Expiation app

[chicken_kun]

Player: Gemini
Contact: PM this journal
Age: 45+
Current Characters:
Link to Reserve: https://expiationmods.dreamwidth.org/1800.html?thread=17416#cmt17416

Character Name: Bartolomeo
Character Canon: One Piece
Canon Point: manga; roughly as of chapter 1054 (Shanks telling his crew, outside Wano, that they need to deal with Bartolomeo making trouble in Red Haired territory)
Age: 24

Crime: Resisting arrest. Date citation: upon leaving Dressrosa, preventing Admiral Issho from arresting Straw Hat Luffy and all other present pirates including himself.

Background: link to wiki. "Non-canon" sections refer to anime-only filler and movies; I am not including those in his background. There is also a more concise summary of his history and specific canon events in this post because the wiki is heavy on Dressrosa events vs. his early history and post-Grand Fleet doings.
The wiki also is missing canon details: that someone Bartolomeo's gang refers to as "Grandma" back home in Loguetown, who they call on den-den mushi when they need advice, is an old lady who runs a candy shop that the gang has all patronized and protected since they were kids. Also, that Shanks is aware that Bartolomeo has been running wild in his territory, burning flags and promoting Straw Hat ideology, so the Red Haired pirates are in present canon going to deal with that (after dropping Marco off on Sphinx Island).

Personality:
Bartolomeo is A Lot, so bullet points it is:

First impressions...
- nasty, disgusting, contemptuous, full of mockery and disdain, no manners (he pissed in front of a crowd during a fight!)
- cruel and sadistic (see: broadcasting torture of pirates on video)
- cold, calculating, dangerous (see: beating the shit out of Maynard)
- a bit crazy, extreme, loses his temper in certain circumstances (see: attempting to cut out the tongue of a guy who spoke ill of Luffy)
- "voted number one on the list of 'Pirates We'd Most Like to Disappear'"
- doesn't care what people think of him or that they hate him, he hates them too, calls the audience gross for trampling each other to get away from his fake "bomb"
- sneers at everyone including those stronger than him until/unless they deserve his respect (see: Sabo, until he was shown to be Luffy's brother)
- swears and insults almost everyone, dares to mouth off to enemies (Dellinger, Shanks, etc)
- loves fakeouts, pranks, and generally being an asshole
- no regrets and no mercy, casual disregard for the lives of anyone who isn't important to him
- clever but not wise and too dumb to have a navigator on a pirate ship
- lots of crimes, including before piracy

But then, positive second impressions...
- complete Luffy/Straw Hat fanboy, will do anything for them to help their goals
- respects the code of pirates and brotherhood of fighting opponents, values loyalty
- protects his crewmates, Straw Hats, and anyone the Straw Hats want protected
- goofy and weird in fanboy mode, with sparkles, tears, hearts, flowers, squeeing, flailing, autographs, a shrine...
- near-religious faith in Luffy and his intention to become Pirate King
- subservient and helpful to select people (Straw Hats, crewmates, rivals, fleet captains, Granny)
- courageous and self-sacrificing (for Luffy, Robin, Usopp, Sabo, Rebecca, the whole fleet...)
- flexible, capable of changing his mind, having revelations, and vowing to improve himself
- reliable, and keeps his promises
- values the importance of dreams, goals, bonds of friendship and family, and can transfer the dreams and wishes of people he respects onto adjacent people if needed
- resiliant, quick-thinking, street-wise, clever (see: using his barrier to slow the Bird Cage and save thousands of lives)
- plans for the long-term (the Grand Fleet oath was his idea)
- not interested in fame or money even though he has gained lots of both
- challenges authority and tyranny like a good pirate, and commits crimes against other criminals because why not

Bartolomeo enters the story as a villain and shithead, you're supposed to find him gross, but once his fanboy worship of Luffy is revealed, he opens up to show his better traits - respecting Luffy's family, friends, and anything Luffy values, sacrificing himself to protect, joining forces with former rivals, promising to become a better person worthy of being a Straw Hat. He has done and still does terrible, violent, nasty things and his entire schtick is mockery of anyone he doesn't respect no matter their status, and he will likely be a crass jerk for a long time. Yet, he has seeds of a better man deep within, it just takes the right person to bring them out. He's not nice but he has it in him to do the right thing with minimal motivation. The "go to hell" guy who pisses in the moat in front of a crowd is the same guy who wanted to win the Mera-Mera Fruit for no reason other than to gift it to Luffy in homage to Ace, and the mob boss who trashed 100 towns adores a granny who owns a candy shop. He has it in him, the question is, who can bring it out of him? His entire motivation for being a pirate is becoming worthy enough to be a Straw Hat (if being commander in the Straw Hat Grand Fleet isn't enough), and life is for enjoying his way. He has complex relationships with his rivals and pirate peers, weirder than the utmost respect for Luffy and utmost contempt for enemies. He's a big dumb asshole and a lot of fun at parties.

Abilities: His Devil Fruit is the Bari-Bari no Mi, which gives him the ability to create invisible-ish barriers around himself or others. These barriers are extremely durable and solid (not glass or anything that shatters). Not even the most powerful of Doflamingo's executives could break one of his barriers, inlcluding explosions, Armament haki, and opposing Devil Fruit abilities. Favorite attack is to create a wall for enemies to run into, and it is implied that the wall acts as a mirror of force - however powerful the attack directed at the barrier, it will deflect at equal power and rebound on the attacker. He does not need to be touching it for it to exist. He can change the shape and size of the barrier, within its limit - he can create a super-long, thin barrier for example - and can manipulate its shape at will. Bartolomeo has a natural limit to the actual square footage of surface area of barrier that can be created/maintained at a time - revealed when he created a set of stairs between cliffs. The numerical value to this surface area limit is unknown but it exists. It is also impossible for him to make two separate barriers at the same time. Lastly, he is able to use the barrier as a weapon, pushing it away from himself like a battering ram or wrapping it around his fists to enhance his punches. The downside of any Devil Fruit is that he cannot swim. Any still body of water (e.g. a bathtub) and the ocean itself will sap his strength and render him incapable of moving.

Bartolomeo is never shown demonstrating use of haki, but canon also suggests that no one can reach the New World without it so he might have Observation haki - the vague ability to sense where another person is in proximity to him. Since his Devil Fruit mimics Armamaent haki I'm going with no on that type, and definitely no Conqueror's haki.

Whatever other skills he has can be inferred from his background. He was able to become a mob boss and maintain control of gangs in cities across different islands, so he is charismatic and also probably good with organization and money. 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 blade. He has a pretty good memory, 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.

Inventory: the clothes on his back (coat, pants, boots), a tanto-sized knife in his belt. No money or den-den mushi on him.

Samples:
Thread 1
Thread 2