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OC Contest Fanfiction |
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Fanart | Sprites | Fanfiction |
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Gil
Goodrich: The Pyrrhic Turnabout -
First Place! Entrant's Name: Robin Goodfellow Character’s Name: Gilbert “Gil” Goodrich/いい輔御手洗(Iisuke Mitarai) (JP) Age: 31 Occupation: Defense Attorney Brief Physical Description: Gil stands at slightly above 6’4 and is on the wiry side. He has short wavy light brown hair and blue eyes. Gil usually wears a white-striped shirt, a dark grey vest, dress slacks, a loosened black tie and a pair of sneakers (even in court, because when he spends most of his time behind the defense bench no one’s going to look at his footwear). Though from a religious family, Gil considers himself an atheist but still wears a silver cross tie-bar but because his dad gave it to him for luck and protection. Like many attorneys, Gil wears his badge on his lapel. He also wears a beat-up brown leather jacket when not in court but generally, even outside work, he still dresses neatly out of habit. Connection to canon characters: Aside from reading some case examples from the original series – such as DL-6, SL-9, KG-8, and others - while he was studying for his degree or seeing cases mentioned on the news, no direct connections. He did have a fanboy crush on Mia Fey for a while after reading some of her cases and seeing a few pictures of her and she’s still among the examples he lists of his ideal defense attorneys, though he’s never met her. He’s also used to listening to the Gavinners’ music due to his partner’s daughter being a huge fangirl. While he can appreciate their music from an objective point of view, being forced to listen to them to the point he can quote lyrics of whole songs on the spot has given him an aversion to them. Brief Personality Description: Gil’s mild-mannered, soft-spoken and a bit of stoic. He avoids conflict where he can and can seem like a doormat but he’s not spineless. He’s the type to be calm and serene regardless of the circumstances…right before the boom. People who know him well enough in the court room have cited him as ‘hiding a knife behind a smile’, some even accusing him of being two faced but Gil doesn’t see it. To him, he actually gets pushed to the edge very easily but it’s just easier for everyone if he reins that part of him in. And he gets headaches when he yells too much so it’s generally healthier for him to remain calm. But when he gets really angry, he tends to prove the point of Beware the Nice/Quiet Ones. Part of Gil’s behavior comes from when he was younger and trying to suppress his more violent, impulsive urges and later in counterpoint with his business partner and best friend, Ruth Lesney, who if he’s ‘hiding a knife behind a smile’ she’s a tiger about to chew your face off. With Ruth around, Gil doesn’t have to snap or say something caustic things because Ruth will first and in exchange, Ruth has someone better equipped to take care of niceties. He’s not completely idealistic and he’s not without the pragmatics that comes with the job. Many clients lie and many clients do nasty things and not everyone can be lucky enough to only be defending the innocent. But the accused have rights like everyone else and someone needs to make sure they’re getting their fair shake within the conveyer belt law system, guilty or no. Short of breaking the law or going against his morals or the truth, Gil will do whatever he can for his clients. Brief Background: A Chicago defense attorney, Gil Goodrich has a reputation for having a thing for barely salvageable cases. His win-loss record has more losses than wins but for fulfilling his version of justice and truth within the system, he’s content with what he’s done. Even though he’s occasionally run into critics of defense attorneys who say they lie and twist the truth to get leniency for their clients because of money or “because it’s their job”, Gil manages. Gil emphasizes with those criticisms to a degree because he used to have the same kind of thinking. Gil’s experiences with the law system started with the murder of his mother, Adelaide Goodrich. As per standard punishment, the culprit was handed a death sentence and Gil, being a young teen at the time, could only think “Good”. The man deserved it. Someone was dead because of him and the people left behind were hurting so why should he get off so lightly? It wouldn’t be fair otherwise. The excuses that Gil heard from the defense’s side and how the lawyer kept dragging things out to supposedly get “all the facets of the story” made him livid but it was worse when his own father, Werner Goodrich, didn’t seem as angry as he was. Werner had the nerve to even pity the culprit after hearing everything that was brought up at the trial and even willing to pray for the man. To Gil, Werner’s behavior didn’t make sense and wasn’t right and with how quickly he threw himself back into work once everything was over it felt like he hadn’t loved Adelaide enough. To Gil, it didn’t even feel like his dad loved him enough because he didn’t seem to emphasize or be around while Gil was hurting. Though there was already a bit of a rift between Gil and Werner due to Gil’s impulsiveness, mischief he’d get into due to the friends his parents didn’t approve of, disagreements regarding beliefs, and other miscellaneous factors, Adelaide’s murder made the rift grow. Gil was too young and wrapped up in his own grief to fully understand the difference between his dad having pity for the culprit and forgiveness or that when his dad was throwing himself into work it wasn’t because he didn’t care about Adelaide or Gil but that he cared so much but didn’t know how to cope with losing his wife or how to deal with Gil. When they did talk, things got tense so it was easier for both of them to simply withdraw from each other, leaving Gil to fumble and make more mistakes as his pent up anger got worse. By the time Werner did try step in, Gil was pushing him and any help he had to offer away. Gil knew he clearly needed