#of course phoenix would let maya win).

[cornertheculprit]

so wholly obsessed with the idea that mia is the one who taught phoenix how to play poker in the first place

[imaginespazzi]

Happy night before the WNBA regular season starts to everybody who celebrates! I've gotten a couple of asks about trying to get into the W and which teams to support etc. etc. The best way to actually get into it, as with anything, is probably to just start watching games and seeing what team you vibe with. But I also figured I'd give y'all a ranking of my support of teams based solely on my opinion, partly based on player/playing style and partly based on vibes.

New York Liberty: Listen, I'm not actually a Liberty fan if we're honest but Breanna Stewart is my GOAT, and my favorite player of all time. Therefore where she goes, I go. Also on the Liberty, we have JJ who I adore (and has apparently locked a new level) and Betnijah Laney who is so underrated but so fucking good. If you're gonna root for the Liberty, a reminder that Sandy Brondello might have coached a team to a championship, but it doesn't mean she isn't gonna make you question her coaching at least once every game. When the Liberty are great, they're GREAT. When they're not, well...

Connecticut Sun: The closest I have to a home team and home to the most versatile player in the country, Alyssa Thomas. Can do everything, will do everything and is still so underrated. Brionna Jones is back from injury this year and I'm so excited for her and DB to be a lethal frontcourt duo. And if you're here for the Huskies, MoJeff is back home baby and I have a feeling ONO is going to take a big step this year. The issue with the Sun is they are very much always a bridesmaid, never a bride meaning they make it to the semis/finals but never win, will things change? Stay tuned!

Seattle Storm: For the longest time, because of Stewie, this was my team and I'll always have a soft-spot for them. They've gone out and made themselves into a super team of sorts with a core-4 of SDS-Jewell-Nneka-Ezi and while the pre-season hasn't quite shown that super team, I think time to gel will make them as good as ever. They also have a young core that I'm really excited to watch them develop with Nika (MY GIRL MADE IT) and Jordan Horston. Seattle's culture is one of the best in the league and while they might not win this year, if you're looking to stan for a long time, Seattle, with new team ownership member Sue Bird, is a solid choice!

Minnesota Lynx: The dynasty in rebuild. If a man hadn't ruined it, this would still be Maya Moore's team and she would be the face of the league but I digress. You know who the Lynx do have though? Napheesa. Fucking. Collier. My girl has been underrated for so much of her career, robbed of so many things (*cough* NPOY her senior year *cough*) but watch, this year or the next, Phee is gonna make the league give her her things i.e she's gonna be MVP. Also in Minny, your all-Rookie team favorites Dorka and Diamond are back and my girl AP is also in the mix. Again like Seattle, this is a team with a solid winning culture and if you wanna be here a long time, Cheryl Reeve will figure it out.

Washington Mystics: No Elena Delle-Donne and Mike Thibault is clearly tanking for Paige (mans is literally admitting it this not an assumption) so if this is your team, you'll be good soon, but probably not this year. Despite that thought, the Mystics always just kinda figure it out a little bit and I'm excited to see how Shakira Austin develops. And of course my MVLi is on the Mystics and she's gonna get a lot of playing time and I'm just very excited for her.

Phoenix Mercury: The Mercury have no business being this high on any list I know but they have DT and BG and I'm always gonna love those two. How far can a coach whose only qualification is basically being a "girl dad" take a WNBA team? Well I guess we'll find out (it's looking unlikely). Also the potential for drama on this team is always high because if you've seen the infamous picture, they have Kahleah Copper and Sophia Cunningham, what could possibly go wrong right?

LA Sparks: Before we get into now, let's get into the past because this team once upon a time had Nneka-Candace-Chelsea and fumbled all three. Just think about that. ANYWAYS moving on, Curt Miller (traitor of all time) is an interesting character, some love him, some hate him, but most can agree he's relatively a good coach. I genuinely do not know what's gonna happen but I think Rickea and Cam have the potential to become one of the best duos in the league eventually. Also Kia Nurse? Apparently in a mood to be a menace and I'm here for it.

Dallas Wings: Arike and Satou. That is it. That is all. I personally think Dallas is one good move (idk what move but it definitely wasn't a good move to trade Crystal) away from becoming a perennial championship contender. Arike and Satou is a good duo to start with but they're missing something and I can't quite put my finger on it. Either way, this is team built for offense and when they're winning, it's fun to watch, when they're not well...it's a good thing I'm not that invested. ALSO LOU IS BACK FOR THEM THIS YEAR!!

Indiana Fever: Never underestimate the Fever's ability to fuck it up. A lot of new fans are about to realize that this franchise does not know what the fuck they're doing for the most part. You hope having two generational talents in AB and CC will change that and I genuinely hope it does, because I would love to have them higher on my list. But for now, with absolutely no trust in anybody on that coaching staff, I'mma just watch it play out and hope for the best. Also shoutout Nalyssa Smith who I think is gonna get overlooked but have a great season.

Las Vegas Aces: Is it blasphemous to have the reigning champs this low? Potentially but blasphemy is also in treating a pregnant woman like shit and not putting your teammate with domestic violence charges/allegations on blast. Listen I'm not a complete hater and I do genuinely think the world of A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray. But I hate their us vs the world mentality and I'm not a huge Becky Hammon fan (that woman can coach her ass off though). Despite all of that, Vegas is still a fun team to watch and I expect them to continue to be the best team in the league.

Chicago Sky: GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE JAMES WADE. The Sky are this low for me solely because it feels like a brand new team. They've lost a lot and gained a lot and I'm so excited to see Angel and Kamilla be the twin towers. More than anything I'm very excited to see T-Spoon as their head coach. Ngl though, beyond that, nothing really moves me and the Sky as an organization, we all saw the press conference room, really, really, really don't move me.

Atlanta Dream: Honestly they just kinda dropped this low for no reason other than for some reason, I just don't really care about them? But it's also because I keep forgetting that they have Tina. Fucking. Charles on their team now, which means if I ever do this again, they'll be much higher because Tina Charles is AMAZING and I love her and she raises this ceiling of this team to something else. Also very excited to see Rhyne Howard progress along with her.

That was long for no reason really and I think it was more me ranting then anything of actual help but it's W season lovelies, prepare to potentially be sick of me! WBB IS BACK!!

[fool-counter]

December 29

Lodging House

Plaza

Maya:

Hey Detective Gumshoe! I'm sure you did a good job as usual.

Gumshoe:

Well, I am done with the investigation of the acrobat. Finally. But with Ms. von Karma...

...*beep* *beep*...

...*beep* *beep*...

...*beep* *beep*...

Maya:

Nick, what is that? That beeping sound?

Phoenix:

Hmm...

Gumshoe:

It's Ms. von Karma.

Maya:

Huh?

Gumshoe:

Every time I hear that sound, she's usually not very far behind!

Phoenix:

Some sort of pager or something?

Gumshoe:

If you don't mind pal, I'm gonna go ahead and get outta here... Quick. See ya, pal!!

Maya:

I didn't know that Gumshoe could run that fast! So much for being a flatfoot.

Phoenix:

(Never seen a grown man so afraid of a girl still in her teens!)

Maya:

Well, let's go inside... It's freezing out here! Uh oh... The whi... OWWWW!! That whip could cut right through me...!!

Phoenix:

Von... Von... Von... Karma!! (She really did appear!!)

von Karma:

It was a battle today in court, wasn't it... Mr. Phoenix Wright!?

Phoenix:

Did you have to jump out and scare us like that? What can I do for you?

von Karma:

Tomorrow will be the day. The day my dream finally comes true!

Phoenix:

You mean the story of my defeat at your hands making the national news?

von Karma:

Ha ha ha... National news? You possess such a small sense of scale... The global news, Mr. Phoenix Wright! Your miserable plight will be known internationally!

Phoenix:

(I think she might be overestimating the importance of a win by just a smudge...)

Maya:

Why do you keep giving Nick the evil eye!? It doesn't matter if you prove the defendant guilty tomorrow... Nothing will be able to bring your dad back!

von Karma:

... My... Dad? You must mean the esteemed Manfred von Karma.

Maya:

Of course! Your dad! I know you miss him...

von Karma:

Enough out of you... One more word and you'll get a mouthful of whip. Now. When did I ever bring up my papa's name in this, or any other conversation...?

Phoenix:

!! Then... Then what's this "revenge" thing you're talking about?

von Karma:

You wouldn't understand, Mr. Phoenix Wright. I have to see "him" again, one more time.

Phoenix:

"Him"?

von Karma:

I'm sure you know to whom I refer... Miles Edgeworth!!

Maya:

What!? Edgeworth!? Mr... EDGEWORTH!?

Phoenix:

M-M-Mi-Miles E-Ed-Edg-Edgeworth!! [<—— very straight reaction]

Phoenix:

Miles Edgeworth... Why would you even bring him up!?

von Karma:

You haven't forgotten, have you? Do you know who it was that trained the gifted prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth?

Maya:

!! Manfred... von... Karma...

von Karma:

Exactly right. It was my papa.

Maya:

That means that Edgeworth was...

von Karma:

Right again. Miles was like a little brother to me.

Maya:

Huh? Little brother? Edgeworth and Nick are the same age...

Phoenix:

(Edgeworth... The man who inspired me to become an attorney. I fought against him in a few cases... But after "that" case was over... He "vanished"...)

von Karma:

It's your fault he is gone.

Maya:

HUH!?

von Karma:

It's the truth, isn't it Mr. Phoenix Wright?

Phoenix:

I... I...

Maya:

Nick! What does she mean!?

Phoenix:

After that case, Edgeworth was in a peculiar state, and he got worse everyday. He never set foot into court again... And then one day, he just vanished. All he left was a simple note at the prosecutor's office.

von Karma:

"Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death"

Phoenix:

That was one year ago. It was right after you left to go back home.

Maya:

Mr. Edgeworth... He's dead?

von Karma:

I don't believe it. He's still alive. I'm sure of it... Somewhere in this world, he's still alive. "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death?" Of course he did! You ruined his reputation as a Prosecutor! You effectively killed the Prosecutor in him. Just like your victory muddied the honorable name Von Karma! I'm going to find him... Then I'm going to teach him the difference between right and wrong with my own hands!

Maya:

N-N-Nick! Umm... About Edgeworth?

Phoenix:

Maya, I already told you this once. Don't make me do it again. Don't bring up his name in front of me again, OK?

Maya:

N-Nick...?

Phoenix:

Von Karma?

von Karma:

What?

Phoenix:

I don't know if you are god's gift to prosecutors or not, but I've had about enough of you!! Him too!

Maya:

Wha... What happened?

von Karma:

Hmph. This dog is all bark and no bite. He's already been defeated... Regardless, I have nothing to inform you two of today. Tomorrow will be the greatest courtroom battle this country has ever seen!!

Maya:

Nick?

Phoenix:

Let's go. We need to talk with the performer on the third floor.

Maya:

I'm sorry I brought it up, Nick...

December 29

Lodging House

Plaza

Maya:

Hey Detective Gumshoe! I'm sure you did a good job as usual.

Gumshoe:

Well, I am done with the investigation of the acrobat. Finally. But with Ms. von Karma...

...*beep* *beep*...

...*beep* *beep*...

...*beep* *beep*...

Maya:

Nick, what is that? That beeping sound?

Phoenix:

Hmm...

Gumshoe:

It's Ms. von Karma.

Maya:

Huh?

Gumshoe:

Every time I hear that sound, she's usually not very far behind!

Phoenix:

Some sort of pager or something?

Gumshoe:

If you don't mind pal, I'm gonna go ahead and get outta here... Quick. See ya, pal!!

Maya:

I didn't know that Gumshoe could run that fast! So much for being a flatfoot.

Phoenix:

(Never seen a grown man so afraid of a girl still in her teens!)

Maya:

Well, let's go inside... It's freezing out here! Uh oh... The whi... OWWWW!! That whip could cut right through me...!!

Phoenix:

Von... Von... Von... Karma!! (She really did appear!!)

von Karma:

It was a battle today in court, wasn't it... Mr. Phoenix Wright!?

Phoenix:

Did you have to jump out and scare us like that? What can I do for you?

von Karma:

Tomorrow will be the day. The day my dream finally comes true!

Phoenix:

You mean the story of my defeat at your hands making the national news?

von Karma:

Ha ha ha... National news? You possess such a small sense of scale... The global news, Mr. Phoenix Wright! Your miserable plight will be known internationally!

Phoenix:

(I think she might be overestimating the importance of a win by just a smudge...)

Maya:

Why do you keep giving Nick the evil eye!? It doesn't matter if you prove the defendant guilty tomorrow... Nothing will be able to bring your dad back!

von Karma:

... My... Dad? You must mean the esteemed Manfred von Karma.

Maya:

Of course! Your dad! I know you miss him...

von Karma:

Enough out of you... One more word and you'll get a mouthful of whip. Now. When did I ever bring up my papa's name in this, or any other conversation...?

Phoenix:

!! Then... Then what's this "revenge" thing you're talking about?

von Karma:

You wouldn't understand, Mr. Phoenix Wright. I have to see "him" again, one more time.

Phoenix:

"Him"?

von Karma:

I'm sure you know to whom I refer... Miles Edgeworth!!

Maya:

What!? Edgeworth!? Mr... EDGEWORTH!?

Phoenix:

M-M-Mi-Miles E-Ed-Edg-Edgeworth!! [<—— very straight reaction]

Phoenix:

Miles Edgeworth... Why would you even bring him up!?

von Karma:

You haven't forgotten, have you? Do you know who it was that trained the gifted prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth?

Maya:

!! Manfred... von... Karma...

von Karma:

Exactly right. It was my papa.

