"Goose is one cool pilot. A self-proclaimed expert, there isn't a vehicle he says he can't handle."
Name: Joshua Drake 'Goose' Wauna
Age: 28
Birthday: July 4th, 1983
Gender: Male
Blood Type: AB? I guess?
Height: 6'1.6" exactly.
Weight: 156 lbs
Game/Series: Pilotwings 64 / Post-Pilotwings? Resort (Pilotwings series)
Occupation(s): Piloting 101 instructor / Security Guard. (Previously the school's History teacher.)
Living Arrangements: Pre-Pilotwings? 64 (1983-2006): A village in Holiday Island.
Pilotwings 64 Era (2007-early to mid-2008): Holiday Island Flight Club dormitory complex, rooming with Nester.
Sumabura Gakuen, first apartment (Early-to-mid-2008-late 2008): 1213 Crescent Lane, Final Destination City, top floor of a two-story apartment.
Pilotwings Resort (??? - TIME COMPRESSION ISSUES): Wuhu Sky Club
Sumabura Gakuen, second apartment (Late 2008-present): At the top floor of an apartment in Final Destination City with Lt. Surge.
Extracurricular activities: Flying, drinking, sparring, and being a bit of a daredevil.
Personality:
Think of Goose as that sloppy, sticky interior of a vanilla bean. On the exterior, it doesn't seem like a pleasant, enjoyable thing to even be around. Once someone gets to know what the vanilla bean is like, however, they will realize that it's actually not that bad. Goose might come off as a bit... strange and full of himself, but trust this: he is actually a man with a good heart, albeit a unique one.
Goose's stronger qualities can overshadow his more endearing traits, namely how absolutely cocky he can be at times. In short, Goose thinks he's all that, a bag of chips, and a tall pina colada to top it all off. He really likes himself. He is the type of person who would look in the mirror and point finger-guns in it, saying, "Hey, handsome, lookin' good today." That sadly isn't even an exaggeration either. Just why does he like himself so much? As Goose would say it, "Well, say, if I met me in a bar, I'd wanna be his best pal."
This pilot may not intend to be, pardon the French, an ass, but he can come off as one at times. He isn't exactly the best at articulating words in an accurate manner, nor is he very good at expressing himself in a way that is very nice. He is blunt, says it like he can within his abilities, and doesn't regret it one bit. If he thinks that dress makes a girl look like she came from a dumpster, don't expect him to lie about it. He will definitely tell that girl that she looks like she came from a dumpster, whether or not he will be promptly smacked after the fact.
To add up to all of this, Goose is probably one of the most reckless guys one will meet. This is the guy who heard about a giant robot attacking and causing the end of many, many lives, and deciding to exclaim, "Well? Bring him on." (Ignore the fact that he then developed a huge hatred and fear of them okay, they're just special. :|) He is brave and bold, the type of guy who will take danger head-on, either for fun (trust me, his hobbies- such as skydiving- are pretty wild) or to defend his country like a boss. He is far from a coward. While this can be advantageous, it sure can get him in a load of trouble if he isn't careful, and guess what? He is not a careful person.
Through all of these unpleasant qualities, however, once a person digs down beneath his layers, they may find that Goose is actually a pretty sweet guy. While he may come off as rude and crude, he actually means well deep down and is very loyal to any friend he makes. If people don't like him, tough on them. If people do like him, then he will invite them with open arms... er, wings. He loves his friends and he loves people. He just shows it in an odd way and is not very good at showing that bright side to him sometimes. No matter what, however, Goose will defend his friends until the very end, even if it may not be strikingly obvious at first.
Goose is an optimistic idealist. He dreams, and when he dreams, he dreams big. He is the type to freely, bravely aim for the clouds and make any dream of his a reality. It is hard to make him waver from his goals, as when he wants to accomplish something, he will fight for it until there is no fight left in him. He usually thinks that whatever he does or whatever does happen will turn out positive, and if not, "Well, hey, every cloud's got a silver lining, but it'll change." No matter how negative things get, it will get positive eventually. That is how he thinks about it.
