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Entry tags:
app.
OOC
Handle: Liah
Contact:
Over 18? 28
Characters Played: n/a
THE CHARACTER
Character Name: Athena Cykes
Series: Ace Attorney
Canon Point: Spirit of Justice: after the dlc case
Character Age: 19
Background: Wiki.
Personality:
The first thing someone notices when meeting Athena is that on the outside she seems to constantly wear a smile on her face. She definitely tries to keep positive, and even when things get her down she can pick herself up with a little help. She's decribed as someone cheerful and full of energy, and given how active she can be, this definitely rings true as well. This bubbly attitude isn't merely only for herself, but is kept up for the people around her. Athena thrives when she can support other people. After she's arrested in place of Solomon Starbuck for the murder of Clay Terran, she gives him a smile and tells him that he'll be able to go back into space now. She pushes back her own sadness for his sake.
She hasn't always been that way. During the course of the last seven years she struggled a lot with her own inner self. A dear friend of hers was put in prison for the murder of her mother - a crime he didn't commit - and Athena wasn't sure how to save him. When she met Phoenix that all changed. She learned that she can fight instead of constantly moping about it, and that's when she got serious with her determination to save her friend Simon Blackquill. She became a lawyer to try and help him, even passing the bar exam at the young age of 18. On top of studying to be a lawyer, she studied analytical psychology as it seemed as though it would be useful in court. It means that her life for those seven years was just hard work to help someone she cared about. Not many people would be able to work for that long without the end goal even in sight. For a long time, the future of saving her friend was difficult. That was because of "the dark age of the law" -- a time where defense lawyers were suspected of using fabricated evidence, and prosecutors filed false charges -- was impossible to gain the truth from a trial.
This goes in line with a lawyers duty to believe in their client to the bitter end - no matter what. Athena's faith in others she believes in is unshakable and it also comes in handy that she has a special ability to hear other people's hearts. She can hear their true feelings. Knowing that her client is innocent, she's willing to put in the extra energy and work to see that they're proven as such. With that in mind, she can be stubborn about things. There have been times where she's been backed into a corner and merely got through the experience through sheer force of will and luck. This is all the more important when it's a friend who is in trouble. She puts in double the effort for Juniper Woods, for example. Even when Apollo doubts her and indicts her on the charge of murdering his friend because he wants Phoenix to work out the truth behind it all, she forgives him and is touched that he wants their Boss to actually eradicate that doubt so he can believe in her again.
The only time she actually does close up on herself is when she isn't listened to in court. The courtroom was a traumatic experience for her as a child, so the entire motion of her studying to be a lawyer and defending clients shows her bravery and courage. Athena isn't one to back down even if something is hard for her - partly because she tends to put other people first where it matters. When the "truth" behind her mother's death and Clay Terran's death points to her, she isn't afraid to accept it even if the truth is horrifying. The important thing is that she doesn't want Simon to keep suffering in prison, and eventually to be executed, in her stead. Finding the "truth" is important for what it means to be a true lawyer, and especially as someone with Phoenix Wright (a sort of "light" in the legal world at the time) as their mentor. After the fifth case in Dual Destinies Simon is freed and she's found innocent of all charges after they capture the true killer. She's relieved, and it's like a heavy burden has been lifted from the both of them from then on. Yet, the banter in court still doesn't change. The only thing that does is that Simon is a little more open with her.
Alongside closing up in court, if she is grabbed by surprise Athena is quick to react by either flipping the person or smacking them. The reason for this is never completely explained as she herself has no idea why she does it. It likely links back to her encounter with The Phantom (the spy who killed her mother) when she was eleven years old.
At times, Athena often doesn't have any concept of a mouth filter and just says what comes to mind. This can result in some quite insulting remarks such as her saying she's surprised Apollo had a friend when he was a child or calling Simon Blackquill a panda. It isn't meant to be harmful, it's just that she says what she's thinking without actually... thinking about it properly. It's all meant in jest.
Athena is easily moved by other people's stories, one example of this is when Tenma Taro tries to protect his daughter by attempting to break out of jail. She is moved to tears by his loyalty and devotion to her. She's also quick to anger for other people's sake and if anyone else actually says anything about her friends, she jumps to their defense -- sometimes in a violent manner. After Prosecutor Payne bullies her friend Juniper, she asks if she can slap him.
She cannot keep still, except for the moments where she naps. Whether it's exercise, getting straight to work when a case comes up, or helping Trucy (reluctantly) with her magic show performances, she seems to always be on the ball. When she has an idea she's quick to see it through, even if it hasn't been thought out very well. There are times when she heads off before her co-workers Phoenix or Apollo to head to a crime scene, only to have to double back as she forgot her bag. She's very impulsive in that respect. She easily gets lost and trips up as well, which can be linked to how she doesn't seem to pay attention at times and bulldoses ahead of herself. Due to how she doesn't think things through, there are times when she almost gets herself and Apollo into trouble. An example of this is her describing the walls of Themis Academy like a "blank canvas", only to prove it by putting her shoe print on the wall.
Finally, something that always stands out for Athena is how competitive she is. With this, she can be quick to change any comment into something to to brag about, be it "my badge is shinier than yours" to "let's race to the crime scene". This can also stretch to her competing against inanimate objects -- including breaking down a door. It makes her seem childish and at times as though she isn't taking the atmosphere seriously by turning the situation into a game. On top of this, she is quick to believe what people tell her. In one case, she even believes a tabloid about an abominable snowman in the mountains and warns her childhood friend Juniper Woods to be safe.
Powers/Abilities:
Law Athena has studied law across different countries and is familiar with multiple law styles. She's passed the bar exam and is a qualified defense attorney.
Psychology She's studied analytical psychology and is familiar with symptoms of psychological illnesses such as multiple personality disorders etc.
Languages Athena has used a mixture of German, Spanish, French and Italian in the game.
Hearing Her hearing is sensitive to the point that she can hear the "discord" in someone's voice when they speak. This means that despite trying to hide their feelings, she would be able to hear the truth as a person cannot normally adapt and control their voice well enough to conceal it. With Widget, her AI companion, she's able to locate strange emotions in a person's voice during testimony and reduce "noise" levels so their true feelings can be revealed. Psychology is then used to explain the reasoning behind the contradiction between testimony and emotion.
Fitness Physically, she's fit enough to have ran a marathon with very little problem. She's also seen flipping an adult male police officer over her head so it's safe to say she knows a little self defence as well.
Power Nerfs (if applicable): n/a
Inventory: Her outfit (yellow suit etc, hair tie and moon rock earring) and Widget. Widget is the piece of technology she wears around her neck. On this she can store data relevant for trials, and it contains the "Mood Matrix" program. This program helps her analyse the "discord" in people's hearts to help her really see how they feel.
Incentives: First and foremost, Athena would ask for the safety of those she cares about... then cheekily add on that she'd like one million silvers as a bonus.
SAMPLES
I linked a few extra for some diversity of content. I hope that's okay!
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