#klapollo snail in my ear

[charleemoon]

thinking about the ONLY mention of klavier in aa6 and its THIS.

it starts as a simple conversation, inspecting a (slightly ridiculous) bouquet of roses:

Athena: Oh, these are from Prosecutor Gavin.

Apollo: Roses, huh? How like him: pretentious.

Athena: They might be pretentious, but you know what? He makes it work.

Apollo: Hmph.

Athena: Apollo, I've noticed this for a while now, but… you get awfully prickly when it comes to Prosecutor Gavin.

Apollo: Y-You think so?

Athena: I mean, don't hate him just because he's beautiful.

Apollo: Th-That's not it at all!

the first thing he associates it with is pretentiousness. not entirely because it's, to be honest, a gaudy and absurdly large display, compared to the others. which is just how klavier is, and that's something apollo laments. no, instead he focuses specifically on the roses. red roses, which are almost exclusively associated with love and romance. they're maybe a little tacky, a little cliche, but apollo outright calls them "pretentious". showy, flamboyant, literally:

"attempting to impress by affecting greater importance than is actually possessed."

which he immediately compares klavier to; he finds him pretentious. (do i think there is some kind of intentionality behind this word choice? that apollo, as he seems to always have, sees through klavier's personas, his grand, artificial behaviors and gestures? and that maybe it irritates him because he knows it's partially false? no. i think it's just a word. will that stop me from reading it that way? never)

and when athena agrees that, while yes, it's maybe a little pretentious, klavier "makes it work", that his overdone extravagant (outward) personality is well pulled off when done by him, apollo insists on this irritation with a "hmph." (like come on. 24 year old man crossing his arms, looking to the side and going "hmph" like a kid, refusing to admit that klavier does something well. i can see him now)

and it's interesting how athena says "i've noticed this for a while now" which means there's been more than one instance where klavier has been so much as mentioned around and/or to apollo and he responds with either irritation or a weirdly cagey shut down. and it's not "you get angry", "you get irritated", "you get frustrated", it's prickly. as if Klavier Gavin is a "touchy subject". and WHY would he be??

apollo and klavier are, for the most part, on good terms. they work in unified tandem in 4-4 and have near identical ideals in law and justice and the pursuit of truth. apollo's main irritation seems related to his dislike of klavier's more embellished and exaggerated behaviors; his incessant flirting, brash overconfidence, generally overwhelming and loud presence. an obvious foil to apollo's professionalism and staunch seriousness, so he finds him grating, ridiculous, and other things. but it's also envy, embarrassment, maybe a bit of shyness. either way, feelings that only seems to rear their head in klavier's presence, because they are aspects of klavier's performative, in-person nature.

so why is it that the mere mention of klavier makes apollo "prickly." on edge, touchy. there's seemingly nothing unspoken between them. at most, they were partners in court a few years ago for a case or three; at least, klavier is simply an irritating person to apollo. what in the WORLD would make apollo act like that. what is it about a peer and friend of his sister's sending her flowers for a show that makes apollo so irascible.

and on TOP of that, when athena points this out, he doesn't double down. he doesn't insist that he simply doesn't like Klavier, that he finds him annoying and absurd, he's taken aback. surprised, inquisitive, like when someone points a nervous habit or tic of yours that you never noticed. as if he's not aware of the way he acts when klavier gets brought up

and then when athena teases him about klavier's good looks, (which athena may not know, but we, as the player with access to his inner thoughts in aa4, know he is envious of, and even flustered by at times. offhandily calls him pretty or handsome when he's irritated with him) he gets embarrassed and defensive, saying "That's not it at all!"

IT. WHAT IS IT. he says oh no, that is not why i act that way. that is not It, you know. The Reason. which means there IS a reason. AND WHAT IS IT. WHAT IS IT.

WHY ELSE WOULD A GROWN MAN WHO HAS NOT SEEN ANOTHER MAN IN OVER A YEAR MOST LIKELY, WHO HASN'T HAD ANY REAL ISSUES WITH THIS MAN IN MULTIPLE YEARS, BE SO UNNESSCARILY IRRITATED BY HIM, EVEN BY HIS ACTS OF GOOD FAITH OR WHEN HE'S BARELY MENTIONED. AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT TO BE GENERALLY UNAWARE OF THIS REACTION, MEANING IT'S NOT DONE INTENTIONALLY OUT OF DISLIKE OR TO COMPLAIN.

they keep klavier locked away and refuse to give him relevance after aa4 (which they somehow barely let him have relevance in despite being the main prosecutor and pivotal key part in kristoph's incarceration) yet THE ONE TIME he is mentioned, its relating to his relationship to apollo. klapollo is trapped in the basement and wants out. WHY DO THEY DO THIS.

WHY MENTION HIM ONLY FOR IT TO RELATE TO HOW APOLLO FEELS ABOUT HIM. ALMOST AS IF THEY ARE INTRINSICALLY TIED TOGETHER. and not only that but about how he's beautiful. and that flusters apollo. EYE TWITCHES

CAPCOM. ACE ATTORNEY. WHY IS THIS THE ONLY MENTION OF KLAVIER IN AA6. WHY DOES. WHY ARE YOU. WHY

essay over this one interaction CONFIRMS that apollo holds deep seeded attraction and feelings toward klavier that he has not even BEGUN to unravel because its buried under 10 layers of "i hate that guy he's so [insert excuse]" klapollo will never happen unless someone locks them in a room together and forces them to talk

i think i've lost it