Don’t Get Me Wrong, I Love The Sunshine/grumpy Dichotomy Of Wrightworth But Phoenix Has Shown On Multiple

Don’t get me wrong, I love the sunshine/grumpy dichotomy of Wrightworth but Phoenix has shown on multiple occasions that most of the time he is ““The Straight Man””.

He’s a wet blanket and routinely gives snide comments on all the weirdos he has to hang out with in the investigation segments. The only time his silly weirdo side comes out is when he’s in court with Edgeworth and that’s because it’s a kangaroo court where he’s fighting for his life the whole time.

In Phoenix’s world Edgeworth is not only infinitely more competent than he is, he’s also the only other normal person. At least in the trilogy that is.The first time I played turnabout big-top I thought I missed a game, or a character interaction or someone else wrote the game because he was such… an asshole? To maya to everybody. He was so 100% no nonsense it freaked me out. But then it was revealed that Edgeworth “died” and that really struck a cord with me.Phoenix’s factory settings are all “Im a mature straight laced lawyer” until he’s around Edgeworth.

Whenever there’s a “sweaty Phoenix.png” in a case against someone else other than edgeworth,it’s because he’s incredulously tolerating the other person’s nonsense.Whereas whenever it’s with Edgeworth it’s given the connotation that he feels he’s less competent.Sort of in silent reverence that he thought that he could get one over Edgeworth.I really love this aspect of Phoenix and I feel it gives his character a ton of nuance besides just being sunshiny or just being prudish. I wish I were better at writing i would totally “wright” him more than with this aspect of his personality specifically.

Bonus points if you factor in that while he was with dahlia he was lovestuck and silly and how that means that this is not only consistent with the type of guy he is when he’s in a relationship but how that could mean he sees himself in edgeworth’s and that’s why he likes him.