#so I have him to thank for dadworth

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

You know, I think what really bugs me about the "Dadworth" dynamic applied to Kay and Edgeworth's relationship is that it usually makes Kay out to be this hyperactive, slight problem child (in the 'stealing and pranking' sense rather than the 'moody and abrasive' sense), occasionally with deep-rooted daddy issues like Edgeworth has, when that's... the opposite of her character.

(This post got away from me, so TL;DR: Kay is a quick-witted and independent young woman who has worked very hard to be both emotionally and practically intelligent enough to be seen as a legitimate successor to her father's legacy. Making her out to be the traits mentioned above, so she functions as Edgeworth's daughter rather than his investigative partner and equal, undermines her character and semi-conflates her with Maya [the deep-rooted issues bit]. Also I don't like it wksgskaj)

The thing about Kay is that she's not actually in the series as much as it feels like she is, which makes it easy for her character to be altered to suit the needs of the story (which I think happens in The Forgotten Turnabout, but I won't talk about that here). She turns up in two cases as herself in AAI (as in, teenager Kay whom we're most familiar with) and shares her role with Gumshoe, Ema and Franziska when she does, lessening her appearances even further. Nevertheless, there are still concrete elements to her personality that we're made aware of right from the beginning, and the first major one which I feel gets overlooked in favour of her hyperactive characterisation is this:

Kay is very, very sharp.

In terms of mainline assistants, I'd consider her the sharpest of all (maybe after Trucy? But I don't remember enough of AJ to comment on that). Yes, she's shown to be reckless and impulsive, but, when it comes to actual investigating and reasoning, she is solid. With Nick and Maya, you sometimes get the impression that they're both fumbling along until Phoenix catches on (most of the time with Maya's usually a little accidental help, and he still has to explain things to her near every time [not Maya's fault. Following Phoenix's reasoning is like being on a rollercoaster in a minecart]), but Kay is very rarely like that with Edgeworth. Within minutes of meeting him, she can predict what he's going to say (or 'steal his lines', as the game puts it), and there are several moments after he uses Logic and is about to explain what he's connected where Kay interrupts with the correct conclusion herself:

Edgeworth: A second Blue Badger that shouldn't exist... Clearly, the true identity of the person underneath is...

Kay: Oh, I know! It's one of the kidnappers, right!?

There's even a point where she tells him off for overexplaining things to her:

Kay: Yeesh, I told you I got it! Do you feel the need to explain everything!?

And, near the end of their first case together, he acknowledges that's she's generally quite quick:

Kay: OK, what should I re-create first?

Edgeworth: ...You haven't figured it out yet?

Kay: Heh, maybe I have, and maybe I haven't.

Even if you don't take these points into consideration, the fact that she comes up with a new way to use Little Thief, and knows how to use it at all actually, shows you that she's a really intelligent girl! Continuing on a bit from the point I made earlier about her being brash, Kay may be reckless, but she isn't irresponsible. Whenever she rushes into situations, she doesn't expect other people to come save her; she's quite assured that she can and will get herself out of them on her own, and, if she needs help, she asks for it in advance. She treats Edgeworth less like her guardian and more like her investigative partner:

Kay: I didn't get permission to enter Allebahst... so we're going to go gather whatever info we can over on the Babahlese side, OK!?

Edgeworth: Alright, I'm counting on you two.

Kay: Right, and I'm counting on you and Ms. von Karma to sniff out clues in Allebahst!

...

Edgeworth: A number of pieces connect in a very complicated way in this case... It's almost enough to make one completely mentally exhausted.

Kay: Let's not over-complicate matters, OK, Mr. Edgeworth? We've been so focused, like a laser, on only what seems strange and out of place... it's no wonder nothing's clicked and we haven't unlocked anything yet. But, if we think things through calmly, the answer should come to us!

There's an independence to her proactiveness that kind of forces Edgeworth to meet her on equal grounds, and this too is an element that gets lost when the Dadworth dynamic comes in because it involves making Edgeworth responsible -- or feel responsible -- for her actions and general wellbeing when Kay has never expected nor wanted that. She does things on her own terms, and she walks the path she's chosen by herself:

Edgeworth: Preposterous! On what grounds do you suspect her of such a thing!?

Shih-na: The fact that she calls the Yatagarasu. That in itself is a more elegant proof.

Kay: Ms. Shih-na.

Shih-na: Yes?

Kay: I... have no intention of taking back any of what I've said.

Shih-na: ...?

Kay: I am the Great Thief Yatagarasu. And I refuse to allow some imposter to claim that name as their own! The path of justice that my father pointed me towards... I will walk it the best I can!

Her relationship with Edgeworth works as an inverse to that of Nick and Maya's in the way that, where Nick and Maya have deep respect for one another beneath layers upon layers of playful insults and messing about, Kay outwardly respects Edgeworth first (and expects that respect to be returned) and razes him second -- that, too, never to an extent she wouldn't with anyone else or that crosses a certain boundary. Her messing with Edgeworth is shown to be more an attempt to get him to lighten up or not take himself too seriously than an act of (platonic) intimacy as it is with Nick and Maya (which makes sense because Nick and Maya have spent years together, while she's known Edgeworth for all of two weeks) or genuine obliviousness/silliness (although it definitely sometimes is). This is pretty obvious simply from the fact that she always calls him 'Mr Edgeworth', though she's perfectly comfortable calling Gumshoe and Badd, people whom she is more familiar and comfortable with, 'Gummy' and 'Uncle Badd' respectively. Also Kay, in general, is quite polite? Edgeworth calls something she said rude at one point and she gets insulted, and, when you ask for her opinion, she doesn't go 'What?' or 'What is it?', she specifically says, 'Yes?' (this changes in AAI2, which I promise I'm not discussing here) Upon meeting Oldbag, she has this exchange with her, where Kay chooses a more formal mode of address than what is actually offered:

Oldbag: My name is Wendy Oldbag. But you can call me "Wendy", or "Granny", or whatever suits your fancy.

Kay: Nice to meet you, Ms. Oldbag! I'm Kay Faraday.

She's also had moments where she calls Edgeworth out for being 'tactless', and she's shown to feel very strongly about rudeness throughout the whole game. I'm not saying she isn't mischievous or playful, she very much is, but the point is that she's really quite respectful, and this extends to her relationship with him. Her characterisation in Turnabout Ablaze, where she's considerably more excitable/high-strung than in Kidnapped, seems largely due to them chasing down Calisto Yew. Edgeworth even comments on this:

Edgeworth: Kay, you need to look before you leap. You tend to lose your cool when it comes to anything related to that woman.

Generally, though, you can tell that she was obviously raised with an adherence to certain formalities. She's not looking for another parental figure (because she doesn't need one, which I'll go into after this), but, if she was, she'd make that clear.

Kay's a very straightforward person at heart; she doesn't hide any part of herself, even the part that should be hidden (i.e. the Yatagarasu). There are points where she suggests that Edgeworth reminds her of her father, but, in AAI, she specifically mentions that it's both Edgeworth and Gumshoe who remind her of her father and Detective Badd. It's not about her seeing Edgeworth as a father figure; it's about their and her own dedication to the truth. Even in AAI2, where her comments could be read as leaning more towards the former angle, she doesn't get cut up about him not picking up on that or really paying it much emphasis at all, because it doesn't matter. The fact that he reminds her of Byrne is just that: a fact.

Returning to the point about Kay not needing/wanting another parental figure, I think it's pretty self-explanatory, but to put it succinctly: Kay has the guidance she needs without him.

