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queen-ofsunflowers · 4 years ago

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DadWorth AU: Part 2 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)

More DadWorth AU! And here we finally get into the details of the games, so the parts that remain the same will be briefly touched upon. This is gonna be longer than the last post, so here we go!

< Part 1 | Part 3 >

Turnabout Sisters

Things actually start a bit before the game does, and its with Kay at age fourteen and ready to start high school. (to me her birthday is in December, so she would be fourteen by the time the school year begins). And she has a certain one in mind.

I’ve mentioned before that Kay ends up idolizing Mia and follows her cases. Being surrounded by law for the past couple of years and wanting to help people (because Kay has yet to learn about the true Yatagarasu), Kay decides that she wants to be a defense attorney like Mia as opposed to a prosecutor like her dad and Miles (I am one of few people that I think subscribe to the idea of Defense Attorney!Kay... but that’s where we’re going here.)

Miles hestiates when he learns that Kay “wants to be a lawyer”, but after pressure from both Franziska and Gumshoe, he agrees to the idea. After studying and working hard, Kay ends up getting accepted to Themis Legal Academy in the defense attorney course -- something she hides from Edgeworth because she’s afraid that he’ll disapprove. But this is something that she really wants to do. i have an idea, shhh--

So, Kay’s first day of school just happens to fall on September 6. If anyone recognizes this date, it means Edgeworth is going to be home late, as he almost always is when he’s working on a new case. Because this is where we hit Turnabout Sisters.

Kay’s first day of school goes pretty well. It’s all getting to know you stuff, so it’s gonna be easy. Everyone tries to keep Kay from finding out about the details of Edgeworth’s newest case throughout the course of the day, but this fails because Miles doesn’t know that Kay looks up to Mia. So he gets very much confused when she gets upset upon learning Mia Fey had been murdered when he goes about their usual conversation about his latest case the next morning.

So, she’s upset and Miles has no idea why. On his side, he finds out the defense attorney for this case is Phoenix Wright. So he’s not doing so well because the past is coming back to bite him in the butt, and Kay goes to school feeling like crap. And things only start to get worse from there when two students in the prosecutors’ course decide its a good idea to mess with one of the students in the defense attorney course.

Enter Sebastian Debeste and Klavier Gavin. (i know klavier’s a good guy, but he still needs the character development to happen) They are not the nicest of people when Kay first encounters them. She’s down, and they decide its a good time to kick her while she’s down.

She confides in this to Ema, who gets super mad about this. She knows that she needs to tell an adult about it, so she somehow manages to tell Gumshoe about this (how they know each other, i’m not sure, probably happened after she met Kay.) And then Gumshoe goes to Miles while they’re investigating the next day and tells him that Kay’s been having a tough time adjusting (Ema had left out the bullying bit, since Kay had made her promise not to tell, thinking it would make things worse.)

Miles takes things into consideration a little bit (he’s too focused on his case), and promises to pick Kay up from school the next day if Gumshoe drops her off (an idea that came up from Gumshoe mentioning it would be a good idea to have someone she trusts there after a bad day.)

The date is September 9, Gumshoe drops Kay off at school as planned while Edgeworth goes to trial. And everything for both of them goes downhill from there. Edgeworth gets his ass handed to him by Phoenix and gets his first loss. Kay’s bullying continues. Too absorbed in his loss and the repercussions of it, Miles forgets about Kay entirely. Kay’s left outside of Themis, heartbroken and her trust in Miles barely even remains. After about an hour or so, she calls Badd to come and get her since she knows he’ll always be there if she needs him.

Miles hears Kay come home, and gets confused when she runs past him and up to her room. Badd explains everything and how Miles is an idiot.

So, Badd’s pissed at Edgeworth. Gumshoe gets mad at Miles when he finds out about what happened with Kay. von Karma is pissed at Edgeworth for losing at case to a rookie of all things. Kay’s upset with him because of what happened. Franziska’s mad at him on both fronts. The media is having a field day with his record being broken. It’s the second worst day of his life.

Turnabout Samurai

So, time goes on since the horrible, no-good very bad day. Miles is trying to deal with everything and everyone being mad at him. He’s becoming emotionally unavailable and Kay’s not helping at all since she’s pulled away from him. Since he forgot about her, she thinks he doesn’t care about her anymore. She just stays out of his way.

Miles is emotionally out of the window and does just what he needs to do to keep Kay happy or so he thinks. He’s too absorbed in his work and stressed out from his previous loss to try and reverse the damage caused to his reputation. Meanwhile, Kay’s bullying at Klavier’s and Sebastian’s hands continues. She doesn’t know what to do about it (even though Ema continually tells her to tell someone, Kay doesn’t want to make things worse.)

Things come to a head for her right around the same time that Edgeworth gets assigned the Steel Samurai case against Phoenix Wright. Kay’s absolutely done with Sebastian’s and Klavier’s treatment of her and remembering Ema’s words, she acts.

Kay ends up punching Klavier in the face when he pushes her over the edge, much to everyone’s surprise. They both get dragged down to the office by a teacher after the fight escalates a little (if it even can be called that, only physical blows traded was Kay’s punch.)

They’re in trouble, they start arguing over who started it, etc. The teacher (who I should note is Courte) puts an end to it, believing that they are both to blame for what happened -- Kay for retaliating the way she did and Klavier for antagonizing her in the first place. With the principal’s agreement, both of them are sent home for the day after their guardians are called.

For Kay, she immediately gets called back by Edgeworth while waiting. Edgeworth is in the middle of the Steel Samurai case, so he can’t do anything. He actually grows irritated over what Kay did, not listening to her explanation over what happened and only saying that they’ll talk about it when he gets home. Kay tries to find someone else who

Meanwhile, Courte takes Klavier aside and tries to find out what happened to cause the whole mess in the first place. Something got into his head that this was how it was supposed to be with defense attorneys and prosecutors (what this is or who that was that planted it is up for debate). He’s told that he’s wrong. They’re both on the same sides of the law, and they’re both there to find the truth -- not to fight about it until there’s a victor. They are allies. Not enemies.

And then Klavier comes back and overhears Kay’s conversation with Edgeworth with Courte’s words echoing in the back of his mind. Klavier’s just like... “okay, she may be a defense attorney, but i don’t think she’s that different from me at all”. Kristoph is a terrible guardian, but the only one that can take care of Klavier, and he understands a bit of what Kay is going through right now because of that.

And immediately feels like shit for how he treated her prior. So when Kay goes to apologize to him from ya know... punching him, it’s him that starts apologizing. And after a very, very long conversation, they decide to start over and Klavier invites Kay to eat lunch with him and Sebastian the next day and even offers to see if he can get her a ride home. Kay reluctantly agrees.

And so their friendship starts there.

It takes Sebastian a bit longer to warm up to Kay like Klavier has, but eventually takes to her when she doesn’t hesitate to point out the mistakes he makes. She corrects him without missing a beat. Kay’s not hesitant to call him out on bullshit when needed. As a result, Sebastian’s a bit smarter than compared to canon.

So, the chaotic duo of Ema and Kay grows to include Klavier and Sebastian. (ema has no reason to hate klavier yet, that’s not until phoenix is disbarred if my theory is right, but his attitude does tick her off sometimes).

Things are starting to get better for Kay, that’s for sure. Miles, on the other hand... not so much.

We all know what happens with him. Unnecessary feelings, questioning just about everything that you know and who you are, etc. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Kay, who wants to try and do something to help. What that is, though, she doesn’t know yet.

Turnabout Goodbyes

Winter break is coming up, and it’s pretty clear at this point that Sebastian and Klavier (the latter moreso than the former) are in tight with Kay and Ema. Kay wants to do something to fix her relationship with Edgeworth, leading to a suggestion of being honest with him about how she feels. If he listens (unlike their guardians), then that means things could turn around.

Kay declines this idea as the first thing they decide Kay should do is tell Edgeworth that she’s in the defense course. She’s still wary about what he might say or do if he finds out she’s going to be a defense attorney rather than the prosecutor he thinks. She does, eventually, agree to talk to him about how she feels. Confessing to being in defense does still linger in the back of her mind.

Christmas starts to draw nearer and nearer, and the two usually spend it together (a tradition born from the first one they had. As bad as that time of year is for Miles, he tries to not let it show for Kay’s sake. Kay doesn’t know about DL-6 and he wants to keep her as far away from it as possible.) So Kay is confused when he heads out Christmas Eve.

Kay has no idea who to turn to... except for one person. So, Christmas morning, while Gumshoe does his best when it comes to figuring out the truth with the investigation, Kay runs all the way down to Wright & Co. Law Offices. (Edgeworth had talked about Wright before in conversations that Kay overheard. That, and it was talked about that he was the only one who managed to take down Edgeworth at school.)

This is the first time that Kay meets Phoenix face-to-face, so he’s pretty confused about as to why a teenager is banging down his door on Christmas asking for help. But, he’s not someone whose going to say no, so he and Maya head down to the detention center with Kay.

Imagine their shock when they learn that the person Kay was talking about is Miles Edgeworth. Who immediately turns around and refuses their help. At all. Because he wants them as far away from this as possible.

Phoenix and Maya leave with Kay, and two out of three are not about to give up so easily. So, yeah. Kay’s finally part of the main storyline.

She helps Phoenix and Maya on their investigation and in the process does learn about DL-6. And her heart just breaks when she learns that her guardian went through all of this. Which is why Kay is relieved when Miles finally

In the meantime, Phoenix and Maya are trying to figure out what Kay’s connection to Edgeworth is since neither of them explained. And all they can get Gumshoe to say is that Kay is someone that knows Miles rather well. (something that’s supported with Kay knowing about Edgeworth’s fear of earthquakes.)

Kay’s in the audience during this case, primarily because Miles expresses that he doesn’t want her anywhere near von Karma (especially for something that would technically be her first trial). But she’s also not going to leave, so she just watches. Kay gets excited when Phoenix starts tearing von Karma’s case apart. (at this point, Kay only vaguely knows von Karma from Reminiscence. She knows that he’s Miles’s mentor and nothing more than that.)

She helps with the DL-6 investigation. The one thing I should note surprises her the most about it is the date which it takes place. Added angst for this whole case (primarily comes from my headcanon birthday for Kay) -- It’s revealed that Miles was careful on December 28th to not let Kay know what was going on with him since it was also her birthday.

Kay has only known Larry for two days, and he’s already giving her a headache (and making her question how Miles and Phoenix are friends with him a little bit). But she’s super excited that he was able to help in the end. She also finds the story about the class trial super sweet, remarking how it reminds her about how Edgeworth used to be like when they first met.

She ultimately is incredibly worried about Miles as the case goes on. Especially with how he thinks that he killed his father. The man Kay knows would never do that -- even on accident. She wants to help as much as possible, even if she can’t stand with the defense. She also wants to stick it to von Karma after everything he’s done. Especially after the confrontation in the evidence room, where Kay lets loose more information than she should, so von Karma (along with Maya and Phoenix) end up finding out about Kay’s relation to Miles.

Phoenix asks her about this later, and Kay explains everything. She begs him to get Miles a Not Guilty verdict since she doesn’t want to lose yet another father of hers. He promises her that he’ll try.

So we get to the final trial day. Kay thinks that Phoenix calling the parrot as a witness is one of the most hilarious things ever later on, but in the moment, she thinks he’s gone crazy, but it works. Miles is declared innocent and she couldn’t be happier... until he flips the switch and confesses to DL-6 after von Karma brings up

Kay gets so mad and upset about this. She corners him in the defendant’s lobby, which is not a pleasant conversation. She knows that Miles is innocent. They’ve been fighting this whole time and he’s just willing to give up that easily? Kay feels like she’s being left behind all over again. She doesn’t understand why Miles won’t “believe in me, who believe in you”. And she storms out. So there’s a bit more guilt on Miles’s shoulders, and a small bit of incentive for him to actually get a not guilty.

So, it cuts to Kay in the hallway making her way back to the gallery. She’s relaying to what’s going on to her friends over a text conversation (understandably, they’re all pissed) when she bumps into someone on her way back.

