place" is cool and all, but thinking of it from Klavier's perspective is equally as interesting.

Kristoph gaslights him and emotionally abuses him constantly. He puts Klavier down in very subtle ways, quietly getting the idea into his head that Klavier cannot make good decisions for himself, that he's inferior to his older brother, and that his older brother is always correct and just in any disagreement they have. In this way, I can 100% believe Kristoph could gaslight Klavier into believing his own abuse he is experiencing is his fault. Even some of the more vile actions, if you want to get into that territory, would be spun in a way to make Klavier feel like he was asking for it, or that he prompted it, or that in any case it was his fault it happened at all. Kristoph is eloquent and commanding and has a way with words.

Now, while I do love unabashedly dark stuff like that, again, I like to think Kristoph - at the very least a younger Kristoph - would not stoop to such levels even if he wanted to harm Klavier. I can maybe see in this scenario, he does little things here or there but they are infrequent and stay capped at inappropriate touching. He could probably convince Klavier that this is either not inappropriate or even get him to believe he dreamed/imagined it.

In a situation where they had some weird hookup even around the time AJ takes place, this would make the final case a lot harder on Klavier, as he'd have to come to terms with both Kristoph's involvement in these murders but also how he has been treating him.

Maybe later I'll have more concrete ideas, but I do love gavincest so much. Klavier looks up to his older brother so much, it's why he became a prosecutor. So much of how he views himself, his esteem, his self-worth is based on his brother's word. And it's insane to think that when this guy is an internationally famous musical artist. Yet even if millions of people are screaming his name at a concert it means nothing to his ego. Not like his brother.

And then, you have Kristoph, who is portrayed as nothing but a manipulator, a liar, and cold and heartless, yet also very kind and helpful. He's a defense lawyer. He's there for people in need. He was the only one to stick up for Phoenix. His kindness is a front he puts up, but it's a very convincing one, and it makes him seem like the good guy. But he's willing to do some of the most evil shit ever to get what he wants, throw as many people under the bus, etc. Yet we have indication there's something deep, deep down that even he's not aware of that surrounds these things...could be guilt, paranoia, some locked away memory. We don't know. We don't even really know how he feels about Klavier, if Klavier was ever more than just a pawn to him.

So like yeahhh it's cool to think of these two.

[2p42m]

hiya. I see you so hard on gavgirls. KRISTOPH ESPECIALLY. the absolute repression oh my god you are so correct. we will free christine together at any cost

you understand the vision .... the eighteen million billion levels of emotional incomprehension contained within kristoph/kristine gavin to create the most complicated glass closet i have ever seen. what self-respecting man paints his nails my ass. now i mustn't be allowed to yap too much about them despite the. well everything about me and my blog lest i simply recreate my gavgirls conspiracy board and i do have other responsibilities probably but

tldr i'm normal in the head and kristoph is "i wish i was a woman so i could be your wife so i could tell you what to do" you get it

i am so obsessed with the complications created between siblings and especially the gavin siblings i'm afraid it's terminal. the love and hatred intertwined can be so potent i'm eating my way through capcom's walls. that kristoph created a safe space in her shadow for klavier to explore and express freely, and she's happy for her little klavier, she really is, but there's something about the jealousy she feels towards her for being so open and carefree at every second. she shoves it down with the rest because then she must ask why she's jealous of such a thing and she should never feel that way towards her little klavier, anyway. and she's far too much a busy man to wallow in those kinds of things. still it persists.

that kristoph only dares to feel that fluttering in her chest and finally find a name for it while rotting away from the world in a cell block: finding the freedom to exist only when the very thing has been robbed of her. did i mention my dear friend @princepqul has a lovely fic for this in atroquinine, my love and i'm going to fucking Get him by the way. and her life may as well be over but it's the first time she's lived it in thirty-two years and it's when nobody is left to see it. whether that's a blessing or a curse she couldn't say.