To put it less succinctly, Edgeworth's possibly the worst candidate to go for for emotional support and guidance in the first place, and by the time she meets him again, she's basically processed her father's passing and has a better handle on herself emotionally than Edgeworth does (not a brag; most characters have higher EQ than Edgeworth); what she wants isn't necessarily closure for Byrne's death in the emotional sense but in the I-want-answers-to-this-mystery-that-will-restore-my-family's-honour sense. You could make the argument that Kay becoming the second Yatagarasu and shaping her entire future around continuing her father's work prove that she isn't over his death, but I don't think that's true and more of a result of conflating her with Maya a bit.

With Maya, becoming the Master isn't something she chooses; it's given to her by Misty and Mia. With Kay, it's the opposite. Kay's decision to become the Yatagarasu and pursue the truth is wholly her own, and her approach to that goal reflects that. While Maya uses her cheery, upbeat attitude to conceal a lot of self-doubt and vulnerability (and Franziska does the same with her hostility), Kay does not. Her cheerfulness is precisely who she is; it's not a mask so much as it is a distraction. It keeps people from looking at her too closely and realising exactly how capable she is, and, while I don't think it's fully intentional (again, she believes in living her life in a straightforward and upfront manner), she does imply that it's sort of her (or the Yatagarasu's) MO:

Kay: Well! By the time everyone notices, it's already gone! That's the Yatagarasu way!

Interestingly enough, this unintentional tactic of using humour and cheeriness as a distraction from her abilities makes her a mirror to Calisto Yew, who also uses her seemingly always light-hearted nature as a disguise for what she's actually capable of (Calisto's joviality is her true self, too, or at least as 'true' as she can get). The difference between them is that Calisto delights in ironically mocking the world around her, whereas Kay finds joy in life itself, and she's stronger for it.

The only part where we see Kay attempt to mask her feelings is when she's a child, and even then she admits that she feels better after crying, which, I believe, led to her becoming more open with her emotions later in life (see how her older self has a teary sprite which makes pretty frequent appearances where her younger self does not). In any case, to me, this shows that she has people in her life already who are helping, and have helped, her confront and process her trauma. She's not looking to Edgeworth to help her make sense of her father's death and she definitely isn't looking for a replacement (again, literally dedicated to continuing her father's [and Badd's] legacy). Whenever Edgeworth even gets close to becoming parental with her, she dismisses it, unless she acknowledges that she is in the wrong:

Edgeworth: ...Kay, it's not good for you to stay up late, you know.

Kay: Yes, gramps!

...

Edgeworth: ...I appreciate your sense of justice, however... I would appreciate it if you wouldn't go running into the heart of any more raging fires.

Kay: Nngh... Yes, Mr. Edgeworth... I'll try...

Despite her buoyancy and bright attitude, Kay is quite firm that she be treated as an adult (she doesn't see her cheeriness as a mark of youth; it's joie de vivre, it's who she is, and that's that), and, throughout the game, she gets annoyed when people don't respect that (her arguments with Lang are largely over how he calls Little Thief a toy and her crow-girl). She holds her own and relies on herself while being unafraid of asking for help.

Anyway, this post has gone on for long enough and I think I've addressed the points I wanted to. I should mention that I realise that a lot of how many people portray/interpret their relationship is validated by AAI2 but that's honestly a discussion for a separate post HAHA I feel like, when it comes to AAI, the father/daughter interpretation can maybe be argued with regards to the way Edgeworth treats her? Honestly, though, I think he'd treat any young lady who suddenly becomes part of his team/responsibility in pretty much the same way. And, like, he drops the ball almost every time he's supposed to give "fatherly" advice because he's just not that great with it/children!! It's actually hilarious HSKSDHSK

Either way, yeah! I just think Kay is actually given a lot less credit than she's due when the Dadworth card gets played and I just! Want better for her!!

[rivalsforlife]

if you'rs still up for it i'd love to learn about dadworth epic and/or deep dark secrets 2 ?? also i have to say i loved that excerpt you posted of musical phoenix and how you perfectly made him such an asshole to maya lol

I'm always happy to do these!! (and thank you! why did the musical write him like that. why did they destroy my best friends.)

dadworth epic was SUPPOSED to be a super long (why it's not finished) plotty fic diverging from the end of The Forgotten Turnabout, except Kay doesn't get her memories back. Since she doesn't get her memories back, Edgeworth doesn't investigate the storage room to get the call from de Killer and therefore doesn't get sucked into the Grand Turnabout, and decides to take in Kay until she gets her memories (which doesn't happen for a whiiile). Without Grand Turnabout being resolved a bunch of bad things happen (Justine hands down the not-guilty for Patricia Roland, but subsequently is arrested for the fake president's murder - Ray manages to get her off the hook but the true culprit isn't found, Lang still suspects John but he's never convicted for it - Sebastian is kidnapped and not rescued for days and his faith in himself/others is totally shattered, it takes longer for John to get rescued so though he isn't dead he has some permanent frostbite damage from the freezer plus extra trauma, and of course Simon gets away with everything.) Basically everyone is worse off except the villains for most of this AU.

Also in this AU since Edgeworth doesn't go through his realization of wanting to become a prosecutor, he ends up becoming a defense attorney. This overlaps with disbarment so Phoenix has this weird jealousy thing going on where it's like "yeah I only became a defense attorney to save him and it's great that he's following his childhood dreams now But." Also Franziska and Gumshoe are taking this badly since they see Edgeworth as a defense attorney as a betrayal of his relationships with them (which is a thought I've elaborated on elsewhere).

Either way since Edgeworth still knows Too Much, he eventually gets assassins sent after him and Kay (I don't think I fully decided if this would be Patricia, Blaise, or Simon via Gustavia Proxy) and they go to de Killer, who, still feeling in Edgeworth's debt, refuses the request and warns him. He and Kay go on the run. This includes temporarily tagging along with the circus (to bring Simon into relevancy again), going to Zheng Fa (to introduce everything Lang's got going on and summarize the president's death related parts of Grand Turnabout), joining with Interpol (to handle the Franziska&Miles relationship drama), reuniting with Justine, John, and Sebastian, who are also on the run (dealing with fallout of this AU on their characters), then of course they have to take down Patricia, Blaise, the assassins going after them, and Simon (which is where I got lost because I was struggling to figure out How to do all that). They don't have enough evidence to arrest Simon on in the end, and it gives Edgeworth a career crisis again.

And of course throughout the whole thing is the focus on Edgeworth&Kay where Kay is first amnesiac and scared, then slowly gets more comfortable with Edgeworth and a bit more like her old personality, and at some point she does get her memories back but doesn't say anything because she wants to stay with him.

AS YOU CAN TELL IT WAS GOING TO BE VERY LONG. I HAVE NOT WORKED ON IT SINCE 2020. The outline was pretty detailed though so I miiight be able to pick it up again if I'm in the mood for it but I wouldn't count on it.

Deep Dark Secrets 2 is a much shorter explanation it's pretty much just me rewriting my fic that already exists but fully from Iris's perspective. So it was mostly a writing exercise kind of thing, it's mostly disjointed scenes, lots of them are flashbacks to her relationship with Phoenix and her interactions with Dahlia around that time.

[selfdestructivecat]

Miles Edgeworth or Gregory Edgeworth?

Ahhhh another Ace Attorney character! Ima do Miles since he’s a main character with more information (so more ingredients for creating headcanons), but I’d also be happy to do Gregory if you (or someone else) asks for it again!

