#i love dual destinies guys really

[spicebiter]

I tend to craft narratives and personalities for my Fate characters and the latest one is 90% the way he is in an effort to not die because it happened twice very early on and he didn't care for that shit at all. Archer=farther from danger/spring traps at a distance, souped up with gems for faster attack speed and life theft, money making schemes for better equipment + bribing the bard for higher renown (to get better equipment). He has just died against the final boss 😭

[pixelartparker]

I will literally jump up and down with joy and cry and scream if you do klavier gavin. but like specifically apollo justice ace attorney klavier and NOT dual destinies

Well I certainly hope I caused some joyful squeals ^^ I love this guy's style! I really need to sit down and play these games since I feel like this is turning into an Ace Attorney fan blog lmao!

I hope you like it :)

Suggestions, tips, and requests are welcome!!! I don't do any NSFW but I'll create for any fandom. Feel free to use this for something if you want. A like, reblog, or follow if you do would be appreciated!

~ Parker

[epically-ace-attorney]

*Intro Post ~ Welcome to the chaos!*

Hallo! This blog is an Ace Attorney AU using the musical EPIC! Canon is our bitch and we do as we please :)

The blog is joint run by @weltato (hi) and @the-ace-attorney-siren (formerly @burtrice1). Feel free to ask us anything about this AU in the inbox and not DMs - PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A WIP AU AND IS CONSTANTLY BEING THOUGHT OUT!!

The "backstory" I suppose would be that Wel was watching a great guy on YouTube by the name of Mortius (you should check him out, he's cool) react to "We'll Be Fine" and "Love in Paradise" from the most recent saga released from EPIC as of writing this (20/09/2024) - The Wisdom Saga. Wel had also been binging through some Ace Attorney streams by The NyanCave (also really cool, you should check them out too) and had that on the brain at the same time. Then she noticed something interesting - Odysseus had been on Calypso's Island for seven years.

You wanna know who else had a seven year gap? Phoenix Wright.

So obviously, I go to burtrice1 and say:

And then this happens:

And everything came from there. Just imagine it: Phoenix on that cliff calling for Mia T^T

Anyway, we had some planning to do: there is currently a list of characters from The Ace Attorney Trilogy, Ace Attorney: Investigations 1 & 2 (we're using the fan translation names in this house), and Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice (because Wel hasn't finished Dual Destinies and hasn't seen Spirit of Justice yet) and what people from EPIC they're going in as.

*RULES OF THE BLOG!*

No spoilers for the games please! There will be people that see this blog with no idea about the Ace Attorney series and they'll want to find out themselves (also one mod hasn't finished the series yet).

No spoilers for EPIC! There will be people that see this blog with no idea what the craic is with EPIC and letting them experience the joy that is this musical is all the sweeter with no spoilers <3

As previously mentioned: game canon is our bitch and we do what we want with it, which means that if you see an inconsistency with ages or anything, no you don't ;p

To second that: we are fitting characters with roles we feel they fit the best in EPIC canon, so a villain from Ace Attorney might show up as a 'good guy' from EPIC - it's not because we've redeemed them, it's just that they fit the role nicely.

Please keep questions PG, there are minors that enjoy both Ace Attorney and EPIC and we'd like to keep this blog a safe space for everyone.

In the words of Ricky Potts: don't be a dick. We don't tolerate harassment of either the mods or anyone sending an ask into our inbox. Respect isn't hard, friend :)

If you've asked us a question and we haven't responded yet, please don't go into our personal inboxes or DMs to ask us about it - see the rule above. Both mods are busy people and do this purely for fun, so we'll get to your question when we see it. The timezone of this blog is GMT/BST depending on the time of year, so both mods could very well be asleep.

The canon of this AU follows with EPIC canon, which is NOT the actual Odyssey or Iliad. If you want to read those in your own time, feel free to.

Have fun! We want to share this with people to see your reactions and interact with other fans of the Ace Attorney games and EPIC: The Musical.

If you're excited about this blog, REBLOG OUR POSTS!! Reblogging is the lifeblood of Tumblr and can make or break a post. We want to reach as many people as possible with this silly little idea of ours.

If you want to write fics about our AU, please ask us first! Wel is a regular fic writer and she has some ideas floating around, so maybe let her finish those first before jumping in - but we love the enthusiasm! Thank you!

Fanart is awesome!! Please credit the idea to this blog and @ us in the post with the tag #epicallyaa, we'd love to see what you've done :D

This post will update with extra rules as and when needed, if we need to <3

*TAGS!*

#wel writes - this is for whenever Wel writes a fanfic about something. This is a personal tag from Wel, so if you want to see more of her work feel free to peruse that tag on her main Tumblr account. All the fics posted here will be specifically for this AU.

#siren art - this is for whenever the-ace-attorney-siren posts art to this blog. Again, any art posted here will be specifically for this AU.

#epicallyaa - this is a tag for us and others to use about our AU! If you post any fanart or fanfic about our AU, use this tag and @ this account too so that we can see your awesomeness :D

#wel answers - whenever Wel answers an ask

#the siren sings - whenever the-ace-attorney-siren answers an ask

Like the rules, more tags will be added as and when we feel we need some more.

Thanks for reading all of this!! This post is very important to read, so if you come in asking questions blind, we might just refer you to this post and ask you to try again :)

~ Wel & the-ace-attorney-siren

[margowritesthings]

update! (it's a big one!)

hello beautiful souls!

how are you all? it feels like it has been forever.

so i had to pretty much pick my life up and pull it back together again after losing my nan at the start of the year, and it's been really hard, but i think i'm finally in a place peaceful enough to sit down and find some time to do things i love again! a couple life updates:

I started my own business! I realised i wasn't happy in my old job and i wanted to do what i love: writing! so i am suuuper excited to say i am now the director and full time copywriter at Margo Writes Things! Yes, i named my business after my smut account. no, i didnt think it through properly, yes, vampire arthur morgan smut comes up when you try to google me. but hey, for all your copywriting and proofreading needs, hit me up!!