Yeah... Kay runs into von Karma again. And knowing what she does about him, Kay’s just fucking pissed. There’s a confrontation between the two where Kay comes to understand why Miles is so afraid of this man. He puts an immense amount of fear into her. She just wants to get away.

Kay hits his shoulder by accident in the process and notices the amount of pain it causes him after she runs off. So, long story short, Kay manages to figure out where the second bullet is before Phoenix does, and the trial concludes similar to how it does in canon, but with Kay’s intervention. She’s beyond relieved that Miles is free and von Karma is arrested.

She also feels horrible about yelling, and decides to take her friends’ advice to heart. She almost lost Miles once, and if that ever happens again, she wants him to know the whole truth.

The first thing Kay does after Miles is declared innocent is confess everything to Miles. She’s stammering and nervous and is barely through it when Miles cuts her off because he already knows Kay’s studying to be a defense attorney. She’s not as slick as she thinks, Gumshoe had mentioned multiple times that Phoenix could be someone Kay could learn a lot from, etc. That, and he is Kay’s guardian. He keeps in contact with the school.

He’s not disappointed in her either, which is the one fear that Kay had. He understands not following in your father’s footsteps. If it makes her happy, then that’s fine with him. He is surprised that she finally told him the truth, though. Kay promises not to keep anymore secrets from him. She wants to trust him again.

Things end well between them... as well as they could be after that whole mess, but their relationship is steadily on the mend and all is right with the world.

...until February.

Rise From the Ashes

IF YOU ALL REMEMBER SOMETHING THAT I MENTIONED IN PART 1, THEN YOU KNOW THAT THIS CASE IS GOING TO GET WORSE FOR ONE MILES EDGEWORTH THAN IT ALREADY IS.

Kay gets dragged into this one by Ema when she comes by in tears over Lana getting arrested. Kay mentions what happened back in December and says that Phoenix might be able to help, so Ema drags her down there. Phoenix is responsible for two teenagers rather than one. Again.

let’s just pretend that they don’t have school for whatever reason

Not much changes other than Kay’s involvement in SL-9. People keep bringing up the fact that Ema was not alone. And Kay’s thief skills starting to show up a little bit. Again, she won’t discover the truth about the Yatagarasu until later down the line.

She also wants to kick Gant in the shin more and more as the case progresses.

When it gets to the point where they find out that Miles is going to resign,

It’s only during the last day of the trial that Phoenix (and by extension, everyone else but Maya) finds out about Miles’s connection to Kay when he brings up the fact that there was another witness present when Ema was attacked. And Miles isn’t able to hide who it is any longer.

So, Kay has to testify. And it’s not fun. It all ends with her asking them to leave Edgeworth alone, since he didn’t do anything wrong (or he didn’t know that he was doing anything wrong -- something that is later provable.) So, this case is full of family feels, and Phoenix feels like shit for having to do this.

But in the end, Kay’s memory is a bit more clearer than Ema’s, which leads to Gant’s arrest being a bit easier. Ema still leaves the country to study forensics in Europe, and there’s a tearful goodbye and promises to stay in touch between her and her friends. But the impact that the case leaves on Edgeworth does not change. He feels like he isn’t fit anymore -- as a prosecutor or as a guardian for Kay since he couldn’t protect her.

So, the night of February 25, Kay’s woken up in the middle of the night by Miles. She’s half-asleep, and really doesn’t understand what he’s saying at the moment. He’s saying that he has to leave for a while, and tells her that he cares about her. She’s just like “okay” and ends up falling back asleep.

The next morning, Kay wakes up and the house is just about empty. She can’t find Miles anywhere. She just thinks that he’s busy with a new case that needed him in the office early, or they needed him to help clear up what happened yesterday or something, so she doesn’t think much of it.

That is until Gumshoe picks her up from school early. He never does this. No one really does this without warning, like if its a doctor’s or dentist appointment or something.

Her entire world falls apart when he tells her about the note that they found on Edgeworth’s desk that morning.

Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth Chooses Death.

And that ends Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Kay doesn’t interact with the story all that much, but we already have Egdeworth’s perspective on the game for the most part. A lot of this takes place from Kay’s POV... including Justice for All. Which I have some... interesting things in mind for.

#ace attorney #ace attorney au #miles edgeworth #kay faraday #ema skye #phoenix wright #maya fey #dick gumshoe #klavier gavin #sebastian debeste #manfred von karma #queen speaks #dadworth au #kay edgeworth au

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attllhak · 3 years ago

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I want to know every one of your wip’s, but I shall limit myself. May I request self-indulgent fic 119 or 120?

I'm happy to talk about all of my wips if you want to know! Now, as for those two... (hops through tabs...)

Ah, got it. 120 is for the merAU, it's what happens when Sky finds Warriors after going to look for him (and promptly getting absorbed into the family Warriors has been adopted into). I don't have enough for it to provide any snippets just yet though, since I just started it. (It is a rewrite of another story that I'm not happy with and would take too much editing to fix, but a lot of that'll be cut in the rewrite, though I can share snippets of it if you'd like.)

119 is an Ace Attorney fic. If you recall from 117 I ended up elaborating on some of the unseen von Karma family, namely in coming up with Annika, MvK's granddaughter and Edgeworth and Franziska's niece. She's roughly 6 or 7 in that fic, which takes place in the trilogy era. By the time of SoJ she'd likely be 16-17 (possibly 18 depending on how I set up the timeline). Either way, by von Karma standards she's more than old enough to have a degree of some kind. So I had a brilliant idea.

We don't know a lot about the von Karmas outside of MvK and Franziska (and Edgeworth to a certain degree), but from what I can tell being a prosecutor is like, a big deal for them. Family legacy, I think. And one very much pushed by MvK. However, by the time we get past the 7yg, I assume a lot of that family has moved away from MvK's toxic obsession with being perfect. So it means I get to do whatever I want with what field Annika goes into.

I had the fun idea of her still being a lawyer, but going into defense instead. The main plot of the fic is Edgeworth asking his fiance, Phoenix, if he'd be able to hire her since her name has a lot of the firms in Germany turning her away (downsides of a family reputation, 'von Karma' is not a name most clients trust) and he's pretty sure Phoenix wouldn't care. Phoenix does not care, and hires her the second it's explained to him. The fic is supposed to cover a few different cases, one or two where Annika is shadowing the other lawyers at the WAA, and then at least one where she serves as the main lawyer in the case, with some fun exploration of how Annika adjusts to something a little different from the rest of her family and her own way of growing past the pressures her family has always been under.

Progress has stagnated on account of realizing I actually need to come up with multiple cases. Anyone who writes casefic regularly, I salute you. This is hard.

I do have enough of the first part prior to any cases to provide snippets though! Enjoy this collection of scenes, including Edgeworth being the most relatable man on the planet.

#atta answers #anon #tag game #mer au #ace attorney #i'm trying to make more mer au content since it's may. mermaid month. but i mostly just finished the one i had already started #then i started this one #i haven't had a lot of time to work on it though between work and friends #(i got the aa trilogy and we're playing through it together. i think we're the only people excited to get to 2-3)#(this is because i'm planning to get drunk and i have never gotten drunk before)#but i am working on it!#i just don't have enough to share rn #on the aa fic #i'm going to make a disclaimer: i haven't played aj dd or soj #i own them! i have them available to me!#but i want to play the games in order and i'm only a little bit ahead of my friends in the trilogy #so i apologize if characterization is off #i'm going off fandom osmosis for them #but yeah i got to the first case for this fic and then froze #casefic is hard #anyone who does it regularly has my respect #also to those people: help?#also also i don't know how edgeworth ended up so relatable in this fic #i don't remember projecting onto him #i think he's just Like That #and to those wondering how apollo is here if this it post-soj #shush. it's my fic and i can decide he visits regularly and works cases in both places if i want #(also i don't write it but it's important to me that everyone knows annika has a german accent. thank you)

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plounce · 4 years ago

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my Concepts for aj2

so these are my thoughts and ideas about the game that would follow aa4 in a timeline where we got a coherent apollo trilogy rather than aa5 and aa6. as such, i am discarding aa5 and aa6′s apollo backstories because i find them incoherent as an arc and only slapped onto him for the plots of the games. etc etc. theorizing on squandered potential is me-bait. trucy and klavier get to have THEIR place in the narrative as important characters!! (sorry athena. you will get your own trilogy with good writing and a better design in this timeline too)

this is very stream of consciousness and while i think it’s fairly coherent it is also not chronologically organized as i build on ideas. i am genuinely sorry if the read more doesn’t work on mobile because this thing is stupid long.

containing:

apollo, trucy, and klavier being a firm Trio and getting character development and growing closer :)

themes about found family, letting yourself love/be loved, performance and persona, love giving you strength to do good, you being the one to determine your identity

exploration of the trio’s backstories and the development of their skills

prosecutor franziska chipping away at the corruption within the legal system

klavier being the assistant for a case

kristoph continuing to be a corrupt bastard

buildup to the sibling reveal & canon klapollo in the conclusion of the trilogy

- apollo is the main character

- phoenix is absent for like the entire game besides maybe a couple tiny flashbacks, later revealed to be working with edgeworth on anti-corruption stuff (which is also tied to kristoph & kristoph’s ties within the legal system, “old boys club” etc)

- trucy is assistant for first half of the game

- klavier is assistant for second half of the game. his hair is in a little bun or ponytail :) no drill hair for THIS individual person

- klavier is prosecutor for trucy assistant cases. in the 3rd case klavier was supposed to prosecute against apollo but things keep getting fishier and fishier and things keep reminding them of kristoph. klavier is ordered off the case from on high. mysterious replacement. klavier is too invested in seeing truth & justice come to light so he helps apollo

- franziska prosecutes cases 3 & 4. she has short hair and it’s super sexy and hot.

- kristoph set things up so that klavier is implicated in things. dig into how klavier and apollo feel unable to escape kristoph’s influence - “he’s too foundational”

- 4th case klavier is on trial. oh maybe 3 isn’t about kristoph but it’s just background stuff about the rampup to the 4th case - klavier is put on probation while things are investigated but he doesn’t know WHY, but he’s still committed to his ideals

- trucy is pursuing her magic career, klavier still loves music - has been releasing solo stuff maybe, just some EPs for free/charity, but isn’t touring. focusing on law

- case 4 has a family friend (NOT A WOMAN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD... A MALE DAMSEL PLEASE) get accidentally poisoned through something klavier gave them. that’s the trial itself. kristoph was the source. klavier is arrested. it’s more complicated that this but it gets to this point. day 2 of the trial is when klavier is implicated and he gets yanked into cuffs from the defense bench

- one of case 4′s pillars is a memory from the gavin brothers’ childhood. discuss how kristoph was as a child. klavier has been realizing how... odd certain things were, and trying to pass it off as like “haha yeah kristoph would dissect dead birds and convince our parents that every mess was my fault. i guess that makes sense considering how he ended up haha? I Don’t Feel Strongly About This I Just Think It’s Funny :)”

- apollo’s perceive abilities expanding to be able to perceive general emotional states as well - along with learning to practice more empathy, being considerate. No Klavier And Trucy, You Are Not Fine. this is kind of like athena’s thing actually huh

- trucy, meanwhile, is learning to be more like. emotionally... independent? no. emotionally... self-caring. both independent in that she’s a young adult and also caring in that she is trying not to force herself to take care of everyone all the time and show her less pretty emotions to apollo. take care of herself

- case 1 has to do with something happening at trucy’s show/her career/her school etc. she’s still a real person etc. trucy’s friends mostly being adults, her feeling isolated at school. nah wait this is a slightly absurd world she’s not overly weird for her classmates necessarily. yeah ok it’s about magic

- case 2 has to do with klavier being a rockstar, the pressure of celebrity and public fascination with his persona. stalker fans, music industry, talk shows, etc. someone trying to convince him to come back to music. klavier has to arrest someone he’s fond of again. no big stadium performance in this game

- the trio all dealing with themes of hiding and trying not to feel “bad” emotions: apollo going “im fine” and suppressing his problems & just trying to do his job so he can cope with how overwhelmed & stressed he feels constantly etc etc + trucy hiding the secrets of her magic which is sort of representative of her hiding a lot of her sad/”ugly” feelings because she thinks she needs to because she thinks phoenix depends on her being cheerful all the time + klavier dealing with having a public persona and the pressures of being Himself, trying to be the person others see him as/want him to be, who is klavier when he is not performing? who are all of them when they are not performing? who are they performing for?

