#skeptic really looks like miles edgeworth

[neverpathia]

these two are like a dad and the random stray cat he completely objected to bringing home. change my mind.

have i shared my hunted and skeptic designs? well, here they are now. yay.

original meme under the cut

[trlvsn]

actually, i don't think miles edgeworth would ever asked maya fey to channel his father. a skeptic by nature, he probably wouldn't even think of this as an option for a long time after meeting the feys; but even after the thought crosses his mind he chases it away, feeling foolish for entertaining it. before choosing death, he is desperate for a compass to point him in the right direction but unsure if his father would be a good one; ashamed, too; unworthy. after, he realizes he is a man who can't follow in gregory edgeworth's footsteps just like he can't be a von karma - he is neither a perfect prosecutor nor a defense attorney, he is something he is making up along the way as his best attempt to find the truth. still, the sense of shame doesn't go away yet, he feels as if he wouldn't even be able to look his father in the eye if he had the chance. besides, ms fey has a lot on her shoulders already.

years pass, but not without notice - he has been to many countries now, seen many things, learnt even more. he has been a better friend and a better brother, a better man. eventually, he realizes he is good enough of a man to never be the slightest bit like damon gant. he trusts himself.

a few weeks after becoming chief prosecutor, he pays a visit to the master of khurain to drink some exceptional tea they only really make there and give away a duplicate steel samurai card. he is also there to ask a favor about gregory edgeworth, he confesses. "i am actually surprised you didn't ask me to channel him sooner", maya says, but he corrects her - not to channel, just to... check. there are spirits that have not moved on from this world yet, are there not? i simply want to know where he is, he says. if he is at peace.

gregory edgeworth had been doing alright for quite a while. he had, however, gone to a place far happier and calmer a few weeks ago. how could he not, after his son defeated his every fear with his bare hands.

[frost-faerie]

☆ Cotton-headed ☆

Fluffy sickfic! phoenix gets a cold and comes to work anyway, his supposed rival isn't thrilled when he realises (concerned edgey ^_^) but they get it alllll sorted! can't spell teasing without tea <3 we love these dorks

Wooo!! Wrightworth/narumitsu drabble for the people! I'm not very good at writing, so sorry if it's not up to expectation >_&lt; please enjoy it! where this fic takes place on the timeline is completely up to interpretation, i didn't really have it in mind ^^;

"You look worse than usual," Edgeworth said, barely trying to conceal the insult he had just hurled. It wasn't like Phoenix wanted to be here today; he'd done pretty much everything to put off going to the prosecutors office, but in the end, it hadn't done him any favors.

Repressing a sniffle, knowing that Edgeworth would pick up on it in a way that only a legendary prosecutor could. As much as Wright felt... sickly, he couldn't stay home. Work needed to be done, and some cold wasn't going to stop him.

Realizing that he hadn't responded to Edgeworth's quip, Phoenix gave a stilted smile. "You sure know how to make a guy feel special," Phoenix said, hoping that the sarcasm laced through his tone didn't make him slip up and cough.

"...Hm," Edgeworth hummed noncommittally. "Have you been sleeping well, Wright?"

If it was anyone else in front of him, Phoenix would've thought that there was a hint of concern in their voice. Hell, for a second, he even thought that Edgeworth was concerned for his well-being.

More than is probably healthy, he couldn't help but think. He'd spent a lot of his time sleeping, as of late- just half an hour ago, he'd caught himself before he'd dozed off in his office!

Despite this, his cases seemed to be going well; no investigations, and Maya was busy busy busy with all the business she had to attend to, and-

"Considering your lack of response and your dazed eyes, you have not been resting nearly enough," a voice boomed with an air of authority and finality. Oh, right, Phoenix thought dazedly. Miles was talking to me.

"I've been sleeping," Phoenix sighed, hands raised in surrender. Sneezing into a tissue, just so Edgeworth wouldn't chide him for messying a perfectly good suit. Every hour spent not asleep was dedicated to work, and he knows that Mia had once said something to him about this being a terrible habit, but that didn't stop Phoenix from falling asleep the second his stuffy, cotton-filled brain hit a comfortable pillow.

Edgeworth looked at him, seeming skeptical and unconvinced. Whether that was because of Phoenix's clear poorly state or just because that was what his face always looked like, Phoenix wasn't really sure. "You've been sleeping," Edgeworth said, the skepticism seeping through every word.

"Mhm," Phoenix said. The urge to rub sleepiness out of his eyes was strong, but the evidence that would come of it was stronger- perhaps even decisive. If Edgeworth hadn't already figured it out, that was.

With a slight shake of the head, Edgeworth let a small smile slip onto his face; not a usual sight, and definitely not something Phoenix expected to see at work of all places. "Objection," he said, sounding much more fond than he did in the courtroom. "I said you hadn't been resting enough. Sleep is technically a form of rest, but it is not a stand-in for being well-rested."

Phoenix looked up at Edgeworth with a scowl. (Since when had he been sitting down? He distinctly remembers standing not too long ago.) "My sincerest apologies, master of self-care," Phoenix said, knowing very well that the sarcasm got to Edgeworth even though his stuffy nose. (Well, his stuffy everything.)

After finally relenting to the fact that yes, he was sick, Edgeworth was on the move; Phoenix distantly heard a kettle boiling, as well as a few calls that he wouldn't be able to take his meetings today. All the while, Phoenix repressed the urge to shut his eyes once again. There was some kind of low-note classical music playing from a dingy radio that seemed out of place in the office, and it was strangely soothing.

Before Wright could fall back asleep, however, there was something gently pressed into his hands. He startled with the heat of it, and then his face got equally warm once he sensed Miles looming over him.

"Peppermint tea," he said, as an explanation to what was in the glass. "Normally, I'd house the drink in a proper teacup, but I'm not sure you'd be capable of holding it in this state. It... it is a heavy kind of porcelain."