To top it off, his main goal is nothing but piloting like a champ and learning to get stronger, better, and faster. He wants to move up in the world. He wants to defend people while making a good name for himself- a good reputation, if you will. He wouldn't lie if someone asked him, "Would you like to be famous one day?" Heavens no. He'd be beyond honest with it and tell said person, "Depends. Do cats like fish?" He wants to be a guy that people will look up to instead of look down upon, and considering that he does have a good nature deep down, he at least won't do it with metallic fist of an angry giant robot. He'll do it in a way that's more than just a benefit for him and him alone.
Laidback is a suiting word for him when he isn't doing anything reckless. Normally, when he isn't out with a thirst for danger, he is actually a very relaxed, calm guy who is very difficult to bother. He's not the type to yell at the top of his lungs unless he has to. Otherwise, he tries to be a bit of a smooth operator, or at least as smooth as a guy like him can possibly get. He isn't easy to upset or anger unless someone very dear to him is hurt or in trouble.
Along with that, Goose... is really not the sharpest crayon in the box. He isn't dumb, per se, but he isn't very intelligent either. He can be of average-to-below-average intelligence, sometimes not understanding some more high-smarts phrases, mechanisms, words, and other such things. He is smart enough to be able to hold his own, but don't think that he's a wiz. In fact, he is quite far from being a wiz.
Overall, Goose can come off pretty strongly as this asshole who just wants to stroke his own ego and jump head-first without thinking. However, he really does have a good heart on the inside, and he is fiercely loyal to the people he is close to. While not very intelligent, he adores himself, and is thus optimistic about whatever he sets his mind onto. In fact, he is just plain optimistic in general, laidback, and pretty difficult to irritate.
He is just some kind of guy.
Relations with Other Characters:
UNDER CONSTRUCTION. AGAIN.
Backstory:
Ever since he was a very young child, being a resident on Holiday Island for all of his life and hearing many things about its flight organization, Goose always wanted to be a pilot. His parents had worked before with gyrocopters and such and aided in the mechanics of the flight club, and they were exactly the source of all of the info he had picked up about it. His father, being pretty rough with him, had tried many times to force piloting especially hard onto him, especially when the younger Goose would utter the words 'I give up'. Because of him and his words, the pilot-to-be did NOT give up, and only picked himself up and got a lot more confidence. .. Maybe too much to the point of being quite overly cocky, a quality easily passed onto him by his father. Figures.
Living a basically normal life alone apart from his family (and Robin, who had been his childhood friend since they were very young) and getting through high school, the boy tried to work his hardest to achieve his piloting learner's permit to head off into the flight club and begin his training to earn his wings. At the age of 21, he had tried to work his way into the place alongside his old pal Robin, who had been about the same age as him... however, neither of them passed, and needed to train for about 2 1/2 more years until they could achieve acceptance. And finally, they had.
Working in that flight club for about 10 months, he continued learning and earning his wings, opening doors to make him able to actually partake in full-blown, grueling missions past his first few Class B pilot badges. One of his first ones involved having to deal with a robotic beast, going by the name of Meca Hawk, who was manufactured and created by an unknown scientist. This battle was, indeed, a tough one for him and his younger best friend he had met in the flight, Lark, but one of his most successful gyrocopter missions... if not, one of his most successful missions PERIOD. He continued going on and conquering almost every mission in his wake... most of them being just BARELY due to not being as skilled as he always made himself out to be. He worked with all sorts of vehicles and misc. objects/activities, a complete list consisting of hang gliders, jetpacks, gyrocopters, Birdman wings (wings attachable to the arms that can allow humans to take flight), cannonballs, skydiving, and Jumble Hoppers (very springy boots that can allow you to jump many feet into the air if one is willing). He tried his best to excel in each activity, proud of the variety he got to work with and glad that he was ever presented this opportunity...