- yes i am a “woman” yes i am obsessed with the idea of performance

- trio all dealing with/feeling lonely wrt family: apollo learning more about jove (possibly during the music industry case - someone knew his dad, who refused a big contract), who he was & one of the cases involving someone from his past in the foster system - maybe it’s even clay! - but in general feeling very disconnected from “family” in general esp compared to trucy&klavier’s family troubles being so immediate and raw for them + trucy feeling lonely and kind of abandoned as phoenix is increasingly gone in this game and seeming very distant from her, similar to how zak abandoned her, and also the pains of growing up + klavier’s parents either are dead or are somewhat estranged after he got kristoph imprisoned, klavier feeling very lonely in general after his pursuit of truth&justice has snipped many of his connections from him

- yes i am gay yes i am obsessed with found family

- franziska having a moment of “i get how it is and it sucks” with klavier about Complicated Feelings About Family

- she eventually does realize during case 4 that klavier is guilty but has to hide it in order to push one of kristoph’s allies out into the open. sorry kid uh... what do you like. i will buy you. an ice cream? or something. look do you want a gift card i’ll buy you a gift card

- kristoph’s lawyer shows up near the start of the game to give things to apollo which he is deeply suspicious of but ema tests them and they come up clean. guy shows up here and there throughout the game. maybe tries to bribe apollo or something. apollo gets invited to a Fancy Lunch because he’s the one that bested kristoph gavin and that shows Promise. in a sense. or something. apollo being manipulated by people who refused to hire him when he got kristoph convicted etc

- themes about being young in a world full of secrets and webs of alliance that you feel barred from because you have ideals and won’t compromise them and also either come from nothing or burned all your bridges. just aa protag things <3

- oh maybe there’s a new judge who is also In On Nefarious Plots

- catching these people doesn’t fix everything but - it’s something. they got a couple shitheads

- trucy continues developing her gramarye abilities. more emotional depth. more exploration on complex feelings wrt phoenix and her childhood and her adolescence and how she’s fairly well-adjusted as one can be but also... the shit still hits yk... she’s like 16 years old so she’s maturing

- ema is there. she and apollo get along a bit better. asks after phoenix. provides evidence against klavier, and then evidence for.

- followup on apollo-edgeworth klavier-phoenix parallels - who is the one bringing them further into the light, chaser/chased, the one who wants more/the one who pushes away, etc etc

- follow through on implied gramarye mafia connections

- klavier isn’t super in the first case besides the courtroom and maybe one appearance, but he is like. worried about trucy if there is cause to be worried about her. set up their dynamic beyond trucy just liking the gavinners

- trucy&apollo and klavier&kristoph compares&contrast

- franziska is(/appears to be) very doubting/dismissive of apollo’s belief in klavier bc it’s like... are you pursuing the truth? or trying to shield your friend?

- apollo does end up almost very close believing klavier was in kahoots with kristoph/kristoph’s friends because it just looks. really bad. like it genuinely looks VERY BAD. and he’s like “i have to find truth like prosecutor von karma said”. yknow how with a lot of aa cases it starts out “oh no it looks open and shut” and then is like “NO WAY THEY COULD HAVE DONE IT... BUT HUH”. this one is reverse. and then straightens back out again. dig the hole then climb back out

- yeah the theme is like. “are you trying to find truth or do you want to protect your loved ones. what is your duty as a person, your job or your loved ones.” this carries through on klavier’s thread from aa4 where he has to work against his loved ones. meanwhile apollo, who is a bit more cool-tempered irritable grump, is the one going “oh god, am i biased towards my friends?” so it sort of flips. what kind of stories will you weave to clear your friends of blame? kristoph’s boys club.

- echo back to “evidence is everything” - this line of thinking (in a certain way) is what saves klavier when kristoph is trying to punish him for his betrayal

- since phoenix is away, the gramarye siblings aren’t revealed yet. but more info is dropped to compensate - stuff about jove and apollo’s childhood in the foster system and how that’s shaped him into someone who keeps people at arm’s length to keep himself safe; trucy and apollo getting closer despite that, trucy busting down those barriers because she needs his support and he’s like “oh my god i have to support her.” older sibling stuff.

- maybe the trucy case involves like. a mafia guy trying to collect on debts or smth and tries to ruin trucy, and threatens apollo. there’s a hint that is very obvious to the audience but is like “wow apollo he thought you were my brother!” like the mafia guy calls apollo “the other child” and apollo is like “hey, i’m 24!” which is humorous but also the audience is like Oh My God I Know What That Means

- there isn’t a deliberate withholding of information from phoenix - he literally is not there to withhold it. but there is still tension and stakes and weight to their relation - apollo keenly feeling his absence of family and trucy feeling sort of abandoned by phoenix

- phoenix is like “ok trucy you’re almost an adult so i’m trusting you to stay safe and responsible while i’m away. apollo will technically be in charge but i’m still trusting you” and privately to apollo is like “If Anything Bad Happens To Her. Your Head Is On The Line.” so it is just them making it on their own

- klavier drops the line “watching you two is like what kristoph and i should have had” and then there’s a couple “...” dialogue boxes as the audience is like I KNOW WHAT HE MEANS and then apollo is like “... are you for real comparing me to kristoph.” haha funny but also THERE IT IS

- very carefully walked tightrope. acknowledged enough that there is still tension/suspense around it but not too much as to be slightly infuriating

- before the last case trucy gets mad at apollo for something - trucy is allowed by the narrative to be angry for real. stand up for herself. trucy and apollo come back together to defend klavier. they see each other in the detention center when theyre still mad at each other - trucy was visiting klavier (he wasn’t there for the fight). “you made fraulein trucy very mad, hm?” then during the trial trucy busts in dramatically with important help when things look very bad for klavier

- aj3 has emotional revelations/high points of the trio - siblings reveal and klapollo canon. aj2 is a lot of building of these connections and building suspense and tension. more more more of these relationships before they emerge fully formed in aj3

- the last trial echoes the “im the only one who can save prosecutor gavin” or whatever gay thing apollo says in the last trial of aa4 because he literally is. just a lot of hinting and them getting along. case 3 is very important because that’s when it’s just them and it’s “oh! we work well together! we’re complementary!”

- implement the dual investigation mechanic from dgs so it does feel collaborative

- just build on the fact that klavier is the first friendly, helpful, cooperative prosecutor. he wants to help you. make that a very positive, very important feeling while still making it extremely enjoyable

- resolves in “you can have truth AND the ones you love”. or smth like that but more nuanced. it’s very inspirational and sentimental etc

- you get to meet vongole and it’s a Pet The Dog moment for klavier. look! how nice he is. he truly loves this insanely sweet and lovable dog. trucy is enamored with vongole as well. “it’s strange that she was kristoph’s dog, hm? with how affectionate she is.” “well, i guess being owned by kristoph doesn’t means she’s an equally bad dog ... ER i mean--” “hm, you always struck me as a cat person, herr forehead?” “uh - well yeah, you’re right. but... that doesn’t mean i don’t think vongole is a pretty great dog.” IMPLICATIONS. SUBTEXT. TASTE IT IN THE AIR

- oh there’s definitely a moment in case 2 when you get to examine klavier’s apartment and you can look at a couple albums and for a gavinners album apollo is like “ugh” but then you get one of his solo eps and apollo is like “trucy made me listen to this. it... was okay. not as bad as the gavinners stuff. sounds more honest. or something like that.”

- oh also when you examine the guitar klavier offers to teach apollo some basics. hee hee (BUT ALSO... JOVE!!)

- maybe for case 2 The Industry Suits want klavier to stop releasing his eps for free/total charity so it’s a whole coordinated scheme. his manager, a devoted fan who hates to see him going his own way and being happier for it, etc. “we want you to be the person you were. the one we could possess.” be more like gavinners klavier instead of honest relaxed current klavier. be who we want you to be so we can make you dance like a puppet. music industry kristoph parallels.

- “i’m sick and tired of being a plaything for other people!” >:( face moments

- a fan broke into his house and defaced the solo stuff etc. >:( face.

- who determines who “you” are? what role do your loved ones have in your life? those who truly love you can save you and make you better. loving and being loved sincerely and genuinely and truly have positive effects on your life. letting people love you and letting yourself love them is good.

- ugh but this kind of contrasts with the “the old boys club is controlling and using/shaping the institution of law to amass wealth and power for themselves while throwing others under the bus.” well actually wait

- lunch with apollo = they don’t actually care about each other, would throw each other under the bus for their own benefit

- contrast between sacrificing the weak to protect the strong and protecting the weak to depower the evil strong

- love and bonds can motivate/enable you to chip away at the system and can help you make a difference. les mis etc etc etc

- the old boys club are all putting up fronts of appearing strong and tough and above everything and in control. real love and friendship let you show vulnerability and weakness and help you & your bond come out stronger for it. (tumblr voice) the mortifying ordeal

- additional stakes of “if you are found aiding this criminal and hiding evidence etc etc we will disbar you” or smth. stakes for sticking with klavier, for winning the trial, for demonstrating care. franziska is kind of like “... apologies. but you had nothing to worry about so don’t worry about it.”

- klavier and apollo damned by association with kristoph, especially as a kristoph scheme was just found to happen, and it depended on kristoph being in jail, so maybe they were the ones to enable that part of the plan... it’s a long con...

- it feels like there should be another legal reform here to make aa4′s jury implementation but maybe this one is more about how reform is often very gradual and like chipping away at a mountain

- in aj3 the death penalty gets reformed. (tension there about kristoph being on death row and this game piles on a lot more GOD KRISTOPH SUCKS but then it’s like. no. we have to fight for True Justice and the legal system is extremely imperfect (how many of our clients narrowly avoided a wrongful guilty verdict!) so we have to prioritize protection over punishment)

- “it’s like chopping heads off the hydra. it feels like we’ll never actually change anything.” “yes, but hercules didn’t defeat it by himself. he had a partner that burned the stumps after he sliced off the heads. ... one person to hold the sword, one person to hold the torch.” NARUMITSU KLAPOLLO PARALLELS. HI

- okay i had some really good discussions on twitter w @henriettamarias about this and here’s a couple more things

- trucy’s case involves her inheriting the gramarye secrets and the legacy. the weight of tradition and the burden of what has happened in her family. trucy’s estranged grandmother shows up - it’s kind of similar to the feys kind of. the grandmother is a complex maternal figure who doesn’t know trucy and trucy doesn’t know her and it’s sort of the idea of... even if your “new” family is related by blood, you still have to choose them. and trucy’s like !!! because she’s openhearted but the grandmother disappears - doesn’t choose trucy. it’s not a Villainous Action it’s just... it’s complicated. maybe it’s to protect trucy or something. it wasn’t done to hurt trucy is what i’m getting at, but it still hurts

- one of the music industry people in klavier’s case is a gavin uncle/aunt/cousin who is pressuring him to go back to being an Extremely Profitable Rockstar. and klavier has to deal with more disappointment from a family that values extreme success and is sort of cold (this contrasts with the warmth of the WAA found family). they liked klavier when he was very successful and famous on two fronts but now he’s opened the door and invited in shame on their family’s name so everyone’s kind of mad at him. trucy and apollo get to be really defensive of him

- apollo’s case is one i’m still thinking on what it’ll be about because i’m deeply uninterested in his aa5+aa6 backstories but there’s not A Concept to go deeper into like trucy magic and klavier music... it does involve his past from being the foster system. i think maybe there’s a teen who he was kind of the older brother of for a while before the kid got adopted who contacts him for help defending himself.

