#if he’s good in aai2 then i’ll be pleased

[laquilasse]

so there's an interesting bit of trivia from the wiki about the lang calling franziska "sis" thing that might explain it a little? in jpn he calls her "Ane-san" (アネさん) which means "older sister" (despite him being older than her) and its a form (and this is a quote from the wiki) "typically used by Yakuza henchmen to refer to their boss's wife or mistress"? the wiki questions if its mocking, but to me it seemed like a tongue-in-cheek but genuine honorific that didn't necessarily translate well?

HMMM ok that is a little easier to accept if it’s just a bad translation, since he didn’t seem terrible beforehand and I liked him. I just don’t trust anyone after Godot lmao Franziska comes before all these men so if they wrong her they’re dead to me

[askaceattorney]

(These three letters)

Dear Draph91,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: First off, I must apologize for missing this letter. There’s a reason why I ask to place comments on all errors in the comment section. Because of how many letters get sent into the inbox, it’s easy for me to miss one or two mod letters. It doesn’t help that not all of them are titled “Dear Mods” or the likes. 

In any case, I did fix all the errors you pointed out. Again, my apologies and can I ask for you to report any errors I did to any letters in the comment section. It’s easier for me to take notice of them.

Dear Anonymous,

Mod Franziska: Maybee, but who doesn’t, also she was just the first character who came to mind.

(Linked Video)

Dear Dawsongfg,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: No, but I love the video.

(Referenced Letter)

(Referenced Video)

Dear Anonymous,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: 

Actually, I have never watched a single episode of Lucky Star in my life. I only saw a video of the opening and I’m like.

This was answered by Co-Mod because I wrote that letter and can’t answer my own letters. So.... I’ll let him speak on this one.

Co-Mod: That opening is what hooked me, believe it or not.  Normally, I wouldn’t be into a slice-of-life show about high school girls who look more like grade schoolers, but the fancy style of the dance, the catchiness of the music, and the adorableness of the characters led me to wonder if the story was just as good and, lo and behold, I found it most enjoyable!  The main character is also voiced by Wendee Lee (the same actor who voiced Athena), so that’s a big plus.

(Please link the essay you’re referencing next time please)

Chief Mod Edgeworth: That’s the issue. We don’t know why Manfred von Karma would WANT to incriminate Edgeworth. There is the theory it’s to beat the dead horse that is Gregory Edgeworth, except he’s already dead, Manfred von Karma believing in spirits is never brought up and he had all the ample time to do so from the time he took in Edgeworth as his student. Had it not been for Rise From the Ashes, it could’ve worked but that episode proved that he’d just need two years before the evidence transferal would happen and that would be the end of all the evidence. All Manfred von Karma had to do was have Edgeworth confess to his father’s murder at an early age then wait two years afterwards. 

The live action movie worked because it connected Manfred von Karma to Redd White, thus the reason why he was so desperate to cover up DL-6 to the point of throwing Edgeworth under the bus. There’s also the fact Phoenix and Mia were more involved with investigating DL-6 in the live action movie. Yes, I’m shamelessly promoting a low budget movie. It made a better adaptation of Phoenix Wright than the anime imo.

The black psyche-locks were activated when Phoenix asks the question why he killed Zak Gramarye during the first case of the game. That means whatever reason they exist has to do with the incident of him murdering the man during the first case. So, it had little to do with his past.

The thing about Phoenix is that when he makes friends, his relationships with them are always genuine. He is absolutely 100% against nongenuine friendships. When Edgeworth wrote that death note, Phoenix was livid because the friend he worked his butt off for his badge to save him just up and abandoned him. The trilogy made it clear just how much Phoenix hates betrayal. It’s one of the two things that he considers unforgivable. So, it makes no sense why he would have any nongenuine friendships with anyone. I had wondered if this was just a character assassination but he called Kristoph to defend him because of his “kindness.” Does that sound like something a nongenuine friend would do? 

I have to also disagree about Manfred von Karma being more sympathetic in AAI and AAI2, because he’s no more sympathetic than he is in Turnabout Goodbyes. I’d argue that the was much more sympathetic in the live action movie. If I had to name any issues with Manfred von Karma, most of it likely is from the changes they made in the localization. The localization often exaggerates the characters and changing the sprites for that reason. As a result, characters like Larry Butz often become much more annoying than comic relief. It’s the same with Manfred von Karma unfortunately. In the comics, plays and live action movie, he was much more subtle in how evil he was, coming off more as a strict mentor that acted like he cared for his students and family but his actions didn’t follow through. Had Turnabout Goodbyes from the localization not exaggerated Manfred von Karma’s cruelty it would’ve translated better when the AAI games came out. 

 I do agree that AJ left so many unanswered questions that it’s hard to follow. It’d also be nice to see more development between Kristoph and Klavier or even Apollo for that matter. Though, I could say the same about Manfred von Karma’s relationship with Edgeworth, which unfortunately we never get unless we read the mangas and watch the live action movie. 

Dear Dawsongfg,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: I don’t know. Ask Tumblr. 

(Referenced Letter)

Chief Mod Edgeworth: Too bad. I’m the Chief now, so more cookies for me.

Dear Anonymous,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: I don’t know what you’re talking about. It has been slowly decreasing but not that much. We have an estimate of 12,068 followers as of now.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: 

I took another look at it and both of you are right about him not studying law at first. Though, this was his second year and it doesn’t mean he wasn’t studying or doing other things. He did take Archery and mentioned about knowing marshal arts. What it does mean is that he didn’t major in anything else at this point in time. He only had one full year of college and was on his second year. That’s not enough to major in anything. Phoenix at least had one or so years of studying Art and took it alongside studying in law.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Miraz van Nohrr,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: I didn’t have a lot of ideas, but I decided to have it slightly more Great Ace Attorney focused. I’m glad you liked it. 

I’m getting used to using the blending animation in GIMP.

- The Mods

[moiloru]

About the so-called "Third-Case Syndrome"

I've been in the Ace Attorney fandom for a few years now, and there is a story I've heard more times than I can count: the story of the "Third-Case Syndrome." After joining the Danganronpa fandom, I realized - not without surprise - that a similar "Third-Chapter Syndrome" had admittedly cursed the series. However, I do believe that, in both cases, it would be wise to exert caution: things are never as simple as they seem. Now, even if this seems evident to me, I'll say it just to be sure: this is only my opinion. You might disagree, but please do not be toxic about it.

Before we proceed, I'd also like to warn you all: spoilers ahead for the entire Danganronpa and Ace Attorney series (even the Investigations and DGS games). Now, let's begin.

Ace Attorney:

AA1 - Turnabout Samurai:

To start off, we have 1-3. I agree with most of the fandom that it is slightly too long and the investigation segments drag out. Going from Studio One to Studio Two, to the Detention Center, etc. is quickly boring. However, its cast is solid (especially Powers and Oldbag), Dee Vasquez's motive (self-defense) is original, the Steel Samurai's theme slaps, and Edgeworth gets the first bit of his character development! I believe it outweights the negative aspects of the case and make it enjoyable. I believe it is far better than 1-1 and 1-2 (with its obvious twists and rushed ending), although it doesn't compare with 1-4 and 1-5, of course. But it's definitely not the case that people point the finger out when arguing about the "curse."

JfA - Turnabout Big Top:

I'll definitely be playing Devil's advocate on that one, but I like 2-3. Of course, the whole "love triangle" thing was shit, but the rest of the case was fine! Regina sucks, that I can agree with, but Moe was funny (in my opinion), Max got some quality character development in the end, Ben & Trilo were a nice duo, and Acro... Acro is one of the best culprits in the series, hands down. His theme is amazing and he is one of the most tragic characters in the series. Knowing that he unknowingly killed the person who had helped him is just sad, and his motive for trying to kill Regina, while not excusable, is understable. Losing the two people he was closest to, and him explaining that he couldn't "up and leave" (literally, too) before Bat had woken up was just sad. Also, while 2-3 isn't amazing like 2-4 (my favorite case) is, it's miles ahead of 2-1 (which objectively sucks) and 2-2 (which lasts for hours with an annoying and predictable culprit). Besides, the plot twist at the end with Edgeworth appearing sets the tone for the upcoming final case. In my opinion, Turnabout Big Top gets some undeserved hate.

T&T - Recipe for Turnabout:

3-3 is really good, no questions asked. The mere fact that it's better than 3-2 (predictable culprit, forgettable victim...) is obvious to me. But it also features the return of Maggey, and the first (and only) appearance of amazingly comical characters like Furio Tigre and Victor Kudo (who both have amazing theme songs). The victim might be a little forgettable, but he at least gets some development, unlike Bullard in The Stolen Turnabout. Of course, Tigre is obvious as the killer, but he's meant to be this way, and the way you corner him is amazing. The reveal that Godot can't see red on white matters in 3-5, and the case is hilarious. Special mention of Viola Cadaverini, who's underrated by the fandom, in my opinion. 3-3 is probably the strongest third case in the Trilogy, and it is definitely not the worst case in T&T.

AJ - Turnabout Serenade:

Okay, this case sucks. I dislike it very much and I can't find anything that would redeem it. The victim is boring, Daryan is obvious, Valant isn't good enough, the mini-game is tedious, and the "Phoenix saves the day" thing is repetitive. However, 4-3's biggest flaw is the defendant, Machi Tobaye. Lamiroir is an enjoyable character, and the plot twist surrounding her eyesight isn't bad, but it doesn't make Machi good enough not to ruin the case. This case is the weak point of a great game, but fortunately, 4-4 more than makes up for it.

DD - Turnabout Academy:

Dual Destinies is my least favorite game in the main series, but it has some solid cases, 5-3 being one of them. The trio of Juniper, Robin, and Hugh is amazing (even if the twist around Robin was pretty obvious), the WAA trio works very well, and we even get a chance to see Klavier again (his objection clip sucks, though)! It is definitely a strong case, even if Means was a bit obvious, and while it doesn't hold up to the great ending of DD, I do believe that 5-3 is better than 5-1, 5-2, and maybe even 5-4.

SoJ - The Rite of Turnabout:

Maya's comeback makes this case good, albeit not great. It is better than 6-1 for sure (drags on too much for a tutorial case) and probably 6-4 and 6-6, but it pales compared to 6-2 and 6-5, of course. Nayhuta is the weak point of 6-3, but everything else about this case is pretty good! The "new" Maya is a right balance of her former self with some more maturity, Datz is funny, Beh'leeb Inmee was a really emotional character, and while I don't like Tahrust too much, the plot twist around his death was pretty cool. Also, this case also makes it clear why Phoenix did what he did in 6-5 when Inga blackmailed him: he can't lose Maya. It could have been better, but this case is solid, and definitely not part of a "curse" of any kind.

AAI - The Kidnapped Turnabout:

Unfortunately, AAI kinda sucks. The first three cases aren't that good, and while I1-3 is probably better than I1-1, I'll admit it's terrible. It's long, the Amanos sucks, Lauren Paups isn't that great, and if it wasn't for Kay, the case would probably be the worst in the series.

AAI2 - The Inherited Turnabout:

Is there anything bad to say about I2-3? I mean, you play as Gregory freaking Edgeworth, so what more do you want? Ah, yes, it also has DL-6 development, the exceptional Katherine Hall and Jeffrey Masters, plot twists, flashbacks done right (!), and while the villain isn't great, he is satisfying to catch, and he matters in I2-5. Honestly, this case would probably be enough to prove my whole argument.

DGS1 - The Adventure of the Runaway Room:

After a somewhat disappointing second case (in my opinion), DGS1-3 is really good! Megundal (I'll use the names from the fan translation, since I'm used to them and like them better) is quite the interesting character, and the Engarde-like plot twist surrounding him is amazing. His death in the final cutscene is also good and ties in nicely with the final case. Ryunosuke's first trial in England gives him cool development, and damn it, Barok van Zieks! His legslam, glass throw, and objection clip suffice to make him an amazing character, and there's more to him that just that. This case is better than DGS1-2, DGS1-1, and maybe even DGS1-4 if you don't consider its link to DGS2.

DGS2 - The Return of the Great Departed Soul:

While not as good as the two following cases in my opinion, this case is definitely above-average. Gina's comeback is just great, and her new mentor-protégé relationship with Gregson is nothing short of wholesome. Enoch Drebbler is one of the best culprits in the duology, and Courtney Sithe's character is very good, too. She gives a confident vibe that really serves the case. Benjamin Dobinbough (because his canon English name is one I refuse to acknowledge) is a great clueless defendant, and his relationship to Barok is quite nice! It definitely makes the case trickier! Rozaic has a really mysterious and enjoyable atmosphere surrounding her, and finding Herlock standing like statue at the wax museum was amusing. Of course, the best thing about this case is Asogi's return. It is handled well by the game that doesn't try to cover the obvious plot twist.. The final cutscene is just *smooch*. I also can't forget the Joint Reasoning with Herlock when looking for Enoch. Again, this case is definitely not part of a "curse" of any kind.

Overall thoughts:

I don't think the Third-Case Syndrome holds for Ace Attorney. Some third cases weren't good (4-3 and I1-3) but most are either good (1-3, 3-3, 5-3, DGS1-3) or excellent (I2-3 and DGS2-3). I know Turnabout Big Top traumatized most of the fandom, but I don't think it's that bad, and definitely not bad enough to start a curse revolving around third cases.

Danganronpa:

Trigger Happy Havoc:

Chapter Three of THH is... good enough. The pointless argument between Taka and Hifumi is annoying, to be sure, and Celeste did us a favor by getting rid of them. And her plan wasn't bad, either! It could have worked if Makoto and Kyoko had not been there. However, I do believe that this chapter is too boring before the first murder. The motive is also... meh. The plot twist oh Hifumi waking up and remembering Celeste's true name was enjoyable, though. 1-3 isn't amazing by any means, but I think it's better than 1-5 and 1-6, but it stands no chance against 1-2 and 1-4.

