Swan

something i think about a lot is why dahlia would choose to share her story with phoenix especially when he had been someone who she thought was a nuisance to her plans, she could have stopped it at the fact that she and iris were twins and while pretending to be iris she’d known her sister was present that night; when phoenix asked her why she didn’t mention it before she wouldn’t have answered to that extent. it hadn’t been part of the plan but she decides to share her personal feelings anyway albeit through her sisters perspective, maybe she feels like it’s easier that way? that she has the opportunity be listened to and have someone to talk to however not while as herself…which can furthermore be presented as a testament to her loneliness. phoenix isn’t like his past self and isn’t involved in the case which could be another factor, later on she remarks in her testimony in reference to why she helped morgan that ‘you won’t understand it being the kind and gentle soul you are’ which suggests dahlia would have a grasp on the type of person phoenix is (while only meeting few times) and that she’s frustrated since it was a factor into her getting caught but she knows nothing will come out of it now, it’s also worth noting that dahlia did view phoenix as an annoyance and his persistence didn’t help but her primary aminosity was directed towards mia. she certainly isn’t friendly with phoenix even while pretending to be iris as she makes backhanded remarks and it’s definitely not forgotten what happened in turnabout memories but to a certain extent she deems it okay enough to tell him things of the like. this is one of my favourite scenes in the entire series actually, while it was clear before it gives us further insight into dahlia from her perspective, it’s genuinely so disappointing that the games writing refuses to acknowledge her as a victim while infer that she was, she’s just demonised (bestowing that title onto one of the people actually perpetrating the abuse??), even without those accounts this can literally be corroborated by iris herself and sister bikini.

really the only person who understood dahlia was iris, and i think dahlia viewed it that way too. i believe her view of ‘betrayal’ towards iris was more out of hurt than anything, given the harshness in the way she uses ‘backstabber’ why would she say that if not upset about what happened? not to mention the reactions even when she told him that the day before. i have a feeling another piece of evidence that could point towards this is this testimony

i used the whole testimony rather than providing screenshots because i didn’t want that many there, but i want to point towards the ellipses, they indicate silence but they also simultaneously say a lot, it shows her reluctance to say anything, and to end it off with her saying ‘you’ll never understand’ shows how personal it is as well as complex. the point i want to come across with all this is how dahlia’s feelings aren’t as one dimensional as the game portrays it to be, no one is arguing that she’s actually a ‘good’ person, but that she too has nuances that shouldn’t be ignored. another thing that i should add her is there are instances of dahlia actually having shown empathy towards others, but it’s subtle

How Apollo took on clients who brought him nothing but trouble and still sympathized with and fought for them-- with Wocky's condition and Machi's fear as a child alone in a foreign country and Vera being manipulated and almost dying. He still fought for them even when Wocky confessed to murder and when Machi was revealed to have been lying and involved in smuggling and when Vera refused to even talk to him. He gave Wocky a reminder that his father cared and allowed him and his father a chance to mend their relationship, he looked at Machi and saw the scared little kid he was and decided to help him and apologized to Lamiroir for not letting him go free, he worried over Vera and cried when he found out she was okay and fought for her even when everyone thought her condition was hopeless and she wouldn't even live to see her Not Guilty verdict.

How Apollo, who could never be someone other than himself even if he tried, who puts his foot in his mouth and can't lie to save his life and cries over others' well being and lashes out when he's angry and is frequently disrespected, saved everyone in the end by facing down against Kristoph, his mentor, who embodies all the things Apollo isn't. He's a liar, he puts on a mask and cares about his reputation and image more than anything, he hides all of his emotions under a cool façade that earned him the title of "the Coolest Defense in the West" and the respect that came along with it, and how without all that he's nothing but a shallow, pathetic sore loser who ruined and took lives because he couldn't fathom the idea of somebody being better than him while Apollo remained as a beacon of light and the honest, impulsive, emotional and kind person he's been since the start of the game.

He saved Wocky from his arrest and Alita's manipulation and he freed Machi from the fear of being executed in Borginia and he made Trucy less lonely by, in her own words, making her laugh and gave her a shoulder to cry on like when Lamiroir was hospitalized and helped Lamiroir gain confidence to confront the world and her past and saved Klavier from his brother's influence and the shadow of the Gramarye trial and laid the groundwork for Phoenix to be freed from the forgery accusation and work towards becoming a lawyer again and freed Vera from her fear of the outside world and the devil's curse and oh Apollo I love you so so much

Timeskip Franziska Von Karma redesign

2026 - 2025 - 2024 - 2023

in spite of it all, happy 2026 pride.

you can download current and past hi-res versions of these over at my ko-fi (ok to print for personal use): https://ko-fi.com/mxmorgan/shop/freedownloads

you can also snag shirts here which go to various orgs: https://mxmorgan.threadless.com/collections/pride

these get reposted a whole lot from here to reddit to twitter to tiktok and on and on, and i don't personally care whether or not i'm credited. i made these for everyone to use, enjoy, and find meaning in them. i appreciate folks who do credit me, but if able, please at least link to the threadless shop in the previous post - folks can get an official shirt where 90% of earnings go to trans led orgs focused on mental health (which is an important matter in general, but very personal to me) and not from a scam bot site selling AI-churned maga garbage where you probably won't get one anyway. i also suggest downloading the files from my ko-fi - they are free/PWYW and you can use them to make your own shirt, patch, embroidery project, whatever. tips are always nice, cuz i do like a pizza now and then, but never required for download.

Pretty girl, blue face and sad little eyes... where have you gone?

I wake up, and I just sing to you beautiful songs and sunflowers...

-Alelí, by Mon Laferte and Caloncho, fragment.