Player Name: Linden
Personal Journal: N/A
E-mail: doctorbanana1@googlemail.com
AIM/MSN: AIM: deatheatercrouch
Plurk: ThorinII
Timezone: GMT
Current Characters in Route: N/A
Character Name: Hal "Otacon" Emmerich
Series: Metal Gear Solid: The Guns of the Patriots
Timeline: During Act 1: Liquid Sun of MGS4. Otacon has sent out the Mk.II to assist Snake in the Middle-East and is assisting via the Nomad.
Canon Resource Links: http://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/Hal_Emmerichhttp://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_4:_Guns_of_the_PatriotsPersonality: Otacon is a kind and caring guy, who would never let anyone come to any harm. He's the kind of guy who cares about protecting his friends and family, the few he has, and being there for them in times of need. His adopted daughter, Sunny Emmerich, is under the guidance and protection of Otacon. She often calls him "Uncle Hal", as they're practically like family. After Sunny's mother's death and her rescue by Raiden from the Patriots, Otacon took her into his care.
He may come across as nerdy and geeky, as he's the type of guy to sit in front of the computer all day. This does come with his job description though, being a computer engineer. Otacon has a sense of humour and can come across as slightly eccentric at times. This is mainly due to his high IQ and intelligence, being good at technical things. He can be quite manipulative in finding out information and data. This is partly due to himself being a professional hacker. He will stop at nothing to retrieve every single data file for his own personal gain.
Otacon is an Otaku, meaning he enjoys Japanese anime and going to conventions. This is where his nickname "Otacon" is derived from. He used to go all the time before getting involved in working on Metal Gears. Most people associate Otakus as closet guys, who sit locked in their rooms all day. You could say the same about Otacon, as he used to do that before he became more confident, due to growing up and shedding past habits.
Otacon does have a heroic streak in him, which shines through during missions aboard the Nomad. He prefers to use intelligence over violence to solve problems. During missions, he helps Snake by giving tactical advice over the CODEC and webcam he's hooked up to. At Shadow Moses, Otacon showed his heroic side by rescuing Snake, who was locked in a cell, by sneaking around a guarded base using camouflage. He kept himself well hidden and managed to sneak past many guards without injuring any of them. Otacon knows violence and would rather use wit and guile, instead of knocking guys out. As well as having a heroic side at times, Otacon also has a cowardice streak through him. When he was younger, his sister Emma Emmerich was dragged into the family pool by their father. She called out to her brother to aid her, but he was too afraid and reluctant to jump in and save her. Their father drowned but Emma managed to save herself. Even to this day, Otacon regrets not having answered his sister's pleas and jumped in to save her and his father. Otacon can often come across as a shy man, being the quite, soft spoken man he is. He likes to strike up conversation on technical matters and loves to talk about mecha anime. This is his favourite thing. If anyone starts talking to him about anime, you'll be hard pressed to shut him up.
As far as romance is concerned, Otacon is a rather failed romantic. He tends to choose women he can never be with. They either die on him or are either a bad match. When he was a teenager, Otacon was seduced by his step-mother. They had an affair, which ultimately caused the untimely death of his father, who drowned himself in the family pool. Otacon blamed himself for many years after the event, feeling guilty for ever having said affair.
During the Shadow Moses Incident, Otacon fell in love with a woman called Sniper Wolf. She was a Kurdish sniper, who was also working with the enemy at the time. Snake told Otacon that this was just Stockholm Syndrome. That he was only thinking he loved the woman because she was his captor. Sniper Wolf was shot by Snake and Otacon ran out to her body in tears. He asked Snake if "love could bloom on the battlefield." Snake answered: "Love
is a battlefield." A sore loss for Otacon, who shied away from women soon after the death of Sniper Wolf.
During the Big Shell Incident, Otacon's sister, Emma, was fatally injured by Vamp. She died in his arms, pulling off his glasses from his nose and dying peacefully in his arms. He blames himself for not being there for his sister again and took her death badly. A few years later aboard the Nomad, Otacon fell in love with scientist, Naomi Hunter. This was to be short-lived, as Naomi was already dying, having suffered with cancer for a while. She eventually killed herself, leaving Otacon in despair, once more. Even to this day, Otacon leaves women well alone, as he never believes he'll find the right woman for him.
