#like capcom why would you take her from us from maya from pearl???

[sailor-tri]

Mia fey the lawyer with the most beautiful brown eyes in LA

Sketch under the cut cause I liked it still. She has a gentle kindness in her eyes that the rendered one doesn't have

[daddywright]

I have only recently got into the ace attorney fandom, and this story was the first story I read, and I feel spoiled! I absolutely loved every chapter, so I'm gonna word vomit here and tell you everything I love about this!

"She offers him a smile. It’s small, tentative, but it possesses a strength that makes a hidden part of him twist and burn with quiet envy." the first time we see nick's wish to be as strong as mia!

Considering the fact that nick didn't have any prominent figure in his life, it makes sense that he would look up to gregory so much

"Phoenix looks up, and starts walking towards Mia Fey

He doesn't stop for two years."

THE RELATIONSHIP THAT MIA AND NICK HAD WAS PRECIOUS AND DESERVES MORE THAN WHAT THE FANDOM GIVES THEM

"Larry’s arms wrap around him, squeezing almost too tight" People forget that Larry and Phoenix were good friends too, and Larry would help his best friend

"Nobody believed him, nobody but Mia" Maya is what Phoenix is to Mia and I adore that

"He wishes, desperately, that he’d said it while she was still alive. I loved you. For everything you did." Not you absolutely breaking my fucking heart

Also the first AA game felt unnatural in the sense of how seemingly unaffected Phoenix seemed at Mia's murder so I'm really glad you wrote it this way

"Expensive. Thoughtful. Too much." SHUT UP NICK YOU DESERVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING

Also quick break to mention how I absolutely fucking love your writing style and i wish I was literally half as talented as you cuz the last time I read something that made me feel this multitude of emotions was ocean vuong. And I practically worship Ocean Vuong. So now I worship you too

"You're a stranger to me // When will I stop hoping?" I never really realised just how badly nick musta been hurt by good ol' bratworth before this fic, but now that I have read it, it would have hurt him so bad

"Is this why you never answered my letters? Because I was a reminder? Because it hurt too much?" Honestly what happened to miles and phoenix's friendship hurts so much because it should have never happened, and miles didn't deserve that.

"Maybe Miles Edgeworth is not the man he thought he’d be, either." yo when I tell you this hurt I mean this huRT

Fun fact! My birthday is on the same day as DL-6 anniversary. Gregory Edgeworth died on my birthday. I feel horrible now

"monster. You were nine years old and he's a monster. " No one has made me feel this much emotion for what happened to Miles in a single sentence other than you. I commend you for that

"I love you," he says quietly. He has never said those words to anyone, except for Dahlia Hawthorne.

Maya sniffs in his ear, crushing him tight. "I love you, too."

He has never heard them back.

PHOENIX HAS NEVER HEARD THE WORDS " I LOVE YOU" COME BACK TO HIM ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME WHY NOW I'M SAD

"Tell me everything. Every detail—" Miles is worried bout nick and why wouldn't he? gods you're so gay miles but tbf if I knew someone like nick irl i'd go ballistic too

"He determined the motive for his own assault...with amnesia. Naturally." My man's smart af and he is king

"Is that what she thinks of me? That I'm like that? That I don't care about who the bad guys really are?" Gumshoe noooo you're hella precious! Also this particular chapter was so well written! loved this soo much!

Also taking a minute to appreciate the pacing! Rarely do I ever come across an author who just hits that sweet spot of perfect pacing and you did! so thank you!

Alright so here are a few thoughts that I felt capcom needed to do which you did for us!

no. 1 - Address the trauma phoenix faced with not only dahlia but also with mia's death

no. 2 - Actually fucking flesh out a good relationship dynamic between larry and phoenix

no. 3 - actually! have! phoenix! be hurt! in bridge to turnabout! istg my man would not have dropped from a burning bridge to a freezing river only to have a cold

AUNT FRANZY AND PEARLS MAN!

THEY CUTE

ok so I have a LOT of feelings for bridge to turnabout and HOO BOY BUCKLE UP

So I always thought that in this fic, miles must have felt fucking awful! I mean he very clearly hates who he was and what that has led to but that must have been doubled over with this case! Phoenix would have died if not for mia and it would have been indirectly miles's fault. I think about that alot

Like he said that he very much regrets whatever he did as bratworth in the phone call with gumshoe but i don't think he anticipated this. poor edgeworth

Also I think this was the final nail in the coffin for miles. Phoenix forgave him, after all the fucked up shit miles did, and that made that man go "how is this guy so fucking compassionate awwwww shit I'm in fucking love with this idiotic brave man".

my main thoughts were "holy shit phoenix must have been feeling awful." like to learn that you were in love with a person who turned out to be a murderer but then not a murderer cuz everything you felt about that was real and just...... it must have hurt. He never fell in love with dahlia. it was iris, always. and WHAT ABOUT MILES DURING THIS!!! Like to learn that the man you love was falsely led to believe that he was in love with a person he rarely met and then learn that his ex who is not murderous might still be in love with him because "that was real. that part was real." like damn. people just gloss over this

also I feel terrible for iris F in the chat for iris lads.

Dahlia literally haunting that courtroom scene. I felt mia's power. I felt her desperation. I felt everything and I am once again in awe of the absolute power your writing holds.

also godsdamn pearls had to go through all that shit huh. also FRANMAYAAAAAA THANK YOUUUU

I too, am a hoe confused as to what I should feel towards diego.

Ok anyways we jump to disbarment now

"He just winks at her and says Maya has other talents, and if Mystic Maya overhears, she puffs up at him like the fish from the aquarium she saw once, the one with all the spikes and silly eyes."

you know what constantly amazes me? your ability to change tones so effortlessly. When writing from edgey's pov, the language is sophisticated. precise. when writing from pearly's pov your language is simplistic, child-like. from phoenix's pov it's natural. grounded

"She never knew anybody who made faces like him, growing up in Kurain, and it’s one of the things that makes him special." Yo phoenix is the most amazing uncle ever and we all know it ok he's brilliant

I'M RUNNING OUT OF CHARACTER LIMITS

PEARLY CALLING EDGEY AT FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE I'M SOFFFFTTTT

“I think I did something really bad." trucy baby no it's not your fault

pearl and trucy bonding supremacy. my girls would fuck shit up

"She’d meant to do this properly, one day." Thank you for giving importance to maya's feelings. thank you for treating her like a real human being. thank you

“Everything that happened...for what? It’s only gotten people hurt. Pearly. Our mother.” Me. Me." I felt so bad for maya here. I wish I could tell you in precise words about how this exact framing of the sentence is what broke me. "me. me" maya deserved more, but mia did all she could

"What do scared kids need? ...Food." not you breaking my godsdamn heart again. phoenix just knows what's it like being a helpless child, and he'll be damned if he ever lets anyone face that again