Goodbye Despair:

Well, this one sucks. I think it's the only DR chapter that literally has a plot hole. The "Despair Syndrome" motive is probably the worse in the series and this case pretty much ruined Mikan's character. Her execution is lame, Ibuki shouldn't have been a victim (seriously, why?), the culprit is obvious, and the timeframe to execute her plot doesn't work if you aren't Sonic the Hedgehog. Also... that attempt at fanservice was cringe, and it almost killed Hajime. The only thing that redeems this chapter a bit is the name "Titty Typhoon" but that's it. This one definitely alimented the "curse," and rightfully so. In-between two great cases, 2-3 doesn't make a good impression.

Killing Harmony:

3-3 is a chapter I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, the atmosphere was excellent and fitting of the killer, and Kokichi's prank had us all freak out at first. I don't like neither Angie nor Kiyo (sorry, Kiyo fans), but somehow, it didn't make the chapter worse for me. On the other hand, the Necronomicon motive sucks almost as much as the motive in 2-3. It could have worked in DR2 considering the Killing Game happened virtually, but in V3, the motive was just an outright lie from Monokuma, so it doesn't work. Also, Kiyo was a bit too obvious: the music, the theme, his sudden importance in the plot, the séance... it was just a bit too much not to make him suspicious. Finally, this chapter's major flaw, which I can sum up in one word: sister. That, was traumatizing. Without even going in details, everything that happened after Kiyo's "sister" appeared during the Class Trial ruined it. I'm also curious to know if the writers at Spike Chunsoft are mentally stable, considering Kiyo's relationship with his sister and the fact that they ship Monotaro and his sister Monophanie in the next case. It's not a bad chapter at all, but it has its flaws, unfortunately.

Overall thoughts:

While I wouldn't call it a "curse," it's true that third cases in Danganronpa aren't amazing, especially in DR2. You'll also notice that I didn't mention UDG simply because it's too different a game to be compared to THH, DR2, and V3. If we ever get another Killing Game, I hope that the third chapter will be better, because we've yet to have an awesome Chapter Three so far.

Final thoughts:

I don't believe there are curses revolving around third cases/chapters, neither in Ace Attorney, nor in Danganronpa. However, it's true that in the case of Danganronpa, on average, third cases are the weakest, while Chapters Four and Five are almost always great. Third cases in Ace Attorney definitely get an unfair treatement, though.

Thanks for reading, and I'm open to discussing all of this if you disagree!

[ezool]

another aa critique but im putting it under the read more so i dont bother anyone’s dash. it’s just an observation of something i noticed in the games.

i love ace attorney dont get me wrong but i hate their repeated habit of making their visibly dark skinned characters either killed or the killer :/

aa1 had Damon Gant be a corrupt chief of police that manipulated everyone under him in order to get away with a crime from 5 years prior. and his case wasnt even part of the original game release, this case was added years later and they still made the big bad villain be very visibly dark skinned. there’s also Jake Marshall (gets arrested for identity theft and assaulting an officer to steal evidence) and his brother Neil (who died prior to the events of the case).

aa2 got Acro from Turnabout Big Top who, altho is kind and gentle, acted on a terrible grudge that lead him to wanting to kill regina but accidentally killed the ringmaster instead. but he still had the intentions of taking a life.

aa2 also has Juan Corrida be killed (ignore him being a terrible person when he was alive) in the final case

aa3 has Diego Armando aka Godot be the final killer in the last case, and he was even the one you could argue was tortured the most (having been poisoned and left in a coma for 5 whole years, waking up being disabled in his sight and finding out his girlfriend died while he was absent) like jeez now he’s being convicted of murder and probably executed given what we know of the aa universe.

aa4 has Shadi Enigmar aka Zak Gramarye killed in the first case, also revealed to be Trucy’s biological dad who was absent and abandoned her for 7 years. (at least Valant Gramarye seemed to keep in touch with Trucy, but even he admits to having wanted to frame Zak of murder by killing Magnifi himself)

aa5 got Marlon Rimes from the DLC case Turnabout Reclaimed (but at least he’s sympathetic.) but for the rest of the game, there aren’t any dark skinned characters which just adds a layer i’ll touch on later

aa6 only had 3 dark skinned characters, which is pretty good for an aa game. the first one is Ahlbi Ur’gaid, who’s the first aa defendent that’s dark skinned (compared to the rest of the cast), the second is Datz Are’bal, the only dark-skinned witness that isn’t the twist killer. and lastly we have Dhurke Sadmahdi, who throughout the entirety of the game is painted as a villain bc he’s the leader of a rebel force, and is the second ever dark skinned defendant in the aa series (behind Ahlbi).

but whoops! by that time he’s already dead.

so literally it’s not until aa6 we actually have dark skinned characters that are an innocent defendant (bc he’s a child) and an innocent witness (bc he had amnesia). but you’d think in a fictional country that’s based on tibet and that area, you’d get more dark skinned characters (and not just of the rebel “bad guys”). aa5 didn’t have any dark skinned characters unless you paid the DLC purchase to get Marlon being the killer.

edit: i forgot we got Raymond Shields in aai2 but whoops! he’s a pedophile and constantly invades womens’ personal boundaries always asking for hugs and such! oh yeah and Dane Gustavia abandoned his son when he no longer found him essential since he prioritized his career over his son’s wellbeing. and also killed the other terrible dad.

tl;dr I hope future AA titles have more dark skinned characters that aren’t killers or victims of the case. please. im begging.

[rivalsforlife]

i'm holding myself back from asking commentary on almost every scene from the catch up game bc i love so much how you wrote phoenix in that fic!! that said, could u do commentary on the last 2 scenes from the first chapter (party + gumshoe), if that's not too long or on parts of it if it's too much?

Sure thing!! The scenes on their own are already over 2000 words so I’ll put them under a keep reading for everyone’s peace of mind.

Alright let’s start then...

The bachelor party was beyond Phoenix’s expectations. He’d been expecting Edgeworth to be much stingier with the spending, considering his general attitude towards Gumshoe’s salary. But he’d agreed to rent the bar out and pay for one drink for everyone, plus transportation home for those who couldn’t do it themselves. Phoenix… was surprised, actually. He’d known for a long time now that Edgeworth appreciated Gumshoe much more than he let anyone know about, but it was still surprising to see in action.

this paragraph brought to you by My AAI2 Feelings, particularly the parts where Gumshoe really does come through in the investigations, so much that Miles actually gives him a salary raise at the end... it did a great job developing their friendship, I loved it a lot.

(Also I headcanon that after aai2 but possibly before that... every “I’m going to cut your salary!!” that Miles says does not actually result in a salary cut. poor gumshoe can barely feed himself as it is. but Miles can’t be, like... Nice about it so he’s just going to pretend. Gumshoe understands. it’s like an inside joke now.)

And honestly figuring out this whole party scene was such a pain. I still feel like it could be better but I’m not sure how? I just had the goal of “get someone to let it slip that Miles is in love with Phoenix” but then there was the issue of a) who knew Miles well enough to know this, and b) who knew Phoenix well enough to talk about it, and c) what circumstances would let them slip up and say it. The answer was Gumshoe because he can’t resist leaking information to the defense... even when it’s information about his boss’s personal life. oops.

Athena dropped by for a movie night, since Pearls was too young to attend. Phoenix wasn’t worried about them; he was sure they wouldn’t get into any more trouble than he and Maya could at the party.

OOF AWKWARD PARAGRAPH this is a remnant from when I shifted a lot of scenes around in this chapter. I thought it would be cute if Athena and Pearl were friends. And I think there was more to this but then it was distracting from the overall topic so I cut it out... resulting in this.

“Pals!” a familiar voice boomed at the entrance to the bar, and Phoenix soon found himself and Maya swept up in a bone-crushing hug. “I’m so glad you both could make it!”

“Gumshoe!” Maya returned the hug enthusiastically. “It’s been forever, man!”

“Sure has!” Gumshoe released them, allowing Phoenix the opportunity to wheeze and clutch at his ribs, while Gumshoe ruffled Maya’s hair. “Been keeping yourself out of trouble?”

“You know it!”

“Uh, I had several sleepless nights last year suggesting otherwise,” said Phoenix.

“Shut it, Nick.” Maya elbowed him, not helping with the situation with his ribs, and beamed.

a little bit of banter that really just serves as a transition thing. most of the party is actually both “transition scene to indicate that the party did, in fact, happen before I get to the important stuff” and “introduce some important character stuff while I have time to fill”. 

and of course these sleepless nights are in reference to pretty much the whole plot of SOJ... 

One last note that I think Gumshoe probably gives great hugs, if you can survive your ribs potentially being crushed in the process. he doesn’t mean anything by it. he’s big and strong and likes hugs so much he forgets how big and strong he is.

... ps I love Gumshoe

“But congrats, Gumshoe! Seems like just last decade Nick and I were wandering around trying to pass your lunches over to Maggey.”

“God, it’s been that long, hasn’t it?” Phoenix reminisced. It was odd, thinking back on cases he took before he was disbarred, before he became a father to a daughter who wasn’t even with him today.

Gumshoe chuckled. “Guess so, pals. You two’ve really been there since the beginning, huh? Maggey and I wouldn’t be here today without you.”

Phoenix smiled. “Aww, Gumshoe…”

“And that’s why I get to be maid of honor, huh?” asked Maya with a sly grin.

“Maid of honor?!” Phoenix looked to Gumshoe, who didn’t object, before rounding back on his best friend. “You didn’t tell me that!”

“You didn’t ask!” Maya sighed. “If it weren’t for me eating Gumshoe’s beloved bento box in front of Maggey, who knows if we’d be here today?”

“I don’t think that was a deciding factor at any point…”

Gumshoe clapped Phoenix on the shoulder. “Sorry, pal. Would’ve made you the best man, but, y’know… Mr. Edgeworth.”

“Yeah, of course, no hard feelings, pal.”

“What’d I tell you about stealing my trademark, huh, pal?” Gumshoe laughed before stepping back into the bar. “C’mon in, you two.”

REALLY just more awkward transition scenes haha. Maya is the maid of honor in this fic mostly because I went to Maggey’s profile page and she was the only woman listed under the “friends” list... and we don’t know much about Maggey’s personal life. plus more “Miles and Gumshoe friendship” agenda pushing in here!

There were more people there than Phoenix was expecting, and many of them he hadn’t met. Edgeworth had mentioned that he would let Gumshoe select the guest list, but he’d kind of expected this to be people the two of them knew. Or, at least, that Phoenix knew — Edgeworth seemed to recognize more, which was rare, and was currently speaking with someone Phoenix vaguely recognized as an Interpol agent he’d worked with on a few cases back when Phoenix would help him out in Europe.

Ema ran up to them and made small talk before she and Maya got caught up in discussion about some show Phoenix had never heard of, so he wandered off to find someone else to talk with.

And there was… no one, really. Gumshoe and Edgeworth were talking with strangers, and Phoenix didn’t want to butt in on that conversation — he thought he saw Larry lurking about but couldn’t find him right now — and anyone else Phoenix recognized he either hadn’t talked to in years or was sure didn’t recognize him.

Phoenix hadn’t realized just how much his disbarment affected him, in these little ways. He looked out over the crowd of people Gumshoe or Edgeworth spoke to and had no idea who they were. It had been eight years out of touch with the rest of the legal world — eight years to fall behind.

It was… oddly lonely. Eventually it was just Phoenix standing there at the bar with a glass of grape juice in his hand. He was beginning to wish he’d ordered some more euphemistic “grape juice” instead.

You know that feeling when you go to a party and your one (1) friend leaves you and then you have no one to talk to and don’t know what to do -- maybe? That’s kind of the thing. slight Lang cameo in there.

ORIGINALLY Ema and Maya were going to talk about Lana and Mia and kind of hint at some Lanamia stuff in there, but then I thought about it and really why would Phoenix pass up an opportunity to gossip about his boss’s past relationships. 

And this also tries to kind of go for one of the general... “themes” of the fic? More of an exploration into Phoenix’s loneliness/how he copes with not having people around him. RFTA and JFA in particular kind of really entrenched that he Does Not Do Well without people to take care of -- which comes up a lot during this fic. And part of getting to explore those issues is essentially me trying to make Phoenix as alone as possible. ... sorry Phoenix! 

Also in here is a lot of “disbarment should have messed up Phoenix more than DD and SOJ would lead you to believe” -- he essentially spent seven years completely disgraced, it’s unlikely he made a lot of notable legal connections, aside from maybe Miles and Miles’ social circle. He probably missed out on a lot.

The last paragraph there is just referencing the “grape juice” thing - I do believe it is literal grape juice and not an alcohol euphemism, and I believe it was also literal grape juice in the original, so that’s what it ends up being.

“Hey, Niiiick…”

… But Phoenix supposed that just when you’re feeling down, the Butz arrives to drag you down further. “Hey there, Larry.”

Larry slumped against the bar beside him with a sigh, a glass of what definitely wasn’t grape juice in his hand. “Y’know Franzy didn’t even show up to this?”

“I’m not surprised. Being whipped half to death during your own bachelor party isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, y’know?” In truth, he knew Franziska couldn’t make it down until just a few days before the wedding because of work — or so Edgeworth had told him — though he couldn’t help but wonder if Gumshoe was grateful for it.

Larry muttered something under his breath that sounded like it might’ve been contradicting Phoenix’s last statement, which Phoenix decided he was certainly not going to press further on, before Larry cleared his throat and continued. “But why’re you out here by yourself, Nick? Maya ditched you?”

“No, not at all,” Phoenix lied. “Just… taking in the scenery.”

“... Huh. Never took you for the wallflower type.” Larry frowned. “I mean, we did use to spend school dances in the corner by ourselves… guess some things never change.”

“Please don’t remind me of middle school ever again.”

“I’ll drink to that,” said Larry, who then did. “But I get it, dude. I was kinda hoping for some more excitement here… more ladies…”

“Don’t worry Larry, I’m sure you’ll find someone else to pester tonight,” Phoenix commented dryly.

... enter Larry Butz.

I really did try to explore the relationships of all the important people in Phoenix’s life... Larry though is so insufferable in canon I didn’t really have the heart to fit him in, so he falls out. (Apollo also doesn’t show up much, aside from the bit in chapter 5, that’s because he’s in a different country and I couldn’t come up with much of a role for him.)