that miles away in an empty home klavier reckons with the loss, perhaps in this way more than ever, of the one person who she felt understood, and saw, and would always be there by her side. and continues to lose her every day as she's forced to question if that person ever existed and even safe in the conclusion that she did, that klavier will never have the opportunity to repay her. will never be able to openly respect who kristoph was to her beyond who kristoph was to the world and. and.

i have no canon basis for any of this but they told me themselves so i know this to be true btw. klavier is my wife

[the-bar-sinister]

Chains of the Dragon (8986 words) by thesavagesabretooth Chapters: 2/?

catch up here. Additional Tags: Polyamory, Drama & Romance, Eventual Happy Ending, relationship drama, genre: political thriller and soap opera, plot heavy

-

October 1, 2028– 9:50 am

Klavier sat up in bed while Ema was snoring beside him, the pale golden tendrils of morning light intruding through the blinds of his bedroom window. He leaned limply against the headboard, running his fingers through the thin, mussed strands of his hair as he stared at the ceiling blankly.

He should have known something was wrong when he hadn't heard from Apollo in four fucking months. Sure, they did not have as close a relationship as Klavier maybe wanted him to have, and sure, he wanted to respect Apollo's privacy and boundaries– but he still should have known something was wrong.

Maybe he had known something was wrong all along, but he was afraid to approach it. Maybe he was afraid that Apollo was simply done with him. Maybe he was afraid, as he had been at the start, that Apollo had only started fucking him at all because of his resemblance to his brother. Klavier didn't know what kind of relationship Apollo had, or hadn't had, with Kristoph, but he knew that on the few occasions where either of them would mention the taboo topic of the other Gavin brother, Apollo got that look in his eyes that Klavier had seen in Kristoph's lovers. But maybe it was just that as his boss, he'd had him under the same type of spell.

Klavier had to admit that he didn't want to know. He was much happier when Apollo was with someone else. With Athena, or Clay before– or damn it, especially when he was with Klavier himself.

Klavier didn't own Apollo. He knew that. 

Apollo didn't owe him any of his time, or anything else. But damn it, Klavier missed him. And he felt used the way Apollo would blow into his life for a few days, all laugther and smiles and letting Klavier drag him around on stupid dates, or else showing up at Klavier's place to cry in his lap and refuse to explain why– and then he would vanish again. Leaving him with nothing.

"Apollo Justice is fine!" Scheisse! Niemals! Absolute bullshit! Apollo Justice was as far from fine as you could get– but he didn't want to talk about it to Klavier! Hell, he was pretty sure he didn't want to talk about it to anyone.

And now, according to Trucy, he'd run away to some foreign country to become a monk and run away from all his problems.

The worst part is that Klavier could absolutely believe it. It sounded just like him.

Why the hell had it taken Klavier four months to decide to do something?

Ema stirred in her sleep, and he was pulled out of his dark, brooding reverie.

October 1, 2028– 10:25 am

Ema woke up, as she so often did whether she liked to admit it or not, in Klavier Gavin's bed.

“NNngh…” were the first sounds she uttered as she flinched away from the light of dawn. “...shouldn’t have had that much to drink…gah..”

It took her a second to register the fact, but she soon sank into the familiarity of it with a low hiss of breath. As much as she went out of her way to gripe and claim otherwise, she was living the fangirl’s dream of waking up in the bed of a rock star more often than they’d even dare to dream. 

It was a big, comfortable bed, too, more comfortable than it had any right to be, with slippery silk black sheets and big, downy pillows.

As soon as she roused, Klavier was on her like an animal– specifically, like a big, affectionate cat. He scooped his arms around her and nuzzled his neck.

"Guten Morgen, fräulein," Klavier purred. "So sorry about your head."

Ema’s face flushed a vivid red as she squawked in surprise, wincing at the sound. 

“Gah, you– you ridiculous fop!” Despite her barb, her arm looped around him as she shivered pleasantly. “I see you still like waking people up like you were some kind of overgrown housecat.” 

