What I Really Want Is A Case Where Phoenix's Client Is Truly Guilty Of The Crime They’re Being Accused

Here’s our girl

Still not very good at digital art but I don’t mind how this one turned out :)

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mine are:

I told my partner that Phoenix went to law school for Miles, and she was immediately like: omg stalker???

I showed my irl friend fanart of Miles smirking and she immediately pulled up a picture of Sasuke smirking (I have not watched Naruto).

I showed another irl friend Miles' dismayed courtroom sprite (the one below), and now she does it whenever she's mildly annoyed at something.

ace attorney fans: what are some of the funniest ways your offline friends have reacted to seeing you play ace attorney?

mine are:

1. my partner at the time shouting "HE'S 23?!?!" and going through all 5 stages of grief upon learning that aa1 miles edgeworth is not, in fact, in his 40s

2. i showed my IRL bestie kristoph gavin and mentioned he was a villain. without skipping a beat they said "well of course he's a villain. he's blonde"

I’ve been getting into Ace Attorney! Scene from Farewell My Turnabout (no spoilers tho pls, I haven’t finished the case yet)

Is it just me or is this piece of advice from Mia, "for a lawyer, the worst of times are when you have to force your biggest smiles", really sad?

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing inherently sad about it. I get that it's about not giving up, pushing through impossible odds and rock bottom for your client. Because for most people, being a lawyer is a just a profession.

But for someone like Phoenix? Someone who hides their pain behind saving others, who never talks about their trauma, who (subconsciously or not) considers being a lawyer not just a job but their entire identity...? All of a sudden, Mia's advice isn't just about the courtroom anymore, because for Phoenix being a lawyer was always about being good enough and able to save people. To Phoenix, Mia's advice is about pretending you're fine, not letting anyone see how you truly feel or else you can't save anyone.

An Intro Post (of sorts)

Hi! My name is Jen and welcome to my writing + fandom blog.

I'll mainly be posting about writing: info about my wips, my poetry, opinions about tropes/writing things, writing tips, etc.

I'm also really interested in typology, mainly MBTI (cognitive functions!!) and enneagram.

My current obsession is Ace Attorney. My favorite characters are Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix Wright and Franziska von Karma. I mainly ship Wrightworth/Narumitsu but also Franmaya, Godonix, and Klapollo. Original trilogy spoilers will not be tagged.

Here is a list of my other obsessions (aka fandoms I will talk about the most) and my favorite characters from each:

The Legend of Korra (Kuvira, Baatar Jr, Korra)

Avatar The Last Airbender (Katara, Zuko, Azula)

Genshin Impact (Kujou Sara, Raiden Ei/Shogun, Collei, Furina, Nahida, Scaramouche, Childe)

Other fandoms I'm in (and will probably talk about sometimes): Dreamcatcher (kpop), Persona 5, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Six of Crows, Once Upon a Time, Warrior Cats, Wings of Fire.

This!! Especially the point about Miles becoming a prosecutor. In the original trilogy, he only ever cites DL-6 and his disillusionment with the system as the reason and he never grapples with it as something forced onto him by Manfred post AA1.

fanon rant.

i love fanon concepts but i hate how much they antagonize manfred.

phoenix tried to contact miles via letters, but he never responded? that's actually extremely interesting! the reason he didn't respond was because manfred had burnt letters phoenix sent? nowhere close to what happened in canon text.

franziska taught miles all the ropes of being a von karma, had him follow in her footsteps steps, and helped him fit in with the family? YES!!! I LOVE THAT!!! franziska did this because she knew miles wouldn't have survived the "abuse" from manfred otherwise? now you're just reaching.

miles became a prosecutor following his father's death because he felt betrayed by the system? that's actually canon! manfred was the main reason for this change and had groomed miles into believing all defense attorneys are untrustworthy and did this as a final "fuck you" to gregory? he literally has nothing to gain from that.

fanon concepts have great potential, especially when they build on canon, but i hate when they wildly reach at things that don't exist. headcanons are supposed to build on canon, and if not, acting like they are canon is just weird.

