Godot Application for Siren's Pull

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beenwaitinglong


Player Information

Name: GG
Age: 23
AIM SN: FullArmoredGG
email: sailorstarcomedy@hotmail.com
Have you played in an LJ based game before? Yeeep.
Bonus: How did you hear about Siren's Pull? I play Billy Coen here!

Character Information

General

Canon Source: Ace Attorney

Canon Format: Video Game

Character's Name: Godot
(real name: Diego Armando. He no longer answers to it.)

Character's Age: 33

What form will your character's NV take? Your basic modern smart phone-- like a really bitchin' iPhone. Interestingly, the display is specially formatted to work with Godot's visor and ordinary people who pick it up will have some trouble reading it.

Abilities

Character's Canon Abilities:

Though Godot is now a prosecutor, he used to work as a defense attorney-- once considered the best of the best at the prestigious law firm he worked for. He is highly intelligent and skilled at putting together conclusions from seemingly haphazard evidence, and many of his strategies and philosophies have been passed down to several generations of legal proteges. Unlike the more logical Edgeworth, Godot prefers to scan a situation from all sides and examine every possibility, his motto being "eliminate the impossible, and what remains must be the truth." He has quite a way with words and often speaks in poetic metaphors, though these are of varying levels of coherence depending on whether or not you are quite as obsessed with coffee as he is.

Basically useless, but an ability nonetheless, is Godot's ability to analyze blends of coffee by smell and taste. He's good enough to tell literally any blend apart from another and identify any other flavors in the coffee, such as milk, sugar or creamer.

Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them?

Godot's dormant ability may remain undiscovered for some time to come, given his truly obscene dependence on caffeine-- but either through medical tests or by accident, eventually it will come to light that Godot's body is beginning to operate at a freakish level of metabolism. This will allow him to process literally anything in inhumanly massive quantities with minimal side effects, from the caffeine in his coffee to drugs and alcohol to chemicals. Drinking one cup of coffee will affect him the same as drinking sixteen, taking one pill will be the same as taking an entire bottle. It's not exceptionally useful, but it provides a few advantages. It is impossible for Godot to get drunk, get high, overdose on medication, or be poisoned in any way (any more than he already has, anyway.)

Problems will arise, of course, if it turns out that Godot needs the effects of something more than his body will allow-- for example, anesthesia or pain pills. With a medical history like his, it's downright inconvenient.

Weapons:

None, aside from chucking cups of scalding hot coffee. Which he does, from time to time.


History/Personality/Plans/etc.

Character History:

Diego Armando was a popular and talented defense attorney, considered the best of the best at the Grossberg and Co. Law Offices in Los Angeles, California. Despite his reputation as a shameless playboy, his disturbing addiction to coffee and his arrogant, devil-may-care attitude, he was very dedicated to putting true criminals behind bars and defending the innocent accused. Diego was content in his role as the hotshot lawyer until he met Mia Fey, a young attorney fresh out of law school and the newest hire onto the Grossberg staff. Typical Diego was immediately taken by Mia's beauty and more than likely planned on seducing her when he offered to take her under his wing, but he was intrigued when he found the young lawyer shared his passion for justice and belief in her clients.

Serving as her mentor, Diego was by Mia's side when she argued her first case, State vs. Fawles-- the case of an escaped death row inmate accused of murdering the police officer who put him behind bars. Mia was on the brink of proving her client's innocence when the trial took a turn for the horrific. Terry Fawles committed suicide on the stand under the influence of Dahlia Hawthorne, the prosecution's star witness-- and the true murderer in the case at hand. Mia was so traumatized by her client's death that she suffered a nervous breakdown, and Diego watched in fury as Dahlia left the courtroom a free woman.

Driven by their mutual thirst for justice, Diego and Mia dedicated the next six months to their investigation of Dahlia Hawthorne and her prior crimes, their ultimate goal to put her in prison where she belonged. Also over the course of these six months, the two of them fell in love and started dating. The extent of their relationship remains something of a mystery to anybody but the two of them, but it was definitely the first time that the flighty playboy Diego ever connected so deeply with a woman.

