is this real life
since I’ve seen nobody in the notes bring it up: this isn’t a case of obliviousness to each other. in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
the original games take place in japan, so that will be the context any of the dialogue here is translated from. here they’re saying they have no plans to marry, almost in a reassuring way. seems odd right? especially wright’s line of no plans to, “even if I wanted to.”
money doesn’t seem to be a massive problem for wright even if he’s not massively affluent, and a marriage wouldn’t hinder his job. so even if he wanted to, why wouldn’t he?
the answer is simple and also incredibly sad. gay marriage isn’t legally recognized in japan. which means that to get married in japan means to marry a woman and have kids.
that’s the only option. you can figure out a way to justify this in the localization setting of japanifornia, but this was written first with the context of japan in mind.
now you could interpret this other ways like them just not wanting to marry due to dedication to work, but if they were truly dedicated to work then edgeworth wouldn’t constantly risk his career for wright. not to mention neither of them have shown interest in women in recent games, so wright’s statement about not planning even if he wanted to makes no sense in the context of just not needing marriage. why would he want to if he had nobody to marry?
and the way they say it as almost a reassurance–wright getting shocked at the thought edgeworth might want to marry and asking if he’s okay, edgeworth reassuring him it’s okay, he has no plans, asking wright in turn, him saying he won’t even if he wants to (implying that if he wanted to marry someone, he can’t), wright noting how edgeworth thinks of marrying A WOMAN specifically since that’s the only option, and the way they say it so dramatically like it’s a personal stake for both.
in the context of japan, they’re telling each other they’re not going to go off with some woman and marry her and have children. they’re saying they have no plans to leave where they are and start something else.
it’s a promise to each other that they won’t leave the other for a traditional, easier life.
it’s both romantic, and incredibly bittersweet when you peel back the subtext and remember they’re inquiring about the other having a traditional heterosexual marriage and both of them assuring each other that won’t happen.