“‘Course, Pearls,” he says reflexively, before frowning. “What for?” reflexively. if every man in the world could be like phoenix wright then the world would be worthy of the gods

"Another one?" give it 2 years edgey she'll be your daughter too

"after countless hours creating the man’s living space in his mind from the background snatches he’d seen in the man’s ridiculous video calls." NOT ONLY DO THEY VC FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON BUT ALSO MILES ACTUALLY SPENDS TIME TRYING TO RECREATE HIS ROOM?? BECAUSE HE WOULD ONE DAY LIKE TO BE IN IT??? good gods these bitches gay. good for them

"because just as day is light and night is dark, Phoenix Wright is an honorable man." damn straight. you love to see it (it being a 27+ year old man pining for another 27+ year old man)

also hey miles! how do you feel about the fact that the man you love changed his fucking major and degrees halfway through college just so he could see you again only for you to be incredibly rude to him and make him end up in jail! (i bully edgeworth cuz i love him)

"Wright finishes, shrugging like it’s nothing, like his commitment and belief isn’t the most extraordinary thing that Miles has ever faced." it's more than pining at this point. it's incredible faith and trust. Miles had someone who cared about him even after all those years despite him having changed so drastically, ofc he would be surprised. Miles loves phoenix and so do i.

also HOT DAMN YOU WRITING IS JUST * MWAH *

Also the whole segment where they kiss is just !!!!! miles wants! it's beautiful! THEY'RE IN LOVEEE

receiving poisonous bottles which your ex tried to kill you with. My man can't get a break huh

Miles being chivalrous and protective and absolutely stealing my godsdamn heart (and phoenix's too)!

Klavier being the absolute king that he is we stan

The hostage situation section? gods miles must have been terrified.

Phoenix not being able to promise pearly that he'd always come back home and miles hearing it and like... ouch. my heart. you didn't need to do that (but i love your for it)

GODS THE CLIMAX WITH KRISTOPH WAS SOOO SATISFYING AND LIKE MY MAN PHOENIX REALLY PUNCHED THAT BITCH HUH

klavier baby I am so sorry

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

and thus my comment ends. I believe I have almost used up all of my commenting limits and i leave with these few parting words : HOLY SHIT YOUR AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU!

also I made a playlist on spotify for this fic! here's the link : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3k8lRHiO8ZXQDLpiTUL7SN?si=fc3b35b4ab064867

gods this was long huh

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY....WHERE DO I BEGIN...THE FACT THAT YOU BROKE THE CHARACTER LIMIT ON AO3 AND MADE A PLAYLIST? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

thank you so much for all the amazing things you said....i am crying on a Wednesday morning knowing my writing was appreciated this much. thank you!

[transguyedgeworth]

HALLO i hope all has gone well with bugs and such ur probably dealing w that as i type this but i have more headcanons >:) so! i hope these are helping deal with evil evil bugs

-maya still has a bunch of mias clothes she gave some to lana and some to pearl but sometimes she’ll wear a sweater or something that was mias

-phoenix doesn’t really like hospitals

- reminds him too much of bttt and falling

- yes i think capcom should have realized that falling off a damn bridge should give a man a good bit of upset and trauma capcom i am outside your door

- miles bottles up his feelings A LOT because there wasn’t any place for feelings in the von karma house. he’s trying to get better though

- he mostly bottles up his anger because he sees mvk in himself whenever he gets angry because mvk would be angry a lot

- fran also does the same but with any happiness or personal pride she may feel

- they both try to work on it, maya and phoenix are good influences on them

- miles has visited mvk in jail once. he won’t again

- franziska will never visit him

-miles likes to knit

-maya is sooo superstitious not like ohh if i break a mirror i’m dead but like Bigfoot Is Real and I Saw Him At Gourd Lake

-edgeworth and phoenix go often to a little coffee shop and always get a pot of tea

-sometimes phoenix brings flowers

-LMAO edgeworth asks what they are sometimes and unless they’re the two types of flowers phoenix knows he has No Idea

- the bathroom at wright and co is haunted

- maya attracts ghosts like nobodies business

-fran is afraid of spiders and maya is Violent towards spiders

- fran will shriek from the other room and maya will run in flip flop in hand, take one look around the room, and chuck her shoe at the spider. she never misses.

-maya LOVES that bakery they investigated in that one case i cannot remember the name of the one with the like. french dude? and tigre?

-pearls and maya make a scrap book for wright and co

-phoenix still draws (he was an art student and i am projecting onto him) sometimes but always drags edgeworth to art museums and talks about the art

-building on game night with the wrights they also have video game nights. phoenix is so bad and maya is still competitive but fran and edgeworth when paired against each other are Scary

-fran also sometimes lets her little brother win and gets dramatic about losing but it makes her happy to see edgeworth excited

- edgeworth has a journal bc someone once suggested it and he writes in it so often

- he also carries a certain picture of him larry and phoenix when they were kids and his signal samurai keychain in his inner pocket and fiddles with the keychain

-maya loves decorating the office for holidays

-the only thing phoenix can make well is soup and hot chocolate and he makes them at least twice a month when it’s cold

-edgeworth won’t admit it but he’d rather eat phoenixs almost burnt soup and melted bar hot chocolate than the stuff from the fanciest restaurants

- when edgeworth and phoenix propose they both propose at the same time and it’s so awkward but so so funny they both say yes of course but phoenix will tell that story to anyone who listens

ok that’s all for now! idk if i have any more (that’s a lie i have so many thoughts about them but idk how many of them are coherent) anyway i wish you best of luck with all the hubbub!!!

everything is going well thank you for the concern!! housing sent someone out to fix up the hole in my wall that they were coming through and the pest control guy just left and is now treating the outside of the building. these are absolutely helping me deal with the stress so thank you for sending them in! 

starting strong with the clothing thing, i love love LOVE your interpretation of the fey clan so much. it is canon in my brain now. capcom wishes they could think of this shit. also giving some to lana? precious, sentimental, amazing. lanamia nation rise up. thank you for my life. the detail about maya believing in cryptids and the bathroom being haunted? accurate and hilarious. and yes big agree that she still likes tres bien (i’m pretty sure that’s the name), she worked there briefly so of course she’d have a soft spot for it. i literally adore the idea of maya being hella Into Stuff, like cryptids and holiday decorations and winning at game night, and the scrapbook idea slayed me on sight. i am in tears.