"You don't like morning cuddles?" he asked, nuzzling up against her under the blankets. His hair was askew, and falling all in his face, and behind his smile, he looked troubled. "Who doesn't like morning cuddles? You are ein monster, fräulein."

Klavier was in fine form that morning. Ema could tell. The more worked up Klavier was, the more of that ridiculous fake German got peppered into his speech.

It was almost adorable. Adoerible even. Though now that she was sober, she saw the flaws in that particular word smash up.

“Did I say I hated cuddling, Gavin?” she huffed as she reached a hand up to brush through his infuriatingly silky hair. “You’re in a mood today. Open your german word of the day calendar before waking me up?” 

"I wouldn't dare get out of bed while you were still sleeping there so cutely," he teased. "How is it you are still so cute even when you are snoring so loudly, mein liebchen?

He nuzzled his head against her fingers, rubbing against her–once more, like a cat.

Ema flushed deeper, and despite her performative little frown, she couldn’t help but feel a swell of affection for the ridiculous fop.

“Keep talking about my snoring, pal, and I’m going to dump a whole bag of snackoos on your face.” She tugged his hair lightly to make her point “how are you so peppy the day after…after an open bar?” 

"Liebchen, remember. You didn't take me to the wedding. For me, there was no open bar." He bumped his head gently against hers, and kissed her temple.

Ema pouted, idly stroking her fingers through his hair. 

“It's not like I tried to leave you out, Gavin. The Sprockets just insisted that Edgeworth bring a plus one and he picked me ‘cause I had to investigate that shitshow.” She leaned up, and almost kissed his cheek before she stopped short. “the maniac held two fucking wedding receptions to gaslight the couple. It was insane. Second…third, maybe fourth stupidest case of my life.” 

"I am a little sorry to have missed it, fraulein." He chuckled and shook his head, looking off into the distance. "Ah well. It seems that there are many things I have missed lately."

Klavier's arm brushed up over her shoulders and his fingers trailed teasingly across the back of her neck.

He knew, he KNEW she was ticklish there, which meant that he got exactly the intended response of her squeak and stifled laughter as she burrowed against him with a huff.

“Ggghh…” She looked up at him with tired and groggy eyes, “Khura’in, yeah?” 

"Ja, liebchen, Khura'in." He pulled her close as she leaned into him, and shook out his hair a little, running his fingers through it. "I knew that you were playing globetrotting detective, but it seems that I missed quite a bit."

She leaned her head against him

“It’s my job, Klavier… You…you know I have to go where I’m assigned. And I was assigned to prosecutor Sahdmadhi at the Chief Prosecutor’s request-and the guy sure liked racking up a massive travel bill.” Her fingers twisted against his sheets, near his leg. “A..a lot happened, nobody expected it.” 

"Fraulein, it is not you I am annoyed at, I promise." He kissed the top of her head. "Of course it is your job, that's not a problem. It's…"

Ema tilted her head up, and her lips brushed his chin in a quick kiss. 

“Justice, right?” She sighed, and placed her fingertips to her forehead. The pounding only got worse…she should have expected this. She should have.

"Herr forehead. Justice," he agreed. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You know we had the same kind of arrangement as you and I do– or so I thought."

For a moment he looked like he was about to continue, but he shook his head. "But this isn't the conversation to have right when you've woken up. Liebchen, I am a terrible host, I am sorry. Let me get you some ice water, and some breakfast."

Ema sighed, and flopped back against him more fully with an attempt at a smile. “Finally, you show a little mercy on this poor, weakened detective.” 

"If I'm anything, fraulein, it's merciful."

October 1, 2028– 11:15 am

Klavier was as good as his word, as always. He made her breakfast in his too-big, too-lavish kitchen full of gadgets it was obvious he rarely used. He'd left a whole pitcher of ice water and painkillers in front of her while he'd worked, singing and cooking like some kind of musical, if haphazard, chef.