I AM WRITING A BOOK!!! In needing to fill my days and make my nan proud, I realised I had so many stories sitting here waiting to be told. So, my Arthur Morgan x reader fic Fate: A Word Meaning Destiny is currently being adapted into a dual pov romance novella! I will keep y'all updated and post some sneak peeks, and hopefully as my first supporters I have some beta readers amongst you? maybe even some reader readers?? who knows! all i know is that I am bloody excited for you to read Daisy and Daniel's story <3

I am hoping to write some fics again! Im not gonna lie, i am fully back on my Bridgerton bullshit. all the bridgerton men have me WEAK IN THE KNEES. i also noticed my old bridgerton fics popping lately, so thank you for all the recent support on those!! if there was, hypothetically, any anthony, benedict, colin or eloise x reader content you guys wanted to read, please do drop an ask in my inbox! Id love to hear y'alls ideas. and to my RDR2 fam, do not fret. our man Arthur is going nowhere, I still write for him. i still love him. the main character of my novella is based on him, he will still be in my fics <3

Basically, thank you for being so patient with me. I am still writing, I am still doing what I love, but I think Im ready to start sharing with you again. I love you guys and your support has been amazing, and seeing those notifs coming through every day on fics I wrote 2+ years ago is... its something else. it keeps me going.

im so back baby

margo x

p.s. existing bridgerton works here

[nightowlssleep]

While I love Dual Destinies I'm not above wanting to rewrite certain elements so

Case rewrite: (I'm giving Athena more cases guys!!!!)

I'd set it up as the following:

Turnabout Countdown: Athena as the attorney, Phoenix as co-council

The Monstrous Turnabout: Apollo as the attorney, Athena as co-council (Trucy tags along to investigations)

Turnabout Reclaimed: Athena as the attorney, Phoenix as co-council (Pearl tags along to investigations)

Turnabout Academy: Athena as the attorney, Apollo as co-council (Phoenix and/or Klavier tags along to investigations)

The Cosmic Turnabout: Apollo as the attorney, Athena as co-council (After Apollo leaves, Athena as the attorney, Phoenix as co-council)

Turnabout for Tomorrow: Phoenix as the attorney (no co-council until the mood matrix segment) (Trucy, then Pearl tags along to investigations)

(In my rewrite Phoenix only gets his badge back right before Turnabout for Tomorrow, therefore while Athena doesn't get a lot more cases, she still gets Reclaimed and The Cosmic Turnabout)

• Firstly, Turnabout Countdown: I personally like that this game has a non linear first case, I think it works with setting up the mystery with Apollo and even Juniper

I think letting Athena take over the case is a very good start to seeing her character BUT THAT'S WHEN PHOENIX HAS TO COME IN AND TAKE ALL THE SPOTLIGHT

God I hate that, I get it, it's Phoenix's grand return but still, LET ATHENA DEFEND

Anyways in my rewrite, Athena has her panic attack, Phoenix comes in as co-council (Doesn't have his badge back yet therefore can't take over the case) and helps Athena through the case, nice mentor moment 👍🏻

• The Monstrous Turnabout: I like that this case happens from Apollo's perspective, I'd like it if it would feel a bit more like AA4 since (to me) it's very reminiscent to Turnabout Corner

Anyways I don't have too many gripes with this case, maybe more Trucy to tag along with investigating cuz I'd like to see her and Athena interacting

As for Athena I like that she has an "observing" case where she can see how a more experienced attorney handles a case

I also like that Phoenix is mostly missing from this case (my personal explanation is he's taking the bar during this but he only gets his badge back much later cuz the bar association is still a bit ehhh about letting him pass) (dw Edgeworth helps out with getting it back)

• Turnabout Reclaimed: Oh I love this case

Probably my favourite in the second trilogy (going to an aquarium right before I watched it probably helped with the enjoyment tbh)

Since Phoenix is still missing his badge Athena has to defend (she's also the one who's a big fan of Shipshape aquarium and begged Phoenix to help them so I don't even get why Phoenix gets this case)

I like the idea of such a silly case being Athena's first, I could also see Phoenix using this opportunity to pull Athena's leg a little, so the we can still feel the Beanix in him

Like he agrees that the agency will take the case and Athena assumes that he'll make Apollo represent the orca but instead he turns to her like "Athena you'll take the case, since you're such an eager fan" and that way Athena can experience getting messed with by her boss but also let it be a learning opportunity without it being an overtly traumatic first trial (I don't think he wants a repeat of Apollo's first trial lol)

Anyways student mentor moments, while Apollo and Trucy are practicing magic tricks in the office or something (could be foreshadowing to the fact that Trucy will get her own magic show in the next game)

• Turnabout Academy: No notes for this case's trial segment really, I just wish Klavier would act a bit more like himself, and Juniper acknowledging that her costume was inspired by Lamiroir (It could be a cool call back, like Juniper watched *that* specific performance and really liked Lamiroir's outfit and decided to recreate it or something and Apollo could point it out so we get more of the "I like Lamiroir's aura" thing he says) (Capcom tell him that she's his mother I beg)

I like that this time around Athena jumps to promise defending Juniper, that's good

Also maybe more AA4 call backs?? Maybe a Kristoph mention?? Please??

• The Cosmic Turnabout: Disclaimer: I don't remember much from this case so if anything is wrong, feel free to correct me

I like how mysterious the whole eye patch thing is even though we're in Apollo's perspective, it also makes sense that he'd take the case

To add to the tension I'd mention Phoenix being worried about still not getting his badge back and that's why he can't be there in the gallery (He's arguing his case with the Bar association with Edgeworth probably or something)

I like how hurried Blackquill is during this trial too, he's convincing himself and trying to project that Starbuck is the Phantom because he doesn't have more time and he wants to finish his mission of chasing ghosts seven years past even if it's not the truth, I think that that was done well

I'd like for Athena to notice this, point it out to Apollo, but since Apollo is already on edge about Athena I'd like to think he takes it as "Athena is more worried about a murderer than our case, than about my friend, than about me... Is this a sign?" And that (and the explosion) could be the last push for him to dip from the agency and go on his own investigation (maybe reaching out to Kristoph...? Hmm? Mr "Evidence is everything in court"?)

