Application Post
Series: Ace Attorney
Series' Medium: Series of DS games, although there are manga shorts as well.
Character: Ema Skye
Age: 16
Sex/Gender: Female
Canon Role: Substitute sidekick
"Real" Name: Marie Franklin
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
Ema Skye was not born into terribly unusual circumstances. She was the second daughter of the Skye family, and although the age difference between her and her older sister Lana was vast (Lana was a tween when Ema first came into the world), canon doesn’t suggest that anything about the family was especially strange or different than the average family. However, Ema’s life changed significantly when her parents died in a car accident when she was seven (canon doesn’t say exactly when, but potential Lana-mun and I agreed on this age), leaving her in Lana’s legal care. Suddenly, the two sisters only had each other, and as a result the two grew close. Even as Lana went through law school and started rising in the law enforcement ranks, Ema had nothing but pride and admiration for her older sister-there’s a picture of two of them saluting in front of the police station tucked away somewhere in their possessions that serves as evidence of that fact.
All of that changed when Ema was fourteen. One night while waiting in the office that Lana shared with Damon Gant, at the time a chief detective, Ema was nearly the final victim in a string of homicides. It all started when a serial killer in questioning managed to escape the room in which he was being held. The man, Joe Darke, fled into the detectives’ office after Ema peeked out to see what was causing the commotion outside the room. Darke grabbed Ema, intending to kill her in order to eliminate her as a witness of his escape. Fortunately, prosecutor Neil Marshall was right on Darke’s heels and came to Ema’s rescue. Ema’s memory from that point on is most kindly described as murky with brief instances of sharp, terrible clarity. She remembers the power failing due to a thunderstorm, plunging the office into darkness. Marshall jumped Darke and knocked Ema out of the way, and she watched the shadows fight between themselves in the dark from her vantage point on the floor. She also remembers that a strike of lightning revealed that one of the men had been knocked to the ground while the other raised his knife. Ema panicked and charged, knocking the weapon-wielder (whom she assumed to be Darke) to the ground and rendering him unconscious. Immediately after, Ema lost the fight with her nerves and fainted.
Ema awoke sometime later in her sister’s arms. Neil Marshall was dead and Joe Darke was back in police custody with one more charge of murder to add to the list. Unlike Darke’s previous murders, however, the death of Marshall had left behind evidence and a witness: Ema. Understandably traumatized, Ema was unable to articulate what she had been through in words but provided one of the detectives working the case, Bruce Goodman, with a drawing of the image that was permanently burned into her memory: Darke raising the knife on Marshall. Even then, it was a few days after the incident before Ema could bring herself to provide that much.
When the case went to trial, Ema was called to testify but offered very little by way of helpful information; her testimony concerned Darke’s attack on herself and not the actual murder. Thankfully, the prosecution (led by Miles Edgeworth in Marshall’s absence) had damning evidence that firmly proved his guilt. By the time everything was said and done, Darke was convicted of the murder of Neil Marshall and later executed.
Even though the nightmare was over, Ema felt very little relief. In the grand scheme of the trial, her input had been virtually useless; the picture she had drawn for Goodman was lost, and her testimony failed to shed any light on what had happened in Lana and Gant’s office that night. Lana’s sudden and inexplicable emotional distance certainly didn’t help matters, leaving Ema to wonder if the reason might be related to her inability to help with Darke’s conviction. It was at that point that she made a decision: the next time she took the stand she would speak as an expert, a forensic scientist with airtight evidence to lock the villains of the world away.
The next two years of Ema’s life were spent dedicating herself to her science, trying to adjust to her suddenly frigid guardian, and admiring Miles Edgeworth; the man’s involvement in the case and eventual conviction of Darke had forever branded the prosecutor a hero in Ema’s mind, even with his demon prosecutor reputation and rumors of forged evidence. Even though it is never expressly mentioned in the course of Ema’s appearance in case 1-5, it’s also probable that she went through psychological therapy to some degree-Lana certainly had the resources to pay for it after being promoted to Chief Prosecutor, and she was acutely aware of how traumatized Ema was after the incident. When the player meets Ema, she comes across as a relatively well-adjusted (if overeager and strange) teenager; her lingering trauma only becomes clear over the course of the case, and even then she’s able to shake it off and talk about what happened/make herself of good use. She’s not completely over it, not by a long shot, but she’s functional. That kind of progress after major trauma is difficult to achieve without professional help, especially as a teenager. I’ve talked this assertion over with potential Lana-mun since the decision to get Ema professional help would ultimately be Lana’s, and she agrees that it makes sense.