It was almost a show. Not a very good show, but a show nonetheless. Hand squeezed orange juice. An espresso pulled from a great, gleaming chrome espresso machine. French omelets and buttered toast. All prepared to the melodic unaccompanied strains of Atroquinine, My Love.

Ema had, of course, downed all the painkillers her body could tolerate before she could tolerate the full lyrical irony of Atroquinine, My Love. It was a good song…hell, she even liked it. She’d never tell him that, of course. But after the whole Misham case, it always struck her as just on the edge of bad taste. Which, admittedly, almost made it better.

She was halfway through another full glass of ice water by the time he was done making espresso.

“I can’t believe I’m being served by a goddamned fairytale princess.” 

"As if I don't treat you like a princess every time you grace me with your presence, mein liebchen." He slid a double espresso latte in front of her. There was a heart in the foam.

He bustled over and grabbed the plates, setting them down on the breakfast bar before arranging himself on the stool across from her.

Ema flushed deeper, half hiding behind her water glass with a downwards glance at the latte.

“You do…” She stuck out her tongue. “it makes me think you want something.”

"What, every time I treat you like a princess?" he purred, gazing at her over his own coffee cup. "Would you rather I treat you as something else, liebling?"

Ema hid her face with another long sip of water before she answered. 

“A p-princess is fine. For the moment.” She stuck out her tongue before grabbing the mug of espresso with a huff, “...thanks for the coffee, your majesty.” 

"Cheers, Prinzessin," he cooed, raising his cup. "As for wanting something from you, I already got your cooperation for that yesterday. Like we were talking of in bed."

She sipped the espresso latte with a quiet nod. “Yeah…I know. Just so you know I don’t think it’s exactly as dire as Trucy might have told you, Klav.” 

"Trucy did make it sound pretty dire. Why don't you give me your perspective then. If your head's calmed down a little."

She took another long sip before she set the mug down. 

“The guy’s adoptive father just died, and he had a whole trial to save his childhood best friend from his abusive aunt.”

Ema grimaced as the details of the trial flickered through her mind, the spirit channeling, the attempted public execution, the kidnapping plot. The whole thing had been a huge mess that nearly ended badly for everyone. She wasn’t happy with Dhurke, hell, she didn’t even like the guy. But she couldn’t deny that Apollo had complicated feelings about him, that the man being dead didn’t help.

“He was in kind of a rough place, too, after the Phantom trial and everything after. I think he saw the chance to open his dead father figure’s law office as a chance to do something good and maybe get back on track. Some time away, you know? My guess is he’ll be back in LA once the retrials are all finished and there’s enough lawyers to have a functioning legal system again.” 

"Are they making good progress? It's been what, four months now?" Klavier looked slightly pacified, but still concerned, a little frown written on his cute face.

She knew Klavier and Apollo hadn't exactly had a tight knit relationship– she suspected that both of them had wanted more from it than they thought the other one was willing to commit. And now Klavier seemed to have proof of that for himself.

Ema sighed, pushing her hand through her hair. 

“Yeah, four months or so. I’ll be honest, last I saw while working with Prosecutor Sahdmadhi it wasn’t going well. They’re blowing through retrials but nobody’s picked up the job of defense yet. I’m guessing they’re just celebrating being free before getting back to work, but…” 

Klavier lowered his gaze, his frown deepening. "What do you mean by this, fraulein? No one is picking up the job of defense?"

Ema grimaced into her coffee. “I mean every defense attorney Apollo exonerated hasn’t returned to practicing law as far as I’m aware. Leaving him and Nahyuta the only defense and prosecutorial team actively in duty.” 

He nearly spat out his coffee. "The only defense and prosecution in the city? That's madness, fraulein!"

