Η μητέρα των θαλασσών, η σειρήνα

thalassa gramarye lamiroir the siren of the song daughter, wife, mother wanderer (independent aa rp. please read the about & rules! written by ronnie. this is a sideblog; followbacks are from miilesedgeworth.)

[lamiroiir]

tinyredlawyer:

Apollo hadn’t meant to one-up her, but Lamiroir seemed to be able to laugh at herself when she got embarrassed, so he let out a nervous little chuckle, too. This had sort of dissolved into a disaster, hadn’t it? But… not entirely in a bad way. Maybe they’d be able to properly look each other in the eye some day down the road, and they’d laugh at the awkward start (re-start?) they had. He felt more hopeful now that it might be a possibility.

“No worries! I’m a good student, I learn quick.”

It felt good, agreeing to it. To have a plan to do something together with his mother, something they both enjoyed, that could help them be reacquainted. It took some pressure away from their current meeting, so he didn’t so much feel the need to figure out how to be a good son and learn everything about his family right now. They could take it slower when there was the promise of a low-stakes follow-up later.

“And– maybe I can show you something, too?” He regarded their interlocked hands. “I dunno if I’ve got any unique family recipes, but… I could always dust off my telescope and teach you what I remember about ‘rocket science’ – wh-which isn’t really a lot, but I know where all the constellations are!”

Thalassa’s smile widened at Apollo’s reply. It felt like, bit by bit, her nervousness was melting away fully – it seemed that whatever disaster she had been initially terrified of was somehow averted. Sure, this reunion had its ups and downs (mostly downs – but then, that was no wonder, with the amount of tragedy their shared history was littered with), but right at this moment, she was left with the sole feeling of contentment and happiness. It spread in her chest as a literal warmth, heating up her cheeks and warming up her smile even more, if such a thing was even possible. She could hear a myriad of things in Apollo’s voice as he responded to her, and for once, all of them felt positive. She could not remember the last time she had felt so hopeful.

She glanced down at their hands when Apollo did, then back up at him as he spoke again. His offer made her breath catch for a moment, and she took a second to find her voice again. Did Apollo know somehow? That was not possible – it was definitely just some kind of lucky guess he was making. Perhaps he subconsciously remembered Lamiroir’s constellation-themed robes, and thought she might like stars. While he was not wrong about that, it was a little more – looking at the night sky was one of her most cherished memories with Jove, and with Apollo, too, when they were on the road, although he had been far too young to retain any kind of memory of it.

“That would be wonderful,” she finally said, her voice soft and full to the brim with joy. Even putting any and all memories to the side, the prospect of having Apollo teach her something was exciting, as was the sheer notion of planning things to do together in the future.

[tinyredlawyer]

“Is 8 o’clock late enough to say I stayed awake the whole day…? Can I go to sleep now… please…?”

[lamiroiir]

“You’re going to be up at 3 in the morning if you do that.”

[lamiroiir]

tinyredlawyer:

Apollo let Lamiroir lead him wherever she wanted. As stressful as it was trying to make sense of his feelings, and as short a fuse as he’d just proven he had, her gentle smile and the warmth of their hands together filled him with an uncanny sense of… safety? Meeting his real mother had to be among the scariest things he’d ever done, but just as her music did, Lamiroir’s presence in itself seemed to have a calming effect (when he let it). And the trees were lovely.

He only gave a slight nod at her critique of his approach. He knew that no matter how he tried to wrap his head around this, he’d be thinking about it the wrong way. A frame of reference, rules, guidelines – those were the easiest things to fall back on when he didn’t know what he was doing. Without any indication of what he should do, he was going through this blind.

She was surely exaggerating, but Apollo still couldn’t help but smile bashfully when she claimed that her best memories included him. He might’ve been blushing when she turned to face him; it was a nice feeling, being told how much he meant to someone. To Lamiroir. She and Jove certainly sounded like young, impulsive lovers in the Romeo and Juliet vein, but even if it had been through rose-tinted glasses, hearing about their fairy-tale happiness was at once soothing and bittersweet. He finally had confirmation that his family had been loving and whole and happy… and short-lived.

He couldn’t force himself to speak under her scrutiny, to answer the unasked questions in her eyes – are you living how you want? are you happy? The answer was too complex to say ‘yes’ without her detecting a lie; being a lawyer was his own decision, and he still hoped it would make him happy… but so far his career had only been a ridiculous series of misadventures and tragedies. The happiness was a work in progress. “I’m– glad I didn’t ruin your expectations, then,” he murmured instead.