On February 21, 2017, two years after the Joe Darke mess, Lana was arrested for the murder of Bruce Goodman. To make matters worse, Lana almost instantly confessed to the crime and explicitly told Ema to stay out of it. Desperate not to lose the only family she had left despite the deterioration of their familial relationship, Ema went looking Lana’s old friend and classmate Mia Fey. Sometime between her sister’s arrest and the morning of the following day, Ema located Mia’s office and camped out in front of it, impatiently waiting for her sister’s would-be savior. Phoenix Wright arrived around 10:00am, and after a brief bout of mistaken identity Ema recognized him and figured that he would have to do in Mia’s absence-would he please defend her sister? Despite Lana’s lack of cooperation with the two of them, Wright and Ema went about investigating the case.
Two days of investigation and one day of court proved that the case was hardly the cut-and-dry murder that Lana insisted it was. Evidence and testimonies failed to match, there were contradictions and unanswered questions all over the place, and for awhile it seemed that victim had managed to be murdered in two different locations by two different perpetrators, both of whom confessed to the crime. Finally, and most significantly, everyone involved in the case thus far had been involved in a case referred to as “SL-9” that took place two years ago; the evidence for the case was slated to move into storage the day of the murder, thus eliminating all chance that it might be reopened. All the while, Ema had the nagging feeling that all of the pieces of the case were starting to feel familiar.
Her suspicions were confirmed roughly two hours into the second court day, at which point Detective Dick Gumshoe delivered the case file for SL-9 to Wright. Wright was surprised to see Ema’s name in the witness list, and suddenly everything clicked: Joe Darke. Lana was the one who said it, but she didn’t have to. Ema knew.
Unable to handle the sudden mental return to that day two years ago and screaming her disbelief, Ema fled from the lobby. She found a hidden corner in the courthouse in which she could hyperventilate and black out for a few moments before she went about calming herself down.
And that was all it took for her to wake up somewhere entirely different.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
I will be pulling Ema from game one, case five. She’ll arrive at Landel’s after she runs from the defense lobby upon learning that SL-9 refers to the Joe Darke killings.
There are several reasons why I’ve decided to pull her from this point and not later. As far as 1-5 Ema goes, pulling her from the end of the case provides a character whose major complications have achieved closure, which is less interesting to play. Yanking her out of canon after she’s just received an emotional curveball provides a character that’s more anxious and in flux; she’ll enter the institute trying to deal with the sudden blow and without knowledge of whether or not her sister was finally exonerated. She would also be completely unaware of revelations about SL-9 that become apparent toward the end of the case, putting her information about and attitude towards the case at odds with every other Ace Attorney character present in the Institute who was involved.
As to why I’m playing her from game one and not game four, the main reason is that I feel that a younger Ema has more opportunity in the game, growth-wise. Despite her previous brush with murder, teenage Ema is still somewhat naïve and self-assured to the point of cockiness; in other words, she has much farther to fall. The situations she will likely face in the institute will shatter both character traits, meaning that Ema will have to learn to grow as a person or else completely lose her mind. There is also the issue of Ace Attorney Investigations; it has yet to be released in English, but it features Ema. I would feel as if I were cheating if I applied with an older Ema without taking AAI into account.
Finally, I am amused by the fact that AA4 characters will recognize Ema, even if she’s several years too young, whereas Ema won’t recognize them at all. It will definitely create some interestingly awkward situations.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Overall, Ema is an affable teenager; she’s bright and cheerful, if overenthusiastic about her scientific pursuits to the point of childlike glee. Due largely to her attitude and the fact that she essentially serves as a replacement for Maya Fey (who comments on her own immaturity at one point during game two), Ema comes off as a very young sixteen; this is a girl whose impending adulthood seems to be quite far off.
As far as her scientific self goes, Ema is actually quite bright-she informs Phoenix at one point that she scored a 97 on a recent science test. However, and unfortunately for Ema’s future prospects as a forensic scientist, this intelligence does not translate into an ability to correctly draw conclusions from her observations. The reason Ema chirps up about that 97 is to defend herself after Phoenix calls her out on a terrible leap of logic-that a glass-walled room in the parking garage of the prosecutors’ office labeled SECURITY could be a café. Intelligent as she may be, common sense does not always come into play when it comes to Ema Skye.
Underneath the surface, however, two things about Ema are resolutely true. First, that Ema is still rather damaged by the Joe Darke incident two years ago, judging from her reaction when she first realizes that “SL-9” refers to the Darke case as well as her repeated statements about how she can still see the two men fighting if she closes her eyes. While she has certainly recovered to a certain point, it is obvious that Ema still has a bit of recovering left to do. The end of 1-5 offers closure that certainly contributes to her further recovery, but I’m taking her from before that point.
Second is that a part of Ema is actually quite haughty and, at this point in her life, cocky. We see more of the former character trait when she’s older in game four, but there are hints of it even when Ema is younger. Ema’s appraisals of the world around her can be tactless and unflattering (case in point: when she examines Phoenix’s badge the first time), and she first introduces herself as an expert, “at [her] age, no less!” To a certain extent, this behavior is a means by which Ema can hide insecurity and emotional hurt; the fact that in game four Ema maintains an air of superiority despite having failed into an unhappy position is testament to that fact (cases in point: how she treats Apollo and Trucy prior to realizing they’re related to Phoenix and her disdainful dismissal of practically everything involving Klavier Gavin). Obviously, these tendencies are nowhere near as pronounced as they are in Ema’s game four appearance, but they are in fact traits that are uniquely hers. Furthermore, there are hints that indicate that Ema’s experience is one of privilege (she offers Phoenix a whopping $50 for a piece of silver whose gold finish is peeling off, and her allowance is high enough to afford Luminol), which further contributes to Ema’s haughty behavior.