“In the country, actually.” Ema took another sip of her increasingly necessary coffee. “It is insane, yeah. I’ll be honest, Klav. I’ve been working myself to the bone there too…that’s part of why I’m back. I needed a break. But, I’m sure they’re just celebrating before returning to the practice. Hell, it’s likely to be resolved by the time we GET there.” 

"Well if it is, then we can be there just in time for the wrap party, ja?" He forced a smile, but it was clear that he didn't believe it. "Fraulein, it sounds like poor Apollo Justice has been even more miserable for the last year than he would let me believe."

“Of course he is!” Ema put her fingers to her forehead. “I mean…Justitia, Klavier. He lost his best friend, was forced to doubt his close co-worker, had to deal with that whole clusterfuck in Cauli with the spy ring, and then got dragged to the ass-end of nowhere to solve his absent-ass dad’s murder!”

She gesticulated wildly as she spoke. “Apollo Justice is NOT fine. I think that’s why he needed a change of scenery, even if the situation still sucks!” 

"Scheisse, fraulein, you don't think I know that? But he did not want to talk to me, ja? Every time I bring up how he's feeling, he pushes me away."

Klavier scowled, looming over his coffee with his shoulders slumped.

Ema sighed, and leaned forward to place her hand on his shoulder with a furrow of her brow.

“Look, Klavier. I’m gonna tell you something as someone who also really cares about him, loves him even.” 

"I'm listening."

“Apollo Justice may be one of the most emotionally constipated, hard headed, stubborn idiots I’ve ever known…and I idolize MIles Edgeworth. I think Apollo Justice would sooner up and die in a plane crash than communicate his fucking feelings.”

"Please don't say die in a plane crash under these circumstances, fraulein." Klavier sagged further. "But no, you're right. You're very right. I just don't understand why, or what to do about it."

Ema rubbed his shoulders. 

“I dunno, Klavier..” She sighed. “aA much as I don’t wanna admit it, maybe traveling to go see him really is the right option. See if you can slap a little sense into him where I couldn’t. I don’t think what he’s doing is..bad…per se..”

Her eyes glanced downwards and her brow furrowed.

“Sometimes…sometimes you just have to deal with a responsibility for a bit.” Like with Lana. Her sister languishing in the depths of corruption for her sake once more flashed through her mind, willing to set herself on fire for the responsibility of keeping her and her future safe. “b-but he might be going too far.” 

Klavier made a frustrated scoff at the back of his throat and waved his hand dismissively.

"Ja, ja, liebling, I already know that! I have already resolved that he must be dragged back." He shook his head. "I meant how do I get herr forehead to talk about his feelings?"

“Probably not torture,” Ema said dryly, “so leave your pliers at home.” 

"Scheisse." He snapped his fingers. "But, if it's only probably, maybe I should bring them and my shock baton anyway, ja?"

He grinned that same catlike smile as usual, though his clear unease was still written behind it.

Ema snickered quietly. “Yeah, feel free. If nothing else might make for a fun afternoon.” she joked “...but seriously. I think maybe you gotta brute force it. I’ll help. “ 

"If you'll help, fraulein, maybe we can actually manage to pry him open."

She leaned in and pecked his lips in a quick kiss. “Like a fucking oyster.” 

He chuckled and grabbed her jaw, pulling her into a more full kiss instead.

"Like a fucking oyster, liebling. You'll help me make the travel plans after breakfast?"

Ema chuckled darkly as their lips parted, tasting the sharp taste of the espresso on her tongue as she gave him a salute. 

“After breakfast. You got more treating me like a princess to get through before I help you do something stupid.” 

"Of course, Prinzessin, I won't shirk my duties."

October 1, 2028– 10:45 am

Trucy had just gotten off the phone with Pearl.

From the sound of it, the start of the Police Academy had been going well enough…Pearl had managed to get Vera Misham as a roommate, exactly as she knew they both had been hoping. Trucy waited until after they gossiped about the Academy and Pearl’s fellow recruits before she dropped the bombshell.