He nodded along silently while she explained the logistics of their travelling together with a newborn, carefully absorbing it all so he could imagine it as clearly as possible. Though, his listening was interrupted by her sudden liveliness at the mention of her late husband’s cooking, and the odd look she gave him. The offer of a homecooked meal together actually caught him a bit off-guard, enough that he nearly stuttered a polite refusal out of hand.

Thankfully, he caught himself first. “Sounds delicious,” he managed, though he could feel his face getting redder as he spoke. This seemed like a real, normal family thing, didn’t it? “Um. M-maybe I could help? If you don’t mind teaching me…”

Thalassa couldn’t help but smile at Apollo’s expression. He was trying so hard – that was the problem, he was trying way too hard, instead of just letting this happen. They both were, in fact; Thalassa wanted this so badly to be right. She had to remind herself to let the thought go. It was enough that this was happening at all, in any way possible. She could at least be sure that they both wanted it to turn out well, so even if they were just blundering through, they were doing it hand in hand. (Literally.)

She didn’t reply to his note about her expectations; she felt the topic was more than exhausted at this point. She was eager to get to know him, the person he was, not the person anyone else thought he should be, or should have been. And it made her happy that it looked like Apollo wanted to do the same for her.

Not expecting him to trump her offer with one of his own, this time, she blushed as well. “I’d – I’d love to,” she managed to stammer out, and then she couldn’t help but laugh. What a pair! They were both a mess. A moment ago, she was idly wondering what there was for Apollo to be so flustered about, and now she was also embarrassed for no reason whatsoever. “I’m not sure if I’m any good as a teacher, but I’ll do my best…”

[lamiroiir]

jovestice:

  [ he leaned gently into her when she kissed his cheek, relishing the feeling. gods above, how he adored her… he hummed quietly for a moment in agreement, clearly pleased with her answer. ]         Καλώς. [ he hears her request–and instantly he knows where to go. he will drive and drive and drive, just as she wants. he’d steal the moon if she asked. ] …have you ever lost yourself in the stars?

     [ it’s an innocent question–he only asks because once they make it to the desert, and there’s no city lights around them, there will be nothing but stars overhead. and maybe, if they’re lucky, they’ll be able to see the milky way cross overhead. ] Sleep if you need to–I’ll wake you when we arrive.

Thalassa couldn't help but laugh. She knew this wasn't what he was asking, but she still said the first thing that popped into her mind. “Yes, every time I look into your eyes.” Then she giggled some more. It was incredibly corny, and yet, right now, it felt like the right thing to say. Was he taking her to a place with lots of stars? She hoped he was. She loved the stars – the fact that they were so far away was alluring to her. She wanted to be far, far away from everything she knew. With Jove.

She fidgeted in her seat a little, making herself a bit more comfortable. The excitement of their escape was slowly ebbing away, leaving her drained. Wasn't Jove feeling the same way? “Only if you promise to wake me sooner if you get tired.” Thalassa wished they could switch, but the unfortunate truth was that she didn't have a driver's license. Still, at the very least, she could entertain Jove to keep him awake, or pester him to stop and rest.

The young woman pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned against the car door, letting her eyes droop a little. “One day, I will perform on stage in a dress made of the stars.”

[lamiroiir]

tinyredlawyer:

Apollo’s heart hurt, in part because of the toll his anger took on it, but mostly for knowing that he was ruining this. He should have been happy, he should have able to get over whatever this mental block was, he should have been able to look his mother in the eye and promise to be a good son – instead, he was just confused and angry. This was why no one had ever wanted to be his parent.

“… I appreciate it,” he replied to Lamiroir’s apology, still laboriously shackling his volume and tone. The logical part of his brain could accept that she’d overstepped a boundary by accident, and was promising not to repeat the mistake out of consideration for his feelings, but that heated mess in his head was slow to ebb. Calm down, Justice.

Her question helped, if only slightly. At the very least, it was an acknowledgement that he was having difficulty dealing with all of this, and a clear affirmation that she wanted to help him through it. Somehow his ambivalent and off-colour reactions hadn’t dissuaded her.

“I– don’t know.” He hated that that was his answer to all of her questions. Think of something. “It’s not like I have a frame of reference for this, you know? I wasn’t ever adopted or anything… you’re the first and last person who ever wanted to be my mother.”

