Ace Attorney Dream: Dignity

[madimpossibledreamer]

Okay, so this was another dream I typed up a bit ago.  I’m not sure it 100% fit in Duel Destinies proper, but found it interesting enough to post on its own anyway.  Partly because I’m kind of certain they’re not actually involved in law in Duel Destinies. 

Main Points:
Ace Attorney/YuGiOh crossover universe.  Or something.  (Duel Destinies!)  ...maybe.
Summary: Being discriminatory to a prosecutor is a bit of a mistake.
Word Count: 826
Rating: Teen (because Kristoph Gavin, who seems to be worse when he doesn't even physically appear in the part) Warning: Transphobia

        Phoenix, Edgeworth, and several of the other prosecutors and lawyers who also duel on the side are all managed by the Wright Anything Agency.  Their manager is Maggey.  Mostly because she’s pretty level-headed but would still be amused by things.
        One of the stipulations is that the duellists have to do other tv appearances.  Miles is booked for Celebrity Chef. The host is a jerk, but his busy schedule doesn’t allow for any of the other possible timeslots, and he likes/is good at cooking, so he doesn’t mind too much. 
        However, since that particular network is terribly conservative, they decided to swap out one of the challenges because it wasn’t ‘funny’ enough, and Edgeworth doesn’t get a warning ahead of time—one of them involves cross-dressing, and it’s meant to be humiliating.  The host announces it, the crowd laughs, because of course they do, and then he’s basically thrown to the makeup/costume people.
        They’re basically really revealing magical girl type costumes in green and yellow (I suspect they purposefully went for Not Edgeworth Colors), with a choice between shiny and sparkly.
        One of the ladies is African-American and the other is Asian-American (assuming that this is in Japanifornia).  They were recently brought on and think it’s cruel and discriminatory but they can’t refuse to do their work because they’re locked into their contract.
        Edgeworth looks like he’s about to be sick.  He takes a chance, because they’re being very nice about it all.  And also because they’ll figure it out when they help him change.  “Do you think I could tell you something?” he asks quietly as they take his cravat.
        “Sure, what is it?”
        “I’m trans.”
        “Nothing wrong with that, honey.”  The response is instant and compassionate and it greatly helps.
        Interesting point here that I got from the dream: Edgeworth, here, does not experience dysphoria, at least, not body dysphoria.  When he’s all done up in the suit and cravat, or some of his other favored outfits, like the sleepwear, he’s perfectly fine.  So for the most part, he has gender euphoria when acting/being perceived as a man.  He’s more focused on his mind, anyway, which is ‘exactly’ what he wants it to be and is perfectly serviceable.  (He says that, but there are some self-loathing issues in there completely separate from his gender due to Von Karma.)  He does bind (previously in semi-self-harm ways, including leaving it on too long; Phoenix is getting him to be healthy in a bunch of different ways), but the testosterone has helped a lot.  Basically, he perceives himself as a man, and most of the time other people do too, and he’s fine.  The issue is when other people don’t treat him correctly.  Franziska was a great sister, about that at least.  Von Karma didn’t believe in it, but ‘went along with it’ for control, both ‘see how great I am, supporting you’, for dependency, and for blackmail material.
        They also purposefully don’t give them enough time to properly do the makeup or fix the outfit before they call him back out—again, it’s supposed to be humiliating.  He comes out with dignity, not humiliated like any red-blooded male should be, and the host can work out he’s trans.  He starts following the instructions as requested, and the host starts ranting and raving and foaming at the mouth.  He starts off by calling him disgusting, which makes him grab his shoulder, and then the host continues with “Do you know who I am?  I’ll make sure you never work in this town again!”
        And that reminds Miles that he is a prosecutor and he’s not without a name, friends, a rep, and power of his own.  “You make the mistake of thinking I care.  I am Miles Edgeworth, Ace Prosecutor and Duellist.  As they say, bring it.”
        He just walks off the stage toward the exit, and no one bothers to try to stop him.
        The makeup artists are crying with joy, because someone stood up to the host, who is an all-around terrible person and probably has a terrible work environment, though they tell him his suit was probably taken, since it went missing in the meantime.  He shrugs and offers for the to come with him and he will help them with their contract.
        So he just shows up at the Agency, still in the outfit, with a woman on either arm.  Maggie has been watching, as has Phoenix, and they’re on a phone call.  When he just walks in, though, she just slowly puts down the phone, not sure whether to be worried or burst out laughing.
        “We’re starting a discrimination lawsuit.  I know that’s Wright on the phone; let him know that he needs to bring one of my spare suits and be ready to look over these ladies’ contracts to find a loophole, because we can absolutely multitask.”  The fact that he’d broadcast his transphobic rant will absolutely be a massive mistake.