Realistic Headcanon: His legs are JACKED. I headcanon his office to be on the top floor of the Prosecutor’s building, and given his fear of elevators (which I think has been established in canon? And even if it hasn’t, it’s still probable) he has to walk up several flights of stairs every day. So yeah, his legs definitely get a work out.

And given how Phoenix, in my hc, still does not have a driver’s license and bikes everywhere, they can be thicc thigh husbands! XD

(Also if you wanna argue about how realistic this headcanon is, have you seen the Ace Attorney Cafe art!? I rest my case.)

(More Headcanons Below!)

Unrealistic (but hilarious) Headcanon: Franziska is the only person who can boss him around. Trucy comes close, and she can usually sway him to her side unless it’s a serious matter, but Franziska still actively terrifies him. He may be able to stand his ground against her, but trust me when I say that he’s shaking in his totally-not-pink suit and cravat.

The things Franziska has bullied him into doing, even as the Chief Prosecutor, include: Getting her coffee/snacks, allowing her to prosecute certain cases that had already been assigned to another prosecutor, and asking that foolish attorney out on a date.

Heart-Crushing and Awful Headcanon: When he was first introduced to Trucy, he was terrified. Not of Trucy, per say, but of his role in her life. His father was kind and caring, but he had only been present for a small part of his life. Most of his memories of childhood and adolescence are of Manfred von Karma, who we can all agree wasn’t the best caretaker. Miles sees Trucy and he sees himself as a child, small and innocent and so easy to corrupt and hurt.

He distanced himself from her at first, scared that he may hurt her. Of course, with Trucy being Trucy, that doesn’t last long. Trucy is not only charismatic and charming, but she’s also observant, and she knows that Miles may be aloof, but he also has a big heart. Once he finally starts to trust himself around Trucy, thanks to efforts from both Trucy and Phoenix, Miles makes sure to spoil her rotten and give her all the love he never got under von Karma’s care.

Unrealistic Headcanon that will probably never happen: Miles and Phoenix are MARRIED and in LOVE and Trucy and Kay and Sebastian are their CHILDREN and he’s HAPPY.

I know this is basic af but I’m a sucker for Narumitsu and Dadworth and Miles deserves some happiness.

Thanks for the ask, dear anon! ^.^

Send Me a Character Ask, and I’ll Give You Some Headcanons!

[queen-ofsunflowers]

DadWorth AU: Part 3 (Justice For All)

Justice for All has to be one of the angstier parts of this AU, right up there with some ideas I have for Apollo Justice. Especially considering the whole Miles “chooses death” thing. So, let’s dive into it!

< Part 2 | Part 4 >

Reunion, and Turnabout

Things fast forward a couple of months after the end of Rise from the Ashes. Gumshoe’s been taking care of Kay since Miles kind of fucked off. He’s been doing his best, and so are Sebastian and Klavier -- who have been trying to cheer up their third musketeer ever since they found out what happened. But Kay is miserable.

So, now summer break is here for her, Gumshoe decides to take her out to the mountains for the day to get out in nature and hopefully get her mind off of things. Even if it is for a little while.

However, that plan is totally ruined when he gets a call about a murder nearby. He’s the only detective in the area, so they have to go down to Kurain Village to check it out. And that’s where they run into Phoenix for the first time since the end of Rise. Both he and Kay are not doing well in the aftermath of that case, and neither are really sure what to do around each other. Needless to say, the whole interaction is awkward.

Gumshoe does not pick up on this. He asks Phoenix if he could keep an eye on Kay while he takes care of the investigation. After some hesitation and deliberation, Phoenix agrees. So Kay becomes his partner button and Phoenix finally get to interact one-on-one with each other during the investigation for Reunion.

This is the first time they get to do this, since they were either with Maya or Ema on previous cases. It’s still a bit awkward, but when Phoenix finds out that she’s studying to be a defense attorney, things get a little bit easier as they find common ground.

Phoenix unknowingly starting to settle into a mentor role? Yes.

Kay is super turned off by Morgan Fey (getting chills up her spine and a faint memory of Dahlia Hawthorne -- she saw the Fawles trial. Phoenix also gets the same vibes from her.) And is surprisingly good with Pearl.

Her reaction to learning that Franziska is the prosecutor for this case catches Phoenix’s attention. Kay hasn’t heard from Franziska outside of a few text messages to check in on her over the past few months, so the fact that she’s in the country and Kay’s only finding out about it now makes her wonder what’s going on.

Kay goes to meet with Maya at the detention center with Phoenix, and kind of gets overly excited when she sees that Maya is channeling Mia because if you remember, she looked up Mia. Mia was an idol for her. So getting to meet her -- even if it is through spirit channeling -- is the highlight of her week.

And then we get to the trial. Phoenix asks Kay if she wants to stand co-counsel and Kay immediately jumps at the chance to say yes. So this is technically her first trial (she’s excited for it, but a little bit sad that Miles isn’t there to see her). Franziska, on the other hand, is surprised that Kay is standing at the defense’s bench with Phoenix Wright, leading to a lot of things including seeing Kay as a traitor (reason why will be explained later.)

So, Kay stands in for Pearl as co-counsel. As a result, her spirit channeling abilities are not revealed until much later. In the second trial day, she’s not present due to Gumshoe’s intervention and keeping her busy (something which Pearl agrees to so long as Kay and Phoenix get Maya a Not Guilty).

The investigation moments are full of small bonding moments between Phoenix and Kay as they get to know each other a bit better.

So, Team Wright-Faraday get a Not Guilty verdict as promised. Kay’s super proud of herself for managing to do this and it puts her on cloud nine. Franziska only believes that Phoenix won because he had a semi-competent co-counsel with him (Aunt Fran starting to show that she’s proud of Kay a little bit, but is still incredibly pissed that she lost.) Overall, she isn’t sure how to feel about Kay in that moment, and it all comes down to one simple reason:

This is the first time Kay has smiled in months. Everyone who knows her is relieved to see it back.

After the case is closed, Maya does thank Kay for helping and Kay in return does try to cheer her up after the whole “morgan stabbed maya in the back” thing starts to settle in. Am I saying Maya and Kay friendship? Maya and Kay friendship. It starts here.

So, things are starting to look a little bit better for Kay.

The Lost Turnabout

It’s not... Kay’s not involved in this one. Teenage shenanigans happen here as the new school year at Themis starts up.

The first day of school is always pretty easy, but it gets pretty depressing for Kay when one of her professors decides a good idea to break the ice by talking about some of the more ridiculous things that have happened in court cases. It gets the class laughing, and isn’t a bad idea...

Unfortunately for Kay, though, the professor also brings up a certain defense attorney cross-examining a parrot. The memory of that trial brings up a whole lot of feelings for Kay and she just kind of falls quiet for the rest of the day.

But luckily, Klavier and Sebastian have known Kay for a year now, and they realize something’s wrong. So they (primarily Klavier, since he instigates the whole thing) decide to do something about it and distract her. Here is where teenage shenanigans come about.

Just wholesome fun with what is slowly becoming a favorite chaotic trio that ends with everyone collapsed on a couch with an old movie playing in the background. ...and possibly a few appearances from other characters. Who knows?

Kay only finds out about Phoenix’s trial after the fact from Maya, and she’s not sure whether to be impressed that Phoenix managed to do all that with amnesia or laugh about it. She decides to do both.