LITERALLY WHY DOES CAPCOM IGNORE THAT PHOENIX HAS BEEN THROUGH SOME SHIT??? like what the hell. man almost died and then like two days later he’s like “lol i’m Completely Fine :)”. unrealistic. capcom let him be Affected by experiences please. 

kinda building off of that, AGAIN WITH THE WRIGHTWORTH STUFF MAKING ME TENDER??? i love them goin on little dates and being domestic... art museums and coffee shops and phoenix being Dumb about flower breeds and miles loving his cooking.... i am Soft i am Yearning. AND THE PROPOSAL THING!!!!! I HAD THIS SAME FUCKING IDEA GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!!!!! IT’S JUST SUCH A THEM THING TO DO...

and oooh edgeworth. good for you king, journaling and knitting and stimming and learning healthy ways to cope with your emotions. also the anger thing i totally get. like not to Overshare or anything but i used to have a lot of issues expressing my anger because when i did it reminded me too much of my dad so i feel that. 

the vk sibling stuff also spot-on tbh. good that they didn’t visit manfred except for miles’ one time. fuck that guy. let him rot. they are Learning and Growing together.... fran letting miles win at a game also perfect. she cares about her little brother even if she has trouble showing it sometimes. also love that her one weakness is spiders. that seems very fitting to me and i LOVE the image of maya just. chuckin a shoe across the room to defend her Wife from the eight-legged terror.

also you are free to send me incoherent thoughts if you want that’s the form most of my thoughts take anyway fjnfjsf i’d still love to hear them if you’re willing to share!

[milk-addicc]

I really liked that post you made about how Capcom feels about Narumitsu. And I'm wondering how do you think they feel about Narumayo? Personally to me it feels like they throw more hints at Narumitsu since with the other one if Takami wanted it to be canon he would of done it at the end of T&T. I also think the team could of made it more obvious in SoJ with Maya's big return but I never really saw the hints but I know I'm biased lol.

oh i’m glad you like my rambles haha;;

ahh... that ship, 

well first, about the whole Takumi “wanting narumitsu to be canon” thing, its not exactly making them canon but have more fanservice leaning heavy towards narumitsu (which was declined by the director(?) who claimed, i sorta agree with, that the game did well even without the narumitsu hinting since in the first game they didn’t have that intention and it was pure coincidence that their relationship was just THAT deep and meaningful which is incredible lmao, Takumi and co managed to slip his warning and still put at least some of the hints in TT tho hhh-). so even then, i doubt the crew actually want the endgame to come so soon hh.

okay, back on topic. what i think about naru//mayo? yea, i’m not keen on that ship personally at all, actually i despise it. like, they first met in the office, in front of their dead loved one, Mia. Maya was 17, Phoenix was 24. you have Maya, who’s supposedly still in HIGH SCHOOL and Phoenix, who has GRADUATED COLLEGE, has a JOB, and most likely has PAID HIS OWN BILLS. from that point alone, it should already feel weird. 

Maya’s an adolescence, a teenager, she just lost her sister and barely grew up, in a way she’s still innocent, notice how she tend to ask random questions and or say things that she thinks makes sense or amusing, she tends to be naive too. its kinda like.. a child.

and Phoenix on the other hand, is a grown man. heck even Maya says he’s an “old fart”, they’re legit aware of their own age gap in game and outright say it. if anything, they both act like self-aware best friends/brother-sister than romantically. even Maya said it herself, she wants to be a good big sister for Pearl and Nick.

now how about we ignore this obvious fact just for a little while and try to see it from only their interactions in-franchise. heres the kicker, you may not see it in game since they only lightly nudges about this ship (usually with Pearl, and was dismissed by Maya right after.), but in some of AA spin off mangas (and from what i heard, one of the stage shows), for some reason, this ship has their own hints despite being completely aware that Maya is a teenager.

but its okay now don’t hold your breaths, 

their “hints” are more of a one-off ish thing, most of the time a gag and not taken seriously, and unlike other ship per say narumitsu, where it actually affects their lives and changed it forever IN-GAME. “i care about Maya and understands her” and “i became an attorney because of you, Edgeworth and i don’t have any regrets” are both literally incomparable, especially given Phoenix and Edgeworth’s history together in-game canon.

anyway, here’s some common arguments i’ve encountered about this particular ship :

“but Phoenix cares about Maya a lot! he literally went through a trial against a hitman and run through a burning bridge for her!”

“Phoenix blushed and goes red when Pearl says he’s Maya’s special someone and he stutters!”

“Well my parents had a huge age gap!"

“well, Maya is 18 in AA2″

“considering Maya is a christmas cake now, Nick better tap that” 

“she’s an adult in AA6 tho”

now lets dissect each of these,

yes, Phoenix cares about Maya a lot he literally did cross a burning bridge for her but people seem to forget that this is the same man who turned his life around, abandon his dreams, study law for four years, and became an attorney to meet one man and willing to defend a girl who looks like his psychotic ex that nearly poisoned him in court. he literally would believe in his clients’s innocence no matter what, he’s by nature would sacrifice anything and even his life for someone. so its normal that he cares about Maya, but is it romantic? i doubt it, he cares about her safety and well being but does it have to be a romantic hint? no, of course not, he’s just very selfless for the people he cares about and Maya has no one to help her but Nick when she’s in trouble, he’s one of few adults she can trust and will help her out.

oh so blushing and stuttering due to embarrassment means having feelings now? and about the stuttering, he literally stutters around Edgeworth a lot lol. i’m starting to feel like people ships naru//mayo not because of their depth but because Pearl said so. Pearl finds them should be together and keep shoving the audience with Nick being “Mystic Maya’s special someone”, well if thats the case, they also explained why this happened, in-game. Pearl grew up very sheltered and among unhealthy marriages she just assumes a girl and a boy together means they’re dating and being “special someones”. she most likely just wants her cousin to be in a happy relationship unlike her parents where her father left both her and her mother but didn’t know any better because she was eight years old.

https://youtu.be/FGAqQkMEKNs?start=674&end=776

now about the parent thing and taking it personal, well my parents too had a huge age-gap of 7 years. but how come is it okay? its because they met when my mum was already a career woman at 26. she’s already an adult when my dad met her. what does this mean? it means my parents were both adults when they’re together, this is why i still like GumMaggey despite their age gap so wide, they first met when Maggey has already had a career, supposedly in her 20′s, she’s a young adult, she can buy alcohol by herself, already knows whats right and wrong and has live life independently, not a still hormonal teenager who depends on one adult figure. did your parents date when your mum is in highschool while your dad is like in his mid 20′s? sorry to hear that.

as for the last three arguments, i don’t even want to touch any of them with a five-foot pole. are you listening to yourself? do you not feel like you’re a creep typing that?

let me give you a benefit of the doubt. yes she’s older and legally an adult, but are you really discrediting the fact they met when Maya was still in highschool? they met and became friends when she’s 17 and he’s 24. sure they barely met during disbarment era, but should that change anything? why should it? how should it? like this?