Maya:

That means that Edgeworth was...

von Karma:

Right again. Miles was like a little brother to me.

Maya:

Huh? Little brother? Edgeworth and Nick are the same age...

Phoenix:

(Edgeworth... The man who inspired me to become an attorney. I fought against him in a few cases... But after "that" case was over... He "vanished"...)

von Karma:

It's your fault he is gone.

Maya:

HUH!?

von Karma:

It's the truth, isn't it Mr. Phoenix Wright?

Phoenix:

I... I...

Maya:

Nick! What does she mean!?

Phoenix:

After that case, Edgeworth was in a peculiar state, and he got worse everyday. He never set foot into court again... And then one day, he just vanished. All he left was a simple note at the prosecutor's office.

von Karma:

"Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death"

Phoenix:

That was one year ago. It was right after you left to go back home.

Maya:

Mr. Edgeworth... He's dead?

von Karma:

I don't believe it. He's still alive. I'm sure of it... Somewhere in this world, he's still alive. "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death?" Of course he did! You ruined his reputation as a Prosecutor! You effectively killed the Prosecutor in him. Just like your victory muddied the honorable name Von Karma! I'm going to find him... Then I'm going to teach him the difference between right and wrong with my own hands!

Maya:

N-N-Nick! Umm... About Edgeworth?

Phoenix:

Maya, I already told you this once. Don't make me do it again. Don't bring up his name in front of me again, OK?

Maya:

N-Nick...?

Phoenix:

Von Karma?

von Karma:

What?

Phoenix:

I don't know if you are god's gift to prosecutors or not, but I've had about enough of you!! Him too!

Maya:

Wha... What happened?

von Karma:

Hmph. This dog is all bark and no bite. He's already been defeated... Regardless, I have nothing to inform you two of today. Tomorrow will be the greatest courtroom battle this country has ever seen!!

Maya:

Nick?

Phoenix:

Let's go. We need to talk with the performer on the third floor.

Maya:

I'm sorry I brought it up, Nick...

fool count: 23

you HAD to sneak in that "very straight" part, didn't you?

[tact-and-impulse]

Narumayo Zine 2024

Thanks @narumayo-zine for another fun and successful event! My fic's also on the AO3 collection. Everyone's amazing work can be found here!

A Cute Voice

Phoenix stamped the snow off his shoes. The wreaths on the lobby’s walls were a duller green, a few decorative pinecones had fallen on the linoleum. Holiday cheer had given way to a regular morning at work, back to business as usual. He checked the Wright & Co. mailbox, grabbed the stack of envelopes, and headed to the upper floor.

Hm? It’s not totally quiet. Music blared from behind the door, and a muffled voice joined in.

“Go, go! Steel Samurai…”

It sounded like Maya, especially because of the theme song, although he’d never heard her sing before. Curious, he turned the door handle as quietly as possible. The office was much tidier, the desk and table cleared of stray papers. But his attention landed on Maya, pulling up the blinds with her back to him.

“That brave hero will save the town, fly high!” A clear, sweet soprano left her lips. Effortlessly, she reached the high note, perfectly on pitch. She spun around and froze. “Ack, Nick! Uh, hi?”

“Hey, Maya. Having fun?”

She blushed, scrambling to turn off the music. “I came early to help clean, I thought you’d be here later.”

“Early bird catches the worm. Anyway, you don’t have to stop. You sing really well.” He insisted.

She let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, I don’t know. Aunt Morgan once heard me trying a lullaby on Pearl when she was a baby, and she told me to never do it again, so…”

A spark of righteous fury flared within Phoenix. “That’s-”

“New year, new stuff, right? What have you got there?” She dove for the mail, and then, they were occupied with sorting through the requests.

One potential client was at a ski lodge, and when Pearl returned from Medium Valley, they decided to make it a weekend trip. Of course, they were inevitably stuck in traffic. As Phoenix tapped the rental car’s steering wheel, Maya punched the radio button. A pop song poured through the speakers and from the backseat, Pearl screamed in delight, adding her own slightly off-key but animated enthusiasm.

Maya turned to grin at her. “You like this band, don’t you, Pearly?”

“I really do! Mystic Maya, won’t you sing along?”

“It’s okay, I don’t know all the lyrics.”

She pouted. “What about you, Mr. Nick?”

“Same here. But I’ll try if there’s something I’ve heard before.” And as if on cue, the next song was familiar. Just his luck. He could carry a tune, he wasn’t going to win any awards though. He sang the chorus and the bridge, glancing at Maya. She was smiling wide, her eyes lit up like shooting stars.

“Wow, you’re awesome.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic.”

“Totally serious, Nick!”

“Well, you can take a turn. You’re probably better than us and we won’t judge you at all.” He said, holding her gaze. Her lips trembled.

“What if you both sing a duet?!” Pearl exclaimed. “That would be so romantic-”

Then, the cars ahead moved, and the rest of the drive smoothly sent Pearl into a nap. Dense trees lined the road, glittering with salt, and signposts pointed to the main resort. In a promising sight, snowy slopes emerged from cloud cover, tiny dots of skiers creating downward trails. Phoenix spoke first.

“I’m sorry, Maya, I didn’t mean to pressure you.”

“You weren’t!” She countered. “It’s only…I don’t know. I guess I’m nervous?”

“That’s alright. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be cheering you on.”

“…Thank you.” Her soft whisper rose and fell, a caress sliding around his neck.

Within minutes, they rolled into the parking lot. Maya tumbled out, her face flushed as she coaxed Pearl to wake up. It had to be the brisk wind. Nevertheless, the cold wasn’t quite touching Phoenix, his ears still hot.

***

Cards flipped, fabric rustled, applause resounded again and again. Trucy had pleaded to attend this magic convention, and by her unwavering expression of wonder, Phoenix didn’t regret it. She watched the other magicians with rapt attention, happily relaying to him what she learned. While she practiced some new maneuvers with Mr. Hat, he went to grab drinks. Apple juice for her, cider for him.

As he picked up the glasses, murmurs rippled from the entrance. Some rich patroness, apparently. However, his breath caught at the figure assisting the newcomer. Long dark hair, cascading over purple robes. A touch of mascara and lip gloss, highlighting more mature features.

Maya.

There had been furtive phone calls and tearstained letters, but this was the first time he’d seen her in person since his badge was taken. He almost wanted to hide. However, any escape was rendered impossible, when he found Trucy chatting with Pearl, who had a growth spurt. He felt Maya’s gaze on him, unable to meet hers, until the convention ended and the girls declared they wanted to get dinner together. So, they ended up at a ramen shop, receiving generous bowls. Trucy and Pearl held an excitable conversation, Maya offering small compliments about the food.

In the dark blue evening, they returned to the hotel. Phoenix carried Trucy, as he walked alongside Maya and a staggering Pearl. Their room was because of Maya’s employer, she explained, who liked the occult. It was certainly a far cry from the Wright Talent Agency; Pearl crashed onto a large silk-covered bed, while Maya insisted on giving them some of the goodies. He couldn’t bring himself to walk away. In his arms, Trucy stirred, her brows creasing in internal turmoil. Pearl rolled onto one side, then the other. Maya started to hum, that became a verse under her breath, in a low, soothing song. The girls grew calmer, and Phoenix felt like breathing was a little easier.

“This is my happiness, I want you to know. I’ll turn to the sky, and keep singing by the window.” She handed over the bag, with a brave smile. “Here you are, Nick.”

He managed to choke out. “Thank you, Maya. For this, and the singing.”

“Not a lot else to do under a waterfall, so vocal training must have paid off.” She deflected. “I’m getting stronger, so I can help you. Just…please, wait. You’ll have your badge back, I know you will.”

He could only nod and pull his beanie further down. More than ever, he wanted to believe in her words.

***

The thought didn’t occur to Phoenix until they were stateside again. Outside the airport, it was pitch black. Bleary-eyed with jet lag and adjusting his watch out of Khura’in time, he asked Maya. “Where are you staying?”

“I guess I can find a hotel room.” She yawned.

After everything that had happened? “Or, you can stay over with me.”

Her eyes widened.

He quickly corrected. “And Trucy! I think she invited Pearl too, I’ll call…” Embarrassed, he brought out his phone and let the girls know, who said they’d have hot drinks and their bedding ready.

“Separate rooms, Daddy?” Trucy innocently asked.

“Y-yes, of course!”

“Aw, okaaay. See you soon.”

As they waited for the cab, they sat in an empty area. Maya gave a bemused look at his suitcase but instead, she said. “You know, I don’t think I’ve said it enough times, but thank you, Nick.”

“I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. And now, you’re home again.”

“Yes, it’s so good to be back.” She ran her fingers through her sleek dark hair, closing one eye.

“If you want to rest, you can use my shoulder.”

“I’ll take you up on that.” And she promptly did.

Phoenix dropped his gaze; their hands were an inch apart, and carefully, his moved closer, just enough for the slightest touch. She shifted, but didn’t speak. Still, he recognized that she was awake. It just felt right to summon his voice, into a tune from one of his daughter’s shows. A closing, and an invitation to see another magic act soon.

And unexpectedly, Maya began to quietly sing. Low warm notes, climbing to that pure bright soprano. “Tides may ebb and flow, and the sun may rise and fall. Still, you’re with me through it all.”

He held his breath. He didn’t want to miss a single second.

“The shell you gave me sings a lullaby of the waves. It takes me back to that summer day.” She paused. “My mom and Mia used to sing this to me, but that’s all I remember of it.”

“It was wonderful.”

“Even in my exhausted state?”

“Not that I could tell. You’ve always had a cute voice.” He murmured.

Her hand bumped his, in protest. But she didn’t draw away. In the next instant, he captured her wrist, and she twisted around to intertwine their fingers. “Probably, no karaoke yet. At least, for now, I can sing just for you.”

He couldn’t resist smiling. “I’m glad.” And maybe, a little thrilled he was the sole exception. He did like her singing voice very much. The minutes stretched on, and he was on the verge of dozing off when his phone rang with the cab’s arrival. Their hands remained in place, as they wheeled their luggage through the airport. And they walked into the cool night, towards a well-deserved homecoming.

[wowowwild]

Ok Justice For All. This is not going to be exhaustive or comprehensive but here we go.

The first case we don't really need to cover. It's a tutorial, it achieves what it sets out to do, there's not a whole lot else. I really like the amnesia concept and while I wish more had been done with it (like being used in a regular case), I understand the mechanical service it does for a tutorial.

Our second case is solid. It was really fun to figure out exactly what happened and if you've been following my 'game posting' tag you saw exactly how much fun I had. I kind of wish we had gotten more out of Misty, but that wouldn't really work in this medium (lol get it). Obviously I love Pearly I adore her I would be her slave she deserves the world. Phoenix, stop showing her the horrors, please. I just really have to keep coming back to how fun this case was to solve. Sometimes the correct things to do mechanically make no sense to me bc I don't leap far enough with my logic, but this case I was able to do pretty easily which tells me it was very well written with the proper foreshadowing and such (and I am a sucker for properly laid ground work). I like that we get more Fey lore. I am devastated that I guesses the twist ending but I had no one to witness it. It's probably my favorite case this game.

Bigtop is a mess. We're going to ignore the Regina age problem for our sanity and pretend she's 18 bc wtf (I knew this but just now [as I was typing the end of this paragraph] connected the dots that in Japan 16 is viewed as our 18 and they just didn't localize her age). I really like Max! He's my favorite character to come out of this case and I will never let go of my wrightica/galactright ship (is there an official ship name?). He thinks Edgeworth is dead, it could happen. Also! Diversity win! The guy who murdered you is wheelchair bound! But actually I really like the concept of Acro's motivations, driven to madness and murder by grief. I like it less when we come back to Regina's canon age, like even when she's 18 Acro should still view her as a child and personally I could never hold something like that against a child. It was decidedly and accident and not even remotely her fault. It's not her fault your brother was swayed to do something idiotic by the power of boners, my guy. Also Regina is not ok. She needs help and the only one who realizes it is Moe. Everyone else is 'enabling' (that's not exactly the word I'm looking for but it's in the ballpark) her. Her own father was likely the worst offender. Moe may not be funny (I actually liked his jokes) but he is genuinely a great guy.

Our last case: Extremely well written. I went into this already knowing the outcome, how could I not. Despite this, I was so worried about Maya everything else went out the window. For a minute I actually convinced myself of the possibility that Adrian had done it (I am so sorry for everything we put you through, but it was for Maya). This case really put me in Phoenix's shoes. I'd imagine if you don't actually like Maya, this might not do for you what it did for me, but if you don't like Maya I don't know how you've managed to play all the way through the second game. Of course the good ending where you toss Engarde to the wolves (the assassin he hired) is iconic. That's what you get. Again if you've been following my 'game posting' tag you know I had strong feelings about Edgeworth through this. Most of them were due to the stress of Maya being kidnapped (I seriously got waaayyyyyy too in character during this case), but also he was smug as hell for no reason when he showed back up. He was like 'new me!' and refused to elaborate. Phoenix is not a mind reader, my guy. He won me over again so we're good. Also the dinner? At the end it literally says "I wonder if there's anything I can give him to express how I feel...?" I think we can all imagine my first thought... actually I don't trust people to put thoughts in my head, my first thought was a kiss. (You actually give the whip and Miles yet again thinks Phoenix is a mind reader, will it ever end?) I can't forget! Gummy's official stint at Wright Co! My one post about him being a Phoenix Wright weird girl was really popular and then my second (about this case) also got some notes, so clearly this is the Gumshoe content we're all looking for. (Can they please stop firing him though? He's going to end up dead on the street from starvation.) I thought it was really something how much Phoenix trusts Gumshoe. He said

The scene with Franziska and Miles at the end was sorely needed and it was fantastic. They're both growing and healing from shared trauma and it's beautiful.