As for after the explosion, I'd like to think Apollo left the case to Phoenix (cuz he was convinced that Phoenix would get his badge back by that time) but since Nick is still missing his badge Athena decides that she'll take over and defend Starbuck

Anyways all goes the same Athena gets arrested, and with no attorney left in the agency... What now?

• Turnabout for Tomorrow: Phoenix leaves the courtroom alone

Trucy who witnessed the whole thing from the gallery, runs up to him, similarly worried about "what now?"

Phoenix gets a call. From who? We won't know for a bit but we can assume (It's Edgeworth)

Anyways, at last, there's another attorney in the agency who can help... Phoenix got his badge back

Now finally being a full fledged lawyer again, him and Trucy go investigating, we get father daughter moments, unravelling the mystery of the Cykes and Blackquills, everything goes mostly as it happens in canon, after Trucy gets kidnapped Pearl tags along and when Phoenix and her are investigating the space station, Edgeworth shows up with Phoenix's lawyer badge in hand

They're facing eachother in court again

PHOENIX WRIGHT, THE TURNABOUT TERROR, IS BACK IN COURT

Anyways epic return (instead of the random come back in the dlc case???) (Like it's funny that he's defending an orca but still)

Everything else happens like canon, except Athena gets to hug Blackquill after he's freed because they're siblings your honour and she's been working seven years for this to finally happen

Happy end and celebration at Eldoon's Noodles obviously

And that is my AA5 rewrite, thanks for coming to my TED talk

[oodlyenough]

6-3 turnabout... whatever

i finished this case a couple weeks ago but i've been super busy and now also have covid so i haven't gotten around to it. but for posterity. i must document.

this one really tested my patience lol. WHAT a mixed bag.

the good:

maya... i missed u so much .... it's so unbelievably stupid they wrote you out for so long. welcome back babe

the investigation days were genuinely pretty fun. i loved having rayfa as an "assistant" lmao, reminded me of nick investigating with franziska in 3-5 which was PEAK, and i find rayfa herself is perhaps the most compelling new character aa5/6 have thrown at me. phoenix works really well with a horrible little girl having an existential crisis. she is actually imo quite a well-characterized character having a coherent emotional journey that i am interested in. groundbreaking

the lore around khurain and spirit channelling and how the feys are apparently superior to everyone here lol, like, it's all very silly but... i guess.jpeg. there certainly Is a plot at least. the bar is on the ground courtesy of dual destinies

i think the twist at the end here was ... interesting at least. i don't recall having "actually it was a suicide" as a plot resolution before, so kudos for breaking new ground, lol. the puzzles were mostly a decent level of challenge. that there is gameplay and puzzle solving at all is, again, a huge victory over dual destinies.

i don't know what's going on with ema and nahyuta but honestly it's cracking me up. i keep imagining ema consulting the lesbian masterdoc trying to decipher her feelings

however

the bad:

i made a post about it while playing but phoenix is so fucking dumb now!!!!! it used to make me so irritated that fanon treats him like a dumbass but now it's literally canon. grown ass man needs a 14 year old to tell him what moss is. it's SO goddamn annoying to see a plot resolution / twist / answer / whatever four hours ahead of the playable character, who most of the time now never even gets there himself, bc his 1 personality trait now is "bluff". christ. phoenix baby i'm sorry all your traumatic brain injuries are catching up to you it's not your fault this isn't the real you

what is WRONG with the pacing in these cases. honest question. why is it i can go from being like "this is pretty fun" while investigating to "actually i think we should just take the death penalty, nick" in trial. something so so so tedious about how this new guy handles testimony and i can't pinpoint what it is. there were certainly times in the og trilogy i found cases tedious and trying, especially the third cases lol. but this feels... worse? it was that way in AAI1 and DD too so i think it's this particular writer.

speaking of whack pacing: it's insane that after this obviously arc-heavy case, which leaves khurain in disarray and should have given rayfa and nahyuta existential crises, we're going to do a pointless tutorial-style case with athena and blackquill in japanifornia. why the hell. i like athena, but capcom clearly doesn't, and it just makes everything with her kind of excruciating.

[local-hyena]

Just finished Apollo Justice : Ace Attorney and my mind is BLOWN. I will repeat this with every game but dear lord I am not clever enough for these games. I loved figuring out how every case intertwine in the span of 7 years. The MASON system was really fun. I purposefully picked the good ending, because I wanted ANSWERS. I might go back and do the bad ending later.

I am extremly exited about the nextgames, however I insist on pmaying them in order of release, which means the next 3 games I'll play will be spin-offs (Investigations 1 + 2 and the Prof. Layton crossover). I am very interested in investigations because 1. Playing as Edgeworth will be very interesting and I look forward to discovering the new mechanics and 2. GUMSHOE. GUMSHOE IS BACK GUYS. MY PAL GUMSHOE.

Dual Destinies will most likely provide thrilling new cases, characters and infos. It kinda makes me want to speedrun the next three games, kinda like I played Trials and Tribulations in only 20 days (I probably can finish a whole game in a couple of days, but on the other hand, I feel like I wouldn't appreciate the game enough...)

Bits of spoilers :

I NEED TO KNOW HOW THE FUTURE GAME WILL HANDLE HOW TRUCY AND APOLLO WILL LEARN THAT THEY ARE RELATED, AND THAT THEIR MOTHER IS STILL ALIVE. I tried not to get too spoiled, but I've never heard anyone adress these facts.

Also KRISTOPH YOU ASSHOOOOOOLEEE

[4ragon]

For the character impression would you mind doing Apollo or Franziska?