Lamiroir, of all people, probably deserved to know what had happened to him after his father died and how his childhood had played out. But it would be a hard story for him to tell – the details were buried deep – and he had no doubt she would be horrified and depressed to hear what he had gone through without her. They’d both be happier if he just glossed over it, right?

He looked up at her, unsure. “Th-this is probably dumb, but… you remember when I was a baby, right?” That was the only experience of family he had to draw from, and it far too early for him to remember himself. “And you were happy? With me, and Jove…?

“C-can you tell me– what did being a mother mean to you then? What was our family like?” He didn’t know if this was going to get them anywhere; whatever had made her love him as an infant almost definitely wouldn’t hold true twenty years later, but he wanted to imagine, to have a picture in his mind of what he should have had. “What kind of person did you think I was going to be? Did you ever think I’d turn out… like this?”

Something akin to a frown crossed Thalassa's face for a split second, then it vanished. She didn't want Apollo to think he was doing this wrong. Which… was what he seemed to think anyway, so she didn't need to reinforce it. A frame of reference? With a small sigh, Thalassa looked around; they were very close to the park she'd initially wanted as their destination, and closing the rest of the distance might have just proven to be the distraction they were looking for. With a smile, he took Apollo's hand – though she took care to do it gently enough so he could pull away any time he wanted – and pulled him with herself towards the trees.

“You don't need a frame of reference,” she said softly. “I'm not asking you what you think you should want.” Or – could it be that Apollo genuinely didn't know what usually made him feel better? That possibility was really disheartening.

At his question, she allowed her smile to widen slightly. The passing mention of Apollo's loveless childhood didn't go over her head, but she decided to simply file the information away for later, for a time when they could dig a little more into unpleasant things. She was far more inclined to indulge his quest for comfort and cozy memories right now.

“Happy doesn't begin to cover it,” she said, her voice shifting to something even gentler, filled with wonder. “It was the best time of my life, no competition.”

She stopped on the small path, turning to look at Apollo, still loosely holding onto his hand. A gust of wind rose, blowing past them and brushing some of her loose hair into her face. “It was like… we were living in a lucid dream. I suppose I will never know now if it would have ever gotten old, had we gotten the chance to grow old together with your father – but it felt like it never would. It felt like we could be whatever we wanted. I'd been brought up in a cage, and Jove took it upon himself to break me out and give me wings.” She huffed a small laugh. “I'm sure it sounds silly and naíve. I was very young, not even twenty yet. I didn't really think about what you would turn out like as an adult. I would have been happy with whatever you did with your life, as long as you made your own decisions and they led to your happiness.” There was something more solemn in her gaze for a moment. “That hasn't changed.”

Thalassa looked down on the path that led between the rich green trees, steering her thoughts back towards the happiness she wanted to tell her son about. “Jove doted on both of us. He wanted to keep us together as much as possible.” She decided not to brush on their separation at Khura'in. “Sometimes he'd insist on bringing you up on stage when we performed together. You didn't really like that, though – too much noise, probably. And there wasn't really anyone else to help us out – we were travelling all the time, so we didn't really know anyone – so most of the time we performed separately, and the other one would sit with you and watch.” She fell silent for a few moments, sorting through the assortment of random memories resurfacing. “He could fry wicked good schnitzels. He'd mix grated cheese into the breadcrumbs. He taught me – I still remember the recipe.” She glanced at Apollo, her smile a little crooked, giving her a slightly mischievous look. “Maybe I could make it for us sometime.”

[lamiroiir]

balladoftruth:

“I think I owe you a few dates and an explanation, ja?” Hugs/human contact are never to be protested, like, actually ever.

“I wouldn’t refuse either, but you don’t owe me anything.” Thalassa has never been one to keep tabs all the time.

[lamiroiir]

balladoftruth:

“I’m back.”

“Welcome home.” She wraps him into a hug before he can even think of protesting (not that she really thinks he would).

[justituned-deactivated20191201]

@lamiroiir

tfw mom’s here

[lamiroiir]

i missed you so much

[lamiroiir]

tinyredlawyer:

Lamiroir’s reaction tempered Apollo’s anger a bit. He knew his explosive behaviour when he was upset was unjustified, and he hated the effect it had on people – especially people he wanted to care about, who weren’t the target of his emotions. Seeing her flinch was his cue to take some deep breaths and control himself, and as much as he was tempted to interject with more cutting remarks, he kept his mouth shut and listened while she tried to defend Mr Wright’s dishonesty.