"You mean a fancy rich kind?" Phoenix said, a small smile gracing his face. As much as it hurt to talk, he couldn't pass up an opportunity to tease Edgeworth- especially if it was about his large about of disposable income.

It seemed to have a calming effect, much like the aroma of the tea and the slow classical music, as Miles smiled in a dorkish manner. "Just drink the tea, Wright," he huffed fondly.

"But I don't even like tea," Phoenix said, taking a sip regardless. It was quite nice- Miles had clearly taken the courtesy of adding extra sugar, knowing full well of Phoenix's sweet tooth- but he wasn't going to admit that.

Miles merely shook his head, fondness in every movement. "Of course, of course. How dare I take care of you?"

Phoenix felt his face go a little red, all whilst Miles went back to his desk to begin working. He traced the rim of the teacup with his finger, thinking the same thing. How dare you take care of me?

Now the hole he's been going down since he was nine had burrowed deeper.

[96percentdone]

Your ace attorney opinions are so valid and I wish they did aa5 and aa6 more justice? The characters are interesting and fun but when they play 52 pickup with each individual storyline it really shoots the collective narrative in the foot. From a gameplay standpoint, the stuff introduced in aa5 and 6 are fun and rly cool ways to expand upon the universe, and the Wright lie detection agency is fun, but it feels like. Idk. Like they didn’t trust their writers OR their fan base with their story. Idk if that makes sense? (I have similar beef with aitsf and aini though so,,,)

Yeah I honestly hold more contempt for AA5 and 6 than I do any other art I've experienced. Defenders of these games will posit the detractors are so fixated on AJ's plot they cannot see the merits of DD and SoJ, but I don't care about Kristoph's psyche locks, the untouched sibling reveal, or Apollo's 70000 backstories nearly as much as they suggest. Those things are annoying, but they are minor symptoms of the real issue: bad writing across the board. Most if not all culprits have store-bought motives that are thinly elucidated, if they're even elucidated at all, which impacts the writing of every case. If the cause of the suffering is a caricature, the victims end up similarly toothless. They are equally generic. AA has always struggled to write witnesses and culprits consistently well--there's a reason people talk about ace attorney middle cases like that for instance--but it's compounded by the frequency that it happens especially for the main characters.

The returning main cast are hollowed out versions of themselves. Trucy is just a quirky magician girl which they walk back a little in Spirit of Justice by giving her a focus case, and then she's back to being Quirky. Phoenix Wright is a generic mentor figure with goofy internal dialogue sometimes. Klavier is a rockstar prosecutor!!! That's it!!!! Miles Edgeworth is BACK, and because they worked on the investigations games you can kind of see why he's this big good figure, but Pearl and Maya are seemingly around just to be around cause they have nothing going on emotionally. Apollo is a stock dweeb except when he's stock Edgy as a result of one of his new poorly written backstories involving poorly written new characters who might not even be characters (looking at you, Clay Terran).

And the new main characters suffer just as much. Let's take Dual Destinies as a case study. Blackquill was convicted and imprisoned for a murder he did not do, something that changed him and shows in his scenes, in order to protect Athena, whose upbeat personality is only preserved because she is so traumatized by the events and her complicated relationship with her mother and hearing she cannot acknowledge it consciously. These are compelling emotional beats, it makes for well-rounded characters, but what's the payoff? Why did they suffer this way? Because some hired goon with no name and no face had a job at GYAXA to execute. In a better game, you could use Phantom's emptiness as commentary about how often the things that ruin your life don't have good explanations, but I will not be lending credit to that notion for this game, because void man is the origin point for "The Dark Age of the Law," which now also happened because it did, and it was a shallow idea from the jump.

"The Dark Age of the Law" is an simplified cartoon explanation for distrust in the legal system. Instead of people being flawed whether through selfishness (MvK, Kristoph) or trauma (Miles, Justine) lending itself to corruption, exploitation and injustice in systems meant to protect, leading to a myriad of reasons the public would be skeptical that the law serves them, they just feel that way because one lawyer got disbarred for evidence forging and one prosecutor was convicted for murder. Spirit of Justice largely takes place in a made up country with a tyrannical government that kills defense attorneys for assuring fair trials for guilty clients! Why does this happen? Idk, because Ga'ran sucks, and she has ultimate power and creates all the laws. The root of all evil in Khura'in is one woman who is a factory set trope surrounded by generic citizens, diluted returning leads, and new characters who must be dragged down by the garbage that surrounds them in order to take part in it.

You brought up AI. Since you're anonymous, I'm guessing you're one of the countless people who takes issue with Nirvana Initiative on the grounds it's a bad followup to AITSF, to which I first have to ask.... Are you new to my blog? This is a AINI defender account lmao. I think it's better than AITSF, fight me. I'm writing a whole essay about it; I'll win. That said, I get the comparison because it's one I've made before, even if I don't quite stand by it anymore. I'm not going to explain my AINI opinions here, wait for the essay if you're curious, but I think I can get at that difference to me just by using Ace Attorney alone.

My favorite Ace Attorney game is Investigations 2, a sequel to a spin-off that has two of the writers for the mainline games I hate. It's a game about legacy and family. Whether they were admirable and just like Gregory Edgeworth, or duplicitous abusers like Blaise Debeste, the cast of this game wrestles with who they are, how their parent (or parental figure) shaped them, and who they should be in the face that now. Maybe they have to learn what that person is actually like and separate from them, or maybe they find a new family among their friends to fill that absence, or maybe they make peace with that loss and accepting who they are now is someone worth being. Maybe they deny that memory as their own or significant until the end to preserve what they want to believe. It's also a game about systemic failure, and all the things that have to be done to make the law an institute that actually protects people. Specific bad actors may be out of the picture now, but there is still more work to be done.