NO HATE TO THOSE WHO ENJOY THESE FANON CONCEPTS!!! NO HATE TO ABUSIVE MANFRED ENJOYERS!!! but you HAVE to understand that the headcanons and fanon you enjoy is simply that: a headcanon and fanon.

you are allowed to enjoy whatever you want, i just don't like being driven out of fandom spaces (which actually happened recently) because i don't think manfred von karma is a villain for things he didn't do.

manfred is a villain, there is no ignoring that, but he's a villain for murdering two innocent men, tasing two innocent people, and participating in the toxicity of the justice system, not because of fanon.

i don't want to start controversy, which is something i cannot believe i'm saying when im simply expressing an opinion, but i just felt really annoyed at it this morning. if you want to tell me why i'm "wrong" please do it respectfully, otherwise i'm not going to hear you out. i'm not here to change the minds of anyone who enjoys these concepts, i am just pointing out inconsistencies with these concepts and canon.

EVERYTHING YOU SAID YES

Notice that Miles never mentions following in MVK's footsteps or the "von Karma creed/blood/name" when talking about his motivations to prosecute. (Compared to Franziska who mentions it as soon as she is introduced in 2-2). Miles only talks about the DL-6 incident and his father's death and punishing himself in relation to why he became a prosecutor instead of a defense attorney.

Now I'm not saying Miles wasn't influenced by MVK, I'm sure he was. But ignoring the reasons that Miles explicitly tells us, and instead claiming brainwashing or abuse, is doing a huge disservice to both Miles's and Manfred's character.

Manfred is a petty, cowardly man who killed a man over a penalty and ruined Miles's life. And considering all the issues Miles and Franziska has, I believe he is also quite a flawed parent. Manfred being abusive, homophobic, sexist, etc however, is not canon (him calling Miles "worthless" is a mistranslation!!).

So yeah, I rest my case. Miles, Franziska, and Manfred are some of my favorite Ace Attorney characters and Manfred not being Pure Evil™️ honestly makes all the angst and pain so much more delicious.

“Manfred von Karma brainwashed Miles into becoming a prosecutor!”

*scratches head*

Not gonna lie, I was one of the people who believed in this claim until a friend told me otherwise and I started replaying Turnabout Goodbyes recently.

It's really wild to me how almost all of Manfred's mischaracterization can be tied back to Miles' mischaracterization from the AA fandom LMAO

Fandom telephone can be such a curse sometimes.

Sobbing thinking about how much I love Phoenix and Franziska's rivalry in Justice for All.

The fact that both of them are so attached to winning their cases because they don't know who they are outside of being a lawyer. Phoenix says "let me defend you" and Franziska says "our battle begins now" because they don't know how else to say "don't leave me behind". Phoenix hides his negative emotions because "for a lawyer, the worst of times are when you have to force your biggest smiles" and Franziska hides her vulnerability because "a Von Karma is someone who is destined to be perfect".

Both of them react with anger and bitterness at getting abandoned. Phoenix blames himself for Miles' disappearance and Franziska blames Phoenix because they'd rather do that than feel utterly helpless. And they are too busy fighting each other to realize they both love Miles, they both want to save him, but they're both incredibly wrong about how to do it.

This!! I do get why slow burn wrightworth is so popular and I personally prefer them getting together right after the events of AA3 (Miles being there for Phoenix during disbarment is a NEED okay?), but I totally get this. Sometimes two less than healthy people getting together will end in ruin but what about hope? What about the fact that you don’t need to be fully healed to be loved? What about communication and trust and working together and finding the truth? They clash but also fit perfectly in court, so why not in their personal lives too?

And gosh, Farewell My Turnabout would hit so much harder if they were together in the trilogy (and by that, OP, I assume you mean all three games). “We aren’t some sort of heroes. We’re only human, you and I”— Love does not “save someone”, it does not fix everything but that doesn’t mean you should stop fighting.

Hell, all of Justice for All would hit so much harder. Now Franziska has more reason to believe Phoenix “killed” Miles. Now Franziska’s deep hurt disguised as a desire for vengeance has a whole new layer of pain: your foolish love killed my little brother, so I cannot show that I love him. I must fight him and I must win and then he will never leave me behind again.

And when Phoenix says “I decided that the Miles Edgeworth I knew had died… At least, that’s what I told myself”, it would hurt even more because the Edgeworth he knew wouldn’t have abandoned him, and the Edgeworth he knew would have been saved by his love.