“… I’m not mad at you… and not for my sake,” he said in an exaggeratedly measured tone, still not meeting her eye. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, and his mind was struggling to word a response that was reasonable and uncoloured by his offence at this revelation. “Love isn’t an excuse to hurt people. He still should’ve said something, or– or… gahh…”

He groaned and clammed up again before he was tempted to argue more. Feelings of betrayal were the hardest to rein in, no matter who he felt was being betrayed. It didn’t matter as much for himself, but Trucy and Lamiroir had both suffered for not knowing what Mr Wright had chosen not to tell them – but that wasn’t something his mother needed to be convinced of. He’d go home and write in his journal to sort out his feelings and then have a calm, adult conversation about this with Mr Wright… later. Right now was a poor time to jump to conclusions and try casting blame, when he was still angry and already so overwhelmed by Lamiroir’s other revelations.

“Sorry. This is a lot to take in, a-and I… need some time to process.” Apollo looked up finally, apologetically, though his voice was still overly controlled while he tried to force his temper to subside. Already disagreeing with her about his trustworthiness as a parent, in his current state of mind he couldn’t make himself put any stake in Lamiroir’s assessment of Mr Wright’s good intentions. They clearly had different ideas about what it meant to care about someone. “How I feel about Mr Wright isn’t important right now. I shouldn’t have brought him up.”

Lamiroir broke their brief eye contact again there, and her next words were so insidious that he froze for a moment. Still strictly keeping himself in check, his indignation didn’t show, but his gaze turned palpably cold. “That’s a pretty presumptuous character assessment to make of someone you don’t know yet, don’t you think?” he asked darkly. He couldn’t outright deny having trust issues when she had pegged them so accurately, but he’d rather she wasn’t so confident about calling him out on what he considered to be an insurmountable character flaw. He wanted to be better at trusting people, but unfortunately he had very good reasons not to.

He sighed after a tense moment, though, knowing he was being rude and hating that he couldn’t even keep himself from being cranky and abrasive long enough to have a pleasant reunion with his parent. He ran a palm down his face; why was he so bad at this? “… N-no offence meant. I’m just… kind of overwhelmed, and unfavourable comparisons to my boss don’t help.”

Thalassa knew she had made a mistake the moment the words left her mouth. Apollo looked just about ready to blow up, even if he was tempering himself – somewhere, she found it was actually a little frightening, and that was not an emotion she had ever wanted to experience with regards to her son.

She glanced at him cautiously, her head still turned to the side, her fingers tightening around each other. Apollo was right. Loving someone was not carte blanche to treat them badly. And perhaps, from the kids' point of view, Phoenix had indeed made the wrong choice – perhaps he should have been more forceful with Thalassa about telling the truth sooner, or perhaps he shouldn't have promised to keep her secret in the first place – Apollo and Trucy deserved to know, after all. But he had obliged her, and it was Thalassa's fault that she kept herself away for so long – so perhaps it was her own guilt that prevented her from blaming Phoenix for anything.

Also, it wasn't difficult to realize that even if her assessment was correct, her tone had been anything but. If the situation was reversed, Thalassa would have been defensive too.

“I apologize,” she said softly. “I will not make that comparison again.” She allowed a long moment to pass between them before she offered a small smile to show she hadn't taken offense.

Another pause, in which she glanced around, wondering what the next step ought to be. So far, she had steered the direction of their path as well as their conversation; perhaps it was time to simply give the lead to Apollo, rather than trying to guess what it was he wanted and then putting her foot in her mouth. “What can I do to make it easier?”

Her voice was as earnest as it gets. She wanted this, and she wanted it to be right. They couldn't make up for the lost time, all the painful and lonely years, but they could make something nice of the rest of it. Thalassa would have done anything to make that happen.

[lamiroiir]

tinyredlawyer:

Apollo nodded, glad for the casual topic of conversation and Lamiroir’s interest in it. Chatting about something low-stakes relieved some of the pressure and awkwardness of having to reintroduce himself to someone he literally owed his life to; they’d no doubt be returning to heavier matters, but talking about school was a welcome sojourn inside his comfort zone. “Much. Law school wasn’t a walk in the park, either–” It was gruelling, in a word. Clay had been floored by all of the doorstoppers he’d had to read and write. “–But I definitely enjoyed it more. It feels good to work at something when you know it’ll finally get you somewhere… and you don’t have to worry about math.”