And I also do believe that Larry and Phoenix were super unpopular in school. Larry was... Larry, and Phoenix was probably very sensitive up until the Dahlia Incident, and together they had enough unlikable traits that anyone who could spend time with one wouldn’t want to hang out with the other, but the two of them were loyal to each other. It’s my headcanon that Phoenix’s only real close friends throughout his childhood were Larry and Miles, which is part of why he got so attached to Miles to change his career for him.

“Yeah.” Larry’s eyes scanned the crowd before landing on a woman with dark hair in a high ponytail, and his face brightened. Phoenix cringed preemptively.

“Little miss Kay!” Larry called out, as the woman looked their way. “Looking as cute as ever! And more grown up, too…”

Phoenix tensed, suddenly feeling the wrath of hell creeping up behind them.

“Larry Butz,” a deadly voice boomed, “if you go anywhere near her, I will sue you for everything you are worth, little though it may be.”

Larry jumped and spilled half his drink over his jacket. “Geez, Edgey,” he grumbled, scuttling off to find a napkin. Phoenix, hoping it was safe now with the target gone, turned back around to meet the glare of his other childhood friend. “Hey, Edgeworth.”

Larry being gross but more importantly: me pushing the Dadworth agenda! 

“You didn’t have to do that, Mr. Edgeworth,” said the woman with a laugh. “I’m an adult. I know how to effectively break someone’s kneecaps if they bug me.”

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. “Though I don’t necessarily disapprove, do we need to talk about avoiding criminal records again, young lady?”

“Sheesh, you’re still treating me like a kid,” she huffed, before noticing Phoenix and extending a hand. “Sorry about that! Kay Faraday. I’m Mr. Edgeworth’s assistant.”

Edgeworth gave an exasperated sigh, though Phoenix could detect a note of fondness to it. “You haven’t been my assistant for over ten years, Kay.”

“So you finally admit I was your assistant at some point!”

“Ngrk…”

Phoenix laughed and took her hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Phoenix Wright, attorney at law.”

Kay grinned. “Oh, I know! Gummy debriefed me on you, Mr. That Man.”

“Kay,” Edgeworth warned.

“Plus I kept up with the news,” Kay continued, before Phoenix could say anything. “I’m a big fan of your work! Anyone who can take Mr. High-and-Mighty over there down a notch or two is a hero in my book.”

“Ha, I appreciate that.” Usually the first thing people said to Phoenix after saying they saw him on the news was much more negative.

I really still can’t believe Kay would be 27 here. that’s just so weird. she’s permanently seventeen in my mind. --- said by miles, probably

Even though this was supposed to be a fic about Phoenix’s important canon relationships Kay just wormed her way in here. I love her so I didn’t make any particular effort to take her out of this. Plus it gives me the opportunity to write my favourite things: Dadworth, and also Kay bullying Miles.

And yeah the part about people seeing Phoenix on the news is a reference to disbarment... can’t imagine anyone would have had anything particularly nice to say to him, especially those first few years.

“Kay has been assisting some of the prosecutors and myself through some tricky crime scenes lately,” Edgeworth informed him.

“Technically I’m a P.I., but Mr. Edgeworth said they’re really short-staffed these days, so I thought I’d lend him a hand,” Kay elaborated.

“Oh, so I might be running into you at the crime scene someday.”

“Probably!” She grinned. “Though I’m not gonna go easy on you just ‘cause Mr. Edgeworth likes you.”

“Kay.”

“Oh is that Ema over there?” Kay said loudly. “I’ve gotta run, see you around!”

She dashed off. Edgeworth sighed.

At first I made Kay just a straightforward detective, but I changed it pretty last minute. I feel like she’d want to do her own thing, plus this way she can assist from the outside when dealing with Dark Age of the Law Corruption-type stuff. Miles hires her because canon says he was left pretty short-staffed in SOJ. I’m not... totally sure what the laws are regarding private investigators working with police, but this is a fictional universe with fictional laws so I will do what I want.

Aside from that... more Kay making fun of Miles.

“She seems energetic,” Phoenix commented.

“Indeed she is.”

“... Why did she call me ‘Mr. That Man’?”

Edgeworth coughed. “I’ve not the slightest idea,” he said, turning his head to the side. “That aside, this whole affair is going much smoother than I expected, aside from that slight mishap.”

“Yeah, murder’s not really the best way to kick off a bachelor party, huh? Even if it is Larry. But I think we did alright.”

“Indeed.”

As if on cue, a loud cheer rose up from the crowd at the far corner of the bar.

“... Do you smell something?” Phoenix asked, and true to form, the swaying form of Larry crawled on top of a table.

People making fun of That Man is one of my favourite tropes regarding the AAI characters.

I don’t actually know how bachelor parties work, but if anyone can make them into an overly dramatized super wild party... it’s Larry.

Edgeworth groaned and began to storm off, but Phoenix grabbed him by the hand to hold him back. “Edgeworth, it’s a party, let them have their fun.”

“I… suppose so,” Edgeworth relented, but his hand was still tense in Phoenix’s.

Phoenix released him. “C’mon, we can chaperone from a safe distance.”

Edgeworth nodded wordlessly, but Phoenix could sense that same feeling of unease from him again. He opened his mouth to ask about it but a loud shout took up his attention — this was something that could be dealt with later, he thought, as he and Edgeworth rushed over to the scene.

Miles internal monologue: Wright is holding my hand. Wright is holding my hand. Wright is holding my hand writgh is holding my hand wright is holdin g my ha--

Phoenix: uh. edgeworth?

So in this fic... Miles is gradually working up the courage to confess to Phoenix. He finally worked out his own feelings at some point prior to this fic starting but can’t quite admit them yet, so every time Phoenix does anything that can be remotely construed as romantic he just goes “!!!” and it’s probably all he can think about for a week. Poor guy! I’m sure that when he finally confesses all will be well.

Hours later, as the party wound down and various taxis came to take people home, Phoenix found himself crowded in a booth with a tipsy Maya and a drunk, gushing Gumshoe.

“... and I know she’s gonna just be so beautiful, pals, and what if it’s too much?” Gumshoe asked, lying sideways against the table. “What if they don’t let me see her and then the day of the wedding I look’t her and… I die?”

“People have gotten married without dying, Gumshoe,” Phoenix consoled him.

“But they don’t marry Maggey, pal…”

Maya snorted. “With her luck, I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that happened.”

“Hey, don’t tell him that!” Phoenix hissed.

really this wedding should have had way more disaster than I wrote about... probably at least one murder.

“No, no, don’t mention her luck, she’s already so worried,” said Gumshoe. “We’ve checked off every good-luck wedding charm in th’ book… but she still thinks somethin’s gonna go wrong. I love her, I really, really love her, pals…” A far off look crossed his face, and Phoenix wondered if anyone would ever speak of him like that, “... but she worries so much…”

“What’s she worried about?” Maya asked, slumping over against Phoenix’s shoulder.

“Ceremony, reception, if people’re gonna show up, if we’re gonna lose somethin’ important… even ‘s far as the bouquet toss. I told her, if you’re not sure, just toss it in th’ direction of you,” he pointed at Phoenix, “or at Mr. Edgeworth, and maybe it’ll work.”

Phoenix frowned. “Why me?”

Gumshoe let out a burst of hearty laughter. “I’m thinkin’ if you or Mr. Edgeworth catches it, it’ll give ‘im the courage to finally ask you out, pal.”

Maya shot straight up. Phoenix froze. “... What?”

probably not the smoothest way to get to the entire reason why this bachelor party exists, BUT. 

Also it’s implied that Miles DID actually talk to Gumshoe about this at some point. probably Gumshoe caught him pining at a bad time haha.

“Y’know the old tradition, whoever catches it is the next to get married and all…” Gumshoe stared at them for a moment, before his eyes widened and a look of absolute horror crossed his face. “O-Oh! Crap! Pal!”

“Edgeworth wants to ask Nick out?!” Maya shrieked.

“FINALLY! IT’S ABOUT FREAKING TIME!”

originally Gumshoe used a much stronger word than “crap” but idk Gummy doesn’t seem like the type to curse much...? Maybe it’s a stretch haha. also “pal” as an exclamation is my favourite little Gumshoe speech tic

“Shh, shh!” Gumshoe reached over to clamp a hand over her mouth but fell, collapsing on the table. “You heard nothin’ from me, pals, got it? Mr. Edgeworth’s gonna kill me if he finds out… worse, stop funding the wedding…”

Death is one thing but the WEDDING...

And I can’t remember if I mentioned at any point that Miles was also funding the wedding haha but it’s probably also something he wouldn’t want to tell anyone. Gumshoe with his perpetually terrible salary (which is also Miles’ fault) plus Maggey with her inability to hold down a job before being fired in a murder-related incident probably means they don’t have a lot for a nice wedding so Miles offered. secretly and evasively. because he’s a nice person but also doesn’t want anyone to know that.

Maya stared at Phoenix, her mouth agape, as Gumshoe continued mumbling to himself under his breath about the various consequences of Edgeworth’s hypothetical wrath. Phoenix, meanwhile, felt like his brain had short-circuited.

That wasn’t possible. He must have heard Gumshoe wrong. Edgeworth didn’t think of him that way. Edgeworth didn’t think about anyone that way, Phoenix had thought, for the longest time.

Little do you know, Phoenix! 

Touching on the aroace Miles headcanon here because it’s a very valid interpretation of his actions even if it’s not my own...

… Even if Edgeworth had been acting strange lately, even if something in his expression softened when he looked at Phoenix, even if…

No. Phoenix quickly shoved that thought to the back of his mind. There were many things he knew about Edgeworth, and one of those was that Edgeworth saw him as a part-time friend and part-time annoyance, but never a romantic interest of any kind. The thought of it was just… just unbelievable.

Phoenix craned his head around, catching sight of a familiar pink jacket across the room and watched Edgeworth in the middle of some phone call. He would know if Edgeworth was interested in him that way… wouldn’t he?

At first “the back of his mind” was “the overflowing mental trunk of repression” but that seemed a little too on the nose. Just know that’s essentially what he’s doing.

Another thing I wanted to establish throughout the fic was how close Phoenix and Miles are now -- they essentially know each other really well. And thinking about that part in Turnabout Goodbyes where Phoenix declares that “I’m the only one who knows the real Edgeworth”, I kind of interpreted that Phoenix Knowing Things About Edgeworth is an important part of their relationship to him. And the occasions where Miles did surprise him (with some aspect of his personality) weren’t always very good things... realizing he’d turned into a “demon prosecutor”, then the “choosing death” part... it’s a lot of my headcanons running away from me haha. Basically in this fic, Phoenix thinks he knows Edgeworth so well because he’s so close with him so an indication that there’s something about Edgeworth he doesn’t know or has completely wrong kind of... connects to him /not/ being as close to Edgeworth as he thinks he is? Maybe? And being close to him is something very important to Phoenix.

(This is not my personal opinion though haha, people can and will surprise you no matter how well you know them... but this fic is Phoenix’s Relationship Issues: The Fic, so.)

And no one else has mentioned the scenes where it comes up yet so I’ll talk about it here -- a lot of my editing process involved going through the fic and cutting out every instance of Phoenix either talking about him hypothetically being in love with Miles, or of Miles being in love with him. I just ctrl+f “love” and cut out whatever fit the criteria. Phoenix’s interpretation of Miles’ actions up until the end of chapter 5 isn’t exactly that Miles is Capital-L In Love with him, more that it’s like... a little crush? Mayyybe some physical attraction. Misconstrued admiration. Not anything so severe that Miles would willingly initiate a conversation about Feelings. so “He would know if Edgeworth was in love with him” changed to “He would know if Edgeworth was interested in him that way” because part of Phoenix’s issue here is that he can’t actually directly acknowledge the possibility that he’s in love with Miles or that Miles is in love with him. It’s a whole complicated thing I’ll probably talk about in the next commentary I do?

This got long but there’s the end of the chapter! I’ll answer more later...? These take up a lot of time haha.

[no-hetsplanation-for-aa]

11 and 24 for the ship thing. ^u^

i already answered 11!

24. What is one scene you want to see happen for all your ships?

i don’t know if this means ALL of them all of them but i am going to do my best to answer them all for my main ships....

fradrian: god i had an entire like, synopsis of a comic i’ve had planned since my early days in this fandom but i just can’t post it yet, i guess i’ll save it for when i do get around to it but i keep waffling on it. i have to be in a certain headspace to really think about it clearly and it’s personal to me, i don’t know if i want anyone outside my friend group to see it. sorry

realistically in canon though, i’d be happy if in aa7 or aai3 or whatever the next installment is that they at least mention that adrian and franziska are still talking. the fact that she was the first person EVER franziska reached out to for companionship is super important, imo

gumworth: in terms of canon i’d really love to see edgeworth apologize like fully for being a dick to gumshoe (no pun intended). edgeworth’s become a lot more conscious of others’ feelings and his actions in aai2, but an acknowledgement would be nice

in terms of fanon, i wanna see gumworth domestic shenanigans. how do they act at home? what activities do they like? what foods do they cook? i wanna know.....

blackbright: ok let’s be honest this ship cannot really WORK well in canon, and it’s why i’m not really a fan of phantomquill. like it’s good for angst and stuff but makes no sense to me because simon very much cares for athena and i think that simon dating fulbright/the phantom in canon would be super duper disrespectful to her trauma (you can still like it of course it’s just....i don’t see the appeal at all)

my au for these two is that bobby went on vacation a few months after he met & started working with simon and got stranded somehow without any way to contact him and had to do odd jobs to make his way back to his home country. he shows up after 5-5 and shocks absolutely everyone and learns that there has been someone masquerading as him for a whole entire YEAR and simon and co. all thought he was DEAD. what i want to see out of this scenario is like, a buildup to a relationship but very slowly. i think simon would need time to heal and regain trust for sure, but bobby’s willing to be patient with him and give him space while he processes his feelings on what happened

emamaya: capcom please just show these two interacting PERIOD outside of like two brief moments in soj. they deserved more than that, their sisters were “involved” in college for crying out LOUD how could they never have even MET BEFORE

emaziska: the same as above tbh i just want them to interact more!!! god!!! they...kkiiind of did in aai2, but only really through the argument scenes and it wasn’t really much

klapollo: in canon i’d love for klavier’s trauma to be addressed more but that’s more about him than his relationship....uhhh, in terms of fanon, i want klavier’s messier, more emotional side to be explored, and how apollo reacts to that. i think klavier is extremely needy and clingy but in a different way than, say, adrian is to franziska. how do they work through this?? how do they address klavier’s need for closeness at all times vs. apollo’s need for his own space and time, etc. i still haven’t thought much about it just yet

the investigirlfriends: the scene i’d love to see for them is me getting up off my ass and actually creating more content for them