However, his pride in his job would change after his next few training missions, that being his second Class B Rocket Belt training mission and his final mission ever in the flight club. Nearly crashing and even escaping what could have been death in the former, which was caused by an avalanche knocking him down with his jetpack, had worried him on what he was doing with his life. That was when it struck him hard over the head that what he was doing was as equally exciting as it was fatal. This fact could only be reinforced by his final mission against Meca Hawk, in which he nearly had crashed due to an iceberg the mechanical monster had thrown, smashing the rear end of his beloved gyrocopter. This had vastly changed his mind about his profession, causing him to desire to leave his flight club... therefore, that very day his mission was completed, he had to bid farewell to his longtime buddies. This was especially hard for him to do, especially when confronted with having to leave Lark. Despite this, however, he decided that he had no choice but to move on.
Goose, taking his Birdman wings and parachute along with him, flew himself off the island with his gyrocopter. Finally, he had reached his destination: Final Destination City. He had stayed in a hotel in the area for a while until he withdrew enough money from his bank account, renting a room in an apartment in 1213 Crescent Lane. Prior to moving there and beyond, he went job-hunting, know he HAD to find some source of cash despite no experience past piloting. He finally applied to Sumabura Gakuen, even though he had his doubts of getting accepted due to lacking a teaching degree. However, his resume must have looked exceptional or something, for even past that, he got accepted as the school's history teacher. He didn't start actually teaching until he got completely settled in, having met quite a few new friends and even developing a relationship with someone past the usual platonic one. He still keeps in contact with some of his old buddies to this day and continues teaching at the school, feeling quite content with his new lifestyle. Thank god there aren't any giant robots around here! ...
So it seemed. Whoops. This was further proved by a certain event in which peoples' personalities were switched to something they would never normally be. Goose transformed into a hellish, ruthless, dictating super-scientist/mechanic hellbent on destroying the city with his robot legion. Very much unlike him, indeed, which sent him into a hidden emotional spiral once he shook it off. This was not how he should be, and he was not about to take that sitting down. He needed to better himself, strengthen himself so this wouldn't happen again.
Besides, one can never have enough practice, right?
That settled it then. Goose left SBG. He left and he didn't even turn back and blink an eye.
His destination was the flight club renowned for its mission situations rather than the wacky vehicle variety. As far away as it was from the original four islands, it was very, very difficult to reach. It took hours to make it there, and he'd nearly run out of fuel getting there.
He finally did make it, however. Wuhu Island, the destination he was hoping to reach, was right before his eyes.
He traveled to the Wuhu Sky Club. Huh, it wasn't even called a Flight Club. It was a Sky Club here. Funny how even minor things get changed in foreign islands. Regardless, here he was. The dormitory assignments were much different, as he wouldn't get a roommate. The pilots here were so... different, too. So foreign. They were all just like him in the sense of being human beings, but of different nationalities and walks of life than he was used to. He was practically the only American-rooted, Holiday-born man there.
He didn't have that sense of familiarity and tight-knitness that his precious Flight Club had.
This... would be interesting.
Missions were simplistic at first, starting off as Holiday Island Flight Club's missions tended to. Hang gliders with rings, rocket belts with balloons, so on and so forth. That hadn't changed. However, one thing did change: he couldn't use his precious gyrocopter, but rather, a missile-loaded light plane.
Once told by his instructor, he gave a big, fat, "WHAT?!" Of course, he had to adhere. He had no choice. He couldn't even use his gyrocopter for official free flights either, unlike where his flight club's official free flights allowed for Birdman wings. At least he could fly unofficially, but that limited him more.
This wasn't going to be easy.
These missions continued on, and things began to get difficult and much, much different. New metallic clusters that required fast speed to pass through, spiky metal balls, bonus point capsules, and other such things littered the skies now. Things were so different now, not to mention the addition of event rings that caused different events to happen, such as spawning capsules or boosting his speed. Things were so different here, weren't they?
Soon enough, he even went through vehicle upgrades. His hang glider got switched at times with a new pedal glider, his rocket belt for a more high-powered jetpack, and his light plane for a jet plane. They provided even more challenge to the already difficult missions. At one point, he even got to skydive using a squirrel-style sky diving suit. That was definitely very new.