Over all... I forget, is this the one people don't like out of the trilogy? I liked it. The first is obviously iconic and banger after banger, but I do like this one. Overall it's definitely worth playing and very enjoyable. (Idk bc I haven't tried it personally, but there's a post going around about ds estore emulation or something where you can play games from the ds estore for free now that it's closed, so as far as I know you can play it for free now.)

[heaven-s-black-box]

Defense Attorney Miles- phoenix/Miles roleswap

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Recovery date: August 5th, 2020

Description: A role swap for turnabout Samurai with defense attorney Miles and prosecutor Phoenix.

Notes: Recovered in conjunction with @thisusername-istaken, we thank then for their contribution.

Word count: 1 176

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“Maya, the episode will start without you!” Miles called from the couch in the office.

“Coming!” He heard her respond, albeit muffled through the wall, before she practically flung herself out of the bathroom and over the couch.

She flopped down next to him, and grabbed the popcorn from the table. Maya had suggested they watch the new episodes together as a “team bonding exercise”, after learning that he was also a fan. 

While that is normally something Miles would prefer to take to his grave, in the week he’d known Maya, he found she was quite nosy. 

At first, she’d found his signal samurai keychain, and asked what it was from. It didn’t surprise him that she didn’t know, Signal Samurai had been off the air since he was in middle school. After telling her it was an old Samurai show, she’d asked if he watched any of the newer ones, and he’d mentioned he watched Steel Samurai.

This prompted a slew of questions like “Who’s your favorite character”, “What’s your favorite episode”, and last but not least, “Can we watch this week's episode together?”

“Let’s go!” She said as the opening started to play.

“Shhh,” he laughed, taking a handful of popcorn.

---

Miles groaned and waved his hand around half heartedly to find his phone. His ringtone, a standard buzzing noise, was not as pleasant a wake up call as his alarm.

With his face still buried in his pillow, he accepted the call and brought it to his ear.

“He-”

“Miles! Turn on the TV, it’s horrible! He- Wi-” Maya continued to stutter out different words, as Miles turned on the tv.

“What happened?” Miles asked, as the tv turned on to the news. Will Powers’s picture was on the screen, and the text said he was a murder suspect. That didn’t seem right.

“They found the evil magistrate dead and they think the steel samurai did it. We have to take the case, there’s no way the steel samurai would do something like that!”

“Alright, calm down. Meet me down at the detention center in half an hour, and don’t forget to have breakfast on your way. We aren’t making snack stops.”

“Awww, fine.”

---

“Miles, I changed my mind,” Maya whispered as they entered the meeting area of the detention center, “he’s totally guilty.”

“Maya,” he hissed, giving her a half hearted glare. “Excuse me, Mr. Powers?” He asked, as he approached the glass. “My name is Miles Edgeworth, I’m a defense attorney. I came to ask what happened yesterday afternoon.”

---

“Phoenix Wright is prosecuting again?” Maya asked, as they left Gumshoe. “What, is he stalking you or something?”

Miles sighed, “It’s only our-well my, second case, it’s purely coincidental. Now come along, and try not to touch anything.”

“Why?! Think I’ll break something?” She jumped in front of him, and glared up at him.

“That or contaminate the scene,” he smirked. “ Assuming that detective hasn’t done so already,” he murmured, as he stepped around Maya. She pouted, before running after him and going back to her usual chipper self.

“And the great prosecutor is all depressed because you broke his win streak! He deserved it, he was super mean.”

---

“Congratulations, WP!” Maya cheered, as Miles smiled and nodded along.

“Oh? Oh! Heh heh.Thanks to you, I’ll be able to don the Steel Samurai outfit once more! I can’t wait to get back into that sweaty costume and… ...? Is… something wrong?” 

“No! O-Of course not… Aah! M-Miles! Wright!” Will turned around, only to find himself face to face with prosecutor Phoenix Wright. No one said anything for a minute, before Phoenix seemed to shrink a little.

“Edgeworth, it has... been awhile…” 

“It has. The outcome of the trial…” Miles trailed off, he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d meant to say. Phoenix and Larry had always been the ones with people skills, they were the ones who brought him into their little group of friends.

“Hmph, always the perfect defense, go ahead. Feel free to gloat.” Miles frowned.

“No. The outcome of the trial, we never would have reached it if you hadn’t helped. Thanks to you, Mr. Powers is free and Ms. Vasquez is facing her crimes.” He extended his hand, “thank you.” Phoenix looked down at his hand, but didn't take it.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Powers.*sniff*” Will stepped in, causing the slight tension to disappear.

Phoenix nodded, “Wright, I must say, your acting skills are quite amazing. I would never have guessed you are the man behind the helmet.” Will looked like he was trying to decide if he was supposed to be offended or not. Phoenix turned to Miles again, and said, “I must say, it’s no surprise we met again after all these years. It seems you haven’t changed.”

“What’s he talking about?” Maya asked, looking between the two boys. Phoenix was standing tall again, and it almost looked like they were about to fight.

“I only wish you had. Thanks to you, I am saddled with unnecessary… feelings.” Miles raised his eyebrow in question. Phoenix sighed before elaborating, “Unease… and uncertainty.”

“I would say those are rather necessary.”

“They only serve to get in my way.” Phoenix took a step closer, and jabbed a finger into Miles’s chest, “You listen to me, Miles Edgeworth. Don’t ever show your face in front of me again. That’,” he jabbed Miles again, “what I came here to tell you.” With that, he turned and left.

For the first time since they had begun talking, Miles turned to the others in the room. Will looked a little scared, and Maya looked like she was still trying to figure out what Phoenix had meant. Will spoke first.

“Umm… Mr. Edgeworth? Is… that guy your friend?” Miles felt a little surprised, he hadn’t thought about what they were. 

“What? Friend? As if! They’re rivals! Rivals! Right?” She turned to Miles, who was still thinking over how he’d define their relationship.

“While I do not believe they are mutually exclusive, “Maya frowned, she was smart, but sometimes Miles chose words she really had to think about, “I would say yes… for now.”

“Huh? What do you mean for now?! You need to try being more open, sometimes talking with you is like talking to…” she trailed off.

“A brick wall?” Will supplied.

“No. No. He’s not a brick wall. More like…” she clapped her hands, “I got it! Talking to you is like talking to a cat.”

“A cat?” Miles asked, as he began to pack up his papers.

“Yup! I don’t know what’s going on in your head most of the time. But you listen, and sometimes you share.” Miles smiled.

“I think your analogy needs some work.”

---

“Miles! Hurry up, it’s starting!” Maya called from the couch.

“Coming, coming.” Miles sat down beside her with a bag of freshly popped popcorn. “Careful, it’s-”

“Eah,” Maya whined, sticking her tongue out between chews. “Hawt,” she said, albeit muffled by the food and her tongue sticking out.

“I tried t-”

“Shhhh.”

[mikeyisbrooklyn]

I read this and have now conjured up an idea for AA7 that puts their relationship to the absolute limit but also reaches a satisfying conclusion.

I don’t have a lot of details but the important bits are as follows:

Early early on Apollo expresses disdain that Phoenix seems to show ample love to everyone but him but seems to only tolerate him or love him at arms length (this is because of Phoenix’s own insecurities around Apollo looking up to/becoming him); Phoenix should either directly find out about Apollo’s feelings or catch wind of them

Apollo (by some cruel twist of fate) is the defendant for case 2 of the game (that way the first case can stay nice and simple as tutorials ought to be); Phoenix insists on being his defense attorney (without assist from Athena, I’ll explain why in a bit) because he heard how Apollo feels and wants to disprove him; Phoenix FAILS to save Apollo and so Polly gets the book thrown at him

Athena comes in and saves the day, securing a retrial and getting Apollo an acquittal; she specifically has to not be a part of the initial trial because…

Apollo now HATES Phoenix for letting him down when he needed him most, especially because Phoenix insisted on defending Apollo instead of letting him do it himself, only to fail him

Case 3 & 4 could have any of them be the defense really but the important bits are that throughout the rest of the game Apollo refuses to even say a word to Phoenix; in fact Polly is outright moody and standoffish to everyone but Athena and Trucy

Reasonably, Athena and Trucy would be upset by this and may or may not try to get them to work together or work it out but regardless it won’t work

Phoenix will try to make it up to Apollo repeatedly in increasingly desperate ways (some of which being material) and word it as “try to win him back”, this wording is important cause…

Maya (of all people) sagely and honestly smacks Nick with a question: “Was he ever really yours to win back? I dunno kinda seemed like you hated the kid.” (bonus point if she meant it innocently because she isn’t all that knowledgeable on Nick and Polly’s complex relationship); this is all set up for the ending because for the most part we don’t get much more of Phoenix’s side until the end, but it’s important to know that he DOES have to think about his own shortcomings when it comes to Apollo

Finally comes Case 5, where *gasp* Phoenix is the defendant. But this part is important, he either has to be unconscious/in a coma, have memory loss, or is drastically incapacitated in some way, shape, or form.

Athena also has to be out of commission (but it can be for innocuous reasons, maybe she even comes in after Apollo has his **Moment** (we’ll get to that))

This leaves Apollo the only person who can defend Phoenix, but the thing is: HE DOESNT WANT TO; he’s still mad at the guy

Trucy loses it (in her own way, of course) and can’t believe Apollo wouldn’t want to save Phoenix “after all he’s done for him”

This makes Apollo finally **finally** blow up; he probably says something to the effect of “all he’s ever done for me is drag me into trouble and ruin my life or let me down” yadda yadda; point being is he’s at his limit and we get to see him pushed past his point of just accepting the same old song and dance it has been with Phoenix for the last couple of years of his life

He upsets Trucy big time and he’s remorseful about that but he still feels the way he does; she runs off in dramatic fashion and Apollo is left alone to stew with his thoughts; all the shit he’s ever been through since he met Phoenix; all the conflicting emotions, the fact that he still looks up to the guy somehow, the fact that some deep part of him feels like maybe Phoenix does care for him but he’s still upset because it’s always felt like not enough or not as much as he loves the girls; we get much a more in-depth exploration of the feelings he expressed at the beginning of the game; if we want Maya to be more important than just a one off line, she could also come in at this point to provide a bit more goofy unintentional wisdom (that she later reveals is intentional)

Somehow, Apollo finds out that once the Big Bad gets Phoenix out of the way (cause of course that’s the goal), they’re gonna do something that somehow hurts Trucy and/or Athena and Apollo finally makes up his mind: he’ll defend Phoenix, if only to save the girls

Throughout the (surely tenuous) trial, Apollo has his back against the wall multiple times but each time someone that loves Phoenix comes and gives just that little bit of aid he needs to keep going, all saying that they wish they could do more, and after it all he realizes something; Phoenix isn’t just important because of himself, he’s important because of all the people he’s saved, all the people he’s loved, they count on him and have counted on him to defend them and be there for him and now he needs someone to defend him who’s going to do it: Apollo Justice, the same person that defended him all those years ago and helped him put away Kristoph Gavin

At this point, Apollo takes the mantle because he’s not just defending Phoenix, he’s defending everyone he loves too! And he realizes pretty quickly that there is an overlap between who Phoenix love and who he loves and it settles something in him

If Athena comes back in, it’s just as support, this is purely Apollo’s moment; I’m sure Trucy and Maya will have their own words of encouragement to add; and if Phoenix comes back in to, he could offer the final piece of evidence needed to win the day, but ultimately Apollo needed to have already come to the conclusion himself, and Nick just simply helped cement it (bonus points if we can fit in a forged evidence joke/reference to bring back around)

Apollo Justice saves the day, people cheer, happy ending!! But before we fade to black, the boys finally talk face to face; Phoenix thanks Apollo and self-degradingly apologizes for not being able to do the same which prompts Apollo to clarify that he wasn’t really mad about that, and he expresses his complex feelings; upon sharing that he’s always felt that Phoenix just cared about him less then everyone else, Phoenix finally admits that all of that is because of his own fears that Apollo would be like him, and his subconscious idea that if he made sure he kept his distance, he can’t do anymore harm to the kid; Apollo does admit that Phoenix has brought him a lot of trouble, but he’s also brought him a lot of love too, even if it took him a bit to realize it; Phoenix apologizes for that too and promises to not make it so hard to see and maybe even says he’s proud of him; Apollo sends the game off with a touching monologue about how important the things and people we love are and the many ways how we show that may be, seeming content with his place in life and the direction he’s going, sure that whatever and wherever it is, he’ll have the people he loves near him

And that’s the end of ** “Apollo Justice: Trial By Fire” **

Alright I’m done, thanks for reading all that of you did. TLDR: hard to do but essentially Apollo and Nick has to face their complex relationship and resolve it finally because Apollo goes to jail and Nick almost goes to jail (again) and the boys have big feelings.

phoenix and apollo's relationship is like:

you were my childhood idol and were so important towards the choices i made that i cannot extract your influence from my personality / you looked up to me in a way that is frightening and reminds me of the person i used to be who was so much better than who i am now

your daughter is my sister but you are not my father except when you are / my daughter is your sister but you are not my son except when you are

i hate you for the actions you forced me to take against my will that could have doomed me to a fate you know to be hell / i hate myself for the actions i forced you to take, but i was not given a choice either before i was dragged into this fate worse than hell

you ripped my future away from me and saved my life in equal measure / i was forced to choose between letting a murderer walk free for a second time, the same one who ruined my life, or ripping the future out from under the feet of a boy i'd never met and now i know you and i know i made the right choice but i hate it

i miss the way i used to be able to look at you / i miss the way you must have used to look at me

please teach me / please let me feel i have something worth teaching

i am afraid of you because you show me what i could become / i am afraid of you because you show me what i used to be

we both love this little girl so much and don't know who we'd be without her and she loves us both so dearly but we almost can't stand each other except for her sake

you never tell me anything about yourself, i know nothing that i need to know

i have let you down, i have let you down, i have let you down

i can never be who you want me to be, i can never be who i want myself to be

if i said i loved you it would be a lie, it i said i hated you it would be a lie, if i said i was neutral on you it would be a lie, and we both know lies when we see them, don't we?