His heart lifted at Lamiroir’s spontaneous laughter, bringing a bashful, toothy smile to his face. So she did know about Mr Wright’s terrible music career; the shared joke at his boss’s expense and her hearty enjoyment in it made him feel at ease with her for a small, golden moment – before she revealed the secret Mr Wright had been keeping.

“He knows?!” He couldn’t help but raise his voice a bit at the shock and indignation this information seeded. Even knowing that Lamiroir had told him to stay quiet, Mr Wright willingly withholding this was a deep betrayal indeed. “Trucy thinks her mother is dead, and he’s keeping this from her?!

“And me? He knew about me, too?” He clenched his fists as the knife twisted. Not from being kept ignorant to this (he was used to that from Mr Wright by now), but finally having an ulterior motive to blame his boss’s behaviour on – of course he wasn’t hired to or kept around at the Agency out of his own merit as a lawyer. Mr Wright just wanted to keep an eye on his daughter’s long-lost brother. “Dammit! And you call keeping people in the dark ‘wonderful’?!”

He bit his tongue to quiet himself; he didn’t want to yell at Lamiroir and make her regret telling him this, or make her feel chastised for what he was blaming Phoenix Wright for. They were family and he wanted to try to be the son she deserved – but if keeping secrets of this magnitude was what made a ‘wonderful’ parent, his sudden flare of anger had him thinking he’d be happier without. “Thank you for thinking of her,” he said after a long moment of suppressing more heated words. His gaze was averted, and his voice was quieter and took clear effort to restrain. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sure Trucy will be fine.”

Thalassa loved Apollo's smile. It made her heart beat faster, her throat tighten even. It didn't last long, however, Apollo being righteously outraged at this next reveal, and Thalassa couldn't conceal her flinch at his raised voice. For a moment, she had to close her eyes – his voice hurt, and she sought a second of solace in not seeing. “It's my fault,” she said, her voice forceful – almost as much as his. She'd never been the kind of person who raises her voice often, unlike her son, but – when she thought of Apollo being so angry with Phoenix Wright, for some reason, it hurt almost more than the possibility of Apollo hating her. After all, beyond their shared blood, Thalassa was nothing to Apollo; losing her would not mean much to him. On the other hand, Phoenix had been his mentor for quite some time – someone Apollo could rely on.

Although, obviously, they weren't of the same opinion when it came to Phoenix's reliability.

“I told you I asked him to keep it to himself.” She opened her eyes again, searching for Apollo's gaze. “If you must be angry, be angry with me. It was my cowardice that kept the truth from you all this time.” She drew herself up to her full height, her gaze sad, but steady. She would not let Phoenix take the blame for this. “What I've learned in my four decades of looking at and listening to people's tells – nobody's ever truly, wholly honest, Apollo. People lie or omit out of selfishness, fear, but also out of love. Even your best friend may eventually lie to you. It hurts when the truth comes out, and often it seems in hindsight that keeping secrets was the wrong way to go about it, but sometimes we have little choice – or at least we believe so. Phoenix loves Trucy more than her own father could love her – he took her in when Zak abandoned her to save his own hide.” For a moment, anger flashed in Thalassa's eyes, but like her son, she quashed it with sheer willpower. “Was he supposed to tell her about me when I couldn't even see or remember her? It would have only served to break her heart.”

She thought for a moment about the other half of the issue – Apollo himself. “I don't know when he figured it out about you – he has a sharp eye, and your abilities are obviously very similar to Trucy's. I'm not saying he did the right thing – obviously. But… if you wish to understand his reasons, perhaps you might ask your friend Athena about what she thinks of him.” Phoenix was the one who told Thalassa about the young girl, too, drawing a parallel between the pair of them. During her years of blindness, Thalassa's perceptive abilities have transferred to her hearing from her sight, and she was interested to hear about someone with similar capabilities, though Athena's gift was much more intense and multi-faceted than Thalassa's own. “He is too used to protecting himself, I think. But that doesn't mean he wanted to hurt you, or that he doesn't care about you. I know for a fact that he does.” Apollo would be able to tell it was the truth. At the very least, it was what Thalassa believed – but given that she would have been able to tell if Phoenix had lied to her, her opinion was rather foolproof, wasn't it?

She wrapped her fingers together in front of her, turning her head away with a small sigh. “If you think about it, the two of you are quite similar in this, aren't you? Neither of you has much cause to give away trust easily.”