The ‘I’ll be out of town for a little bit hunting down Apollo Justice for sport and personal reasons’ bombshell, mixed with the ‘oh btw he’s my brother’ one for good measure. 

Pearl had taken it well. Disappointed that she couldn't come along. 'This is the second trip to Khura'in I've missed!', but she wished Trucy luck and made her promise to bring Apollo over to say hello once they were back.

She hadn't been surprised about the brother thing. Her exact words were 'oh I had just assumed'.

It was perhaps the most underwhelming part of the conversation. At the very least Trucy had been hanging her hopes that someone would be blown out of the water by this as she was.

But Pearl was always captain perceptive…it was no surprise she saw right through to the truth while Apollo and Trucy were too wrapped up in their nonsense to notice. But she promised to take lots of pictures, bring back lots of sweets, and to ‘Drag Apollo back kicking and screaming’ if need be to say hello to her.

As the call ended, she felt a little more bolstered, a little more ready to face the rest of the day before her flight. She had to break the news to the De Famme twins, so they didn’t lose their minds without her. 

Betty was probably going to be angry. After all, it was only two months ago that Trucy and Bonny had managed to wheedle her into agreeing to the twins joining the Wright Anything Agency– and Trucy's act�� in the first place. Finding out that practice was going to be canceled because her boss had better things to do would probably steam her up.

When Betty got steamed, it always turned into a huge production…so she stalled, stopping for a parfait at the cafe on her way to the studio and playing with her phone as she thought about whether she should just do it via text or not.

She ran into an unexpected problem when she was seated at a table at the cafe– right next to Betty who was working on her own parfait.

“............” Trucy slurped a bite of her parfait as she slowly tucked her cell phone in her cloak’s sewn in pocket. “Well, well, well. Look what the bat dragged in.” she grinned teasingly. 

Betty looked up at her with her spoon in her mouth, and gave her a dark look under her long lashes. "I should say the same thing to you, Wright."

She wasn't in her magician outfit, instead her 'civilian' identity– a heavy purple yukata with a chrysanthemum and rose pattern, her dark hair brushed back from her temples and pinned away from her face with butterfly clips. It was clear why she and her sister had never been caught at their twin act before the trial.

Trucy leaned on her hand with a wink. 

“You could, but you haven’t dragged me anywhere yet.” she grabbed her parfait, and plopped herself on the seat opposite Betty. “But don’t, this is fortunate…I was actually hoping to corner you and Bonny about something.” 

"You'll have to settle for me for now, Bonny's busy." Betty leaned over the table toward Trucy as she sat down. "What is it? Are we fired?"

“You’d wish!” Trucy teased with a sly edge to her grin. She scooped up a strawberry with her spoon “but I’d miss you too bad, Betts. No, you’re stuck with me for a long time yet! but practice is going to be put on a hiatus for a bit.” 

"What? What for?" Betty demanded, growling. She grabbed the strawberry off Trucy's spoon and popped it into her own mouth.

“Hey! Tch…”Trucy pouted before she reached out to steal a bite from Betty’s in return, popping it into her mouth before she could stop her. She tilted her nose up. “Because I have to go save my idiot brother from becoming a Justitia damned monk for the rest of his life.” 

"I'm sorry, you have to what? Since when do you have a fucking brother?" Betty snapped with an incredulous look. She went back to sucking on her spoon as if it was a cigarette.

Trucy waved her spoon in the air with a soft huff. 

“I have to go save my brother from becoming a monk, geeze Betty. This is like…elementary level stuff.” She pointed her spoon at Betty “first…I didn’t know I had a brother until like…yesterday when my Daddy finally deigned to tell me. Second, I’m not even joking. You probably saw it on the news, yeah? The whole revolution in the Kingdom of Khura’in?” 

"Yeah, of course I saw the news. And then you fucking told me you were there," Betty snorted. "So what, that guy that you left there– what was his name, Paulie? He's your brother now or something?"

Trucy nearly spit out her parfait. 