Finally getting somewhere in their case, Diego arranged a meeting alone with Dahlia at the courthouse cafeteria to ask her a few questions. Over the course of the meeting, Dahlia slipped a specialized chemical poison into Diego's coffee cup and after drinking it, he collapsed within minutes. Paramedics found him unresponsive when they arrived, attempts at resuscitation failed, and Diego Armando was pronounced dead on arrival at the local hospital. En route to the hospital morgue, the pulse monitor started to beep again and against all odds or expectations, Diego was revived. He remained in a deep coma that doctors couldn't explain or hope to rouse him from, and it was predicted that he would never wake up. Very little information about the case was leaked into the media, and newspapers mistakenly called the incident "the Murder at the Courthouse", believing the victim to be dead.

In the meantime, the police could not find damning evidence to prove that Dahlia had poisoned Diego-- a container to hold the poison in. Dahlia had passed that evidence on to a stranger she met at the courthouse that day, a college student named Phoenix Wright. It was a desperate gamble, but it allowed Dahlia to escape justice yet again and the police were forced to drop the charges against her. Eight months later, Phoenix Wright, now dating Dahlia, was charged with a murder himself. Determined to see justice done, Mia accepted the case and managed to tie Dahlia to the murder at hand, as well as the attack on Diego from months before. Justice was finally served to the serial murderess, and she was sentenced to death.

All the while, Diego slept in his hospital bed.

Five years later, thanks to the aroma of a doctor's morning coffee, Diego finally opened his eyes-- and saw nothing. The poison had badly damaged his central nervous system, his organs and his eyes, rendering him blind. The chemicals permanently bleached his coal black hair a ghostly white. His condition necessitated multiple surgeries and a great deal of daily medication just to keep his body going. At 33, the once-handsome attorney's body was in worse shape than that of a man over twice his age.

The real blow, of course, came when he learned that Mia Fey had been murdered two years ago by a man she was investigating alone. The woman Diego loved was dead. There wasn't even anybody left to take revenge on, since both Dahlia and the man who killed Mia were already in prison. Everything Diego thought he had to live for was gone, and there was nobody waiting for him to wake up. Utterly shattered, blaming himself for everything and unable to cope with what happened to him, Diego disgustedly cast away every aspect of his former life, even abandoning his name and identity. He took the name "Godot"-- perhaps in reference to the Samuel Beckett play, the name of the one who everybody waits for.

Godot underwent extensive physical therapy, received an infrared visor to correct his blindness (somewhat) and was finally released from the hospital after months. He grew obsessed with seeking justice for his lover's pointless death and set about investigating every court case that Mia had ever taken. That's where he learned about the involvement of Phoenix Wright-- not only as the one who allowed Dahlia to escape from the "murder" of Diego Armando, but as Mia's legal protege, much to his disgust. Godot immediately cast the guilt he felt onto Phoenix, rationalizing that it was really his fault that Mia died. Desperate for his misplaced revenge, he used his former connections to become a prosecutor, knowing that it would eventually force him and defense attorney Phoenix to face each other in Godot's favorite arena.

Godot finally faced Phoenix Wright in the courtroom for two cases, and both the cases of State vs. DeLite (3-2) and State vs. Byrde (3-3) ended in "Not Guilty" verdicts for Phoenix's clients. All the while, it was all Phoenix could do to wonder who this strange masked man was, and why in the world he hated Phoenix so much.

Ironically, Phoenix only triumphed over Godot in both "hopeless" trials by adhering to his usual legal philosophies-- passed down to him from his mentor, Mia Fey, and passed down to her by her own mentor: Diego Armando.


Point in Canon: Mid-Trials and Tribulations, after case 3-3 (Recipe for Turnabout) and before case 3-5 (Bridge to the Turnabout)


Character Personality:

Behind the omnipresent coffee cup and just below the creepy glowing mask is a cryptic smile that rarely falters. Godot revels in his self-made "mysterious" persona and most everything about him, from his age to his real name to the real expression on his face at any given time, is a secret. He is forever cocky and usually smug, coming off as a little too self-assured at best and an arrogant douchebag at worst. He speaks in baffling, occasionally broken metaphors that make little sense to anybody else and often require him to explain them. He quotes his own personal "rules" that seem bizarrely suited for whatever the given situation and are probably made up off the top of his head. Eccentricities aside, there's no denying that Godot is very charismatic and good with people... when he wants to be. When he doesn't want to be, he comes off as an asshole of the highest caliber, often seen taunting, name-calling, or otherwise trying to get a rise out of people for his own amusement. Beyond everyday chitchat and teasing he actually prefers to keep to himself, brushing off any attempts to get to know him better.

