I gotta ask question 1 for undeniable you, cuz that fic SLAPS 💕
oh, thank you!! ❤️💜 currents is like. the fic i'm most proud of, probably, because it was So Much and i actually Finished It. i'm always so happy to hear that people enjoyed it!
for undeniable you (the currents pulling me onward)
1) What inspired you to write the fic this way?
OKAY so the inspiration behind currents honestly came waaaay back when I was playing through aa5 and wondering why none of the plot points from aa4 that i'd found interesting were being addressed--and wondering why, for a new protagonist, Athena Cykes wasn't actually doing much. I also knew a handful of spoilers for aa6 already, primarily because I couldn't stop myself reading through every Klapollo fanfic available at the time regardless of spoilers. So I took a couple hours and scribbled down some ideas for what I thought a good plot for AA7 would look like--which was basically to have two games taking place over the same span of time, except one follows Apollo and one follows Athena.
After doing that, I realized that I actually wanted to take what I'd planned out as the climactic final case for the Apollo-centric AA7 game and write it as a fic. So I started outlining...and writing...and actually if you really want, you can read everything I posted to Tumblr in the process of writing currents here. It's a casefic because it was originally an idea for part of an AA game...and it's got four chapters of Aftermath because I find that that's where AA cases tend to be a bit lacking. Or, in other words, I really wanted to write the aftermath of this trial, but I had to write the trial itself in order for the aftermath to make any sense. And that's why currents is the way it is!
chapter six: walking down the road that we used to know
On the final day of the trial, will Apollo be able to prove, once and for all, that Klavier didn't poison Kristoph? And if he didn't, who did?
The final trial chapter--but the story’s not over yet! Get ready for four chapters of Emotional Aftermath--because I can do that, because I’m not bound by the constraints of a traditional Ace Attorney game!! *authorial cackling*
chapter ten: you have changed me through and through
Apollo and Klavier discuss Klavier's coffee-making ability. Two defense attorneys, two prosecutors, and a magician have a discussion at a café.
(I was going to say that nobody cries this chapter, but nope, that's a lie)
The final chapter--in which everything is concluded, and hey, like I promised--a happy ending!
Thank you so much to everyone who’s been following this story--who’s commented, left kudos, liked/reblogged these tumblr posts--you are the reason I’ve been able to tell this whole story in roughly three months, from the beginning of my first draft to today. I am not exaggerating in any way when I say that this is the longest thing I’ve ever written--and I am absolutely blown away by how many people have read it, and liked it, and talked to me because of it. I hope this final chapter lives up to your expectations--because I like it, at least.
chapter eight: as we start to wonder what comes next
Apollo finds himself at Klavier's apartment, and they talk things over as they come to terms with the revelations of the past day.
Happy Tuesday! This chapter is almost 100% Emotional Conversation and I hope you enjoy it.
This is somehow not the chapter that I’ve been saying you guys aren’t ready for...but there’s still a Lot of emotions in it. And tears. There’s definitely crying.
i feel like you've told me what the wip title for currents was but i have the memoryspan the size of a peanut so im going with "on god we're gonna give klavier gavin the character resolution he deserves"
oh, I also can Never Remember things—that’s a very valid guess for currents WIP title. Especially as it actually had two rough titles: the Word document is called “aa7 but actually good” (because clearly I’d made a judgement about the quality of a game that doesn’t exist yet), and the draft itself is “How Lucy Would Fix The Shitload Of AA Plotholes, The Fanfic (also it’s gay)”
Currents is weird because it existed in fragmented bits and pieces for a while before I decided that I was actually going to write it out—but going off of the draft titles, you can really tell that I was writing out of Spite™️.
💎⛰️🎢☀️📜✏️⭐📣🔦 for currents & 💡 for the scurvy fic. i need to know.
sparrow that’s. so many. (but you’re asking me to talk about currents and I am always looking for a reason to talk about currents so. Thank You)
(also, obvious spoilers under the cut for undeniable you (the currents pulling me onward so. if you care about that you might want to read the fic first)
💎- What was your favorite part?
I’d probably say...the beginning of chapter 7? Where it’s immediately post-trial and Klavier and Apollo are just so tired and at loose ends and they go and sit on the courthouse steps and talk. I basically wrote the entire fic in order to write the last 4 chapters--the emotional aftermath of the trial, but I had to write the trial first so it would have context.
⛰️- What was the hardest part?
Figuring out the whole Gramarye Siblings situation, for sure. Because--the thing is that canon isn’t entirely cohesive on who did what when. I did a ton of research by perusing the wiki and taking notes on Jove, Thalassa, Magnifi, etc--and then I kind of just decided that if there was no coherent canon timeline, then I didn’t need to stick to it--and made as much of it up as I felt was necessary.
🎢- Were there any scenes you were nervous about? For audience reception or otherwise?
With every single courtroom scene, I was worried that it would be super boring or wouldn’t live up to the games or that all of the arguments I used would be Wrong and Bad? also this isn’t unique to currents but every single time I write a kissing scene I worry that it’s going to be bad
☀️- Was there symbolism/motifs you worked in?