Finally, as befits someone whose greatest passion is science, Ema is unathletic. Have her try to climb a fence or kick over an oil drum sometime and see how that turns out.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Ema is petite in both height and stature, measuring just shy of five feet, one inch (she rounds up). She has long, straight brown hair that she pulls part of into a bun, and her bangs are swept to the side so as not to fall into her eyes. Her face is round, with big blue eyes and relatively smaller nose and mouth. Despite living in Southern California, Ema is fair-skinned.
In her own canon, she is never seen without her lab coat, her bag of science, decorative pins, and large rose-tinted sunglasses. She will feel naked without them, particularly the lab coat. Expect her to ask for one.
What kinds of otherworldy abilities does your character have, if any?:
Ema lacks any otherworldly abilities.
If present, how do you plan to tweak these powers to make your character appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
N/A
Does your character have any non-otherworldy abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
Ema is canonically above-average in her proficiency with science, although her actual knowledge of the subject is probably not much higher than an advanced high school level (think AP biology/chemistry sort of knowledge; Ema’s not much of a physicist). Additionally, as noted before she often lacks the common sense and conclusion-drawing skills to properly put her talents to use.
Considering her dependence on Luminol for investigation in both of her AA appearances, the vials peeking out of her purse, and her chemical threat (Hydroxyacelunodosetrase, which she describes as “experimental”) to Apollo Justice in game four, chemistry seems to be Ema’s strongest scientific area. Ema’s also relatively technology-savvy, considering how high-tech scientific investigation has become. She isn’t at the point she is in game four, technology-wise, but she can work her way around a computer and some investigation equipment without much trouble.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
Upon arriving at the Institute, Ema is going to work herself into something of a panic; her sister is in the middle of standing trial, and she now has no idea how the verdict ultimately ends up. She’s going to be anxious to get back, even if canonmates make it clear that Lana was eventually exonerated.
As far as looking ahead toward how Ema would function and develop in the Institute, one of the first things Ema will do is seek out canonmates-her sister, Phoenix Wright, and Miles Edgeworth in particular. They are all people she knows and trusts (although Phoenix less so than she would if I had pulled her from the end of the case), and they are all people directly involved in her sister’s trial; Ema will hypothesize that they’ve all been pulled in at the same time somehow. Lucky for her, Phoenix and Edgeworth are both present in the Institute for Ema to find.
Furthermore, I think it’s fair to say that she would be torn between scientific curiosity and abject horror. It is to her benefit that she has well-established canonmates at the Institute, because the likelihood of her making unsound decisions is relatively high, particularly during the Nightshift. Unknown monsters would warrant scientific investigation, after all, and depending on how threatening the monster appears Ema might just be stupid enough to get closer to examine it. Also to her benefit with regard to keeping Ema from making very stupid mistakes is the fact that Ema is approachable enough to get along with people somewhat easily, even if she can be a bit judgmental; she’ll probably find several people with whom she gets along, particularly (benevolent) scientist characters, who will keep her lack of common sense in check. In some cases (canonically, with Miles Edgeworth), Ema’s tendency toward hero worship may come into play, meaning that she’ll attach and be a loyal companion.
Finally, Ema’s stay at the Institute is going to force her to grow up; she’s a very young sixteen, and her primary defense mechanism is avoidance. If she plans to survive, she’s going to have to learn to face her fears directly, up to and including her memories of the Joe Darke incident. I’ve already alluded to this eventuality in the ‘where are you taking your character from and why’ section, but I’d like to repeat it here: Ema is going to have to grow up or go nuts. Despite her naïveté and other character flaws, I do believe that she’s capable of the former over the latter. She just has to realize it.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Ema is obviously no stranger to horrific situations, being directly involved with one murder and actively investigating another; the only foreign thing in the Institute would be elements of the supernatural, which would throw her for a loop but wouldn’t devastate her by itself. Despite her previous trauma and her penchant toward fainting/running away, Ema is tougher than she looks. She’s able to function like a normal (if slightly eccentric) teenager despite losing her parents and nearly becoming a murder victim. Even though it is somewhat of a façade, as demonstrated by the way she runs off after realizing the meaning of SL-9, it’s something she’s able to struggle through and push forward, as demonstrated by the fact that Ema eventually pulls herself together and follows a mental lead after running off.
Of course, Ema’s arriving at the Institute before she has a chance to get that taken care of. But the fact that she does it in her own canon is proof enough that she’ll hold her own in Damned.