![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Applications Three
APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED!
RESERVATIONS ARE OPENED!
NOTE: APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED OR PROCESSED FOR APRIL, DUE TO A CURRENT DISCUSSION ON THE GAME'S FUTURE.
RESERVATIONS WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR A LONGER PERIOD.
MAY APPLICATION CYCLE WILL BE POSTED HERE AS SOON AS IT IS DETERMINED.
We're so glad you're thinking of joining us in Haven, where we are all safe.
In order to apply for a canon character, please fill out the information below and post it in a comment in this entry. For an OC, please apply using the OC information. Please do not link to applications, all applications must be posted here. Please do not delete your applications; if you do not want it to be seen, you can request for it to be screened after a decision is made.
You may apply for two characters every application round, to a total of six characters. Only two of these may be from the same canon, and they cannot be too familiar with one another. Please make sure to mark the header of your comment(s) with RESERVED or NOT RESERVED, as well as the character name and canon. App challenges are not allowed currently.
Try to remember spelling and grammar are important, and in app length quality and not quantity is what matters. All parts of the application must be your own work, plagiarism will not be tolerated, though you are welcome to reuse your own old applications.
If you are asked for revisions, please don't panic! It doesn't mean the mods don't like you, only that we probably need more information before making a decision. If you are asked for revisions, you will have one week to supply them.
Applications are open on a monthly cycle, where they will be opened on the second Friday of every month for a week, and then processed on the third Friday of the month, before being closed again.
We now have a test drive community athaventest which is continuously open. Posts there may be used in lieu of a sample in the application. You may also link posts, logs, or threads from other games and memes in lieu of samples, though we ask that they be no more than one year old. As of November 22nd 2014, samples cannot be "where am I" intro posts. The reason for this is that we often find it hard to gauge characterization from those, as most people when immediately in a new surrounding are confused or frightened.
While we encourage players who have dropped to re-join us, we do not encourage the continual rapid dropping and re-apping of the same character in a short time period. You are welcome to request specific housing, and all attempts will be made to accommodate that request, but it may not always be possible.
To see what we are looking for:
Canon Characters:
Sample Application (Faith Lehane)
Sample Application (Iroh)
Original Characters:
Sample Application (Mors)
Sample Application (Vera de Barr)
Sample Application (Malkus Iverwelling)
Previous Game History:
Sample Application (Abel Nightroad/Mayfield RPG)
Sample Application (Bolin/Discedo)
The old application posts can be found here and here if you would like to look through past accepted applications.
Applications will be open on the following dates (from 7pm EST):
10th-17th April
8th-15th May
Applications will be processed on the following dates (at 7pm EST):
17th April
15th May
To apply for a canon character, please fill out this form:
To apply for an original character, please fill out this form:
Bartolomeo | One Piece | Reserved
Contact Info: Plurk: Capsulecorp
Other Characters Played: n/a
Requested apartment: with the Straw Hats if possible
Character Name: Bartolomeo, aka Barty, aka "Bartolomeo the Cannibal"
Canon: One Piece
Canon Point: manga chapter 778, after he witnesses Zoro cut down Pica
Background/History: Canon wiki: onepiece.wikia.com seriously this series has 779 chapters, there's too much to sum up.
Barty's bio: http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Bartolomeo
Their history section is a little ridiculous, since only one smallish but important thing is really known about his past. The wiki's idea of "history" is a blow by blow of everything he's done and said during the Dressrosa arc, which does inform his personality but not his actual background. Ugh. So, allow me to elucidate the important things to take from that section (spoilers abound):
no subject
- he was a thug, essentially a gang boss or mafia boss, in the East Blue for most of his life. He had control of the underbelly of a number of towns, though his main base was Loguetown - the Island of the Beginning and the End, being the first or last island in the East Blue for anyone leaving the Grand Line or trying to enter it. The island where Gold Roger was executed. As an underground boss he oversaw the trashing of at least 150 towns and was fairly wealthy.
- he was in the square on Loguetown the day Luffy and the Straw Hat pirates came through, and witnessed first-hand with his own eyes Buggy's attempt to execute Luffy, and the subsequent "miracle." A storm was passing over the island, and lightning struck Buggy's upraised sword, shocking him and destroying the execution tower an instant before that sword would have come down onto Luffy's neck and killed him. Being rubber, Luffy was naturally unharmed. Everyone watching was stunned at the timing, and some proclaimed it a sign or a miracle. Bartolomeo himself seemed to have an epiphany, that Luffy was exactly what he said, the man who would become the new Pirate King, and from that day forward worshipped him and his crew from afar.