“Oh this is Maya, i haven’t met her in years but boy she sure has grown up can’t wait to date her since she’s legal now.”

because thats what that argument sounds like, YIKES. 

you know? if they met under a different circumstance and Maya was like 19, i’d let it go. but they didn’t, they met because of a horrible loss, Maya, still in training, 17 lost her big sister and Phoenix, a rookie, at 24 lost his mentor. 

in conclusion, i don’t like naru//mayo at all

pairing them feels like pairing Edgeworth with Kay or Phoenix with Ema, just because they partnered in investigations, make playful jabs at each other, and saved each others’s lives before, people just think they like each other romantically despite their age-gap in first meetings (not to mention Kay sees Edgeworth as somewhat of a father figure, and she’s nearly 18 while Edgeworth is the same age as Phoenix). especially with how Maya, being a zoomer, calls Phoenix an “old fart” and just makes jokes about how so out-of-touch Phoenix is with the modern entertainment.

from observations, i have a huge hunch that almost all of them pair these two because :

1. Maya’s a girl protagonist so its a male protagonist x female protagonist type of deal and despise narumitsu because “yaoi”

2. AA6 she’s an adult so she’s legal which is damn creepy on its own, or last

3. because of Pearl shipping them in game despite being an eight year old and was so sheltered she thought a man and a woman being next to each other means they’re special someones.

either way, i only see them as best friends, sibling-like relationship with self awareness here and there since they tease the audience a lot with their gag “hints” in spin-off mangas and game. 

not only that, it kinda showcase how all male/female bond don’t have to be romantic, they can be just friends or familial and still hang together. another plus for the franchise right after encouraging moving on from ex partners. *glancing at Phoenix//Iris*

and as to the people who pairs this for some odd reasons, sometimes i just want to ask these questions,

“how would you feel if you’re in Phoenix’s shoes? met your mentor’s little sister at age 17 while you’re 24, would you feel romantically interested in this high schooler?” because i don’t, to me anyone 3 years younger than me is like a baby, how would Phoenix feel when Maya’s 7 years younger?

“also... why even? narumitsu and other less questionable pairings are RIGHT THERE in the open!”

but oh well people can like and pair whatever hhh, 

and there you have it, my even longer rambling hahaha sorry;;

Edit : To add the final nail to the coffin, Phoenix outright has said that Maya’s like his kid, like a niece.

Edit 2 : remember that this is simply my personal take, you can somewhat use this to make yourself feel better about your pair nor simply just to hate on the ship itself but do not use this to dictate actual people what to ship and not to ship. 

please don’t be destructive towards others.

[hotel-japanifornia]

Maya Fey Appreciation Post

(Note: this post was initially made as an entry for the 30 day Ace Attorney Challenge, that you can find here: https://demon-prosecutie.tumblr.com/post/141222773397/i-wanted-to-be-more-active-and-post-new-edits-and. Other things came up, so I never actually ended up finishing the challenge. However, since I had 2 entries that were written up, I decided to edit them and share them with y’all. This is the second one made, but the first one shared.)

Now without further ado, if you’ve visited or are currently following my blog, then you likely are aware of my fondness for Maya Fey. With this post, I wanted to go a bit deeper into why I love her and also go over some traits that I feel are slightly overlooked when examining her character. Maya, overall, is an interesting and absolutely adorable character. Although she is a generally popular character, I can’t help but feel that she’s a bit underrated as some people reduce her personality to burger jokes. It’s not a huge deal seeing as one of Maya’s character traits is that she really loves food but it can be tiring seeing those kinds of jokes so often.

To give some background, when I started playing Ace Attorney I started with Justice for All because I was 10 and I thought that playing a sequel was a good idea. I kinda liked Maya back then but it was mostly because she was more similar to me personality-wise than the other characters. It wasn’t until I was 15 that I started to appreciate Maya for who she was as a character. While playing through the first game, I liked her during Turnabout Sisters and Turnabout Samurai but it wasn’t until Turnabout Goodbyes that I began to fall in love with Maya. Seeing her sacrifice herself to keep Edgeworth from getting found guilty during the first trial was really heartwarming and it’s also telling of the kind of person that Maya is, in a way. This is because in Turnabout Sisters, Edgeworth had prosecuted her and Phoenix at separate points during the case and tried to get them found guilty. As a result, seeing her getting held in contempt of court for him shows how selfless she is and also shows that she has a strong desire for seeing justice go through. Turnabout Goodbyes is also where we see Maya being insecure about her abilities as a spirit medium as she’s unable to channel Mia at all during the case. Although she says she is useless, during the case there are moments where she is incredibly useful, for example: during the aforementioned part where she gets held in contempt of court for Edgeworth’s sake; when she communicates with the parrot in order to get it to talk; and most importantly, when she jumped on Manfred Von Karma when he was about to taze her and Phoenix and managed to retrieve a very important piece of evidence in the process. The moment Maya got tased for Phoenix’s sake and beat herself up for being useless despite carrying an incredibly valuable piece of evidence tugged at my heartstrings and was the moment that I knew I loved Maya.

Right off the bat, I'd like to go over her most recognizable character trait: her cheerful nature. Maya Fey is an absolute ray of sunshine and adds to investigation segments by making quirky observations or goofy jokes. The most popular of the former would be when you examine the ladder(?) in Studio 1 during Turnabout Samurai and she argues briefly with Phoenix about the true nature of the object in question. However, Maya does have other goofy moments such as when you examine the snowmobile before the murder occurs in Bridge to the Turnabout or when you examine the big signboard in the Basement Warehouse during the Stolen Turnabout. She also has her moments during courtroom segments such as when she pretty much spends the first trial day of Turnabout Samurai roasting Oldbag. Maya adds a lot of personality to even the most tedious investigation segments and I don't blame anyone who goes around investigating everything just to see if Maya has anything to say.

One thing that I feel people overlook when it comes to Maya is how selfless she can be. For example, when she refuses Phoenix’s offer to take her case during Reunion, and Turnabout because she’s sure Phoenix will lose and later when you read her letter to Phoenix in Engarde’s Mansion and she tells Phoenix to forget about saving her and get Engarde found guilty in order to ensure justice was served even at the cost of her life. Another example would be in Bridge to the Turnabout where she sees her mother get killed in front of her. She’s obviously aware of who the killer is but is stubborn about covering for him because although Godot killed her mother, he also saved her life in the process. Maya has no obligation to defend Godot, to the point that he even admits that if he actually cared about saving her, he would have gone to Phoenix first; and yet, Maya still continues to believe that he genuinely wanted to save her. It’s a real gray area and there’s no clear answer to whether or not Godot did care for her but even if he didn’t, it’s still quite telling.

