[Character Application]

[iwhipthefool]

Series: Phoenix Wright (Gyakuten Saiban)
Series' Medium: A series of video games for Nintendo DS (originally for the Game Boy Advanced).

Character you're applying for: Franziska von Karma
Character's role in their canon: After Miles Edgeworth “disappears” before the start of the second game (Phoenix Wright: Justice for All), Franziska steps in on the prosecutor’s side to take his place and defeat Phoenix Wright. Although she occasionally helps our neighborhood attorney at law, she’s mostly an antagonist throughout the series.

Character's age: 19.
Character's gender: Female
Character’s “Real Name”: Wilhelmina von Richter

How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?: I haven’t played her at all.

Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?: I’ve been roleplaying at Damned for two years now. I also play over at Sieben and a few other places (dressing rooms, fountainofcod, etc.).

Have you played the game/watched the movie or anime/read the book or comic, etc. that your character hails from?: I’ve played the first three Phoenix Wright games, but the second and third are the only ones where Franziska appears. She appears primarily in Justice for All (game 2) and comes to help Miles Edgeworth (and inadvertantly, Phoenix Wright) in the final case of Trials and Tribulations (game 3).



Please give us a detailed personal history of your character:
Franziska von Karma was born in 1999 as the youngest daughter of legendary American prosecutor Manfred von Karma. She has one older sister who also has a daughter, but we never learn more than that about her blood-family in game. She was raised in Germany and, as such, sometimes misses the meaning of American sayings or practices, but otherwise has perfect English. The reason for this is likely Manfred von Karma’s strict rules regarding perfection in everything and at all costs. Franziska had no choice but to follow in his footsteps, becoming a prosecutor at the early age of 13. Manfred would do anything to ensure a perfect win record, including tampering with evidence, covering up evidence, forgeries, leading the witnesses, etc. For Franziska, this became her model for life and for work.

However, before all that was to come, a certain someone by the name of Miles Edgeworth came into her life when she was two years old. Manfred had just suffered his first penalty at court at the hands of Edgeworth’s father and, after the DL-9 Incident went on “vacation” to cure the wound in his shoulder. Franziska was only a child, but since Edgeworth was adopted into the Von Karma family after her, she began referring to him as her “little brother.”

Both Edgeworth and Franziska studied under Manfred’s strict guidance, but it was Edgeworth who was taken to America to follow in his footsteps. Franziska never really forgave her father or her little brother for abandoning her in Germany, and she strove to be the best to ensure a day when she could face them in America again. Thus, she became a prosecutor and, like her father, began building a perfect win record by any means necessary. Her perfection, ruthlessness and genius at such a young age earned her the title of “Prodigy,” a title she took much pride in as it meant living up to the expectations of the Von Karma name.

Franziska makes her first appearance in Justice For All, Episode 2, Reunion and Turnabout. She is the one to take over for the mysteriously missing Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. Her first court appearance is as the prosecutor in State vs Maya Fey, for the murder of Dr. Turner Grey, a surgeon accused of malpractice one year prior, and then killed at Kurain Village during a channeling of his nurse’s spirit. She hopes for a quick victory and states that she left her prosecuting career in Germany in order to exact revenge on Phoenix Wright. She says that she will have the defense changing their plea from “not guilty” to “justified self-defense” in less than ten minutes and nearly delivers, except for the fact that Phoenix is doggedly determined to save Maya. Throughout the trial, Franziska whips anyone who goes off on a tangent, wastes time, or interrupts her. She also does her research ahead of time, having read up on the Kurain Channeling Technique and the unique ability of the mediums to change their appearance during a channeling, all in order to have a perfect win record like her father.

And, like her father, she uses underhanded techniques to sway the verdict in her favor. For example, she shows a photograph taken illegally of a detention center visit between Maya Fey and Phoenix Wright in order to establish that Maya Fey physically changes into the deceased when channeling a spirit. Although such a photo cannot be submitted as evidence without facing penalties and criminal charges, Franziska skates by on the technicality that she never submitted the photo as evidence. She merely wanted to show it to the court in order to burn the image into the Judge’s mind, thereby ensuring that all testimony and evidence showing “someone else” in relation to the case is thrown into doubt.

