[Application]
Player Information
Name: Mimi
Age: 21
AIM SN: misquarified
email: seerofheart@gmail.com
Have you played in an LJ based game before? Yes
Currently Played Characters: N/A
Character Information
General
Canon Source: Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations
Canon Format: Video Game
Character's Name: Iris
Character's Age: 25
What form will your character's NV take?: A lovely cell phone.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities: Iris has no supernatural or special abilities.
If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them? I would like Iris to develop the power of invisibility. Considering that she has no idea that she has gained any powers upon arriving at Siren's Pull, it will likely take her a long time to discover them. They will reveal themselves in a life or death situation by activating on their own, and turning her completely invisible (serving as a sort of animalistic survival instinct). When her powers activate in this state, her clothes will also become invisible and she will be able to maintain this invisibility until the danger has passed even while moving (running, walking, ect).
Sadly, when she tries to activate this power consciously, she'll find it is very difficult. I see her progression of training going somewhat like this:
Maintain conscious invisibility for 1-2 seconds => Progressively hold her invisible state for longer periods of time, but only when she is standing completely still => Once she can hold this state for unlimited time, she can concentrate on maintaining this state while doing other tasks like walking
Once she has mastered that training line, she will find that she can also turn invisible inanimate things that she comes in contact with (primarily, her clothing). Of course maintaining her form while keeping her clothes on will take even more training, and she will likely need months and months of training before she is able to achieve this.
Considering her cowardly nature, I think a power like this that is only really useful in preserving her own life is appropriate.
Weapons:Iris does not use any weapons.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History: From the moment she came into this world, Iris was considered to be a failure. She was born to Morgan Fey, a woman who had been destined since childhood to inherit the position of Master of Kurain Village. However, Morgan had been born with pitifully low spiritual energy and the position was taken instead by her younger sister. So Morgan threw all of her energy into giving birth to a child who would one day become the Master, so that her line could claim what was rightfully theirs.
Therefor, when Morgan gave birth to twin girls, she was hopeful that they would have the spiritual energy needed to become the Master. To her dismay, neither of the girls had any spiritual power whatsoever. Her husband was an influential jeweler who married Morgan for the political influence that she would have as the Master. It was now clear that Morgan would never inherit the title, so he left with Iris and Dahlia. It is likely that Morgan did not protest his custody of the twin girls, seeing as they were already useless to her.
Shortly thereafter, he remarried a woman who already had a daughter, Valerie Hawthorne. The twin's father and their new stepmother decided that two daughters were more than enough, and one of the twins would have to go. Again, it was decided that Iris was unwanted by not only her mother but her father as well- and she was sent to live at Hazakura temple under the care of Sister Bikini.
While it was painful at first, being sent to the temple was the best thing that could have happened to Iris. She spent her life in quiet solitude, working hard with Sister Bikini and forging a life of simple work. Her former father and mother made no attempt to contact her, but it can be assumed that Iris remained in contact with Dahlia. As the two grew, they developed very differently, but they remained close.
Years later, Dahlia told Iris that she was plotting a false kidnapping that involved herself, Valerie, and Terry Fawless. It seems that Iris was hesitant about taking part in the plan, but Dahlia eventually convinced her to join. Sadly though, when it came down to it, Iris' cowardice won out and she never showed up. It was never revealed what Iris' role would have been, but Dahlia left the incident feeling bitterness and betrayal towards her sister.
Five years later, Dahlia poisoned a defense attorney during an investigation and gave the bottle of poison that was disguised as a necklace to Phoenix Wright. Dahlia was a prime suspect in the poisoning of the attorney, and Dahlia wanted desperately to simply kill Phoenix so that she could retrieve and destroy the evidence that he held. Desperate to stop her sister from doing any more evil deeds, Iris convinced Dahlia to use a different plan, one where she could pose as Dahlia and pretend to act as Phoenix's girlfriend so that she could retrieve the poison bottle.
Sadly, Phoenix saw the bottle as a gift of love, and would not return it to Iris. After six months of 'dating' Iris truly had fallen in love with Phoenix, and couldn't summon the heart to really convince him to part with the necklace. In a way, she knew that if she got the necklace back the relationship would be over and this dream would come to an end. However, Dahlia caught onto this and decided to take matters into her own hands. Iris' actions were the final straw of betrayal, and Dahlia knew that she could no longer confide in her sister.