You know what, I'll do both.

Apollo

First impression

So a while ago I was looking at my oldest AA tags and I found some being like "I haven't met him yet but I'm already deeply in love with him" so I think that's as good a response as any. There were a LOT of these by the way, a lot of "I can't wait to meet him I love him so much look at him he's a little guy."

Impression now

He is so fun to dump all of my anxiety into. He's just. He's a mess. And I still love him with all of my heart.

Favorite moment

I mean I love so many moments but I do think about him panicking and crying about Trucy being "kidnapped" in 4-2 quite often.

Idea for a story

Fucking. Okay. I want to put this also into my vacation sequel about him and Klavier trying to work through a long distance relationship and also Apollo being like. About to have a mental fucking breakdown. That's important to me. I will write this fucking fic someday. I promise.

Unpopular opinion

Is it unpopular to say I hated him in the end of Dual Destinies? Like I'll defend him as a character if someone decides that's enough to put them off but MAN did I hate that whole section. Did not feel true to form, or like. Compelling. At all.

Favorite relationship

.......Hhhhhh see I love all of his relationships a lot. Clearly I'm a klapollo truther but Trucy, man. Trucy...

Favorite headcanon

Oh no don't make me choose. I have so many Apollo headcanons. I am very attached to trans Apollo at least, and also demi never-thought-about-entering-a-relationship-before Apollo. Both very important to me.

Franziska

First impression

I mean, I did always tend to get very swept up in hating the prosecutors the first time through every game. I don't remember too clearly, but I know she pissed me off real bad.

Impression now

Well clearly she's perfect, and any fool who foolishly says otherwise does not even deserve to open their foolish mouth. Fool. (She's a deeply complex bitch and I love her)

Favorite moment

I think I almost cried when she burst into court at the end of 2-4. Also, having her as my assistant for a bit in 3-5 was so fun.

Idea for a story

...Listen I keep talking about my vacation sequel but...her and Maya as the best men trying to plan a wedding together.............think about it.......consider it......rotate it in your brain.......

Unpopular opinion

I? Can't think of anything particularly controversial. Though I guess I don't pay a ton of attention to what everyone else is saying. She's fun and I love her.

Favorite relationship

I mean. Come on. Who doesn't love Franziska and her foolish little brother? Although I also really like exploring the dynamic between the two of them and also Manfred. Like. What a fucked up family.

Favorite headcanon

Horse! Girl! Franziska!

[painted-kneecaps]

WE MADE IT TO DUAL DESTINIES BOYS ‼️

AA4 thoughts- it was excellent. love beanix, love trucy, love klavier, apollo is my little meow meow. kristoph was such an excellent villain. i do feel like the way they got him in the end was almost too easy, especially since the Jurist System apparently ?? isn’t used again after that trial ?? wouldn’t they have a retrial for him if they decided it didn’t work ??

i already knew apollo and trucy were siblings from reading fics, i did not know that phoenix knew before thalassa regained her memories. hello ??? he should have told them so long ago ???

as far as dual destinies goes, i’m still on the first case, but i like it so far. it’s definitely a tonal shift, but i’m glad to have non-cryptic phoenix back in action even if he still hasn’t told his kids they’re siblings. i love athena and widget, they’re such little guys. i love how much athena loves junie. i love junie, i think her crush on apollo is cute, but i REALLY hope they don’t make apollo reciprocate. PLEASE. GOD

i’m so excited to meet blackquill i know i’m gonna love that weird little guy to pieces.

[yakool-foolio]

One of my buds put case 5-4n5 and Among Us in one sentence so I instinctively wrote out a skit based on this clip from Vinesauce's Among Us VR stream after realizing how much it fit the Dual Destinies gang.

Simon: Fool Bright and Wright-dono, could you two examine the lighter with Athena’s fingerprints?

Phoenix: Sure.

Bobby: Let me give it a shot.

The lighter opens up to reveal the secret gun.

Simon, utterly appalled: YOU FOOL! OH MY GOD!

Courtroom is in chaos as everyone yells.

Bobby: Guys, wait, let me explain myself!

Simon: Okay, Fool Bright, tell me how you opened the lighter.

Bobby: Let me go free during recess… and I will kill Phoenix.

Simon, smirking: Alright!

Phoenix: WHAT?!

Bobby: It’ll be super funny!

The grand majority of the courtroom agrees.

Bobby, taunting: Phoenix, I’m coming for you!

Phoenix: No, please!

Bobby: You better run~!

During recess, in the courtroom…

Phoenix, running across the room: Simon!

Simon, waving: Hello!

Phoenix: Save me! Save me!

Simon: I will as soon as I can.

Phoenix: What, do you mean you can’t?!

Simon: I can't. The emergency alert is offline.

Phoenix runs out, leaving Simon alone. Time passes…

Simon, reading Evidence Law: ‘Only one emergency vote per person.’ Oh, I used mine.

Athena enters the courtroom.

Simon: Um, hey, would you want to hit the alert real quick?

Athena: What’s up? What’re you feelin’? What’s on your mind?

Simon: I’m thinking… Well, you should kill me if you’re The Phantom.

Athena: I’m not. I’m simply not.

Simon: Shit. Well, it is Fool Bright.

Athena: Oh, absolutely!

Simon: And I’ve changed my mind. I think Wright-dono should live.

Athena: Really? You think Phoenix should live? Why should Phoenix live?

Simon: You know... I’m just feeling a little guilt.

Meanwhile, in the halls of the courtroom lobby…

Phoenix, turning around to see Bobby: AH! NONONONONONO PLEASE! PLEASE NOT NOW! Can you give me another two minutes? I have some evidence- I, uh, really love this attorney’s badge- Um…

Edgeworth walks toward them.

Phoenix: HEY! Hey, Edgeworth! Can you come here real quick?

Edgeworth, strutting up to part Bobby and Phoenix: Sure. It’s quite clear Bobby is The Phantom, based on my findings-

Phoenix rushes out of the hallway.