[4ragon]

ooo if you could write a bit about your take on klavier & phoenix dynamics or maybe kristoph & phoenix? love ur fics btw!

Eeee thank you!! I'm glad you like them.

Man, Phoenix's relationship with both of the Gavin brothers never ceases to fascinate me. It's such a deeply complex web of mistrust and betrayal and forgiveness, and it's so interesting!

I guess to start with, let's talk Phoenix and Klavier. Because whoo boy, I feel like that is just a mess. I do genuinely believe that Phoenix suspected Klavier was complicit in the scheme that got him disbarred at first. I mean, honestly, that sort of fits with a lot of the corruption he'd been dealing with prior to that final case. Not all prosecutors were bad or evil, but so many of them had something to prove. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that this self-absorbed hotshot rookie would be so desperate to win that he would frame Phoenix and destroy his reputation.

I think the part that stumps me is when exactly Phoenix realized that Klavier was not to blame. Did he learn it over the seven year gap? Did it take until seeing him face off with Apollo in court? But I think once he realizes it, he realizes that of course he can't blame a seventeen year old kid for what happened. After all, Phoenix did present forged evidence. He made that decision, even if he was tricked. And Klavier, a literal child, was just doing what he thought was right. He knew there was a forgery, he drew it out, and he stopped it. His only mistake was trusting Kristoph, and how could Phoenix possibly blame a child for trusting his brother? No, as soon as Phoenix realizes that, I think any ill will toward Klavier would disappear in smoke.

Conversely, I think Klavier really did believe that Phoenix was a cheat and a liar, but I do think there was still that piece of doubt in him that gnawed at his insides. It's part of why he left the court to focus on his music career. He knew that he was right, but there was always that piece that wouldn't fit right, and it made him far too terrified to ever try to look past the surface until the Misham trial. Instead, he doubled down on his beliefs, that he did the right thing, that Phoenix was a hack fraud.

And then, I think as soon as that denial was no longer an option, he felt immensely guilty. After all, he ruined an innocent man's life for no reason.

I feel like Klavier is convinced for many years afterward that Phoenix despises him, and that hatred is justified. I think he would probably be good at hiding it, he's very good at masking his feelings and performing, just like Trucy. However, I think it would take a long time to really forgive himself, and I think until he and Phoenix have a heart to heart, he really wouldn't be able to move past that.

Phoenix, of course, would still have mixed feelings, but hatred and blame are not among them. He thinks Klavier is a good man, and a competent lawyer. Still, I think being "close friends" with Kristoph for seven years would mean that Phoenix would notice some subtle similarities between the two of them.

Whoops, that was a lot of text and I haven't even gotten to Kristoph yet.

I do think I've talked about these two before but I think what interests me the most about these two is how, even when they’re using people and manipulating those around them, their motivations are so wildly different.

Like, funnily enough, I feel like their biggest flaws are that they both desperately need to be needed by people around them. Phoenix barely functions when he's alone. He didn't take a single case after AA1 when Maya went back to Kurain, he seems like he's prone to bouts of depression. Interestingly, I saw a post from an interview that mentioned that when he has free time, unless he's invited somewhere by someone, he just sits at home and watches tv.

I think a lot about Phoenix's motivations (if you couldn't tell from the ENTIRETY of the Miraculous Disappearance of Phoenix Wright) but I think what makes him interesting to me is how much he cares about the wellbeing of people around him. He has a hero complex, in part because he's just so gosh darn empathetic. He's been there, he knows what it's like to have no one on his side. He feels that pain, and he needs to make sure no one else has to feel that pain. And he's so caught up in the pain of others that sometimes he doesn't know how to take care of himself.

Conversely, Kristoph also needs to be needed. But unlike Phoenix, that need isn't really fueled by empathy. It's fueled by his need for control. Again, mentioned that before, but Kristoph is so deeply terrified of not being needed, of not having that control of other people. He uses people and manipulates them not because he’s some evil monster, but because that’s how he keeps in control of the world around him. Mmmm shoot I don't want to go too much into this specific topic because my friend Grace was talking about this the other day and I don't want to just steal her ideas. She’s very smart. I feel weird about tagging her though I don’t know if that’s rude or not.

Anyway, in addition to that, I love thinking about their friendship. They were clearly "close" by AA4, and I have to imagine they knew each other incredibly well. They ate dinner together every week. Phoenix had visited Kristoph's office before. I like to imagine Phoenix at least partially wanted their friendship to be real. Façade though it was, there was still time and effort put into that relationship. They still had to know so much about each other, you can’t spend that much time together and not become intimately familiar. Phoenix had to let Kristoph into his life, and vise versa, if they wanted to keep up even a pretend friendship, and I feel like that has to fuck your head up.

I find myself wondering how entrenched in Phoenix’s life Kristoph was. Would Kristoph know Miles or Maya? I feel like his relationships with them were sort of strained in that seven year gap, and I feel like Kristoph was a big part of that. Part of it was conscious sabotage on Kristoph’s part, and some of it was Phoenix not wanting to put his friends in danger, but I feel like Kristoph wittled away a lot of Phoenix’s support system.

Hmm, this post is getting too long and ramble-y, so I’m going to leave it there.

[rivalsforlife]

Phoenix Wright: The Truth Reborn: Oh No We’re Doing This Again

hi.

Nearly two months ago, I wrote an essay summarizing and making very wild conclusions about the second Takarazuka Musical. I did this about two and a half years after watching the first Takarazuka musical. As such I did not have the full context for many things from the musical and was relying mostly on my memory, which blocked many things from this musical for my own safety. However, just this week, I decided to rewatch it, because I enjoy tormenting myself. I said I wouldn’t write anything on it. Here I am writing something on it.

Here’s the youtube thumbnail so that you know what you’re getting yourself into. And here, of course, is the link. This is the HD version which may be slightly more pleasant to watch. Maybe.

It was not quite as cringe in a funny way as the second musical to me, and therefore this essay may be less funny, but I feel like I’m doing a disservice to people by providing a summary of the second musical while completely neglecting the first. Quite possibly doing this is even more of a disservice. I just eagerly await the day that the third musical is translated because *that* will be the day that I finally shuffle off this mortal coil. Either way, I want to write this stuff down so that I never have to watch the musical again out of curiosity.

The following essay will contain major spoilers for both the first and second Phoenix Wright Takarazuka musicals, as I will be using many points from this musical to argue my thesis of the second musical. ... like you were going to watch them anyways. 

This one broke 8k. I’m dead inside.

Introducing The Director

Again another disclaimer that I don’t have anything against the actresses or the theatre troupe. I DO have something against Suzuki Kei, who I recently learned is the writer and director of all three of the Ace Attorney Takarazuka musicals, and is quite possibly my mortal nemesis.

This man is the one who brought this monstrosity into the world.

This man, allegedly, cleared the first four ace attorney games *seven times* before sitting down to write these musicals. He played these goddamn games seven times and did not take in a single word. The man clicked through them mindlessly while watching a badly written legal romance drama in the background and got them completely confused. I genuinely have no idea how this man could have played these games more times than even me and yet managed to get so many characters (MAYA!!!!) completely and utterly wrong. This haunts me every day, truly.

This man played Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations, and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney seven times. SEVEN TIMES EACH!! and was told to create a musical based on the series. He played these games seven times each and you know what he said?? You know what he said?? “This sucks, I’m getting rid of all of Phoenix’s backstory, butchering half the characters, and writing Phoenix/Lana fanfiction, but also rewriting all of Lana’s backstory so that she was Phoenix’s childhood friend, and you know what, I’m changing her name for good measure.”

I think this man played the games seven times each and then hated it so much and was so sick of it he tried to write something that destroyed as much of the series as possible while still being vaguely recognizable. And then somehow it became a massive hit because people like me see this and go “what the actual hell” and watch it, or people who haven’t played the games see this and go “wow what a great musical!” and then he wrote TWO MORE, destroying EVEN MORE every time in his wake, until finally, finally, he stopped after making Edgeworth straight and time traveling into the past to face off against a corrupt Gregory. I guess that was the last straw.

I have to issue a disclaimer here that for legal reasons this is a joke. I don’t actually hate this man and would not punch him in the face if I met him because that would be rude, and he is entitled to his wrong interpretation of the games. I don’t know what his thought process was. But allegedly he did play the games seven times according to the wiki. This whole essay here is satire and not slander and I don’t want to offend this guy if he somehow stumbles across my nonsense tumblr post. At the same time: Suzuki Kei blink twice if you need help.

Anyways half the reason that I’m making this essay is because I want to share my fake ao3 page for this musical. The other half will become apparent later.

Sorry if that’s illegible because of tumblr quality it’s not really important. All you really need to know is that it’s a fake ao3 screenshot for the musical. Also in the author’s note I said he played the games four times but it was actually seven I just remembered wrong because I didn’t want to believe it.

at this point you may be like “Grace shut up and get to the actual musical” and okay, fine, let’s start this nonsense. Also note that I may be referencing things from my essay on the second musical very frequently; I’m not going to force you to go read that though because the fact that you’re reading this is enough of a torment already.

The Musical Begins

Unlike the second musical, this one opens with some narration from Phoenix.

Transcript:

Phoenix: I’m reviewing a particular case at the moment. To me, this case... is one I’ll never forget.

Immediately I think this is important because it establishes that this whole musical takes place in a flashback that Phoenix is reflecting on. Why is this important? Because we know, by the time of the second musical which takes place three years later, Leona is dead.

Knowing that Leona is inherently doomed to die of her Sad Woman Disease paints this whole musical in a different light. It’s not Phoenix reflecting on how he got back together with his lover; it’s Phoenix dwelling on their past together, and the opportunities they had, before her life was so cruelly and inexplicably taken away. We don’t know if Phoenix’s reminiscing takes place before or after Leona’s death... but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was after.

Phoenix, still in the present, starts to sing. “A wave appears on the horizon like a mirage, it trembles, then vanishes. Your voice, carried upon the waves, fades upon the shore, erasing the splendor of the past.”

This line actually shows up in the second musical, sung by Lucia about her imprisoned fiance quite possibly. It’s kind of hard to tell what the meaning of these songs even are. They’re too abstract for me I think. But this line appears very frequently in the first musical when Phoenix is thinking about Leona.

Then we enter the flashback time.

Phoenix inexplicably yells at a newspaper saleswoman. This is not relevant to anything whatsoever. Then Larry barges in to the office, looking for Maya. Phoenix describes him as “A real trouble maker, but you just can’t hate the guy”, the latter part of which I think many people would disagree with. 

Well, afterwards, Maya comes in. Phoenix describes her like this while making exaggerated “can you believe this shit” gestures.

Transcript:

Phoenix: She’s as ditzy as they come. Oh, and about the outfit... Apparently she comes from a family of spirit mediums. Try not to make fun of her, okay?

Suzuki Kei personally has it out for Maya and I can never forgive him for it. Maya in these musicals is here for pure comedic relief but it’s not even comedic because I just get so angry. How can you play the trilogy seven times and think this about her?? The girl who figured out DL-6?? The girl who told Phoenix to sacrifice her life in order to find the truth?? The girl who put on a brave smile in order to try and cheer up her younger cousin even after she saw her own mother murdered right in front of her eyes?? That Maya Fey?? Ditzy as they come??????

Ugh. Moving on.

Maya and Larry run off, leaving Phoenix to watch the American Broadcast.

Important things to note here are the Godot mug, the little line up of what I think are the messed up little ace attorney figurines beneath the screen, and the fact that while this broadcast is supposedly from and to America the screen is actually not at all showing America. Like literally almost everywhere in the world except North and South America.

The broadcast says that Leona Clyde, age 24, was arrested for murdering the senator Robert Cole! Leona Clyde -- that’s Phoenix’s ex-girlfriend! He runs off to the detention center.

She is not happy to see him.

Leona: Mr. Wright... I’m not the woman you once knew.

Let’s Play A Matching Game

Sorry for the abundance of screenshots that are going to be throughout this section. Phoenix convinces Leona to let him defend her. Some of the conversation seems... familiar.

Leona: No one would defend someone who admits to killing a senator. I’m waiting for a court-appointed attorney.

Edgeworth: Every defense attorney I’ve talked to has turned me down.

Phoenix: In that case, let me defend you.

Game Phoenix: Let me defend you.

Leona: Don’t be ridiculous!

Edgeworth: Don’t be ridiculous.

Phoenix: I’ll never accept that you’re a murderer. Let me prove your innocence!

Game Phoenix: Huh? Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to prove that Miles Edgeworth is innocent.

Leona: I’ve already confessed my guilt.

Gumshoe: He confessed that he did it! In court!

Leona: It’s foolish to think you can win this case.

Edgeworth: My case is near hopeless, Wright.

Leona: (in response to phoenix offering to defend her) No you won’t! Don’t ever come here again.

Edgeworth: Look, just go away, and leave me alone!

Phoenix: You of all people should know. Once I decide to do something, I see it through to the end.