And the funny thing is? I2 does all of this without actually talking all that much about the rest of the series. Most of the characters are new, even to Investigations, and the ones that return don't bring up most of the shit that happened like a week ago. Miles references the events of Turnabout Goodbyes, and "That Man", and Gregory Edgeworth is a key figure in this game, to the point where you play as him, and yet all of that is only alluded just enough to understand the magnitude of his image and his loss. The heart of AA has always been in its characters, who are zany and fun, but they face real tragedy and real abuses, at the hands of one another which are then reflected in the world of law because the justice system is created and run by people; in I2 it beats so strongly.

Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice may have the skin of Ace Attorney and the bones to prop them up, but underneath that familiar exterior, they're empty. They lack the the muscles and veins and blood to bring them to life, because the character writing and thematic conceits are shallow. The reason AA5 and 6 fail as followups is not because they don't engage with prior entries enough, but because they are poorly written on their own terms. They say nothing at all; they have removed their own heart.

[snezfics-n-shit]

Sicktember Alt 4: Forehead Kisses

Fandom: Ace Attorney Characters: Larry Butz, Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix Wright Notes: First part of the Triple Play, not queued like I planned, but I got the two others progressing that’ll be posted later on in the day (unless you’re on ao3, then you get them pretty much all at once tonight). Phoenix uses his Kiss Test on his boyfriend and husband. Larry likes it, but Miles is still skeptical. Will Miles ever see the light? You know how it goes, post-SoJ purely for timeline purposes with 0 spoilers because honestly I hardly remember half of what went on past AJ. Established married Wrightworth mutually dating Larry.

     It was a special occasion whenever Larry was welcomed into the official Edgeworth-Wright marriage bed. Normally, during his stays with his boyfriends, Larry would happily sleep in the guest room while Phoenix and Miles were allowed their nights together as a married couple. No one had really drawn this boundary in the sand, but the guest bed was incredibly comfortable and Larry didn’t want to feel like he was intruding, so the three just quietly agreed with this simple arrangement. 

Today’s special occasion came from both Larry and Miles passing – or failing, depending how you looked at it – Phoenix’s ‘kiss test,’ that the defense attorney would gladly draw 25 Uno cards as an alternative to dropping this test in favor of using a thermometer like a normal person. Larry found himself snickering at the idea of sliding a card like that into a deck while no one was looking, though that wouldn’t be fair, given his position as Uno Champion whenever he came over. 

“If you wouldn’t mind, could you be a bit more quiet?” Damn, Miles sounded like garbage. 

“Oh, right. I forgot you had super powered heari’g or whatever.” Upon hearing his own voice, Larry found himself with no room to judge. 

“It’s not a superpower.” Miles sniffled as he rolled his eyes. “My head is just killing me.” 

“You take adythi’g for that?” Larry lowered his voice to appease Miles’s aching head. 

“I will soon. Just before you fell back asleep earlier, Phoenix–”

Speak of the devil, the door creaked open to reveal the man of the hour with his cheeks still pink from the winter chill. Phoenix must have walked all the way to and from the pharmacy, considering he didn’t drive; if he wasn’t careful, there would be three sick men in this bed soon enough.

“Hey, you two.” Phoenix greeted them before initiating his kiss tests once again. “Feels like both your fevers have gone down. That’s good news.” 

“I still have no idea how kissing can tell you something like that.” Miles commented, skeptical as ever. 

“A kiss is a kiss, Edgey.” Larry kissed Miles’s forehead. “You are pretty hot, though.” He paused before snickering. “Your forehead is, too.” 

“See, babe? Larry gets it.” Phoenix kneeled to have his own forehead in kissing range for Miles. “Kiss mine, and then Larry’s.”

Miles sighed and followed his husband’s request, only to start grumbling in defeat when he did feel a difference. 

“I will concede.” Miles gritted his teeth. “But only because you’re holding my medication hostage.”

“Sure, Edgey.” Larry teased before digging in Phoenix’s shopping bag to grab Miles’s medicine and hand it over. “Whatever you say.”

“How do you both manage to be so adorable?” Phoenix wondered, internally swooning. 

Miles’s face grew more flushed than it already was, but Larry simply grinned pridefully. 

“We just are.” Larry shrugged. He watched Miles hide his face underneath the comforter and snickered. “Edgey’s all cutely flustered, too.”

“Alright, let’s not torture Miles any longer.” Phoenix chuckled as he gently pulled the comforter off Miles’s face. “I’m gonna let you two take those meds and get some sleep, okay? Let me know if you need anything. I love you.” 

With a final kiss on their foreheads, with no commentary for Miles’s sake, Phoenix let his husband and boyfriend have some peace and quiet to rest. 

[amazingmsme]

4 with lee!edgeworth ler!phoenix?

4. Worst in-person tease you’ve ever experienced, intentional or not?

I really liked writing this one, hope you enjoy! Phoenix can be such a little shit at times >:3

Phoenix was staring at him. Not that he particularly minded that fact, but it was the way he was looking at him. All dreamy and doe eyed, with a dopey grin on his face. It made Edgeworth a little giddy… but also skeptical.

“What are you looking at?” he asked, looking up from his paperwork. Phoenix grinned wider and scooter his chair a little closer.

“Oh nothing, just your handsome face,” he said smoothly, causing a warm blush to creep on Edgeworth’s cheeks.

“Um, thank you, but I’m not doing anything special. Just reading.”

“Yeah, but you’re just so effortlessly dashing,” Phoenix continued flirting. Miles blushed more, hiding his face behind his case file.

“Please, you’re being distracting. I’m trying to work,” he playfully scolded his boyfriend.

“Well I’m not stopping you,” he shot back smugly. “But I could if I wanted to.”

