[hider=Shigeuchi the Trickster]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/eQiwzrM.jpg[/img][/center]

Name: Shigeuchi the Trickster

Age: 34

Starting Location/Current Location: East Blue

Personality: “Work smarter, not harder”; that’s the motto by which Shigeuchi lives his life. He’s a man who dislikes making things complicated, one who’s always looking for the easiest option without compromising on the end result; the mark of a job well done is not exceeding expectations but by meeting expectations with time and resources to spare. That said, he also believes that a job worth doing is one worth doing well; his approach to life should not be mistaken for laziness or sloppiness.

This makes him very good at organising and leading people towards completing a task, while at the same time making him something of a nightmare to work under. He is very particular about the way things are done, can be strict and demanding of his underlings. He is quick to anger when mistakes are made but also quick to forgive and forget in the name of keeping things moving. Furthermore, Shigeuchi is also very frugal; a perennial penny-pincher who approaches purchases with a mentality of only buying what’s ‘good enough’ and nothing more. He is not one to indulge in frivolous needs.

Lastly, Shigeuchi is absurdly unambitious for a pirate. He never seeks out responsibility or power, instead finding it placed in his lap without ever looking for it and grumbling about how troublesome it makes his life the whole time. He is someone who cannot fathom how he ended up where he has, with people under his command and a heap of responsibility weighing on his shoulders; he’ll complain and lament his existence constantly, even as he works hard at his given task.

Dream/Goal: Dreams? Shigeuchi doesn’t have many right now. A life without complications would probably be his answer; money would help with that, so would power, while fame would be a detriment. Unfortunately as a pirate those things tend to go hand in hand.

For now his goal would be keeping his old captain’s son alive. Maybe work at helping him become stronger than his father someday, if the boy’s willing.

History: Where to start? Shigeuchi first became a pirate as a teenager, being recruited as a lowly deck hand in the fleet of Shiki the Golden Lion the one time the large pirate fleet docked at his home town for supplies; they were looking for new blood and Shigeuchi was looking for a way out of his current situation, seeking a life of freedom with the pirate crew. This was not a well thought out decision.

It turned out that being the lowest rung of the ladder on a fleet of cutthroats and brigands was not the easy life he had imagined it to be however and did not remotely live up to the romantic image most young idiots have of a life at sea. Shigeuchi was put hard to work by the crew, was given little freedom or pay in return and for the most part spent the next couple of years bored and tired. It was a simple life however, one that didn’t require much thought on his part and he always knew more or less what the next day would bring.

He was a hard worker however and seemed to have a talent for directing his fellow workers so as to make them more efficient and effective, something which didn’t go unnoticed. Bit by bit he was promoted up the ranks of the crew, at one point or another in his twenty years of being a pirate holding almost every position that didn’t require specialist knowledge or skills, almost always in a position to order or organise other crew members. Shigeuchi complained every step of the way, always grumbling about the complications and extra responsibilities his new role brought, but generally accepted because it was always easier to be the one giving the order than the one trying to correct the orders of others.

At some point Shigeuchi even found himself in charge of an entire division, only one of over fifty in Shiki’s fleet but a division nonetheless. As part of his new position he was even given a Devil Fruit, the Kōkan-Kōkan No Mi, both as a reward for his promotion and to make him a stronger member of Shiki’s fleet. The Devil Fruit and its associated curse was another complication he never wanted, but at least the power to move himself and his crew around the ship near instantaneously was useful for keeping things moving.

Shigeuchi worked as a division commander for a little over a year when Roger went and got himself executed and the Admiral’s eldest son got it into his head to run off and start his own crew. As a result, Shigeuchi was ordered to go after the brat and become a member of his crew, to assist him in whatever he wanted to do and to keep him alive while trying to convince him to join his father’s fleet.

His life has never felt more complicated than right now.

Crew: Freelance, for the moment

Ship: None. He is not a member of any crew currently and has no ambitions of starting his own, so for now he’s just paying his way on other ships as he chases down the brat he’s supposed to look after.

Specialty/Profession: A swordsman of some skill, he’s decent in a fight, but his specialty would probably be as a foreman or a first mate. He’s good at keeping people organised and on track; he’s got a track record of keeping things running smooth and efficient.

Fighting Style: As a swordsman, the way Shigeuchi fights should be obvious; to put it simply it involved getting as close to the enemy as possible and sticking his sword in them before they do the same to him. That said he’s only a semi-decent duellist, nothing special as far as swordsman go, so he needs to rely on more than just his skills to win. He uses a longer sword than most and wields it two-handed, relying on strength and technique more than speed to beat his opponents.

Shigeuchi’s epithet of ‘Trickster’ comes from the way in which he uses his Devil Fruit power as he fights. His Devil Fruit allows him to swap places with another object of similar size, including his opponent; he uses this power to instantly chance his or his opponent’s position on the battlefield, confusing them and using that to his advantage.

Weapons: A tachi; like a katana but with a longer blade and a deeper curve, for those of you who don’t know. He also carries a tanto as a backup weapon.

Devil Fruit: Kōkan-Kōkan No Mi – A Paramecia type fruit known as the Exchange-Exchange Fruit. It allows the user to exchange two objects of roughly equal size, having them trade places instantaneously with each other. At the moment Shigeuchi is only able to use his Devil Fruit power on himself, trading places with another object within his range so long as that object is about the same size as himself, but eventually he’ll be able to exchange an object he is holding or touching with another and maybe even swapping any two objects or people he can see.