- while trucy and klavier’s stories are about rejection from their blood family, apollo’s is about warmth with a boy who he met and made a familial bond with

- at the end of this case there’s some piece of evidence that mentions kristoph and this is never resolved within that case but it sort of leads into the next kristoph-focused case

- trucy doesn’t get angry at apollo over being like jealous there’s something else that happens in this case... it doesn’t end super satisfyingly and tidily wrapped up in a neat bow. there are a lot of lingering questions and it makes everyone uneasy

- in case 3 apollo gets injured and is feeling really defensive and kind of scared and trucy is upset with him for putting himself in harm’s way to save her and they have a fight and they’re both kind of hiding their true feelings with anger to cover up how scared they were (gramarye secrets) and it just. boils over. klavier tries to mediate but it’s... a lot. they both say some things they don’t mean. :(

- oh my god. the person who got poisoned in case 4 was apollo’s foster brother from case 3. and it HURTS because we’ve spent a whole case getting to know him and working so hard to save him from a guilty verdict and it’s like :D yay he’s ok! and then he just. dies. and it’s so fucking sad

- he got poisoned because kristoph looked through papers and found that him and apollo were close so he’s like “oh i can use that ^_^” because he’s a bastard. but klavier was the one in constant contact with him recently so it’s like UH OH! UH OH! plus other aa level complications etc

- the tightrope of trucy being mad at apollo and the tragedy of apollo’s foster brother dying is one that will have to be very carefully walked bc we don’t want trucy to look like an asshole because above all she does love apollo

- i guess it’s also apollo pushing her away because I’M FINE. STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME CONFRONT MY TRAUMA. IF I THINK ABOUT MY PROBLEMS I WILL GO INSANE. yeah that works

- OH and also she’s mad at him for not telling them about the lunch with kristoph’s lawyer friends. klavier is kind of mad about that too so apollo is like STOP GANGING UP ON ME

- so the setup of case 4 is: day 1: apollo and klavier investigating, in court klavier is implicated and is put in detention, day 2: apollo investigating by himself and missing his friends :(, franziska being like “where is your sister” and apollo being like “ok first she’s not my sister. second IM FINE I CAN BE ALONE, I CAN’T TRUST ANYBODY ANYWAY” and franziska is like “... yeah being betrayed sucks, i get it, but like. are you sure about that. fine whatever you idiot be a fool”, but then in court trucy busts in at a dramatic moment and narrowly saves klavier from getting a guilty verdict, day 3: trucy and apollo investigating and Saving The Day!!!!!

- for franziska in case 4 there’s this tension between her belief that klavier is guilty (because shit looks BAD and also kristoph sort of sent shockwaves through things etc) and franziska being older (she has short hair and it’s hot) and more emotionally mature and being like “baby lawyer. it’s okay to chill. it’s fine. you’ll be okay”. but also being extremely wary and hating the corruption and collusion within the law community because MvF dealt with a lot of that and she will be BETTER than that, she has to work hard to erase the harm that her father did. she’s kind of a superhero in terms of tackling a lot of corrupt-lawyer/cop cases - it’s her specialty now. god she is hot

- aw in case 4 ema is like. kind of reluctant to help implicate klavier. because while she thinks he’s annoying she doesn’t think he’s a bad guy. she feels really conflicted :( like she blusters to cover it up but she does say to apollo at one point “hey... you better do your job right. don’t slack. defend your client.” awww she care him

- kristoph gets brought out from prison as a witness in case 4. this really negatively affects klavier (and apollo too kind of but less so), but the strength of Found Family helps him be strong :) yay

- there’s mention made of kristoph having Secrets, but since apollo doesn’t have a magatama and phoenix isn’t there, the black psyche-locks aren’t explored. it gets revealed in aj3

- apollo does have a conundrum similar to the aa5 stuff where his perceive ability is going haywire at klavier’s entire emotional state because BOY is it screwy (suppressed memories from childhood??) so he just has to rely on plain old logic

- (cw animal death) god what if one of those childhood memories is kristoph poisoning klavier’s pet - experimenting, doing trials. klavier realizes that during the trial. jesus christ. evil bastard kristoph i hate his guts. at least klavier gets to go home and pet vongole so so much

- OH on a happier note we get to meet mikeko... mikeko loves trucy and klavier so much. it’s like a big gooey hint that LOOK APOLLO LOVES THESE PEOPLE - HIS CAT IS PURRING AND CUDDLING ALL OVER THEM :) Express Your Feelings, Apollo

- i think for aj3 it’s apollo & co having their own schemes and plans sort of. bc in this setup, klavier and apollo (and trucy too) are being yanked around by the machinations and plots of the older generation like in aa4. i think in aj3 is when they finally get a leg up and have control over things for once. good for them! good for them

- oh also in aj3, it’s revealed that thalassa has been held hostage by some bad guys, which is why she didn’t come back after some time away to figure herself out to tell them. and then apollo and trucy get to know they’re siblings :)

- okay that’s it. maybe i’ll add more if i think of more. hope u enjoyed :~)

#ace attorney #apollo justice #aj2 #klapollo #trucy wright #klavier gavin #i had a lot of fun writing this post :)#chirps #aa #aa4

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runningwolf62 · 5 years ago

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@wardencommanderrodimiss, @pachelbelsheadcanon Oh my god I hate case fics, have the first half of Turnabout Ablaze.

At first, it’s a pretty simple routine. Get up. Get dressed. Walk the dog. Go back to Edgey’s apartment. Apply for jobs. Write fic. Rinse and repeat.

The chapter is less of a mess than Larry had originally thought and while his readers love it, they have questions and Larry wishes he had answers. WolfDragon offers what support he can, apparently he’s got something coming up with work, his coworker, who he compares to being “frighteningly like Viper from your fic” has something for him that’s gonna keep him busy for the foreseeable future but Larry already misses him. Like, he’s not gonna sit around waiting for him to get back, but he finds that WolfDragon’s really become part of his life and he’s gonna miss being able to chat with him quite as much.

Pess is good company though as he binges his way through Edgey’s collection of Steel Samurai, occasionally he texts him a picture of the TV with some caption as he reacts to whatever is happening in the episode. Edgeworth seems largely amused by Larry’s reactions though occasionally he asks his opinion on a plot twist or writing choice, but given his focus is on visiting his family in Germany he doesn’t have too much time to talk.

But then, a few days into Edgeworth’s vacation, something pops up on Larry’s radar. Namely because he’d been searching “Steel Samurai” in an attempt to find a reference for some art to draw Edgeworth, partially as a joke, partially as a thank you. But this is the answer to Larry’s prayers. Sort of.

The embassies are hiring, of all things, someone to perform in a stage play of Steel Samurai. Larry figures fuck it, and throws his hat in the ring. It can’t hurt to try and plus he’s still working on getting published.

Something that hurts to even think about, because he misses sitting with Elise and talking about plot ideas, just the camaraderie of having someone to sit with and work with. He misses having a mentor and it guts him still to think about writing serious work.

He knows he needs to though. He needs to strike while the iron’s hot, but he’s made a deal with himself. Find a new place, find a new job to pay the bills, and then he goes back. He’ll give himself that much time, that should be enough time to mourn.

What he doesn’t expect, is that he hears back almost immediately. Like later that day immediately.

But Larry’s not one to turn down a chance at work, however brief this will be. So, he says yes.

He waits to tell Edgeworth though because he wants to see his face.

Oh, he sees Edgeworth’s face alright. Larry prides himself on everything Nick taught him in college and then stuff he picked up in his time working here that he doesn’t break character when Miles Edgeworth himself asks for his autograph. He really cannot wait to see his face now. He might have to film it. He tries to wink at him as he hands over the autograph, but he doesn’t think Edgeworth sees it. He doesn’t recognize the young girl with him either, she reminds him of Maya though, something about her eyes, bright chirping voice and dark hair.

Edgy and Nick were just adopting kids all over the place huh?

He remembers what he’s here to do though. This is a big moment, a big goodwill thing, no pressure Larry. No pressure. Just shaking a guy’s hand.

Thankfully that ends without incident, Larry feels like he’s riding some kind of high. He’s not only impressed Edgeworth, admittedly not that Edgeworth knew that, but he’s done a massively impressive thing without fucking it up! Though now that it’s over, he did just kind of shake a guy’s hand. Like, yeah, the gesture was important, but it was just an everyday thing really. He tells himself that in the hopes his heart rate will go back down to normal.

Well, honestly, getting out of his costume and getting some fresh air might help. He takes a secret staircase up and out during the Jammin’ Ninja thing to go sit on the roof and take his helmet off and just cool down.

He does let out a fist pump and a cheer though. Larry Butz, Turnabout Champion in his own right after all.

He takes the time to relax, rehydrate, and admire the chimney, it’s got some interesting architecture though he’s not sure why anyone would have a fire going now. It’s LA in March it’s not that cold, it shouldn’t be smoking. He gets so lost in studying the chimney that he kind of forgets he’s supposed to head down to his room and then to the speech.

Until the police arrive, to find him still admiring architecture.

And he’s accused of murder.

Again.

Larry decides at this point the universe is against him this year.

He lets himself be dragged back downstairs, holy shit there’s an actual dead body, he feels his breath stop in his throat, memories of Elise, er, Misty, and the memory of Cindy haunting him as he stares at the body.

He steps back as this very aggressive - did he actually just snarl at him – Interpol agent steps towards him, he wants to be back on the roof, away from her, away from the body and the accusations, just long enough to clear his head and think.

He backs away and right into something solid that grunts as Larry crashes into them. The pitch suggests male. The whip that makes his head spin, literally as his mask spins around him, suggests someone else.

“What do you think you're doing to my subordinate!?” Yeah, he knows that voice and whip. He quickly pulls his helmet off so that he can see her, “uh hi aga- Edgy?”

Edgeworth’s eyes about leap out of his skull, and Von Karma spares him a glance, long enough to ask, “who is this fruitcake!?” Okay now that felt harsh.

“I am Larry of the House of Butz: Married Man of Neo Olde Tokyo, m’ ma’am!” He would not say m’lady he had not sunk that low, he had not. His head was still kind of spinning though, and given he’d smashed his name together with the Steel Samurai’s introduction he might also have some kind of heat exhaustion.

“Now I remember. This... person is one of your childhood friends, isn't he, Miles?”

Edgeworth softens slightly as he seems to take in Larry’s frantic state, “yes… he is.”

Larry laughs a bit nervously, “Hey! It’s good to see ya, I’m in a bit of a bind.” He also hadn’t realized Edgeworth was back in town, had they missed each other? He’s been walking Pess, even with his now hectic schedule, the show coming up had caused the past week to be a bit of a blur.

Edgeworth’s eyes narrow and Larry fights the urge to shift around nervously, “what sort of "bind" are we talking about here...?”

Larry glances over his shoulder at the agent behind him, who also had narrowed eyes and a cruel, sharp, sneer, “the suspect kind! I accidentally became a suspect in a murder!”

“I see. That is quite the bind.” Edgeworth sounds calm though as he took in the room so maybe things will be okay. Maybe.

Von Karma arches an eyebrow and tugs on her whip, “...Not that we're in the least bit surprised.”

Edgeworth makes a noise in his throat while Larry feels himself deflate like a balloon. Namely like the one he launched into Gourd lake. Sounds like a good idea right now. Not just ‘cause he felt like shit, but he was also sweating in the costume.

“Franziska, he has been making quite the effort to improve himself,” Edgeworth speaks quietly but firmly, “I assure you; he’s only improved.”

Larry gives him a grateful look while Franziska eyes him critically, Larry hates how he feels himself coming up short as she sizes him up. But the she nods.

“Well then, fools of a feather flock together.”

Edgeworth nods and then seems to take in Larry’s outfit, “wait!”

Larry grins at him tiredly, “surprise? I hope you liked the autograph?” he really hopes Edgeworth did, he hopes that had made him happy in some way.

Edgeworth is gawking at him again, “you were the… On stage…”

“Yeah?”

“Not to interrupt,” the voice that cuts in is one clearly delighted to interrupt and Larry about jumps out of the suit when the hand comes down on his shoulder.

