Emp App

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Ash!
Contact: rileyboi @ plurk
Age: 31
Current Characters: n/a


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Apollo Justice
Age: 24
Canon: Ace Attorney
Canon Point: Post Spirit of Justice

Background: boom

Personality:
Apollo is a walking contradiction of conflicting emotions and ideals. He is passionate about lawyering, ready to take on whatever comes his way, but he also has a very cautious, logical approach to new situations, wary about getting too in over his head.

When we first meet him, Apollo is loud, enthusiastic, and eager to prove Phoenix Wright's innocence! As a rookie, of course he was nervous, but he still tried to flip any argument back in the prosecution's face, and listened to any advice both Phoenix or Kristoph (his mentors) had to offer with great attentiveness. He's very big on making good first impressions, though this ends up getting him made fun. He appears optimistic and hopeful, thinking everything will always turn out alright.

But that's only in the first case. He wins the case but his debut ends in disaster and leaving Apollo unemployed, rightfully a little jaded at how events went down, and it's reflected in his cynical attitude. This doesn't stop him from being enthusiastic about the job itself, though! He is eager to keep learning about the trade (jumping at the chance to attend a lawyering seminar), and shows pride in flashing his Attorney's badge. Apollo will also eagerly dig through trash for clues, or turn a blind eye as he and his assistant do a little breaking and entering to gather evidence. Though his attitude has been tainted with pessimism now, he's still more than eager to help others out and is still quite passionate about his career choice. This is also shown in his readiness to aid new co worker, Athena Cykes, as a senior to show her the ropes. He also continues to shout I'M FINE!! in order to psyche himself up and get him through rougher times.

Speaking of being cynical, Apollo's mind is usually running snarky commentary about what's going on around him. Apollo is very much the straight man of the series--he's not nearly as extreme or wacky as other characters, and can be seen as a stick in the mud or offering some sarcastic advice. Even in his first case, when the prosecution asks him to point out the math error in his argument, Apollo thinks it's ridiculous the old man can't do basic math. . .but of course he doesn't say it out loud. He tries very hard to put up a professional front, but in truth Apollo is judging something about most people at all times. The more comfortable he is with someone, however, the more likely he'll be snippy to their face. (For example, when Phoenix opts to take Athena on a case with him instead of Apollo, Phoenix asks for his thoughts, and Apollo smiles and quips "You REALLY don't want to know what I'm thinking.")He's also very prone to spouting a little bit of harmless dark humor, such as when he suggests that "People Park" change its name to "We Kill People Park," due to the crime scene.

And while he gets plenty of ridiculous moments (presenting panties, getting attacked in the face by a hawk), in general Apollo tends to be the one deadpanning at all the craziness surrounding him, adding his commentary on it. He also gets picked on quite a bit by every single person in the series, and even some witnesses harass him by saying he looks like a demon due to his hair style. Often times when Apollo tries to speak up against this or shoot his own witty snark back at them, he will be chided and told "he's not cool enough to do that." While annoying, Apollo seems more than used to it by now, and just quietly suffers through this treatment. He is far from a doormat though, and he will put his foot down with a yell if the teasing ever goes too far.

Two other conflicting key traits of Apollo are his preference for logic while being quite an expressive, emotional person. Apollo is all about FACTS and usually refuses to make a judgement call without having all the details to study properly. He tends to turn his nose up at explanations that involve hollow bluffs or jokingly include the supernatural, and will rattle his brain until he can make a situation make sense in a rational way. Many of his cases seem impossible or extremely convoluted, but Apollo is always able to dig until he's found a sound, logical explanation for everything. This logic also applies to simpler decisions--when a high profile mayor needs a defense attorney, Trucy volunteers Apollo, but instead of accepting, he suggests that the mayor find someone with more experience to represent him. It's not that he doesn't have confidence in his abilities, it's simply that Apollo realized how big a deal this was and thought it was proper to have a more seasoned attorney on board. It isn't until he learns of the circumstance between the mayor and the daughter that he then sympathizes and finally agrees to help out.

Which leads into him being very expressive and empathetic! Despite his logical, professional and sometimes grouchy attitude, under that frown is a waterfall of emotions. The mere thought of Trucy being kidnapped makes him break down in tears, and he greatly sympathizes with his clients who have lost/are in danger of losing their parents. He can become flustered very easily, whether it's due to someone complimenting him in court, or someone riling him up because of a mistake he's made. His emotional outbursts aren't always so funny either, as he punches Phoenix in the face for lying to him--and there are quite a few witnesses he'd love to punch in the face and/or strangle. Apollo wears his emotions on his sleeves, and it's very easy to tell how he's feeling whether his mouth is running or not. This also comes into play with how he interacts with people; it's very easy to tell how close he is with someone by judging how stand offish he is vs him happily interacting with acquaintances.

Apollo is never immediately trusting. There are few people that manage to gain his favor right away--the exceptions are Trucy Wright, due to excessive exposure and her becoming his partner in not-quite-crime almost immediately, and his late best friend, Clay. It is worth noting that no one even knew about Clay's existence until the second case of Dual Destinies--Apollo keeps most of his private life just that, private. Since that crazy first trial, Apollo's trust is shot. Though he cleared Phoenix's name, it's revealed Phoenix forged actual fake evidence and tricked Apollo into presenting it. Apollo responds to this by punching Phoenix right in the face, and refuses to come work for him for two solid months. He is unemployed during this time as well, due to getting Kristoph convicted, and he only caves and comes to work for Wright after sheer desperation. It still takes a good while for him to warm up to Phoenix after that.