To Franziska, the win is everything and she constantly reminds Phoenix about that during the trial. When it looks like the case is about to draw to a close, she proudly mocks Phoenix by saying she looks forward to the news that night since it would show the world Phoenix’s defeat at the hands of a Von Karma. She’s more than willing to give Phoenix more chances to dig up the truth because she firmly believes her case is perfect and nothing he does could ever shatter her win.

Unfortunately, it’s Franziska who loses. Stunned at her loss, she declares the court a sham and whips everyone present. Phoenix takes the brunt of her fury though and is whipped to the ground after Franziska rants about how it isn’t possible that she failed because she is a Von Karma. She leaves the court room and it isn’t until half a year later in December when we meet her again.

In the third episode, Turnabout Big Top, Franziska appears again in the prosecutor’s chair to play antagonist to Phoenix in the case of State vs. Maximillian Galactica. She returns to the court saying that the prior case was nothing but a sham and she doesn’t count it as a real loss, or a real trial. She still carries a grudge, however, at having lost to Phoenix, even if she doesn’t count that case as legitimate. In the third episode, the trial focuses on the murder of Berry Big Circus owner, Russell Berry. Maximillian Galactica is accused of the murder due to circumstantial evidence – the lack of footprints and a supposed eyewitness account putting Max at the scene.

The first day in court has Ben the ventriloquist and Moe the clown testifying, but ends without a verdict and Phoenix and Maya go off to continue investigating. While at the Berry Big Circus, they run into Gumshoe and Franziska who are also conducting their own investigations. It’s then that we realize that Franziska’s ‘revenge’ is not only for besmirching the Von Karma name and for her father’s loss, but also because Phoenix supposedly killed Miles Edgeworth by ‘destroying his reputation,’ causing him to slowly lose his drive and disappear. She blames Phoenix for the loss of her family and for the disgrace visited upon the Von Karma name at his hands. Since Miles was trained by Manfred von Karma, Franziska saw him as a little brother and the thought of meeting him again drives her to best him by beating Phoenix in court. We also learn that she has planted a tracking device on Gumshoe to keep tabs on him at all times. It beeps when she gets close to him – an important thing to remember for the fourth and final case of JFA.

The trial resumes and, in the end, the injured acrobat, Acro, is revealed as the true murderer. Once again, Franziska loses to Phoenix and in the worst way possible. Franziska had ordered a surprise search of Acro’s room at one point and that lead Acro to hide the murder weapon – a bust of Max Galactica – under his chair. The murder weapon was missing the entire trial, but it is revealed at court – and Acro accredits Franziska and Phoenix’s “teamwork” in catching him in his guilt. Being told that she helped Phoenix’s case was a major blow to Franziska’s pride and, even worse, she knew it was her own fault. She once again fails to beat Phoenix Wright and takes a major blow in court, calling herself an idiot at having lost again.

The fourth and final case of JFA is Farewell, My Turnabout. Actor Juan Corrida is murdered at the Hero of Heroes award ceremony and Matt Engarde is arrested on suspicion of murder. Worse, Maya goes missing and it’s revealed that Matt isn’t the murderer – an assassin by the name of Shelly de Killer is! De Killer is holding Maya hostage in exchange for Matt’s acquittal and Phoenix has to save her. Franziska is again the prosecutor in this case and this time, it seems like her case is airtight. The murder weapon has Matt’s fingerprints on it, people place him at the scene (or rather, the Steel Samurai, his character) and he has motive. Franziska meets with Adrian Andrews, Matt Engarde’s manager, and takes advantage of her dependent personality in order to coach her on what to say in court. Adrian also has a motive for killing Juan Corrida – the suicide of his old manager and Adrian’s mentor, Celeste Inpax. Wanting to cover that loose end up, Franziska tried to keep that inconvenient fact from coming to light.

However, on day three when the trial is about to start, Phoenix gets a call from de Killer and learns he’s to receive a present. Said present is Franziska von Karma not making her court date. On the way to the trial, she was shot in the right shoulder and was taken to the emergency room. Luckily enough (or not so lucky for Franziska), Miles Edgeworth appears to take her place. For most of the final case, Franziska is absent – both because she is in surgery for the bullet in her shoulder and because she is forced to recover from her injury.