Edgeworth’s eyes harden to flint as he takes in the man next to Larry. “Aha. So, this is the incident you mentioned earlier.”

The Agent grins and Larry feels like the big bad wolf is hanging off his shoulder, “Mr. Prosecutor, this man... this childhood friend of yours... is our prime suspect. Of what, you ask? Of the murder of a man who had snuck into this embassy, Mask☆DeMasque II!”

“There was a second one?” Larry looks at him in surprise, he almost feels himself throw up, he doesn’t need a reminder of that god awful week, and this time without WolfDragon and Nick to help pull him out of it, he doesn’t need to remember the break up, the fight, the foolish, stupid-

“useless looking young man”

He bites back bile and has barely zoned back in when he hears Edgeworth ask someone, a different detective? Where had he come from?

“Why exactly was that man placed under arrest, Detective?”

The detective glances at him curiously, “that... samurai?”

Edgeworth grins slightly, “he was born looking suspicious, but not for the reasons you suspect, I assure you. As you can plainly see, he is completely harmless.” Larry gives him a dirty look, now is not the time for jokes but Edgeworth doesn’t seem to mean anything by it other than light ribbing.

The detective looks at him and hesitates, “well, it was just a random guess... It's not like he's actually under arrest...”

What? Larry spins to look at the agent, who had certainly made it sound like he was being arrested before he decides that is not a man he wants to fight. Samurai sword or no.

“Tonight, here, at the Allebahstian Embassy Ambassador Alba was to give a commemorative speech. And that's when... the Yatagarasu showed. But keep in mind... the Yatagarasu isn't who I'm talking about right now.”

Larry tries to catch Edgeworth’s eyes, the whomst? But Edgeworth’s focus is on the detective as he continues.

“Those seats for the guests who had been called to sit in them were empty.””

Edgeworth glances at Larry out of the corner of his eye, “a no-show...? Who was it that failed to take their seat?”

“Me,” Larry muttered miserably, “I was up on the roof.” And had completely forgotten.

The detective, Larry leans to see the name Badd – is that a joke?!? – pinned on his shirt. “The Steel Samurai. Until the speech was to begin, each member of the entire Steel Samurai family was to wait in a separate room, However, for some weird reason that man was spotted in a different location than his assigned room at that time.”

“On the roof,” Edgeworth finishes, and glances at Larry, “and what, were you doing up there?”

Larry tugs on his collar, “After the show, I left the pushcart in the Rose Garden, and came into the embassy. Then, they took a picture of me shaking hands with the ambassador. After that, and until my next appearance, I had some free time, so I wandered around, and I was overheating so I thought I’d go outside and cool off. Celebrate a little.” Stupid, stupid, stupid. “That's when I spotted the chimney. A chimney like that is a rare thing, you know.” He bites back his excitement, “and I was busy admiring the architecture and missed my cue and that’s when they found me on the roof.”

“You were just up there cooling off?” Edgeworth repeats, as though there’s doubt. Larry shrugs his shoulders.

“Did a little people watching too and that sort of thing but mostly yeah.” He pauses, “I was also wondering why smoke was pouring out of it, given it’s March. In LA. You know, not the time to cuddle up in front of a fire.”

He folds his arms and tilts his head to think, “which is really weird ‘cause I think that’s Mindy’s room and she was taken away on a stretcher so I don’t know why she’d want to overheat.”

Edgeworth and Von Karma startle at that and he realizes he’s probably handed them some evidence they’ll need to make sense of. He gives them a chance to prowl around the room and investigate, doing his best to stay out of the way while keeping Edgeworth between him and the wolf guy. He has a very intense stare as he watches Larry from across the room, he certainly knows his aesthetic and lives up to it.

"I must again ask why we are helping this foolish fool," Von Karma asks with a glance over at Larry, who grins sheepishly.

Edgeworth glances at his sister, "that man helped me when I was at my lowest point and believed that I could return. I would like to offer Larry the same chance."

"Thanks, Edgy- wait that man? Do you mean-"

"Can someone please get the Pink Princess so we can ask her some questions?" Edgeworth smoothly steamrolls over Larry's confusion. That man really.

The wolf man huffs, eyes narrowing as he watches them, Larry feels very much like a rabbit might under the gaze of a wolf. Edgeworth’s attention turns to him now and the investigator shifts to address him.

“You did some investigating over in the Babahlese Embassy, too, right?”

Edgeworth nods once, “I did. Is there a problem?” It’s like a tennis match, though Larry thinks Edgeworth prefers when his partner on the court (hah) is Nick.

“Lang Zi says: ‘A wolf who aims to hunt for two rabbits at once...’” he rumbles, almost a warning and Larry kinda wishes he could be that intimidating.

Edgeworth keeps his cool though, and Larry is very impressed. “I believe the idiom you require is, ‘He who runs after two hares will catch neither.’”

The agent scoffs openly at that, “A real wolf can catch both.”

Edgeworth smirks just slightly and Larry knows he’s got him. “I see. So, what are you trying to say, seeing as how I am currently handling two cases?”

The agent pauses before he snorts again, “suit yourself. But don't say I didn't warn you.” Larry isn’t sure he even did that in the entire conversation but he’s having the horrifying realization of why the agent’s way of talking sounds familiar. He talks like WolfDragon. But like WolfDragon if he was a rampant asshole.

Edgeworth turns to Larry now, “I have some questions for you.”

“I’ve got some for you as well,” Larry folds his arms over his chest, the costume clanging slightly as he does, “what’s with you and that man” he rolls his eyes at the term, “and adopting kids? Like you turn your back and he’s got another one and now you’ve got one hanging off you. Where is she by the way?”

“She couldn’t get- she is not my- I am not adopting anyone,” Edgeworth flusters and the agent lifts his eyebrow.

“Maybe you two could be childhood friends.” He mused out loud, Larry gives him a dirty look before he can think better of it.

The pink princess arriving keeps Larry’s foot out of his mouth for the moment. “Hey!” He greets her cheerfully; he likes Mindy and thinks she likes him. Thinks she liked him a lot more when he mentioned off handedly that he wasn’t dating right now because he was focusing on getting himself and his life back in order. “Feeling any better?”

There’s no response and Larry finds that a bit unsettling. “Umm.”

Edgeworth and Von Karma glance at her and then begin musing over the fireplace, Larry has no idea how the fireplaces could be connected; his only experience with architecture was drawing it. He could admire it, but he didn’t know the mechanics.

But it’s important to the two of them obviously. Larry’s not sure how he feels watching them interact. It’s like they almost get along but can’t help sabotaging their own relationship.

Edgeworth turns from his sister and the fireplace to Mindy, “Ms. Pink Princess. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you.”

Once more she doesn’t answer, and Larry and Edgeworth share a concerned look. The agent shifts his weight slightly, Larry realizes in that moment if something has happened to Mindy at least he’ll be on their side in this.

Edgeworth took a step forward, calmly, “Ms. Pink Princess! If you would please answer...” as he spoke, she began to remove her helmet and Edgeworth’s voice definitely shot up an octave on “me!”

Edgeworth makes a noise like a computer finding an error and Larry was given vivid flashes of that one cursed job, his past has all come back to haunt him today hasn’t it?

“Wh-what the--!? A-Aren't you Ms. Oldbag!?” Larry stammers out, barely managing to not curse, mostly out of fear Von Karma will strike him.

Edgeworth whirls on him, “why are you so surprised!?”

Oldbag looks surprised to see him, “Ah, so you're the one they got to play the Steel Samurai. It's too bad I didn't realize that until now.”

“You are acquaintances with Larry...?” Bit stronger of a relationship than Larry would say they have but he’ll gladly let Edgeworth talk to her.

Oldbag laughs and waves her hand like she’s trying to reassure a jealous lover, “why, yes! We worked at the same company for a little while, you know. That's why it's OK, my Edgey-poo! You don't need to be jealous!”

Edgeworth makes a strangled noise and Larry does not blame him in the slightest.

Oldbag continues, “I was in the next room, you know, trying to get in some beauty sleep. But it was so noisy here that I couldn't fall asleep. So, I came over to complain! So, imagine my shock when I saw my precious Edgey-poo waiting here for me! I mean, who could've imagined that you would ever come to a show like this! I guess I've misjudged you, Edgey-poo!”

Von Karma and Larry both shift closer to Edgeworth as though he might need them for support. Von Karma pulls on her coiled whip and asked slowly, “you ‘misjudged’ him...?”

“I thought he was trying to avoid me, you know!” She laughs but Larry can see by Edgeworth’s face that was exactly what he was doing. “But it looks like the winds have shifted and he's now willing to be chased after! I'm simply overwhelmed! Don't you worry, Edgey-poo! I'd chase you for forever! To the ends of the Earth!”

Von Karma looks ready to jump in front of her brother and buy him time to run but instead says, “Isn't that just peachy?”

Oldbag explains that she used to work for the studio, and they’d called her last minute as understudy for Mindy. That certainly did explain why “Mindy” had missed so many cues and fumbled in so many places. Larry had done his best to cover for his co-star when he’d needed to. Which he’d had.

“How did you get the role,” Edgeworth asks Larry absently as they watch her hand the paper proving it to Von Karma.

“Guy they wanted for the role got a bigger acting offer. Some movie that’s gonna have John Marsh in it or something.” Edgeworth nods and Larry adds, "I also thought I was applying for the crew."

"That... does make more sense."

"Yeah, I'm good with my hands and arts and building stuff, so I figured stage and tech couldn't be that hard, helped once with one of Nick's things in college but I guess I clicked the wrong link or something 'cause I got called in for an audition."

Edgeworth’s soft laugh is fond, “that does seem your kind of luck.”

Larry grins at him and shrugs, a feeling of warmth uncurling in his chest. If he wasn’t accused of murder this would be downright heartwarming.

The sound of a dog barking makes them start, Larry turns his head, since when did police departments use Shibas?

The Agent immediately begins to praise him, Larry settles next to Edgeworth to watch the unfold. After a moment he leans over and asks, “what his name anyway? The guy who like tried to arrest me.”

“Agent Lang, he’s with Interpol.” Edgeworth replies and Larry tries to suppress a shudder at just how much trouble he’s gotten himself into.

Larry watches Edgeworth debate and reason exactly how Larry isn’t the killer and connect various pieces of evidence with a speed that Larry has to admire. “You’re a real Sherlock Holmes Edgy,” he comments with a grin as he watches Edgeworth display his wit.

Agent Lang huffs and curls his lip in a smirk and Larry’s eyes widen, was this guy an actual werewolf why were his teeth like that?!?

He jerks back as Agent Lang speaks, “well done Mr. Prosecutor.” He glances between the two of them, “although, I still find it a bit unbelievable that the two of you are friends.”

Edgeworth and Larry are silent, they’ve proved how well they know each other, if that’s not enough for him Larry doesn’t know what will be. Especially if he’s gonna be like this about it.

Lang’s eyes glint with a bit of excitement, “but the suspicion on that guy over there-” head jerk at Larry, “isn't completely resolved yet, so don't get any funny ideas about running off, OK?” This time he smirks at Larry and he steps back.

“Uh Edgy, what does Wolfman mean when he says I’m not off the hook?” He thinks Lang twitches at the Wolfman name. He knows he does, it slipped out by accident, but Agent Lang is like WolfDragon’s evil twin or something.

Edgeworth sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose, “he means the murder weapon. Larry, did you forget? There are two layers of suspicion hanging over your head.”

Lang smirks like the wolf who has caught the first scent of blood, “That's exactly what I mean. We can't only rely on the words of the suspect, after all. We may have figured out where he was and what he was doing all night… but the blood-stained Samurai Sword that was left at the crime scene- As long as there is no satisfactory explanation for that then this wolf will refuse to ease up on his bite!”

Larry thinks he snapped his teeth at the end of his sentence, “Jesus, Edgy, He looks like he's seriously about to take a bite out of me!”

Edgeworth glares at Lang, “he probably will.” He draws himself up and steps up to debate, Larry’s beginning to realize that with his luck it’s a damn good thing his two childhood friends became lawyers.