Edgeworth arched a brow, casting a glance his way. “Is that so?” Phoenix nodded, completely sure of himself. “Yup.”

Miles smirked and cocked his head to the side. “Oh really? And how would you go about doing that?” he asked just as smugly. Phoenix’s grin was downright feral.

“Well for starters I could crawl across the desk.” Edgeworth jerked in his seat, the paper in his hands crinkling slightly as a strangled noise escaped his throat.

“T-that would be quite unprofessional.”

“I know,” he snickered, shooting him a wink. “So instead I’d just walk around behind your chair. Lean down, wrap my arms around you. Kiss that spot right behind your ear that makes you snort.”

Edgeworth’s cheeks were burning bright red as he listened. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” Wright smirked, standing up from his chair. All Edgeworth could do was stare at him as he walked towards him.

“Then I’d wiggle my fingers under your arms ‘til I got you giggling,” he continued, reveling in the way the prosecutor whined. “Then I’d squeeze down your sides until I got your hips. Heh, you’d probably buck like a bull, wouldn’t you?” he taunted.

Poor Miles wanted to shrivel up and die right then and there.

“Mr. Wright please-“

“I love it when you call me that outside of the courtroom,” Phoenix purred, looming over him. “Now how about I do everything I just said and then some?”

[kayfarafey]

Greetings!

I think this question is perfect for yours truly.

Defence attorney Miles Edgeworth and Prosecutor Phoenix Wright. Due to some weird supernatural incident they both find themselves in different roles. It's essentially the cliché body-swap-but-each-person-retains-their-own-minds that we've seen all too often in media. Do you have any headcanons, thoughts or similar as to what it would look like if their roles were reversed? We have already seen Edgeworth take on the role of a defence attorney temporarily, and I think he was quite good. Also, what about their dynamic?

I know this may be a question that you possibly need to think about first, so please take as much time as you'd like, or if you don't want to answer it at all, you can definitely let me know in a PM. I don't mind. <3

Thank you and best wishes,

Zieksy

...WAIT ZIEKSY DO YOU NOT KNOW IM WORKING ON A ROLESWAP AU RIGHT NOW? THATS SO CRAZY. read more because i went ham on this response i got so excited

the general premise is that in this au, because theres a bunch of prosecutor phoenix von karma fics out there (complete respect to them, but i don't want to steal anyone's dead horse) is that when phoenix's parents die around the same time as dl-6 occurs in canon, he ends up being taken in by the hawthornes. i wanted to experiment with phoenix's own past instead of just totally switching him with edgeworth, and i love dahlia she's like. Antagonist of All Time. so i wanted to play around with her and what sort of effect she would have if her relationship with phoenix (to clarify, it is a sibling relationship as opposed to a romantic one) was a) actually her, and b) far more significant than an 8 month college romance, with all the complicated messiness of having a family member who is Not a good person but they are your family.

phoenix's defining tenet is his belief in others and his ability to trust them, and while his relationship with dahlia in canon most likely affected that as well it's not really touched upon in detail. something like that would absolutely be seriously damaged by dahlia's hot-and-cold personality as a result of her (imo/hc) npd, as well as her "death" and the subsequent realization that she was alive all along and never told him because she didn't trust him with the secret, because he was too open and honest. after she gets away with killing fawles and valerie hawthorne, phoenix's motivation to become a prosecutor has to do with making sure criminals like her aren't able to evade conviction. it's not quite edgeworth and von karma's "there is no way to determine guilt so we need to prove every defendant is guilty" but more "you cannot put your faith in others to do what they need to do, evidence is everything and people will lie, and i refuse to let criminals escape when their guilt is evident no matter what"

it is also well known that i am a wh*re for beanix wright, so i wanted to utilize that jaded, skeptical element of his characterization. therefore of COURSE prosecutor phoenix has a poker gimmick--if he's not slouched against the bench with his hands in his trouser pockets, he's fiddling with poker chips or a deck of cards. he's almost emotionless, a permanent poker face with just a slight air of smugness. as for his design, i was genuinely thinking "what could be hot and fun" so i have him in a red waistcoat with brass buttons in the shape of the four suits, messy hair and stubble, and a dress shirt with lace decals and no tie. very not-phoenix, which was the intent.

one of the biggest things i wanted to do with this au is address what the potential effects of enduring abuse from someone with narcissism, especially a loss of self-esteem and a loss of identity. when phoenix is taken in by the hawthornes (not out of the kindness of their hearts but more out of obligation) his surname is changed and with dahlia isolating him he really does lose a lot of the stuff that makes him phoenix, in the same way that aa4 phoenix is recognizable but still so different than his character from the trilogy. the red waistcoat of course shows that switch, but phoenix still goes by hawthorne and wears lace (like dahlia) in acknowledgement that more of his life has been spent as phoenix hawthorne than phoenix wright, and the child he once was is not something he can reclaim. that isn't someone he can be again, ever.

oh my god that was all about phoenix. just know you asked for this.

SO WITH EDGEWORTH the accident on december 28th did actually happen, but when von karma was shot by the ricocheting bullet he basically went "fuck this," cut his losses, and dipped instead of shooting gregory. greg ends up with some minor cerebral hypoxia that sometimes affects his motor coordination and short-term memory, so even though miles passes the bar around the same time as canon, he works as his father's co-counsel for 4/5 years. also, because i love her, after byrne faraday's death greg adopts kay so she is edgeworth's little sibling and is actually the defendant in his first solo case. because i am a lunatic i have. all new cases planned. but this is getting so, so long so i wont go into that rn.

he's not so much cold or distant but he is awkward, greg's definitely the heart of their lawyerly duo because he can talk to witnesses without accidentally being too brusque and offending someone. still overly formal, but he loses that rigidity quickly when he's around his family and close friends. one thing i wanted to make sure of is that while he's awkward, he Is still confident in his abilities as a lawyer--think a mix of apollo and post-seven year gap edgeworth. i of course have him in a trench coat, as well as a pretty basic charcoal three-piece and a (tastefully!) blue ascot, because i hate bowties but i wanted to give him dorky neckwear. this contrast of color was literally just because it was fun and i have feenie in red.