Phoenix: HE’S RIGHT BEHIND ME! HELP! ANYONE, ANYONE AT ALL!

Bobby, chasing after him: Phoenix~!

Back inside the courtroom...

Athena: You feelin’ a little guilt?

Simon: I am…

Athena: Well, if you wanna kill me, I’ll move to the corner over there and no one will see me!

Simon: No, no, I’m not The Phantom.

Athena: Oh, you’re just feeling guilty in general?

Simon: Yeah, because I basically, you know, we’re letting Wright-dono die because Fool Bright is The Phantom.

Athena: That’s valid. You know what? You make a good point! Hold on…

Just as Athena moves to hit the alert button, Phoenix dashes in with Bobby hot on his tail.

Phoenix: HE’S RIGHT BEHIND ME SOMEONE HIT THE FUCKING BUTTON!

Courtroom erupts into laughter as the emergency trial alarm sounds.

Simon, grinning at Phoenix: You literally could not have had better timing.

Bobby: Guys, give me one more recess!

The courtroom is in disagreement.

Simon: Fool Bright, I’ve got to be honest. You took too long. Cykes-dono and I had a full deliberation for a minute and a half and you still hadn’t killed Wright-dono. You’re out!

[nyaagolor]

How would you rank all the Ace Attorney games you’ve played from favorite to least favorite? You seemed to enjoy all of them, to varying degrees.

So this is actually kind of hard for me to answer depending on whether you base your metric on “how much fun were they to play” “how much do I think to explore the themes / writing / think about the game in general” or “how well written do you think they are”. I’m gonna do all of them and prolly talk a lot so yeehaw. Under the cut bc. surprise surprise! I got long winded

Quick disclaimer: Not including DLC cases or spin off games because if I did we’d be here all day

“How much fun did I have playing through the actual game”

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney

Trials and Tribulations

Apollo Justice Ace Attorney

Justice for All

Dual Destinies

Spirit of Justice

This might be kinda surprising to some people considering what I talk about on this blog, but honestly my opinions on these games changed drastically after I had time to ruminate on them. Here’s some explanations if you’re curious!

AA1 very well could be at the top because it was the first game in the series and I was going in fresh— while Turnabout Samurai was a bit of a slog, I managed to get through all of these cases in a day each and just could not put down Turnabout Goodbyes. I don’t think about it as much anymore because it was so foundational and all the things it introduced have been explored by other games, but this game really is the reason I fell into this series with such ferocity.

AA3 was much of the same, and I don’t think I had as much fun with a tutorial case as I did with Turnabout Beginnings. The characterization present in this games and the nonlinearity of the narrative is genuinely fantastic, and my opinion of it has only increased over time.

AA4 is ranked a little lower because I actually wasn’t vibing with the game when I first played it— it was only after Turnabout Succession that everything fell into place and the game skyrocketed up my favorites list. Once I’m finished with all the spinoffs and have some time to chill I actually plan on revisiting it with fresh eyes because I think a second playthrough has the potential to be soooo much better than the first. Also APOLLOOOOOOO he’s my little guy :)

I thought justice for all was fine, but boring. Big Top made me feel some emotions that were less than positive, but generally speaking all the cases were fine but didn’t leave a big impression on me. Also I don’t like Farewell My Turnabout nearly as much as other people— I still like it but it didn’t totally blow me away or anything. Game is still like an 8/10, but it didn’t leave a huge impression on me.

Dual Destinies was confusing as hell timeline wise and it made it kinda difficult to figure out what was even happening, and for that same reason I struggled to attach myself to the plot. The game had some moments that really were stellar but the sheer length and layout of the cases kinda made me wanna cry

I literally only finished this game so I could get to Investigations. Characters were great but it was so. Damn. long.

“How much do I like thinking about the games, its writing, and its themes”

Dual Destinies

Apollo Justice Ace Attorney

Trials and Tribulations

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney

Spirit of Justice

Justice for All

This part of the list actually has very little to do with how good I think the games are or how much I like them, but sometimes a game’s themes just Captivate you.

If you’re reading this you’ve probably seen this blog, and you know how I feel about Dual Destinies. I am OBSESSED with this game. I love the characters, I love the themes, and I am fascinated by every part of the writing process and how the game ended up the way it did. I think about this game an unhealthy amount actually. Don’t let my complaining make you think I don’t love this game to pieces. Bc I do. So much.

I love expanding on things. The media I blog about? KIrby and Pokemon, stories that practically beg for you to fill in the gaps and work with their vagueness. So when Takumi handed me a game with half a dozen hanging plot threads and massive time gaps just begging to be filled? You can bet I would never shut the fuck up about it. AJAA my absolute beloved

I could probably talk about Miego for hours. This game is incredible I think about it on the regular. Ough.

This game slams but all the ideas introduced by it have been expanded on and talked about and worked with in a hundred different ways so it’s hard to me to really go back other than to say “wow Turnabout Goodbyes was so fucking good”

Literally the only context in which I think about this game is “this should have been a spinoff” but honestly it barely crosses my mind except when I purposefully try to ignore it

JFA is good and makes me feel absolutely nothing

“How well-written do I think the games are”

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney

Trials and Tribulations

Apollo Justice Ace Attorney

Justice for All

Spirit of Justice

Dual Destinies

These are suuuuuper close so this list is a lil shakier than the others but explanations are below as usual!