He chimes in when he can, confirming that the spear and the sword are made of the same stuff and bend easily, he’s pretty sure not even Lang could kill a man with one. It would be rather like killing a man with a carboard tube.

And then Franziska and Edgeworth finally get to what has been lingering underneath the surface of their exchanges.

Her father.

Larry hates that man more than he could ever put into words. He remembers Greggory Edgeworth faintly, more a kind feeling, a warmth and an aching loss. He knows exactly what he did to Edgeworth though and for that he will never forgive him. He bites his words back though; this is between the siblings.

And you know it’s serious when your sibling calls you by your last name, “Ms. von Karma, as you know, unlike your father, I am not a genius prosecutor. Plus, I doubt his record of a 40-year win streak will ever be broken.” Edgeworth raises his head proudly, “but perhaps, it is for the best if it remains unbroken. For no one should've conceived of the notion to ‘convict all defendants’ in the first place!”

“Atta a boy Edgy,” Larry’s muttered praise fills the silence as Franziska stares at her brother. Her whip strikes over his armor and he yelps.

“What a foolishly foolish statement from a foolish fool who hates to lose!” Franziska steps towards her brother which is hardly intimidating in Larry’s opinion when Edgeworth is that much taller, “it's the job of a prosecutor to make sure that all defendants are found guilty in court. There is nothing more important in this world than a perfect victory!”

Edgeworth shakes his head sadly at her, “That may be your opinion, however, I don't believe that's all we are.”

Lang makes a startled noise, Larry smirks at him now, like he told WolfDragon, Edgy is the best of the prosecution, not for his record but for his beliefs.

“As a prosecutor, what I pursue is not the perfect victory, but the perfect truth. And if that means that the bridge, I must cross will crumble beneath my feet... ...then let it crumble as I walk on towards the truth!” Larry itches to write that down, or clap, or something. He just grins at Edgeworth with pride, and he catches a hint of gratitude from Edgeworth. Edgeworth has come a long way from his ‘Demon Prosecutor’ days and Larry’s so happy to see him get here.

Lang is quite a moment longer, perhaps aware of the moment they are sharing before he grins and cuts in, “you're good at keeping me entertained, Mr. Prosecutor!” He looks actually pleased, not the cocky arrogance Larry’s begun to associate with him, but it shifts back into the challenging smirk and he and Edgeworth start going again.

The verbal sparring is much louder when Larry is standing right next to everyone yelling “Hold it!” and “Objection!” and “Not so fast!” His head spins but Edgeworth proves that the murder weapon wasn’t even the sword. Or would’ve if they’d be allowed to examine it.

Larry feels a pang of guilt as Edgeworth agrees to take the responsibility for any repercussions from examining the statue, this is his fault. If he’d been more careful, if he’d been where he was supposed to be Edgeworth wouldn’t be risking everything for him.

Except that this evidence they find is literally game changing. He’s off the hook and everyone looks too busy to explain what is happening, so he heads off back to his room.

Once there he realizes that his ‘son’ is missing. Great. The last thing he needs is to get in trouble for having lost a prop. Nothing for it. He’ll just have to check everywhere that isn’t a crime scene. Actually, that might be a good idea. Keep him out of the way and out of trouble. But first he needs to get out of this costume before he sweats to death.

#Ace Attorney #Larry Writes Warrior Cats

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dedicatedfollower467 · 6 years ago

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autistic miles edgeworth headcanons because it’s autism acceptance month and also i’m playing aai2 and i have a lot of thoughts

i’m keeping these mostly happy (even though i have sad headcanons too) because it’s autism ACCEPTANCE month

(which means most of these are gonna be about miles when he’s younger because uh... i can’t look at manfred von karma and think he would be a supportive adoptive parent to an autistic child i’m sorry...)

(note: i’m not on the spectrum myself, i’m trying to be sensitive but if i fucked up just let me know)

i might write fic later on this month? i just... wanted to throw some stuff out there for now.

gregory edgeworth is also on the spectrum, but never got a formal diagnosis, and he and miles have a lot of stims and triggers in common

(gregory totally would have be diagnosed with asperger’s if he had been, though, given his age and how he presented)

(gregory’s parents weren’t super great at handling him being different, so his whole approach to parenting miles is “whatever is the opposite of what my mom and dad did, i’m gonna do that thing”)

when he little miles used a keyring with pictures of emotions to help communicate to greg how he was feeling whenever he went nonverbal, as well as a couple of general/all purpose communication boards he would carry around with him and point at if he was nonverbal and needed to communicate

miles’s favorite stim is rubbing his hands on soft/smooth textures, which is why his suit jackets are super soft (and why he grabs his elbow when he’s upset, because the soft texture is soothing)

on that note, when he was younger he LOVED to rub his dad’s ties because they were really smooth. sometimes he would just sit next to his dad or on his lap and rub his tie between his fingers for ages.

(greg had one tie that was kinda scratchy, which was given to him as a gift and he felt he couldn’t get rid of it, but HE didn’t like scratchy textures either, so when miles touched it once and IMMEDIATELY reacted badly, greg finally donated it to a thrift store)

gregory also loves soft/smooth textures and it’s why in aai2 he will spend time adjusting his tie and touching the brim of his hat

in his in-game sprites miles spends a lot of time looking away from the player/phoenix because he doesn’t do good with eye contact

canon fact: young miles spent all his free time reading law books, to the point that gregory was a little worried he wouldn’t be able to make many friends. headcanon fact: CRIMINAL LAW SPECIAL INTEREST

also, the steel samurai? another special interest

miles was and still is a very “picky” eater, in particular he seriously dislikes certain flavors. this is why he’s a tea and food snob

in addition to soft textures, miles really likes pressure on his skin, especially a snug tightness around his neck, which is why he wore bow ties as a kid and wears the cravat as an adult. if he absolutely *has* to dress down and can’t wear a tie or cravat for some inexplicable reason he’ll wear turtlenecks so he can still have that sense of snugness at his neck

sometimes if miles didn’t have his communication board with him for some reason and had gone nonverbal (especially if miles was having a meltdown) greg and miles had a system where gregory would hold out on hand and ask a question like “are you hurting?” and then hold out his other hand and say “or is something else wrong?” miles would point to whichever hand was correct and greg would basically do a process of elimination with questions until they got to whatever was upsetting miles

also greg would pretty much constantly ask miles “do you need to take a break?” whenever miles seemed to get fidgety/anxious and if the answer was “yes” miles would be immediately excused to go find a quiet/dark place and rub soft things until he felt ready to come back

speaking of soft things, miles absolutely had a very soft blankie he carried with him everywhere

sometimes kids would tease him about having a blankie as he got older, but gregory would just point to linus from peanuts and be like, “it’s okay to have a blankie”

also when miles finally decided he didn’t want to carry the blankie around anymore (mostly because of teasing/bullying), greg offered to have parts of it made into a handkerchiefs. miles still has several of those handkerchiefs

miles is good at metaphors and sarcasm, but just flat-out does not understand 99% of facial expressions or most social cues. it’s why he thinks phoenix is smug at the end of 1-3 and suspects him at the beginning of 1-5 and why he doesn’t ever pick up on anybody flirting (whether they’re flirting with him or someone else)

gumshoe’s been dating maggey for like, two years and miles had no idea they were a thing until they announced their engagement because they never actually told him they were dating

miles picks a lot of his habits and mannerisms up via imitation, which is why he uses the exact same body language as manfred von karma when he’s bratworth a young prosecutor

miles still goes nonverbal as an adult sometimes, and usually uses texting or writing things on notepads to communicate when that happens

uh yeah so. that’s a thing!

i know autism acceptance month isn’t actually about like, fan content, but the real reason i wanted to make this post is because i think there’s a TON of evidence for autistic miles in aai and aai2 and i just wanted to share some random headcanons, and it also just so happens to be april

#miles edgeworth #ace attorney #headcanon #autistic headcanon #autism #autism acceptence month #PLEASE DO ACTUALLY TELL ME IF I FUCKED UP THO I KNOW I'M NOT PERFECT AND I WANNA GET BETTER

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wardencommanderrodimiss · 7 years ago

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The Turnabout Prosecutor

It was suggested to me that in my "everybody lives/defense team shenanigans" AU, Gregory should adopt Franziska after von Karma goes to jail for attempted murder. I liked this idea and so I have written 5.9k words of it.

"Do you know what the von Karma family motto is?" Franziska asks and Miles does not ask her why she thinks he knows or wants to know anything about the man who tried to kill their father. He does not ask her why she concerns herself with that legacy more than that of the man who has raised her for most of her life. "It is 'to be perfect in every way'." "And what does that mean to you?" he asks.

Franziska is seven when she tells Miles that she wants to be a prosecutor. He is fourteen, lying on the floor reading his textbooks, and she is sitting on the couch with her latest weapon of choice in hand, a flimsy length of plastic with a trigger at one end and a chomping dinosaur head two feet down from it. Without getting up, she can reach him to prod him and make the scientifically-inaccurate featherless tyrannosaurus rex chew on his hair. It is an almost absentminded habit of hers, annoying but not as annoying as the year and a half starting when she was five when she was never found without a flyswatter which she used exclusively, constantly, to slap Miles in the face. She gets annoyed if Miles tries to acknowledge it every time she starts poking him, so he waits until he hears his name before pushing the dinosaur away from his head. "Miles. Miles."

"Yes, Franziska?" he asks, not taking his eyes from his reading.

"I want to be a prosecutor."

He looks up at her. "Why?"

She removes the dinosaur from his face and sets it carefully next to her. "Because," she says, "you want to be a defense attorney, and I..." She pauses for dramatic emphasis. "...want to beat you." She lunges from the couch, landing sprawled across Miles' back. He yelps, trying to roll over to shove her away, and she manages to reposition and remain sitting on his chest. "I am victorious!"

"You win," he gasps out over the sound of her laughter, "you win! The defense acknowledges the prosecution's victory!"

He was nine when Franziska entered his life, at a time when his world had already been upended. He remembers, clearly, he will always remember, lying curled up next to his father on his hospital bed, as his father, recovering from being shot by Prosecutor von Karma, worried about what would happen to von Karma's young daughter.

Franziska shouted at anyone who came near her and Miles already had enough trouble interacting with anyone smaller than him even if they weren’t an authoritative German toddler. Suddenly he was no longer the only attention of his father, his father who looked different with bandages around his head and when he took them off there was a huge ugly scar across his forehead that made Miles cry the first time he saw it. Suddenly there was this little girl who didn’t speak the same language commanding his father to spend time with her. Suddenly the house that had felt warm and comfortable with two of them had a third and suddenly it wasn’t. Franziska communicated with Miles by smacking his arm in different rhythms and then barking words he didn’t understand. They found common ground in pointing at objects and each saying their word for it. By the time he went back to school, near the end of February, his sentences were jumbled together in two languages and Phoenix and Larry looked at him funny when he tried to talk to them. Everyone looked at him funny all the time, especially when in May they took a class trip to a museum and he started crying when they got on the elevator.

The teacher let him take the stairs when they went back down and Phoenix went with him.

He is sixteen, and he is sitting at his kitchen table pouring over college websites and applications, Phoenix next to him grumbling at the edits that Miles has made to one of his application essays. "You know what?" Phoenix says finally, the first thing he has said at a regular volume in half an hour; the rest has been curses under his breath at rules of grammar.

"What?" Miles asks.

"I am done with this, all of this. I am going to become..." He waits for Miles to look at him before he finishes his sentence. "...a bridge troll."

"No," Miles says.

"Yes. I am going to drop out of high school -"

"We're so close to finishing it. Please at least graduate."

"- and then I'm going to... abandon my fashion sense -"

"Implying that you have any to begin with."

"- and then I'm going to, uh... make my living by..." He pauses, his eyes searching Miles' face like he's trying to figure out what will get the best reaction. "Illegal gambling," he says firmly. "I'm going to drop out of school and become a gambler."

"Please don't."

"Well, it'd be better than this!" he says, throwing his hands in the air and flinging two pencils and a few stray university pamphlets aside. "I don't even know what I want to do!"

