Hiya!
So, as noted in the description, this was written for the Fame, Music & Magic zine! Since we never meet Jove in-game, this fic was definitely a challenge to writer, but in the end, I'm really happy with how it turned out.
Thank you to all the mods who made this zine possible. It was a blast to work on this and a treat to see all the amazing work everyone did.
And without further ado, onto the fic!
Do you remember Jangly Justice?
For some, this name will conjure up the image of a man who charmed everyone he performed for, with his acoustic guitar and a booming voice as strong as brass.
It may also remind them of a mystery. The mystery of a musician who suddenly disappeared.
In 2005, Jove "Jangly" Justice vanished. He held no more performances, and no one knew where he'd gone. Some thought he'd run away from fame. Many others assumed he'd spontaneously retired. A rare few were convinced he'd found himself a lover and was whisked away to parts unknown, guided by nothing except youthful love.
Now, over 20 years later, we've discovered the truth. Justice, who once enchanted the world with his voice, had been killed in the country of Khura'in.
Though the revelation of Justice's murder has sparked a newfound interest in the musician, it has also sparked intrigue. For you see, this reporter has uncovered a second mystery about Justice: letters between Justice… and his anonymous lover.
In this exclusive article, we reveal to you some of the late Justice's letters, as we investigate his mysterious paramour. Who was she? Where did she go? And how are the two of them related to a pointy-haired defense attorney in the Kingdom of Khura'in?
Through an independent music album, Jangly Justice produced five EPs and two studio albums in the early 2000s. Due to modern advances in music preservation, and the efforts of a few passionate fans, nearly all of his songs have survived to today.
According to other musicians who knew him at the time, Justice was also a prolific letter writer. And yet, only three of his letters have ever been found, tucked away in a storage box in Khura'in.
The box which contained the letters was labeled only as 'Arson materials, 2000-2010'. For investigators of the crime, this would have made sense, as Justice died during an arson attack. Moreover, the Khuainese justice system was left in disarray for years, leading to many stacks of evidence being strangely labeled or misplaced altogether. It was immensely difficult for lawyers in the country to source old evidence, and even more so for investigators from foreign countries.
As such, the love letters were only unearthed decades after Justice's death. In an attempt to identify Justice in a recent murder trial, the authorities analyzed what little they could find of his correspondence; all of his other letters were consumed by the fire that took his life. Considering Khura'in's volatile justice system, it's a miracle any letters were preserved at all.
Attorney Apollo Justice, an American lawyer, was unaware of his parentage until a recent trial that started a legal revolution in Khura'in. Thanks, in part, to these remaining letters, Justice now knows the truth: he is the son of Jove Justice himself. The attorney remarks that he is now in, "a weird spot where I know he's my dad, but feel guilty because I can't remember anything about him being my dad."
As Attorney Justice is now a defense attorney in the Kingdom, he allowed us access to the letters.
This is the first one.
My siren,
Can you believe it's been four years since we met? Four years since I gazed upon you, heard the chime of your voice, and felt your eyes lock with mine? I can't. Imagining it all feels like a dream. And yet, when I hold you, that dream becomes even sweeter.
I still remember that day. You, only fifteen, and I a year older. There are so many moments of my life I should regret, but meeting you could never be one of them! The only regret I hold is that last conversation we had with your father. Perhaps if I had found the right words, found the right phrase, I could have persuaded him to bless us. Had I done so, perhaps he would have blessed the child you now hold in your belly. Perhaps you would not have had to run away from your home when you were only sixteen.
My love, I write this letter as a vow to you. When the time is right, when you are ready and our child is born, I'll meet your father again! I'll say the right words to show him how much I adore you. I'll find the right phrase to help him understand. And I'll summon all the power in my lungs to tell him you are the most wonderful woman I have ever met.
I shall meet you at 8pm at the blossoming tree. I have a gift I can't wait for you to see.
Happy anniversary, my love. May we have many more anniversaries to come.
Forever yours,
J.
Fans of Justice used to say that his true love was his music. If this letter proves anything, it is that he was just as passionate about his mysterious muse.
Justice's music was powerful, filled with striking vocals and heartfelt lyrics. One could almost imagine him turning this letter into a song. The prose is so vibrant and loving, it almost feels like he's confessing his love for his lady muse on paper.
Still, this poses the question: did his "siren" love him back?
This is the second letter found in Justice's possession, and it is the only one not written by Justice himself.
My dear. My star,
I'm writing this as you sleep. The baby's kicking, but I don't wish to wake you. You were up until late writing, and you have another performance tomorrow. I know you said to wake you, but I wanted this moment to myself. To see you resting and to feel our son itching to come out into the world.
When you are sleeping, you are still. It is so different from how you are when you're awake. When you're not writing, you're humming a tune, and when you're not singing, you're composing a melody. When you speak, your voice fills the room. When you sing, your voice carries across the crowds. You are the star of the stage and the light of my heart. You have been from the day you called me your muse from the heavens.