One trait that I find admirable about Maya is her strength. We see her go through so much throughout the franchise from the moment we meet her such as: finding her sister’s body; being accused of her sister’s murder; getting tased; being framed for murder by her aunt; getting kidnapped and being starved and in the process also being used as a bargaining chip against her best friend; getting nearly murdered by the ghost of her psycho killer cousin and also seeing her long lost mother die in front of her; and more. And yet, despite all of that, she is still able to remain cheerful and never once becomes bitter because of all the things that have happened to her. At the end of Bridge to the Turnabout, she could have broken down and abdicated the role of Master and it would have been understandable considering what she had just gone through. But the fact that she doesn’t and that she decides to stay strong for Pearl who also suffered greatly during the case not only shows how strong she is as a character but also shows how she matures during the trilogy. The Maya in the first game might have ran away, but by the end of the third game, she’s gone through a lot more than she did in the first game. It’s very subtle compared to Edgeworth’s arc or even Phoenix’s arc but she does go through her own development as a character. 

Although she does have a habit of getting into trouble, having to help her never bothered me to be honest. Despite her penchant for getting into trouble it’s never her fault, as it either has something to do with her family or her relationship with Phoenix during the trilogy while the crossover and SOJ have her get accused of murder purely because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And even when she does get arrested for murder, it’s hard for me not to feel bad for her as she acts so downhearted (the part where she begs Phoenix not to take her case because she feels he'll lose if he does in Reunion, and Turnabout comes to mind). In a way, it can be considered clever on the writers’ part as Maya is one of the more beloved characters in the franchise so her getting in trouble can be seen as the result of Capcom wanting us to feel emotionally attached to a case. I’m not saying that it constantly happening is a good idea because she’s definitely gone through enough but I can’t get annoyed when you do have to help her. I just think that in the next game, in the event that she’s in it, Capcom should give Maya a break from being accused of murder and/or kidnapped.

Overall, Maya is a character that is very special to me and one of my favorite characters. Seeing her go through all the things that happen to her and yet still coming out with a smile on her face is something I admire greatly. She also happens to be Maya Fey-vorite AA character. There’s not much else i have left to say but I can give y’all a Maya:

[ged-the-winged]

Case 6-5, Wright

This is mostly about the trial in day 1, and character analysis focused on Wright.

Naturally spoilers for up until the first day of SOJ case 5 and also JFA- you know which case it’ll spoil.

While I am very mad about how capcom constantly throws Maya into danger without actually making character growth inside canon and often use her as emotional leverage and plot devices, and how it’s fuckgn SECOND time she gets abducted for blackmail material???????????  I do have some stuff that I’ld like to talk about in that particular situation. Naturally, I will be comparing Maya’s another abduction in JFC case 5, 10 years ago. (also, did you know that it is literally 10 years give or take a few WEEKS since that? wtf capcom)

1. Whether it be 10 years ago or now, when Maya’s safety is at stake Wright acts out in a manner that does not follow his moral principle 100%.

2.  However he doesn’t throw everything out of the window for this. Wright doesn’t make compromise - at least much - with immorality even over this. 10 years ago he notified Gumshoe about the situation, and Edgeworth also assists after he gets the news later on. 10 years ago, he did fight for Not Guilty- right up to the point where he believes 100% that his client is actually innocent. After that, he just tries to drag the trial on enough until the police force can rescue Maya. He does wonder whether or not he should get the not guilty anyway, but he actually manages without disappointing Maya.

3. He does the same thing 10 years later, but he CALLS EDGEWORTH FIRST here!!!!!!!!!! Edgeworth did help him before, with his hard will to fight  against Wright’s forced arguments towards the Not Guilty verdict, and also by not letting every piece of the truth pass by even when would hinder the Guilty verdict. But now Wright actively trusts that Edgeworth will help him get Maya into safety and it is so?????? help

4. Then who does the role Edgeworth fulfilled 10 years ago? APOLLO. AND Wright intentionally chooses this.

5. Before the civil trial begins, Wright tells Justice to back off repeatedly- and this is so great because

Wright may not know the exact background and the mastermind of this case, but he does has some ideas since he came just back from Khura’in after the case related to this shitstorm. He knew Justice’s presence and what he was looking after- he has people in the village, like Pearls. Even Edgeworth. He also knew that Justice will not back off even though he tells him to. He trusts Justice, an attorney from WAA that believes and acts for their client until the end. Then why would he tell him to not represent Dhurke? Why does he repeatedly asks him if you can beat me? Why does he say that he will not be beaten easily? >> Reverse psychology and a challenge that’s what. Although, as Justice already wants to take the case, it works to reinforce his desire to win the case.

Just. the fact that Wright has came far enough to use psychological tactics? I am out of my goddamn mind  also the fact that while he used manipulative methods to use Justice at the start of AJ, he now does this to encourage him, his trusted partner, when Wright can not give him enough context without endangering Maya further.

6. Moving on from WAA….. it is not true that Wright risks everything including his beliefs for Maya. That goes right against Maya’s request 10 years ago, that he should get the Guilty verdict regardless of her safety. Also against Phoenix Wright’s existence?????? He wouldn’t have been actually trying to get the orb, that’s what.

7. After he found out the possibility of a murder, Wright would have planned to move this trial on to a criminal case- perhaps to try to lengthen the trial. Or for Justice to  neutralize the person behind this using this fact? Apparently this didn’t go as planned much but whether it worked or not is not my point- only that Wright would have considered

8. He also can not agree to losing the civil trial as it would mean that Maya would be in danger, but this doesn’t mean that his only choice is to win the case

9. I have talked about this before, but Wright has the tendency to make other people look guilty as a method to prolong the trial when he is sure that they will not come to harm in the end- he does this even 10 years ago. As Datz is not the real culprit and Justice is competent enough to prove this, Wright makes this movement. It’s like. His standard procedure that’s not really different from what he usually does.

10. Conclusion, Wright may have not thought about every possibility and dangers, but he would not have broken his creed to pursue the truth and protect the innocent, a creed completed through what Edgeworth showed him and Maya told him 10 years ago.

10-1 And this was possible only because of he trusted Edgeworth and WAA people to not let the situation run to the worst. I fukicn love-

[thelibraryoflazy]

Farewell, My Prologue

Thanks to this post and youtube slyly recommending me a bootleg of The Great Comet of 1812, I wrote an Ace Attorney song parody of “Prologue.” Unfortunately I don’t have enough people and musicians in my back pocket to take a stab at recording it, but here are my lyrics and original song for reference.

Enjoy!

PHOENIX:

There’s a man carrying out a plan somewhere

And Maya isn’t here

There’s a kidnapper hiding out there somewhere

And Maya isn’t here

 ALL:

There’s a man carrying out a plan somewhere

And Maya isn’t here

There’s a kidnapper hiding out there somewhere

And Maya isn’t here

And this is all in your record

You are at the courthouse

Gonna have to study up a little bit if you want to keep with the case

‘Cause it’s a complicated kind of murder

Everyone’s got five psyche locks

So look it up in your record

We’d appreciate it, thanks a lot

Da da da

Da da da

Da da da

Pearl!