Turnabout Big Top

It all starts with Phoenix going from ace attorney to ace babysitter as he’s in charge of four teenagers and one small child. Over the past few months, he’s gotten acquainted with Klavier and Sebastian as well, especially after the trio used the Wright & Co. Law Offices as their own personal hangout spot to get homework done and hide out when needed (thank you Kay).

The only reason Kay is brought on as co-counsel for this case is because a: its winter break so she doesn’t have school to worry about and b: the time frame is the same as when Miles was arrested the year prior. If Phoenix is having a rough time, then so is Kay. Especially since this will also be her first birthday since the whole incident. She’s also at Wright & Co. for the same reason when Maya calls up with the case.

This case is not the best distraction for Kay, but at least its something. Lesson learned: as a lawyer, you gotta take the good with the frustrating. Things get worse with Franziska prosecuting again. Kay still doesn’t get what’s up with her and why she’s still getting called a traitor.

The boys are also in on this case because why not, though they don’t stand as co-counsel but rather just help with the investigation. Because we all know that Kristoph and Blaise wouldn’t agree to them standing on the defense’s side, one more than the other.

Kay openly admitting to getting a headache while trying to figure out what the heck is actually going on during the first trial day. She grew up with the Master of Logic himself, so trying to make sense of this without all the information is making her head run in circles. But she’s not going to give up.

It’s revealed when Franziska confronts Phoenix & Co. outside of the lodging house later that day that the reason Franziska calls Kay a traitor is that she deliberately is siding with the man responsible for Miles’s “death”, something that she never thought Kay would do.

Kay never blames Phoenix for what happened to Miles. She mostly blames Gant (and von Karma somewhat) for it. They were the ones who pushed him, not Phoenix. So, when Franziska openly blames Phoenix for what happened, Kay gets pretty pissed. 

When Phoenix and Maya continue their investigation, Kay goes to confront Franziska on that matter and just goes off. Months of bottled up emotions just kind of explode outward, and Franziska is the unfortunate target of it all. This blow-up is also the first time that Kay refers to Miles as her dad. Which hits pretty hard. Franziska starts regretting a few choices she’s made today. Klavier and Sebastian pull her away as she starts to break down.

So they just... let her cry it out in the circus’s cafeteria. They end up being the ones who find out about the incident with the lion (once Kay’s calmed down) rather that Phoenix and Maya. The story has them racing over to them, catching the duo just as they’re about to enter Acro’s room and things go about pretty much the same way they do canonically from there.

The next day is a bit hard, and its easy to pick up on the tension between Kay and Franziska here. Taking a page out of the anime, Kay, Klavier, a reluctant Sebastian and Maya recreating the crime for the entire court. She does feel bad about having to indict Acro, though, due to the circumstances surrounding everything.

Kay does a pretty good job, something which Gumshoe relays as a message to her, at the end of the trial, much to her surprise. Who else would be proud of her is something that she wants to know.

Meanwhile, Miles Edgeworth wonders how he’s going to tell his daughter that he’s still alive upon his return to the country. (and yes, he was the one who told gumshoe to tell kay that he was proud of her)

Farewell, My Turnabout

So, Kay at this point still doesn’t know that Miles is alive. He wants to get everything settled before he makes any grand reveals to anyone. He’s also still trying to figure out how to do it since that wasn’t supposed to happen. Kay wasn’t supposed to think he was dead. He told her that he was leaving, sure, but Kay was also half-asleep when he did. So, misunderstandings~

Meanwhile, Phoenix takes the girls (Maya, Pearl and Kay) to the Hero of Heroes Grand Prix. Kay’s gotten decently close to the members of Wright & Co. over the past few months, that much is clear by now.

Kay gets upset about Corrida’s murder because ya know. Jammin’ Ninja fan. She hopes that Engrade gets locked away for doing it. Maya thinks she just doesn’t like the Nickel Samurai, which isn’t that far off. Kay just doesn’t like Engarde thanks to reading Klavier’s tabloid magazines. She never gets to explain the contents of those magazines, though. Phoenix finds out about them later.

Things take a sharp turn when Maya is called to the front desk to answer her “call”. Kay goes with Maya because ya know. Buddy system. (”girls don’t let each other go anywhere alone, nick!” “*sigh* i will never understand teenagers...”)  i think. you know. where this about to go--

So, yeah. Kay gets kidnapped alongside Maya. She puts up a pretty decent fight against de Killer (look at the people she was around growing up, Kay probably does know a little self-defense), but in the end, she still gets ‘napped. And so, Phoenix has to defend Engarde or the two girls will “disappear”.

Things are made worse, as Phoenix is accosted by two teenage boys who can’t get in touch with their third musketeer who didn’t show up for school that day. He’s just trying to do his job, but Klavier and Sebastian are really stubborn and will not leave him alone.

And everything gets worse when Miles makes his grand revival. And then is made the prosecutor for this case. So, Phoenix is not having a very good week at all.

Phoenix and Gumshoe are doing the best to keep the fact that the girls are being held hostage from Edgeworth and the boys. Emphasis on try. All three know that there’s something going on, but they can’t figure out what.

Meanwhile, Kay and Maya are in a wine cellar. Kay has tried several times to break down the door, but it hasn’t worked. de Killer took their phones, so they have no way of contacting the outside. They’re screwed unless they can escape.

Maya realizes that they do have a way to contact the outside and uses her spirit channeling powers to contact Mia, and with Kay’s help manages to explain what’s going on and giving a message to Mia to give to Phoenix.

So, Pearl finally reveals her spirit channeling powers. It freaks Phoenix out at first, but he gets over it quickly because at this point, he’s kind of used to Fey Family Weirdness.

The first part of the trial goes on as pretty much the same as it did before. Afterwards, Phoenix does his best to keep the fact that the girls are kidnapped from Miles because he’s gonna flip the fuck out. And he fails. And Miles kind of does flip out.

So, de Killer and Engarde (more so de Killer because he did his research, he knows the connection with Kay that Edgeworth has) have two pawns to work with and dangle over both the prosecution and defense. And now Edgeworth has two assistants on his side: Sebastian and Klavier, who don’t want to see Kay hurt. However, as future prosecutors, they can’t do much to help Phoenix. So, they help out with the investigation (and using the excuse as this being extra credit for anyone who asks why there are two teenagers here.)

On the other side, Maya and Kay break out of the room they were locked in thanks to a card Maya finds. Things go about as well as they do canonically, but with more struggle. Kay makes a fucking mess trying to defend herself and Maya from de Killer, which will later show the police that something definitely went down here (and concerning the heck out of a good handful of people in the process).

Kay may not know the truth about the Yatagarasu yet, but she sure is acting like the Yatagarasu.

The investigation goes about as well as you expect it to. Klavier and Sebastian are doing their best, but they can’t do much since they’re still only students. And Miles is worried as hell for Kay and ends up wanting to tear Engarde apart. Klavier is right to not like Engarde, as was Kay earlier.

When the trial starts up again, you have both the prosecution, the defense and a few members of the gallery nervous as hell. Gumshoe is doing his best to find the girls, but Miles and Phoenix still need to stall for time.

They do their best, but things are going about as well as they do canonically with Edgeworth being more on edge due to Kay being in danger. And the last time he saw her was when he left. So, he wants to be able to reconcile with her.

Things go on much like they do in canon. The note, Gumshoe’s accident, etc. Mia’s with Kay, doing her best to help, but she’s not sure what more she can do because the girls are weak and tired from being held captive for so long.

More worry on both parts.