That trust is strained even more when his new co-worker is suspected of murdering his best friend. Apollo is not the type to have blind faith without doubt. A root cause of this can be found in Spirit of Justice, as Apollo was sent away from his father-figure for fifteen years, causing him to assume he was lied to and abandoned. He grew up trying to forget his childhood, and even once they are finally reunited, it takes extreme measures for Apollo to open up and even begin to think about repairing the long lost relationship.

That all said, Apollo does want to trust and form bonds with people, and it's why it's such a struggle for him to find a balance between going with his heart vs going with his head. It's not impossible to gain Apollo's trust, it's just a long, rocky road. Once it's gained, however, the shrimp's ready to defend them to the bitter end (For example, he continues to lawyer at gunpoint for said father-figure once they settle everything).

As for some less savory traits, when it comes to brutal honesty, Apollo is your man. No matter the situation, Apollo's number one goal is The Truth, and he'll do all he can to find it. Apollo can be quite aggressive in an argument if he is totally confident in his words, and he usually will not let up unless deterred by hard facts. As shown by him getting his former boss convicted, and pushing hard for his co-worker's guilt, Apollo will not hesitate to throw someone to the wolves if the evidence is stacked against them.

Apollo will also go to more extreme ends against his better judgment in order to get a better grasp of the situation--for example, while investigating his friend's death, he went to talk to one of the witnesses, Aura Blackquill, knowing she had an extreme bias of the situation. He also doesn't seem all that bothered when she holds an entire station of people hostage, as it got him a chance to speak on the witness stand himself. He obviously doesn't condone it, but he uses the moment for what it is. Apollo will always and forever lean toward the more lawful side of things, but by now he's fully aware there are many others who don't feel the same way, and he'll take advantage of it.

TL;DR Apollo has a LOT going on in his head when it comes to trying to sort things out, and balancing his fiery, passionate personality with his professional, logical side. But despite all this, he is also still very much looking for guidance and acceptance. After everything that's happened to him, he is still looking for his own path and goes so far as to leave the agency for good to help with a greater cause. While he may not have the utmost confidence in himself at times, being a lawyer that's willing to give weight to both emotions and logic, the career path suits him just fine.

Abilities:
Apollo is a walking lie detecter, having special (genetic) eyes that allow him to basically zoom in on a person and see sometimes unconscious near invisible twitches and tells they give off when lying or nervous. This is helped by his bracelet, which is made of a special alloy that contracts when sensing tension. It helps Apollo focus on when to zoom in instead of walking around looking crazy all the time.

That said, he doesn't always use it, however, usually saving it for serious conversations or courtroom antics, and characters seem to have no trouble telling little lies around him without getting caught. Basically it will not work without player permission at all.

Alignment: Piphron! It fits the best with Apollo's conflicting ideals, and because most of his other emotions (sadness/anger esp) are evoked from this trust issues.

Other: ??? Uh I guess he has his bracelet still.


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
General Sample:Sample 1 Sample 2

Emotion Sample:
Apollo is hunched over his notebook, pen tapping furiously at a page. Mini mountains of manila folders and stacks of reports and case notes nearly cover the rest of the desk. It's only been a day and he's gotten no where with this new client of his. Their partner had came to him, demanding his assistance in a legal matter. Obviously he's innocent! they'd said in a dismissive, flighty manner. Apollo wasn't so sure. And the more evidence he'd gathered, the more uncertain he became. Meeting the client themselves didn't help much either. They didn't even seem that bothered--and Apollo couldn't tell if they just had THAT much confidence in him, or if there was a more sinister, underlying motive. No, the former couldn't be right. They couldn't even remember his name--Napoli Gistoos? C'mon!!

He rubs at his head. The client barely cares, and the evidence is literally stacked against them! And yet they still want him to go for it? What's the point! Apollo thinks, slamming the pen down. How can I help someone like that? They're shady as hell! They might as well walk into prison themse--!

His thoughts are cut short. Pages rip from the notebook, and once neatly stacked sheets on the desk begin to whirl around the room in a storm of paper. Apollo swats at the air as the notes fly to and fro, and a page smacks him right in the face. He tears it off with a scowl, slamming it down to the table, ready to yell out an objection to this whole mess, when a certain line on the page catches his eyes.

It's an older page from the notebook, he remembers, one where he'd jotted down key rules of lawyering. All learned from Phoenix Wright. One line stands out in particular--Remember, a lawyer must always believe in their client.

As Apollo reads it, the flurry of papers begins to slow, and slowly, they all begin to drift back to the table and floor. Right. Believe in your client, wear your biggest smile? Apollo huffs. He keeps forgetting that bit.

But. . .when everything else is hopeless, it's as good a place to start as anywhere else.

Apollo takes a deep breath, and then exhales. Have a little faith--his client needs his help, after all. He has to trust them. He nods to himself, and begins picking up the strewn papers. Just gotta get back to the basics.


Questions: nah