A little? If anything, I was trying to emphasize the symbolism and Themes that I felt the canon games after AA4 didn’t utilize at all--like, I deliberately used Apollo flying across the ocean after hearing about Klavier as a parallel with Edgeworth flying across the ocean when he heard something happened with Phoenix, and obviously the “POV defense attorney defends rival prosecutor” is a deliberate parallel with 1-4. I guess Klavier’s hair might be a bit of a motif but that’s mostly because I think it’s pretty and less of a deliberate choice lmao
📜-Do you want to write something like this again in the future?
Depends! I would maybe write another casefic if I had a really good concept for one, sometime In The Future (because they are So Annoying to plan)--but as for multichaptered fics, I definitely want to write another one sometime. I just need to have a Good Idea and the motivation to stick with it--currents was written mainly out of spite at the dropped plot threads from AA4 and my determination to resolve a bunch of them and also further my Klapollo Agenda.
✏️-Would you go back and change anything if you could?
At the moment, I don’t think I would--but if you asked me again in a year or so, I probably would change things. I still want to write a series of oneshots in the currents universe--stuff focusing on characters we didn’t see enough of, like Trucy and Phoenix; and Kristoph pre-fic; and Phoenix and Miles; and Klavier and Apollo after everything
⭐- What’s a scene/paragraph you’re proud of?
“We can’t dwell too much on that part. But one more thing—if they planted the nail polish back then, and the powder in the mortar and pestle—how could they be sure you wouldn’t...accidentally…”
Apollo trails off, but they both know how that sentence ends. Klavier shudders.
“I almost never use that thing, anyway—it was a housewarming gift, and I’ve only ever been ambitious enough to grind my own spices about twice. Otherwise, it’s just easier to use the stuff in jars. I guess they must have known that, somehow? Either that, or...it didn’t matter if…”
“So, they’re someone who either wanted you to be found guilty for a murder you didn’t commit, or didn’t mind if you were poisoned by accident—and who probably works for that dogsitting company,” Apollo murmurs, pulling out his planner and jotting down a few notes. On the other side of the glass, Klavier sighs, tilting his head so that his fringe obscures his eyes.
“I wonder...if they’d gotten me, accidentally...would they still have killed Kris? Or would they have been satisfied with just me?”
The question is nearly inaudible, but Apollo looks up sharply, staring at Klavier.
“You think they killed him just because...it would hurt you?”
Klavier shifts, meeting Apollo’s eyes. “What would be the point, otherwise? Vengeance? Apollo, who’s left alive that would need to enact revenge on him? He was already on death row—what does this accomplish, besides hurting me?”
As much as Apollo tries, he can’t come up with an answer.
I don’t know if I can think of too many specific scenes I’m proud of--but I really do like this one, because I think it shows Apollo’s pragmatic side--trying to solve the murder mystery, pushing his emotions aside when he can--while illustrating Klavier’s attitude of “usually I would brush this off but we both know this premise is a little wonky and this isn’t adding up.”
...that might not have made sense, I’m not always the best at analyzing my own writing. I just throw words at the page and what happens, happens.
📣-What was the best piece of encouragement you got?
It’s cheesy, but everyone who commented on each chapter was an invaluable source of encouragement? like, the absolute best feeling in the world was posting a new chapter and then seeing all the comment notifications come in, and spending the rest of the day replying. I’d written 6 chapters before I posted the prologue, but having people give me their reactions to each chapter really was the most important thing that made me keep going <3
🔦-Did you learn anything while writing it? About yourself? Writing?
I learned a lot about How To Write A Murder-Mystery--first and foremost, that it involves so much planning. And I maybe had to spoil the ending of AA6 entirely for myself--fun fact, I still haven’t finished the game, I’m stuck on Trial Day 1 of the Maya case (because I’m Tired, okay?). About writing and myself--I learned that I definitely need a deadline, and that using external “word count goal” tools is pretty essential for me if I want to write anything longer than a oneshot.
For The Scurvy Fic:
💡-What was the motivation behind the story?
okay SO. There was a conversation going on in a Klapollo discord server. Somehow we ended up talking about Klavier and/or Apollo being cheapskates. I think I mentioned something about Klavier surviving entirely on ramen noodles because they’re cheap? and then it devolved into a conversation about how they’d totally get scurvy if they did that. And I started thinking about how Klavier and Apollo are inherently pretty competitive, and how they’d totally just get into a stupid bet and be so stubborn that they wouldn’t back down, because they have to Prove A Point, even if they get scurvy from their awful diet of Whatever’s The Cheapest. And then...Scurvy Fic Happened. (along with the Other scurvy fics, because there’s Three of them!! I was just the only person who went with the obvious title).
Thank you for the ask!! Hope this was...enlightening??
how do i get 50k into writing this fic and still worry that i’m making Relationships Talk happen Too Fast? why is my brain’s default writing setting Glacially-Paced Slowburn? I had this entire thing outlined and now I’m considering adding more chapters because What If It’s Not Long Enough?
(which is silly because I’m realizing that I can absolutely wrap up things that need More Wrapping Up Than Expected in the final chapter? that’s kind of the entire purpose of final chapters--wrapping stuff up?)
