wright_idea | OOC NOTE: The Magatama

There's apparently been some confusion about the nature of the magatama. Therefore, I figured it might be helpful to detail the how and why of it here for those who are unfamiliar with Phoenix Wright canon. Note there might be a few spoilers here and there.

HOW HE GOT IT:

Phoenix is given the magatama, uncharged, by Maya in game 2, case 2, and told to take it to Pearl. When he does so, this establishes that he can be trusted, and Pearl informs him that it is a potent psychic tool when charged. However, it can only be charged by particularly talented members of the Fey family, and since Pearl counts, she charges it for him, and thus opens up the "Psyche-Locks" ability in the game.

WHAT ARE PSYCHE-LOCKS?

Psyche-Locks are symbolic representations of the degree to which someone wishes to keep a secret. The more locks seen, the more the person desires to keep a secret to him or herself. The appearance of these can be triggered via straight-out lies, but more often than not they're triggered simply because the person refuses to divulge the information. (i.e. "I don't know anything about that" versus "I don't think I want to talk to you about that.")

HOW ARE THEY BROKEN?

Psyche-Locks can only be broken by using the magatama to focus on them, and then presenting evidence that wears away at the person's ability to keep the secret. For example, if they claim they were in one place at the time something happened, and you have a plane ticket showing that they were in fact elsewhere, that may be sufficient enough to break a lock. It's not a guarantee, but it's possible. Presenting the wrong item, however, results in a psychic backlash that is quite painful for the user of the magatama.

In other words, you more or less have to know most of the details ALREADY before you can break the locks.

BUT I DON'T WANT TO HAVE MY CHARACTER'S SECRETS KNOWN!

There are ways around this, you know:
- Phoenix has to actively HAVE the magatama on hand. If he doesn't have it, he can't use it. (Please don't ask him to lose it or something. We know for a fact he's got it canonically in game 3, which he hasn't gone through yet, and game 4 as well -- which is a good seven years after the third. So it ain't happening.)
- The magatama only works when charged. If he's using it and you really don't want him to, LOL, the charge is down. WHOOPSIE.
- It's powerful psychically, but only by the standards of the Phoenix Wright universe, which besides the ESP is fairly mundane. Compared to other universes, it may be a mere psychic drop in the bucket. So if your character has really strong psychic powers, it could be sort of akin to using a needle on a tank.
- Phoenix has to actively be using it. So don't worry about secrets just suddenly being revealed as lies. I'll inform people when he is using it (unless, for some reason, you WANT your character caught.)
- The magatama only catches that you are holding something back. It doesn't catch what that something IS. It could just be as mundane as knowing the person and not wanting it known, for example.
- The magatama CAN ACTUALLY BE SIDESTEPPED if you answer your questions carefully. (eg. Did you kill him? No, I did not -- doesn't ping because you weren't the one actually holding the knife)
*NEW!* [AA5 UPDATE!] - Black locks. This is a concept introduced in Game 4, but only explained in Game 5. Black locks, as explained by Pearl, are apparently a completely different form of secret from red psyche-locks. Rather than a secret being held consciously by the person, a black psyche-lock is a secret so buried within the subconscious of the individual that they may not even be aware that they're keeping a secret to begin with. Said locks are not impossible to break, but are exceedingly dangerous to attempt; to do so risks causing permanent psychological and spiritual damage to the possessor of the locks. Obviously, this means that Phoenix will never figure out anything your character either doesn't remember themselves or isn't aware of; however, he will be aware that there is something pretty major in your past. Use these with care.

BUT PHOENIX IS STILL BEING SUSPICIOUS, YOU HO!

Phoenix doesn't blindly follow the magatama. (Anymore, anyway.) Ever since case 2-4, he's learned that while it's a valuable tool, it's not infallible. If he's suspicious, you probably did something -- or a string of somethings -- to set off his warning signals. Remember, this IS a man who makes a living off of catching people lying. If he sees a connection, he follows through, especially if you're not already his friend to begin with. (He's a little blinder towards companions.)

MY CHARACTER TOTALLY DIDN'T! YOU'RE JUST METAGAMING.

Then slap me upside the head. I'm not infallible either. >_> If it's an overwhelming problem, you can always chat with me on IRC; alternatively, since I'm on fairly regularly these days, you can reach me with the AIM name dragomorph or at my e-mail at bodgerkirin@hotmail.com. I respect requests to back off.