[mikumutual]

answers aa themed questions nobody asked because i’m cool and sexy

also i havent played the 5th or 6th games so

YOUR FAVOURITE…? 1. Favourite Ace Attorney game? honestly? phoenix wright ace attorney! everything’s fresh, there aren’t many weak characters, and the plot is remarkable (especially the fifth case). the whole trilogy is really good as one unit though 2. Favourite case? 1-4, 1-5, 2-4, and 3-5 are tied lol, i can’t make a decision to save my life. 2-1 is really really funny tho 3. Favourite defendant? as a defendant, lana skye. as a person, edgeworth 4. Favourite prosecutor? as a prosecutor, franziska von karma. as a person, edgeworth 5. Favourite ship? wrightworth obviously... ive probably put more thought into them over the last 3 years than any other ship 6. Favourite victim? probably mia fey or gregory edgeworth... but for non-relevant victims, neil marshall :( 7. Favourite murderer? shelly de killer, i LOVE that guy. but dee vasquez was very cool as well 8. Favourite assistant? maya fey!!!!!!!!!! but i like kay faraday a lot too (im so sorry ema) 9. Favourite witness? adrian andrews... or maybe iris? i mean i didn’t like iris but god what a person 10. Favourite quote? “It doesn't matter how many underhanded tricks a person uses... The truth will always find a way to make itself known. The only thing we can do is to fight with the knowledge we hold and everything we have. Erasing the paradoxes one by one... It's never easy... We claw and scratch for every inch. But we will always eventually reach that one single truth. This I promise you.” - Miles Edgeworth i made this one of my senior quotes :]

YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE…? 11. Least favourite Ace Attorney game? uh fucking apollo justice. literally what the hell was that 12. Least favourite case? turnabout visitor wasn’t very strong? i guess it’s fine as an intro, but it’s also wonky with the timeline of aai 13. Least favourite defendant? max galactica. he’s better in the anime though 14. Least favourite prosecutor? manfred von karma, obviously. i like every other prosecutor (who i know of) though, even winston payne is pretty funny in hindsight 15. Least favourite ship? “miles edgeworth/female oc”. there are a lot of bad ships though, mostly involving phoenix & his assistants. dont do that please 16. Least favourite victim? zak gramarye for kickstarting that shitty, shitty game 17. Least favourite murderer? again mvk... but also fucking frank sahwit LMAO 18. Least favourite assistant? i guess trucy 19. Least favourite witness? fuck everyone from turnabout big top unless it was the anime episode 20. Least favourite memory of Ace Attorney? repeatedly trying and failing to download the emulator for aai2 hbjsjhdb i eventually got it but someone had to send me the download fully pre-patched and i felt kinda useless DO YOU PREFER…? 21. Phoenix Wright or Apollo Justice? phoenix wright. fuck that “GOTCHA!” mechanic jesus christ 22. Maya Fey or Trucy Wright? maya fey. nothing personal against trucy but i just dont like aj hbjsdjhsdb also maya is really sweet and fun and she has the best sprites. she seems like she’d be a good friend, it’s too bad that she doesn’t have the time for them as a spirit medium and all :( if maya ema and kay got to hang out together itd be wild 23. Investigations or trials? trials are easier in my opinion because investigations have several things you could be doing without such a linear style, so if you miss something, you won’t really know until you wander around forever 24. College Phoenix or Hobo Phoenix? college feenie!!!!! he’s like trilogy feenie but more emotional and less witty. i like to pretend that hobo phoenix doesnt exist 25. Klavier Gavin or Kristoph Gavin? who would say kristoph 26. Ace Attorney or Ace Attorney Investigations? ace attorney but only because phoenix is in it lmao. im actually rewatching a playthrough of aai now, and playing aai2 at the same time, so while it is on the mind, i feel like the cases characters and mechanics - while loved - don’t hold up to the OGs 27. Apollo’s perceive, Phoenix’s magatama, or Athena’s Mood Matrix? i actually kinda like the mood matrix more than anything because it has a really good UI and the magatama is kinda grating. but FUCK the gotcha mechanic it is SO FUCKING STUPID and IMPOSSIBLE TO USE.  where is logic chess 28. Ace Attorney trilogy or Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies? you already know my answer to this one 29. 3D models or sprites? i do like the 3d models a lot but i like the original sprites more! imo original pixel sprites > 3D models > HD sprites. mostly bc the hd sprites are garbage (see here, here, and here) 30. Ema Skye as she is in Rise from the Ashes or Ema Skye as she is in Apollo Justice? rfta !!!!!! shes actually really nice as an assistant, esp considering the fact that we actually see her interact with her sister, which is something maya didn’t have very often. also her random appearance in aai was well appreciated by me

MISCELLANEOUS 31. Did you like what they did to Phoenix in Apollo Justice?

NO I AM SO FUCKING MAD WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT TO HIM ISN’T HE A LAWYER WHY COULD HE NOT JUST DEFEND HIMSELF FROM THE FACT THAT HE “FORGED EVIDENCE” IT WASN’T EVEN HIS IN THE FIRST PLACE SOMEBODY ELSE FORGED IT AND HE DIDN’T KNOW THAT, MANFRED VON KARMA GOT AWAY WITH A FUCKLOAD OF NONSENSE AND SO DOES EVERY OTHER LAWYER SO WHY IS IT THAT PHOENIX CAN SURVIVE EATING A POISONED GLASS NECKLACE AND GETTING HIT OVER THE HEAD WITH A FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND FALLING FROM A BURNING BRIDGE INTO A RUSHING RAVINE AND BEING HIT BY A CAR BUT HE CAN’T FUCKING DEFEND HIMSELF LIKE HE DOES IN EVERY OTHER CASE BECAUSE THAT’S THE POINT OF THE GAME AND ALSO HIS ENTIRE CHARACTER

32. Your opinion on Dai Gyakuten Saiban? haven’t played it! it looks pretty cool though

33. Do you think Dai Gyakuten Saiban and/or Miles Edgeworth Investigations 2 will get localised to the West? doubt it, since the creators have said that it won’t be. but the fan translations are pretty good, so i think it’s okay

34. Do you think Miles Edgeworth should get another Investigation-game or do you think another character deserves a spin-off? i mean he already has two, so i guess he doesn’t need another? like i love edgeworth but he’s not as fun without phoenix around. ngl i would play a franziska game. or a maya game, or any spinoff revolving around a side character. hell i’d play hotti game if it meant it took place in the trilogy era

35. Opinion on the soundtrack of the Ace Attorney-franchise? REALLY good. really really good. i love how each game of the trilogy has different composers but each track has the same theme and feel!!!

36. Do you like where the franchise is heading or did you prefer the atmosphere in the original trilogy? seriously absolutely completely prefer the trilogy. i’m sorry but the rush of youth and trust is way, way more enjoyable than whatever “i’m 35 and therefore middle aged” nonsense is happening in the 2020s

37. Capcom suddenly announces that Phoenix will no longer appear in the Ace Attorney franchise! Your reaction? He’s been replaced by Penny Nichols. Fuck you.

38. Capcom suddenly announces that the Ace Attorney franchise has ended for good! Your reaction? it was me i ended it

39. Would you like there to be another Ace Attorney/Professor Layton crossover game? i didnt play it but i really like the idea!!!!!! aa crossover games are really funny to me, i mean have you seen edgeworth in project x zone 2, lmao

40. Would you like an Ace Attorney anime? we have one now! honestly i don’t think it did a very good job of representing the cases, but it did do a good character remix of turnabout big top so that they’re not creepy anymore. they also did a really good job with the anime-specific cases, like the one on the train! it feels a lot better paced when it’s intended for that medium rather than just adapted.  also the childhood episodes made me cry

41. Opinion on anime cutscenes in Ace Attorney? like in 5 and 6? mm, the art style is kinda weird, and i don’t really like the voices, but i guess not everything can be pachinko and prozd

42. Would you want to play an Ace Attorney game where you take on the prosecutor’s role? YEAH ACTUALLY!!!!!! it might be kinda weird being on the right side of the screen though lmao

43. Do you like having DLC in Ace Attorney-games? uhhh i hate having to buy extra things, but i’ll admit that they are pretty funny

44. Opinion on Lamiroir’s storyline? i only played aj so if shes in other games idk but i thought she was fine

45. One thing you think the Ace Attorney games can improve on? stop having creepy characters please. also jesus christ if phoenix and edgeworth arent wearing rings in aa7 i will become the ceo of capcom myself

46. Capcom suddenly announces an Ace Attorney movie! Would you like it to be based on an already existing case or would you like an all new storyline? i mean the musical did a pretty good job of adapting existing cases, so it might as well be new. it would be kinda hard to balance the games’ timeline & character development without being repetitive or an au

47. Capcom suddenly announces an Ace Attorney movie! Would you prefer it being live-action, 3D animated or 2D animated? stylized 2D animation, probably? i would want it to feel more like into the spiderverse than an anime, though. in my dream ace attorney movie, they’d just need a high art budget, several plausible deniability wrightworth scenes, and prozd to voice edgeworth

48. If there could be an Ace Attorney crossover with whatever franchise you’d like, which one would you choose? (Does not need to be a video-game franchise) your turn to die is probably closest in characterization, although its premise is more “locked in a room” than the open-world investigation of aa

49. Opinion on recurring witnesses? (Wendy Oldbag, Lotta Hart, Larry Butz, etc.) honestly, i like them a lot! i don’t know why people hate them so much - i mean, i know lotta lied, and wendy is a horrible old flirt, and larry just kinda sucks all around. but they’re also pretty funny to have around! larry is a constant comic relief who reminds you how much better nick & edgey are in comparison, lotta is likeable as a general character (like in 2-4, although yeah, not remarkable), and wendy oldbag is really funny. she’s so fucking funny. none of you appreciate wendy oldbag’s quirks and you are SLEEPING ON IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

50. Do you think Dual Destinies deserved its M-rating? no idea, holy shit, it got an m-rating? i mean every game before it has had blood violence and very mild swearing, and since DD probably doesnt have anything too sexually risqué, i doubt it deserves a rating any harsher than the rest of the series

okay thanks thats all

[renegadewangs]

Ace Mindhunter - 3rd Interview

Characters: Simon Blackquill, Athena Cykes, Shi-Long Lang, and a rogues gallery of AA villains. Fandom: Ace Attorney. Pairings: N/A. Warnings/rating: 16+, I would say. Talk of heavy themes such as death and abuse, plus cursing. Spoilers for every AA game up to Spirit of Justice, AAI2 included. Gratuitous amounts of headcanon for antagonists. Summary: Simon Blackquill is roped into a Behavioral Analysis project along with Athena Cykes. They must sit down with convicted murderers for interviews, in hopes of finding out just what drove them to their convoluted crimes.