AS FOR THEIR DYNAMIC, it's a lot more stilted than in canon. their relationship in canon was built on that childhood connection and phoenix chasing after edgeworth, but that's not the case here. they were important to each other, and edgeworth can't brush that off, but phoenix views miles as a representation of the person who he once was and is not allowed to be anymore. but phoenix is still phoenix, so even when miles pushes only the slightest bit he folds, but his inability to trust edgeworth (even though he wants to) is a huge barrier to the development of their relationship. it's edgeworth's drive in court to unravel the truth and how he values believing in other people that leads phoenix to think about the person he's become. despite not being able to be phoenix wright anymore he still views edgeworth as a paragon of justice and goodness like he did when he was phoenix wright, and if edgeworth believes in that despite everything, if edgeworth believes in him despite everything, edgeworth must be right.

jesus fucking christ i am so sorry. you literally asked this at like. Peak thinking about this au time so you get ten thousand words about it. thank you for asking zieksy you're my moon and stars

[greentrickster]

An Ace in Time: Edgeworth

Was thinking about Edgeworth in the An Ace in Time AU, here’s what I have for him as far as backstory goes in regards to what’s happening with him up to the point Phoenix becomes a noodle ghost himself:

He died partway through the resolution of the DL-6 resolution case, whether Manfred got to him or someone who felt he had wronged them/their family (justified or not) did, he ended up dying a day or so in, and he was such a mess of emotions at that point that he came back as a vengeful spirit that just... didn’t want anyone near him, go away, they were all right to call him a demon, he’s a mess of terror and self-hate. Phoenix, in a very on-brand move, is the only one who has the courage to approach him and repeats his plea from before, let me defend you. Miles says the only reason Phoenix isn’t afraid is that he has a protective amulet on (the magatama - reveals lies and protects you from evil spirits!). Phoenix promptly hands it off to Maya all, “Nope, I don’t care, I don’t care that you’re dead, I don’t care that you’re all dangerous and scary, you’re innocent and I’m going to prove it.”

And he dang well does (and makes history as the first person to ever defend a vengeful ghost in court (not to mention have said ghost cooperate and behave the entire time), and also the first person to help a vengeful spirit find peace by winning a court case for them).

After this, Edgeworth just... sort of hangs around. He’s a ghost now, so emotions work a little differently - after receiving the closure of that trial and about his father’s death he’s just... not vengeful anymore. He’s at peace. He just hasn’t moved on yet (Maya personally blames Nick, weird stuff always happens around Nick). Sometimes he still helps out at the Prosecutors’ Office (there’s a handful of people there who are of the opinion, ‘Well he didn’t stop being an amazing lawyer just because he died, might as well get his input on this”), usually can be found wandering around the Peoples’ Park - he didn’t get to spend a lot of time outdoors before, so he’s enjoying it now. Also hangs around the Wright & Co office at times (Phoenix and Maya especially encourage this in the summer - ice powers = cold just wafts off of him if he lets it = more effective and cheaper than an air conditioner, just put on some Steel Samurai reruns and he’ll stay put until you turn them off again).

He’s a lot more mellow now, his baseline setting is ‘at peace,’ so he tends to be quite calm (this often just means he’s more likely to give you a sassy look or skeptical snort than verbally roast you unless you did something that’s really worth commenting on). He still hasn’t fully recovered from everything he suffered in life, but from his perspective these things went from “bleeding wounds” to “mostly healed scars” in a matter of moments. The emotional scars are still there, he’s not ready to talk about or deal with their existence yet, but they don’t hurt anymore, so for now he’s mostly enjoying not having to carry all that guilt and pain.

If he’s too badly scared, he’ll freeze himself into the middle of a giant lump of ice - it’s not on purpose, he just does it, can’t hurt him if you can’t get to him!!! ...sometimes he’ll also do this when he just doesn’t want to bother with people, nope, not socialing, can’t make me, I’m dead and in a block of ice, so there. How fast the ice melts depends on how much he wants it to - could be a couple minutes, could be a couple hours. Earthquakes are very much an ice-cube-ification trigger.

To the touch, he feels much as he did when alive, just colder. He has no idea why he has a crown as a ghost, this lack of knowledge vaguely annoys him, and frankly he’d rather stick with ‘demon prosecutor’ rather than this new ‘king of prosecutors’ moniker people have come up with, he never even won that award-?!

Most of the places where he’d be prosecuting if he was alive, he’s replaced by Franziska in this world. She prosecutes the cases and Miles just... shows up from time to time when he’s needed. Sometimes it’s to help Fran, sometimes it’s to help Phoenix, occasionally it’s just to judgmentally observe and apply bandaids and frozen compresses after everything’s gone south. He didn’t go to Kurain at first because, dude, these ladies specialize in channeling and banishing spirits - probably not a good place for him, plus he might catch on fire or something just setting foot there. Then Phoenix pulls his dang stunt with the bridge and Miles just... appears at his bedside and it’s like, “Welp, guess I’m here and not on fire, time to help out.” (It turns out that there is literally no law saying a non-vengeful ghost can’t practice law, Maya is so upset she missed all this once Phoenix fills her in).