Our child is due soon, and I wonder what features he will inherit from you. Mayhaps he will inherit your hair? Perhaps your eyes? And though I do love your voice, I hope he will not inherit that, or else I fear our baby's cries will wake entire streets.
But if there is one thing I hope he inherits most of all, it is your heart. For it is kind, and it has captured mine.
Sleep well, my love. May this letter make you smile come morning.
Forever yours,
Your siren
With letters like this, it's no wonder Justice composed so many heart-stopping ballads. If this letter is any indication, he and his muse were completely infatuated with each other!
Unfortunately, while pet names are well and good, they don't provide many clues to the singer's identity. While we do know that they met when they were teenagers, it seems that Justice and his siren preferred to focus mostly on the present. On the love they had for each other rather than the mysterious circumstance that distanced the siren from her disapproving father.
Reports of the time are similarly vague. Though many critics went to Justice's shows, the singer was reportedly very protective of his private life. There is the occasional mention of a female performer who would duet a song or two with him, but she never even gave a stage name. Perhaps this was to keep her as anonymous as possible. After all, the letters state her to be a teenage runaway, with a father who reportedly did not approve of her beau.
Legal records don't provide details, either. Though Justice was supposedly married, a marriage certificate has never been found, in America or Khura'in. Moreover, many Khurainese medical documents were lost in the upheaval that occurred at the time of Justice's death, so it is also impossible to recover Apollo Justice's birth certificate, which would have included his mother's name.
The nickname of "siren" is a clue, but only a few performers in the early 2000s had the word "siren" in their stage name. One potential paramour was the Siren of the Seas, Melodia McConnell. Alas, she was forty-years-old at the time and performing on a cruise ship in the Pacific when Justice was killed. Another theory was that the siren was from the all-female girl group, The Sirens of Canada. We reached out to them, and not only did we learn that most of the members were now married to each other, all of them confirmed that they had never even met Justice.
There are modern-day artists that use the name "siren", one of them being Lamiroir, a Borginian artist sometimes called "The Siren of the Ballad". But again, the facts don't add up. Justice once stated in an interview that his first trip outside America happened when he was eighteen, but his own letter states that he was still underage when he ran away with his lover, whom he must have met in the United States.
Other letters may have gone into further detail, but they have been lost to time and fire. All that remains is this third and final letter.
My dearest siren,
I used to think your voice was the most beautiful sound in the world. Your laughter, your melodies. It is still beautiful, but I have found a sound that is even sweeter.
The sound of you, my love, singing a lullaby to our son, and hearing him laugh in return, is the greatest thing I have ever heard.
I'm smiling at the memory of it. Though Apollo may have inherited my lungs (something which I do apologize for, as he woke our neighbors at 2 in the morning last week), I am certain he inherited your smile. How he grins and giggles when you sing to him. How he beams when you hold him close to your heart.
Our son is young, and he already loves you. He even loves it better when you sing to him. Yes, yes, I know what you'll say. That he laughs and smiles when I sing to him, too. But it's different with you. Your voice is so much sweeter than mine. Calmer, too. It's why he falls asleep faster when you sing him his lullabies.
I know he won't remember any of this, but I will. I'll remember even when he's all grown up and become a man of his own. I wonder what sort of person he'll be.
Ah, that's a question for the future. What's important is now, hearing you sing to our son and watching him fall asleep in your arms.
Thank you, my muse, for giving me the greatest gift of all. Thank you for giving me our son.
I shall see you after my show, and I hope you forgive me for hiding this letter next to Apollo's diapers. I wanted it to be a surprise.
Forever yours,
J.
We spoke to Attorney Justice in regards to his father and the recovered letters. He responded:
"It's… pretty shocking. I was raised by a man called Dhurke Sahdmadhi as a kid, so I never really thought about my birth father until that trial. But now, knowing who he was, and reading these letters… I think it's humbling. There was this guy I don't remember at all, and he's part of the reason I even exist. From the sound of these letters, he loved me. He loved me a lot.
"I may not remember his voice, but it isn't gone. A friend of mine back home sent me all of his CDs. Now I can hear his voice again. And, if we're being really cheesy… I guess his voice lives on in me."
We then asked Justice about who this "siren" could be.
"I have no idea!" he said with a laugh. "I mean, I just barely found out who my dad was, and that was in a murder trial! But… if my mom is out there, I hope she's doing okay. And she better have strong ears, because my Chords of Steel have only gotten louder!"
Even with the clues provided in the three surviving letters, the identity of Justice's muse is still unknown. We do not know who his love was. Who inspired him in his music, traveled with him, and, eventually, carried his child. But we do know that they shared a deep bond. A bond that was made ever stronger by their love of music, and their love for their son.
And though the mystery of Jangly Justice's disappearance has finally been solved, this is one mystery that still remains.