help but couldn’t bring himself to accept it. Gil’s teenage years were mired with lots of mistakes and bad decisions as he fell in with a “bad” crowd. “Bad” being a loose term when Gil didn’t see them as strictly “bad” people, just people that had their own reasons for being the way they were. There was some stuff they did that made him uncomfortable but he wasn’t one to talk with how he acted. He was lucky – mostly because he was good at knowing when to get away and what to stay out of, not to mention he was a fast runner – to avoid the brunt of punishments or the law but he’d watch his friends get smacked by system’s version of justice. The increase in crime had led to a streamline approach to justice to get through the backlog with practices such as the three day max per trial rule and short investigation times. The system seemed to be praised because it was quick and efficient but it also seemed to have a LOT of room for error, based on what Gil saw. There were people like the culprit who killed his mom, who Gil still felt deserved what happened to him, but there were also people like his friends who fell through the cracks. They might have done the deed but the justice system has no time to look into the particulars or the fallout, only the verdict mattered. And in other cases there seemed to be a fair amount of people being accused who turned out ‘not guilty’ only at the diligent work of their attorneys. Gil realized there was a lot more risk for innocents in a system like theirs. Those thoughts stayed at the back of Gil’s mind until he’d hit rock bottom and was forced to re-evaluate his life, why he was so dissatisfied with himself, why he felt so angry all the time, and what he really wanted with his relationship with his dad, until he was ready to start crawling back up. When he got to college, the decision to become a defense attorney came surprisingly easy. Gil still couldn’t forgive who killed him mom but he had a new understanding for things. He didn’t want to be someone who twisted the truth but he wanted to be able to give fairness and support in a system he felt needed it, for the sake of the innocent and the accused. He met Ruth Lesney while in college and they clicked, becoming best friends. Sometime after graduation and his internship they bumped into each other again and after a few drinks and shared job woes they decided to form Goodrich&Lesney Co. Since then, Gil’s been a seasoned defense attorney with little regret about his chosen profession. Other/Misc: -His JP name, ‘Iisuke’, is taken from the Japanese word for ‘good’. -His Objection/Character theme is “Life” from Umineko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfIsbeR6nWw -His ‘court’ animations include: pulling at his tie-knot, the silver cross and his eyes glinting in the light right before he counters you, a *very* bright smile while his hand visibly shakes when he’s nervous, a quick face palm, riffling through his multi-coloured tabbed evidence folder and pulling out a piece of paper to prove something, his eyes closed for a few seconds as he tightly grips the defense bench when angry, imminent breakdown mode is when he starts making origami out of paper from his evidence binder, and the classic “OBJECTION!” pose. -When he gets particularly stressed in the presence of others, he has a habit of jabbing himself with something to remind himself not to do or say anything he’ll regret. When he’s alone and that stressed, he keeps his hands busy through things like cooking or making origami figures so he doesn’t end up hitting something. |
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Turnabout Beginnings -
Second Place! Entrant's Name: Diana Gray Character's Name: Madeline (Madi) Nicole Brent Age: 21 Occupation: Legal aide in the Prosecutor's Office Brief Physical Description: Madeline is about 5'7''. She has beautiful wavy black hair and stunning gray eyes that often display her emotions. There is a small scar on her forehead. She is petite for her age and her usual clothing consists of professional blouses and skirts for work and more casual clothes for around the house. Brief Personality Description: Madeline is a truly unique woman. She is logical (almost to an extreme), but has a strong sense of humor to balance it out. Sometimes it seems like she's too grown up for her age, and sometimes it seems like she hasn't grown up at all. She has killer instincts that greatly help during investigations and she can spot a contradiction from a mile away. She's all about her career life, but she has a softer side when it comes to her family. Madeline always wants the best for everyone else and will not hesitate to sacrifice something she cares about to save someone else or give them what they want. She's a good listener and good to ask for advice. Finally, she's always polite and civil, even to people she doesn't particularily care for. Connection to canon characters: She works for Miles Edgeworth and eventually becomes his girlfriend. She's friends with almost everyone else, expecially Maya and Kay. Brief Background: When Madeline was a sophomore in high school, her older sister Ivy (then a senior) was murdered. This was heartbreaking for Madeline as the two were very close. The killer was found and prosecuted by none other than Miles Edgeworth. That was the first time they met. About a year and a half later, Madeline's parents died in a car crash. Left alone and with no immediate family, Madeline turned to her aunt, who helped her get an apartment in L.A. Madeline's aunt had two small children of her own and was a single parent, as her husband had left right after the twins were born. Madeline grew up and went to law school, as her parents (who worked in the courthouse) would have expected. It was then that Madeline met Miles Edgeworth again. He'd recognized her talent and offered her a job over her Thanksgiving holidays. She'd taken it and enjoyed it very much, so much that he pulled her out of law school and had her work for him full time. It's been about a month since the switch, and that sets the scene for our story... |