Even though Otacon is intelligent in every way possible, he does have his flaws. During the Big Shell Incident, he copied some of Mei Ling's Chinese proverbs down onto paper. He intended to read them out to Snake when he got stuck or needed guidance. The only thing was, Otacon didn't quite understand them all and ended up spouting rubbish most of the time. He means good most of the time but can sometimes fail in his own enthusiasm.
Strengths/Weaknesses:Canon related: Otacon is a skilled hacker, mechanical engineer and computer engineer. These skills were first shown during the Shadow Moses Incident in MGS1. Snake met up with Otacon, whilst trying to find out more information regarding Metal Gear REX. Otacon can successfully hack most computers, regardless of firewalls and anti-hacking software protecting it. He is a tech geek basically. He is known as a "computer genius" by most and his skills have become an important part of his life. He uses them mostly to aid Snake in his missions, by sitting at the computer and acting as a "wingman" of sorts. He's the man behind the screen who does all the techy stuff.
During the Shadow Moses Incident, Hal designed Metal Gear REX. It was a mecha robot designed to aid against any nuclear threat but was mis-used and taken by Liquid Snake. Liquid wanted to use the Metal Gear as a weapon for nuclear strikes, turning it into a doomsday machine. Hal was against all use of REX being used as a weapon, but knew the robot inside out. He has a great knowledge and understanding of Metal Gears. One of the few people who actually know the ins and outs of designing a Metal Gear.
During MGS4, Hal developed the "OctoCamo" for Snake during his missions. It is a suit which adapts and blends in with each environment it touches. If Snake lays low on the ground, the suit matches the appearance of the ground beneath him. It can match anything it touches, almost like a chameleon effect. This was a contributing factor in aiding Snake during his missions throughout MGS4. As well as the OctoCamo, Hal developed The Solid Eye, with the help of Sunny. It is a device resembling an eye patch and was used by Solid Snake in his final mission to eliminate Liquid Ocelot. The Eye appears similar to a plastic eye patch, with the text "SOLID EYE SYSTEM" and a serial number appearing on the front and a small camera lens below the text.
One of Hal's weaknesses is women. Because of Sniper Wolf's death, at Shadow Moses, he has a hard time coping with women he knew personally being killed, including Emma Emmerich (his stepsister) and Naomi Hunter. This impacts heavily during each death of each characters, mostly reducing him to tears. Hal often has difficulty in hiding his his fear. When being cornered by the Cyborg Ninja, the Grey Fox, Hal peed himself. This is an occurring event within the Emmerich family, as Emma Emmerich also peed herself during MGS2, when Raiden found her hiding within a locker.
Otacon claimed to have a fear of heights, informing Snake of this in 2005 after watching him rappel down a communications tower. Shortly after that, he later became a proficient helicopter pilot, having flown helicopters in 2009, during the Big Shell Incident and 2014 (Naomi's escape from South America, Snake's insertion into/recovery from Shadow Moses, and during the attack on Outer Haven). He previously underwent VR training on the Kamov KA-62 civilian model, explaining his ability to pilot the KA-60.
Personality related:Otacon often suffers with deep bouts of depression, due to the heavy loss he has known throughout his life. These bouts are mostly kept to himself, as he doesn't like letting others know his weakness. These mainly come about when triggers about his past are revealed in front of him. Usually word of mouth or images can set him off. He watched many women he loved die in front of him. His step-sister included. This weakness can prove to be difficult if Otacon is trying to focus on a mission in helping Snake in the field. He has to try and stay away from letting his feelings take over and reduce him to a crying wreck. He is better than he used to be, but the feelings are still buried deep inside of him.
A strength in his personality is his ability to find courage where there was none before. Before meeting Snake, Otacon used to practically hide himself away in lockers or hide anywhere. He used to be very shy and duck away from dangerous situations. Now, aboard the Nomad, he will push himself to the limit to help people he cares about. To an extent, of course. He has a fear of losing people, so this new found courage has grown in him the last few years, since he first met Snake. It's like he wants to hold onto anyone he can, since he doesn't want to lose anyone again.
Another strength of Otacon is his ability to use his intelligence to get through nearly all problems he is faced with. He often analyses problems and works them out in sequence. Being a scientist, like his father, helps Otacon use this ability aboard the Nomad. Whethere it be computers or equipment, he is always up for a new challenge. He makes use of his sensible and cool-headed attitude when facing problems too.