- from the start of their journey up through the battle at Marineford, he followed the Straw Hats' exploits in the newspapers and knows everything about them - at least, insofar as the newspaper reported. He collected their wanted posters and turned his wall into a shrine to their exploits, he knew what they did to Crocodile at Alabasta, and he was extremely excited by the way they declared war on the World Government while rescuing Nico Robin at Enies Lobby. He even knew, as the papers reported, that Luffy was the brother of Portgas D. Ace, who was killed at Marineford. After that battle and the death of Ace and Whitebeard, Barty gave up his gang and formed the Barto Club, his own pirate crew, so he could hit the seas and become like Luffy.
- Barty has been sailing for almost two years, while the Straw Hats were "away" in their timeskip training. In that time he earned a bounty of 150 million beli (slightly more than Zoro's current bounty) and the nickname "Bartolomeo the Cannibal." The Marines tend to give pirates epithets that may or may not fit them but are indicative of something that happened at the time they were given their first bounty, so while Barty may or may not actually eat people, he clearly did something to make the Marines decide to call him a cannibal on his wanted poster.
- he came into the New World one year prior to the current timeline - but apparently hasn't gone further than Dressrosa in that year. This means he took one year to go through the "Paradise" half of the Grand Line. It isn't known exactly when, but at some point in his career he tortured other pirates by skewering them and holding them alive over a fire - and broadcasting it via denden mushi for everyone to see (possibly giving rise to his Cannibal nickname, even if he didn't eat people). He is also known to have bombed innocent civilians, though it isn't said where or why. The only crew member of his whose name we know is "Missionary" Gambia, a staff officer with a bounty over 67 mil.
Everything else in the wiki history is what he does while on Dressrosa, and it's stupidly detailed (considering it all happens within the space of 3-5 hours), so here's the highlights:
- there's a tournament being held by Doflamingo, in the coliseum, the prize for which is the Mera Mera no Mi, Ace's Devil Fruit which has been reborn in the world. Gladiators, pirates, and even kings of nearby nations are there to fight for the prize, and so is Barty.
- he beat the ever-loving crap out of a Marine officer undercover in the coliseum in retaliation for said officer beating up one of his own crewmates, Gambia the Missionary.
- pretended to throw a bomb into the audience of the coliseum, but it was just a baseball. Proceeded to mock the crowd for being as gross and cruel as he is for stampeding over each other to get away from a mere ball.
- lazed around the ring, not fighting at all, until near the end of the match. Dropped trou in front of the audience to pee into the moat surrounding the fighting ring. When attacked from behind by Hack, put up a barrier, and finally turned to join the fight, primarily using his Bari Bari no Mi to great effect.
- discovered that Luffy was fighting in the tournament in disguise and proceeded to go full fanboy. Spent the rest of the tournament following him around like a puppy, until someone stepped in to take Luffy's place to allow him to go help Law.
- interfered in Dellinger's attempt to assassinate Bellamy, protecting Bellamy out of brotherhood
- spent most of the final round protecting Rebecca from Diamante instead of fighting, and then fell in with Sabo, Koala, Rebecca, Robin, and the Tontatta after the coliseum is destroyed.
- went with Robin and Rebecca to help Luffy free Law and ended up on the lower plain, fighting alongside Robin and Cavendish against several executives in the melee
- took down the executive Gladius by sacrificing himself, enclosing himself and Gladius inside a barrier during an explosion. Followed it up with a Bari Bari no Pistol, a punch enhanced with his ability in homage to Luffy's move. Seriously injured and exhausted, he is now sitting on the battlefield watching Zoro be totally badass, and that's where he'll be pulled from.
no subject
Okay, so everyone likes to start out claiming that their character is an exercise in contradictions, but really, Bartolomeo has two completely disparate sides to his personality. The only character more two-faced than him is Cavendish, who literally has a split personality. To the public, the Marines, and likely some of his crew, Bartolomeo is awful. He's an asshole. He's cruel and nasty and disgusting. He is, as Gyatz announced during his intro to the tournament, "voted number one on the list of 'Pirates We'd Most Like To Disappear.'" But once we discover his belief in and worship of Luffy, we see his other side - that he can be humble, he believes in the brotherhood of pirates and is capable of being helpful, brave, and positive. He's still not nice, necessarily, but he is a lot more noble, honorable, and friendly than his first appearance would let on. The trouble is, we can't really know whether one of those sides is an act, so we just have to conclude that Barty is the way he is and could possibly be in the middle of a shift in personality based on meeting his idol, Luffy.
