I think more people should go back and either replay or rewatch (…. or forbid, play or watch them for the first time) aa1, even if it’s literally only case 1
fanon phoenix is so completely disconnected from the actual character that at this point they basically share a wacky hairstyle and a name to me. In the actual games, Phoenix is almost always depicted as the “straight man”, even in comparison to Edgeworth: he’s somber, dry, sarcastic, and often very tired of shenanigans and bullshit. He’s a very ordinary “everyman”, and that’s like 80% of his appeal to me, tbh. It’s not to say that he can’t be silly or nonserious, but we have a unique look at the inside of his head and all the things he COULD say, but most likely does not.
He goes on to become a literal world renowned defense attorney, and so many people want to boil him down to a silly stupid little rabbit of a guy when he’s anything but