The tea kettle on the stove is whistling behind him and Miles turns only to see that Franziska has swept in. She is barely ten and her handling hot water and hot cookware makes him anxious but she has an angry independent streak of pride that was not born anywhere in the Edgeworth household, and she will yell at him if he tries to help. She has before.

"You should be a defense attorney," she says to Phoenix.

He turns around, sits with his arms draped over the back of his chair. "Hey, Fran!" he says cheerily, and then his face drops. "I'm dying. Don't grow up. It's a trap."

She laughs. Phoenix is good at making people laugh - sometimes at him, but mostly with him. Miles has never been personable like his father or Raymond, or like Phoenix or Larry. He envies the ease with which Phoenix converses with people. "Why do you think I should be a defense attorney?" Phoenix asks Franziska.

"Because I am going to be a prosecutor and I want to beat you!"

Phoenix laughs and Franziska's face falls, hurt flashing across her face before she replaces it with her usual kind of anger. "Why are you laughing, Phoenix Wright?" she demands. Miles hears the real question beneath that: are you laughing at me?

"Me, a defense attorney," Phoenix says. "Can you imagine? Fran, you'd kick my butt in court."

"Exactly!" she crows, triumphant, bright again now that Phoenix has assured her that he's laughing at himself. "That is why you should! So that I can beat you as well as him!" She jabs a finger at Miles.

"You know it's not just about winning," Miles says, and then he cringes at himself. Why can't he just roll with the joke like Phoenix does instead of getting so pedantic? Is it the scar on his father's forehead that makes him as scared of a von Karma talking of winning as he is of earthquakes? "It's about -"

"- finding the truth," Franziska finishes. "Yes, I know. But I will find it better, and faster, than you, and that way, I will win." She hands him his tea cup and then prods him in the forehead with her finger. "But you have to study and be the best defense attorney, because I will be the best and I refuse anyone but the best for my rival."

"So then what would I be?" Phoenix asks. "Your punching bag?"

"Yes," Franziska answers, and then she smacks Miles, not Phoenix, on the shoulder.

Miles attends his father's alma matter with three semester's worth of course credits already completed from doubling his work load in high school. Phoenix goes to the general university thinking he'll either major in theater or comics art, and maybe he'll study to be a defense attorney on the side. Larry decides he wants money first and dives into whatever odd jobs he can find. For the first time in nearly a decade, they are split apart.

Miles takes the stairs to his classrooms alone.

He is twenty when one day he drops by his father's office intending to peruse his books there instead of the ones in the courthouse library. His father is out, but Franziska is there, sitting on the floor surrounded by books and old case files, studying with more careful concentration than Miles has seen in many of his classmates. Gregory has kept Miles updated on her, with more than a bit of worry; she is thirteen and has already tried to throw herself full-time into studying law. She is enrolled now in extra classes on evenings and weekends, she is applying to Themis for high school, her teachers call her "a prodigy", and Gregory wonders to his son why she is putting this pressure on herself, why she is pursuing her goals with more fury than enthusiasm.

"What are you reading?" Miles asks. Franziska flinches like she didn't hear him come in, too absorbed in the pages. He carefully navigating the minefield of open books and binders to where she is. "What kind of cases are -"

In an almost guilty motion she pushes together all of the papers in the open file in front of her and shoves it around to her side, away from Miles' eyes. "What?" he asks.

"Nothing," she says, her voice clipped, and Miles steps close and leans over her head.

"What are you trying to hide -?"

He sees, scrawled in pen across the manila folder, a label that she does not manage to place her hand over quick enough: DL-6.

His mouth is dry. "Franziska?"

She looks up at him, raising her head defiantly. "I wanted to know," she says.

"Know what?" he asks, trying to pull his father's chair out from the desk and sit down, but he ends up sliding to the floor instead. "What happened? You know what happened."

"I know the basic summary and the verdict," she says. "I wanted the testimonies." She has the thick file back in her hands, folding and unfolding one of the corners. "I wanted to know what my father said."

And Miles almost starts to say, our father didn't testify because he was unconscious in the hospital at the time, and then he realizes. She means her father. Some bitter bile rises in his throat, something born of exhaustion from climbing too many extra flights of stairs today, and he snaps, "Our father, who's raised you for a decade, or your father who tried to kill him?"

She carries the surname von Karma because Gregory didn't feel it right that he should deprive her of a connection to her country of origin. He took night classes to learn German and Miles learned it online; they speak it at home so that Franziska remembers her native language. Two summers ago they spent five weeks in Germany. Franziska barely remembers any time lived anywhere but in the Edgeworth household. Gregory takes his daughter to visit in jail the man who wanted him dead.

Miles read the DL-6 testimony last year. Von Karma broke down into some kind of hysterics that was half laughter and half screams when he finally confessed on the witness stand, and the last thing he said before he was arrested and taken from the courtroom was, "I should have shot him through the heart. The chest is a larger target; I wouldn't have missed."

"I can tell you anything you want to know about what your father said," he snarls. "You don't need court documents to tell you what he was." Ask the scar on our father's forehead, ask me why you have never seen me in an elevator, ask why every time there's an earthquake you come into my room to find me crying.

Her fingers digging into the carpet curl into fists. "Then tell me about my father," she snaps. "Tell me what he was, Miles Edgeworth," and the way she says his name looks like she is biting down on it, the way she spits his surname which she does not share sounds like it is poison in her mouth. "Tell me what he was and what I am!"

The cold knot in his chest shatters and the air rips from his lungs. He can't breathe; there's no air left around him. Franziska glares at him out of gray eyes that somehow look like his. Strangers comment on their resemblance as siblings. Miles blinks water out of his eyes and he sees it spilling down her cheeks.

"Franziska..." he says weakly. She has gathered the DL-6 files in her arms and stood, about to storm off. "Franziska, wait." He tries to stand but he feels shaky, his head spinning, like he is still suffocating, and he falls back to the floor. She turns back to him, still crying silently, and her expression is stuck halfway in between anger and pity, the former turning into the latter. Damn her father, damn the man for the scars he left Miles with. He tried to shame himself out of these fears, these weaknesses, and when that didn't work - of course it didn't work, and you have nothing to be ashamed of, his father said - he gathered up all of the hatred he had for himself and turned it toward von Karma, let it fester into a powerful bitter rage against a man whom he would never speak to. "I'm - I'm sorry," he says, and no apology has ever sprung from his throat so quickly or so easily. "I'm sorry. You aren't - you aren't your father."

"And what am I not?" she asks. The vitriol is gone. "What is he?"

His father is the one who was shot, the one who was the target, but Gregory has never appeared to harbor this hate that boils within Miles anyway. He is ashamed of it but it breaks loose. "He is a monster, corrupt and a cheat and liar and murderer, and he deserves to rot -"

Franziska is crying harder now, her face screwed up trying to hold back audible sobs. "I have to be better," she whispers. Her voice cracks. "I have to be better than him, I have to be the perfect Prosecutor von Karma because he was not. I have to be perfect and make up for what he did."

"You don't have to be anything because of him," Miles says. He makes it onto his feet, steps toward her. "Franziska, you aren't responsible for -"

She drops the DL-6 files on the floor and the papers fly everywhere, coating the floor, and she stoops to pick up one of the big law textbooks she was studying and in one fluid movement she swings and slams it into Miles' shoulder. She is strong for her age and size and proud of it and has a hilariously evil smirk which she turns on Miles whenever he asks for her help opening a jar; she hits and smacks him all the time but lightly. She always pulls her punches.

She doesn't this time.

Miles yelps, stumbles back and swears - in German, he and Franziska agree that the language is much more satisfying - and Franziska raises the book again, freezing with it high in the air. "Children," Gregory says, from the doorway. Miles' stomach plummets. Franziska drops the book. It lands on Miles' foot. It hurts less than the disappointed gaze that their father has turned on him.

Their father steps into the room and stands aside, leaving the door open for either of them to exit if they wish. Miles does; he can't stand to see his father looking at him that way anymore, he can't stand to see Franziska looking so hurt when he is the cause. He limps from the office, rubbing his shoulder.

Out on the street, he wants to sink into the ground and disappear; he wants passers-by to stop looking at him, questioning glances at the tears welling in his eyes. He sits in his car and is about to start driving, show up unannounced on the doorstep like they always do to each other, and as he is about to turn the ignition he realizes that girl might be there. There are four numbers set to speed dial in his phone and he calls the fourth. Phoenix picks up on the second ring but Miles hears him saying something to someone nearby, laughing at a joke Miles isn't privy too, before he actually says hello.

"Hey Miles! What's up?"

"Nothing much," Miles says, unsure of what stops him then. "Just... just thought it's been a while since we've seen each other. Are you busy now? Or later?"

"I'm - sorry, yeah, I'm sorry, Dollie and I were just headed out soon." Miles' stomach twists itself into a nauseous knot. "I'm sorry!" Phoenix does sound genuinely apologetic but it doesn't loosen the constricted feeling in Miles' chest. "Are you doing anything tomorrow - the weekend? Do you still take weekends off?"

"Not really," Miles says. "All the tests, and studying - I just had some open time today come up, so I thought maybe..."

"Free time just 'came up'?" Phoenix repeats. "Don't you schedule your days down to the minute like, weeks in advance?" He waits for Miles to answer but when several seconds of silence pass he goes on. "Is everything all right? Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

He could answer honestly: I got into a fight with Franziska. I said some things I shouldn't have. She's hurt and I'm disgusted with myself but I don't think she understands how much her father, von Karma, scarred me, and that hurts me. However infatuated Phoenix is with that girl Dahlia - Miles doesn't like her at all but tries to hide it for Phoenix's sake - he has never not dropped everything to help Miles when he needs it. Miles could answer honestly; Phoenix would probably cancel the date night and tell Miles to come over.

But that probably is not certainly and his heart feels tight in his throat thinking about the possibility of Phoenix choosing her over him. Maybe he wouldn't, but maybe he would, and it's better not to know, for Miles to keep thinking that maybe there's the chance. They are Schrodinger's cat and Miles could open the box right now but he would rather keep his untouchable quantum-state cat than risk finding out that it's dead.

"I'm fine. I just messed up my schedule and only just realized I'd left an empty block when I got to it."

"Okay," Phoenix says. He doesn't sound quite convinced. "All right. I'm sorry. We'll - call me sometime and we'll figure out a time to hang out, okay?"

"Sure," he says. "Sure."

His hands are shaking when he hangs up the phone. In all his memory he cannot think of a time he has ever lied to Phoenix.

He is twenty-one when he has his dislike of Dahlia validated in a worse way than he ever thought possible. It is a day when his father and Raymond are out investigating a crime scene in an area with no cell service - Gregory warned Franziska and Miles that morning - that he receives a phone call in the middle of class. He ignores it, but there is a second, and the third time he slips from his front-row seat and into the hallway. It's one of the defense lawyers that his father used to work with, a man named Marvin Grossberg, asking if Miles knows the whereabouts of his father because there's a case just come up that they think he should take on.

"I don't think he'll be back in time," Miles says after he explains. "But why are you calling me about it? Surely your office has someone who will take the case, or..."

"We do, we do - one of my junior partners was very interested once she heard the full details of what is involved - but the defendant is, well..."

Miles' head spins. He nearly drops his phone, his hands trembling as he repeats, aghast, "Phoenix?"

He darts in and out of the classroom to grab his bag and then he is sprinting down the hallway.

By the time he reaches the detention center, Phoenix has signed away his fate into the hands of a young defense attorney named Mia Fey and it's all Miles can do to keep from screaming. "Sorry I couldn't keep from being arrested until after you passed the bar," Phoenix says. Miles is torn between wanting to tell him to take this seriously and being grateful that Phoenix is trying to distract him from the anxiety threatening to consume him, between wanting to hug him and kill him.