Edgeworth: Once you start on something, you always see it through, don’t you?

Leona: I never thought that you’d be representing me.

Phoenix: Ah, who could have guessed this day would come?

Edgeworth: Not me.

Phoenix: You believed in me. You saved me. And this time, I swear... I swear I’ll save you!

Game Phoenix: Edgeworth believed in me, and I believe in him. I’m the only one who knows the real Edgeworth. I’m the only one who can help him.

I could’ve done a few more, but tumblr is already threatening to murder my laptop.

So long story short, Phoenix manages to convince his lover to let him be the defense on the case. Then immediately after swearing to save Leona, he starts singing a song, which I’m not screencapping because this is enough:

“As long as there are people in this world, there’s only one path I will follow! As long as there is love in this world, there’s only one path I will believe in!”

Edgeworth sings this in the second musical after saying that he returned to California because of Phoenix. Phoenix sings it now after swearing to defend Leona. You draw your own conclusions.

And then we finally get the opening credits. Eleven minutes in.

Just Pretend This Is Narumitsu Fanfiction

Following the credits, we see a beautiful beach. Couples (exclusively heterosexual, of course,) dance and embrace in the background for some time, before revealing Phoenix and Leona, in the Even Further Past, before the LSATs or whatever the ace attorney universe’s excuse for law school exams are.

Phoenix establishes his absolute hatred of change, an important characterization moment.

Phoenix: The view here never changes, huh?

Phoenix reminisces on when they were kids. Leona’s parents were both lawyers (they’re both lawyers) and sometimes they would be like lawyers with her when she was a kid. This inspired her to also become a lawyer after their tragic death of Sickness. They never specify what the sickness is that caused two people who must be relatively young to die while Leona was in her early twenties at the latest. It may be whatever sickness claimed Leona’s life later. Sad Woman Disease. (Sad Man Disease for her father, I guess?)

Phoenix also talks about why he’s becoming a lawyer.

Phoenix: Watching you chase your dream inspired me to become a lawyer too.

So, it’s not “my childhood friend looked sad in a newspaper” because I guess that makes no sense or is too gay or something. But this is another important piece of Phoenix characterization. His entire life so far has been focused around Leona. They’ve been friends since they were kids, and then Phoenix decided to become a lawyer solely because Leona was becoming a lawyer. Not even to try and get back into contact with her after she moved away or anything; just because he’s so obsessed with her that he wants to have the same career as her, then they can run a Mom & Pop Law Firm or something, years in the future, after years of happy marriage and a few children or like whatever the hell.

Well, there’s a few steps they’ll need to get to that. At this point Phoenix still hasn’t confessed his feelings for Leona. He does so here, on this beach.

Leona tries to protest.

Leona: But I’m pushy, selfish, and only care about my goals... You’d get fed up with me.

Phoenix: That’s what I’ve always admired about you. That’s who I’ve been chasing all these years. That’s the only person... I love.

Sooo, Phoenix, your type is pushy selfish people who only care about their goals...? In the first, older lower-quality video translation it was “only care about my work”, too. Hm. Things to think about.

They sing a little duet together. Then we go back to present-day of what’s technically still a flashback. Whatever. Murder is happening.

Back To The Murder

So some plot things to establish: Leona is the legal counsel of Governor Miller, who is running for president in the AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. After the flashback so that Phoenix has some time to change clothes, they show an interview of him talking about the murder.

Governor Miller: I vow to forge a peaceful country with my own two hands, and to prepare myself for whatever may lie ahead.

Reporters: Through thick and thin, he’s a friend of the people!

The Takarazuka musicals are not very good at hiding their killers.

Phoenix: Oh yeah... It’s almost time for the presidential election, isn’t it?

NEVER FORGET, WRIGHT. THIS IS AMERICA. LAND OF THE FREE! god what even was that line.

Anyways, we meet Gumshoe, who is incompetent once again. Maya runs around the crime scene, picks up the murder weapon, puts her fingerprints all over everything, moves things around, all while Phoenix is like “lol get a load of the world’s stupidest girl” or whatever. But who cares about that.

It’s time to get to the only valid part of this musical.

Edgeworth’s Gay Little Villain Solo

You may have seen this one before.

Edgeworth arrives, but not really. It’s like Phoenix heard Edgeworth was prosecuting and immediately entered a dream-like state, where Edgeworth is heralded by the sound of trumpets in Great Revival. He’s played by a different actress than in the other two musicals, since I think she retired in between the six or so months from this musical to the second. She still plays the role well, though, or as well as can be when you’re written in an ace attorney Takarazuka musical.

Shrouded in scarlet solitude... it’s Edgeworth.

Yes, those are six Edgeworths. Yes, they pick Phoenix up and carry him around and dance with him. Yes, it was probably not meant to be at all homoerotic.

He sings a song that’s called “My rule”. I only figured this out later, but it’s loosely based on a “catchphrase” of his in the Japanese version - in game 1 he says something along the lines of “All I can do is get every defendant declared guilty! So I make that my policy.” In DD in his dramatic anime introduction before the trial, he says “I intend to question the defendant with all I have. For that is a part of my creed.” “So I make that my policy” and “For that is a part of my creed”, to my understanding, are both translated from the same line, which I think is like, “sore ga watashi no ruru”, “That is my rule.” (If I’m wrong, please correct me.) In this song he sings about how he’ll reduce all criminals to ash and such, basically talks about his game 1 prosecuting strategy as “my rule”. 

It’s very fun and probably if you want to only watch one number of this musical, it can be this one. It starts about 26:10 in the video I linked.

Once the musical number is done, Phoenix and Edgeworth stare at each other, and the background fades into the courtroom, so court begins. I feel like I should note that Phoenix has not picked up any evidence or talked to any witnesses in this investigation except for Gumshoe, since Maya just moved some things around and then Phoenix had some weird fever dream about Edgeworth which presumably took up the rest of the day.

The Trial, Day 1

Edgeworth: Consider it a prelude to the poignant Greek tragedy that’s about to unfold.

Maya: The real tragedy’s your pompous attitude!

Those are the only screenshots I took of this trial day. Here’s a summary, though:

The trial starts off with Leona confessing, Phoenix says “no I think she’s innocent”, and since ace attorney doesn’t care about the defendant’s wishes he’s allowed to proceed. For some reason Leona lets him do this without complaint. 

Gumshoe is the first witness, he claims to have caught Leona red-handed at the scene of the crime, standing over the corpse. Phoenix tries to claim that since Gumshoe didn’t see Leona committing the crime, he didn’t actually catch her red-handed, to which Edgeworth responds “What do you think being caught red-handed means?” 

Once Gumshoe is dismissed, Lotta takes the stand. She has a photo of the actual moment of the crime, where Leona is holding a knife in the air in front of the victim. 

The Takarazuka musicals like to do this thing where the image is blurry and zoomed out, but then Phoenix will go “I’VE NOTICED A CONTRADICTION” and it zooms in really far as the resolution increases drastically in order to show you the contradiction that is impossible to spot for yourself, because they don’t want people figuring out the mystery in this musical based off of a video game where you have to solve the mystery yourself. Anyways Phoenix zooms in on this photo and sees that there’s blood on Leona’s hand, presumably before she stabbed the victim. How did it get there?

Edgeworth suggests the victim was stabbed multiple times. Phoenix says the autopsy report contradicts that. Edgeworth, uncharacteristically, does not update it to suit his argument. 

Phoenix concludes that this photo is not showing the moment Leona stabbed the victim, but the moment Leona removed the knife! ... Which somehow casts doubt on her having been the one to stab the victim. Because as everyone knows, anyone wanting to kill someone would never remove a knife, it’s not like they’d bleed out faster that way, or anything.

And this whole contradiction is confusing because presumably if the victim was stabbed and then the knife was removed, they’d know that happened, because then the knife would not be found stuck in the victim’s body, since the victim was only stabbed once. So this shouldn’t be news to the prosecution that someone removed the knife after stabbing. But the investigation was headed by the most incompetent version of Gumshoe ever, so. sure. I guess no one knew.

That at least manages to extend the trial another day.

This Totally Has To Be Illegal

After the trial, Phoenix goes to talk to Governor Miller, aka Mr. Totally The Real Killer. Phoenix asks him why he decided to hire Leona as his legal advisor.

Basically, it’s because her parents were both renowned lawyers. Her father was a Chief Prosecutor, and her mother was a defense attorney. ... a prosecutor and a defense attorney couple... who does that remind us of...

Phoenix points out that just because her parents were good lawyers, it doesn’t mean she’d necessarily be one. Miller says that, sure, but she is actually really talented, and her law school marks were spectacular. Phoenix says “WHY WERE YOU LOOKING AT HER LAW SCHOOL MARKS”, like it’s somehow? suspicious? for a government official hiring legal counsel to look at their law school marks?

Apparently it IS suspicious because Governor Miller freaks out and asks if this is an interrogation. Before Phoenix can press much further, he gets a phone call, and leaves Phoenix alone in a big room.

So naturally Phoenix behaves like a fully grown adult running a law firm.

If all he did was sit in the chair, lift up a desk lamp, and poke his finger on a pen, that’s one thing. But then he leans over, OPENS THE GOVERNOR’S DESK DRAWER, and finds a knife that’s just sitting there casually. It looks like a butter knife. It’s not anything major. Maybe the dude just wanted to butter his toast?

I mean I know Phoenix will dig around in stuff whenever in the games, but he has no reason to suspect Governor Miller at all, much less dig through his drawer probably full of confidential government documents to lift up a knife that he thinks is suspicious. It’s not even covered in blood or anything?

Naturally Governor Miller’s assistant comes in just then, and Phoenix puts the knife. in his breast pocket. 

bud. It may look like a butter knife, but putting knives up against your chest is not a great idea. Much less stealing a knife from a governor? 

Well, in his panic, he accidentally knocks over a bunch of books on the desk. The governor’s assistant helps him pick them up, and they find a photo. Look a little familiar?

The photo has the assistant, the victim Robert Cole, Governor Miller, and the victim’s brother who died in an incident two years ago. He’s the “Neil Marshall” of this musical, and he died in what was essentially the SL-9 incident. Same general premise, except it occurred in the courthouse, and the names are different.

AND FINALLY WE REACH THE END OF ACT 1. They do a musical number here which is a weird sort of mashup of the main opening credits song, Edgeworth’s Villain Solo, and the love duet between Phoenix and Leona. They are all such different songs that it sounds a little weird.

ACT 2, FINALLY

The act begins on a sour note with Maya playing with the knife and showing off her characterization, which is one of the most infuriating Maya characterizations you’ll sometimes see around the fandom by people who don’t like Maya.

Maya: Let me whip up my special spirit channeler hamburgers!

sigh.

But then we’re saved (?) by the arrival of EDGEWORTH, who is presumably just here to chat. He asks Phoenix if he’s defending Leona in hopes of winning her back, then says to keep out of it, since it’s a very important case and he can’t understand the gravity of it.

Then Phoenix says this.

Phoenix: Would you be saying that if you were the one on trial? The defendant is in a dark prison, reaching out for hope... Can you imagine the loneliness and sorrow of being ostracized?

CAN YOU IMAGINE IT, EDGEWORTH? CAN YOU IMAGINE IF YOU WERE ON TRIAL AND I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD DEFEND YOU AND BELIEVED IN YOUR INNOCENCE??

Edgeworth responds to this by essentially rehashing his speech in Turnabout Sisters about how he needs to find all defendants guilty because he can’t guarantee their innocence and all that. Maya gets upset and leaves so that Phoenix and Edgeworth can talk about their childhood in private.

Phoenix once again complains about how people change since nine years old.

Phoenix then says that he has something Edgeworth doesn’t: the POWER TO BELIEVE! Then Maya comes in and tries to spike Edgeworth’s coffee, so he leaves.

The Class Trial

Phoenix explains a bit about Edgeworth and his backstory to Maya. Namely, the class trial. Phoenix was accused of stealing lunch money, Edgeworth stood up for him, but instead of Larry, Leona stood up for him. I guess Suzuki Kei thought “oh the class trial, if Leona stood up for him, it would be so romantic, because she’s a woman, and he’s a man”, or something like that. 

Edgeworth wanted to become a Great Lawyer Like His Father! But then he turned cold as ice.

Phoenix: His father got too deeply involved in a case... and paid for it with his life. Edgeworth saw him murdered. He was never the same again. I bet he couldn’t forgive the criminal.

Yeah I bet he couldn’t ever forgive the person he thought killed his father all these years, Phoenix. I bet he really hates that person, Phoenix. I bet he has nightmares about that person killing his father or something, Phoenix.

Phoenix: He vanished, then returned without his mercy or compassion. He had become a monster. When he lost his father, he also lost the ability to believe in others.

So like... one of the most chilling things about this musical is that they never actually solve DL-6. This probably roughly takes place 15 years after DL-6, since they were about the same age when the class trial started, and at least Leona is 24 now. The next musical takes place three years from now, and in it, Edgeworth refers to von Karma as his mentor, implying he’s still around and doing things.

So, in addition to everything else going wrong with this musical, DL-6 still happens, but von Karma never frames Edgeworth for it fifteen years later. The statute of limitations runs out, and von Karma forever gets away with his crime. And Edgeworth has no idea.

What changes did they make to DL-6, though, you may ask? I’m desperate to know as well. In the third musical, which I’ve watched because I hate myself but am unable to fully understand because I don’t know much Japanese, there is a scene where Miles flashbacks to DL-6. It’s abstract, but he makes gun-throwing motions at Gregory, followed by a gunshot sound.

Therefore, in this musical’s internal canon, either Miles Edgeworth shot his father, or he believes he did for the rest of his life.

