#prdau

So my swapnix/prosecutor phoenix (called Prosecutor Doe in this au) !! i am. still trying to figure out how i want a lot of the lore to pan out but the main thing i do have set his how he ended up like this !! trauma ! (SHOCKER) /SILLY

specifically the two main factors are A- dl6 is not the same in this au,,, i have not landed on if its totally skipped or plays out differently but the important factor is that gregory lives

the second factor is my favourite worst girl in the world, Dahlia !!

basically , phoenix was fully intending on being an art student here, after all he had no edgeworth to save. this however is changed with the dahlia incident,,, specifically i have. very loved the angst potential of things going much worse with his eating a poisoned glass necklace and this is exploring that !!! instead of being. well us at least not seeing any big consequences from it it ends up. almost killing him there in the courtroom and the trial is left incomplete because of that,,,, due to lasting damages it also leaves him completely mute,,, and this is where manfred steps in :)

manfred having lasting grudges and learning about this incident pulls . many strings to effectively hide phoenix from the legal system. he uses a combination of. phoenix feeling so hurt and betrayed from dahlia and. a basically blackmail threat that hes doing phoenix a favour and that phoenix could either come with him and become a prosecutor and punish people like dahlia or.... while he doesnt outright state it its heavily implied that if phoenix doesnt agree to this then manfred has no reason to 'protect' him and that he will be arrested for what hes done both the accused murder and the evidence destruction,,,, is manfred telling the truth here? phoenix doesnt want to find out

SO !!! Prosecutor Phoenix who goes by 'Prosecutor Doe' in my au (bcs i was listening to ballad of jane doe while making him, the connotations fit (will elaborate:3) and also phoenix is a massive theater nerd canon in this au true to me always).

so i call this au my prosecutor phoenix / prosecutor doe but it is effectively and in practice a roleswap au as miles is a defense attorney here!

ive seen swap aus done a lot of ways but im personally a big fan of manfred involvement and im a huge fan of how dahlia functions as a character so both of them are hugely involved here!! The main important swap bits are:

DL-6 does not go down as in the original game (whether it goes down differently or just doesnt happen at all here remains to be seen as i have not fully written it jdjdjdkd leaning towards going down differently but either way gregory is still alive in this au and thus miles becomes a defense attorney!!)

And the other major swap bit is ofc how phoenix actually becomes a prosecutor which. manfred effectively steals him

(abuse/manipulation n angsty things ahead phoenix is having a fun time i swear /SILY)

up to phoenixes college days him miles n larry all stay relatively close, esp with phoenix having a bond with gregory due to his own parent issues and the fact they all stay together. when college starts and phoenix meets dahlia in this au however (for all intents and purposes dahlia is dahlia in this au and not iris as it makes her behaviour here make more sense) she starts getting much more directly manipulative with him in attempts to retrieve the necklace from him, tending to isolate him from larry and miles and eventually. leading to the court happeings of doug swallows murder. phoenix is framed that all happens semi normally but. dahlia here. well. ive always been a big fan of making the necklace eatinf incident incredbily angsty :3333

its effectively a suicide pact here,,, dahlia claims either she or phoenix will go to jail no matter what they do and that this is their only way out and to be together and well. phoenix is isolated and manipulated and even if he doesnt want to die he. doesnt want her to go to jail. and if eating this evidence has a chance to save her and shes going through with it too he. he has too.

this of course ends. incredibly horribly with dahlia ofc NOT going through with her end and ending up with phoenix nearly dying and having his entire voicebox removed in light of the damage from the glass and poison (along with some other things)

this results in a supposed mistrial at least temporarily, until phoenix can stand in court again. and HERE is where manfred comes in. having never forgiven gregory, knowing phoenixes connections, knowing and seen proven already hes incredbily manipulatible and currently incredbily vunerable he takes his chances. he doesnt outright state that phoenix will be setenced to life in prison (or. worse) for this murder if he doesnt go with manfred but its heavily implied. and phoenix is scared and hurt and ANGRY at dahlia at his defense attorney at everyone really and. he goes with...

phoenix wright effectively disappears off the planet a week after the incident and larry and miles dont even learn of the trial till weeks later, it all being kept under wraps at first due to technicalities but then due to manfred intentionally trying to hide it... and for a while thats. kinda it. miles never gets over it and never stops hoping hell be able to find him and. eventually this mysterious prosecutor doe appears,,, no one seems to know his real name, miles only ever hears him referred to as 'Prosecutor Doe' no matter what he asks no one has an answer and. even his father who meets him in court once seems to have no clue... Until of course, miles gets to meet him in court himself :)