#andrometa

[palant1r]

Phoenix Wright's best traps are the ones he knows the effectiveness of firsthand.

He knows that a bright-eyed young defense attorney with a burning desire to exonerate their client will take key evidence from a disarmingly innocuous-seeming girl in a cape. Kristoph Gavin taught him that, and Apollo Justice takes the bait.

He knows that, if you want to get evidence from someone or retrieve certain objects, the most effective way to do so is to get close. To be friends. To take meals together. Perhaps even to get them to fall for you. To make them think you're nothing but a helpless pretty face. Dahlia Hawthorne taught him that, and Kristoph Gavin takes the bait.

He knows that, if you don't have the evidence needed to convict someone obviously guilty, you're not out of options. Their crimes speak for themselves, and if they're made known in court, it's the court of public opinion who will deem them guilty, and the gavel has no choice but to follow. Mia Fey taught him that, and Kristoph Gavin takes the bait.

He knows that, when trusted family commits unspeakable crimes, only the light of the court can exorcise that darkness. Miles Edgeworth taught him that, and Klavier Gavin takes the bait.

[diavede]

weyes blood - andromeda

[palant1r]

so ive been thinking about this image lately

its a good image. we got cute apollo and kristoph being composed but also a bit of a bitch by also putting some earplugs in. its good official art.

but then it got me thinking: this art is obviously intended to capture a candid moment. probably at the gavin law offices.

and like...we've seen that the wright anything agency has two rooms, and they're probably on the small end of law offices. gavin law offices is probably pretty big, pretty fancy given kristoph's refined tastes

and yet. instead of sitting in his desk at a different room or telling apollo to go practice in the hall or literally put ANY distance between them, kristoph chooses to read his book by apollo. enjoying his company enough to put in earplugs instead of moving.

this meshes well with my headcanon that voice training is something apollo started to train himself out of a stutter and naturally quiet voice. kristoph probably saw him start out quiet and get louder and louder, to the point that kristoph needed to put in earplugs. maybe he's proud of how far apollo has come

and like...given what we know about kristoph, the ONLY interpretation that makes sense is that he genuinely enjoyed apollos company and wanted him to succeed. not surpass him, but succeed. as we see from his desire to keep living well in his jail cell and some of his dialogue, kristoph enjoys living a pleasant life. he is not the kind of person who would tolerate someone he didn't enjoy having in his life. like, he absolutely enjoyed phoenix's company, too—there were other people he was keeping an eye on, but he didn't have dinner with them. also, kristoph cares a lot about his reputation, especially as a lawyer. he would not hire someone that he didn't see potential in, and he would hope for them to do well, knowing that their career would reflect on his own.

when we see him interact with apollo in turnabout trump, kristoph is definitely more dismissive of him and his skills than mia is to phoenix in the first turnabout. but he still tries to be encouraging and helpful. its just so interesting. because like. he obviously doesn't fully trust apollo's skills in this trial. just like he obviously didn't trust klavier in the enigmar trial. it's that duality of him not letting himself trust these two people in his life, not valuing them, and ultimately that being his undoing. made all the more painful because he genuinely did care about them

[palant1r]

The whole Phoenix keeping their true relationship a secret from Trucy and Apollo sibling thing makes me sad because I honestly don’t think it’s meant to my a character flaw on Phoenix’s part. It’s simply capcom not wanting to tackle that story arch yet.

(disclaimer i havent played aa5 or aa6 lmao)

Tbh i think this is a case where capcom's laziness accidentally resulted in good character writing lmao. Like, Phoenix not telling apollo and trucy is actually extremely consistent with his characterization and flaws. We've seen that he keeps things extremely close to his chest, and doesn't tell anyone anything until he literally has no choice to do so. Like how he didn't tell Maya about Edgeworth for ages, and strung Apollo along throughout all of aa4. Phoenix also keeps important secrets when he thinks it's for the person's own good, like how he doesn't tell Vera what happened to the Gramaryes. It makes a ton of sense that, if he didn't have to say anything and Thalassa told him to keep it a secret, he would withhold potentially painful information that wasn't remotely time-sensitive.

Also, I think it would make sense for phoenix to just...not really think biological family is a big deal. For that to be one of his blind spots. We don't know much about phoenix's past, but he doesn't have any family in the picture, yet incorporates people into his found family at the drop of a hat. Especially trucy.

Additionally, Phoenix has shown a desire to keep Trucy away from the darkness of the Gramaryes. Which is fair. The Gramaryes suck, and Phoenix more than anyone else has borne witness to the darkest parts of that family, to the consequences of their drama and the innocent people who get caught up in it. It makes total sense that he'd be in no hurry to tie Apollo to all that.

