hi hi everyone i finally posted a soutamitsu fic (for ace attorney holiday rarepair week)! it’s mainly about simeon’s life post-incarceration but i’ll add an epilogue/part 2 soon for my fellow soutamitsu truthers (bc yall aren’t getting much in this fic LOL) 🫶🏽 this first part is mainly about how simeon is very unwell about edgeworth…
I've been chipping away at an Ace Attorney Investigations animation for the past few months, heavy spoilers warning but otherwise CLICK THE BLUE TEXT TO GIVE IT A WATCH!
Some parts of the process below (spoilers again)
"true Simeon" 's behaviour was also a fake persona. I do joke about him having the same sprites as Miles but I genuinely think this was a conscious move On His Part. the confident persona.
the confrontation starts with him referring to Miles as being the one who always had courage in his convictions and I think this is something he himself wanted too.
when Simeon gets actually caught in his tracks and he struggles to keep up you actually see it kinda fade. he goes back to stuttering, the "..." pauses and short sentences rather than whole dramatic long dialogue. you can also see it drop at the end with Kanis. the fact that he says that revenge made him just feel numb solidifies it for me. he isn't even as happy as he pretends to be over the revenge he is just Numb. the happy and dramatic act is as much of a persona as the shy weak one is to me.
I don't think Simeon has a strict actual personality tbh. I think he spent so much of his life pretending and faking emotions and reactions and everything that he doesn't have a "real" self. so when he engages in actual direct confrontation in argument over his crimes he does what he knows best: faking it !! fake the conviction fake the security fake the happiness from the revenge. not just to fool Miles but also to convince himself that it WAS worth it to do it, same way he tries to convince Shaun. the right thing to do.
and what's the best way to do this for him? to copy Miles. the best point of reference he has for someone who would be secure in their beliefs and arguments. even if Miles actually struggles with his sense of self the entire game, the conviction that Miles has is what Simeon seeks to convey.
even if he's not imitating him on purpose, I think that he could still be doing it subconsciously: after observing Miles during the entire game, I could see him imitating his behaviours when it comes to this scene without realising.
also the fact that Simeon continuously imitates Miles's voice during the confrontation. though I think this is unrelated to him imitating Miles's behaviour because imitating his voice is obviously done to tease him but I still think it adds to the whole thing.
thinking about soutamitsu again (to no one's surprise) and how Miles says he'll think about it when Simeon asks him to come see him at the circus, but he asks Simeon to go sightseeing himself and when Regina says that Simeon will perform he'll say he's gonna go watch him too. the concept of Miles being fine with asking Simeon out or having the initiative in relationship stuff but getting flustered when Simeon initiates anything is really funny
Miles's affection / trust in Simeon is something that always gets to me, like
"I believe you. Or at least, I have decided to try. For now...
Just try to believe in us in return, if nothing else, it might help you feel a little less alone.
Now, if you'll excuse me."
the overall scene is about him telling Simeon that if he turns out to be the culprit, he WILL have to take him as a suspect and treat him as any other criminal. the dialogue before this too was him telling Simeon that this isn't just for his sake but also because it benefits Miles himself too, so they should help each other out. but he still manages to turn it around to sound comforting in his own way, and mention his trust in him.
"I thought I made it clear I believed in you"
this being after Simeon lies to him and he finds out, after Simeon keeps proving to be the most likely suspect, but he still just remarks that he BELIEVES Simeon so Simeon should have no reason to hide things from him.
"I wish I could believe you"
during the final confrontation this is a crazy thing to say. the concept of knowing that Simeon had been fooling him all along, is STILL TRYING to do so, and knowing the extent of the crimes he committed, but still WANTING to be able to believe that whatever he's saying is true, to be fooled once again, even if he can't trust him anymore.
it's really not surprising at all that the game ends with Miles saying he wants to help those like him, that he understands him. even if his friendship can't exist as a form of trust it can still exist as a want to help him. still being there for him in some sort of way. which had also been there from the second case itself:
"What am I thinking!? I am never this reckless...
N-no. I can't back down now. I've got to put everything on the line!
I'm not a prosecutor right now, I have a client to defend.
Only I can save Mr Saint. And that means...
Even if my chances are a million to one, it's still worth a shot!"
even if the relationship isn't the same the want to help Simeon is something that he can keep from it after everything that happens, even if it's not the same as a defense / client relationship with the idea of saving him, but rather a want that exists entirely on its own.