Through the trial, it is revealed that Matt Engarde really is guilty – and so is Adrian to a lesser extent. Matt hired Shelly de Killer to eliminate Juan Corrida before he could reveal incriminating information on him that would destroy his ‘refreshing’ image – and reveal that he was really a two-faced creep. Adrian tried to pin the crime on Matt, knowing that he had to be the one to have killed Juan. However, there is not enough evidence to convict him or prove his guilt and it looks like the trial is going to end on an acquittal – good for Maya, but bad for Justice.

Gumshoe calls in to say he has new evidence that might help the case and asks Phoenix and Edgeworth to stall for time, which they do. Unfortunately, in his rush to get to the court, Gumshoe gets into an accident and the evidence goes AWOL. At what seems the last possible second, Franziska suddenly bursts into the courtroom, carrying a ragged and familiar trenchcoat – and presents three pieces of evidence: a pistol (assumedly used to shoot her), a video tape, and a bellboy uniform (used by de Killer when he went incognito to kill Juan). Even though she’s not behind the bench as a prosecutor, her desire to see Matt go down (and, by association, Phoenix) drives her to bring the evidence to court. None of it can prove that Matt is the killer, but using the video tape which Matt tried to use to blackmail de Killer (thereby violating one of the assassin’s ultimate tennants), Phoenix is able to get Matt to confess to having hired an assassin and, for once, Phoenix loses.

Despite that, he’s happy since the guilty party when to jail and Maya is returned safe and sound. Franziska cannot fathom this. She doesn’t understand how anyone could be happy about losing a case because she’s strived for victory her entire life. Edgeworth tries to explain it to her, but she blocks him out and throws it back in his face. She says that he’s no longer worthy of being called a Von Karma – and then declares that she isn’t either. At a loss as to what to do, she throws her whip down and storms out of the lobby, ready to return to Germany and live in shame.

Edgeworth, however, follows her to the airport using the tracking device she had planted in Gumshoe’s coat. Since she had ‘accidentally’ taken the coat back with her in her luggage, Edgeworth was able to follow her trail. He then reveals that Gumshoe had taken four pieces of evidence, not three – but Franziska hides the fourth piece and doesn’t show it to him. In talking to Edgeworth, we learn a lot about Franziska. She had grown up with so many expectations around her, her father’s pride and the burden of upholding his honor, and the weight of the Von Karma name. She admits that she is no genius like her father though and had put on the cold front because she didn’t want anyone else to know. She also reveals that she hated Miles, probably because her father chose him over her, and because he left her behind to go to America. She wanted to defeat Phoenix to one up him, but failed.

Edgeworth says Franziska has finally caught up to him because she chased him all this way as a prosecutor, but also threatens that if she gives up like she says she wants to, that he’ll leave her behind again. He won’t stop being a prosecutor, so she can’t either. Franziska bursts into tears and says that one day she’ll defeat him so she isn’t walking behind him forever. Getting on the plane, she leaves for Germany and takes the fourth piece of evidence with her – so she can give it to Phoenix again whenever they meet. Franziska is actually quite a sentimental person as revealed by that last piece of evidence – de Killer’s card redrawn by Maya to look like Phoenix.

The next time we see Franziska is in the final case of Trials and Tribulations, Bridge to the Turnabout. Picturebook author Elise Deaunixim is murdered and Phoenix takes a nasty dive off a burning Dusky Bridge in an attempt to get to Maya who was locked into a cavern on the other side, leaving Miles Edgeworth to take the defense attorney’s bench. The one who stands accused is a young acolyte by the name of Iris. In order to keep his identity as a prosecutor a secret, he arranges the trial with a different judge and calls in Franziska to act as prosecutor. She flies in from Germany thinking she’ll get to battle against Phoenix again, but decides to help Edgeworth since it’s likely the only chance she’ll ever get to rub his face in the dirt in defeat. Of course, she doesn’t defeat Edgeworth, but helps him keep the trial alive instead. She doesn’t seem to mind that much, however.