When de Killer threatens to kill Maya and Kay when Edgeworth and Phoenix press him and try to get more time, Miles is also there to beg him to leave them alone. This is also the first time that Miles openly refers to Kay as his daughter.

Not much is different there out. They manage to expose Engarde as the asshole that he is, the girls are released and Engarde is declared guilty.

The scene with Franziska at the airport and Phoenix giving Miles the whip takes place a bit earlier, as that’s where Miles goes first before going to meet with Kay. Because he’s still trying to figure out how he’s going to talk to Kay again.

Phoenix and the others meet Maya and Kay at the hospital (Kay and Maya were held captive without much food or water for about three days, and Kay has a few minor injuries from de Killer, so they do need medical attention). Maya has a tearful reunion with Mia (as channeled by Pearl), and Kay gets tackled by her friends on both sides.

And then Miles Edgeworth walks into the room a short while later and Kay does not know what to say. She thought that he was dead for over a year, and a lot of things start bubbling to the surface. She starts tearing up because she thought she would never see Miles again, and he with her.

As soon as he gets close enough, Kay hugs him and calls him stupid in a couple different ways. Miles accepts it and apologizes for making her worry. He promises not to vanish like that again, and returns the promise that Kay made in part 2: to not keep secrets from her again.

So, what they didn’t get at the end of part 2, Miles and Kay finally get at the end of JfA: a chance to actually rebuild and reconcile their relationship without anything getting in the way.

So Justice for All ends on a pretty good note.

That may be the end of Justice for All, but it’s not the end of the story. There are still more ripples to come and fun shenanigans.

[illdothehotvoice]

Rating Chibi Phoenix Merch I Found on Mercari (Japan) For Your Entertainment

Under the Read More qwq

1. Feenie charm Feenie charm!?! (10000000/10) ❤💙❤❤❤❤💙❤💙✨✨

I have literally NEVER seen this charm before and it looks official and just FJSNFJSJFHSHF AAAAH!!! I NEED HIM IN MY LIFE!!! ❤❤❤❤🎉🎉

2. You know him, you love him: Phoenix Tsum!! (20/10 would buy again)

I actually forgot to download one of him so take a picture of mine qwq. Happiness is stored in the Phoenix Tsum Tsum. He's also very nice quality and likes to sit on people's heads ^^. Stacks VERY nicely with other tsums like Miles and Maya and is also the only AA plush I own.

3. Post Trilogy Narumitsu Phoenix qwq (9/10)

I don't like the thick outlines on his tie and his eyes are a little big but he is a littol man and I adore him. Need more post trilogy plushies AND there's a matching Dadworth. Free him.

4.) Beanix Charm (🤢🤢🤢/10)

GROSS GROSS GROSS. His fucking TOES. I am ALL for Beanix merch but this artstyle is not great and just 🤢. No thank you put him away. Also makes me think of the Kristoph from this line. NASTY. *sprays him down with a hose*

5) He is clean now (4.5/10)

Better. Not the best out of the line but doesn't make me feel sick to my stomach (I am so sorry Kay). Hides his toes like a professional and respectful boy. What are his eyebrows.

6) [Mario World Ending Theme] (100000000/10)

Why the FUCK were you discontinued??? You came out like 2 years ago. Please come back I miss you. Every day I search mercari and eBay for you and you never show. I miss you. Also Hi Miles. Literally WHY are you this hard to find some of y'all better start selling yours I swear to god. VERY huggable. All over my animal crossing island. (This was on mercari Japan and already sold so I couldn't get them either way qwq)

7) *do do do do do do do do* Baby. (15/10)

CHILD. He is SO small!! There's a matching Miles one you can connect to him as well! Very cute ^^ and clever design. My god someone save him he is scared.

8) He's just a little man sir (8/10)

Not too interesting. It's a phone strap but he's comically small and I love him. Look at his little smile.

9) Anime Charm (6/10)

Not great but also not the worst one. Overall the line is cute (I have a couple charms from this line ^^). Go off king his hair is hard to draw (despite it looking way better in a charm from the same line-). The green REALLY clashes with that shade of blue. This line is cute but how did you mess up the main character so much??? Probably one of the only Phoenix charms you can get your hands on in the West.

10) Last but not least: Concert Phoenix! (20/10) ❤❤

He's so cute!! Look at him go!! I love this artist's style SO much please let them do more merch the 15th anniversary charms SLAP. His little BLUSHIES!!! ❤❤

Anyways case and point: Happiness is stored in the Chibi Phoenix, have a nice day!

[amazingmsme]

Good luck on your exam!

Here's a headcannon I have: Maya is super devious when she has the upper hand. The first time she attacked Phoenix in the middle of commercial while they were watching TV, he didn't even have the strength to push her away. (Funny side note: maybe Edgeworth came in right at the moment of the crime and had to decide between extracting Phoenix from the torture or just being an ass and leaving, because he's affectionately jerkish like that, even after mellowing out and becoming Dadworth.) - :3

Thanks so much hun! You’re the best!💗

This is so cuuuute! Maya would show no mercy lol. & I like to think Phoenix goes all weak when he’s tickled so he can’t muster the strength to defend himself. &) I LOVE to think that Edgeworth would walk in at that moment! Let’s be real tho, he’d have no sympathy for him in that situation, (cause he knows he likes it) so there’s no way he’d help out unless he needed to talk to him right then. But it’s so funny to imagine him walking in & smirking like “well I can see you’re busy. I’ll come back later” & leave him laughing & begging for his help. Or he could help Maya out instead. Or my personal favorite, he just crosses his arms over his chest & leans against the door to watch the show. He’d have the smuggest grin on his face & would totally coach Maya on what techniques & spots to try. Poor Wright is a giggly flustered mess by the end of it hehe

[thedetectiveofinaba]

💖 :D

Spread the love - send  💖 for some positivity

Toriii ♥ I really like how you write your muses, the ships our muses have and how they’re progressing to the level of greatness. Especially the mentorship of the year with Dadworth is a Big Mood all the freaking time and I just - love it how I can throw you my Post P5 AU!Naoto whose wings have been broken and it’s so fluent with any interaction we have. You’re possibly the person who inspired me to write more P5 AU!Naoto at AA verse, thanks for that ^_^  

Also I just love it how I can yell about Miles to you and fangirl about our fictional husband (who is extra and fabulous, I love him for it)

[honeycakelion]

Nihhonnnn miles edgeworth helping Trucy with math homework is just MY JAM 👌👌 (oops accidental caps lock xD) I have the same headcanon of miles being a good dad+teacher to trucy in the family👌👌 (I really love the art post of him n trucy 💕💕 and oh I admit I need a him as my teacher haha)

thank you so much!! tbh, if edgeworth had helped me to study, i would have passed my state exams in high school much much better hahahi just want him and trucy to bond..... hey, capcom, that thing you did in the last game, with trucy sleeping on his shoulder?? continue this in the next game please and thank you for dadworth

[acutelyrelated]

Due to popular demand (exactly 1 person ty Big Man) I’ll shout more AA headcanon nonsense. Not necessarily canon-compliant. Who cares, I don’t.