[sysig]

My Case Against 1-5

aka Why Miles Edgeworth is the most important character in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (and it’s not just because he’s my favourite I swear)

*spoilers for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney cases 1-1 through 1-5! *also opinions

Miles Edgeworth has the strongest character arc in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and using a backfilled case to undermine his character growth not only reduces his impact as a character but delegitimizes the entirety of the first game’s central plot progression. In this essay I will

Miles Edgeworth’s character arc is the strongest of the entire cast in PWAA. His maturation and closure from case 1-2 to 1-4 are the heart of the whole plot of the first game, showing his progression from cold and clever to vulnerable, and willing to listen even to his opponents. This progression is very important to the player’s attitude towards him, as well as his worth as a character, as if he were to always be one way, either cold and clever or vulnerable and more open-minded, he would be rendered a flat character. Not to mention, case 1-4 is arguably the most important case in the game, being the original climax, as well as finally showing all the events of the DL-6 case and Edgeworth’s childhood, furthering his characterization and lending more depth to him, Phoenix, and Larry. Having the events play out as they do, with accusations and uncovering a past that was repressed and hidden, to slimy dealings with the prosecution and blame pinned everywhere, at least Edgeworth didn’t do what everyone, even himself, had been convinced of. But wait, isn’t that a little familiar? Isn’t that very similar to the kind of thing Edgeworth has been accused of, and how Rise from the Ashes plays out? The finger is pointed at Edgeworth, not for murder perhaps, but incriminating nonetheless, and while the past doesn’t reach back as far, it still throws so much into question, the biggest one being: Did Edgeworth use unscrupulous methods, no matter to how willing he was to do so, to win his cases? This case says, well, yes, Edgeworth unwittingly used forged evidence and lays out how he did such a thing, but in the end paints him as having been a pawn for a power he had no control over, an unintentional offender. Do I believe that though? No way! Who was there in the first case against him when he intentionally went out of his way to tamper with a witness’ testimony! Who was there as he covered up for a real-life murderer and let me take the blame! Who was there while he twisted the truth to better suit his four year career as a prosecutor, or two if 1-5 is to be believed? It was me, I saw it all, I bear witness to Edgeworth being unlawful, intentionally, on purpose, knowingly! And you know what? That’s great. It strengthens his characterization more effectively than case 1-5 could ever hope to. Why? Well, in this essay I will...!

Cases 1-2 through 1-4 perfectly set up and foreshadow reopening and solving the DL-6 case; the new cast is small, the old cast is well-established, some evidence is even brought up again, and everything is very tightly written. 

1-2 introduces Edgeworth and all his scummy back alley ways of dealing with unfortunate-for-him evidence and testimony, giving us, the player, reason to dislike him beyond just Being Bad - he’s actively making this case more difficult for us, and has us framed for murder! That bastard! His loss throws him into question, as it did for his mentor and adoptive father, von Karma, but unlike von Karma, Edgeworth’s heart was not hardened past the point of no return. This is reflected best in 1-3

1-3 starts with Edgeworth still gunning to win and making our lives more difficult, with Gumshoe still being on his side and making gathering evidence harder, which leads back to the impression of Edgeworth - if Gumshoe and Edgeworth are working together, and it’s making this case more difficult, it comes back to thinking Edgeworth is a bastard who’s just there to get in the way. But then he underhandedly helps you - refuses to object, presses witnesses, even the Judge seems skeptical of his position as prosecutor! He’s starting to shift, to change, to become more interested in the truth rather than keeping his winning streak alive

Finally 1-4 is where it all comes together. You see his mentor, his father figure, who trained Edgeworth to be just like him, to be unscrupulous and cold and always make sure to get the defendant declared guilty - von Karma. And wouldn’t you know it, Edgeworth of all people is now the one in the defendant’s chair, framed for murder and unwilling to talk, believing not only that von Karma can have him declared guilty, but that his is guilty. Protecting Phoenix from the truth that he’s been wrestling with for fifteen years, until it finally comes to a head - 

Edgeworth is not a murderer, but he’s also not innocent. Not necessarily in 1-4, he’s declared Not Guilty, but in his life, he has done underhanded deeds and dirty dealings. He’s manipulative, cold, refuses help and refutes compelling arguments if they might be inconvenient for him. But he changes, before it’s too late. He becomes vulnerable, is willing to change, to listen, to admit defeat. If he ever got caught he’d surely go to jail, and in 1-2 I’d be tempted to say he got what was coming to him! But he’s not static. He’s dynamic. He learns, he grows, he becomes a better person. And he hates it, he feels so uncomfortable changing that part of himself, those “Unnecessary feelings.” But Phoenix was right - they are necessary, and they prove that Edgeworth has changed. You want evidence? He gives it to you himself, with his uncomfortable expressions and his stopped nightmares. He refuses to become the monster that raised him, stops beating himself up for something he never did, and admits the greatest defeat - he stops prosecuting. Not because he was found for forging evidence but rather because he was saved from anyone finding out now that he’d turned that page. Phoenix Wright saved him from callout culture.

So other than the obvious things about case 1-5, like the occasional typo (not great in a detail-driven story but nobody’s perfect) and some of the more particular puzzles (looking at you unstable jar), Rise from the Ashes has some more egregious problems, least of all being pacing and tone, and most of all being ruining continuity and the heart of the first four cases.