Items: Aside from his weapons, the clothes on his back and a bag with a few basic supplies, Shigeuchi doesn’t have much in the way of possessions.

Bounty: 0 Beli

Color: [color=gray]It’s gray. Hope it’s not too hard to read.[/color]
[/hider]

[hider=Ricardo "Iron Bull" Borja]
[center][img]https://pm1.narvii.com/7010/7a4a35c3456183708f58ccde66be36ba29a55a90r1-512-512v2_00.jpg[/img][/center]

Name: Ricardo “The Iron Bull” Borja

Age: 28

Starting Location/Current Location: West Blue

Personality: Ricardo is a person who can truly be described as larger than life in a lot of respects and his personality is no different; loud, exuberant and with a cheerfulness that could fill a room, the eldest son of the Borja family often find himself the centre of attention. His noble upbringing grants him a certain bearing and poise, a refinement and awareness of social etiquette that many others in the marines lack, leading to Ricardo having something of a gentlemanly disposition.

As far as Ricardo is concerned there are few things in life as important, or which bear as much weight, as duty; duty to one’s family first and foremost, but also to oneself and to society as a whole. “Those who have the ability to do good have the responsibility to do so”; these are the words Ricardo’s father taught him as a child, the same words that have been passed down his family for generations, the words by with he lives. He owes it to his family to live up to their legacy, he owes it to himself to reach his fullest potential and he owes it to society to make use of the gifts he has been given, whether they be physical, intellectual or socially, to make the world a better place.

Pride is Ricardo’s biggest failing, though rarely is it personal pride. Pride in his family, pride in the marines, pride in those things bigger than himself that he serves; this pride blinds him to the failings of others at times, covering his eyes with a rosy tint that prevents him from seeing what is so blindingly obvious to others. He can be, at times, a bit dense.

Dream/Goal: Ricardo is not much of a dreamer; he has no real hatred for pirates in principle, so he doesn’t wish for a word without them, not does he have any grand ambitions like becoming Fleet Admiral or even a hero. No one individual has earned enough of his ire for him to want to see them fall or seek revenge against them, nor has he met anyone special enough for him to dedicate his life to.

His goals are to perform his duty admirably and honourably, to protect the people of the world from those who would do them harm, to make his family proud of the son they have raised and to keep his crew safe in his pursuit of all of that. In the future, maybe finding a wife and settling down would be nice, but anything beyond his current duties is something not worth wondering over at the moment.

History: The eldest son of the Borja family, a minor noble family that has lived in West Blue for generations and whose family crest is a shining sun, Ricardo was taught from a young age that their privilege came with a responsibility; because they were more fortunate than others and in a better position to make positive change in the world, it was their duty not to misuse that power for their own gain, but instead to use it for the betterment of society.

These lessons might sound like a romantic fantasy to some, and in reality the Borja family probably didn’t live up to their own lofty ideals most of the time, but young Ricardo took those teaching to heart. As a boy he thought a lot about what he could do that would make a difference, but as a child there wasn’t much he could think of due to his limited knowledge of the world; all he knew was that he wanted to do something big. Although his family probably only meant to teach him to live his life considerately and without falling into corruption or vice, perhaps donate to charity or organise events, young Ricardo set his sights higher than that.

As Ricardo grew older it became increasingly obvious that he was going to be blessed with abnormal size and strength, being taller and broader than his peers and already as strong as a grown man by the age of 13. As he came to this realisation it became clearer that whatever path Ricardo eventually took would involve using his strength to help people; this idea was further cemented in his mind the first time he saw the marines in action, witnessing a fight between a small pirate crew and a detachment of marines at the port of his home town. From that day he made it his mission to join the marines and protect people.

At the age of 18 Ricardo enlisted at the 80th Branch Marine Base in West Blue, signing up as a simple cadet despite his background. Since then he has patrolled the waters of West Blue, working his way up the ranks until he became a lieutenant and was given command of his own boat and crew; for his brute strength and straight forward approach to combat he has earned the moniker “Iron Bull”.

Crew: As an officer in the marines Ricardo has a small crew of 20 capable men and women, including a Sergeant, under his command.

Ship: A small galley, large enough for a crew of his size and fit for purpose. It is well maintained and in kept in near pristine condition; aside from a figurehead in the shape of a bull’s head it is indistinguishable from any other unadorned marine vessel.

Specialty/Profession: A lieutenant in the marines, Ricardo’s main role is to lead and inspire his crew while also acting as the vanguard in any combat they may enter.

Rank: Lieutenant

Fighting Style: An all-out offensive assault is the only way Ricardo knows how to fight and it has served him well so far. Utilising his large and powerful body he rushes towards his opponents and crushes them, using a fighting style that is more brute strength than technique. When attacking he strikes with either his fists, arms or shoulders for the most part but there is not a single part of his body that he won’t use to defeat his opponent.

His bulky form is able to withstand a large amount of punishment and he has a high pain tolerance and a stubborn disposition, allowing him to power through his opponent’s attacks to deliver his own.

Weapons: His body

Devil Fruit: None

Items: His uniform and a few personal effects from home are all that Ricardo possesses at the moment, photos of his family and such. The marines provide anything else he might need.

Color: [color=fff200]My lineage shines as brightly as the sun. Did you expect anything else?[/color]
[/hider]