[palant1r]

After it's discovered that he unknowingly presented forged evidence several times, Edgeworth is investigated. In the end, he gets off with a slap on the wrist, and it doesn't feel like enough.

Edgeworth has changed. But he believes he deserved more punishment. Justice should not spare him — the prosecutor's office is a hotbed of forgery, and the only way to fix it is if attorneys are responsible for the evidence they present, no matter the source. Edgeworth wants to turn the system into one that would never have let him get as far as he did, ruin as many lives as he did, as atonement for all the ways he followed von Karma.

After returning from Europe, Edgeworth pushes for reform. He's a zealot sweeping corruption from every corner of the legal world. From a demon prosecutor to a shining star of justice.

And his prize reform: new regulations that hold attorneys responsible for the evidence they present, leaving them subject to disbarment unless they can prove they took reasonable precautions in checking the sources of their evidence (similar to libel defense laws in place for journalists).

Kristoph Gavin does not like change, and he was relying on being able to play dumb if he was ever caught presenting forged evidence. He frowns at the newspaper and puts Miles Edgeworth on his shit list.

A few years later, he wonders if he should send Edgeworth a box of chocolates.

[palant1r]

been thinking about assistive devices in ace attorney

-they're probably often custom designed and pretty easy to get, with weird limitations, and often look cool and are a bit ridiculous. the technologies in our universe still exist and are widely used, there are just more options, especially for people with rare disabilities

-special glasses for apollo that can dull his kinetic vision to avoid sensory overload and migraines. taking off the bracelet doesn't help with this, since it just makes his vision more unfocused. side effect is that while he's wearing the glasses he can't see clock hands move

-the technology behind widget could be really effectively used for nonverbal ppl/other (hearing) ppl who use boards or otherwise cant speak...but programming in a filter is a lot harder

-phoenix tells godot he's been having chronic back pain. godot tells him that his assistive device designer developed a back brace that periodically injects needles at key points to reduce pain, like constant automatic acupuncture. phoenix says he'll just stick to ibuprofen

-sidenote: pess as edgeworth's ESA who can warn him before an earthquake

-ESAs are extremely normalized in this universe. they'd have to be, in a world that lets a death row inmate just. keep a bird of prey

-powered exoskeleton limb braces for ppl with paralysis that doesn't affect the spine, limb weakness, etc. klavier gets one for his leg for MS relapses. the problem is, it takes some calibration. he accidentally kicks edgeworth in the dick once.

-lots of ppl still opt for canes because the exos are uncomfortable, inconvenient, not always necessary or don't adequately exercise the limb. also might not adequately compensate for balance issues

-they dont have the technology to reattach limbs with full function/grow new ones from a stump/reactivate a totally dead limb BUT they can just. straight up grow a limb from someone's side. no one opts for this. finding clothes is literally impossible

-fully functioning genital/breast transplants are a thing. titty venmo viable in the ace attorney universe

-some people opt for that. other people opt for the fully-feeling robot dicks that aura blackquill has absolutely made available at low cost.

-have you seen how unnecessarily weird toys/jewelery are in this universe. stim toys are 100% normalized and also fucking insane

-kristoph is photosensitive, so his glasses are made from a specialized material that causes them to appear a bit more opaque than clear glass

[palant1r]

I’m begging you for some jealous Kristoph

nods sagely

ok heres the thing about kristoph: he is EXTREMELY composed, right up until he very much isn't, and he constantly needs to feel in control of the situation. he doesn't seem like the type to show jealousy at all, because that would require a level of obvious want and vulnerability that he very much does not want to show.

but. he's still a jealous person. because the people around him, he feels he owns. that he has a right to control the areas where their lives collide. it's a self-assured, confident jealousy: not the fear of not having someone, but frustration at when what is his is taken.

and he's also very good at making sure he doesn't need to be jealous. like, i hc that with krisnix, kristoph was manipulative in an extremely subtle way. always encouraging phoenix to open up about how edgeworth hurt him, and validating his feelings, indulging phoenix in his frustration when he's a few glasses of wine deep, saying things that only border on driving phoenix away from edgeworth. stuff that he'd feel ridiculous saying as an example of manipulation. kristoph is right, isn't he? edgeworth hurt him. maybe it is better if phoenix not lean on him when he's so fragile. maybe a man with a history of fleeing should be kept at arms length from a daughter with a history of abandonment trauma.

kristoph finds people who need to be wanted, and he wants them, and that's usually all he needs. it's quite convenient to love people who have no other options, and to keep a cool head and use a gentle touch to reel them back in if they stray

[diavede]

weyes blood - andromeda