PEARL:

Pearl Fey is young

She loves her cousin with all her heart

 ALL:

She loves her cousin with all her heart

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

MIA:

Mia is good

Wright’s first advisor and brightest friend

 ALL:

Wright’s first advisor and brightest friend

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 MILES:

Miles is trusting, an old friend to Phoenix

The prosecution, he’s just arrived

 ALL: The prosecution, he’s just arrived

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 And this is all in your record

You are at the courthouse

Gonna have to study up a little bit if you want to keep with the case

‘Cause it’s a complicated kind of murder

Everyone’s got five psyche locks

So look it up in your record

We’d appreciate it, thanks a lot

Da da da

Da da da

Da da da

 Engarde!

 ENGARDE:

Matt Engarde is hot

He spends his money on murder and wine

 ALL:

He spends his money on murder and wine

Engarde is hot

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 DE KILLER:

De Killer is precise

Hired assassin, extraordinaire

 ALL:

Hired assassin, extraordinaire

De Killer is precise

Engarde is hot

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

FRANZISKA:

Franziska is fierce, and harsh with the foolish

Quick with a whip, and perfect at law

 ALL:

Quick with a whip, and perfect at law

Franziska is fierce

De Killer is precise

Engarde is hot

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 Miracles and evidence, do we still have the time?!

Our Witnesses!

 ADRIAN:

Adrian Andrews is anxious

 GUMSHOE:

And Gumshoe is brave

 ADRIAN AND GUMSHOE:

Testimonies, totally messed up

 OLDBAG:

And Oldbag’s just for fun!

ALL:

Oldbag’s just for fun!

Oldbag is fun

Adrian is anxious

Gumshoe is brave

Franziska is fierce

De Killer is precise

Engarde is hot

Miles is trusting

Mia is good

Pearl is young

And Maya isn’t here

 And what of Phoenix Wright?

Dear, bewildered, and hardly alright

What of Phoenix Wright?

Scared, determined, and fighting for time

What of Phoenix Wright?

What of Phoenix Wright?

What of Phoenix Wright?

And now for my commentary because I worked hard and want to write my own retrospective. If I could put a read more UNDERNEATH a read more, I would.

The original joke I made half an hour into an eight hour work shift was “And Miles isn’t here.” About twenty seconds later the weight of “Maya isn’t here” hit me, and I spent the next seven and a half hours trying to write this song parody and work at the same time (and worked more on it on and off for the next four days). I nearly changed course while thinking about the entire musical as a whole because the idea of disbarred Phoenix singing “I used to be better” is deeply upsetting. Since my gateway song was Dust and Ashes, I also considered going the Rise From the Ashes route, but ultimately kept on with Farewell, My Turnabout. Something about this musical and Farewell, My Turnabout just feels right to me.

I couldn’t find anything as succinct as ‘There’s a war going on out there somewhere’ so I settled for changing the lyric a few times. I considered making all four different, but I liked having the whole company echo Phoenix’s lines back to him. Also, most of my other takes were goofy. “There’s a cat making noise in a house somewhere” and “There’s a bear with a lens in it’s eye somewhere” felt a shade out of place (though the dream of sticking the line “Stuffed bear snatched up by Edgeworth” into this musical remains. Don’t let me take on this project). I also had “There’s a blackmail tape out there somewhere” which I do like but I feel that it’s a bit too specific for this intro.

I like how the name sequence wound up. Maya, Pearl, Mia felt appropriate. Mia was a tricky one to write because the names Natasha, Anatole, and Pierre are all HORRIBLE to work around, but I kept her description as good because she fits any definition of the word. Pearl loving Maya very much felt like a very sweet, natural fit. I stand by my decision even if loving one’s cousin makes half the internet think of the ‘localization choices’ of a certain Sailor Moon dub.

Miles is a grande dame of Moscow in part because I wanted more syllables to work with, but I also like having him a little earlier in the song to mark his importance. I left writing his piece to last because it deviated a huge amount from the original text and I also wasn’t sure where to begin. And yet, after all that consideration, I decided to make fun of him instead by drawing attention to how he’s ‘just arrived.’ Rude.

I considered keeping old-school because... it’s not wrong? What are you even wearing around your neck, Miles (and where can I get one)? A friend of mine who is partway through Rise From the Ashes suggested ‘fuchsia’ and while that is absolutely hilarious, I did already make fun of Miles once. Twice, if we count ‘and Miles isn’t here.’ I went with trusting for a few reasons. One is that this is the first time we see him talking about pursuing the truth. And he really, really, TRUSTS in that. He smiles so much in the scene where he first comes back? I had forgotten? Just how much? That’s not entirely relevant, I’m just overwhelmed because I watched that earlier. We also see him trusting in other people much more readily than before, and trust in general is a big deal in this case. Phoenix TRUSTS HIM?! OOPS I MADE THIS ABOUT NARUMITSU.

Matt Engarde’s part wrote itself (as did the chorus, oh my god. It wanted to be written). De Killer, on the other hand? THE WORST. I had more trouble with his part than anybody’s. It’s partly because his name is KILLER and assassin is so many syllables and good synonyms are hard to come by and I couldn’t make hitman work and the names Anatole and Pierre had the nerve to be in the line originally. But, I won. Take that!

Franziska had to be fierce. I wanted to use “Franziska is fierce and always perfect” because perfect has to be somewhere and I think Dolokhov’s original line about not being too important would be truly insulting to her (Show him how it’s done, Franziska). Unfortunately, I was having trouble with her second line, so I swapped things around a bit.

I threw out ‘minor characters’ in favor of ‘our witnesses’ so even though I think Gumshoe is good, ‘Gumshoe is brave’ is probably the best sentence I’ve ever written in my life. Adrian Andrews is anxious because co-dependant is a lot of syllables, and I think it’s fair to say she’s got a lot of anxiety. I feel, really, really bad that I couldn’t fit Will Powers in. I ran out of room.

Now you might be saying, “Objection! Oldbag isn’t fun!” And you would be right. It makes me laugh because CAPCOM thinks Oldbag is for fun. Why else would she be in so many games? I considered making the line “And Corrida is dead!” but ultimately decided to make the speaker a witness. And the tone doesn’t quite suit Will Powers, he’s a bit shy for the last rousing call. I’m sorry, WP.

And what of Phoenix Wright? Goodness, that was a near save. The stresses on Pierre don’t fit anything! I did originally want to keep the line “Dear, bewildered, and awkward’ intact by adding ‘at times’ to the end, but then when I went for ‘fighting for time’ in the other line, I switched out awkward. Writing that last bit about Phoenix made me emotional. I love him.

And that’s Farewell, My Prologue!