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Sunset - Croik's Choice! Entrant's Name: Little Thief Character's Name: Wren Zangaru Faraday Date of Birth: August 14th, 1972 Occupation: Ninja Brief Physical Description: Wren is a slender, attractive woman, but you wouldn't know that from seeing her for the first time. She usually wears a brown ninja costume that obscures everything except her emerald green eyes. She has long, raven black hair hidden beneath her cowl, as well as a warm yet mischievous smile. Brief Personality Description: Like most ninjas, Wren is cryptic, mysterious, and proud of it. She likes to yank people's chains, either with her rapier wit or with cunning mind games and traps. Beneath her mischievous exterior, though, she is moralistic and honorable. She follows a strict code of ethics created by her clan, even if it goes against the law of the state. However, she has been willing to make compromises due to her marriage (see Connected Characters and Brief Background below). She also has a pretty short temper, and if you manage to piss her off, you'll wish you hadn't. One of her pet peeves is people with double standards who claim to be fighting for the greater good. In her own words: "I may be a master of deception, but at least I'm honest about it." Connection to Canon Characters: Wife of Byrne Faraday and biological mother of Kay. She is the one who taught Byrne the skills the infiltration skills he needed to be the Yatagarasu. She also considers Tyrell Badd a family friend, and had a semi-relationship with Calisto Yew until the day she murdered Byrne. Brief Background: Wren Zangaru was born into the Zangaru clan, a family of ninjas that resided halfway across the world (their exact location is unknown). From a young age, she was trained in the art of sabotage, infiltration, and assassination. She learned the secret technique that made the Zangaru clan special, which was by using clever traps that appeared to be end goals (for example, a theft or murder could end up being bait to lure out the true target). Not only this, but she the moral and ethical code of the Zangaru clan was pounded into her head, and she always strived to abide by it. Through this tinted lens, she acquired a distaste for common law and the hypocrites who upheld it. She believed that no government could ever acknowledge the fact that there are many different codes of laws, and that forcing everyone to abide by the same code is nothing short of ridiculous. This was her belief, and nothing would change her mind. That is, until she met Byrne Faraday. In the year 1999, Byrne was thrust into a troubling case where a woman accused of murder was killed herself on the way to the courthouse. Wren appeared before Byrne and claimed that she was the murderer, daring him to prove it. In actuality, all she did was desecrate the corpse. She pulled this charade both as part of a typical Zangaru trap, but also to prove her point about lawmen being hypocrites. When Byrne figured everything out, however, he surprised her by helping her catch the true culprit, who was also the target of Wren's trap. Through the whole ordeal, the two of them gained a new perspective on law, and it was something Wren wouldn't forget. A few months later, they crossed paths again in another tricky murder case involving the Zangaru clan. Wren's trust in Byrne wavered when the evidence pointed to the Zangaru clan, but Byrne surprised her yet again. Not only did he convince her to trust him, but he earned that trust in a startling display of accusing the true culprit instead of Wren. From that point forward, he had stolen Wren's heart. The two maintained a long-distance relationship since that time until finally, Wren got permission from her clan to marry Byrne. She settled down in LA, and eventually gave birth to Kay. She was able to maintain her job as a ninja, but not without making a few compromises with Byrne (for example, whenever she murdered someone, she had to sleep on the couch. Murder was something that Byrne did not condone under any circumstance). After the KG-8 incident and the formation of the Yatagarasu, she taught Byrne the skills he needed as an infiltrator. She tried to help out herself, but Byrne always insisted that she stay out of it. Then, in 2011, Byrne was killed by Calisto Yew. Wren was devastated, and would've vowed vengeance against the fraudulent attorney had she not had the responsibility of looking after her daughter, Kay. In order to maintain a balance between maintaining her job and protecting her daughter, Wren and Kay moved in with the Zangaru clan a few days after Byrne's death. Kay lived with her and the clan for seven (eight) years, after which she left to follow in her father's footsteps. Wren's current situation is unknown. The only thing that's known for certain is that she has not retired. |
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Introducing Sandra Castro
Entrant's Name: Lida Rose Character's Name: Sandra Castro Age: 30 Occupation: Private Investigator Brief Physical Description: Sandra is pale, shorter than average, and has black hair and bloodshot, green eyes. She tends to wear a nice top, skirt, and comfortable shoes, and carries around a white and red cane with a sword hidden inside it. Brief Personality Description: Sandra is a very blunt woman who purposely addresses people by the wrong name when she doesn't respect them. She is also highly intelligent and often uses her slightly heightened senses to guess what others are doing. Connection to canon characters (if applicable): Besides the fact that Miles Edgeworth is the only person in the entire world she seems to respect, she doesn't have any. Brief Background: Sandra is a detective from Babahl who came to the US with information that a Babahlese mafia was operating there. The case blew up in her face quite literally, and she's been blind ever since. She became a private investigator under the name "Sandra Castro" and quickly became famous. |
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If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, email them to Croik at courtrecord @ gmail dot com. |