- Clay has an engineering degree. Probably Aerospace given his being an astronaut. May have dual-majored. Probably did

- Clay likes to call himself a mathmagician

- Apollo has flawless skin despite not going out of his way to take care of it (other than washing his face regularly with something cheap)

- This drives Klavier “picks at his skin” Gavin crazy because even though he takes care of his skin, eats well, and wears sunblock, he still gets blemishes (that he hides with makeup 👀)

- I have an entire Gavin backstory. I wrote it out to a friend and it came up to six pages which is literally the most I’ve ever written for something outside of stories I wrote in middle school. Not a headcanon per se, just a fun fact

- Gregory Dadworth’s ghost hangs around Miles from time-to-time to make sure he’s doing okay

- Greggo loves his son and is very proud of him

- I was going to list out Gumshoe’s siblings from youngest to oldest but tbh I forget one of their names so I just can’t lol

- But anyway his older sister (next oldest from Gummy) ended up in possession of Polly thanks to Dick

- Badd has an ex-wife named Karen who is low-key crazy and has custody of their daughter, Melissa, who is studying to be an engineer of some sort

- Klavier is Actually German, but his accent is still mostly affected. He was born in Germany but has been living in the states since he was 10

[rivalsforlife]

Posted this on twitter yesterday, but I thought I’d post it here too - scene from Miles’ perspective post-chapter 5 of my fic the catch-up game, because I wanted more Dadworth so I wrote more Dadworth! Enjoy.

-----

“Huh, totally thought I’d be the first one here today,” said a familiar, cheery voice, and Miles looked up to see Kay enter the records room and shut the door behind her. “Heya, Mr. Edgeworth! Did you bring Mr. Wright along today?”

The mere mention of Wright stung. “No.”

“The esteemed That Man is too great to dig through lowly prison records, huh?” Kay teased, and normally her teasing would cause mild annoyance at its absolute worst, but -- “Hey, grouchypants, what’s up? You were in such a good mood yesterday. You didn’t get into some sort of lover’s tiff with Mr. Wright --”

“We are not ‘lovers’, and to insinuate otherwise is extremely inappropriate workplace behavior, Kay Faraday!”

Kay recoiled, eyes widening in shock, and Miles felt an immediate wave of guilt. “Kay. My apologies. I shouldn’t have shouted.”

“S’okay. Sorry for being so immature.” She looked down, her kicked-puppy expression reminiscent of Gumshoe. 

Oh, damn it all. “No, Kay, I’m sorry,” said Miles, and Kay looked up. “It’s just -- Wright and I… we had a… disagreement.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Mr. Edgeworth.”

Miles made a faint noise of acknowledgement. “Don’t concern yourself with it. We have work to do.”

He turned back to the file he’d been reading, sifting through it. He was acutely aware Kay was not doing the same.

“... Okay, this is getting a little awkward, here…”

Miles looked up again. Kay was standing near him, arms outstretched. Ah.

“I know you’re not a huggy kind of guy, Mr. Edgeworth, but if you need -- oh!”

“Thank you, Kay,” said Miles, barely audible, as he awkwardly put his arms around Kay’s shoulders.

Kay tightened the hug. “Anytime, Mr. Edgeworth.”

He’d hugged Kay once before, after that horrible day in April ten years ago, when Miles had put everything on the line to help her, had truly felt that desperation to save someone. Or, more accurately, Kay had hugged him, unexpectedly, cornering him on the way out of the Grand Tower to bury her face in his shoulder and thank him for all he did, and apologize for all she put him through.

Miles didn’t hug people. He didn’t seek out that sort of physical contact. Lately, Gumshoe would hug him sometimes if he got caught up in his own excitement, nearly breaking Miles’ ribs, but Gumshoe was the kind of person who showed he cared through physical affection, so Miles understood. He’d hugged Franziska exactly once in the airport the day she left after the Engarde trial, and neither of them had talked about it since. Kay, twice now.

Wright, he’d seen Wright hug his family and friends enthusiastically, but never Miles himself, and that ached.

Trucy had hugged him too, a few times, particularly when she was younger, and it caused the same kind of warmth Miles felt hugging Kay. Had Kay been younger, when they met again ten years ago, or had Miles been a little older, wiser, more stable --

“Geez, it’s really hitting you hard,” said Kay, muffled by his coat. “It’ll be okay, Mr. Edgeworth. You and Mr. Wright were friends before I was even born, right? Whatever’s going on, you’ll work it out.”

“I appreciate your faith in me. Kay, to me, you’re --” He drew back, just enough to look down at Kay, her eyes bright green and inquisitive. Miles’ resolve faltered. “Nevermind. We should get to work.”

“O-Okay,” said Kay, and though she did look a little confused, she drew back from him and turned her attention to the files. “Can’t believe they didn’t bother digitizing these things… I mean, what century is this? We’d have this done in ten seconds if they kept the database updated!”

“I don’t think they thought prison therapy animals would ever come up in a court case, Kay,” Miles informed her, smiling softly to himself as she huffed and picked up the file he’d abandoned.

It was good to have her here, as a reminder that no matter what happened between him and Wright, he still had friends and family to fall back on.

[queen-ofsunflowers]

DadWorth AU: Part 1 (Pre-Trilogy)

I’ve been thinking about that one post I made a while ago about Edgeworth becoming Kay’s legal guardian after Turnabout Reminiscence, so here’s an outline of what happens with that.

| Part 2 >

So, it all starts with Edgeworth going to actually check if Kay was alright after Reminiscence and the whole gunshot. And then he gets an idea in the back of his mind to take her in. He has no idea why he does this, but its mostly because he sees himself in Kay and doesn’t want her to go through what he did (something he will never admit)

He consults Badd about this. Although there is an initial back and forth between the two, Badd eventually does agree that he should take custody of her. (He would do himself, but Yew is still out there, and he’s afraid that she would go after Kay if she was with him. Yew would never suspect that Kay would be with Edgeworth.) The only condition on Edgeworth’s part is that Badd does whatever it takes to keep von Karma from finding out about it.

If von Karma finds out, Miles isn’t sure what he’s going to do to him or to Kay. (Miles is terrified of von Karma, but will never admit it... yet.) Badd agrees to keep it under wraps and helps him through with the process. So, Edgeworth becomes Kay’s official guardian.

The only ones who know that Edgeworth is Kay’s guardian initially are Badd and Gumshoe -- the latter proving to be very helpful because Miles is new at this and has no idea what to do, and Gumshoe is ridiculously good with kids.

Franziska eventually does find out and teases Miles for it. He makes her swear to not tell her father about this, and after some deliberation, she agrees.

So, Franziska becomes cool Aunt Fran (though she’s more like an older sister than an aunt, but the name stuck.). She teaches Kay how to speak German on the side.

Kay becomes a little more interested in law than canonically thanks to being surrounded by lawyers and detectives. She gets an interest in trials, and asks Miles if she can come and see his when she learns he’s finally gonna get to stand in the courtroom. He agrees, under the condition that Kay both finish her homework and get her room cleaned.

Miles doesn’t expect her to actually be able to fulfill her end of the deal. But alas, she does. He doesn’t mind... at first. Because as we all know, that first case does not end well. At all. Because its Turnabout Beginnings.

Edgeworth freaks out again after calming down from what just happened, because Kay saw all of that. So, he goes out to find her. Luckily, Kay is with Gumshoe -- he kept her from seeing what had happened to Fawles. Miles is surprised that Kay turns to comfort him when she sees that he was scared. (something that he will deny to this day), but this is also the first time that Miles feels any sort of paternal instinct, and something slowly starts to awaken.

keep in mind, though: what Kay sees Mia do out there to help Fawles does stick with her a little bit. Gumshoe explains that’s what defense attorneys are supposed to do. They’re not all like Yew. Under Miles’s nose, Kay does start to idolize Mia after reading about her case the following year, and starts to follow her career a bit.