When the trial reaches the close of its first day and the judge asks for more investigation, Franziska goes to do just that. Phoenix Wright, however, recovers and heads the investigation from then on out. Franziska tags along with him, helping him uncover clues at Hazakura Temple. She meets Godot there on the other side of Dusky Bridge in the Sacred Cavern and earns a certain distaste for him. Not only does he take the case from her as the real lead prosecutor, but he gives her nicknames and puts her down – something she’s not used to at all. Franziska follows after Phoenix for most of the investigation at Hazakura Temple, but remains behind in the Sacred Cavern to help undo the locks on the cavern door – locks that were supposedly holding Maya hostage. She continues to work on the locks well into the trial, arriving after the truth has been revealed that the Iris who had been testifying that day was actually Maya channeling the vengeful spirit of Iris’ twin sister, Dahlia Hawthorne. Dahlia was channeled by Elise (who was really Maya’s mother, Misty Fey – head of the Kurain Channeling Technique) and then Dahlia’s spirit tried to kill Maya, and someone stopped her by killing her vessel. Dahlia was then channeled by Maya Fey in order to protect herself from Dahlia’s murderous spirit. Franziska misses most of this, however, and arrives in court with the real Iris who testifies to the truth.

The truth is that Iris, Misty Fey and Prosecutor Godot worked together from the very beginning to protect Maya from a complicated murder plot (Dahlia Hawthorne and Morgan Fey, Maya’s aunt, were responsible). Misty Fey channeled Dahlia’s spirit so Pearl Fey couldn’t and then was killed in order to protect Maya. Iris was an accessory to the crime in that she helped move the victim’s body and Godot was the perpetrator of the murder. Franziska only serves as a witness to the trial at this point, however, and no longer takes an active role in any of the ongoings. At the end of the game, she goes out to celebrate with everyone (assumedly) once they find Pearl Fey, Maya’s cousin, at Hazakura Temple. Although the game doesn’t state it, I assume that she returns to her career in Germany once the game is over; after stopping off to see Adrian Andrews and teach her how to use a whip.



Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Franziska is a perfectionist. In everything and anything she does, she needs to be first and she needs to be perfect. She has a lot of pride because she is a Von Karma and because she’s had to prove herself from a very young age, and has succeeded for the most part. Because of this, she has a superiority complex, but also gets flustered or easily angered if things don’t go exactly as planned. That said; she usually plans pretty far in advance, researching and plotting out ways to keep the trial on the course she has set in her mind. She’s rather impatient and wishes to do things as quickly and efficiently as possible to get her another win on her record. When things don’t go as planned, rather than take it out on herself, though, she blames others and is quick to snap at them for their ‘mistakes’ in a most literal way.

Franziska carries a whip and uses it. Liberally. When she needs to make a point, wants to punish someone or remind them of her presence or greet them, she tends to let her whip do the talking. As someone who strives for perfection, she cannot stand incompetency or weakness and at the first sign of it, she’ll whip whoever is responsible. She’ll mercilessly beat Phoenix, Gumshoe, Larry or other witnesses, even going so far as to hit her own brother if he makes mistakes (example: Case 5 of T&T; if the player asks the wrong questions, apparently she whacks Edgeworth) and whipping him to break him out of his depression over losing Iris momentarily due to the earthquake. She wants perfection in her life, so she expects it of everyone else as well. Any hint of incompetence or wasting time (tangents, useless information, etc.) will be met with a whip and a sharp tongue. However, if she runs into someone who seems to be above her (take Godot for example), her frustration at not being the best comes out in whipping whatever unfortunate soul is nearby (usually Phoenix or Gumshoe).

Arrogant and prideful in court and in her private life, she’s usually very formal and calls everyone by their full names – save for Gumshoe who she calls Scruffy and, of course, her father. Her first language is German with English as her fluent second language. This may account for her formality, but it’s more likely that her personality and her father’s teachings are to blame. When annoyed or flustered, she’ll sometimes go into rants that pile insults on whoever annoyed her – usually with a heavy emphasis on her use of the word “fool.” However, it’s not that Franziska dislikes people, it’s more likely that she spent all her time learning law and prosecution and little to no time on learning the basics of social graces in order to measure up to her father. The pressure of everyone’s expectations robbed her of her childhood and of her ability to form normal relationships. Instead, she hangs onto things that are seemingly innocuous as ways of feeling closer to people – examples being the card Maya drew of Phoenix and Gumshoe’s ratty coat. She does, however, do quite well with mentor-student relationships as revealed with her continued correspondence with Adrian Andrews.

