#there was this wonderful comic strip of it somewhere i'll find it again so i can reblog

[andi-o-geyser]

do you ever just. think about how in cr1 after Percy went all No Mercy and killed for the second time Vex cornered and slammed him against a wall to confront him and they were implied to be close enough that Sam kept whispering for them to kiss? and they just. left it out of tlovm. rip to the animated show but the og stream had hot girl intimidation tactics and “Look me in the eye, Percy” and “I’m fine. You’ll know if I’m not” “I will”. fucking unmatched. 

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

I strongly appreciate how Athena's leitmotif evolves throughout AA5 and a little in AA6. Get comfy, this is another long one.

- Intro

Plays briefly in the intro cutscene for AA5 and is the first time we hear the leitmotif. It's bouncy, upbeat, and has a bit of sparkle to it to present Athena with enthusiasm and positivity (before comically cutting to silence followed by lower, goofy piano notes when she falls down the stairs). We'll see more of this energy in Let's Do This, but this is a nice intro to her eagerness and inexperience.

- Depths of the Depths of the Heart (Yep, that's what it's called...)

A brief glimpse into a more sombre and disturbing part of Athena's pysche. We're still in first-impressions territory, so this part of Athena's arc is crucial to establish. The song from the intro is now slower and stripped of it's positivity. Just as brief, but clearly different and quite unsettling. I appreciate it sounding like a music-box - an innocent object associated with childhood. Whatever happened, it was somewhere deep in her past, but we aren't offered much more for context than this distressing moment for now.

- Let's Do This!

An expansion on the upbeat tune we heard in the intro and effectively her main theme, so to speak. This is just how Athena is 80% of the time - energetic, upbeat and a little daft. This theme is the only one that persists unaltered along with her Mood Matrix tracks in AA6, so it's fair to call this her baseline. The surface-level Athena we see day-to-day and the kind, caring soul underneath is front-and-centre here. Prepare for that positive association to be used against you.

- Athena Will Be Your Defense

Another slower version that plays when she takes on the actual murder case in Turnabout Academy. I have plenty of feelings with this one; there's a sense of resignation here, but also some resolve to do the damndest despite that. As if to say "I am in no way prepared to handle this... but I'll do what I can." Considering Juniper's life is on the line here, it's a pretty heavy feeling to have and a solid turn-around of the lack of experience that previously made her come off as comically silly into a sense of dread at what may come to pass if Athena can't measure up.

- Courtroom Revolutionnaire

We've seen the leitmotif in a positive light before, but this is the first time we see some genuine fire behind the music - her Objection! theme. Generally, objections are a celebrated moment in Ace Attorney, and seeing the rookie find her footing is definitely worthy of that. It's still a little quieter than Phoenix's or Apollo's objections - there's that "I'm still new to this" feeling again - but being under more pressure for longer, it feels just as big as them. Even moreso that the last time we heard her leitmotif was fairly sombre.

- A Tragic Memory

If the song from the brief flashback (which I refuse to call by name again) was a glimpse, Tragic Memory is the full and proper look into Athena's trauma (albiet through her muddled point of view). The sheer misery and guilt this character has been through under the surface, perhaps since childhood, is brought to the forefront here and it is gut-wrenching to hear in musical format alone. I'm a sucker for leitmotifs that can take on a wide variety of contrasting emotions, so turning this normally upbeat song into something so melodramatic and upsetting makes this one a personal favourite of mine (even if it does make me want to cry). We've seen her happy & confident before now through Let's Do This! and Revolutionnaire, so the contrast works wonders to make this song hit all the harder.

- Courtroom Revolutionnaire: Revengance

The final 'thena track at the time of writing. And what a god damn revolution it is, taking the 2013 version and turning the bravado up to 110%. This is an Athena who's moving past the inexperience and trauma she had in AA5 and the confidence this theme exudes is so strong, I'm honestly shocked this isn't a Pursuit theme! I might not be the biggest fan of her use in AA6, but on its own merits? This track is a fantastic payoff for her tribulations in the prior game. All that weight is lifted right off, and we get to see Athena in the same light as we would Phoenix or Apollo when they got the upper-hand - with a wide smile and a hearty "OBJECTION!"

Collectively, these songs inform a story of a young lawyer working through her uglier emotions towards a stronger, more grounded person ready to take on whatever the world throws at them. Starting with the surface of a goofy but enthusiastic person, gradually but surely dragging out all the emotional noise that consumed them - confusion, anxiety, anguish - and eventually resolving it, ending with a song of pure truimph and resolve.

I love leitmotifs when they're handled well - my enjoyment of Toby Fox's music should make that apparent - and this is a solid one in my books. A good leitmotif can tell a story all on its own as it changes along with the emotional beats of the narrative. At worst, they just restate emotions we've already felt where it really doesn't fit at all.

I think Athena's theme is a good leitmotif.