When we first see him, he tells the coliseum audience to go to hell, and then proceeds to fool them into thinking he's tossed a bomb at them. When they turn into complete animals in a desperate attempt to get away from the ball he tossed, mowing over women and the elderly in order to get away, he sneers at them, pointing out that they're just as bad as him. He has no good opinion of these mobs of people, he knows how cruel and terrible all people can be in the right circumstances and calls them trash. When Dagama points out that he isn't well-liked, Barty shrugs it off. He doesn't care what the common people think of him, and he doesn't want them to like him. He probably never took great pains to correct the Marines when they called him Cannibal, and really, considering he roasted people alive, he is not a nice guy. He can genuinely be cruel and sadistic, and a little bit crazy. He used to do typical mob things like demand people cut off fingers for loyalty and whatnot. He has a short fuse and will snap and pull a knife on a guy for saying the wrong thing. Not just pull a knife, but declare that he will cut the man's tongue off so he can pay for saying awful things (about Luffy). He can also be cold and calculating in his craziness, considering the way he took down Maynard for messing with his crew. While Barty didn't show any real strong emotion when he found Gambia beaten, he was still fairly pissed, and when he went after Maynard in revenge, it was a planned, calculated move rather than an on-screen explosion of temper. He only gave the Marine a cold, fangy smile before the scene cut away, and the next thing we see is him casually sauntering into the ring with his hands in his pockets while Maynard lies in a bloody heap behind him. Barty has no manners, or maybe selective manners, and in public, he tends toward the gross. He picks his nose, he swears and insults people. His absolute worst was pissing in the moat in the middle of the fight. It was a quick way to get a glimpse at how he sees the world, the people, and himself/his place in it, because it accomplished a lot of things in one disgusting moment. It was an expression of contempt for the tournament and everyone there to watch the bloodsport, it was an attempt to embarrass everyone (he didn't just quietly pee over here in the corner, he dropped his pants to his ankles and whipped it out in front of everybody, and when the announcer started screaming about it, just stood there with a dumb grin), and it was a subtle dig at the strength of the fighters in the ring with him, because he was comfortable enough to turn his back on all 100+ of them and appear unguarded and vulnerable to attack. He taunted the crowd, he taunted his opponents, and in the end, it backfired on everyone, because once Hack came at him, he pretended to panic and then boom, barrier, and all those jeering, booing spectators had to clam up in shock at the magnitude of his power. Beyond that he's also a jerk to Cavendish (who at first wants to kill Luffy, something Barty says outright he will not allow), mouths off to Dellinger knowing full well that he's a Doflamingo executive, and even sneers at Sabo when he first appears, not knowing who he is or what he wants with Luffy. He's insulting and crass and has a casual disregard for the lives of others who aren't important to him. He shows absolutely no mercy to his foes, and no regret for injuring anyone who might have fought him earlier.
On the other hand...as weird and kind of goofy as his man-crush on Luffy is, it has the positive effect of bringing out Bartolomeo's best qualities. He has an almost religious belief in Luffy, a faith in his mere existence as well as his drive to become Pirate King that rivals Zoro's (and Zoro's is pretty epic, let me tell ya). He knows without any doubt that Luffy will become King of the Pirates, and is as willing as anyone in the Straw Hat crew to do anything to help him along that road. In fact, he even confesses to Bellamy that it's his dream to join the Straw Hats. Barty is the first pirate we've seen to actually want to join the crew from the outside, before even meeting Luffy. Considering he was once a mob boss and is currently captain of his own crew, he turns immediately subservient to Luffy and behaves more like a henchman than a leader around him. His belief may have been sparked by witnessing the miracle lighting-strike at Loguetown, but it was cemented by following the crew's exploits, meaning that his own philosophies of piracy and crew have been actually shaped by Luffy's own. So, like Luffy, he believes in the sanctity of crew and protecting his crewmates. Before his epiphany he was a mob boss, and never had the kind of dream of going to sea and becoming a pirate like most of the other pirate characters we see. Thus, he's not really sure what he's doing as a pirate besides becoming strong enough to be worthy of the Straw Hats. This is likely why he still does awful, cruel things, as a holdover from his past. Yet, he knows Luffy went to war to save Robin, and thus, he too would avenge his crewmates the same way. His relationship with Gambia isn't seen in depth, but he keeps his distance and doesn't appear too distraught, so maybe he isn't as close friends with his crew as Luffy is with his. We don't know if any of them are from his gang, or if he formed an entirely new crew upon deciding to become a pirate.