In the end, Dahlia attempted to kill Phoenix but ended up killing another student in the process. She tried to frame Phoenix for the murder, but was exposed by Mia Fey and sentenced to death. Consumed by the guilt of her involvement and devastated by grief, Iris returned to Hazakura temple and isolated herself there for the next five years, determined to atone for her sins.
Her years of penance were cut off when she was approached by two mysterious people. A man named Godot, and the long lost Mystic Misty arrived at Hazakura temple. They informed Iris of a plot that had been devised to kill the future Master of Kurain, Maya Fey. The plan was for a young mystic, Pearl Fey, to summon the soul of the now deceased Dahlia Hawthorne who would then kill Maya. Godot and Misty planned to prevent Pearl from summoning Dahlia, but they needed Iris' help. Determined to save her sister's soul from any more sin, Iris agreed immediately.
When the plan was put into action, Godot was forced to kill 'Dahlia' which left them with the dead body of Misty Fey. They were forced to put their backup plan into place, and Iris moved Misty's body from the inner temple to the main temple. However, Sister Bikini woke up just in time to watch Iris plunge the Shichishito into Misty Fey's body, and Iris suddenly became the main suspect in this tragic murder case.
Phoenix believed in Iris' innocent, and due to circumstance Edgeworth was saddled with the responsibility of serving as her defense until Phoenix recovered from his sudden cold. After being prodded, Iris admitted that she had something important to tell Phoenix, and she promised that she would tell him if Edgeworth defended her in court.
It was discovered the next day that Maya was locked in the inner temple behind Kurain trick locks, and Iris was the only one who knew the combination. As she was being brought to the temple, there was suddenly an earthquake and Iris was worried due to the unstable nature of the inner temple. Running on ahead she quickly unlocked the lock only to find her sister being channeled by Maya Fey. Dahlia switched places with Iris and locked her in the cave behind five trick locks.
Iris remained there for the rest of the trial as Dahlia posed as Iris on the outside. After Godot was convicted as the true killer, Iris was freed from the inner cavern and declared not guilty. It was said that she would still be tried as an accomplice, but Iris accepted this as just punishment for her deeds.
At the end of the trial, Iris kept her promise to Edgeworth and admitted her secret to Phoenix. She told me that he had dated her all of those years ago, and apologized for lying to him all those months. Phoenix thanked her, and told her that he always believed in the 'Dahlia' that he had known, and said that she was a good person. This simple acknowledgement of faith brought Iris to tears, and she thanked him.
Point in Canon: The end of Trials and Tribulations, case 3-5, as she is being led away from the courthouse.
Character Personality: When we first meet Iris in Ace Attorney, she is somewhat of a mystery. In fact, we as the players are guarded around her, just like Phoenix is. Her pretty face, the gentle and kind way that she talks to others... we are reminded of Dahlia Hawthorne in every way. However, the more time we spend getting to know Iris, we finally realize an important fact- Iris is nothing like her twin sister Dahlia Hawthorne.
While Dahlia is the kind of person who will put on a meek, sweet, and timid facade to gain the support of others, Iris is like that naturally. It's not too hard to imagine that Dahlia was like this too, long ago. However at a critical point in the girls' development, the two of them were separated. Dahlia remained in a cutthroat environment where she became cruel and cunning, but Iris was sent to a peaceful environment. While she did not choose to live at Hazakura temple with Sister Bikini, sending her there really was the best thing that her father could have done for her.
Living as a nun encouraged Iris to grow up into a sweet and kind girl. She is empathetic, and worries about the people around her. Generally she is kind, helpful, and sweet towards people the she initially meets. It's true, she's a little shy and it takes her a while to let her guard down around others, but it's easy to tell that she is a nice person. In a way, she seems to view the world through slightly rose-colored glasses. She's optimistic, and sees the good in the things and people around her while still being realistic. She is generally soft spoken, although there do seem to be a few points that will make her speak in an uncharacteristically determined way. However if you asked her about it, she would likely avoid the question and try to return to more pleasant conversations. On the other hand, if she is surprised or unsure of how to deal with something, she will be quiet and stare at you wide-eyed until she is able to process this new information. However, if you don’t know that about her, she just comes off as being a little bit ‘spacy’.
Essentially, after talking to her for a few minutes, it's easy to think that is all that there is too her, but this is far from the truth. Because when you dig down into Iris as a character, you will find a very cowardly core. Dahlia accuses Iris of being a traitor and a coward... and Iris would agree with her. We see throughout the game that Iris is a character who does not possess the courage to deal with her problems face on, instead she is a chronic avoider. When she is unsure of what to do, or scared of the outcome that a possible decision will bring, she ends up being paralyzed by that fear and ultimately does nothing at all. Iris 'goes with the flow' as much as she can, but when push comes to shove she will often run away.