How it lifts from 1-4 aka Edgeworth’s sordid past & statute of limitations on opening a case (and repressed memories)

It’s cast number and amount of evidence as a climax vs. 1-3 & 1-4 (how 1-3 was a murder unrelated to any of the previously established characters and had a decently large cast but not /so/ large as to be confusing) and (1-4 as a climax works the smoothest because of the foreshadowing of the DL-6 since 1-2 and only introducing a few new characters to keep the characterization tight) plus (refusing to get rid of superfluous evidence despite having already done that in earlier cases)

Lack of/contradicting established continuity and canon (Edgeworth being Lana’s understudy, neglecting mention of von Karma except at the very end and only once; the Blue Badger being made “This year” i.e. 2017 when the plush already existed at least as far back as 2016, if not earlier; Rumours about Edgeworth forging evidence/any other back alley deals being thrown around when even he himself didn’t know about the forged evidence but did know about tampering with testimonies because he did those himself in case 1-2; bringing up Miranda Rights, evidence law, etc., when neither of them had been important to the plot before (internal continuity rather than real-world application)

It’s a badly written mystery (the way it pushes off the initial murder to the very end to make it seem like an afterthought, the way it intentionally redirects the chain of events many times (something like four times?), its “options” only leading to yes or no which really end up with either one or the other with just a strike (!) taken off (i.e. not clever writing); it just seems like it’s a gaslighty mess)

The Good (because there are good things, both objectively and subjectively)

Gant (his design, his theme, the idea he represents (being corruption in the police, blackmail & lies to achieve an end; well established just not well executed, especially taking pieces of evidence, one of which he planted, and intentionally hiding it from Lana instead of further implicating Ema i.e. Lana should’ve been aware of those pieces of ‘’evidence’’ so that it would seem even more like Ema would be implicated if they were real)

The screwdriver reveal (divorced from the context of everything else in the case, the image of Edgeworth truly being used to transport a corpse unwittingly is very well done. It’s in-character, well-revealed, and an interesting concept, especially towards Edgeworth, because of his baggage)

The question raised of corruption in the police force, and foils of Starr and Lana to Gumshoe and Edgeworth

The Bad (objectively bad things like pacing, logical jumpscares (edges toward subjective), hand-holding (like flashbacks to things that happened literally just before the last save), arguably tone shift)

Having this case be both an introduction to new gameplay elements, and the climax of the game i.e., the hardest level (the way things are introduced doesn’t mesh well with having to have the most difficult plot line/convoluted story/etc., because there’s no time to gradually tutorialize these elements without killing the pacing of the case, which it does anyway. It does both things wrong, amazing!)

The Ugly (subjective things, plot progression around and in relation to Edgeworth my favourite charater, sense of humour, using Ema as a replacement for Maya, introducing such a large cast with no foreshadowing (because they couldn’t help it is not an excuse - if you can’t write your plot and have it weave naturally into the pre-established story, maybe you should do a rewrite)

Edgeworth is not a static character and you’d know that if you played Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. His characterization and character arc are the strongest of any other character in the game and writing as though he never did anything unscrupulous undoes the entirety of 1-2 through 1-4

Admittedly, this is neither a good nor a bad, it just is - Darke was convicted of a murder that he did not commit, and was put to death for murders that were never proven. Darke could be Not Guilty for all we, the player, know, and I think that’s maybe the most interesting thing in this case. Too bad it was sidelined for the rest of it

Backfilling as an art is something I’m very familiar with, and if I may toot my own horn, am fairly decent at. You see it all the time with fanfiction and other fanworks, backfilling is a very popular way of making sense or just filling in the time between canon events - fun speculative fiction for fiction. This case is one of the worst examples of backfilling I’ve ever seen. It explains nothing that wasn’t already established, it actively ignores canon, it introduces a dozen new characters that were previously unmentioned and makes them integral to the plots of the established characters, etc., etc. It makes it difficult to want to get to know them when they fall into the conventions of unskilled writers, no matter how earnest

[dei-lab-assistant]

Fake Marriage part 15

Well, if this story hasn’t become incredibly cliché stupidly fast. What will your character do now that she’s lost a fight with Shelly de Killer, and her fake husband, Miles Edgeworth, (who has been poisoned,) must choose which one of you will live? (Meaning of course, will Edgeworth live, or you. Not, gee, I wonder whether Edgeworth will choose to let his friend and fake wife live, or a professional hitman?)

Word count: 1434 

For a few seconds, Edgeworth sat silent. “Let...her go.” His eyes were closed tight, teeth clenched, voice choked.

“As you wish,” de Killer slipped the vial back into her apron, and for a terrible moment you thought she was pulling out her knife. However, what her left hand emerged with were a few plastic zip ties. Grabbing your left hand, which had technically been “free” this whole time, de Killer efficiently tied your hands behind your back. It hurt. Your ligaments would be hating you for weeks as the sprains healed. Crossing your ankles, she bound them as well. “Sacrificing yourself for someone you love...I almost admire you, Prosecutor. Almost. But I have little respect for the dead.” Moving to sit behind your head, she slid the final plastic tie around your neck, “And as for you,” she began to tighten the strap, “if we meet again, I promise to make it interesting.” When it was tight enough to stop most of the airflow to your lungs, she paused, grabbed your ear, and leaned down to whisper, “My mentor has some very old fashioned ideas, but once he’s dead—there’s no reason I can’t keep a few playthings, right?”

A chill ran down your spine. You hated being used to manipulate people, and you despised individuals who felt the need to flaunt their power by controlling others. You wanted to reply with something snappy and harsh, “Yeah, well,” your mind drew a complete blank, “no.” Although you meant “no” as a disagreement, it sounded like you might be agreeing with her. Too late to change it now, since speaking was tough with this strip of plastic digging into your neck, and there was no way you would make it through an explanation of what you meant before running out of air and ending up desperately gasping for more.

“I know you’re thinking about chasing me down for the antidote,” de Killer traced the outline of your ear with her finger, and you shuddered, “but that would be a mistake.” She tightened the strap around your neck another notch, “I’m looking forward to it.” Without another word, she stood up and walked out.

Finally. Rolling onto your left side, you wriggled over to the corpse of Fleur Serven. When your hands found her head, you ran your fingers through her hair, looking for a bobby pin. Lots of waitresses used them to keep their ponytail looking neat and tidy. Fortunately, Serven was no exception, and despite the pain caused by moving your right wrist, you soon acquired a bobby pin of your very own. Pain continued as you found the fastener and inserted one end of the pin to push open the little plastic piece holding the tie closed. But you could deal with pain as long as you were free to take action, and you suspected if you did not manage to escape quickly, you would pass out from lack of oxygen. 