As time went on, it was hit or miss. Gradually, as he climbed the ladder, the hit or miss grew to be more of a 'mostly hit, occasionally miss' situation. He began to improve. He was getting a lot better.
Of course, things couldn't always be perfect and peaceful, wouldn't they? Eventually, he was sent on a real mission of sorts that was... definitely unique. He had to be sent to fly with his rocket belt to guide a few very tiny UFOs to one giant mothership.
They had to be shitting him here. UFOs? Really? Really? Wow.
Goose never witnessed the actual people (or were they even people?) operating the UFOs, let alone communicate with them, so he was left mystified. However, he helped whatever they were according to his orders and got them right there. That mission- however odd it was- was completed.
He managed to two-star some missions, and three-star some others. Their scoring system was definitely different, and instead of a badge for every completed mission, it was only one badge of each kind for every mission within the classification. Finishing all training mode missions earned a flimsy jade-shaded badge, bronze missions earned one bronze badge, silver earned him a silver badge, gold earned him a gold badge, and platinum earned him a platinum badge.
It all seemed so straight-forward until they flung one last surprise at him: he had to complete diamond badge classes, some of the hardest classes in their sky club, right up there with how difficult Holiday Island's pilot class missions were. Ohhh boy.
For those, he had much more trouble. He managed to one-star most of the missions, which wasn't very good. They required improvement from him before he could earn a decent diamond badge. He wasn't about to give up, though. He'd never give up.
He managed to two-star every mission except for just one single mission, where he scored a miraculous three-stars. That was enough. Normally, they gave a special diorama to those who scored three stars on every mission, but since Goose was from Holiday Island Flight Club, they found him to be a little special, so they gave it to him anyway.
He was quick to find out why. It was a large, moving diorama of Meca Hawk, the very robot he and his partners killed, with a plaque that read, "A memoir of the six heroes who saved Little States and its surrounding islands from this killer robotic beast."
Goose... was honestly not sure what to think of this, but okay then. He'd take it anyway and probably smash it against a wall later- okay no.
A year had now passed. He now had the pilot's wings of Wuhu's Sky Club, and was now an official pilot of that landmark, as well, let alone the fact that he ranked quite high. What was there to do now?
... Well. There was only one thing to do.
Time to brave it all up and face Smash Academy once more. With newfound experience and an endurance of unfamiliar struggle, he took his precious gyrocopter and headed back.
... Did I mention that his instructor was going to help him transport that teeny-tiny pedal glider to the school for him to keep? Yep. Shush, he thought it was kind of cute.
Canon Information:
There is very little canon information on Goose at all. All that is stated of his personality is, quoth the instruction manual of Pilotwings 64 and Nintendo Power coverage respectively, is "Goose is one cool pilot. A self-proclaimed expert, there isn't a vehicle he says he can't handle," and "Goose thinks he's the best skydiver to ever pull a ripcord, and he'll prove it to anyone willing to jump with him. He can whip around into various free-fall formations with amazing speed." All that is known about his backstory is that he is one of the six pilot trainees in Pilotwings 64 trying to earn his wings.
Other Information:
- Goose has some sort of moderate-to-heavy Southern accent.
- Goose can be a little filthy-mouthed at times.
- He is quiiiite the alcoholic, but has been improving in recent days. Somewhat.
- He's very prejudiced towards robotic beings of any kind whatsoever.
- And he refers to his gyrocopter as Sharky. It is a very tacky gyrocopter. With a shark face.
- Goose ALWAYS wears sunglasses at ALL TIMES, even to bed, due to being incredibly protective and vain over his eyes (even though they're not so bad).
- He abuses Redken hairspray and other hair products every day to make sure his hair stays tall and such.
Character Secrets:
Super-Secret:
- Goose very seekritly deep down inside sometimes wonders what it would be like if he didn't drink booze all the time, and if it would be better to stop cold turkey. It doesn't get in his way of getting drunk a lot, though!
- He was a bit of a wimp during his childhood and knows all too well. He'd never ever tell anyone that.
Not-So-Secret:
- The experiences that made him want to leave his flight club traumatized him just a little bit. (Lt. Surge)