If you somehow intrigue him or you manage to get past the cool facade, you will see a very different side of Godot. Under the mask, he is a passionate individual with extreme dedication to whatever his personal cause. He's very bullheaded and stubborn, obsessively holding grudges against those he has perceived to have wronged him-- no matter how irrational or exaggerated on his part. Deeper still, he is desperately lonely, self-loathing and quite possibly emotionally unstable, carrying the burden of a failing body and the mental scars of a man who has been utterly broken by time and circumstance. At the same time, Godot cares deeply for the very, very few people who are important to him and would do literally anything to protect them, no matter the cost. Despite all the bitterness and cynicism he exudes, he is a good person at heart and dedicated to the virtue of justice. He just doesn't believe it anymore, and prefers to hide behind his self-created persona.

Of course, it must be mentioned that Godot loves coffee. Loves it. Even italicized, this is the understatement of the millennium. To say that Godot "loves" coffee is like saying that China is "crowded" or that the universe is "big." He has a countless number of his own personal blends, and drinks more coffee in a single day than most people do in a week.

It should also be noted that since the incident in which Godot had to "come back from the dead," he's been in extremely poor health. He suffers from weakness and chronic pain, and depends on doctor visits and a daily regimen of medication to keep his body working. Also as a result of said incident, Godot is blind. The gaudy visor he wears corrects the problem somewhat, but his vision still isn't great and he's practically colorblind, particularly to the color red. On the bright side (heh), he can see just as well in pitch darkness as he can in the light.


Character Plans:

Aside from general CR/trolling (yeah, he's totally going to), I would like to get Godot involved with the legal system of Siren's Port, most likely serving as a prosecutor alongside Edgeworth. This is the first game I've played in that has the sort of legal setting established in which Godot can really shine, and I'm excited to play out some of that. He's also in a unique position of having been a defense attorney, which may set him across the courtroom from Edgeworth occasionally.

He will be in need of an incredibly liberal insurance company in order for him to possibly afford all his medications-- this may require him to fall in with SERO, depending how things go.


Appearance/PB:

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/1752/postcard27qv1.png


Writing Samples


First Person Sample

[Voice: He takes a long sip of some beverage, then speaks.]

When you don't know what path to take, you keep on walking for the sake of making progress. That's one of my rules.

I don't know where I am or what the deal with this place is, but then again, I've never been the type to say no to a good mystery. It's hard to even know where to start, but one thing's for sure-- if you strip away the impossible, you're left with the truth. There's a city here and I intend to find out where here is-- to orient myself, a simple traveler in this wide and aimless universe of ours.

[He sips again.]

Ha...! I suppose the first and most important question remains ever the same: where do I find a good cup of coffee around here?


Third Person Sample

The workers at the local specialty grocery store had learned better than to question it when the masked man came in every week to replenish his medications and pick up more coffee than seemed humanly necessary. The manager once asked about it and had been very suspicious when he told her that he needed the coffee for his condition. In his own words, he would literally "roll over and die with not an ounce of worth left in my broken body if it weren't for the beautiful darkness washing over every inch of me". The dramatics had done their job and Godot was pleased every week as they set aside an extra half-shipment of coffee for him.

He would come with a cart full to bursting with different varieties of roasted beans, as well as fresh ones he intended to roast himself-- and a tremendous supply of seasonings, chicory and other spices with which he'd work his magic. The boy at the checkstand would offer to help him out, but he'd refuse and push it all himself into his old car, drive it all the way back to his apartment and carry it all the way up the stairs-- in multiple trips, if necessary.

And once he was inside the magic could begin. Every little event of the day, every mood and thought would come out in the form of tweaks in the flavor, undertones of this or hints of that, intricacies that the untalented tongues couldn't even notice, but that were like music to the taste buds of any coffee gourmet. Hot, bitter beauty.

And that was why he did not make the decision to throw his coffee across the courtroom lightly-- why it took a special display of idiocy from that spiky-headed upstart on the defense's bench to warrant the death of such love and labor. Godot lowered his hand from the throwing position and mourned its demise.

"Trite, why don't you turn on that brain of yours before you open your mouth next time?" he mocked. "I've only got so many cups of coffee."