We see this most prominently in her dealings with Dahlia. For example, we know that Dahlia had convinced Iris to help in her cunning plan. Iris knew that what they were doing was wrong, but being the impressionable and meek person that she was, Dahlia convinced her to go along with it. But when the time finally came, Iris had to make a choice. If she was going to walk out that door, she would have to choose a side. Either she could give up on what she knew was the right thing and help her sister, or she could stand by her convictions and stop Dahlia. But when the time came, Iris ended up doing nothing at all. She let the plan fail, but she couldn't summon the strength to actually stop Dahlia. We see a similar train of action when Iris must choose between her sister's wishes to retrieve the poison necklace from Phoenix, and the fact that she was happier now with Phoenix than she had ever been. Again, she waffles in indecision until Dahlia finally acts and makes a choice for her. Then when everything is said and done, Iris chooses to continue to avoid the truth, and instead of confronting Phoenix with her crimes, she runs away-back to Hazakura temple. There she works to 'atone for her sins' but she knows that she's just running away.
That is not to say that all hope is lost. It seems that through the game, Iris experiences more growth as a person and by the end she is still cowardly, but is no longer defined by it. Under the banner of saving her sister from bearing more sin on her soul, Iris accepts a dirty and dangerous job (helping Godot and Mystic Misty with their plan to save Maya) and ultimately finds the strength to reveal all of her wrongdoings to Phoenix. She is still a coward at heart, but it seems that being surrounded by brave and noble people had a profound effect on her. This brings me to another important point of Iris' character.
While she is generally impressionable and cowardly, she is also extremely loyal. It might seem that these two traits are at odds, but that is what makes her such a complex character. We see the most of this again in her interactions with Dahlia. The simple fact is, that while Iris ‘betrayed’ Dahlia many times (she didn’t assist her in her plan, she essentially chose to keep her relationship with Phoenix rather than get back the bottle of poison) she never actually gave up on her sister. No matter what terrible things Dahlia did, Iris constantly tried to push her sister onto a better path. When Dahlia had poisoned Diego Armando, instead of calling her sister a lost cause, Iris instead tried to find a way that Dahlia could accomplish her goals without killing more people. Even after Dahlia had died, Iris put herself on the line and even went to jail in the end-all in the hopes that she could save Dahlia from doing any more terrible acts of evil. She never stopped loving her sister, and despite her meek nature she never stopped trying to do what was best for Dahlia. Of course this does not just apply to Dahlia, even after being apart from Phoenix for years and only having known him for a few months, it’s obvious that she never stopped thinking about him. She continued to punish herself for all of those years, because she never forgave her cowardly self for deceiving him. And then finally in the end it’s that loyalty and compassion that drives her to the brave act of admitting her sins.
Pointing out these two opposing character traits raises the question, where does Iris stand now? At the end of the game, she stands at the cusp of change. She has discovered that she too can be brave, although at her core she is still the kind of person who will avoid conflict for as long as she can. She is a sweet and gentle girl, who works hard to see the good in everyone around her. Sometimes this can make her seem like a bad judge of character, but oftentimes her observations are more perceptive than others will give her credit for. While she knows that she can’t fight in the conventional sense, she will gladly shoulder sin and dirty her own hands if it means that she can protect the people that she cares about. And slowly, as time goes on, she will discover even greater strength. We see it a few times in the game, an iron will that peers our through her eyes, although it is often quickly buried again by her meek nature. But with experience and growth, she will discover that she has more strength than she knows.
So there you have it. Iris is essentially this, kindhearted, dizy, well-intentioned, cowardly, meek, easily influenced, optimistic while still grounded in realism, caring, self-deprecating, perceptive, hesitant, loyal, and a complete and utter sweetheart.
Character Plans: Iris is entering a situation that is both her greatest dream and her worst nightmare. Simply put, both Phoenix and Dahlia are here. Obviously this is bad-she will be concerned about her sister’s actions and will want to do everything that she can to save her sister from doing more terrible things, and she will constantly worry for the safety of her cast mates. However, on the other hand, a part of her will be happy to see her sister alive. Having failed her sister and letting her die… that will always be one of Iris’ greatest regrets. So to have a chance to still save her hear… she won’t know how to go about it, but she will definitely want to do something.