... moving on.

Phoenix: But he still has his humanity. It’s still there, deep down inside!

At least, if nothing else, Phoenix still believes in him. Even this Takarazuka Musical couldn’t touch that.

The Feenie Sweater

Right after this, Larry barges in, and Phoenix leaves him alone with Maya. The musical tries teasing Larry/Maya, but fortunately, Maya’s having none of it.

Maya: You’re barking up the wrong tree.

Props to this musical for not being as bad as it could have been.

After this, the two sit down on the couch, and Maya asks for more gossip on Phoenix and Leona. Larry launches into a story, which turns into a flashback that ends up being narrated by Phoenix halfway through. This one’s about Phoenix and Leona’s relationship.

This is an interesting line in here, “I’ll guide you to the future”, for it loosely referencing the sort of love ballad Phoenix sings with Lucia in the second musical which is about “I’ll take you to that radiant future”, and he later sings to the memory of Leona right around the time of his big spiral into despair.

I’m sorry if you haven’t read my other essay and just said “wait what” to what I just typed.

Leona was getting ready to move to New York to defend the weak “in the big city”. This is rather strange wording because it implies that California does not in fact have a big city. She says some things in her conversation with Phoenix that probably plant some of his later issues.

Leona: This is the first time we’ll be apart since we were kids.

Leona: We promised we’d always be together.

Leona: I’ll be waiting. Waiting for you to come to me.

Haha. Sure would be a shame... if something were to happen... and they wouldn’t be able to be together anymore...

So some dancers wearing black come in and take off their outer jackets, to symbolize the passage of time. They circle around Phoenix and Leona. In this, you can just barely see, Phoenix is wearing a pink sweater beneath his jacket.

“Oh,” I think to myself, “Is that the Feenie sweater? Are they including it here as a reference to the games?”

Then the dancers keep moving.

THAT IS NOT THE FEENIE SWEATER. That is a pink sweater with a sexily drawn woman on it.

This is the other half of the reason why I decided to go through with making this essay. 

This is so incredibly funny to me. Suzuki Kei Who Has Played The Games Seven Times has seen the hand-knit bright pink sweater with a giant red heart on it seven times. The sweater Iris, Phoenix’s girlfriend, lovingly knit for him that he wears all the time even though it is one of the tackiest, cheesiest items of clothing to ever exist. And so, when the costume designers were designing the clothes for College Phoenix Wright, they asked themselves: “Should we include the Feenie sweater?”

and “NO,” someone must have shouted, “NO, we can NOT include the Feenie sweater, it is PINK and it has a HEART on it and it’s TOO GIRLY. Phoenix Wright is a MANLY MAN. He would not EVER wear something PINK with a HEART on it.”

“BUT,” someone else said, “it’s a REFERENCE to the original games, where he DID wear a pink sweater with a heart on it! We MUST include it to pander to the fans!”

“WAIT,” a third person interjected. “I have a BRILLIANT IDEA. We can keep the pink... But to make it VERY CLEAR he is a heterosexual, masculine male... we put a sexy woman on it.”

And Person Three Got A Raise.

Thank god we’re finally halfway done this musical.

We Just Have To Go On With Our Lives Now

There’s plot or something happening. Leona breaks up with Phoenix inexplicably over the phone. Probably because of that freaking sweater. Imagine wearing that. God.

Eventually we go back to Phoenix talking to Leona, and he asks about the Jack Lyon case, which is the rip-off version of the Joe Darke case. Leona is pretty cagey about it, but Phoenix proves that she was there in the gallery that day. Leona refuses to answer, claims again that she killed the victim in her case, and leaves.

This makes Phoenix sad, so he starts singing.

Phoenix: I want to bring you back! I believe in you.

If this sounds familiar, it’s the part where I started absolutely losing my mind in the second musical because this line had never shown up before then, I’d forgotten it was in this musical, and Phoenix was screaming it alone in a red room, so I thought he was like desperately resorting to a necromancy ritual in hopes of bringing Leona back to life.

Instead, this line actually has CONTEXT, though it does just end up enforcing my theory. This is Phoenix mourning what he used to have with Leona, wanting to bring the “old her” back, because he’s devastated that people sometimes change. There are several flashbacks of their college days where he’s wearing his Sexy Woman Sweater. He does succeed in winning her back at the end of this musical. Before she dies, of course.

Phoenix in musical 2 still believes that he can bring back what he used to have with Leona... even beyond death. That’s something affirmed by this musical. I’m very grateful to it for somehow managing to enforce my nonsensical theory.

Doctor Ema

After this, Phoenix returns to his office, and meets with someone new.

That’s right! Only now, halfway through the musical, do we actually get to meet the Ema-equivalent to Leona’s Lana-equivalent. Her name is Monica Clyde. She has little rainbow heart stickers on her briefcase, which is the closest thing this musical has to acknowledging that gay people exist.

But what does this little briefcase contain, you may ask? Scientific investigation tools? No.

A full surgical toolset. Because you never know when someone’ll get sick, or when someone will need an entire operation in front of you. I guess.

So yes, Monica Clyde is not a forensic scientist in training, but a doctor! She decided to become a doctor because of her parents, who passed away of The Sickness, and so became a doctor in order to save lives like theirs.

Once more this has much darker and deeper implications than the musical is even aware of, because Monica is so anxious about treating sick people that she carries a full surgical toolset around with her at all times, scared to lose someone like she lost her parents... and then sometime in the next three years, Leona, her big sister, is going to die.

Of what? The strange Sickness that claimed her parents? A car accident? A botched spur-of-the-moment surgery? Whatever it is, Monica was unable to save her, even when she’d been training her entire life for it.

Monica is not mentioned at all throughout the second musical. It’s as if she does not exist.

Because unlike Ema of Rise From The Ashes, Monica is not at the heart of this story. She is, primarily, a plot device here to make Leona not trust Phoenix so that he can angst about their relationship. 

What a mess this world is.

The Trial, Part 2

Rather than try to prove Leona’s innocence, Phoenix wants to link the current case to not-SL-9, the Jack Lyon case. He does this by showing this picture.

Senator Cole, the victim, is in this picture. His younger brother whose name I’ve forgotten, the victim of not-SL-9, is also in this picture. They are brothers. It is apparently novel that they are in the same picture, and somehow makes their cases linked.

As well, Governor Miller is in the picture. I guess you could say like... Governor Miller’s legal counsel is the defendant, so that’s another link? Even though the Governor would presumably know a Senator, so this isn’t an unusual group. Right now Phoenix has absolutely nothing to prove that these two cases are linked other than “hey, these two victims are brothers”, but apparently it works. So they spend a lot of time talking about not-SL-9, since Leona has confessed to the murder on day 1 and there is absolutely nothing indicating that she can’t be immediately declared guilty.

They hid the fact that Monica was a hostage in this not-SL-9, meaning that some of the case records were forged. Here’s Edgeworth’s reaction when this comes out.

Edgeworth: This is an outrage! I’m the most influential prosecutor in America! There’s nothing I don’t know!

In RFTA, when Edgeworth learns he’d been using forged evidence to give a man the death penalty, he is devastated, his entire worldview is shaken, he sees himself as a monster who could end up becoming horribly corrupt if he isn’t stopped.

Musical Edgeworth goes “I DIDN’T KNOW SOMETHING???”

It’s certainly strange characterization, but I guess Edgeworth is further behind in his character arc than in RFTA, so... ugh. Fine. 

Phoenix calls Monica out as a witness to prove she was involved in the case. This causes Leona to panic, and try to dismiss Phoenix as her attorney, like Lana in RFTA, but Edgeworth interjects to call Monica in anyways. He and Phoenix have a little moment.

Edgeworth: You said to believe in others. I suppose I’ll try believing in you. Try to keep up.

Phoenix: Edgeworth!

So Monica comes to the stand to testify. We get to see this picture of Monica being held hostage, and not-Joe-Darke’s incredible eyeliner.

Lots of it is very similar to the actual RFTA, except instead of the victim being stabbed on the knight with the giant knife, he’s instead stabbed with a regular old knife. Leona still refuses to admit to what really happened, until Edgeworth convinces her to believe in Phoenix.

Edgeworth: Your attorney is a runaway train with a one-track mind. Yet he placed all of his faith in you. Believe in him. You owe him that much.

Leona testifies, and says that when she found the victim, he was stabbed with a scalpel.

Here is where things get weird.

Scalpels Can’t Kill People

So basically earlier in this trial, they talk about how Leona knew that the knife that stabbed the victim was double-edged despite being buried in his chest. The judge questions if this means Leona killed him, but Phoenix is quick to say no, she was searched when she entered the courthouse and couldn’t have concealed a knife.

Yet, Monica was able to bring in her surgical toolkit which contains several sharp knives, scalpels, scissors, etc.

This is the first major contradiction.

Leona continues to say that when she found Monica, and the scalpel stabbed in the victim, she also ran into Governor Miller, who if you haven’t been able to tell yet is the Gant-equivalent of this musical. He offered to help her with the cover-up, etc.

The next bit goes a lot like RFTA. Phoenix accuses Governor Miller, who barges in, says Phoenix has the decisive evidence in his pocket. This is the “butter knife” that Phoenix took from his office when he dug around in confidential documents and stole it for no particular reason. It has Monica’s fingerprints on it! ... And Phoenix’s and Maya’s too probably because they were handling it without gloves, but they don’t mention that part.

Leona cries about how she shouldn’t have trusted Phoenix because he was apparently now blaming Monica, Monica looks terrified, she and Leona have some good sister moments but it’s not as good as it could be if the story was actually about Leona and Monica like how RFTA was about Lana and Ema. But Phoenix has the decisive piece of evidence that can turn this around.

It is this:

Phoenix: Scalpels are made for medical incisions, not stabbings. So how did it stab the victim?

...

...

...

... What?

So like. Yes, scalpels are made for medical incisions. Medical incisions often involve cutting through flesh, very easily. As a result, they are sharp. Extremely sharp. As in: their purpose is literally to stab people, very specifically.

Yes, they’re easier to control, so that surgeons don’t regularly stab people how they’re not supposed to be stabbed, but it’s not like, impossible to stab someone in a killing way with a scalpel? Admittedly, I have never tried to kill someone using a scalpel. And I do not have experience using a scalpel for surgeries because I am not a surgeon. But I’m pretty sure, if you take a sharp scalpel, and you stab someone in the chest with it with a reasonable amount of force... they die.

Like, is this a particular kind of scalpel that is not very sharp? Is the problem that the blade doesn’t match up with the initial wound? But even then, we don’t have the original unforged autopsy report or even a picture, so how would Phoenix know what the original wound looked like to say it didn’t match up? And even then why wouldn’t Phoenix say that instead of SCALPELS CAN’T STAB PEOPLE???

This is his decisive contradiction and it makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO ME!!!

Well Darn I Guess Scalpels Can’t Kill People

This is such a decisive piece of evidence, that scalpels can’t kill people, coming from the man who thought “caught red-handed” does not involve being caught standing over a corpse with blood on your hands, that it causes Governor Miller to confess.

Unlike Gant, who created the murder with Neil Marshall both to ensure that there was decisive evidence to convict Joe Darke, a serial killer who had not left any decisive evidence behind, and gain control over the prosecutor’s office in order to pull similar stunts to get criminals convicted using false evidence, Governor Miller does not have that as his motive. After all, he’s not a police officer. Instead, he ended up accidentally killing not-Joe-Darke, and then set up the incident in order to get Leona on his side. As her parents were both influential lawyers and very respectable, having her and her parents’ reputation on his side could help him become President of America Where This Takes Place.

So, let’s just take a moment to run over some of the things that made the original Rise From The Ashes great, in my opinion. Just for fun.

1 - The heart of the story between the Skye sisters. Lana closing off to protect Ema, Ema wanting to get through to her sister and get back to the way things used to be. Phoenix, in this story, is more of a bystander to this plotline rather than in the heart of it himself.

2 - Edgeworth’s Character Development. Basically RFTA creates an interesting transition between Turnabout Goodbyes and JFA. It causes Edgeworth to re-evaluate everything he knows about being a prosecutor. So quickly on the heels of Turnabout Goodbyes, it crushes the last bit of hope in him. It compares him to Gant, who also hates criminals, and forces him to wonder if his hatred of crime will one day lead to him being a criminal himself. He’s already convicted one person on forged evidence; how many others could there be?

3 - The Ends Justify The Means. ... wait come back, don’t leave. What I found neat about this case was also Gant’s motive. At one point he was presumably an honest person who hated crime and wanted to stop criminals. But over time in the police force, he became corrupted. He wanted to have all criminals convicted. So what do you do when you don’t have the evidence to convict them? Joe Darke was a serial killer who has killed several people and may have killed more if he’d gone free. The only way to stop and convict him was by using forged evidence. Other criminals could hide evidence to get away with their crimes, so people like Gant would make it up to catch them; but then when do you stop? What happens if there’s no evidence because someone is truly innocent? When does the line between “this person is a criminal and I want to stop them” and “I just want to convict everyone I’m dealing with” become blurred? This is also something he shares with Edgeworth and helps to advance his character.

All three of these things are either lessened or outright ignored in this musical. Leona and Monica’s story takes a backseat to Phoenix and Leona’s Love Story, with Monica only showing up halfway through, and mainly as an excuse as to why Leona is withdrawn. Edgeworth doesn’t seem to blame himself for the forged evidence he used, and doesn’t have a crisis questioning his morality over it. And Governor Miller’s motive is purely power. Unlike Gant, who would have become Chief of Police whether he solved SL-9 or not, Miller needed Leona to win the presidency. And instead of asking her to help him with his campaign like a normal person, he just blackmailed her instead.