[moonsieroll]

Happy Father’s Day 

Please don’t trace, copy, or distribute. Thank you !

[maplesugacookie]

OMG OMG OMG FEYRE

Done by @alicecorsets on Instagram

[lamiroiir]

tinyredlawyer:

For a moment Apollo worried that he’d aroused Lamiroir’s suspicion by neatly trying to avoid talking about Clay, but she didn’t question him about it. It wasn’t so much that there was anything he was desperate to hide, but it was a heavy subject and not at all relevant to the situation at hand; bringing it up unnecessarily and forcing her to deal with all of the emotions attached would just make this more awkward. One thing at a time – he wouldn’t dare beleaguer her when there were still far more important things to talk about. They were still only barely better than strangers.

He shrank a little, bashfully, when she praised his supposed intelligence. He certainly hadn’t felt very amazing or smart while he was studying it. “Heh, um…” He scratched his neck, wondering how to take her joke and to discourage her from getting her hopes up about his mathematical prowess. “Same here. I learned a lot, I guess, but I still sweat bullets whenever I think about calculus.”

Dimly, he thought that maybe he had his mother to thank for his lack of aptitude in science. Was that kind of thing genetic? It was strange to wonder what about himself could just be traits handed down from someone else; if nothing else, growing up without his family had given him a greater sense of individuality. How much like her, or his father, was Lamiroir expecting him to be?

He nodded slowly, feeling her misgivings about where to go from here. He’d lived another life a long time ago, too; it wasn’t beyond him to imagine how difficult it must be to reconcile Thalassa and Lamiroir… or try to leave both of them behind. He could understand her ambivalence, and decided not to pursue the note of dishonesty he’d detected… he really didn’t have the right to demand that she be sure.

“Mr Wright plays piano,” he suggested instead. His tone was clearly jocular, but just in case Lamiroir was not as familiar with his boss’s résumé, he immediately followed with a caveat: “I-I’m joking! He’s awful! But… once the rest of the office finds out, I don’t think you’ll ever be short on help finding your feet.”

He’d meant that lightly, to reassure her that their coworkers would probably take this much better than he did, and (by virtue of her relation to the CEO) would undoubtedly be willing to offer whatever support they could while she came to terms with everything. But his heart sank immediately as the thought occurred – Trucy wasn’t a daughter to just Lamiroir. “Ah… we have to tell him, too.” Apollo didn’t approve in the slightest of Mr Wright’s parenting, but it was still obvious that nothing was more precious to him than Trucy. Would he feel threatened when her real parent showed up to claim her? That was one legal battle he wasn’t willing to be a part of. “Trucy’s not 18 yet. Are you going to try for custody…?”

Thalassa allowed an easier smile onto her lips, tilting her head slightly. “I was always fond of things that needed reading and remembering, too. Does that mean law school was easier?” There was nothing beyond curiosity in her voice. She was delighted to find something they had in common, even if it was something they both lacked (an aptitude for mathematics). She hadn't really come into this with any expectations for what Apollo would be like – she'd already gotten to know him a little bit when he was Machi's lawyer, and while she was sure he inherited a few things from her and Jove, those didn't have to be defining characteristics after a life spent without his parents.

She was laughing before Apollo could even say he'd been joking – the mental image of Phoenix Wright being her pianist was just too much. “Oh, I know,” she managed to say somehow, between peals of helpless laughter. “He is as much a musician as I am a lawyer.”

But then her laughter ebbed away rather quickly as Apollo continued, her expression first becoming wary, then hesitant and apologetic. And when Apollo asked about Trucy's custody, she downright paled, curling her hand into a fist and pressing it against her chest, as if it ached. “Phoenix Wright knows the truth already,” she said slowly. “In fact, he just figured it out, before I even got my memories back to confirm.” She paused for a moment, hoping Apollo could choose not to be too angry. Not with Phoenix, at least – this was not his fault. “I asked him not to say anything – it was not his secret to share.”

And as for Trucy… “Phoenix has been a wonderful father to her. Better than her real father was, as far as I know.” Her face darkened for a moment – if Zak was alive, she would have had his head for the way he abandoned their daughter. “I do not wish to recreate my family by way of ripping apart already existing ones. I will ask Trucy what she wants; she's certainly old enough to know – and whatever she decides, I will be happy with.”