But beyond that, I want to see Iris grow as a character. Here in Siren’s Pull, she won’t be able to run away from problems, she will be forced to face them and will likely grow because of it. I want to see her make relationships both positive and negative, and see how forming new loyalties will help her grow and develop as a person. I don’t know how she will grow yet, but I do know that I am excited to watch her blossom and exceed all of her own expectations.
Appearance/PB: Here
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
He- [there’s the sound of her clearing her throat, and her voice sounds stronger the second time] Hello? I hope this is working right… I’m really not the best with technology. Oh-I don’t mean to ramble, I should just… [there’s another pause as she takes a deep breath]
I’m really not sure who I’m calling, and I’m sorry to bother you at this hour, but I’m… [kidnapped? Completely confused?] lost. I woke up in what seemed to be a field of some kind, and I’ve walked a little ways away but I don’t recognize anything at all. If someone could please tell me where this is, I should be able to find my way after that. So-
[beeep beep…. Strangely, it seems like that breathy nervous young lady ended the phone call. But after a second the static background noise of someone on the other end reappears]
I’m sorry, I think… I accidentally hit a wrong button. This phone is a little more complicated than the one that I'm used to. I-If anyone is still listening to this, I don’t intend to bother you much longer, and I won’t touch the keypad until this call is over.
[there’s an awkward silence. She feels like she should say something more, but the crushing nervousness of waking up in a strange place combined with her nerves is making it hard to think clearly] Thank you for listening to me.
Third Person Sample
Iris only held one box of meager belonging as she stared around the empty apartment. It was small, but she didn’t mind that. In a way, the cramped space reminded her of her room back in the temple, and that was comforting. She put the box down on the dusty bed and slowly took out her things. She had arrived at this place with nothing really, and she honestly hadn’t amassed many possessions in that time. It was strange, having a job and being able to spend money on things. Of course she had gone shopping before, but it had always been running errands for Sister Bikini, never shopping for herself.
She laughed softly and she transferred her robes from the box to a moldy looking set of drawers. She had never really wanted to be a nun, but she had lived that life for so long that any other lifestyle seemed so… extravagant. Turning back to the box, she found that it was empty. Had she already unpacked everything? She fidgeted with her empty hands for a moment before folding them across her lap. She sat down on her bed and looked out the window, out at the grey city.
All of this unpacking, it was a distraction and she knew it. What was she going to do? That is what she should really be thinking about-Dahlia, Mystic Maya, Mystic Mia, Godot, and… Dahlia. She had been told that Dahlia was living under the protection of some agency, a group that couldn’t be trusted. The idea made her stomach churn, on one hand she wanted nothing more than to actually see her sister in person, but on the other hand she didn’t know what such a meeting would bring.
They had talked briefly on the NV. She didn’t know what she had been expecting, for Dahlia to renounce her sinful ways and say that she was ready to start a new life here? She shook her head just thinking about it, and compulsively tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear. Of course not, Dahlia was far too proud for that. Even if she wanted to give up such a horrible way of life-and deep down Iris knew that she didn’t-she wouldn’t ever come to Feenie and the others for help.
Ah! She looked up from her lap and clasped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t said it out loud, but she had still thought it. Feenie… she had to stop thinking that! It wasn’t like that, she couldn’t… she said it that one time in the courthouse, but that was an exception. To call him that again, it would be presumptuous, and rude, and cruel, and to many other terrible things. She had caused him too much pain, and what she should do now was give him distance. He might have forgiven her, but still-she couldn’t help but feel that she didn’t deserve such forgiveness. He was always too kind, so now she had to be the one to look out for his safety.
It wasn’t running away to give him space like this, to put distance between them. No… it’s what he wants, right? He has made wonderful friends, and he’s grown so much since when she knew him. Her presence would just make things complicated, now that he knew the truth about her he could truly move on as long as she kept her distance. But even thinking about the fact that he is somewhere in this city made tear up a little. Attempting to blink them away she stood up suddenly and marched over to the sink for a drink of water. Anything to distract her from the churning feeling in her stomach.
What if Dahlia hurt him? What if he attempted to hurt Mystic Mia through Mystic Maya? She was a kind girl, she didn’t deserve any more pain. And forcing the responsibility of looking after Dahlia-she couldn’t force that on anyone else. Dahlia was her responsibility, and Iris knew that she couldn’t keep dancing around her like this forever. Eventually she would have to meet her, this false peace couldn’t last.
She poured her fresh cup of water down the drain, she wasn’t really thirsty in the first place.