... How do you play the games seven times and miss this much?

The Case Finally Ends

god. we’re almost there.

The case ends, Leona is declared not guilty but will still face trial for covering up murders and such. Probably less of a sentence than Lana because she was not involved in ongoing police corruption? Either way she’s dead in three years, so she’s got something a bit more concerning coming up.

She’s led away. Phoenix sings a bit about Leona before being interrupted by Edgeworth... who has something important to tell him.

Edgeworth: You awakened within me those once-cherished emotions I had discarded. I see visions of a distant, nostalgic past.

So basically this is the unnecessary feelings of the musical. Something along the lines of “seeing you again and fighting for my former ideals is making me question many things about myself.”

How does Phoenix respond?

Phoenix: Edgeworth... Try talking normally for a chance.

Sure, we were all thinking it, but that’s a little cold, Phoenix.

Edgeworth tries a smooth recovery.

Edgeworth: I don’t do... idle chit-chat.

This doesn’t accomplish much. So he leaves to allow Leona to visit with Phoenix alone. He’s got to go change for something more important coming up.

Leona and Phoenix decide that they’re going to get back together once Leona is done her sentence! They make a promise that is very funny if you know she’ll be dead in three years.

Phoenix: I’ll be waiting. For you.

There are a lot of hugs here, I’m not screencapping them all. There are also several moments where their faces get very close together and like, their nose brushes the other’s cheek or something, but they never actually kiss. Is it because the actresses weren’t comfortable with it (valid), or they thought kissing would be too much for the musical (sure, whatever), or since both characters are played by women the show staff did not want two women kissing on stage (probably the real answer)? I don’t like watching kisses, but I kept bracing myself for one and then it never happened, so.

Phoenix ends the main part of the musical with one last musical number starring my personal favourite piece:

Phoenix: I want to bring you back! I believe in you.

I like to think that at this point, this is present-day Phoenix, after finishing his reminiscing, still desperately wishing he could bring Leona back from death.

But alas, he cannot. And so, after one last daydream of them dancing together on the beaches of California, singing about their love, the musical ends.

Dance Time!

This starts at exactly the two hour mark, if you’re interested in watching what is, once again, one of the only fun parts of this musical.

Seriously, Edgeworth’s actress kills it here, when I first saw this I went “oh, this is why I saw so many people being gay for her on twitter.”

Edgeworth’s song is an encore of “My Rule”, so it’s lots of fun. Afterwards Phoenix gets another fun piece.

Then we get to the love ballad part, which I can probably overanalyze, I feel like I haven’t done enough ridiculous over-analyzing in this essay in comparison to the other.

Uhhh so the fog represents how Phoenix feels lost in this world without Leona. You can see it in the second screenshot separating the two of them, representing the barrier of death between the two of them. Idk it’s midnight I’m getting worn out from having to think about this musical for so long.

But his mourning over Leona’s death becomes even more apparent in the credits, where Phoenix sings that one line again:

Phoenix: I want to bring you back! I believe in you.

I’m not fixing that screenshot, I think it’s oddly fitting, in a way. That’s me right now.

Then at the very end, he sings this song.

Phoenix: I’ll spend... this eternal life... soaring through... the heavens!

Technically, this refers to his name Phoenix, but let’s dig a little deeper. He spends the rest of his life soaring through the heavens... the heavens that Leona went to after her untimely death, perhaps?

Overall, the musical becomes much more interesting when you just see it as a prequel to the second musical. This musical establishes many core concepts of Phoenix’s character: his refusal to believe in the concept of things changing, for one, and also his extreme dependency on Leona who he was never separated from since they were kids and where he based his entire life around her dreams and ideals. All he can think about is her. And in the end, he promises to wait for her in California.

Yet, to paraphrase Miles Edgeworth, all that is waiting for him is her death. Their dream of opening up a Mom & Pop Law Firm will never come true.

Thanks again for bearing with me even though this wasn’t as funny!

[cloverthirteen]

Was Ace Attorney made as a satire on Japan’s legal system? -- An analysis

I wouldn’t really call myself an Ace Attorney fan--I’ve never played any of the games, the closest I’ve come being watching other people’s let’s plays. I do like reading about the series on wikis and interacting with fan content for it, though, so I do know a fair amount about it.

One thing I see being said pretty often by fans is that the series was intended as a satire/parody of the Japanese legal system, which is why the courts are ridiculously biased towards the prosecution, prosecutors often care more about perfect win records more than putting actual guilty people behind bars, etc. If you’re familiar with this, you’ve probably heard of Japan’s 99% conviction rate. This interpretation of the games and the way they work definitely makes sense.

But after hearing this many times I eventually noticed something. There isn’t a single actual source (creator statement, interview, etc.) that backs up this claim. Every time I see someone online say “the series creator made Ace Attorney to parody Japan’s actual legal system” there is never a link to an interview or anything that proves their statement correct. If someone has an actual, verified source from Shu Takumi or someone else who had significant involvement with the series, please prove me wrong and show it to me. But according to all of the creator’s statement’s I’ve read, there’s no evidence of the series being an intentional parody.

So, what do we know about the creation of the Ace Attorney series? Well, it was created by Shu Takumi, who wrote and directed the first three games. After working on the dinosaur survival horror game Dino Crisis for Capcom, he was given the opportunity to make any kind of game he wanted. He really wanted to make mystery and adventure games, and from that came Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

MC: Before developing Ace Attorney you worked on Dino Crisis. How does one go from dinosaur survival horror to virtual courtrooms?

ST: Dino Crisis was the brainchild of my then boss, Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami. Working on his projects taught me not only how to make games, but also how to think about them. After Dino Crisis 2 wrapped, Mr Mikami gave me six months in which to create any kind of game I wanted.

I was still pretty wet behind the ears, but as I'd originally joined Capcom with a desire to create mystery and adventure games, this was a huge chance for me to make my mark as a creator. In the end it took a team of seven 10 months to produce the first GBA Ace Attorney title. Having the freedom to create exactly the kind of game I wanted was amazing and it was a real pleasure to work on that project.

MC: Can you remember when the idea of Ace Attorney first came to you? How did your bosses respond to the idea of a lawyer-based adventure game when you first described it to them?

ST: It was in 2000 when Mr Mikami said I could make my own game and my original idea was a fairly typical adventure with a detective as the main character. Most mystery adventures have the player choose from a number of different dialogue options for their character in order to progress the story, but I wanted a new gameplay style that enabled players to deduce for themselves what was happening, rather than just selecting canned responses. I developed this into the concept of facing off against the suspect in a crime and exposing the contradictions in their statements.

I was sure my new idea would be a fun and original take on the genre, so I started to revise the main character, since a detective would be too traditional for such an original concept. I asked myself, "What kind of professional would face off against a suspect and expose their contradictory statements?" The answer, of course, was a lawyer and so the Ace Attorney concept was born.

(source, from an interview on the making of the series)

Takumi’s original concept for the game involved Phoenix as not a defense lawyer, but as a detective. The gameplay was to consist of “facing off against the suspect of a crime and finding the contradictions in their statements.” However, Takumi eventually realized that taking apart contradictions wasn’t really a detective’s job, and decided to change the protagonist to a lawyer and the setting to a courtroom instead. And thus, the game’s concept was finalized.

Janet: As you know, “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy” is coming out world-wide this winter, and as I was brainstorming what to write about for this week’s blog, I remembered your tweets from 2010.

Takumi: Tweets from 2010?

Janet: …Well, it was a long time ago…

Takumi: ???

Janet: I-It’s OK if you don’t remember…

Takumi: …Oh, THOSE! Yes!

Janet: I remember reading them and being shocked by how different the original draft of the game’s story was – how Phoenix wasn’t even a lawyer, but a private eye!

Takumi: Yes, AA was originally supposed to be a detective game, so naturally, Phoenix was to be a private eye. But then, one day, I made a startling realization: the gameplay concept I was going for was for players to enjoy finding and taking contradictions apart, but that was hardly related to investigating or detective work at all. In that moment, I had it – I realized that the main setting for the game should be the courtroom.

Janet: That’s quite the jump, but you know, I can’t imagine this series being anything else at this point. 

(source, from an interview by Janet Hsu about the game’s early development)

During the development for the game, Takumi actually knew very little about the intricacies of the legal system--and in fact, he’s been very transparent about that fact in interviews. There’s even a story he talks about in a blog post where he was asked “shouldn’t we do some research on law before we make this game?” and agonized over it for a bit before deciding that being accurate about courtroom processes wasn’t important--what was important was that the game made the trials exciting and fun.

November, 2000. The characters were coming together, and I was working desperately on my first scenario (the current Turnabout Sisters). One day, I was asked about the one thing I didn’t want to be asked about.

“Mr. Takumi. Don’t we need to do some research on law?”

The knowledge I have about the law, pretty amounts to the one fact that in Japan we have the Roppō Zensho ('Complete Book of The Six Major Legal Codes').

“Don’t bother with that. This is a detective game. “

It should have been over with this one line, but…

“But this isn’t a detective game, it’s a lawyer game!”

“If it’s not going to be realistic, I don’t see why this should be about trials.”

“People who play this might get wrong knowledge from the game!”

“We might get sued by the Bar Association!”

“They’ll start complaining!”

…Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney GBA) is simply a “mystery game.”　“Being realistic” is not what is important. What’s important is emphasizing, and recreating the unique “atmosphere” and “tension” of the courtroom. That is why the judge uses a gavel, even though no judge uses that, and why Naruhodō shouts "Objection!" even though nobody does that either.　This game does not need a “realistic courtroom”!

Chasing the true murderer down to the end, and then getting applauded for that in the courtroom. That feeling of thrill and excitement. It was only by February of the following year when we finally manage to recreate that in the game. The couple of months after this had happened, we looked around, got lost and troubled our minds in search for the answer of the big question of “How do we make a trial into a game?”.  Fall was passing by, and the cold winter was close upon us.

(source, from an archived blog post by Takumi)

So, realism and knowledge of law wasn’t important to Takumi during the development of the series. But there’s also the fact that Takumi has actually personally denied that the Ace Attorney series was an intentional satire or criticism of the court system at any point. In fact, according to a blog post (done as if Phoenix and Maya were reading the column and commenting on it), he actually dislikes people seeing his work this way, as he never intended the games to have any big political statements.

A major prerequisite for Gyakuten Saiban is it’s so simple “even my mother could play it”.  So there is only one point at the core of the game: “Seeing through lies”.

Naruhodō: It wasn’t even supposed to be a game about the trials at first. Mayoi: Eh! Really?! Naruhodō: “Simple” is basically all this game is about, according to TakuShū. Mayoi: What do you mean? Naruhodō: He didn’t want to add all kinds of elements for the player to think about, like alibis, tricks or about the culprit. It’d just confuse them. Mayoi: Really. Naruhodō: Basically, you can proceed in the game if you just think about where the contradiction is. He figured that with that, the controls of the game could also stay simple. Mayoi: But, but, why the trials then? Naruhodō: “A story about a detective seeing through lies” wouldn’t be any different from the other games out there. So that’s why he decided to have someone whose job is seeing through lies as the protagonist. Mayoi: So a defense attorney. Naruhodō: Occasionally  TakuShū sees magazines introducing the game as “a work that dared to take on the theme of trials”, and that actually hurts him. Mayoi: He never meant to be something as big as that…. 

(source, from the mentioned blog post)

Ultimately I see how easy it is, if you know a good amount about both Ace Attorney and Japan’s legal system, to come to the conclusion that the games were made as a dig against the latter. However, somewhere along the line, people apparently stopped seeing this as merely a theory and instead as a definite fact. Now, that doesn’t mean that the theory is entirely unfounded--given that Takumi focused only on making trials interesting and fun in the games, you could say that the games work as an light, comedic parody, not meant to make any political statements. And hey, maybe there’s something I missed--maybe there were other people working on the series who did have significant knowledge of law and wrote some parts of the games as intentional satire of the system. Again, if anyone has evidence of this, don’t hesitate to provide it. But with what I know, I don’t think going “well actually” to people who point out the ridiculousness and unfairness of Ace Attorney’s court system is necessary. It’s simply that way to make the games more fun.

[beevean]

Personally I think that the WORST prosecutor was Von Karma Senior: kill a man, raise his son to become the exact opposite of what he was, depriving him from affection and do everything to make him know that he's not a part of the family, let him beleive that he killed his father without saying anything, manipule him to win his trust, and then 15 years later, try to frame him for one murder and then for have killed his father. All that for a penalty that he has had because of Gregory.

As a rival he's great, but as a person, then yes, Manfred is by far the worst.