“Eyyyyy, Paulie” she snickered over it for a moment before she corrected Betty. She stuck her tongue out after swallowing. “Polly. Apollo. We share a momma, Betty. The Siren of the Ballad, Lamiroir. She had amnesia and then wanted to keep it quiet ‘until the right moment..” 

Trucy's expression twitched, and she pushed down the anger and frustration into her usual flippant playfulness. “And now I found out just at the right time…when the asshole’s gone to cloister himself as the sole arbiter of justice in the mountains.” 

Betty frowned around her spoon, and mumbled. "Sho he's not in line for the gramophone?"

Trucy stared at her for a long moment as she fished in her nearly empty parfait.

Gramarye throne.

“No. I mean…maybe? Lamiroir turned out to actually be grandpa’s amnesiac daughter who he abandoned in Europe…so I guess by that token Apollo kinda has a claim if he really wants to, but..”

Betty pulled the spoon out of her mouth and pointed it at Trucy. "So is he a rival, or not? I'm not killing anybody. If you want him gone, he can just stay a monk, right? Unless he's learning fucking… mountains monk magic."

Trucy warred with dual impulses, one one hand, she nearly broke out laughing. On the other hand, she wanted to launch a strawberry into her face for even suggesting it. Her spoon came up about halfway before she finally broke the urge and ate it instead with a low snicker.

“He’s probably learning all kinds of magic from that smug ass prosecutor who he was making doe eyes at the whole trial. If you know what I mean.” She scuffed her foot on the ground “but gosh…I dunno if I’d ever call him a rival. Polly HATES stage magic after all I put him though. And I want him back, he’s making both ME and his special friend upset.” 

"His 'special friend' huh?" Betty gave her a dubious look. "So, what, is this a breakup thing then? Cause I'm telling you right now you should not get in the middle of a breakup, Trucy, it'll be a fucking mess."

“But he’s my brother!” Trucy whined “and anyway, they didn’t break up! They haven’t talked in like…half a year or something. There’s a difference. Their mutual girlfriend’s back in town and she’s gonna book us a flight to go burn down the temple or something.”

She held up her hands “metaphorically.” 

"Metaphorically." 

Betty drawled back, clearly not convinced. She leaned across the table toward Trucy. 

"So let me get this straight. You're flying to another country, to stick your nose in somebody else's romantic business. That somebody is a potential Gramarye rival and your secret brother who's learning mystical magics from some monk prosecutor. And you're possibly burning down a temple. Does that sum it up, yes or no?"

“More or less, yeah.” Trucy tipped her hat up with a shaky smile. “But Polly would never fight me for the Gramarye name..”

Why would he? It’s a history of violence, manipulation and cruelty that lead to some of the greatest stage magic man had ever seen. And he hates stage magic, he never stops screaming from the moment he hops on stage to the moment we drag him off. “But that sums it up pretty nicely otherwise, yeah.”

"Great. Wonderful, okay. Two things. One– you're buying me another parfait. And two. We're coming with you."

Trucy’s eyes widened. 

“first…why the hell am I buying you a parfait? You ATE part of mine. Second…why the hell do you wanna drag yourself and your sister to Khura’in with me?” 

"One– because you owe me for listening to your sob story. And two, uuuh, who fucking wouldn't want to go stick their nose in other people's business, burn down temples, and steal mountain monk magic? Because I'll tell you right now I'm getting a piece of that monastic shit."

Trucy pointed at her.

“Not before I do, Betts. I’m gonna buy you a parfait but it’s coming outta your next paycheck, okay?” She waved down the waiter with a snort. “...alright. You and Bonny can come, okay? But you’re gonna be sticking to me like glue.” 

"Obviously! I'm not going to be sleeping at the hotel while you're doing all the fun shit."

Trucy grinned widely “great! Then you can carry my bags, cutie pie.” 

"Like hell I am!" Betty sneered. "If anything, Bonny can do it."