3rd Interview Furio

Date: June 11th 2028 Time: 4:34 PM Location: Interpol H.Q. - B.A.U. Office. “Frank Sahwit. A burglar who was caught in the act by the owner of the apartment he'd broken into. He killed her in a blind panic, then shifted the blame onto her ex-boyfriend. He gave testimony about it in court and everything.” “No.” “Hmm... Cammy Meele. She was a flight attendant, but also a member of an international smuggling ring. She helped move things across the border. When an Interpol agent showed up to check the cargo hold of a plane, she panicked and shoved him so hard that he fell off the side of a flight of stairs. She tried to hide his body and when it was uncovered by accident, she scrambled to pin the blame onto a colleague. Looks like her cover-up was blown before the police could indict the wrong person.” “... That is even worse.” “Lucky number seven, then! Richard Wellington. A small-time con artist who mistakenly thought a police officer was on to his scams. He killed the cop, framed the cop's girlfriend, then hit the girlfriend's attorney over the head with a fire extinguisher just before the trial. … There's Mr. Wright's name again. I'll have to ask him about this one.” “The subject meddled with the court process, hm? We're getting warmer. The scammer has earned himself a spot on the consideration pile.” “We don't have a consideration pile yet. Only rejections.” “Then, by all means, start one.” Athena cleared some space on the desk they were meant to share, then placed Wellington's folder in the center. The rejection pile was a substantial one, the pile of profiles yet to be assessed had dwindled so badly that they had very few options left to them. Was this the best Lang could provide? “Next we have...” Athena reached for the assessment pile and opened the top folder. “Florent L'Belle. Eww...” “Pass,” Simon said and for once, he had Athena's full agreement on the matter. One more for the rejection pile. Athena ruffled her hair in a frustrated manner and Simon leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. There were a few water stains there, perhaps even mould. Interpol would spare no expense when it came to their investigations, but they must not have thought very highly of their Behavioral Analysis Unit if it were condemned to a shoddy basement office. Athena reached for the next folder and flipped it open. “Looks like we're moving on from petty criminals to the big leagues, now. Paul Atishon. I remember that guy... He was a corrupt politician who made a deal for a national treasure with Khura'in's Minister of Justice, then panicked when an archaeologist with an actual moral compass impeded that deal. He killed the archaeologist and at first made the death look accidental, then attempted to shift the blame onto a revolutionist when he got into hot water about it.” “Was that murder premeditated?” “Sure, but there was a lot of clumsy improvisation involved. I don't think there was a single strong thought going through his head beyond wanting to win some dumb election he was in. He was trying to live up to his grandfather's name, though, so that may be... something.” “... Consideration pile.” “Then, how about Redd White? Former CEO of Bluecorp, but also a blackmailer on the side. He killed a defense attorney who had the evidence necessary to expose him and shifted the blame onto her little sister. Looks like this one was definitely premeditated. He roped his secretary into his lies, even though she knew he was the real killer.” “Hnnn...” “Simon! You have to stop being so picky! If you keep shooting every possible interview down, we might as well give up!” If he was being truly honest with himself, Simon was torn on that concept. He'd been selected for this project without his knowledge and his cooperation had, to some degree, been coerced. Spitballing with criminals who'd already been judged felt out of place for a prosecutor. A more productive way to spend his time would've been to return to his usual cases. That way, he could put more of these killers behind bars. Still, there was always that possibility that their research could bear fruit in the long run. That he could apply the insights he gleaned from it in the courtroom. Perhaps the profiles they compiled would serve to sharpen his sword, allowing him to prevent wrongful convictions, or even the crimes themselves. Aside from that, there was a very tempting reward at the end of this road. He would have to trek his way through the mud to reach the Phantom. “The next one, perhaps,” he said, tearing his gaze away from the ceiling and back to Athena. “D'accord! You'll love this one, I'm sure of it! Dahlia Hawthorne, convicted for the murder of her ex-boyfriend! There's two murders that everyone suspected she was involved in, but they couldn't prove it in court. Then a few more counts of confirmed attempted murder and-” Athena broke off quite suddenly, then groaned and tossed the papers aside. “Says there that she's already been executed. They must've given us her file by mistake.” Simon could almost feel his will to keep breathing leave his body. Almost. Distraction came in the form of Lang, who had entered the room so quietly that Simon hadn't even noticed him until he was standing right next to them. Though not exactly giving off a warm glow, he wasn't in a sour mood either. He was, if anything, pleasantly courteous. “Well well, if it isn't our part-time shrinks.” “Please refrain from using that word,” Simon said to him. “What, part-time?” “Hmph.” “Good to see you, Shifu,” Athena called cheerfully. Simon bit down on his feather, the muscles in his jaw straining. “Shifu?” “That's what everyone around here calls him! Didn't you know?” Athena chuckled, then pressed a fist against Simon's arm. “Don't worry, just because he's my shifu doesn't mean you can't be my sensei.” Simon opened his mouth, then closed it again. “How goes the hunt?” Lang asked, perhaps changing the subject on purpose. Athena propped her elbows up on the desk, one hand playing with her earring. “We're having some trouble selecting our next target. Most of the profiles we were given don't meet our criteria.” “Or they're outright deceased,” Simon snapped, waving a hand at the profile in question, which had been scattered across the floor by Athena's fling. “Let's see... Dahlia Hawthorne, huh? Sorry about that. Some people say her vengeful ghost still roams the courthouse. Maybe that's how her name got in there.” Lang gathered up the papers as he spoke, then clutched the folder under his arm and stood upright again. “What have you got from your first two subjects? Anything useful?” “Dee Vasquez and Roger Retinz are difficult to compare,” Athena mused. “Mr. Retinz's murder was carefully planned out, Ms. Vasquez's was a spur of the moment thing.” Lang shook his head. “We already knew that. I'm asking what you found out.” “The Diva Producer's murder has some stains of sexism on it, but they are just that. Irrelevant stains. She took a life because she was threatened, then covered it up because she believed she had done nothing to deserve the punishment in her future. Her remarks suggest that the target of her frame job was chosen out of convenience, not out of spite.” “Hmm.” “As for the Greasy Producer, he suffers from a very typical form of narcissism coupled with internalized insecurities and self-loathing born from childhood abuse. The most-” “Not so fast!” Lang stood up a bit straighter and for the first time since Simon had met him, he looked confused. “Don't narcissists think they're God's gift to the world? How can a guy be a narcissist and still have self-loathing?” Simon sighed and raised a hand to the bridge of his nose, pinching it. “You are not familiar with the concepts of implicit and explicit cognition?” “Uh.” “Explicit cognition,” Athena began, using a slow pace as she sorted out her words, “is something that a person does consciously. Like, say... Explicit memory is when you study for a test and try to memorize all the important things. You remember things because you make an effort to remember. Implicit cognition is a subconscious thing, like associating a certain smell or taste with a past event. Basically, implicit cognition influences a person's behavior, even when they themselves have no conscious awareness of it.” “To summarize, the Greasy Producer's explicit self-esteem is high in order to compensate for the implicit self-esteem, or lack thereof,” Simon concluded. “Though, he confessed to us as Mr. Reus that he is aware of the implicit issue. He did refer to himself as a 'fuck-up', in the end. He's simply unable to remedy the internal disorder and that leads to further chaos.” Lang leaned himself against the side of the desk and as he attempted to move his hands into his pockets, the Hawthorne folder almost slid out from under his arm. “Right. Okay, I get it. That's great stuff.” “While different in most aspects, Retinz and Vasquez did share one important similarity,” Athena pointed out. “They both believed that their victim deserved to die.” “And was that belief misguided?” Lang asked. “In Mr. Retinz's case? Definitely. But I'm not so sure when it comes to Ms. Vasquez. Did the police ever find out whether that Manuel guy was murdered or not?” “Dunno. I could ask around, but since the supposed killer is dead, opening an investigation now would be a waste of law-enforcement's time. Lang Zi says: There's no use crying over spilled milk.” Simon frowned and Athena clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. That was as far as either of them was willing to go when it came to ancient plagiarism. Spilled milk, indeed. Lang paused and glanced down at the pile of folders left on the desk. “So what's these criteria you have for interviews?” “We certainly cannot use too many of these blind panic murders,” Simon said. “If you wish to diagnose the illness which is plaguing this city, we ought to be focusing on the composed planners. The grand names who stood tall even within the prison walls. Gavin, Gant or Alba, perhaps.” “I'll let you talk to someone like Gant when I'm sure you can walk away from that with your heads held high. This unit hasn't exactly got much of a reputation for itself and the last thing we need is for the inmates to think we're weak little pups.” “Can you at least think of some inmates who went out of their way for the frame job? Like Mr. Retinz did?” Athena asked, once again playing with her earring. “... Yeah. Yeah, I got one. He should be in the archives somewhere. Poisoned a guy's coffee, then hid the body and acted out the murder all over again in disguise to fool witnesses. As soon as the blame was shifted onto some innocent waitress, he disguised himself as a defense attorney and botched up her trial on purpose.” “Warte ein moment... I think I heard about this.” “I'll bet you did.” “Mr. Wright's name sure keeps popping up in a lot of these cases...” Athena drummed her fingers along the desk, narrowed eyes directed towards the far wall. “What was that guy's name again? Umm... Cheeto...” “Furio Tigre,” said Lang. ------- Date: June 12th 2028 Time: 2:00 PM Location: Interview Room. Simon still remembered their next subject quite well. Tigre had been one of the loudest inmates in death row and that reputation was sure to continue until his execution. Any attempt at anger management had failed and so, the guards had instead allowed collateral damage. The amount of times they'd had to carry a broken desk or splintered fragments of a cot out of Tigre's cell, Simon couldn't count. It'd been once a week, perhaps. With that in mind, Simon steeled himself to protect Athena from physical harm. He also knew that he might have to lower himself down to Tigre's level in order to be heard. The door from the prison side opened and Tigre was led inside by two guards, each holding onto one enormous arm. Almost ten years in the clink and a ripe age of 51 had done nothing to break down the tough guy demeanor. He was tall and broad in every sense of the word, but not exactly untainted. His spiky black hair held streaks of white and a scar ran across his left eye. Worst of all, his skin was tinged with a spray tan so unconvincing that it would make Klavier Gavin look as if he’d genuinely spent due time in the sun. When it came to the presence of artificial tan within prison walls, Simon had stopped asking such questions long ago. That this man had ever attempted to pass for Phoenix Wright was laughable, but not as laughable as the knowledge that the entire courtroom had been fooled. “I AIN'T TALKIN' TO NO FEDS, YOUSE HEAR?!” he was shouting with such ferocity, Simon could feel the ground shudder. “GWOOOOAAAARRR! GET YOUSE HANDS OFFA ME, OR ELSE!” The therapy animal which entered behind them was so small and quiet, Simon wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't known to search for it. Once Tigre had been settled down in his chair, the two guards backed away with such apprehension, it was evident they expected he might require more restraining. Perhaps he would've, were it not for the immediate change in his attitude when his eyes landed on Simon. He smirked, fingers curling around the edge of the table and nails digging into the wood. “Well well weeell... If it ain't our old jailbird. How's life on the outside been treatin' youse?” “It has been treating me quite well. Certainly, I can get a night's sleep without being disturbed by raving fruitcakes such as yourself,” Simon responded, which was both a truthful statement and an attempt to put his foot down. “Watch yourself, Tweetie! Just 'cause youse got outta here don't mean I can't still break youse kneecaps! Where do youse get off, actin' all high and mighty?! You think youse better than us, huh?!” “As I did not truly stain my hands with blood of any kind... Yes, I believe I am.” “Feh! Youse stained your hands plenty! Just look at how many of us youse had tossed in here! We shoulda strung youse up so high not even your little bird could reach your carcass!” Simon had no immediate comeback to that. Believing he was on the same level as every single killer in the clink was the sort of weight he'd carried around plenty over the past seven years. Now that he was recovering, he couldn't very well allow Tigre to push him right back into that mindset. Even so, it was true that some of residents in death row had been moved there by his hand. “You need to stop your bellyaching!” Athena snapped at Tigre. “Who do you think you're kidding? You've got nothing else to do with your day, right? Then you might as well answer some questions for us!” Not at all fazed by her words, Tigre squinted his eyes at Athena. Then he glanced towards Simon. “What's dis, then? Youse need your girlfriend to hold your hand? I was expectin' a loser like youse to die a lonely virgin.” Simon was no stranger to the sharper sort of prison tongue. Even so, he felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation and raised a hand to his face. The last thing he needed or wanted was for anyone to believe Metis Cykes's daughter was his girlfriend. He wouldn't want the inmates to think that his partner for this project was his girlfriend, either. Such a thing could be very damaging towards the interview process. As for Athena herself, she kicked at Tigre from under the table, causing the man to yelp and jump up from his chair. The two guards were by his sides immediately. “I said cut the crap!” she yelled at him. “We're here for a serious project and if you won't participate, we'll walk right out of here! You can spend what's left of your miserable life all by yourself and nobody will be around to hear you scream!” A dreadful silence fell. Just as everyone else in the room, Simon found himself staring at Athena and never before had he seen a more formidable foe. The last thing he'd expected was for his investigative partner to lower herself to Tigre's level, certainly not in order to defend him. It hurt his pride more than the notion of 'dying a lonely virgin' ever could. Tigre seemed unnerved, this time. A single drop of sweat ran down his temple. He wrung his hands together and sat back down. “All right, all riiight... Women, right? So what's dis project?” Athena set the recorder down on the table and began the usual speech of the Behavioral Analysis Unit and their intended questions. As she did so, Simon watched Tigre go from tense to bored, then finally to lost. Perhaps the words had been too formal for his mind to comprehend. “Uhhh. So you're gonna do a pop quiz?” he ultimately asked. “Something like that. And we'll be recording it, if that's all right.” “I dunno about dis... Dat sounds like an invasion of... y'know, privacy.” “You don't need to do this if you don't want to,” Athena assured him. “Well, all right. I'll do it as long as I knows I don't gotta.” Athena frowned and sat back in her chair. If her impression of Tigre was already odd, it was nothing compared to what happened next. The man leaned down to pick something up from the ground and set it down in his lap. It was a hairless chihuahua, dressed in a pink jacket so bright that it could veer straight off the known color spectrum and phase itself out of reality. Simon knew better than to stare. Athena did not. “W-What...?” she asked. “GRAAAGH! What're'youse lookin' at?! Youse never seen a dog before?!” Tigre roared at her. The chihuahua in his lap trembled, but not because of the volume. It was simply a standard setting for the animal. “Of course I have! I just wasn't expecting...” “Youse take your eyes offa Mitzy right now, or youse can kiss your interview sayonara!” “Jeez, sorry!” Athena hastily began shuffling through her papers. “Let's just get started with some standard questions.” “And you will answer the lady with due respect, lest I slice your tongue from your filthy mouth,” Simon said, now that he'd finally found his voice again. “Yeah yeah...” Athena cleared her throat. “You're originally from New York, but you moved to Los Angeles when you were 28, is that right?” “Uhhh. I dunno. 28 sounds about right.” “You don't remember how old you were?” “Who cares how old I was?! What's dat change, huh?! If I moved, I moved!” Simon wondered whether the defensive attitude was hiding a far grander secret. If it were, they wouldn't get it out of Tigre too easily. They would need to manipulate him into it, just as they'd manipulated Retinz. Athena must've realized the same thing, for she proceeded towards a different angle. “So what made you decide to move in the first place?” “Damn, talk about nosy questions...” Tigre huffed loudly, then raised a hand to the chihuahua's head to pet it. He must've been quite gentle, as the tiny and fragile creature didn't so much as flinch at being stroked by enormous fingers. “I moved to L.A. because the people here are chumps.” “Chumps?” “Sure. Couldn't start a good loan company in a place like New York. Everyone's all wisened up to it. But here in L.A.? Hah! People are desperate to live dat big Hollywood dream!” Athena stopped to take a few notes. As she did, Simon decided to try and take some lead in the conversation, or else be completely emasculated. No other inmate would take him seriously if that were to happen. “What of the family you left behind?” he asked. Tigre frowned. “What about 'em?” “Were you still in touch with them? Would you return to New York for the holidays, perhaps? I would assume the Tigre family gathers 'round a nice, dead antelope for Thanksgiving.” “Grrrrr... I told youse to watch yourself, Tweetie,” Tigre growled at him. “What do I care about family when I've got a business to run? Holidays were a huge cash-in moment. Lotsa new loans goin' out, too. Everybody wanted to buy their missus a new sports car, see, and then another one for de mistress.” “Not even a season's greetings was sent to New York, then?” Simon asked, only to receive a deadpan in response. “You did have family, did you not? Or were you perhaps raised by a pack of tigers in some Brooklyn back alley?” “ARE YOUSE MOCKIN' ME?! WHY, I ATTA SMACK YOU SO HARD-” “Hold it, hold it!” Athena called, raising both hands to try and put a stop to further argument. “We're getting off track, here. Let's talk about something else instead, all right?” Tigre seemed content to do just that and Simon made sure to shoot a grin his way. “This whole story about how you murdered Mr. Elg and why you did it is really complicated. Do you think you could explain what happened in your own words?” Athena asked. Somehow, the question seemed to irritate Tigre. He tisked loudly and glared towards the wall. Following that, he ran his fingers along Mitzy's head, then under her chin as he spoke. “I needed money, see. On account a' Viola's operation. And it was damned idiotic. I had people all over town owin' me money, but none a' those losers could pay up. Not a dime! So I met with Elg, see. He was gonna gimme some fancy schmancy virus I coulda sold on the black market for millions. It woulda paid off my debt to Viola's family just like dat. Then as we're sittin' there, havin' our coffee, dat wise guy goes and wins the damned lottery! 500,000 big ones! He woulda paid off his measly 100,000 debt and left me in the lurch, see. It was the millions I needed. Way I figured, that was what he owed me for keepin' me waitin', too. Interest, y'know. So I killed 'im and took the virus.” Simon felt that there was quite a bit to unpack, there. Far more than they currently had time for. They'd have to pick this apart piece by piece, just as an attorney would cross-examine in court. “You killed a man because you believed he owed you more money than he truly did?” he heard himself ask, despite knowing deep down that was hardly the best approach. “What about it, huh?! You wanna go?!” Tigre grabbed at his prison uniform with both hands, looking just about ready to rip the fabric. What that would accomplish, Simon had no idea. “Stai calmo,” Athena said. “Let's take it from the beginning. You mentioned something about an operation for someone named Viola?” “Y-Yeah...” Tigre was back to absentmindedly fiddling with Mitzy now, his fingers adjusting her jacket. “Was she your girlfriend?” “No- Well- See... Viola's from a real influential family...” “The Cadaverinis, I believe,” Simon supplied, once again throwing a smirk Tigre's way. “They are the biggest mob family here in this 'chump-filled' city. Should one disrespect a Cadaverini, one will find themselves wearing concrete shoes at the bottom of Los Angeles River. If I recall correctly, this tiger sitting before us crossed Viola Cadaverini's car in the most unfortunate way possible and she did not walk away unscathed.” Tigre's eyes narrowed into a ferocious glare. “So... Wait, Mr. Tigre wanted to pay for Viola's operation because he was the one who caused the accident that hurt her in the first place?” Athena rubbed at her own chin, looking doubtful of the story. “Listen! I had to pay!” Tigre shouted at them. “Ol' man Bruto woulda had my head if I didn't! Those damned Cadaverinis! They think they can just make a guy do anythin'!” Athena raised a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. Widget was glowing a bright yellow through her fingers. “... You didn't feel bad that someone ended up in the hospital because of you?” “I had the right a' way! She was the one who didn't look before zooming into the street! And I was the one drivin' a scooter! If anyone shoulda been hospitalized, it woulda been me! But nooo, I got lucky on account a' my helmet and she has to go crack her skull on the steerin' wheel! How's that my fault, huh?!” For a split second, Simon thought that Furio made a good point. If indeed he'd had the right of way and Cadaverini hadn't been paying attention, it would've been hard to fault him for the accident. Then Simon remembered just who they were sitting across and came to the conclusion that the only victim of this story was Viola Cadaverini, who would be fooled by such a despicable man. "She wouldn't just let it go, either!" Tigre was still raving on and on. "Me bein' sentenced to death still wasn't good enough! Dat fuckin' BITCH tried to poison me while I was in here! What, just 'cause I tried to take care a' her?! Who cares if I loved her or if I didn't?! I was doin' right by her by tryin' to pay off dat hospital bill and givin' her a job and shit! Now she's snatched my damn business! Tender Lender was MINE, you hear?!" Athena drew a deep breath, Widget still emanating a yellow glow. Knowing what that color meant, Simon placed his arm on the table and leaned in towards Tigre. "If you don't cease your caterwauling this instant, I will have you muzzled!" "Up yours!" was Tigre's response, though he simmered down all the same. A nimble shake of the head, then Athena continued. “So you took Mr. Elg's virus by force, as it was the only way for you to pay off the Cadaverinis. Could you not simply have stolen it without killing him?” “What, and have him come for me with a buncha coppers? I woulda been the prime suspect once he'd figured out the virus was missin'!” Athena squinted, then turned her gaze towards Simon. He couldn't quite fight off the smile that was dawning on his face, so he allowed it to flourish there. When at last it became clear that Tigre wasn't seeing the problem with his logic, Simon took delight in sharing just that. “Forgive me, Tony Tiger, I must ask,” he prompted with mock delicacy, acting as if he were speaking to a toddler. “What sort of fool would report to the police to inform them that a powerful computer virus, crafted by his own hand, has been stolen? I would daresay that producing malware is an even worse crime than lifting the CD it is on. Had you taken it from him by force or through an underhanded ploy, such a weak man would not have been able to do a thing to prevent it.” Tigre looked dumbstruck, another pearl of sweat rolling down his face. Simon could swear that the spray tan was mingling into it. Three seconds of silence, then Tigre was roaring yet again. “GRRROOOAARRR, YOUSE MOCKIN' ME! I KNEW IT! DAT'S IT, I'M OUTTA HERE!” Sure enough, Tigre made to stand up, cradling Mitzy firmly with both hands. The two guards looked quite uncertain. Athena rose to her feet as well, darting forward to block Tigre's path. Simon was by her side immediately, ready to shield her, should there be a need. Fortunately, Tigre's hands were so full of chihuahua that he couldn't land a punch even if he wanted to. “Wait, wait, just one more question!” she insisted, spreading out her arms. “... What?” “I can understand why you might re-enact the murder to establish an alibi and shift the blame for the murder onto someone else. But why did you...” she trailed off for a second and Simon could swear she was fighting off amusement. “Why did you impersonate a defense attorney? Wasn't the phony murder already good enough to have Ms. Byrde convicted for your crime?” “Pssshh, please. Just 'cause I was a humble loan shark, you think I hadn't heard about all those miraculous turnabouts that kept happenin' in court whenever Wright was involved? I couldn't risk havin' him figure out the murder I set up was a sham.” “Hold on... Are you saying you did it because you felt threatened by Mr. Wright?” “WHO'S THREATENED?! YOU SAYIN' I'M A COWARD?! NOBODY CALLS ME CHICKEN! JUST 'CAUSE HE'S GOT A NICE, COZY BLUE SUIT AND A HALF-ASSED LAW DEGREE, YOUSE THINK HE'S BETTER THAN ME?! WRIGHT'S GOT NOTHIN' ON ME! I COULDA FLATTENED HIM LIKE A PANCAKE! I COULDA SNAPPED HIM IN HALF LIKE A TWIG! FUCK HIM AND HIS LITTLE GIRL SIDEKICKS!” “I was only-” Tigre wouldn't hear any more, instead snapping at Simon. “And YOU! Tryin' to make me out like some kinda idiot! HAH! You really do think you're better than us, movin' right from prison into some big ivory tower on your high horse! If dis is how your little science project works, good luck with the rest of the killers in here! The guards are gonna be scrapin' your guts offa dese here walls and I will fuckin' laugh and LAUGH!” Much as Simon yearned to spout a comeback, he knew that it would be a pointless battle. The only way for him to come out victorious was to be above Tigre's rage, for being dragged down by it would take him to depths he'd rather not see. He crossed his arms over his chest and met the man's gaze with fierce eyes of his own. “Mr. Tigre, please don't-” Athena attempted, but it was no good. “GOOD DAY, MADAM!” Tigre stormed from the room so fast, the two guards had to rush after him in a panic. The moment the door slammed shut behind them, silence fell. Simon stopped the recording device and began to gather up his papers, a feeling of uncertainty nagging at him. Had they just single-handedly ruined the interview? What would Lang say when he found out about this? “... As always, Tony Tiger allowed his emotions to get the best of him. Had he been able to channel his anger into something productive, he would've led quite a successful life,” he remarked, if only to lighten the mood. Athena stared at him. “Simon... Did you seriously not get it?” “Get what?” “Mr. Tigre... He was never angry. Not once during the entire conversation. He was afraid.” “Afraid?” “Afraid of the Cadaverinis, afraid of Mr. Wright, afraid of our questions... I think he was even afraid of what you think of him, now that you're acquitted.” The notion was so backwards that it took a long time to truly sink in. When at last it did, Simon found himself walking away from the prison with a smile and a light, bubbly feeling in his chest. To Be Continued