[lamiroiir]

tinyredlawyer:

Lamiroir’s insistence caught Apollo by surprise; wasn’t the whole reason she approached him to rekindle the natural relationship they should have already had? But it filled him with confused relief, rather than scepticism, to hear her admit that she wasn’t quite sure how this was supposed to go, either. His expectations of a parent were already dismally low, so the warning that she still might not be a perfect mother going forward didn’t faze him much. If they were both stumbling through this, then maybe she’d be more forgiving when he inevitably failed to be an ideal son.

“Ah… not exactly. I couldn’t get into law school without a Bachelor degree, but they don’t require any specific major, so I took Astrology and Astrophysics with a friend of mine. He was studying to be an astronaut, before he passed away.” It was a little weird for a lawyer to have a background in advanced physics; he didn’t blame her for the confusion. But he hoped that by mentioning Clay was dead right off the bat, it would prevent any unintentionally painful questions on her part. He gave her a sheepish expression. “I wasn’t very good at it. But I wouldn’t be a lawyer if I didn’t get through rocket science somehow, so… it’s not impossible.”

He was glad Lamiroir didn’t seem to have any attachment to Borginia; she wasn’t lying when she said there there was nothing for her there. Her home was here, which made him feel a bit more secure about the chances of her disappearing forever.

“Ah, that’s convenient” he offered, pointedly avoiding mentioning his own dumpy one-room flat. Whatever apartment an international celebrity could afford was probably much more luxurious than where he lived. “Do you know what you’re going to do, now? Now that you remember everything, are you going to keep singing…?” He hoped so, selfishly, just because he loved her music so much. But he would understand if she wanted to stop being Lamiroir… the circumstances around the creation of that persona alone easily justified her separating herself from it. “You mentioned you wanted to start painting, right?”

“Hmm.” For a moment, Thalassa eyed Apollo, her face impassive, though she was trying frantically to figure out just what it was that she had perceived for a moment there. All she knew was that she sensed it when Apollo said his friend had passed away – which had to mean that there was something about this friend…

… but then Thalassa smiled, letting the thought pass. If Apollo wanted to keep secrets, it was his right. She did not begrudge him, and she would not push him. Instead, she focused on what he obviously wanted her to focus on, her voice yet again filling with warmth. “That's really amazing, Apollo. Though I do wonder where you got such book smarts from.” She winked at him. “I'd rather be blind than have to read about astrophysics in depth.”

Okay, perhaps the joke was tasteless, but joking about it was a good way to cope with it. Sometimes, Thalassa still woke up expecting darkness, and when the light seeped in through her curtains, she rolled off of her bed and curled up on the floor. At public places, she sought out the darkest corners still, finding solace in the half-light. She was fairly sure the need came, at least partially, from the weight of her returned memories. It was so much easier to refuse to see the truth.

But then, Apollo never turned away from it, not even when it was painful, and Thalassa could do no less if she wanted to be good enough for her children.

“I haven't yet figured out how to go on, to be completely honest,” she admitted, fidgeting with her sleeves, tugging them down so only her fingertips were visible. “Going back to what I was before isn't really an option – anything and everything to the Gramarye name now belongs to Trucy, and that's the way it should be. And Lamiroir… well. I no longer have a pianist, or a manager. I don't really know what to do next.” She knew, as she finished the sentence, that Apollo would tell in an instant that she wasn't telling the truth. She wasn't actually lying, per se, but that was not the reason why she was hesitant about her singing career.

“… Well, that's a part of it, at least,” she added apologetically. “I will figure it out eventually.” And that was true – she would, once she found her inner balance again, once she didn't feel like all her inspiration dried up.

[iglovequotes]

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[lamiroiir]

Which Film Noir Archetype Are You?

Quiz here! Repost, don’t reblog!

result: the good woman

key characteristics: conventional, nurturing, nonthreatening, realistic, loyal

while many may go after you for being boring, you have achieved something they lack: a place in the conventional world.  what this means is that you are capable of maintaining the illusion of safety, a beacon that calls friends and family to you in their time of need. your caring attitude makes you an asset to all who befriend you, and your realistic outlook keeps them from flying into dangerous situations unguarded. you will work hard to eliminate temptations from your life, and the lives of those close to you.

film recommendations: out of the past, the big heat

tagged by: @tinyredlawyer tagging: anyone

[lamiroiir]

woman in a whirlpool

“You’ve lost weight.”

Thalassa frowns – makes herself frown is more like it, because her stomach is churning. “That’s not a nice thing to say to a lady, you know.”

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