While he wasn't as broadly dangerous as Ga'ran, and Kristoph also did some horrible shit in the name of pettiness, Manfred ruined so many lives in a personal way, and all with the power of a famous prosecutor, it's genuinely scary. Here's how much damage Manfred von Karma did after he got one singular penalty:

He killed Gregory Edgeworth, of course, depriving the world of a good, talented defense attorney and father;

That caused Miles Edgeworth to believe, for 15 years, he killed his own father. This came with an entire onslaught of traumas, like being afraid of earthquakes and elevators, having constant nightmares, and the horrible guilt that comes with, you know, believing you killed your own dad since you were 9;

Miles was adopted by von Karma as a result, and while we never see his childhood in detail, we have little reason to believe von Karma would treat his "son" particularly well. Miles was robbed of an affectionate father to be raised by a cold, perfectionist one;

Miles also believed he had to find everyone guilty because you can't trust anyone - as such, Miles may have sent innocent people to the gallows in his 4 years as the Demon Prosecutor;

Franziska lost her teenagehood in the name of making her Papa happy and get a little of his attention, and you can tell how alienated she is by her peers as a result, not to mention her very fragile self-esteem;

She also may have sent innocent people to the gallows in her quest for perfection;

Phoenix and Larry lost their classmate and friend out of nowhere;

Raymond Shields lost his mentor;

Yanni Yogi was deemed insane after the trial and therefore lost its social standing;

Polly Jenkins killed herself as a result;

Robert Hammond was killed by Yogi 15 years later (although it's not too much of a loss);

The Fey clan lost its reputation. That caused Misty Fey to leave in shame, and so Mia and Maya lost a mother (they were 9 and 2, by the way);

Because Misty left, Mia started doing her own research to find her whereabouts: that eventually lead to her death;

This is more ambiguous, but the loss of credibility of the Fey clan may have been the final reason Morgan Fey's husband left the village taking their two twins with him. One of the twins, Dahlia Hawthorne, became resentful of her father, convinced him to send Iris to Hazakura temple, and became a criminal;

Assuming the above is true, Dahlia's crimes lead to Diego Armando's poisoning, Terry Fawles' suicide on the stand and Doug Swallow's and Misty Fey's deaths.

One penalty.

[spirit-small]

PLEASE TALK ABT RATATTORNEY FRANZISKA (@musicallygt)

first of all franziska thinks she's dealing with a prodigy like herself, a true intellectual equal. becoming a defense attorney at age 17 is no small feat (it's not NEARLY as impressive as her becoming a prosecutor at 13 but she's willing to give credit where it's due)

when maya beats her the first time, franziska is angry. and shocked. but she's also feeling something... else? she doesn't know what this feeling is and pushes it far, far away so she doesn't have to deal with it. (she has romantic feelings for her. the first person to ever beat her being this cute has made her fascinated and a little obsessed)

meanwhile maya is the hot new manga title Help The Prosecutor Is A Sexy Lady Dracula And She Wants To Whip Me To Death

"Nick I know I made fun of your feelings towards Edgey but I totally understand now."

so now franziska thinks, all she has to do is beat maya fey one time and these complicated feelings she doesn't fully understand will just go away. her motivation to completely destroy her has effectively doubled.

it doesn't work out that way.

maya wins again, and between that and just how frustrating having to deal with the likes of... circus folk has been, she is so goddamn angry. this close to committing the next murder herself just for a chance to win.

so of course, she's going into matt engarde's trial with an airtight case. she's gonna win this time- bang.

she's shot. she can't prosecute. she tries, she tries very hard, but ultimately it's not possible. too bad, really, because with nick in the clutches of De Killer, she probably would have won this one easily.

it's still a satisfying moment for her, bursting in and saving the day with decisive evidence. it's satisfying for her to see Maya's perfect record broken, even if she didn't personally break it herself. finally, the moment she's been waiting for, to see Maya Fey officially defeated. and yet, maya seems... happy. Relieved, even.

De Killer drops Nick off in the defendant lobby before slipping away undetected. At this point nobody's concerned with hiding him, only that he's here. The only person in the room that doesn't know about him is Franziska anyway. Nick and Maya have their tearful reunion. Franziska desperately wanted to see Maya crying after losing a trial but this... is not quite what she meant.

They explain the situation to Franziska. Realizing that her true foe wasn't a cute prodigy but really just an uneducated little... thing breaks her a little bit. This country is insane and she needs to get out of it immediately.

She thought that realizing that Maya Fey was just another fool that could never hope to beat her on her own merits would be the end of these... unnecessary feelings. But they weren't. When she's brought in on the Hazakura temple case, she knows Phoenix is helping Edgeworth. She can just tell. He's not acting like he usually does in court. And she swears she sees him glance down at his pocket and give a subtle nod a time or two. This is her chance to take them both down in one fell swoop.

She doesn't. She doesn't necessarily lose either, but she doesn't win.

But she loses the opportunity to prosecute once Godot shows his face, so she's now focused on finding Maya Fey. So much so that she's even willing to let Phoenix Wright sit on her shoulder and boss her around the way Maya does, at least for a brief bit of investigating. She doesn't like Phoenix Wright. Not one bit. If that fool Maya Fey and her foolish little brother didn't seem to care so much about the little fool she'd just leave him on the ground to fend for himself. But she can't. Not right now. For now, she simply needs to see that Maya is okay with her own two eyes. Then she can be done with this nonsense.

I feel like at some point post-trilogy Maya and Franziska absolutely get together, but I don't know exactly when or how it happens.

[askaceattorney]

Dear Anonymous,

Oh sure, Pearley can just simply refuse even though she’s the only one to become Master.... in your own pitiful imagination of sunshine and rainbows where nine-year-olds can just simply leave their parents if they feel unhappy and fly off to Neverland.

Also, yes, Feenie would pay her a visit and that would achieve... what exactly? Custody rights? A father figure? Convince every Elder to allow little Pearley to live out her childhood after being traumatized, even though she’s the only heir to become the new Master?

Let me make it clear to where a delusional fool like you can understand: Maya Fey is dead, Morgan Fey is dead, Pearl Fey is the only spirit medium that can lead the village, Phoenix Wright is just a Defense Lawyer with clients to look after and a child to spend whatever pitiful time he has left before hopping the next two-hour-train travel to his law firm to make sure he has a job. 

Of course, I didn’t predict what would happen two months afterward, but I think we both know that it only means whatever use he was to my little sister would be flushed down the toilet. Sure, perhaps Pearley may prove me wrong in that universe where I win, but you can’t erase that possibility of what might’ve become of her.

- Dahlia Hawthorne

[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!

[vickyvicarious]

Edgeworth: "[Lana] must have shut herself up deep inside... to force herself to do anything and everything the Chief told her to do."

Okay, so.

I don't know how, in a case deliberately designed to poke at all of Edgeworth's sore spots, I missed this line for years. I guess I was too caught up in the obvious parallel between Lana and Mia, and Ema and Maya. But oh my goodness.

Edgeworth is empathizing so hard with Lana here. The context is that he and Phoenix (+Gumshoe and Ema) are discussing how Lana grew very cold and became almost a different person after she was appointed Chief Prosecutor. And Edgeworth just comes out with this line, using his thoughtful/gazing off into the distance sprite.

I wonder just how many parallels he's finding between himself and Lana here. It's such a great connection to his ultimate decision at the end of this case. He and Lana both:

used forged evidence

followed the every order of a mentor/figure of power who never actually had their best interests in mind

became 'cold' and detached from people they had once been close to

And yeah, Miles didn't know he was using forged evidence. He wasn't intentionally culpable for that any more than he was for the body found in his car. But he still aided these crimes. And, worse, he wasn't being blackmailed. Everything else he did was of his own free will. He wasn't trying to protect anyone. He chose to become a prosecutor, to make sure every verdict was guilty regardless of anything else, to push away Phoenix and Gumshoe and anyone who tried to reach out to him. He shut a part of himself away inside, to make himself do anything and everything von Karma told him to do... and maybe he didn't even realize he was locking that part of himself away.

Being duped really makes it all the worse, because not only does it feel selfish, but stupid in the end. He thought so much of himself and was so proud of his win record but all he ever did was dance under the strings of his puppeteer. Except unlike Lana, who knew and made the choice for the sake of someone she cared for above all else, Edgeworth was truly a dumb puppet right up till the end. Sure, Lana's choices in a lot of ways might make her more morally gray in this situation, but I can see how it would still feel like the better alternative for Edgeworth. Without his awareness, he built his career on a deep bed of lies. Everything he thought he accomplished is now suspect in retrospect: all of it might be tainted with false evidence he used, or even just things he deliberately overlooked because they didn't fit his narrative. And he just doesn't know what was an honest victory or not.

Not only is the system around him revealed to be completely corrupt and morally bankrupt, including every authority he's looked up to (and let's not forget he thought Lana liked him, until it turned out she had been starting the rumors about him all this time, no doubt on Gant's bequest). Not only that, but Edgeworth himself is just as untrustworthy.

He spends at least half the case buried under increasing accusations, and presses forward with a totally reckless, bridge-burning determination to uncover the TRUTH no matter what it costs him. And, right up till the end, each new reveal seems to be costing him more and more and more.

But it's so much better to know, to know what he's done and been complicit in and been surrounded by for all this time. He can't stop.

And in the end, of course he can't stay. Even if everyone who turned on him suddenly takes it all back, he's seen too much to ever believe in them. Edgeworth has a line early on in the case about the police and prosecutors having complete trust in one another as a necessity for them to do their jobs; he can't have any trust left for anyone but Gumshoe after all this. (Including himself.) It would be a disaster if he tried to go straight back to work as if nothing happened.

I still don't agree with his choice at the end of the case, but this line really unlocked something for me and now I understand it so much more than ever before. Lana accepts responsibility for all she's done by admitting to the truth of it and serving time in prison. Edgeworth can't do the same but he feels the same need to punish himself, to remove himself from any such position of power. He eventually does come back, but after all this he needs that distance, feels completely unworthy of even seeing or talking to anyone who trusted him when he so clearly didn't deserve their faith (*cough* Gumshoe and Phoenix *cough*). I'm certain he really felt he was done prosecuting forever in the immediate aftermath of this case. He felt like Lana - but without the underlying conviction that it had all been necessary or even worth it to protect a loved one.

It just hurts, instead.

[abluescarfonwaston]

What do you think Gregory would do if DL-6 played out modtly the same way, but Greg was knocked out and Manfred still took miles.

Like. Once he found out about what Manfred did.

I"m going to assume by 'knocked out' you mean like. In a coma of a length of time because unlike Muppet Miles Manfred can't just walk out with Miles, kidnap him and have everything be cool. (although... wouldn't amnesia Miles kidnapped by Manfred and raised by him while Gregory looks for his lost son be fun? Phoenix meets The Boy who is not Miles in Germany on study abroad that's just achingly similar to the boy that once saved him. Sure Manfred can't risk making him a lawyer but every time he sees Gregory's wane face he knows he's won. Except there's Phoenix. Except he didn't count on Phoenix)

So Gregory gets comatosed for a considerable length of time. Since no one can take Miles in Manfred swoops him up and takes him back to Germany. He doesn't even get to visit. Edgeworth still grows up with endless guilt except this time Gregory wakes up. At almost the fifteen year mark.

Miles- still consumed by guilt and unable to bare to show his face to his Father still goes out on that lake praying for benediction. Phoenix, who's been visiting along with Raymond Shields (who returned from abroad for Gregory) runs over to Gregory right after Miles turns him down for Defense.

Gregory can't defend him (his badge would have expired years ago) but he asks Shields to- "If he's worried about Phoenix's inexperience then you're the obvious choice Ray. Although I'm sure Miles would greatly appreciate your aid too Phoenix."

"I..."

"Heh. So you didn't tell him huh Nicky?"

"Tell me...?"

"That man is an Edgeworth in name alone. He's not your son anymore Mr. Edgeworth. He's Miles Von Karma now."

"What?" The horror on Gregory's face was absolute.

"Who's Von Karma?"

Gregory recovered. Face hard. Neither responded to Wright's question.

"Raymond I don't care what happened in these last Fifteen years. I don't care about what he has done. He will Always be my son. I am asking you to defend him."

"...Even if he's guilty?" Phoenix mumbled.

"Especially if he is guilty." Mr. Edgeworth's eyes were hard. Absolute. Sheild's nodded. "No one deserves to be alone." He bowed his head. Jaw trembling. "God knows I left him alone far too long already."

They bring Edgeworth to the trial in a wheelchair. Miles refuses to look at him. On the second day they're celebrating the pretty much guaranteed win when Gregory rolls into the lobby. Miles is not Celebrating with them.

"Miles what's wrong?"

And Miles just. Flinches away from him. "Don't look at me like that." Like what? "You have no idea who I am or what I've done in these last fifteen years. So stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Oh what?! Did Raymond not tell you? How I had all his clients convicted without mercy? Or Wright! How I nearly had him sentenced to death for the sake of my record?! Did you tell him that?" His wild and furious eyes clawed at them. "No? Of course not." He grabbed his arm and squeezed so hard the fabric strained. "You have no idea what I have done. So stop looking at me like that."

"Like what Miles?"

"... Von Karma was right." Four sets of Hackles raised. Maya's hands on the wheelchair tightened. "The guilty deserve to be punished."

"But you're not guilty!" Phoenix threw his arms up. "You didn't kill Hammond!"

"You have no idea what I have done."

Miles confesses on the stand to shooting his Father. Gregory and Shield's try to console him. You were trying to protect me. I love you and you don't need to be punished any more than you've already clearly punished yourself.

You were nine. If you think Uncle Ray is letting you serve a day for accidental injury while under extreme duress you're wrong kiddo.

"Nick what are you doing?"

"Getting the case ready. Sorry. But I don't believe your nightmare Miles. Something about this just doesn't add up."

"Wright..."

Everything is wrapped up and Von Karma is taken away. There's the "I don't know what to say." Line. "You could start by saying thank you." "Ah... Then... thank you."

Gregory wheeling over to Miles. His son. His precious boy who still can't look him in the eye.

"Thank you sir." Sir. Sir never 'Father'. Not the sweet little way Father used to fit into his mouth. His chest aches.

"Of course son. I'm sorry I left you alone so long."

That hand on his elbow tightened again. "I don't deserve that. You have no idea what I have done."

"No matter what you've done Miles, you will always be my son."

There are endless tears in his eyes when he turns. Finally looks at him. Drawing in sharp half breaths that do not fill his lungs.

"Father."

Gregory opened his arms and pulled him in. "My son."

"My precious boy."