[scarlettlawyer]

Next attempt: Shelly de Killer and Pearl Fey!

Shelly de Killer:

- I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

- favorite thing about them: THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF ELEGANCE AND MURDER. HE’S JUST SO GREAT!!! I love the aura of absolute calm and aesthetic interlaced with imminent threat. Well, not absolute calm. He can certainly lose his patience. But he's not really one to raise his voice. It’s a quiet and terrifying anger if invoked. The veneer of calm is part of the gentleman aesthetic; the hint of anger is the imminent threat. Outside of his being angry, however, it’s still the same: even if he’s not angry at you, his mere job makes him intimidating. That’s inescapable. But his polite demeanour is still there. The combination of those things is fantastic. He will kill you if he must but damn if he isn’t going to do it in style.

- least favorite thing about them: I actually did have a reply to this come to mind, possibly connected to AAI2, and yet it slipped away shortly thereafter and now I cannot recall it, and after losing the actual reply I had I’ve honestly sat here struggling to come up with something. Like there were moments when I enjoyed his character a bit less, but... Hard to just list off a least favourite thing from that.

- ship(s): ...Oldbag. You have done this; you have planted this idea in the mind of my friend and I. Like okay I don’t actually ship it in canon OR in your fic, but the thought of it is so out there, and therefore amusing. And then my friend came up with this amazing JFA au running with the idea so, I do “ship” it specifically in the context of her au ahahaha. I love my friend’s idea of... him liking her and her not really being aware of it? Because it’s a reversal of what’s usually the case in canon. Let a guy be interested in her for once and have her be unaware of it. XD

Also just gonna tack this fic-related message(s) on randomly too but FOR CONTEXT TO BE FAIR THIS WAS before I read the ending which actually does address the death of Wendy’s husband and before the actual dynamic between Oldbag, Shelly and Benny had been elaborated on by the story:

(I ACTUALLY MEANT IN THE SENSE OF HAVING BEEN HIRED BY SOMEONE TO KILL MR OLDBAG BUT THEN MY FRIEND WAS LIKE “HOW DO I MAKE THIS ABOUT THE SHIP” LOL). Okay but maybe Mr Oldbag could have been an important figure in an au that someone would have reason to assassinate 🤔 :P

- BROTP(s): I guess Sirhan Dogen is the main candidate for this, although I haven’t thought about their interactions too much!

- NOTP(s): I don’t think I’ve really seen any Shelly shipping haha...

- Game/case where I like them more: Gonna go with standard JFA case for this one, but AAI2 case 1 is also just really awesome. Particularly the whole hostage thing to help Edgeworth’s investigation out.

- Random headcanon: Not headcanons about the character himself but rather in relation to him; I like to imagine how scandalised Phoenix would be if he heard that yes, Shelly de Killer, that guy Edgeworth and law enforcement at large are so intent on apprehending? The guy who kidnapped Maya? Edgeworth totally spoke kinda casually with the guy a bunch of times, and was even assisted by Shelly (you could even stretch this to perhaps argue that he COOPERATED with Shelly). Even saw Shelly face to face during AAI2 and had a chat with him. Well, yes, context, but... :P Especially without context, Phoenix would not be pleased. Not that Edgeworth would readily offer up this information to him. I think Edgeworth is in a slightly awkward position with regards to Shelly post-AAI2, at least slightly more than before, given how much help Shelly was and now having actually interacted with him in person.

Another thing I was thinking of recently is that... I think that there could be a very secretive and select group of individuals working for law enforcement SPECIFICALLY dedicated to trying to arrest Shelly and gathering as much info as possible. A highly skilled and dedicated team of say 5-10 people, and all of the information they deal with, and about them, is absolutely top secret. The group itself is secret, even, because this is dangerous work. They’re all about trying to track him down, analysing all the data they’ve gathered, you name it. Not that they have much success. But they would also over time probably veer more towards less conventional methods. Delving deeper into the criminal underworld for information, going undercover... Honestly? The closest they might come to actually getting a hold of the guy in person... is to go undercover as a client. Finding out how to hire him. It’s an awfully dangerous game they would be playing and their covers would have to be airtight.

- Unpopular opinion: I wasn’t sure how I felt about him sparing Simon. I really gotta replay AAI2, get my thoughts in order. This ties in with the “least favourite” question but I wasn’t too sure about the whole thing where Simon was considered to have broken the bond of trust for not saying it was a double and yeah I just gotta, replay the game haha. But... if a client normally recounts the ENTIRETY of the circumstances to him, expected not to leave anything out, as opposed to a simple “I want this person dead”, then I suppose that makes sense....Actually, wrong question for this but I’ll add it as a headcanon anyway: when Shelly meets with a client, part of establishing that bond of trust is kind of like the client “confiding” everything thoroughly to him, like telling a story of everything connected to, and culminating in the assassination request. He wants to know not only the who, but the why. What’s the client’s connection to and history with the target? Was there a time when they got along, were they always enemies? Is it just a political or corporate matter? It’s not about justification - Shelly doesn’t care how “justified” a client is and he certainly doesn’t judge. He just listens. None of the added information is necessary to complete the job, but divulging so much information is a demonstration of trust and helps make it clear this person is real with motivations and not an undercover person trying to arrest him or something like that. It’s also kind of an added bonus to get to hear some of the tales of intrigue that result from such meetings with clients. In the context of something like this, omitting the fact that the “president” was a double is a very serious offense.

I was gonna go on another tangent but this is already long enough lol.

----

Pearl Fey

- I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

(I do love her! Just not with as much intensity as some of the other characters this series has).

- favorite thing about them: She is adorable incarnate, she is strong, and very cute

- least favorite thing about them: The fact that she was not allowed to grow as a character at all post-timeskip. I have so many complaints about older!Pearl. They took a ~17 year old character and forced her into the exact same role and characterisation as a ~nine year old! She is restricted and kept the same, and it feels deeply unnatural and kind of uncomfortable to me. The whole thing around her height too, like... why did they go out of their way to make her so short and tiny? To reinforce that we are still supposed to see her as a 9 year old? I love trilogy Pearl, I love her so much, but I find older Pearl so boring and so uninspired on top of that undercurrent of discomfort. They did nothing new with her, but in a uniquely and unnaturally limiting way in the sense that she is trapped as her trilogy self. After the timeskip the games appear to have a weird preoccupation with infantilising her because I guess they think connecting back to the trilogy (instead of doing something new) is the only way to keep us caring about her??