(Side note, everything I said about JFA I believe to be true for canon as well. It would just be amplified and more heartbreaking if narumitsu were together during the original trilogy)

Also it is so hard to find fanfics with this concept but this is the closest I’ve found, enjoy! (We need more fanfics with this premise please)

I Turn To You (For My Comfort) Phoenix and Miles get together post Turnabout Goodbyes

if i woke up (next to you) Phoenix and Miles get together post Farewell My Turnabout

Turnabout Groceries and it’s sequel Home for (Almost) Christmas (which is not finished currently) AU where Phoenix and Miles adopt Trudy and Kay respectively before the events of the first game and narumitsu get together post Turnabout Samurai

Wow this is such a long reblog but OP you truly inspired me.

I can certainly see why people are obsessed about the slow burn reading of narumitsu, the one where they wait for 7, 9 or even more years before they ever do anything romantic together, but. Their relationship in the trilogy era could be so, so interesting and complicated and yet so. Warm and full of comfort.

Just... Two traumatized and mentally ill men trying their best to figure out this relationship thing. Phoenix remembering what it's like to have a romantic partner again, after being betrayed, after being left behind, and now confronting his abandonment issues. Edgeworth learning how to love somebody, and now trying to express it, perhaps searching for his own ways of doing so.

Yes, they encounter a number of problems. Edgeworth gets this nagging feeling at times that he's too broken for a romantic relationship, that he's a parasite leaching on another person's care and affection, thus at times he acts aloof and withdrawn. Phoenix gets paranoid that he'll end up completely alone again very soon, whenever he notices Edgeworth getting so cold all of a sudden. Edgeworth genuinely thinks at the worst moments that the right thing to do is to just break up right now so he doesn't waste any more of Phoenix' time. Phoenix is anxious that one day Edgeworth can just disappear on him again without saying a word. Edgeworth feels forever indebted for everything Phoenix did to help him, and now when he notices his partner struggling he wants to do the same for him, but he doesn't even know why Phoenix is troubled, and even less about how to help him. Phoenix is less than honest sometimes on how he feels because he really thinks that his problems are nothing compared to Edgeworth's, but he can't help but feel bitter nevertheless that his partner isn't that helping. And then feels like a petty person for that bitterness and knows that he can't be actually cross at Edgeworth for not being a mind-reader. If truth be told, they both think that the other "has it worse", so they both make the same mistake of not opening up fully until something not very good occurs.

"But why didn't you tell me anything??" They both ask each other. Often. But the important thing is, is that they get to ask that eventually. Say sorry to each other. And then move on knowing each other a little bit better, and maybe not repeating the same mistake in the future. At least, the chances are lower now.

Would it be unhealthy for them to be together in that era? Well, depends on your definition of the word 'unhealthy', but I'm a firm believer that it's better to figure out things together, with your loved one, and that's what they are doing. Healing goes much smoother when you have mutual support. And sometimes hurt people can understand and help other hurt people better than any 'healthy' person can. You are in pain, and I'm also in pain, so I understand how you feel and want to help you get through this. It's all about trust and empathy. And isn't it the core of narumitsu and their relationship?

So basically, while it takes a lot of work for them to be together at this point, it is worthwhile. And that is why I prefer the interpretation that they have something going on already in the trilogy. I really want them to struggle, but make it work. I want their relationship to begin not in the best possible moment, perhaps, but to grow more comfortable and mature with years regardless. It is not ideal and far from the perfection, and that is exactly why it's so real and beautiful.

thanks for the tag!!

Favorite color: forest green and light greenish teal (honestly any green + blue combination)

Last song: I love you by EXID

Currently reading: A Crack in the Marble by Steerpike13713 (Ace Attorney fanfic, 3-1 retelling with Bratworth early redemption! It's really good, I recommend it)

Currently watching: Nothing. Well technically the last thing I watched was Better Call Saul but I'm not committed to it.

Currently craving: Bread, like really good European bread

Tea or coffee: Tea 🍵 <3

Tagging (no pressure of course): @shrimppishh @azalawa-scroggs @huldraism @evelinessa @kobitoshiningneedle

Thank you P @jessicamdawn for the tag!

Fav color: White

Last song: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

Currently reading: 'And here I thought it was me saving you' by @imogenegomi

Currently watching: The Eclipse

Currently craving: Alone time.

Coffee or tea: tea

No pressure tag!

@imogenegomi @midnights-dragon @quillswriting @oregano-gremlin @ririnya7

@theliteraryarchitect @zackprincebooks @randomia-in-wonderland @marlowethelibrarian @rose-coloured-windows

@raeality @dreaminghour

+ an open tag!