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This is a commission of Mila and Garak for lemonsweetie. The way you can see Garak beaming when he was around his mother and in his old home was definitely one of my favorite Garak moments.
azalawa-scroggs
tinsnip
Okay do we actually know anything about how the Von karma living situation works?
Like… house in Germany, house in us? Half the year in each place? Did miles move back permanently to go to university or was he educated in Germany & then cross trained to practice in the us?
This is the question for real I’ve been trying to figure that out, myself. Cause MvK works in the US/Japanifornia (I really like the compromise of Japanifornia for the location of the games, even though it’s officially the US) for sure right? Otherwise he wouldn’t have come across Gregory.
All we know tying the von Karma family to Germany, as far as I recall, is that Franziska “gave up a promising career” there. The anime, I believe, shows them living in a luxurious mansion in the same city as Phoenix and Larry, although in a completely different neighbourhood. (Close enough to get to Miles’s old house by foot, though, although that took him a while.)
So I have no idea whatever the fuck is going on. I think it’s very Romantic to have Miles and Franziska grow up in a big German manor but it doesn't necessarily make a huge ton of sense. Considering the choice the localisation team made for the names though, I think it makes sense for the von Karmas to have German origins but that's about it.
At the end of the day I think it makes the most sense if they grow up in the US/Japanifornia, and Franziska goes study in Germany at some point (before turning 10, most probably) to become a prosecutor there. Another option is the both of them growing up in Germany while Manfred works in the US, with him only visiting from time to time (listen I would never make transatlantic weekends trips myself but 1. you know this guy has a private jet. Miles can charter a private jet with ease he probably can too 2. he’s just crazy enough to do that. It’s on-par with the Ace Attorney brand of practicality). Miles joined him there when he was about to start his own prosecuting career. This scenario makes Franziska’s comments about Miles “leaving her behind” more literal and making more sense, imo, although it’s less practical. It also gives Miles a tie to Europe that would certainly make his little gap year there make more sense too imo.
Idk honestly I’m still thinking it over too but those are my thoughts ^^
Ok I like that. I like the idea of Manfred being like, children should grow and be educated in Germany, as I was. They will have a perfect childhood. Having a parent there is not required.
Franziska being left physically is non-negotiable.
Now I want to dig into how he chose who he would mentor. They both launched at the same time, after all: Miles and Fran have a 7 year age difference, so when he was 20 and she was 13 they both started practicing. How was she educated? Not in the US. Why separate them? Because Manfred is a bastard? We know that. Does he support something more traditional for his biological child and something more experimental for his adopted pet project? When exactly did he decide Miles was going to flame out publicly?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Can I offer a last headcanon for your perusal? I shut up after that I promise ^^
They both grow up in Germany, Manfred coming from time to time, like a weekend a month or something in his private jet. At first he spent that time taking the kids on outings and asking about their grades, but when Miles was like, idk, 13-15 or something, Manfred asked him if he knew what he wanted to work as and he was like I wanna be a prosecutor. So Manfred went like all right. Let’s make you a perfect prosecutor. Instead of taking you and your sister to the museum and the theatre, we’re gonna have legal seminars as family bonding, you and I.
6-8 yo Franziska, obviously, became jealous. Her beloved father already wasn’t home much but now she’s going to see him even less! Well, no matter for little Franziska (I’m sure the vK mansion have servants and she’s driving all of them up the wall out of sheer stubbornness because this is Franziska). She’s just gonna have to follow the law classes with Miles. Manfred tries to discourage her but she will. Not. Budge. So he says okay. You’re allowed in there, but only if you keep up and don’t disturb your brother’s learning. (which is kind of an insane thing to tell a preteen but perfection doesn’t wait on age, now does it!)
And that’s how Franziska said “bet. I’m smarter than him and I’m gonna prove it” and studied so hard she took the bar at 13 years old. After many, many tears and late nights and tantrums, of course.
(Miles left for the US because that’s his home country. Franziska remained in Germany because in the AA world, Germany apparently has laxer laws on child labour than the US, if Phoenix’s reaction to hearing Franziska’s been prosecuting since she was 13 is anything to go by)
1st) condoned. I like it.
2nd) never shut up. Talk more.
3rd) I can now see a third terrible possibility: that when Fran and Miles had each other, they could compare data and realize what a shitty parent MVK really was. Perhaps even stand up to him. And that had to get shut down immediately. Siblings having each others’ backs? Not in the VK household. Which makes it even more dangerous/difficult for Fran to let her guard down and trust Miles as an adult - she’s expecting to get punished for it.
Trauma fun~~~
1) :D
2) <;3 you have no idea what you’re asking for
3) Ahhhhh D’‘‘: This is very depressing, poor Fran and Miles! Would that be the point when he decides to bring Miles with him to the US?
Yet another thought, building on the “shutting down when they have each other’s backs” stuff - maybe at some point Miles sees Franziska struggle and offers to help her. And she’s like, 6 so she’s not as proud - or rather, she is exactly as proud but she is more liable to let him turn it around so it feels like she is taking advantage of him rather than him taking pity on her. But Manfred finds out and tries to put a stop to it, because “you should focus on your own studies - you’re just wasting your time and hers. I have no doubt she’ll get there when she grows older but for now she has her own classes.” I like to think Miles still tries to do it behind his back (what if he loses a couple more hours of sleep to catch up on his own work, he would only have nightmares otherwise anyway) but he has to be really low-key about it, and so the help becomes rarer anyway, which Franziska takes personally. It’s a betrayal to her, because while Miles and Manfred only see this as tutoring sessions, to Franziska she’s fighting for her place in the family. Which I think Miles recognises to an extent (but he has too much pressure on his head not to be able to do much about) but completely flies over Manfred’s head.
(I like to think they end up having some fun though. Franziska’s been pushed from a too young age - but I think she’s a very intelligent girl too who thrives on stimulation. So she catches up with Miles after a couple years or so, and by then the lessons become - well, difficult, exhausting, merciless because of the unending competition which Manfred naturally encourages, but also very thrilling. Miles can’t wave the white flag when he’s at the end of his rope without Franziska taking it like a dismissal, but otherwise, yeah.)
you said to talk more so I did you only have yourself to blame :P