Miles eventually does decide that Kay needs a few friends her own age when Gumshoe brings up that she isn’t doing very well at that in school. And then he learns that another detective has a younger sister around Kay’s age who is also having trouble making friends.

Needless to say, with two people conspiring together, Kay becomes rather good friends with Ema Skye -- much to Miles’ and Lana’s relief. ...until they get into all sorts of trouble, and there is a little bit of regret. But its better than the alternative.

Fast forward a little bit and it’s 2015. Ema and Lana invite Kay out to dinner, and Miles agrees since he’s busy himself (the only condition is that Kay gets her homework done before hand, which is the usual condition that Kay has to agree to before she goes out anywhere, so to her it’s not a big deal.)

And then Miles gets a call from Lana later that night that has him booking it to criminal affairs.

Yeah... Kay’s involved in SL-9. She was there with Ema when she was attacked. Both girls come out unhurt -- thank god -- but it still scared Miles half to death. This is why Miles takes the case -- because of what happened to Kay. It’s something that he never clarifies on, which catches the attention of von Karma. Miles was insistent on the matter, and gave no explanation why whatsoever. So he’s careful. A little too much. The whole Demon Prosecutor stuff starts, and all the rumors surrounding Edgeworth also begin to make their appearance.

Miles doing his best to throw himself into his work to keep von Karma’s eye off of him puts a strain on his relationship with Kay. He does what little he can, but it’s hard when he’s overly stressed by multiple outside forces. Kay keeps pushing, but it does little to actually break that wall. Edgeworth eventually does start to open back up, but it’s not enough,

Things are fine -- even if they are a little bit more distant -- between Edgeworth and Kay from there on. For the next year and a half, nothing really changes. Kay keeps trying, and Edgeworth’s affection dwindles as he becomes more jaded due to the media and von Karma’s involvement in his career.

Change comes about when Kay starts high school and Miles gets a new case on his desk that involves an old name that he hadn’t heard in years.

And that takes us into Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

I want to go on with this into the games and those events, as well as the ripple effect this causes with the Investigation games. I have a lot of ideas in mind. This is just an outline, so I apologize if things don’t make sense either.

I’m just thinking about this a lot and want to share ideas.

[rivalsforlife]

Hey so, can I yell at you about Dadworth a bit? Bc so GOOD. I love him as a father/mentor figure for Kay and Seb... but how about when he explicitly cannot do that? Quite a bit of fanfic sets Kay, Seb, and Klavier as friends, and I LOVE THAT - they're same age, they're all dealing with The Trauma, and they work together. Also incidentally in close conjunction with Miles - who has to keep himself apart from Klav for a good reason. Angst & issues would abound for both Klavier and Edgeworth (cont.)

(cont.) bc Kristoph is a huge blind spot for Klavier and ironically something Miles cannot let himself look past, Just In Case - and here's Klavier who's one desperate cry for mentorship, belonging, and acceptance under all that charm, pure Unworthy Younger Sibling Syndrome. And while Miles is not exactly an emotional savant, he'd have to feel uneasy about having to be cold to someone like that. It'd be unjust and unfair. Would he apologise/explain himself once Kris is in the clink? (cont.)

(cont.) Like. I think it'd be an unjust situation that Miles would have been responsible for creating & maintaining, and it'd likely begin to upset him on a low level with time, too. And Klav would obviously be justified feeling like he can't do anything right/his boss just hates him for no reason. Does Klav get a handshake and an apology once everything is sorted? How long til the Daddening starts? Will he be told to eat his veggies? Motorcycle safety nagging? Rockstar boi deserves a dad too!

HELLO I read the first sentence of this ask and immediately sat up in my seat, thank you

Ooh the Klavier and Miles relationship is pretty interesting considering how they’re both honest prosecutors searching for the truth (... now, in Miles’ case) but Klavier having that role in the disbarment of Miles’ Very Good Friend would probably set them at odds for a while. Especially since Miles has reason to believe Klavier was involved in the forgery. Interestingly since Klavier is so dedicated to the truth and honesty and all that, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was rather wary of Miles for at least the early years of disbarment era -- Miles still not fully having come out of his old reputation, plus Miles being the friend of Phoenix who Klavier thinks is a forger, and Kristoph being Kristoph would probably not encourage Klavier to spend any more time with Miles than necessary.

... At least in my headcanons Miles spend a good chunk of disbarment era abroad actually researching into alternate legal systems like juries (which was what helped Phoenix with the Jurist System years later) and Klavier presumably getting pretty busy with his rockstar career would mean they wouldn’t interact much, since Miles only becomes Chief Prosecutor shortly before DD if memory serves me correctly. 

(And semi-related, I know I’ve read some interesting fics regarding Miles and Klavier’s dynamic throughout disbarment era, although all that’s coming to mind right now is Yours, Mine, and Maybe Ours which is a very good fic that does have a little bit of interesting Klavier stuff in there! If you want a reading suggestion and haven’t read that one yet.)

I do like the thought of Miles reaching out to Klavier after the whole Kristoph situation is resolved, since there are some parallels between how both of them were used by people they trusted over petty revenge schemes. Plus even though Klavier is an adult he’s hanging out with Miles’ kids (even if Miles’ kids are also adults at this point) so he’d start grouping them in together haha. He’s probably mostly given up on nagging about safety after years of dealing with Kay “safety, what safety” Faraday, but I just imagine the Dad Voice jumping out unexpectedly if Klavier offers to show her and Seb how to do tricks on the motorcycle or something haha.

So basically... yeah, once the situation with Kristoph is resolved, and Klavier proves himself as Trustworthy and Miles proves himself as Trustworthy, I think they’d get along really well. I do like the idea of Kay and Sebastian bridging that gap a bit over the disbarment years, too, because they both like Klavier and Miles and think they’re both good, honest people, and it might lead Miles to suspect Klavier didn’t have as big a role as he thought he did in the forgery after all.

[rivalsforlife]

"Pearl buried her head further into her knees. She didn’t know anything about Trucy’s real mother and father… but it wasn’t fair for her to try and make Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya her real parents. Pearl couldn’t remember ever meeting her father, and her mother… Her mother…" from "marriage, magic, misunderstandings"? maybe the bit in which trucy & pearl argue before that too, if you want? (thank you for the phoenix & maya friendship content)

you are so very welcome anon, I have like three default states and they’re dadworth, narumitsu, and phoenix+maya friendship... but the last one rarely comes up and that’s partially why I’m really glad you asked for something from this fic!! For that I’ll do the argument and a bit of the scene you’re talking about haha... underneath the keep reading here:

Pearl finished wiping at her eyes. Something was still bothering her about what Trucy said. “Um… Miss Trucy…”

“You can just call me Trucy, Pearls.”

“Um, okay, Trucy…” It was strange. She wasn’t used to calling people names without a title. “Why do you call Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya your… Daddy and your Mommy?”

One little thing I try to do with Trucy’s dialogue now that I’m not totally sure I did a year ago when I wrote this fic is have her adapt how she refers to people depending on who she’s talking to... like say if she’s talking to Phoenix she’ll call Pearl “Pearls” and when talking to Maya she’d call her “Pearly”. I see her being very quick to adapt to other people’s speech patterns to make herself as likable as possible, even at a young age, as part of the magician persona.

... I say all this not even entirely sure if Trucy does this in the fic? It’s 20k words and I’m not gonna go through it all to check haha, but that’s definitely a thing I started doing at some point.