Around any of the Straw Hats, Bartolomeo is a massive fanboy. He squees and sparkles, he cries with joy, he can't even look directly at Luffy or else he becomes too intimidated to speak. He wept at the chance to get Zoro's autograph and burst into hearts and flowers around Robin. He dances and twirls and skips along, being around the Straw Hats is the best ever omg and once he realizes he's useful to them? He's helping them? It's his dream come true. He has actual fangasms. He stammers and flails and turns into a complete dork. He even shows a level of respect and humble deference to Sabo once he's clued in to the fact that he's Luffy's brother - Luffy is his senpai, Sabo is the respected great senpai. Barty threw himself into the path of an attack to protect Robin when his barrier was stretched to its limit, he decided he had no choice but to use his body as a barrier for her. He protected Robin for a time, but also Rebecca, because she was important to Luffy and thus, he made her his priority. Yet, the Straw Hats and their important friends aren't the only ones he shows respect to. When Dellinger attacked Bellamy, Barty seemed to catch on to what was really going on behind the scenes even without direct information - he knew Bellamy was trying to get into Doffy's crew, and then one of the executives shows up to assassinate him, there's some serous shit going down. He felt for Bellamy, showed genuine concern, and declared himself Bellamy's brother of the ring - when two men fight each other in the ring, he says, they become bonded like brothers. It didn't matter that he essentially beat Bellamy, he was willing to set that aside and support him instead. He protected him from Dellinger, holding a barrier up and taunting Dellinger until he gave up and left, and then carried Bellamy to safety. He's also hot and cold toward Cavendish - an asshole to a point, but also protects him with his barrier, and recognizes that there's something odd about him - something he can't just dismiss. He claims to give no shits about him, but his behavior doesn't always agree.
It isn't just the people themselves Bartolomeo works to protect, it's what they stand for. The biggest example is his reason to fight in the tournament in the first place: he intended to win the Mera Mera no Mi for the sole purpose of giving it to Luffy. He knew it was Ace's fruit, he knew Luffy would want it, and barring Luffy himself being there (nobody assumed he would be), he determined that he would go and get it and present it to Luffy. He even brought one of his own crewmates along to help, though likely Gambia is the only other one in the Barto Club to even have a bounty or be strong enough for that tournament. Barty wasn't interested in fame, fortune, or anything else at all. Given how he acts and what he's done to earn his reputation, it's strange for him to be so utterly selfless. But that's the power of his belief in Luffy - in the abstract idea of Luffy, since it isn't until that day in the coliseum that he even meets his idol. For all his self-serving actions during the B Block fight, when it comes to the final, he doesn't do a thing for himself, but instead uses his barrier to keep Diamante from killing Rebecca, and does everything Sabo tells him to do. While he knows the Straw Hats can take care of themselves, he wants to help, and he does. His barrier protects Usopp and Robin, and he does everything in his power to stop their foes from hindering their progress. His most sacrificial acts in the fight versus Gladius show that he does actually have the capability to put others first and be their support, asking for no thanks or fame in return. Gladius intended to blow up the wall behind Robin, but also inflated himself, threatening to pierce them all with poison needles if Bartolomeo didn't stop him. Barty's only chance to save them all was to enclose Gladius inside a barrier, with himself, so he could attack him and contain the poison needles and explosive damage to only himself. For Robin's sake, and even Cavendish's, Barty sacrificed himself without hesitation. He let himself get torn to shreds to save the others, and still got up and kept fighting like a Straw Hat would, bloodied and exhausted but able to pull out one last move.
