Well, let me explain how I see it.

Very close platonic relationships are sort of... rare in fiction, and horribly underrated. People mostly go for the "easy" way to deal with a close relationship, which is romance. It's harder to write a very close friendship, or a good sibling relationship.

I've always had a soft spot for family bonds, though, and patchwork families are one of the surest ways to make me wibble - a family relationship is part of your identity, something that defines a part of who you are. To have that close relationship with someone who isn't related to you at all means taking them into your identity in a different, and often more permanent, way than you would take in a lover. It means saying, "I love you enough to identify myself by my bond to you, I want this bond to exist even when I don't like you very much, or when you're far away, or when we don't talk for months or even years at a time; we can always count on one another when things are hardest, regardless of what else happens. Sexual desire doesn't enter into this, it is just you, as a person, that I want to make a part of my family."

This is not to knock romance. There is nothing "more" or "less" about either kind of love as opposed to the other. But... when I see a close platonic relationship between unrelated persons that rings "family" to me, it feels like introducing romance almost kind of... defiles it. Does that make sense? That they had this close love without sexual desire is an amazing and beautiful thing, and to suddenly introduce romance just kind of makes it... common. The display of affection is no longer singular and special and remarkable, it's just expected. Duh, they're lovers, of course they care about each other.

So I guess it's not specifically the incest angle, though I do think there'd be a dimension of psychological incest. It's mostly that I find it thematically upsetting when a very close family relationship, which has formed despite a lack of blood connection, is ignored and disregarded in favor of just another romance.

And I really do think Phoenix/Maya and Edgeworth/Franziska are an example of those kinds of family bonds. They both have interactions that would be creepy and unhealthy in a romantic relationship, but are beautiful and touching when the relationship is platonic. (Take the airport scene, for instance. If he's in love with her, that's CREEPY. If he loves her as a sister, it's deeply moving. To say nothing about how Phoenix snarks at and about Maya all the damn time, which would be terribly unhealthy if it was romantic but is almost a textbook example of how an elder brother treats his beloved little sister - he can bitch and snark and gripe, but if you dare to hurt her, you're dead where you stand.)

Edgeworth/Franziska I can understand as being somewhat psuedo incestuous, however Phoenix/Maya, I cannot. I wouldn't see anything wrong either way if there relationship was romantic or platonic, If the latter was the case, I'd just stick Phoenix with Franny if I didn't already pair her with Adrian

Then again, when has being incestuous ever stopped a pairing *cough*Garyuucest*cough*

Since this isn't pairing debate, I'll also shut up.

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I ship pretty much everything, exccept for incestuous pairings, Phoenix/Maya and Edgeworth/Franziska, because I see them as siblings too.

Don't kill me. ;_;

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Damn, I was just jokingly implying that I think incest is cool, you didn't have to write me an essay. :P

I think it's becoming a pairing debate... XD

See, I'm odd - I can occasionally get behind a well-written incest pairing when that's the point - Kyouya and Kirihito are blood brothers, there's no getting around it, the incest will, if the writer has any idea what they're doing, be addressed as part of the pairing.

It's when a family bond exists DESPITE the lack of blood that it really bothers me to turn it romantic. If a lack of blood relation didn't stop these two from seeing each other as siblings, then why on earth would they see each other as romantic prospects?

And I really do think they see each other as siblings. I grew up with an older sister, and while the fact that she was my sister as opposed to my brother would influence the way we interacted... she still acted towards me a lot like Phoenix does towards Maya. She of course complained about how annoying I was and got sick of me sometimes, but she always looked out for me all the same, and there's no doubt in my mind that she loved and loves me. And I see a lot of that in Phoenix and Maya's relationship. I mean, there's lots of love, but no tension.


In the general sense, I don't find anything wrong with romance as opposed to family. I love me some romance. But when it comes to specifics, there are characters that I just don't believe can work as a romantic relationship, and I'm afraid Phoenix/Maya is one of them. Which is honestly fine with me, because if they were romantic I'd probably find them boring. As a set of siblings, however, they're adorable and fabulous and I want them to be a happy dorky family foreeeeever. I just think it's far truer to them as characters, and far more powerful.

plus if they were romantic I'd think it was pretty boring to have yet another main guy/main girl pairing, but that's hardly my biggest point against them

...plus Larry/Maya is sort of my crack OTP

neither of these two points are to be taken seriously as argument XD



Ahahahahaa. Sorry. XD; It was sort of kneejerk before I realized you were joking. My apologies.



.... friend ;_;

However, becoming a pairing debate is not the direction we want this topic to go in. This is "Which combination do you like best", not "what pairing you hate."

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That is true. Okay. I'll muzzle the debating instinct, at least for this thread.

I like Maya/Phoenix but I do understand where you're coming from. Either way, I love their relationship in the game. Anyway, I prefer Maya with Edgeworth.. although I don't have much to go on as far as 'shipping is concerned.

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I like these ones the most.

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/ME (hey a fangirl can dream can't she? *giggles*)

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I understand where you're coming from Lyssie.
I love Phoenix/Maya though.

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I don't really pair anyone simply because I'm not really into that kind of thing. I do like canon pairings though, like Ron/Desiree. (they're cute~)

I would like Phoenix/Maya, if I had to choose, but the age difference worries me a bit...o_O; though my grandma and grandpa are five years apart XD

I can also see Friska/Adrian as entirely possible, but I don't really ship it or anything. I just see it as one of the more believable pairings.

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/ . They'd be so sweet together. Plus, it's hinted a bit. Don't know if Capcom will go through with it in any future games, but it seems unlikely.

Edgeworth- Franzisca
Although I still playes the first one, when I saw their pictures ,I saw some kind of simmilarities between them

Edgeworth- Von Karma
simple reason: extreme killer proesecutor XD

I'm big on x , however semi-incestous everyone says it is. They're not really siblings, and I went into the game wondering why she was trying to get revenge for something she couldn't change (ie: Manfred's death), when it occured to me that she might be keen on Edgy. I can't prove the pairing, but I do like it, so that's why.

I also like x but I think that's because in my imagination they're just so damn cute together!

Edgeworth came to the VK house when Fran was 2.

They're siblings.

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I know that there's a strong argument for them as they are theoretically siblings. But (and this is just a personal thing) I sort of had them as a couple in my head before I knew about the sibling relationship and it stuck. Like I said, I can't prove that she has a romantic interest in him, or vice versa. I just like them as a couple.

There's nothing theoretical about it. Franziska calls Miles her brother.

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In the game:
/
They are rivals, but also are friends. Phoenix is a Attorney because he really want to find edgeworth, and save him for his past

In UA:
/
Its obvious my favourite character is Franny. I put they together before i know they are siblings. And now, I can't think about Franny with another person. (yep, I hate / shipper. I can't see Franny like a lesbian...)

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/ - They're married, and they're cute. Good enough for me.

/ - I've tried not to spoil myself too much with TnT, but I like this pairing much.

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/ Any woman except for Young Mia (she's MINE!) is very hot. Franziska is the worlds sexiest lesbian.

/anyone

Aaaand my newest crack pairing, as of last night: / ...Waiwaiwait! Dont laugh at me! Here's the story...I was playing Case 5 Day 2 and Jake mentioned that he caught Gumshoe in a lasso, and I was like...hmmm...bow chika bow wow! Smexy, no?

*shot*

the obvious
/ Machine pairing
/ Pets now on 2 for 1
Ouch
Only one of thes was meant to be serious.......
but which one

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/ FTW (even though I like them as "friends" as well..)

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