#diego armando

Okay so I mentioned some things somewhere in some past posts but whatever

I'm kinda sorta writing a thing with this whole premise but I don't think I will ever post it anywhere even if I finish it because it is a very self-indulgent thing that is also incredibly long

Basically the main idea is that Diego gets out of prison 6 years after aa3 and slowly gets his life back on track, makes some friends and has a more or less peaceful life (mainly because I want him to have a happy ending)

So, he gets out of prison, and Maya takes him to Kurain village to stay while he figures his life out. He has a lot of self doubt, still feeling guilty for what happened back in Hazakura, and doesn't really feel that he deserves anything good in life. He mostly helps around the village for a while, but Maya asks him whether he wants to get back to law again from time to time, but he always refuses. He feels like he did too much wrong to step back into the courtroom again. He also visits Hazakura Temple to apologize to Iris to at least start trying to make amends for his past actions. I feel like he and Iris can really bond about their shared guilt and become good friends at some point, but that's for another time

And then he gets a call from Edgeworth who offers his help for Diego to get back to law again, since the Dark Age of the Law lead to a severe understaffing of lawyer and Edgeworth wants to have someone who he knows cares about the truth around. Diego still doesn't feel worthy of this, and decides to leave the village to stop bothering everyone around him with his inability to decide how to proceed with the life he didn't know he would have after what he's been through. But before he does, he goes to visit Mia's grave — something he couldn't bring himself to do in a long time. And there he meets... Mia herself. Maya is channeling her, hoping that her sister can talk some sense into him. And they talk. About regrets and the time they didn't have. And Mia asks him to keep living, because he is still there and he still can build his life anew. And then they say goodbye.

(On the sidenote, I think Mia and Diego should probably have had one last talk about everything that happened, and then say farewell to each other, because Diego needs to learn to let go, and Mia needs to have peace as a spirit)

After that everything gets a little bit better as Diego decides to try to become a defence attorney (I really don't think he would want to prosecute again), gets his badge back with Edgeworth's help, and — also with Edgeworth's recommendation — starts working at Edgeworth & Co. Law Offices along with Eddie Fender. Just for funsies. Because I think they would get along.

And well there's some other stuff going on next — like him meeting with Phoenix, meeting Apollo and later Athena, reuniting with Blackquill after he is freed (because they're cellmates in my heart of hearts), but I'll probably stop for now

I know this is very messily worded but I digress