Ok this is really REALLY tough because I think AA1 and AA3 are tied. They both have their moments and I think the themes are incredible, but for the purposes of this list I’m putting AA1 above AA3 because BttT is a little bit absolutely batshit insane? Turnabout Goodbyes is TIGHT. Sorry Godot you’re still my favorite prosecutor ily kitten

See above

I’ve never seen an AA game whose final cases elevates the entire game quite like AA4. I thought the game was good, but the Turnabout Succession hit and oh my GOD. I think about this game constantly it’s so, SO good. Also helps that Apollo really shakes up the series, he’s my favorite species of insect

These cases were fine, Franziska is a solid prosecutor, the whole “chooses death” thing was fresh, and Farewell was some of the best character writing this series has seen. I don’t honestly have much to even say about it bc it’s super solid

The difference between DD and SOJ is that I think DD had a really good story that it failed to tell effectively while SOJ succeeded in telling its story but that story fucking sucks. Jokes aside I don’t like SOJ but the story is cohesive at least. It had a plot. It was Fine. DD failed miserably but oh my god what you could have been. Ily. Mwah.

See above

Sorry this wasn’t a clear ranking / favorites list, hope you enjoyed regardless!!

[hazyla]

Woah woah, okay. So I just finished spirit of justic except for the special episode. Current thoughts from a foggy memory:

realizing this post is super long so it’s under the break, also soj spoilers

Implied that Phoenix and gumshoe correspond on their own when Phoenix mentions something to Edgeworth. When he’s questioned about it he just says something like “I have my sources…” and Edgeworth tells him to inform his source of a paycheck cut.

Even though Athena got a case of her own to do I feel like she didn’t have as strong of a presence and idk man balancing three lawyers kind of a crazy move

I found rayfa oddly charming because of her silly insults

Not utter dogshit but I see why people generally dont like dual Destinies and spirit of justice as much

My mom misses gumshoe

I did not call the queen being powerless like at all

if there’s another ace attorney game I want a dedicated scene about Apollo and Trucy getting told the truth

Hard to pick a favorite case but I think I liked case 2 and turnabout storyteller just bc it was pretty fun. Also can not believe Athena’s case was the super short filler one!

would’ve appreciated more Maya

cannot believe they just added on characters that were never previously mentioned. Oh yeah, there’s a secret fourth group gramarye member. Apollo? He actually has a brother and was left behind by his foster father at about fifteen or so.

Did the archaeologist guy just… steal a bunch of shit from Adrian’s exhibit? He had literally everything. Good god I wonder how he felt about that scroll having gravy on it

on the plane ride back why did Trucy sit (and fall asleep on) Edgeworth instead of idk her father. What did Athena really want to sit there or something. It’s very cute but also why

Actually Maya and Edgeworth should’ve sat next to eachother on the plane so they can debate about plumed punisher. “You gave away your one of a kind steal samurai themed watch FOR A RIPOFF KEYCHAIN” and then he throws her off the plane (personally, of the belief he would throttle ms inmee [not actually])

about that, it’s so funny to me that he ranted about the show to Datz, a guy he just met and is a revolutionary

Need to mention that Edgeworth’s cravat gets attacked by a dog, I don’t even have a comment I just need to iterate that fact

The breakdown scenes were fun and dynamic but idk I didn’t care for them that much

kind of thought they were gonna channel Apollo’s dad Jove fucking justice

It was funnier when I, for a split second, assumed that since nobody knew the name of his father that Apollo chose his last name to be Justice.

just now realizing that Apollo who shares a namesake with the god of music has two musician parents now

I am so happy that the 3d sprites look better than in dual destinies I don’t know if I could take it if they looked like that again

My mom’s favorite character design is Rayfa’s (but her favorite character is Susato who has nothing to do with soj)

Maya should get an “I survived TWO kidnapping” shirt because everyone wants leverage over Phoenix.

From what I saw online before playing the game I thought nahyuta would be super insanely awful, and then they introduce him as a level headed guy. Then I think oh he seems okay, and then he tells Apollo to go to the depths of hell and that he’ll be reincarnated as a piece of shit

When investigating phoenix tells Edgeworth that he think’s he’d like a gaudy house, to which Edgeworth is offended. And then Phoenix makes fun of him for his bright red sports car in his mind.

Would’ve loved a reference to some older characters, like Iris who is just like never brought up again. Anyways, what’s with spirit channeling families and being super fucked up

i am so sorry to say that Apollo looked like really good in that one cg with his hair antenna down (the one where he almost drowned) (not my best moment)

How in the world did Apollo survive as a teenager? If dhurke left him 10 or so years before this he’d be about fifteen? Did he just get dropped off at a boarding school, who the hell took care of him and how did he become a lawyer.

Why didn’t Amara just resume the throne herself? Idk if I totally missed something but isn’t she still a rightful heir

Khura’in spent EIGHT HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ON A LIE. THEY WERE DONATIONS. AND FIVE YEARS OF LABOR (Amara’s tomb)

So funny to me that nahyuta drags Ema around everywhere like a little ragdoll back and forth country to country

The pun names in this one were wild 🤪 (suggested emoji)

oh god what if Edgeworth and rayfa were to talk about plumed punisher

Yeah we’re back to this, edgey’s sitting in a rebel hideout with lizards hanging from the ceiling and he watches the plumed punisher??? I kinda forgot the timeline but either Maya is currently kidnapped or dhurke’s in jail “oh okay I’ll stay behind” “let’s turn on the tv” “what the fucj is this”

One time phoenix’s phone went off and I jumped out of my seat because I also have the steal samurai theme as my damn ringtone

I get that it’s just fun sprite stuff but where does nahyuta get all his necklaces? How does his floating ribbon work?

In aa4 with my vague recollection, there’s a scene that kind of made me assume Ace attorney definitely took place in some weird fantasy land that coexisted with real world. (It was something that had to do with the founding fathers? And apollo “yes I know what America is” justice, like they currently don’t live there. It was some exchange during the case where klavier’s guitar blows up). Guess how surprised I was when oh golly now they’re full blown Americans!

since I mentioned aa4 and I already got off track everytime my mom hears that song (which Apollo made his ringtone) she complains about it and gets bad flashbacks. She told me everytime she hears a piano arrangement she thinks about the case. Maybe it wore off by now but it was her version of blue badger

Uendo was my favorite witness

Yeah I don’t think I have anything else to say, what a nice note to it on.