There is a sense that Bartolomeo is still finding his way, that he shot to stardom pretty quick but he needs to do a little more growing before he's worthy of joining that crew. He's 24, but has only been a pirate a little under 2 years. He's strong enough to make it in the New World, as a Super Rookie, but being on Dressrosa with the situation as it is, getting caught up in the need to take down Doflamingo, Barty is sort of evolving right before our eyes. He is going from the man the announcer and the crowd said he was, worthy of boos and contempt, to someone his idol could accept as a peer. In fact, we see as much in his inner thoughts while he punches out Gladius - he seems to have had another epiphany, that all his rookie strength doesn't matter and he's still not worthy of being a Straw Hat, so he has to work to become "stronger," not physically but as a person. He makes that vow to himself with tears running down his face while he carries out his final attack. He has the potential to still be an asshole to anyone he doesn't like or doesn't care about, and will probably be a crass jerk for a while. Yet there's hope for him, he's not all bad and certain people will get a much different read on him. After all, Robin was amused enough by his antics to start calling him Chicken-kun. Around any Straw Hats, he will still be a flaily dork with stars in his eyes. But a lot has changed in the world in the few hours since he first stepped into the ring at the coliseum, and he's got to roll with it.
no subject
Of course, the downside of any Devil Fruit is that he cannot swim. Any still body of water, from a bathtub up to the ocean itself, will sap his strength and render him incapable of moving. He's also vulnerable to the Armament haki that other people from his world might wield, though there isn't proof one way or the other yet if his barriers can be cut by someone using Armament haki.
Whatever other skills he has can be inferred from his background. He was able to not just become a mob boss but maintain control of gangs in cities across different islands, so he is charismatic and also probably good with organization and money as well as fighting. He is a good fighter, he doesn't just rely on his Devil Fruit. He carries a tanto stuck in his belt, so he is willing and capable of using a dagger or knife. He also has a pretty good memory, considering he's memorized every last exploit of the Straw Hats, plus he's not stupid; he was able to recognize that Usopp is really Sogeking, something Luffy and Chopper can't even do. He's quick to draw the right conclusions and strategize mid-battle.
Items/Weapons: just two: his tanto, a short-sword stuck in his waistband, and his coat, since he's not wearing it in chapter 778. It fell off.
Sample Entry: http://reallybadeggs.dreamwidth.org/14943.html?thread=4265567#cmt4265567 - it shows his interaction both with strangers (Thatch, Marco, Johnny) and a Straw Hat (Robin).
Sample Entry Two: As he walked, Bartolomeo kicked at rocks and other chunks of debris in his path, an idle expression of the irritation he was trying to hold back. Hands jammed deep in his pockets, he sulked and slouched his way down the cracked street, shooting angry glances at empty windows. The sense of being watched never really went away, and even after a month he was still guarding himself against those gaps of darkness in the crumbling walls, as if expecting an attack at any second and warding it off with only his glare. To be fair, a glare from Bartolomeo the Cannibal was enough to silence the meek and send cowards scampering out of his path, back home. Fangs bared, heavy brow drawn, it was an effective weapon when he didn't feel like getting his hands dirty. Yet, the longer he was here, walking his route under the baleful gaze of those empty windows, the more he wished something would attack him so he could bathe in its blood.
Well, there were monsters. Just not out here under the bleak sun. Today felt like the kind of day where Bartolomeo would gladly give in to his impulses and go find something to demolish, just to relieve the irritation. Yes, that sounded like a great idea. He already knew how pointless it was to knock down buildings, but just out of spite, he crossed his fingers and sent a barrier smashing into a wall anyway.
The darkness of the tunnel didn't bother him one bit, Barty was used to things much worse than what went bump in the dark. He had to watch his step or else stumble against debris in his path, but otherwise handled the journey just fine. His real problem was going out to do this alone - some of the monsters could be tough cases, even for him, so hunting parties worked a lot better. But he wasn't here to hunt, just to blow off some steam. As such, he left the tanto sheathed and hands in his pockets, grinning to himself at the thought of only using barriers. Yes, punching the ever-loving shit out of something with a Bari Bari no Pistol, that sounded fun. He started to whistle idly as he strode through the tunnel, trying to attract something to him. Come on, assholes, I know you're out there. Come get me. Tasty rookie, right here...
-> ACCEPTED