And like... Yes, Pearl embodies and encapsulates the cuteness and innocence of children. That’s a big part of her character and I love her for it, and I would therefore be reluctant to let that go. There’s nothing wrong with preserving stuff like that when she’s older. All I’m asking is for the games to actually put at least one new spin on her; SOMETHING that can distinguish her from her younger self so I’m not left feeling like she did not change at all in nearly ten years. A slightly different design, one (1) distinct new and different thing that sets her apart from (and potentially at odds with) her younger self, and I’d probably be happy. I don’t like what they did with her hair either. It sucks. Should’ve gone with the gorgeous inverted pretzel style.

Anyway I want to be given a reason to care about and be invested in older Pearl, an older Pearl trait that I can love older Pearl for...

- ship(s): Trupearl can be cute, but I don’t think about shipping much at all seeing as I vastly prefer her younger self, haha.

- BROTP(s): General “Pearl getting along with the gang” type dynamics haha.

- NOTP(s): Well, I do not like any implication that she has a crush on Marlon or vice versa. I really don’t like that.

- Game/case where I like them more: I’m not sure ahah. Good thing I’m trying to work through the games in Chinese on youtube so maybe I can brush up on my AA knowledge a bit.

- Random headcanon: Ok made this one up just now: When she’s slightly older she adopts the term “Narumayo” for her shipping of Phoenix and Maya. At least, the Japanese version of her where the characters have their Japanese names... lol. I guess her English-speaking self tried but failed to come up with a good name as the counterpart headcanon. Mayanix?

Actually, I guess another headcanon would be her being a hardcore shipper for any media she’s invested in. She moves away from shipping real people and onto characters, channelling all that energy elsewhere.

Or honestly, she could stick with real people and either become an Ace Matchmaker or overall consistently terrible matchmaker. Either’s good. If you combine the two, she could try to matchmake what seems to be an absolutely horrendous pair/combination of people, only for it to actually work.

- Unpopular opinion: Well, I think I already got quite opinionated above, and nothing really comes to mind to reply to this with. I might have been too harsh on older Pearl, but everything I wrote is what I genuinely felt and the impression that I was left with. That impression may be false, I’m not sure, but yeah.

[zonaraze]

Franziska von Karma!

awww yeah, my girl!

Why I like them:

What’s not to like? She’s perfect! But seriously, she’s a badass and her growth from AA2 to the Investigations games makes her one of the most interesting characters of AA, imo.

Why I don’t:

I’ll admit that sometimes she can be a bit unreasonable and attack people for minor things, but considering her past and the reasons she acts the way she does, I think I can let it slide. But also she sometimes treats Gumshoe like trash, and he doesn’t deserve that. Give Gumshoe a raise 2k19

Favorite episode/season/movie/etc:

There are so many good moments, but I guess I’ll go with 2-4, especially the ending with Miles. It shows her turning point, where she realizes that she has to rethink what her father’s actions and the von Karma legacy means to her and how she can move on from that.

Favorite line:

Again, haven’t played AA in a while so I can’t remember anything specific, so instead I’ll just name one of my favorite moments with her: when she sympathizes with Sebastian after he finds out the truth about his father. That gave me The Feels

Favorite outfit:

Pretty sure she only has the one outfit, but I love that design. It fits the von Karma aesthetic but it’s so much better and less ridiculous than Miles’ or Manfred’s outfits.

OTP:

Franmaya! They’re really cute together and I think Maya’s enthusiasm could show her that it’s okay to relax and have fun every once in a while.

BroTP:

Her and Miles is the obvious choice here, but I’m gonna go with Franziska and Lang instead, I love them so much. It’s pretty subtle in the Investigations games but I think they have sort of become friends working in Interpol together and especially in AAI2 Lang obviously respects her and vice versa.

Headcanon:

We haven’t seen her since AAI2 because she’s working with Interpol as an international prosecutor now and she’s too busy to deal with Phoenix and Miles

Unpopular opinion:

Do I have any unpopular opinions about her...? I can’t think of any at the moment.

A wish:

Let Franziska and Ema be a prosecutor-detective team! They’d be awesome together! And then let Athena go against her in court! ...Honestly, I just want Franziska to show up again.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen:

Thinking of that joke post where someone said it would be a good move to kill her off in AA7 LOL PLEASE DON’T

5 words to best describe them:

I only need one: Perfect (that sentence is 5 words though)

My nickname for them:

Fran, maybe Franzy? I think Larry calls her that at some point

[gyakutengagotoku]

If you were the an Executive, Producer or some other kind of superior that has the authority at Capcom during the making of the Ace Attorney-series, would there be cases that you would order to be rewritten or designs of characters you would order to be changed?

Yes. Loads of things, really. Because I’m more of a writer than, say, a producer, I think of the cases from the perspective of their scenarios, rather than what churns the most bucks or what would be most time-efficient. I probably wouldn’t make a very good executive in that case, but hey, that’s makes me a writer.

For the record, I don’t find any particular case in the canon “bad”. Some may be disappointing, but “disappointment” comes in so many flavors other than “bad”.

While I could discuss every single case in detail and what I would offer that may improve on them, they would make up an entire book(let) on their own. So, I’ll just drop a few pointers on the general direction of the series and the games. Hey, they can make good writing advice too.

1. Innovate for the sake of innovating, not for the sake of hype.

I feel this is something that is lacking among many amateur and professional writers, alike. Sometimes these authors just want to throw in a huge twist into the drama just for shock value. It’s fair to want to hype up your story, but if you’re able to write suspense well, you don’t need a big twist. A little one that catches the reader’s attention for a bit is enough.

Since AA has a long-running history of building upon previous surprises and twists, I notice entry after entry, the devs keep trying too hard to raise the stakes and ultimately go overboard. Yes, finale cases should be more exciting and investing than the previous cases, but that doesn’t mean they have to be much longer or more complicated than the rest. 2-4 is a good example of keeping things simple throughout, yet still very suspenseful up until the very end. But then 3-5 turned the dial up a notch and made things quite convoluted, and from there, the problem only grew worse. (I can’t vouch for DGS2, since I haven’t finished it, but so far, I’m starting to see a sort of lag by case 3 and I’m not entirely sure why, since it’s supposed to be so plot-relevant.)

2. Manage the pace of the story.

In many other games that tend to separate the main plot from sidequests and substories, it can be a little difficult keeping the player on track, since it’s entirely up to the player’s choice to continue the story whenever they want. However, the central game mechanic to AA is following its single, linear story. There is the option to wander around and poke at Charley or other inanimate objects, but they amount to some extra fluff text and don’t affect the pacing that much.

As a result, I can be more critical of pacing issues in these games. As much as games like AAI2, DD, SoJ, and DGS1-2 are lauded, and I do agree they are all great, but I always have pacing issues with them. I never did with the first three games. Now, why is that? I think it may have to do with how the cases are organized.

The original trilogy keeps pace rather well by cutting the segments rather cleanly into blocks. This is very apparent in the game script files, as you know exactly when and where makes a good breakpoint for a run. The third game has a bit more bulk to it than the first two (not counting the long and dragged-out RftA), not just because it has 5 cases, but because the 5 cases are more expansive.

From there on, the way the games and their respective scripts are organized become much more convoluted. The scripts are designed to flow just as well when playing, but I more often than not pick up on segments of dialogue that seem to reiterate too much on previously given info or are just unnecessary for gags that are jammed in, rather than subtly slipped in. This setup of reiteration is good for those fans who regularly take breaks, but many others want to keep going until the checkpoints, which do make good breakpoints. Unfortunately, those checkpoints are often unevenly placed. See, even with T&T’s supposedly convoluted cases, Takumi managed to keep the pace relatively even across the whole game. Now that’s impressive.

It’s probably this reason that I don’t find RftA as impressive as the cases in T&T. There’s such a huge dissonance in structure between the first four cases of PW:AA and RftA, and the latter really drains me after a while.

3. Encourage more realistic/human-like characteristics in gag characters.

It may confound fans who don’t like Wendy Oldbag, Lotta Hart, Larry Butz, Maggey Byrde, etc., but they’re popular for a very simple reason: Despite being comedic relief that are constantly up to no good or otherwise caught up in laughable situations, they become adored for their child-like behavior and/or satire, and occasionally when they do actual good, it’s pretty memorable. These are traits that everyone has to some extent, some more so than others, so they are relatable that way. Thanks to their popularity, they get to stay as recurring characters.

In contrast, take characters like Phineas Filch or Solomon Starbuck (sorry, man, but you do fit this) or Bucky Whet, and I think you all can see the difference. They’re not nearly as commonly lauded because they’re characters that feel less human and more like gags that fill particular roles in their respective cases. While Larry, Wendy, and Lotta have been around longer, the problem is also present for the performers of Berry Big Circus, Wesley Stickler, Spark Brushel, and plenty from AAI… The list goes on.

Obviously, there are plenty of other case-exclusive characters from those same cases that don’t have this problem, or at least don’t have as much of a problem. It just goes to show how effective a character in role can be to tell a story, and sometimes, comedy-relief characters are needed to fill the gaps, but if they’re not given anything else, they’re basically stereotypes taken physical form.

4. Give your villains’ characters at least some level of complexity.

This one’s subjective, so please bear with me. I know motives involving money or fame or power are easy to use because they’re very effective motives in real life, but villains who go through such complex and twisted murders, equating those of nigh-perfect crimes, just for something so basic as filling a debt or coming out on top, are a little disappointing.

It’s why villains like White, L’Belle, Tiala, Engarde, Alba, Phantom, Blaize Debeste, and even Kristoph Gavin come off as weak, at least to me.

Engarde is, plain and simple, an egotistic, two-faced sociopath. We aren’t given anything else but the bad to his character, thus making him quite one-sided. It works in the context of the case, especially when contrasted with the likes of de Killer, but other than that, he really isn’t much of a “character”, so to speak. He’s just there as the catalyst of the incident and someone to blame for all the evil.

Meanwhile, Blaize is much better, but he still comes off as disappointing, especially since we’ve already met with an authority figure who managed to capture our attention and humor us, but still ended up as the villain: Gant. They’re both corrupt old men in high positions, and yet I find Gant so much more fascinating than Blaize. Gant has a side to him that makes him likable, at least up to when he reveals he’s not so pure-hearted, but he did return to that likable side when he accepted defeat. Blaize, on the other hand, simply hollowed out into an empty shell, and we see no form of regret from him afterward - not even an apology to his son or any instance of acting fatherly. Granted, it was done this way to give Sebastian some much-needed development, so I’m not surprised.

Kristoph is a bit different from the rest here because it’s not necessarily the writer’s fault. He’s the only one who gets to have 5 mysterious black psyche-locks over his ultimate motive for killing Zak Gramarye. Some fans theorize that he couldn’t accept that he was simply jealous of Zak; others suggest he blotted out any feeling of inferiority; even others say he honestly didn’t know why. I can lean toward the first two, but I also say it’s just poorly executed ambiguous writing that had to have an imperfect explanation retconned in by DD. Speculation over a character’s motives is good, but when it’s then forgotten into history and never mentioned or referenced ever again, I really have to wonder if the point itself was to incite speculation? If so, that sucks; we’ll never know the truth.

In short, I’m not a fan of villains who are “evil for the sake of evil”. All these characters (and then some) fit that trope one way or another, but at least the last two are well suited in the context they play.

Sorry that this answer got so long-winded, but your question was so open that I wasn’t sure how much I should cover. I hope it isn’t too verbose.

[objectionabl3-blog]

-- Rules --

Hey! Welcome to this brand new blog! I’m still trying to figure out what exactly I’m doing. I don’t know how active I’ll manage to be, but I’ve been bit by the Ace Attorney bug (again) and I’d love to get some RPing done, if possible!

- I’m semi-selective. I’ll role play with anyone, mutuals or non-mutuals, but I’m saying I’m semi-selective, just in case since I can be a little picky at times. If your blog’s super inaccessible or your writing is very aesthetic, it’s likely I might not interact with you.

- I am in fact over 18. I’d rather not RP smut on blog, though. Suggestive stuff is fine, but anything farther than that is fade-to-black. (No suggestive stuff with muses under 18 though! Get outta here with that!)

- I’m a little behind in the series. I played through most of the games back in 2014/2015, so… I might be a little dumb to some things, but I am working through a replay, so hopefully, that won’t last forever. Beyond that, the games I explicitly haven’t played yet are Spirit of Justice, AAI2, Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton, and the DGS games, and while I’d like to avoid spoilers where I can, I don’t mind RPing with characters I don’t necessarily know yet.

- I’ll be pretty selective on shipping. (Sorry!) I’m very stuck on Wrightworth and I will be ready and down for that, but in all honesty, I'm not much of a multishipper, especially with OTPs like Wrightworth is for me, so if you want something outside of that, I might not be 100% willing.

Beyond that, though, I won’t ignore canon! So, if you have a canon pairing in mind, I won’t just erase it and will usually enjoy writing it to character, but I won’t always necessarily ship it. Lastly, at the end of the day, I’m entirely a chemistry shipper! 

My only thing is that I will not do larger age gap ships or age gap ships where one is under twenty and the other over twenty. They make me highly uncomfortable for very, very personal reasons and that will be the end of that. Thank you. (Note: this is also something I might avoid you for. I'm trying to not think of it too much for the sake of RPing, but this really does make me truly unnerved and it isn't something I can help. Please understand that.)

- OC-friendly and multi-fandom welcome. This… might end up being something I’m a little more selective about, too, but I like leaving my options open! Don’t be afraid to interact or hit me with a DM!

- Discord. If you prefer role playing on Discord, don't be afraid to hit me up over DMs! I'm happy to RP over there instead!