Nope I remembered something, queen ga’ran made me want to use the royal we.

[lavellane]

.........also 30-33 for deia or all three of them if u want!!🥺🤲

30. What is Rook’s class? Did they choose it?

deia and evander are both rogues, matthas is a warrior!

31. What specialization does Rook pursue? What called them to it?

deia is an archer (veil jumper i fucking guess 🙄 just minus all the magic and flare lol) and evander is.... idk. a saboteur i guess but only insofar as it relates to dirty fighting. mostly hes a dual wielding daggers guy. evander taught deia everything she knows abt the rogue trade when she was a kid after years of begging to come with her brothers on missions, but INSISTED she never fight in close combat hence why she took up the bow. shes good at being sneaky and staying out of sight, because that was the only reason her brothers agreed to take her anywhere exciting lmao. as for evander. knives are fun, easily concealed, and make him look cool at parties.

for matthas, he really subscribes to the archetype of a protector so a sword and shield fit him naturally. i also think he really looked up to people like cassandra and cullen in skyhold, who likely taught him a great deal of what he knows now.

32. How would a desire demon tempt Rook?

honestly a desire demon IS tempting deia through the entirety of veilguard and his name is solas <3 DFGJKHGJFDK ik solas is pride but. yknow.

really it would look a lot like alistair's dream during the broken circle questline of origins; she wants her family back, whole and happy again. everything she does in veilguard is motivated by the singular wish that she could have that by the end of it.

evander wants his family also, but he dreams of a life of wealth, comfort and complete freedom for them and himself. a world without authority or rules. a world where he's in control of his own destiny and can actually bond with his family instead of feeling like they might only want him around for what he can provide.

matthas would desire being ashara's second in command, back with the inquisition, in power and respected and, most importantly, loved.

i genuinely think at the start of veilguard they would be corrupted so, SO easily by desire. like if u think getting duped 4 times in a row by solas was embarrassing i just know it wouldve been way worse if he was a desire demon lol. but by the end of it....... no i dont think so. by the end of veilguard all they want is to walk out alive, with each other.

33. What do fear demons look like to Rook?

hmmmm GOOD QUESTION. its kind of tricky for deia bc i cant rly say a person/creature/animal like i can for all my other protags. but i know if she was in presence of a fear demon it would absolutely utilize her fear of water. she nearly drowned the day she was saved by the inquisition and has had a fear of deep water ever since.

evander is claustrophic and scared of being restrained, stemming from very early memories of being enslaved. but im not sure if he neccesarily fears slavers, since he's gotten very good at killing them during his time with the shadow dragons lol. so i'll have to think on that one!

matthas..... hm. can i be real i think a part of him is scared of ashara LOL. her disappointment, her ire, the magnitude of what she means to him and how very little he unfortunately means to her. i do think he would maybe see her. but he would also see her as a desire demon! so thats fun! mark him down and scared AND horny!

i think he's also afraid of orlesian harlequins. just for something fun <3 JKJFGKJFGKJ

[azure-firecracker]

ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 6, Part 1).

ZUKO FLASHBACK?!

Is this the storm?

I still think it’s funny that Dallas Liu is here for 13 year old Zuko.

Iroh and Zuko continue to be sweet.

Okay that was a great transition from sweet past Zuko to angsty present Zuko

What is Zhao doing in this scene? Are any acting choices being made? At all?

See this is the downside of softer Zuko because these scenes where he has to yell are sliiightly less effective (but I love how moralistic he’s being that’s in character).

This actor playing the guy on Zuko’s crew is really good.

Roku’s volcano looks great! So does the inside of the temple.

Aang why did you think talking to the fire sages was a good idea?

June continues to be hot

“I will hold them off for as long as I can” says random fire sage that will not go well.

One if the good things about this Ozai is that I buy people thinking he will unite the world.

What are the audio effects on Roku’s voice? They are not working.

Another exposition dump?

Koh longs for family yeah him and everyone else in this show.

Not the destiny versus friends dilemma again. It’s so tired.

My dad predicted Koh’s totem being in the cabinet lol

June I love you (but I don’t like that she was flirting with Iroh).

Zuko’s swinging ponytail was a paid actor.

Okay that transition into Zuko’s backstory (with Aang’s dialogue) was a little heavy handed there.

Baby Zuko is so nervous it’s sweet. It’s a different take on the character but I think it still works (especially contrasted with later Zuko).

Can I date all of the Yuyan archers please?

Biggest tragedy in the show is Iroh getting his hair bun shot off /j

Zhao why would you tell Zuko where you’re keeping the Avatar.

I love that they’re letting Zuko yell more.

I miss animation when Aang was hanging in the air.

Aang is being so naive in this episode it’s sad to watch.

“It’s not my future I’m worried about” AANG JUST BREAK ME WHY DON’T YOU!

What are Zhao’s acting choices? I liked him until this episode but he seems like an office worker who’s kind of evil.

BLUE SPIRIT YAY!! (They did a good job adapting the mask to 3D)

My dad is begging me to remind him who the Blue Spirit is and I’m not telling him:)

Fire Nation guards are idiots what else is new?

Oooh nice dual swordsmanship!

Gordon’s face when he sees the Blue Spirit: perfection.

[aishutoon]

You guys ever have that issue where you’ve got a bunch of au ideas and you have no idea which one to start talking about?

Well, I decided to let you guys decide which au to start with using a poll!

Some info about each au:

Sonic generations Linked Au: An au of sonic generations where when the time eater shows up and messes up time, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy have to team up with their classic selves to find both the time stones and the chaos emeralds in order to fix everything. The time stones are used to free Sonic’s friends and create portals into locations from the past, but the catch is that using them attracts the time eater. The chaos emeralds can be used to repel and later fight back against the time eater, but they got scattered throughout time and space when the time eater attacked Sonic’s birthday party.