Once your hands were free, you immediately raised your left hand to remove the zip tie around your neck. A few deep breaths later you were freeing your legs as well. Your right shoulder refused to cooperate; you figured it had been dislocated. As soon as your feet were free you rushed to Edgeworth’s side. He was still breathing, but his pulse was racing, and he was either unconscious or paralyzed. “I’ll do my best to save you.” Part of you wanted to promise he would be okay, that you would return with the antidote, and all would be well. But you would never make such promises, as you knew they might not be true. Without another word, you headed for the exit.

To your surprise, when you stepped out of the locker room you found resort security personnel had gathered in the dining room around the door. “The woman who came from here, where did she go?” you asked.

“Ma’am, you need to go back inside,” one of the men replied.

His response left you dumbfounded. How should you respond to such a nonsequiteur? Ignore it. “The waitress who came through this door a few minutes ago—did anyone see which way she went?” This time you raised your voice to be heard by everyone in the room.

The man repeated his previous statement, with more intensity. This was unexpected, but you should have realized de Killer would have had a plan to keep people out of the room. “Okay, what did she tell you?” You planted your left hand on your hip as your right arm hung limp.

A different man spoke up, this one was younger and held a stun gun. “Ms. Tress told us all about how Ms. Serven was killed by a new bacteriological pathogen. She passed on the prosecutor’s orders to allow no one else access to the room under any circumstances, and to prevent anyone from leaving in order to prevent spreading the infection!” He seemed excited about the information, and you guessed he was probably into stories about this kind of thing. At least it would be easy to poke holes in de Killer’s story, as the “facts” she fed the hotel staff could be quickly demolished with logic and science.

“If we let you out of that room,” stun gun guy continued, “we could be responsible for creating a nationwide pandemic!”

“Is that so?” At this point you were considering your options in case these idiots refused to see reason. Still, a non-physical course of action would be better. Much better. “If there’s a virulent bacteriological threat in that room, and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth demanded it be contained, how come it was acceptable for Ms. Tress to leave the room?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhh.” The first man was at a loss.

“Maybe she was immune?” offered a third, female guard. “After all, she seemed fine.”

“She could still be a carrier!” stun gun guard exclaimed.

“In that case,” you pointed at him, “why would Edgeworth allow her to leave the room?”

“He…wouldn’t,” his shoulders slumped. “Unless…” the tall young man held up a finger to signal his new idea, “he was overcome by the disease and couldn’t prevent the two of you from leaving!” Pushing past me he peeked into the next room. “He’s dead!”

You did not have time to deal with their idiocy. “He’s not dead! He’s been poisoned. By the waitress.”

“Wait, what?” The female guard pushed back her cap, “why would a waitress poison one of our guests?”

“And who killed the other waitress?” asked the first, older guard.

“The pathogen!” the younger guard incorrectly explained.

“No!” you grabbed the tie of the young man and explained the situation. “Ms. Serven was working as a waitress, but she was really an undercover detective gathering information on the guests. Ms. Tress was also working as a waitress, but she’s actually the professional hitman Shelly de Killer, who was hired to take out a detective with incriminating evidence. She also poisoned Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth and dislocated my shoulder. Now, de Killer is escaping with the antidote, and if it’s all the same to you, I would very much like to stop her!”

“You expect us to believe that?” asked the first guard skeptically. 

You turned to look at him, “You believed Ms. Serven was killed by a dangerous new pathogen.”

“That—That is true.” Beyond the guards you could see the Richlands getting up from their table.

“You!” letting go of the young man’s tie, you turned to point at the female guard, “Keep those two from leaving.” You gestured to the Richlands, “Don’t let them destroy or discard anything.” The couple looked panicked when they heard you. 

“O-Okay.” The female guard turned to walk over to the suspicious couple.

“You,” I turned my attention to the older of the two male guards, “go call the cops. Tell them we’re dealing with Shelly de Killer. Oh, and make sure you mention Edgeworth’s been poisoned.”

“Who are you?” he asked, seemingly on the fence.

“I’m a private detective who occasionally works freelance for The Prosecutor’s Office. I’m licensed to carry a firearm. And I’m literally married to the Chief Prosecutor. Now go make the call.”

“Yeah, right. Okay.”

“And you,” you turned back to the enthusiastic guard, “Zombie Apocalypse Fanboy—“

“How did you know?” He asked, amazed.

“Lucky guess.”

“No, tell me, how did you—“

“I want you with me.”

“Sure!”

“Great.” You started walking towards the exit, while he followed at your heels. Apparently, he now perceived you as being in charge. You smiled. Attorneys aren’t the only ones who can bluff on the job.

[neverpathia]

I think it's very fitting that you made Skeptic look like Miles Edgeworth cause he is very Edgeworth coded! (A smart guy who prioritizes logic and wants to uncover the truth, but also struggles with his emotions and deeply cares for the people important to him)

honestly? that thing wasn't on purpose lol. but I think something subconsciously clicked in my head and here he is. won't deny that it's not fitting, though.

skeptic really doesn't take up a lot of space in my head right now. I keep forgetting about him. I don't actively dislike him, but I just...ehhhhh. he exists. not much thought about the guy.

here. have a skep cookie

but I will say. I like that he's a bit of a struggler. I like that his perspective has been narrowed down so much. that he limits himself to what he seeks. that he sets aside everything else in this horrible single-minded pursuit of the truth. yet it only results in ultimate, inevitable futility.

it's not his fault. the world just doesn't work the way he thinks it does. but he'll never be able to understand it, would he? he's still a coping mechanism, after all. things have to make sense. to him it's the only way anything can remain sane, and safe, and normal for everyone. he's still a part of TLQ that wants everything to be okay.

except it's not. and he doesn't understand. and he never will.