- Don’t reblog my art! I’ve chosen to do little doodles for this blog, but I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about what this blog is about and I don’t want to risk my art blowing up on this blog over my main. If you want me to post something so you can reblog it though, feel free to let me know and I’ll slap it on my main just for you.

The same goes for my writing. I’d really prefer if you didn’t reblog anything you aren’t involved in RP wise, but if I write up something that isn’t necessarily for role play and you’d like to reblog it, let me know and I’ll post it somewhere you can share it.

-- About --

I’m not too good at doing the same big write-ups as everyone else, but I thought I’d just clear some basic stuff up!

I’ll play Phoenix at any age and any point in his timeline! Just make sure to clarify what you want or I’ll most likely default to Phoenix in a vague point in the Trilogy timeline, unless your muse is from one of the later games, obviously.

I prefer Phoenix with brown/black eyes over the more recent blue, but I won’t kill you for saying blue if you decide to write it that way.

My Phoenix is bi! It’s probably still something he never really thought about, but he knows he’s attracted to most people regardless.

(Oh, and if you’re looking for other characters, I also run a multimuse over at @turnaboutanything!)

As for the mun, I was originally avoiding saying too much about who I am, but I have no self control and my personal blog is sort of indirectly linked here now, anyway. Whoops! So, if you're wondering:

I'm Alistair! I go by he/him pronouns and if you want to shorten my name, I prefer Stair!

I have 9+ years of role play experience and, maybe... only solid month or two of tumblr RP experience, but I don't think that matters too much, honestly. I was 4 - 5 years into RPing and I still didn't even know how to solidly give people enough to respond to. I think I've gotten better, though. I hope so, anyway.

If I'm ever late to respond, it's because I have ADHD and depression which is a very fun combo for productivity. I go through phases of being productive or not being productive at all which I apologize for, but unfortunately, I do the most that I can about it.

If you do ever really want me to respond, feel free to nudge me about it, though! As long as it doesn't turn into nagging, sometimes I do need the reminder, especially if it's been a while because I start to get scared you'll be upset at me for not responding. (I also get stuck on responses sometimes because I won't know where to go with it and messaging me usually gives me the kick I need to ask about it, too!)

If you just want to be friends, I am SUPER SUPER open to that. I love talking to people and I love making friends, so really, don't be afraid to DM me! I want to hear from you, especially if you want to talk to me.

[askaceattorney]

(Previous Letter)

Dear dawsongfg,

Mod Edgeworth: I don’t recall ever including Edgeworth blushing when I answered that letter.

(^ THAT is a blushing Edgeworth sprite) Though, I do agree, he’s hot. Oh wow, is it getting hot in here? Mods, help.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

Mod Edgeworth: You will have to ask Mod Justice about that, since he likely deleted them, if they haven’t been seen already. I’ve already said my piece here, so I will not repeat myself.

Honestly, it’s not that big of a deal and is water under the bridge at this point.

Mod Justice: If you must know, they were insulting me because I’m “Mod Justice” and he hated Apollo Justice. That’s it. And I am still a bit salty about that.

(Referenced Letters)

Dear Dawsongfg,

Mod Edgeworth: I’m sorry about that. Tumblr is messing with other people’s letters too. Some will show without any paragraph skips. 

If you have noticed the lack of paragraphs skipping to the next paragraph (Pay attention to this Gumshoe “Letty” Fan), use HTML formatting. use <p> and </p> between each paragraph and <br> and </br> between paragraphs you only wish to skip halfway. We sincerely apologize for this.

Co-Mod: I’m sorry, too.

(That such a picture exists.)

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Dawsongfg,

Mod Edgeworth: I love AAI2. It’s my favorite AA game. Though, why did you reference that link?

As for the second question, neither. I’m a bunny person.

I WANT ALL OF THEM!!

Co-Mod: Same here!  (About loving AAI2, I mean.)  As I’ve mentioned before, it was the only AA game in the series that made me cry, plus I loved learning more about the DL-6 incident and what led up to it.  Not to mention the plot twists were as clever as ever.

As someone who’s taken care of both dogs and cats, I love them both, but if I had to choose, I’d go with cats.  They’re lighter, cuddlier, and less rambunctious, plus they even bathe themselves.

Mod Justice: Both are cute, but I’m DEATHLY allergic to cats. Gonna have to go with the doggos on this one.

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: Hey there!  Has Adrian been taking good care of you?

asdgkjlllllc

vvuoiyjjjjjjjjjjoipa

Ahem...  Please get off my keyboard.

Mod Edgeworth: Away from my bun-bun, you heathen!

(Previous Letter)

Dear dawsongfg,

Co-Mod: Yep!  According to Google Translate, the Japanese word for “good night” is “oyasuminasai,” or just “oyasumi,” which is where I got “Imu Sayo” from.  I just realized that’s not much of an anagram, though, considering it’s just the same word spelled backward and split into two.

Dear dawsongfg,

Mod Edgeworth: Hello, Oldbag. At least I don’t go chasing after anyone that’s young enough to be my child or grandson. But sure, if you wanna compete for dat ass, I’ll be more than happy to oblige. Normally, I’d be humble enough to say I have no chance, but considering I am 29, young, have color in my hair and lack any wrinkles, last I checked, I say you’ve already lost this contest before it begun. Not to say I had a chance to win the heart of a fictional character, but I can dream.

(8/10 is my rating)

Co-Mod: ..........Are you finished?

(A little too good, in my opinion.)

(Picture in Letter)

(Referenced Letters: 1 2 3 4 5)

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: Thanks for sharing the image, first of all.  I never would’ve thought an adult Shantae could look so fine before I saw her.  Now I’m a believer.

To answer your question...because Tumblr.

If you want, you can resubmit those letters, and we’ll re-answer them ASAP, or let you know if the images still didn’t load.

Mod Edgeworth: Because of what Tumblr is doing with the anonymous letters, it’s best you send a link to the pictures in its full url. We will make sure to show the picture in our letters. We’re sorry about this.

(Previous Post)

Dear sweetlaive3,

Co-Mod: Just to be clear, we meant that we’ve made it through all the consecutive mobile posts.  There are still a bunch mixed in with the non-mobile ones, but we’ve made it past the ones that we accidentally skipped for so long.

Oh, and here’s some good news -- Tumblr got their stuff together, and we can now see all letters on our laptops!  Way to be, devs!

Mod Edgeworth: Oh? You mean this letter?

I know, we are far behind on letters. We are now in March, wait.... now it’s April. Please keep in mind that we do answer each letter accordingly. 

While there are some exceptions to this where we may answer a letter you wrote earlier first before the later one, that is usually because one mod may not know how to answer that letter. There were times I had to leave certain letters out for Co-Mod to answer and vice versa. Mod Justice also has left us letters to answer before as well. While I don’t recall that particular letter being one I or Mod Justice left for Co-Mod, it’s possible Co-Mod may’ve snatched that letter and needed time to answer it. I don’t do that, but Co-Mod sometimes does that. 

Either way, we do intend to answer any letter that stays within the rules, even if they take time to answer. The only letters we delete are those that don’t follow the rules. 

(Referenced Post)

Dear dawsongfg,

Co-Mod: She only did that with Mod Kristoph, thankfully.  The rest of us were just hit on the head by her “minions” (we didn’t see who they were, but I guess that’s irrelevant).  And it so happens that I do have black hair.  Dark brown, at least.  You did see the GIF of me after the 2018 April Fools’ Day gag, right?

Dear Anonymous,

Mod Edgeworth: Of course and thank you for your letter. It is greatly appreciated.

Co-Mod: You’re welcome, and thank you!  I’m just glad the delight is still able to continue after all these years.

As always, credit goes to the awesome moderators here, to Capcom for creating Ace Attorney, and of course...

(Art by MJEGameandComicFan89)

(Video in Letter)

Mod Edgeworth: No, but I’d bet cha it’d be better if Manfred and Apollo had a screaming contest.

Co-Mod:

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: Funny you should say that -- it actually just got revived.

Is anyone else brimming with excitement about it?

“I know I am!”

Hey, hey, hey!  Back behind the fourth wall, please.

-The Mods

[askaceattorney]

Dear Sinless,

I have no idea where that came from, for one thing.  I’m neither almighty nor all-knowing, but I appreciate the praise (even if it’s supposed to be sarcastic -- I can’t really tell).

Dear sinyove,

You look familiar...

Anyway, that’s a good question.  Sweating isn’t something you just forget how to do, so I imagine AJ Phoenix still sweats in nervous situations, just not as often since he isn’t involved in courtroom proceedings.  Plus he works at a cold restaurant, so that’s probably helped to cool him down a little.

Dear sinyove again,

Sorry, but there’s no way for us to do that without answering it right away, so we’ll probably have to leave it as it was.  We’ll change it if we remember, though.

(Song in Letter)

Dear CreatorOfSinyove,

That’s a pretty cool mashup, but I’m a little confused as to why you wanted me to call you by a different name.  You can always send letters with whatever name you want if you log out of your account first.  (Please forgive me if I’m missing something obvious here.)

Dear Ethan Starbright,

Cute!  Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the play, so sorry for not getting the references.

Dear Ethan Starbright, 

I'm not sure how I feel about Dahlia being Eliza... But a more important question, does that make Miles Burr? Or maybe Godot? 

(Previous Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

I wasn’t sure if this was meant for Phoenix or for us, so I’ll go ahead and answer it.  He’s saying he wouldn’t hire Shelly de Killer because he himself would end Kristoph.  You’d better hope and pray we never have to see that timeline.

Dear skibot99,

It’s hard to say since I enjoy just about all of them, but my least favorite case is probably Turnabout Big Top.  The characters were charming, but the story was slow-going, and the contradictions were way too hard to figure out sometimes.

Incidentally, my favorite case is Turnabout Time Traveler.  It delighted me to see that the writers at Capcom still had it in them to make such a fun and imaginative legal adventure for Phoenix and Maya after all these years, and that neither of them had last their edge as clever and quirky crime-solvers.  I also happen to be a homeless hopeless romantic, and the idea of a man rescuing his bride from certain death (and the two of them continuing to love each other despite his anterograde amnesia) was incredibly touching for me.  In the words of Huey Lewis, “The power of love is a curious thing.”

Dear skibot99,

I honestly don't think I have a least favorite case, because maybe in one case I dislike how the story is proceeding (very slow or confusing), but I may find the characters very interesting, and vice versa.

However, my favorite case would have to be Rise from the ashes or any case from AAI2.

Dear skibot99 again,

I haven’t really seen enough of the anime to judge it as a whole, but from what I’ve seen of it, it’s definitely worth watching.  I'd have to say that I prefer the games overall -- though, to be fair, I’d probably say that about any cartoon based on a game -- but the music, voice-acting, and animation are all pretty spectacular, and I love how many extra details it includes that would’ve been practically impossible to fit into the original trilogy games.  The adaptation from game to anime is fantastic as well, but I definitely prefer the English dubs over the Japanese ones.  Japanese is a lovely language, but hearing the characters speak English, rather than only seeing it, opens the series up to a much wider audience, and you’ve gotta love that.

Speaking of Japan, I’d say the best change to the storyline is having Phoenix and company actually live there instead of America, so we no longer have to wonder where all the Japanese culture is coming from or call it “Japanifornia” -- true, that inconsistency has made for some hilarious jokes, but at least now things make a little more sense.

As for the worst storyline change, it was sort of disappointing for me that Phoenix and Maya’s first encounter was so short -- they didn’t even say anything to each other until he visited her in prison.  It was still pretty sweet, but Maya’s introduction of herself to Phoenix was one of my favorite parts of the game, so I was sad to see that cut out of the anime.  I’ve never attempted to turn a video game into an anime, though, so I can let it go.

I do have to wonder why they thought they needed more than ten policemen to arrest Frank Sahwit, though...

Dear Bruce Goodman,

Aw, crud...  I accidentally smudged an important part of this letter.  And it was sent to us over a year ago, wasn’t it?  Sheesh, I’m getting clumsy...

In all serious, I prefer not to show the names of real-life politicians on this blog, but I hope you can put that information to good use.

Dear Anonymous,

Let’s see...

Yep, that’s a pretty uncanny resemblance, but I think it’s just coincidence.  I can’t imagine his mom letting him take on that sort of role, even if he had a stunt double.

(Picture in the Final Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

I hate to spoil all your hard work, but I’m afraid I don’t know which image link you’re referring to (unless you meant this one).  Could you please clarify?

(Previous Letter)

Dear M,

Thanks a bunch, first of all.  There’s a lot to be said about the Royal Family of Khura’in (plus I tend to ramble anyway), so I did my best to keep it short.

Secondly, you’ve raised some good points.  I sort of snuck in the comparison to the Hawthorne twins at the last minute, so I didn’t give it as much thought as I probably should have.  It’d be more accurate for me to say that I thought she was that she was too meek to disobey her sister (in fact, I went ahead and rewrote it that way in the essay).

I'm a huge fan of Iris, by the way, and I agree that she can be strong when the need arises, but there are at least a few things that led me to believe she still has a bad habit of caving in to pressure from others.  First, while she never actually obeyed Dahlia, she chose to do whatever was necessary to keep her crimes a secret, rather than making the harder but wiser decision of turning her in to the police.  Second, she was willing to cooperate with someone she barely knew (Godot), even to the point of taking a dead body and impaling it with a statue’s sword -- that took some guts, I’ll admit, but it also landed her in prison.  And third, she was willing to take the fall for everyone involved in the plan to stop Dahlia in case something went wrong.  Whether she decided to do that out of guilt for her past sins, or for some other reason, it was still highly questionable at best.  Take the blame for a murder I didn’t commit and let Godot have his way?  Sure, why not?

All that being said, I also believe that she managed to forgive herself after everything was out in the open.  Most of Iris’s responses were written by someone else (the ones with lowercase tags were written by the Mod), but I guess I have sort of portrayed her as still feeling guilty about her masquerade, and that does seem a bit out of character now that you mention it, so I’ll try to keep that in mind for future letters to her.  Thanks for bringing it up.

Also, while we’re on this subject, this comparison reminded me of this letter that I sent back before I was a moderator.  It’s sort of heartwarming, isn’t it?

(You were so sweet sometimes, Mod...  *sniffle*)

-Co-Mod and Mod Paups