The subject of Manfred von Karma is a sore spot for her, having been found guilty and likely executed for his role in the DL-9 Incident that robbed Miles Edgeworth of his own father. Whatever the reason, Manfred von Karma is gone by the time she appears in Justice for All. She spent her life looking up to him, only to have him stolen from her before she ever saw him again. Worse than that, Phoenix Wright besmirched the name Von Karma by revealing Manfred as the killer in the DL-9 Incident, and caused Edgeworth to lose his drive for perfection which nullifies his claim on being part of the Von Karma legacy – effectively robbing her of her family.

Motivated primarily by the desire for revenge for the mud slung on the Von Karma name, she also wants to crush the man who crushed her little brother; thereby gaining a win on him because he left her behind. Franziska is still young and because of that, she has a certain amount of dependency that she tries very hard to hide. She depended on her father for guidance, and on Miles as an adversary. She is also extremely perceptive of her own shortcomings and of the pressure that people place on her as the heir to the legendary prosecutor. She recognizes that she isn’t a “genius” like her father, which explains why she tries so hard to put up a cold and condescending front. If people got too close, they might realize that she is only a little girl, walking in her daddy’s footsteps. In losing to Phoenix, she nearly loses herself, and while Edgeworth encourages her to find a different path toward justice, Franziska sticks firmly to the path her father laid out for her. When we see her in Trials and Tribulations, she still cares mainly about her win record, although she has mellowed a little bit in regards to bringing the truth to light.

While she rarely has a kind word to spare for anyone, she seems to have a soft spot for women and children – people who are generally dependent on others. Even though she first spoke to Adrian Andrews (Justice for All) to manipulate her as a witness, she later visits her again after the finale of Trials and Tribulations in order to teach her how to use a whip and check up on her. She also writes Adrian a letter telling her that she can come to Franziska for advice whenever she needs it. Franziska is also somewhat hurt when Pearl Fey dislikes her – shocked into silence rather than showing her usual scathing wit. Expecting to be seen as a strong figure, she instead is berated for being mean to Maya and sulks off the pain rather than bite back at what she cannot truthfully deny. Also, she cares deeply for her little brother, Miles Edgeworth, crying when he comes to see her at the airport and gives her back her whip. She promises that she’ll keep trying so that one day she can crush him and Phoenix Wright, which is as close as a Von Karma probably comes to saying they care.



Please give us a detailed physical description of your character:
Standing at 162 centimeters tall (or about 5’3), Franziska has short, chin-length bluish hair with slight bangs over her forehead. She has a mole beneath her left eye on her cheek and her eyes match her hair – an almost icy blue color. She usually wears a short skirt beneath a vest and a white puffy-sleeved blouse (demonstrating the same flair of style as Miles and Manfred with the frills around her neck). She also wears dark pantyhose and high heeled ankle boots, along with earrings that match the color of the gems that adorn the buttons on her outfit. Her greatest accessory, however, is the leather whip she carries in her left hand. She’s most likely left handed in everything she does.



What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's?: After the finish of game 3, Trials and Tribulations, when she’s somewhat warmed up to people, but still has that “I’m going to CRUSH YOU” attitude.

What kinds of magical/special/crazy powers does your character have, if any?: Not really.

If present, how do you plan to tweak those powers to make him/her appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?: N/A.

Does your character have any other non-magical skills or abilities that we should know about?: A near-genius prosecutor and probably pretty charming/scary when she wants to be in order to extract information out of people. She probably goes the scary route more often than not. She also knows how to wield a whip and doesn’t seem to care too much about pain, since she shows up in court the day after getting shot in the shoulder. Her greatest weapon is likely her intelligence though, which gives her a good memory and a good mind for conniving ways to win a trial.

How about improbable appendages?: HER WHIP.

Please give us an idea of where you'd like to take your character within the scope of the Landel's Damned RP: She fully expects to be able to whip the patient population into shape and give Dr. Landel a piece of her mind and a sharp crack to the face. She’ll also be looking for people she knows, probably trying to bother Miles Edgeworth and force Gumshoe to work for her again. She’ll be into investigating the Institute to bring it to justice for the wrongs it has piled upon the patient body, but she’ll probably get distracted quite a bit by the people she’ll meet – like Edgeworth, Phoenix, Godot, etc. Her main objective will be to collect evidence and find clues to the guilt of Martin Landel, and then she’ll want to escape in order to bring him down. And while she’s at it, she’ll likely try to make Phoenix Wright’s life a living hell just because she can and she thinks he deserves it.