[sage-nebula]

provided you're still taking these [and no one's asked it yet] ace attorney for the five things you'd changed meme? [if that's been asked then fire emblem awakening?]

I’m so sorry! I totally didn’t mean to ignore you. I took a break after a huge batch of these when I first posted the meme because my hands ended up hurting from typing so much, and then I got caught up watching the Switch presentation, and then I sort of … forgot that I had these in my inbox/got distracted every time I remembered. I’m sorry! I’ll go ahead and answer this now, though, so I hope it’s not too late.

As a reminder, this is for the “five things I would change” meme. Others I’ve already answered are:

Pokémon XY&Z AnimeDreamworks DragonsPokémon Sun&Moon GamesHarry PotterGravity FallsBlue ExorcistYu-Gi-OhFire Emblem: Awakening

(Yeah, I copy-pasted the apology from another response, but hey: it applies in both cases.)

And as for Ace Attorney . . .

First and foremost, I would completely remove the Khura’in element from the sixth installment. The Kingdom of Khura’in needs to go, entirely and completely. And for that matter? Playing as Phoenix needs to go, entirely and completely. I can understand it in AA5 since they both wanted to give him his badge back (though it’s ridiculous he lost it in the first place, but whatever), and also because there are periods over the course of the plot in which Athena cannot defend because she has been arrested, and Apollo can’t because he suspects her. We need a lawyer at that point, and so it makes sense that Phoenix would step up. However, there’s no reason to do this in AA6, and no reason to keep billing him in the title of the games. His time to shine is over. His part of the plot is done, unless you want to bring back Kristoph Gavin and tell us what those black psyche-locks are hiding (but more on that in a bit). The fact that we wasted so much time on him in AA6 when we have two other lawyers that we need to know more about/have more time with is ridiculous. I’m so beyond tired of Phoenix Wright. I want more Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes, and that means reworking the sixth game completely.So that said? No more Khura’in. This does mean that I lose my darling daughter Rayfa, but in all honesty that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. No Khura’in, no Phoenix acting as a lawyer, no Maya coming back just to be a damsel in distress yet again with nothing significant gained from her appearance. Instead, AA5 needs to take place solely in Los Angeles (/Japan/Japanifornia) once again, and the lawyers need to alternate between Apollo and Athena, both of them serving as the other’s co-counsel at different points. And, more to that point, Athena needs to be treated with respect. She’s still new, but she’s a competent lawyer and she has proven this. Treat her like it.But yeah, the Khura’in cases were godawful and a damned chore to get through. None of that. Chuck that in the garbage bin where it belongs. Worst. 

Apollo and Trucy need to know that they are siblings yesterday. Ideally this would have come out a long time ago, but at the very least it should have come out in AA6, particularly since it was teased with the second case focusing so heavily on the Gramaryes. And to the end, how much more powerful would it have been if Reus had been the final villain of the game, screaming “GRAMARYEEEEE” after it has already been revealed that Apollo himself is a Gramarye? Because as it stands, Reus and everyone else thought he was simply cursing Trucy and his family, even though Apollo was the one who brought him down. If it was revealed that Apollo was a Gramarye as well, that would have been so much more powerful for all of the characters present. As it stands, it was a waste. A waste and a shame.But yeah, Apollo and Trucy need to know. That plot thread needs to be tied up. The fact that we’re going on ten years---an actual decade---of having this dangling is absolute nonsense. There’s no reason for it, particularly since Capcom felt they had time to retcon chunks of Apollo’s history and introduce a ridiculous new country just so they could push a courtroom gimmick, make an excuse for Maya to appear as a damsel yet again, and act like Phoenix still has any relevance to the ongoing narrative. And speaking of dangling plot threads . . .

KRISTOPH. GAVIN’S. BLACK PSYCHE-LOCKS. This is the only remaining business that Phoenix has left unfinished---the only relevance he has beyond being a father and mentor to the current main cast. We need to know what those black psyche-locks are, we need to finish that up. I am concerned at this point that nothing Capcom reveals will be good enough, that any dark secret that Kristoph has buried is going to be underwhelming given that we’ve had a decade to think of possibilities---but I don’t care. I still want to know. They introduced the black psyche-locks in AA4 and refused to let us break them. They created that dangling plot thread. They then explained what black psyche-locks are in AA5. That is the perfect opportunity, then, to let us go back and break them---and yet it was an opportunity wasted. It could have been explored in AA6, particularly if we went back to the true heritage plot thread that was left dangling from AA4 as well, but again, that didn’t happen. So that said, I would make it happen. I don’t know what it is that Kristoph is repressing (I’d have to replay that part of AA4, because to be honest I don’t even remember what triggered the black psyche-locks), but damn, I really want to know.

I do want to see original trilogy characters again, but I want to see them incorporated in ways that are new and show that they’ve actually grown as people over the past ten (now!) years. This was done well with Ema, in that we see her as a homicide detective and then as a forensics investigator like she always dreamed. We see that she grew up, that she’s doing different things with her life, that she has changed as a person. This was done less well with characters like Pearl and Maya, who act almost the exact same as they did in the original trilogy with very minor design differences, almost as if Capcom was afraid to change them too much. In my opinion, this was done to their detriment. The most glaring example of this was in the DLC case for AA5, in which Pearl---who is a seventeen-year-old junior/senior in high school---saying “for-en-sick-ing” as if she’s still an eight/nine-year-old who doesn’t understand the word. That’s horrible. Pearl was shown to have grown up in some ways, but in others she acted as if she still had the intelligence and mentality of a small child, which is rather insulting to her character (especially since she was always supposed to be quite bright). Maya was a little better, but not by much. Often times she still acted so immature that moments in which she was supposed to be ~mature and wise~ (such as that moment with Rayfa that they flashbacked to 9882348309232 times as if to hammer home, “LOOK SHE’S ALL MATURE AND STUFF NOW!!!!!11!”) felt out of place and out of character. She simply didn’t grow enough to sell it. And if that’s how they’re going to treat OT characters, then I’d rather not see them in the present day games.So that said? While I do want to see them, I want to see growth and change. The next time I see Gumshoe, I want to see that he is actually Chief of Police, happily married to Maggey Byrde with some kids of his own. The next time I see Lana, I want to see that she did her time in prison and is either head detective down at the precinct, or---if her record prevents her from serving on the force again---is acting as a consultant for the police force. The next time I see Kay, I want to see her as a prosecutor, and so on and so forth. I want to see these characters having grown as people, having changed while still being recognizably themselves. This shouldn’t be beyond Capcom. They did it with Ema and Edgeworth, so I don’t see why they can’t do it with the other characters as well.