Ace attorney dual destinies rewrite: a rewrite where Phoenix got his attorney’s badge back, but is reluctant to use it due to a fear of messing things up again. The fact that the legal system has deteriorated to a point where one case caused everyone to start rioting doesn’t help. Clay and pearl show up earlier in the story, Klavier has a bigger role in the Themis case, and overall there’s a little more emotional weight in some scenes.

Ace attorney spirit of justice rewrite: Ok, this one is where things are WAY more different. After Phoenix tells Apollo and Trucy the truth about their heritage, both of them are furious and want to confront Lamiroir for trying to keep that a secret for much longer. There’s just one problem: Lamoroir is taking a break from performing and went to the place where she met the man that she truly loved: Khura’in. With this in mind, and knowing that he can’t really stop them, Phoenix sends Apollo and Trucy to where Maya is staying in Khura’in so that they can find Lamiroir, and they get caught up in what’s going on with the legal system over there. In the meantime, Dhurke comes to the states to look for Apollo and the Orb, and ended up finding Phoenix, who is not very happy to see him. While Trucy and Apollo are investigating in Khura’in, Dhurke and Phoenix investigate in Kurain village, with the help of Pearl.

Sonic forces rewrite: (I know there are so many sonic forces rewrites out there already, but I might as well throw my hat into the ring) A rewrite where classic sonic isn’t there, and the phantom ruby incident happened when sonic and the others were younger. When Eggman digs through his old files and finds some notes on the phantom ruby, he decides to give it another shot, this time with a live host. When Infinite attacks and knocks out sonic, Tails tries to carry him out of there, but gets knocked out in the process. Flash forward a few months, Eggman is in the process of taking over the world, and the resistance is fighting back with three leaders: Knuckles, Amy, and Tails. When Infinite attacks the custom character (Rookie), Tails is the one who saves him and leads him to the resistance. Also, Tails has a little wisp friend with him. When they hear a rumor that Sonic is alive in one of Eggman’s prisons, Tails and the Rookie have to work together in order to find him while also freeing places and people from Eggman’s control. In the meantime, from Sonic’s perspective, he has to find a way to break out of the prison and find out how to stop the phantom ruby in its new form, but infinite’s illusions and a speed limiter they put on him will make things even more difficult.

Balan Wonderworld Rewrite: Less of a rewrite and more of a complete rehaul of the story, but without changing the characters. Their motivations on the other hand… (I know a lot of people hate the game, I’m not the biggest fan of it either, but I liked the idea of it). The main gist of the story is that the protagonist has to go on a journey to patch up their “heart” as Balan calls it, and in order to get there, they have to assist Balan in helping other people first (I know that’s a vague explanation, but I feel like it would be easier to show in comic form than like this…)

[oodlyenough]

6-4 turnabout storyteller

well, i hated this case. lmao

fundamentally my issue with this case is two things. first, the pacing of this game is terrible, because after you end 6-3 with the main plot kicking off in khura'in, you inexplicably get punted into a tutorial-style one-day-only nothingburger case with no relevance to anything. this is just such an absurd way to structure the narrative.

second, the fact that it's an athena case with simon as co-counsel is insult to injury, because WHY is athena's only case in this game the nothingburger case with no relevance to anything, shoehorned in to ruin the pacing?!?!?!?! on top of that, the whole "arc" they put her in here is ... her being insecure and being condescended to by all the men in the room because she's a young woman.

and then athena... kind of sucks in this case. simon saves her ass constantly, while being a douchebag about it. the dredge up all these insecurities that frankly should've been resolved in dual destinies, if dual destinies was a better game -- but i saw PTSD triggered athena overcome in trials in AA5 and now she's like ? just standing around being negged by simon all case and can't connect obvious dots.

on top of that in a more meta way, having the text be like "gee none of these men take athena seriously, can she Prove Herself??" in the midst of a filler bullshit case knowing capcom/the franchise writ large does not and will probably never take athena seriously ... !!!! i was frankly insulted both on behalf of athena and as an adult woman myself. i made a separate post about what i feel is the increased sexism in AA 456 and this case was really the tipping point where i started to be genuinely pissed off lol

girl you didn't. capcom will never let you. they hate you.

aside from all of that -- which is a lot to set aside! -- the puzzle and stuff was... whatever. if this was a tutorial case for ace attorney: athena cykes, sure, i guess it'd be fine. but it's not.

i don't like blackquill so unfortunately the gimmick of having him as co-counsel was lost on me. it's a shame, because the idea of your pet prosecutor hiring you to help some client is really fun. i would have enjoyed that set-up with phoenix and edgeworth, apollo and klavier, hell phoenix and franziska would've been incredible fhlakdhglgh ... but unfortunately for athena she's paired up with a prosecutor i find dull as rocks and he's there to neg her and like ? strangle her .... whatever man. this case sucks

it's funny how much the localization quadruples down on simon being a british weeb though. i imagine almost everyone in these games is japanese regardless of how many times the translation tries to suggest otherwise ... except simon. it's so funny that way.

i don't know enough about DID to know ho sensitively or insensitively it was handled here. based on everything else, i assume the answer is "very poorly" lol but that's someone else's post to make.

case-wise: i also felt the victim sounded like a mega asshole, and by the end i was firmly team clown girl. idgaf if she's a shitty performer, handing her dad's title on to some other guy when you know she wanted it is a dick move. "ohhh but he was making udon FOR LOVE" shut up man. "he stole the deed to ENCOURAGE YOU" shut up man!! smother him again geiru

the most enjoyable part of the case to me was geiru's surprise buckwheat allergy, bc as a celiac i found her war on cross-contamination and her frustration that no one comprehended it very Hashtag Relatable. do NOT send her udon from the buckwheat store there is no way they have adequate cross-contamination procedures the chef is literally a drunk.

anyway -100 out of 10 for this case. spirit of justice's strength is that its investigation days are really fun, so i guess it's no surprise the no-investigation sidequest trial was awful. athena baby i'm sorry, you deserved better.