What kind of psychological effect do you see Landel's Institute having on your character?: Being incarcerated wouldn’t sit well with her. She won’t understand why anyone would think she’s crazy and will be working hard to show the nurses the errors of their ways. That and every day she’s locked up is another when she’s not in court, so she’ll be slightly neurotic about protecting her win record while she’s trying to get out.

Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?: Franziska is amazingly strong despite her age, and she’s very logical as well as aggressive (in a way). Rather than run from what scares her, she’s more likely to snap out at it and try to beat it into submission. Also, since there are people already in the game that she knows, she’d be a bit more stable than if she were by herself. Given time, she’d adjust since she’s seen some pretty bad things as a prosecutor in court and in her investigations.



Third-Person Sample:
This just wasn’t happening. It simply wasn’t real and when she talked to the right people (who were they anyway? Someone should have briefed her by now and yet no one had come forward yet with the appropriate paperwork. The responsible party was going to pay – dearly – with a dock to their salary and a sharp pain in their hide) she was sure to be released and have this entire mess solved. Franziska von Karma simply did not belong in a mental institution. She did not belong to a mass of patients wearing the same drab grey uniform and she did not answer to the name Wilhelmina von Richter. It was an affront to her very nature to take any other name than Von Karma, a name she worked all her life to wear with pride, and the foul woman before her wearing pink was going to learn that very quickly. There was no way Franziska was following her into a cafeteria and she was most certainly not going to be seen mingling with the other patients. She had more important things to do, and it was time this woman realized that.

“You! State your name and occupation immediately!”

The nurse turned and sighed. “My name is Janice Bergman, and I’m your nurse, Wilhelmina. Please don’t bang your fist on the desk like that, you’ll bruise your han—“

“Silence! Janice Bergman, you have all of three seconds to correct this situation before I let my whip do the talking for me.” Once she found it. Where was it? That wasn’t like her to be ill-prepared. It was this woman’s fault though. It had to be her fault that Franziska von Karma, the Prosecution Prodigy, was without her whip and ill-prepared for whatever insane scenario that was at hand. Her and probably that attorney, Phoenix Wright. She had a court date in the morning and there was no way she’d allow for another missed trial. Being forced into the emergency room to remove the bullet was bad enough, but then when she had to have Miles Edgeworth be the one to take her place? To owe that man anything was a disgrace! Never again would she let anyone stand behind her bench. “Release me at once or suffer the consequences of holding a Von Karma prisoner! And my name isn’t Wilhelmina – it’s Franziska!”

Janice sighed again and shook her head. “This is exactly the sort of behavior you’re here to fix, Wilhelmina. You can’t just whip people and get your—OW!”

In that moment, Franziska realized that, in the absence of a whip, using the journal provided by this so-called Institute was just as effective. “Only a foolishly thick-headed fool would keep using such a foolish name despite being warned only a moment earlier! Now!” The journal was slammed onto the table and her free hand settled at her hip, the other held out in front of her like she was waiting for the keys of this prison to be placed on her palm along with a formal apology and a letter of resignation signed and dated by this Janice woman. “I dislike having to use force against you, Janice Bergman. It would be wise of you to release me or face the wrath of the prosecution’s office once they realize you’re holding me against my will.”

Instead, Franziska received a sharp scolding and the threat of a needle in the arm as two orderlies roughly picked her up and moved her through the halls and toward the cafeteria. No matter. She just had to get to someone who actually knew was what going on and could correct this woman’s terrible mistakes. Then she would taste the harsh bite of reality and learn not to belittle a Von Karma ever again.

First-Person Sample:
Scruffy: 14
Janice Bergman: 15
Yamada Hanatarou: 17
Lugnut: 21
Badou Nails: 12
Phoenix Wright: 53

Once my whip has been located, the above will receive the ascribed number of whippings to make up for the time in which I was incapable of dealing out the appropriate punishments.

Prepare yourself, Phoenix Wright.