Pearl on the other hand has been raised to be very formal by Morgan and put proper titles in front of everything, even nicknames (see: Mr. Nick and Mr. Scruffy Detective...) even then it’s a little hard for her to call someone her own age with a title (hence why she doesn’t do it in narration but does in her dialogue here). ... Thinking about it now, Trucy is probably the first person around Pearl’s age that she’s ever met, which is pretty depressing.

“Because they are,” said Trucy, like it was obvious. “Or they will be.”

“But they’re not going to be your real Daddy and Mommy, right?” Pearl pointed out.

Trucy’s expression got strangely serious. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well… Mystic Maya has Fey blood,” Pearl explained. “So… so her daughters are going to have Fey blood, too, and they can channel spirits like I can and like Mystic Maya can. But you can’t, so… you’re not going to be Mystic Maya’s real daughter.”

“But Daddy is my Daddy.” Trucy crossed her arms, and she was starting to look angry. “And whoever my Daddy marries is going to be my Mommy, right?”

Trucy “calls her new father ‘Daddy’ within 0.2 seconds of being unofficially adopted by him” Wright and Pearl “raised in Kurain Village” Fey probably have veeeery different attitudes towards how family works. A lot of it ties into my Kurain Village headcanons which haha I DEFINTIELY rambled on about in another commentary, so I won’t repeat most of it... but like I said then, it’s my belief that spiritual power being hereditary leads to a lot of attitudes on the importance of women with that spiritual power having biological children who will have that spiritual power. In Kurain Village, there’s no real “use” in a spirit medium adopting a child, since that child can’t inherit the legacy of the village.

And of course Pearl is super sheltered so I don’t even know if the concept of adoption really exists for her. In this fic she doesn’t even really understand the idea of how babies are made, because she is nine years old and extremely sheltered and you just know Morgan would refuse to answer any questions she may have for fear of exposing Pearl to “impure thoughts”. (When she’d just be asking a basic biological question. Then probably never got around to asking Maya or Phoenix.) So Pearl isn’t totally sure of the mechanisms but what she does understand is that for Trucy to have spiritual powers, Maya would have had to give birth to her, which she didn’t; and because Trucy doesn’t have spiritual powers she wouldn’t be recognized as a viable heir in the eyes of the village, and thus, can’t be considered Maya’s daughter. Pearl’s also feeling a fair bit of jealousy which I’ll get to in the next scene... but that’s also influencing her actions here.

Trucy, like I said before, seems to be pretty quick to just accepting new family as her own. I guess this may make sense coming from the Gramarye background... like I don’t think Valant and Zak were related, but he’s automatically her “Uncle Valant” despite that, so she already sees family as something that doesn’t need blood ties. But it’s also only been a few weeks since she came to live with Phoenix and is of course dealing with some unacknowledged trauma regarding her father abandoning her, so the insinuation that she doesn’t have a “real family” is getting to her a bit too.

They’re also babies so they can’t really understand or voice any of this.

“But… but not your real ones!” Pearl shouted.

“Why isn’t it real?” Trucy shouted in return.

“Because… because it isn’t!”

Trucy didn’t have anything to say to that. She just glared at Pearl for some time with her arms crossed. Pearl glared back. It wasn’t her fault if Trucy just didn’t understand something as simple as that.

“I’m going home,” Trucy muttered, and then turned on her heel and stormed off. Pearl sulked for a little bit, before beginning to feel overwhelmed by all the crowds, and then followed from a safe distance.

Admittedly children are very hard to write haha. They’re both dealing with a lot of stuff but as kids can’t really process it super well...? So I wanted their argument to come off pretty childishly, which makes sense since they are. eight and nine years old.

And I don’t really like kids much and don’t ever have much reason to spend time with them, so I don’t know how kids talk...? I attempted the best I could from my memory from ten years ago, and no one’s said anything about it being off haha.

Anyways... the scene after this is just supposed to provide some more context into the environment that Pearl grew up in and what she was taught from Morgan. I’m not going to go into too much detail about it because it wasn’t in the request, though. Key points are that Pearl grew up in an environment where it was expected that she would have biological children someday -- like, even moreso than society right now. And she’s expecting the same thing from Maya because of the environment she grew up in.

Okay, now for the part in the ask:

Trucy had already locked herself in her room by the time Pearl returned to the office, so Pearl sat on the couch with her knees to her chest and sulked. She didn’t want to fight with Trucy. If Trucy was going to be Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya’s kind-of-daughter, then she wanted to get along with her. She couldn’t bear it if Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya wanted to spend time with Trucy more than they wanted to spend time with her.

Kind of touching more on the jealousy Pearl feels towards Trucy -- she thinks that Trucy’s going to get to have Phoenix and Maya as parents (which is... half right) and that upsets her because, for the past few years, she’s pretty much been their “kid”. She worries that Trucy’s going to take her place.

Pearl buried her head further into her knees. She didn’t know anything about Trucy’s real mother and father… but it wasn’t fair for her to try and make Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya her real parents. Pearl couldn’t remember ever meeting her father, and her mother…

Her mother…

Sooo yeah this is all happening only a few months after Bridge to the Turnabout, which always makes me so sad about Pearl. Because I don’t think it was ever explained to her what her mother did, since she still seemed to be under the impression that Morgan would want what was best for Maya, hence why she went through with the letter. The realization that Morgan betrayed her and used her to hurt Maya probably crushed Pearl. She’s not going to get over that very easily.

And since Morgan was locked up Phoenix and Maya were probably as close to her own parents as she got. I’d say Phoenix would probably adopt her in a heartbeat if she asked. Maya probably sees her more like a little sister, since there’s the same age gap between Maya and Pearl that Mia and Maya have. But with Pearl’s current attitudes on family I don’t think she’d fully admit to herself that she wants Phoenix and Maya as her parents, so she’s pretty much abandoned by her biological parents and now fears she’ll be abandoned by her “new parents” - and kind of drags Trucy down with her in a sort of “if I can’t have them you can’t either” way. It’s more subconscious because Pearl isn’t a cruel person by nature, she’s just a grieving kid.

So... Pearl has no memory of her biological father, presumably he left before she could remember. He certainly doesn’t come up much in conversation. Morgan probably still hurts too much for her to think about, hence why she can’t quite finish her thoughts about what her mother did just now. The kid really does deserve good parental figures in her life, she just needs to change her attitudes a bit to see them for who they are.

Overall with this fic... it’s got a special place in my heart for the Phoenix and Maya friendship content obviously. Also, for a while, I wasn’t a huge fan of Pearl... partially because I don’t like kids, also her shipping opinions annoyed me... but then I sat down and realized I had 20k words of feelings about her? At the end of the day she DEFINITELY deserved better and I will fistfight Morgan in a parking lot for her sake. A lot of this fic was kind of dumping my Kurain Village headcanons onto the floor and shouting “LOOK AT THESE!!” while also being able to write Phoenix and Maya friendship from a perspective clouded by heteronormativity and also emphasizing the importance of platonic and familial types of love being just as if not more powerful than romantic love... which are all things that are really up my alley. 

... And of course it’s the least popular of my fics because it’s a 20,000+ word one-shot that doesn’t have any ships. I know I sometimes browse around and see a long fic and go “wow! why don’t you split those into chapters!” like a hypocrite. So I’m not surprised, but that just makes me even more thankful that you’re asking about it? So... thank you! It’s midnight now and I don’t know how coherent this whole thing was but I really appreciate it!!