Lastly, I would make Phoenix and Edgeworth in a committed relationship at the least by the time AA5 rolls around, and probably engaged by the time AA6 does. Not only would it be amazing confirmation that Phoenix is bisexual (and having more bi visibility is always a good thing), and not only would it be a concrete reminder that Edgeworth is canonically not interested in women (and no, it’s not that he’s just ~married to his job~, but that’s a rant for another day), but it would also be a fantastic culmination of all the relationship development we’ve seen between them over the years. It would also be fantastic representation of a relationship that is, and has always been, on equal terms both in terms of dynamic in the workplace and in how they treat one another. I would love for it to actually be canon, particularly since it’s not as if a whole lot would have to change. Trucy calling Edgeworth “Papa” (in contrast to how Phoenix is her daddy), and a couple lines of banter about an upcoming wedding between them is all it would take. (Which is also fantastic representation, because it shows that, hey, they’re people in a relationship just like anyone else! LGBTQA people are just people, how shocking.) So yeah, I would definitely make that a thing, and it would be great. 

[fortunefavorsthebrave-dude]

took my melatonin HOURS ago but then got too into thinking about how i would fix the ace attorney sequel trilogy if given the chance so. here goes lmao under a cut so it doesn’t get crazy long

apollo justice: absolutely perfect start. wouldn’t change a single fucking thing.

aj2: for this one, klavier is still the prosecutor, ema is still the detective, and phoenix is still badgeless. we need more time to get to know the supposed core cast dammit. i’m stupid and can’t write mysteries so i have no real specifics BUT during one case they would introduce clay (maybe he’s in the larry role where apollo has to defend him as a fun continuation of that bit of og pattern) and the final case would end up revealing the truth behind apollo and trucy’s parents. maybe phoenix has to testify for some reason and apollo can sense he’s not telling the whole truth about everything and he breaks and tells them about thalassa. anyway. klavier gets a character arc where he works through all the shit that happened to him in aj, and he ends up stepping away from prosecuting for a while at the end of the game. ema manages to become a forensic scientist right at the end. both of these are important for the third game in the trilogy. oh and also i wanted something to tie it really directly back to aj, like another kristoph machination or a copycat killer, but i’m worried about it just being aj again. w/e i’m not actually making this.

OH MY GOD ALSO IMPORTANT: they don’t forget about the fucking jury system!!!!!!!! like the law does change (probably not in a meaningful mechanical way you’d still have to do cases the same it’s just a “jury verdict” now instead of the judge alone). that was such a huge part of the end of aj and it kills me that they just dropped it even though it wouldn’t have changed much about the games themselves.

aj3: this is just dual destinies with some tweaks, because i did actually like a lot of dd. the focus switches between apollo and athena as they swap out the defense and assistant roles during each case. athena takes point during the tutorial (so apollo can tutor), and takes point again during the last case where apollo is being a fuckin weirdo. obvi that would have to build up a little slower since i want apollo to be present in this game, but it’s generally similar. blackquill and fullbright and all that stays pretty much the same. what else uhh trucy is there just in a slightly reduced capacity (same as the original i guess lmao) and clay’s death actually hits you bc you’ve met clay before in the last game. klavier still helps out with the themis case, and probably makes at least one more minor appearance bc i love him. maybe in the tutorial to also help guide athena? he’s a nice guy he’d do that. better than a payne that’s for sure. anyway yeah at the end apollo says he’s sorry for suspecting athena and mentions something about what a great lawyer she is and how she’s more than capable of standing on her own.

WHICH LEADS INTO ATHENA CYKES: ACE ATTORNEY THAT’S RIGHT THE BATON IS PASSED ONCE AGAIN

i love apollo dearly but if he actually got a decent trilogy arc then i would be okay with him stepping aside to let athena shine. my concept is like. new detective and prosecutor (blackquill is DONE he QUITS fuck the justice system and fuck this he’s on a beach somewhere sipping cocktails and resolutely not thinking about courtroom shit) both of whom are ladies bc i hate gamers and i want them to be big mad. the assistant is none other than dear pearlie fey whom i love and miss and love. my rationale for this is like. 1) she and athena are around the same age so they’d get along well i think 2) every assistant is magic-based in some way and she fits the bill 3) it lets us see a character we haven’t seen since the og trilogy and who was also a child during her initial appearance like i would love to see how pearl’s changed and grown since then 4) i love her okay i just want her back

SO i have much less of a story concept for this one bc there would be new characters to kind of base things around (esp since athena kind of works through her trauma during aj3/dd) but i have this vision of like. phoenix is working towards getting his badge back (since capcom wants to suck his dick so bad fine w/e if you want another beenix trilogy you can have it but only after athena gets a turn) and he’s like ah shit pearlie’s flying in today from khurain but i have a test or something hey athena could you pick her up and keep her entertained. but athena’s like mr wright i have to go to a crime scene for my case and phoenix is like oh that’s fine i used to take her to crime scenes and court all the time she’s cool with it and athena is like. mr wright. why. but she picks pearl up anyway and she helps with the investigation and from then on they’re like Friends and they’re the duo for this trilogy, with an occasional swap-in from apollo and/or trucy. i also want there to be the question of like did phoenix do that on purpose or did he honestly just need athena to pick pearl up bc he double booked himself? The World Will Never Know.

i was also thinking about the seance mechanic in soj and how it’s interesting even though the rest of the game is a trash fire so like. maybe in the time between aj3 and ac:aa (which is maybe like two years?) spirit mediuming has kind of become cool again and is more widely accepted in a court of law so they can still pull off the seance bullshit and use that mechanic alongside pearl’s regular khurain channeling to spice it up some from the original trilogy. it could even be a case in the nebulous realm of aj2 that gets the ball rolling on that.

for the new prosecutor i think she has to be more of an edgeworth type than a klavier type, since athena is very emotional and less serious than apollo so she’d need to counterbalance that. as i was typing the last paragraph i was like oh FUCK what if she’s also a spirit medium from like a different family who’s trying to prove her worth against the fey clan in a public forum. idk how that would work mechanically but i would imagine similarish to nahyuta? like a female version of nahyuta but without the weird stupid family plot bullshit.

WAIT OH NO okay i forgot pearl was in dd!! it’s been too long since i played rip and she was in the bonus case too. like she has met athena already lmaooo. i’m willing to retcon that tho bc the aquarium case was kinda weird and hard to manage without phoenix being there, and also bc she doesn’t really do anything in dd, and also because i say so.

also: Pearl was originally characterized as a snooty rival spirit medium who was about the same age as Maya

took that off her wiki which means there’s some small amount of precedent for my new prosecutor. take that capcom. also i didn’t really mention the detective bc her character doesn’t super matter. it can be whatever lmao. double also all the old main characters make appearances throughout athena’s trilogy but i want to make it so so clear that it’s her shit and while the others might pop in to help out a little or just swing by and mention their own cases so we know they’re still out there, these are athena’s fucking games dammit.

anyway that’s all i’ve really got for now so. lol. i should go to bed.