A weakness that comes across in Otacon is his self-consciousness. Being a guy who wears glasses, can cause him to shy away from social activities. Whether it be meeting new people or public events, he rarely takes off his glasses. He doesn't believe he's attractive in any way and wonders if a woman will ever look at him again. He just thinks of himself as the "geeky kid" who people just stare at and think he's a loner.
Pokémon InformationAffiliation: Trainer.
Starter: Piplup
Password: "
Caramel [Rules]
Popcorn [FAQ]."
SamplesFirst Person Sample: [The feed snaps on showing a very confused and disorientated guy with glasses and untidy hair. Otacon swallows, as he takes in his surroundings with an expression of awe and downright confusion. Where the hell is he? Last thing he remembers is being aboard the Nomad with Sunny. They were writing some code and Otacon was helping Sunny with her worm cluster code.
Otacon pushes his glasses up his nose and blinks a few times. Nope. Definitely awake. Then, he feels a slight pulling at his ankle. He looks down to see a small penguin-like creature looking up at him with big, curious eyes.]Pip? Piplup![The engineer's eyes widen slightly, as he bends down to the creature's level. Is it a penguin?]Wha?- Hey there. I didn't see you down there, little guy. I'm guessing you're some kind of bird, right?
[Otacon smiles and pets the little penguin on the head.]You don't know why I'm here, do you? Uh, can you even understand what I'm saying?
[Piplup just stares and frowns. Otacon looks at the feed screen and wonders if anyone else is receiving his broadcast. Piplup points to his chest, then back to Otacon. What is he trying to say?]I can't understand you very well, as I don't speak whatever language it is you speak. You are really cute though.
[Otacon pets Piplup's head once more and then focuses on the feed screen.]Hey, if anyone is seeing or hearing this, I'm rather lost and confused. Snake? If you're seeing or hearing this, it's me, Otacon. I've met a little penguin friend and he seems to want something from me. So, if anyone is out there, please can you help?
[Because Hal was really confused right now.]Third Person Sample: Otacon smiled down at his relatively new friend and Pokémon, Piplup. The two of them had been walking through the lush grass just outside of New Bark Town for a few days now. Finding berries along the way when they could and basically getting to know each other a bit better. Things were shaky when they first met, as none could understand each other and there was a lot of shrugging and head shaking. Now though, it was different. Otacon knelt down to allow Piplup to climb up onto his arm and then onto his shoulder. He preferred riding on Otacon's shoulder, as he had a better view that way. Being small had it's disadvantages sometimes.
"Hey, are you hungry, Piplup? I found these orange berries on a nearby bush this morning. I remember you liking the orange ones best." Otacon smiled and passed an orange berry to Piplup.
He took it in his wings then swallowed it whole with a pleased "
Piplup!" and a smile. At least Otacon was finally getting to understand his Pokémon. He had found out what one of those was, by using the Poke Gear and asking around New Bark Town. He found the Poke Gear to be a fascinating piece of equipment, as he designed machines himself. It was similar to a CODEC but with a few more features added, such as being able to record phone numbers and listen to radio stations. The geek in him was positively jumping up in joy at his new toy. As well as his Poke Gear being helpful, Otacon found people to be really friendly around in the neighbourhood and it pleased him to find hospitality. He was on his own really. He had the Poke Gear but he was without his friends and family. Snake and Sunny. He hadn't seen them for a few days now and it felt odd. He felt like he was cut off from his own world, now he was in the world of Pokémon. Yet, having Piplup along with him encouraged hope to bloom inside of him.
"Shall we go back to the Pokémon Centre? You look kind of tired, Piplup." Otacon looked at the small, blue penguin and noticed him yawn. He nodded to his trainer and held onto the engineer's shoulder, as they began their walk back to New Bark Town.
The Pokémon Centre had been a lifeline for Otacon since arrival. The nurses and attendants were always so helpful in showing him how to heal his Pokémon and pointing out the Poke Marts, to buy things from. So far, Otacon had relied on feeding Piplup berries, as those were his favourite source of food. Many questions had flashed through his mind since arrival. One of which being, what would Snake and Sunny think of him right now? Within a new world inhabited by Pokémon and he had his own Pokémon too! It was like living inside a child's anime series. Yet, unlike anime; this was real.