He feels the same way by the end of the trial, when Dahlia is convicted and Phoenix is acquitted, through absolutely no help of Phoenix's own testimony and actions. Miles finds him in the defendants' lobby when court is adjourned, talking to Ms Fey. He doesn't yet look the worse for wear from his ordeal but Miles has known him long enough to expect a crash to come in the next few hours. Whatever Ms Fey is saying, it's enough to keep Phoenix chatting amiably, giving the impression of someone who still has life left in him. His eyes light up when over her shoulder, he sees Miles.

Ms Fey scrutinizes him closely. They spoke - argued, more like - when Miles met her at the detention center yesterday. He doesn't remember what he said but he's pretty sure it wasn't pleasant or nice, and he forces himself to look her in the eyes and thank her, though he chokes on an attempted apology.

"I think I want to strangle you," he says to Phoenix, who laughs weakly and slumps his head against Miles' shoulder when he hugs him.

Franziska is waiting outside of the courthouse for them. She calls shotgun for the ride back to the Edgeworth residence and Phoenix lets her have it, sprawling in the back seat like he is made of rubber and refusing to sit up. "Thanks for coming," he says on the walk into the living room, "both of you," but he is only looking at Miles, and then he collapses into the couch. Miles goes into the kitchen to make him some tea and glances out into the living room just in time to see Franziska throw a bottle of cold medicine at his head.

"He is a fool," Franziska mutters under her breath, in German, though really only one or the other would be necessary for secrecy - Phoenix’s German has lapsed some since he left high school. She is fourteen and sullen and their relationship still stands on rocky ground. "A foolish evidence-destroying fool. It is a wonder he was not convicted, after eating the most decisive piece." She snaps her fingers in Miles' face. "Teach your fool some of your courtroom wisdom."

"My fool?" he repeats.

"Yes. And I was a fool to ever believe or suggest that he could ever be a competent defense attorney."

"I think I want to become a defense attorney," Phoenix says when Edgeworth brings him tea in a suitably non-breakable container.

In the doorway Franziska throws her hands in the air. "Verdammt!" she snarls, loud enough for Phoenix to hear.

"Go verdammt yourself right back," he calls. She storms off and he looks at Miles and says, "I know that's not how you use that word."

"You know, I was just going to let that one slide," Miles says. He sits down on the floor, back against the couch, near Phoenix's head. "Why are you thinking of making that change?"

"I was talking to Mia - Ms Fey - after the trial, and I just got to thinking... it's about helping people who have no one else to help them, right? What she does, what your dad does, what you do - and I could. I could do that too, I could do something instead of just -" He gestures vaguely, helplessly, into the air. "I could - I could save someone, like you did for me, like she did for me. That's got to be worth it, right? All the work it'll take, but to be able to help people when they're in trouble, that's what it's about. And I want to do that."

There are stars in his eyes when he mentions Mia. Miles looks away. "Do you think I should?" Phoenix asks. "Do you think I could?"

"Yes," Miles says. "And yes."

He is twenty-four, ready to move from beneath his father's wings to find an office of his own, but he is waiting for Phoenix to pass the bar. They are at his kitchen table like years ago, applying for colleges, Miles certain, Phoenix lost, but now they both have a path - and the same one, again.

Franziska bounds into the room. "Ta-da!" she announces and Phoenix looks up from Miles' old notes to nearly smack his head into her hand, which holds a gleaming gold-and-white badge right in front of his nose. She is seventeen, not just a prodigy but the prodigy. The name von Karma causes whispers to follow in her wake.

"Am I going cross-eyed or do you have two prosecutors' badges because you're just that extra?"

"Ha!" Franziska sits back in her chair, across the table from Miles and Phoenix. Phoenix's eyes are still crossed. "Of course. Since I earned my badge before you" - she points at Phoenix - "earned yours, I am entitled to two."

"Do you get a third when you beat me?" he asks.

Phoenix passes the bar before Franziska is given her first case; she looks profoundly disappointed when she sees that he will not be her first opponent.

On the first trial that Franziska prosecutes, the verdict is a "not guilty". Miles is there to watch on the first day; when Franziska introduced herself as “Prosecutor von Karma”, the judge's eyes grew wide and he did not speak for a solid minute. The defense team immediately began whispering, giving Franziska fearful glances. Miles picks up words all around him, echoing through the courtroom: falsified, corrupt, attempted murder. Franziska stands through it all, waits for the courtroom to quiet, with her head held high, standing like a statue with her hands clasped behind her back, only her fingers twitching.

The trial drags on for a full three days and her thorough, comprehensive analysis of everything that could vaguely resemble a clue at the crime scene leaves the judge, the gallery, and the police all without a shred of doubt that they have finally apprehended the correct suspect. Watching her is something strange: the way she objects to the defense's statements, her gestures when she corrects them with a confident smirk. She points with the accusatory finger that she has used to prod Miles in the face all their lives, but he isn't used to the way that when she finishes laying out her facts, she spreads her hands wide, palms up, inviting the court to consider her words; or the little flourished bows that she makes, or the way she taps the side of her head as thought to say think about it before she issues a correction to the defense's theories. Miles has his own trial at the same time on the second day, but on the third he is back in the gallery, Phoenix with him. He nudges Miles with his elbow, nodding at Franziska as, palms open, she gestures as though to the words she has just finished speaking, and whispers, "She looks like someone we know, now doesn't she?" Miles blinks and can't quite figure out why Phoenix is looking at him like that.

After the trial is over, the babble that spills from the courtroom into the lobby is infuriating; Miles doesn't realize that he's curled his hands into fists, readied to start a confrontation, until Phoenix's hand on his shoulder grounds him. The perpetrators keep walking, their words still ringing in his ears: "must not really be a von Karma if she lost like that, huh?"

The utterances of her name suddenly, confusedly, quiet, when in the main lobby, Prosecutor von Karma receives a huge embrace from Defense Attorney Gregory Edgeworth. Miles is too far away to hear what is father is saying, but there is obviously pride, and then something apologetic as he is forced to rush off elsewhere, not leaving without a second hug and kissing Franziska on her forehead. She stands there alone after he leaves, looking tiny and lost and alone, but she brightens instantly when Phoenix yells over the crowd "Hey, Fran!" and waves.

"What are you doing here, Phoenix Wright?" she asks, darting over to them.

"I came to see the debut of the prosecutor who's going to kick my ass, of course."

She laughs and looks at Miles, something like doubt creeping into her face. "You did well," he says, studying her reaction; does he sound insincere? Should he give more praise? Will she think more is insincere? The gap in conversation draws longer. He struggles to think of something. "How did you think to examine the last witness' apartment with Luminol? He would have gotten away if you hadn't but how even did you figure to..."

Tension disappears from her shoulders and the anxiety in her face smooths away. Talk about evidence, about methodology, not feelings; they are both better in the realm of the concrete. "On our second day of investigation, I thought I saw blood in the carpet. A small spot." She circles her thumb and forefinger together to form a circle less than a centimeter in diameter. "When Detective Scruffy and I returned yesterday with some more questions, there was none such spot to be seen. I found that odd, given how unnaturally clean the witness' apartment was the first day we spoke with him. If he had already cleaned recently, why clean again, if not to cover something up?"

"Wasn't the carpet that you're talking about maroon, though?" Phoenix asks. "How did you ever see a little bloodstain on a maroon carpet? And who has a maroon carpet?"

"As it turns out, people who are liable to commit murder," Miles says.

"It is my job to carefully investigate any scene that may be of importance to a case," Franziska says. "It is my job, with close observation and decisive evidence, to find the truth, and often the truth hides in the smallest details, so then I must examine the smallest details."

"I'm imagining you crawling around on the floor squinting at the carpet while the detective tries to interview the witness," Phoenix says.

Franziska slowly tilts her head to the side to look at him, her face perfectly expressionless, her eyes unflinchingly fixed to his face, and says dryly, "Perhaps it is so."

Phoenix waves to flag down someone else, and over the heads of everyone else in the lobby, Miles spots Diego, presumably with Mia somewhere nearby. "There you are!" Diego says, clapping a hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "Trial's going to another day; we've got to go investigate the scene again and we need all hands on deck. Get ready to get moving - who's this?" Franziska looks comically small in front of him, and frowning, she sizes him up in return, her eyes lingering on his mask.

"This is," Phoenix says, with a dramatic pause, and Franziska groans as has long been her only response to his theatrics, "the prodigy Prosecutor Franziska von Karma, our new greatest rival, dutifully sworn for the past eight years to kick my ass in court."

"Eight years, really?" Mia asks.

"She's my sister," Miles explains. "Franziska, this is Mia Fey, chief of Fey and Co Law Offices, and her partner, Diego Armando. They work with Phoenix and me - or we work with them, if you prefer to be pedantic about it."

"I do, actually," Diego says.

"Nice to meet you, Franziska." Mia extends a hand. "I look forward to seeing you in the courtroom in action."

"Thank you, Ms Fey," Franziska says, shaking her hand. "I do, as well."

"We've got to be heading out soon," Mia says to Miles. "Another few minutes."

The message is implicit: wrap it up. Miles nods. Phoenix is already asking Diego about the details of their trial and Mia joins them, leaving Miles and Franziska alone on their side of the lobby. He looks at his sister, and then away, and then back again before he finally manages to say, "I'm proud of you, Franziska."

She narrows her eyes. These are words he has never said before. She assesses them carefully for tone, hidden meaning, wary perhaps of something patronizing or pitying, a sorry about your loss that Miles does not mean now and never intends to mean. "Honestly. I am. The whole court didn't know what to make of you." A prosecutor who kept pressing even when the judge was about to hand down a "guilty" verdict, who was sure that the truth was still buried somewhere and would not stop until she dug it up for all to see, who had no concern for a win record.

"Do you know what the von Karma family motto is?" Franziska asks quietly. Even if Miles did know, she does not leave enough time to answer, instead continuing, "It is 'to be perfect in every way'." He thinks she is about to go on, but she doesn't.

"And what does that mean to you?" he asks.

She raises her head to look him in the eyes. "To be a perfect trial, the one single truth must be uncovered. There is no room for stones left unturned, lies left unexposed, or testimony left unspoken. To do anything less is to fail in our role as prosecutors - and perfection leaves no room for failure. What I am is the opposite of my father, and I will be perfect - this, I promise you."

Their relationship has never been one built on obvious affection, but he thinks this - this deserves a hug. "And you" - when they pull apart she prods him several times in the chest - "must be perfect, because I will accept a rival no less."

In her parlance, truth is perfection, and perfection, the truth. "I think I can do that," he says.

"And since you have your fool, you may have him crawl about on the floors, and escape that fate yourself."

"My fool?"

"Yes, yours; and I believe your crime scene awaits. Remember what I have told you, Miles Edgeworth."

- It is a week and a half after the trial when Miles drops by his father's office to retrieve a case file that Mia thinks may be helpful to reference as a precedent. Franziska is there, sitting on a desk, a plastic ruler in her hand which she is rapping against the edge of the desk with increasing frequency. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she says.

"So you're just about to vibrate into orbit for the fun of it?"

"Yes."

He stops noticing the tapping sound but then, flipping through binders to refresh his memory on which should contain this file he is searching for, he notices when it stops. "I am going to visit my father," Franziska says, without prompting, when Miles looks up.

"Oh." He isn't sure what to say to that. She has never told him about those meetings before; he has not asked.

"And I will tell him what I told you - what is perfection, and that I have attained perfection more than he ever did. I will tell him proudly of my loss."

The final indignity, the final revenge, for what Manfred von Karma tried to do, would be for him to hear these words from his daughter's lips. She smacks the ruler against the desk one last time so that with a sound like the crack of a whip, it snaps in half. "I will tell him what I am."

#i cannot decide if i want this to go in the actual main ace attorney tag or not lmao fuckin.............#ace attorney #fuck tagging things in a main tag is anxiety inducing i never do it all stuff only on my own blog follow me or never see my shit #rodimiss writes #ace attorney bullshit tag #is gonna be my personal shitpost tag for all the dumbass posts i make that aren't liveblog but should not be shared with the wide public #(a la the defense bullshit au linked above and that one thread about kristoph you know that one)#also wolf i took your suggestion on titling. thanks.#bullshit defense au #bullshit defense fic #roddy fanfics

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