Application
Nov. 2nd, 2013 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tergiversant» PLAYER INFORMATION
Player NAME: Nishi
Current AGE: I'm dead in internet years
Player TIME ZONE: US MST
Personal JOURNAL: thegame
Player PLURK: YourOverlord
Current CHARACTERS: Rosette Christopher, Vennett
» CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character NAME: Rufus Barma
Canon & MEDIUM: Pandora Hearts, Manga
Canon PULL-POINT: Chapter 65
Character AGE: He is approximately 67 years old, though he stopped aging in his 30s.
Character ABILITIES: Rufus Barma wields metal fans and is on par some of the finer swordsmen of his time, either defending or attacking with them. His primary powers comes from his contract with an entity known as the Dodo, a black winged Chain. While most Chains are near immortal creatures possessing overwhelming power, the Dodo is one of five special ones.
With the Dodo, Barma can summon exceptionally real, vast and complicated illusions that are so powerful that attacks from them can shock a victim into death. They do not seem to be able to mask Barma's presence and they are outright stated as being unable to affect real objects. The Dodo can also be summoned, becoming a flightless bird of great strength and endurance, as well as channelled into black, destructive energy.
Character HISTORY: In depth information about the series can be found here. But to sum up: Pandora Hearts focuses on a world that is held together above another world known as the Abyss. The Abyss is a powerful universe that is integral for the 100 year cycle of reincarnation that all souls go through. It is the birthplace of fantastic creatures of immense power and near immortality known as Chains. And most importantly, it is where everything that ever was, and would ever be is found. And the only place that that script can be altered.
There are two types of contracts, focusing specifically on legal and illegal ones. Most illegal contractors contract with Chains for the simple reason of changing the past. A tragedy drives them to a cruel pact that, for their wish, they have to kill and allow their Chain to devour souls as their price. In the end, they are dragged into the Abyss and will eventually transform into a Chain themselves, outside of the reincarnation cycle.
Legal contractors are specifically approved by an organization known as Pandora, overseen by the four Great Dukedoms. These Chains decide who is worthy themselves, and their contract bears the price on the contractor's body, rather than needing to devour and destroy others. As such, only these four Dukes are able to choose who has these powerful weapons, and can severe the contract at any given point in time with their key to the Abyss.
Duke Barma is one of these four Dukes. His family was originally exiled from another country and had, through an alliance with the hero of the country, Jack Vessalius, secured their place with guarding a Gate to the Abyss and a special, powerful Chain known as the Dodo. He comes from a line of people famed for being knowledgeable on a vast array of topics.
The Barmas traditionally have dabbled in everything from the mystical arts and sorcery, to history, literature and the simple brokerage of information. They are entrenched as a powerful and cunning ally in Pandora's informal rule of the country.
Rufus Barma is no exception to this. He presents himself as distant and mysterious, a person who has lived longer than anyone else in Pandora and all of the Dukedoms and has a wealth of information on the past and present. It's an advantage he guards closely and uses with great precision.
Known for being egotistical and prideful, it was no different in his youth nor in his present. He was known for exploring and seeking out every secret in the Academy he was reared in, and his manner of proposing to the girl that caught his fancy was ... lacking a certain... humility. Or romance, for that matter. It did set into action, however, the course of his life.
His role in canon is specifically both the person who tends to be able to explain what had happened in the past, but the person who is arranging the few paths available into the future. You just may not LIKE him while he's doing either of those.
Character PERSONALITY: It is particularly difficult to get a perfectly clear view of who and what exactly Rufus Barma is, as he presents several different selves to the viewer in the course of the series. All of them are wildly night and day to each other.
There is the illusion of Duke Barma that is the one he has officially hidden behind. Masking himself as a rotund, elderly gentleman (if freaky, ball-shaped one), he seeks to shock and put people off guard as the unreal man dances on the ceiling and drinks from the full teacup he had worn as a hat. This guise is loud and obnoxious, flying into incredible rages at humans who change and render his precious data outdated. He interrupts, speaks over, and makes outrageous claims, all to keep anyone speaking with him perpetually off balance.
There is the silent, respectful vallet he poses as in the Rainsworth family, tending to the needs of the matriarch and pushes around her wheelchair. For some time, possibly even decades, only the Duchess Sheryl Rainsworth herself knew it was him. It was a position he used both to gather information, hide his true presence at meetings of the four Great Dukedoms and of course, be next to the woman he greatly admired and loved.
And finally, there's the self he shows to the main protagonists and antagonists of the story. Rufus Barma as a cold, distant and calculating man with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He always seems to know everything that is going on, from trivia to the large events passing. (No small part due to his most trusted servant, Reim.) He is blunt and often rude to a fault, and has little tolerance for those dancing around the point. He has an unpredictable and violent temper... that only seems to show up when he needs to test a change in someone or push another. He proclaims that humans only worth to him is the value of information they possess, and is often the genius advising the moves of the organization, Pandora, in navigating the delicate political and world altering events of the current canon. His rare kindnesses and his overt cruelties all seem to tie back into his own personal and political gains.
Who he truly is, like all truths, is some middle ground of all of it. He is, at the core of everything, motivated by his love of one brilliant, beautiful mind, a sharp and dangerous personality... A woman who declined his proposal 50 years ago.. and every action and political move he's made is a love letter to her. (And for the most part, for all that Barma is actually rather socially awkward and absolutely insensitive to cultural norms and ... sometimes basic empathy in the face of his own ego, she really does seem to enjoy and profit from this game as well.) Information is a tool to him, guaranteeing him political and personal survival, rather than an ends in and of itself. While he is cold, cruel and often rude to his allies, there are times when their emotional and interpersonal progress seems to honestly please him, despite it being unfavorable to his current plans. Not that it changes his treatment of them... he's more than willing to seemingly destroy everything for the big picture. After all, that's what he promised the woman he loves that he would do.
In short, Rufus Barma is absurdly brilliant, a total asshole and an idiot.
» EXSILIUM INFORMATION
Chosen WEAPON: Rufus Barma would choose a ring granting invisibility. Innately, it will only work for ten minutes at a time and need an hour or so to recharge, and this is fixed regardless of evolution. When first claimed, it will have the simple limitations of not masking scent, sound or even dimensions for the spatially aware. Eventually, and with a lot of time, it will solve those gaps.
Character INVENTORY: He will be carrying two metal-bladed fans, Arthur Barma's memoirs, a jeweled pendant, a pair of large-stoned earrings, a few letters and his own journal, a couple of silk pouches filled with sunflower seeds, and way too many layers of clothes.
» SAMPLES
First PERSON:
[The following text is posted to the network almost a month into Rufus Barma's stay. It has no identifiers, and no video or audio is replied in kind. Simple and stripped of the flowery, antiquated language he's known for, he took some time to truly hide himself.]
The organization we take part in now is a curious one. We are a mishmash of all of our worlds and cultures, crudely lumped together with fragile ties between us. It reminds me of a story I had heard, and am prone to wonder if all are the same. In order to better understand the pieces that are around us, I would like to hear your legends. The births of your worlds, the reshaping, and should you be so unfortunate as to know it, the death of the same.
Keep your anonymity if you like; my curiosity is scholarly.
Third PERSON:
Please see here for his test drive! The following threads both show his interactions with canonmates and non canonmates, given a wide range between pressured and calculating.
» ADDITIONAL NOTES The convoluted, Early Modern English way of speaking is implied to have been affected, likely to further the illusion that Duke Barma is even older than he is. However, the only time he won't be using it will be with his illusions.
Player NAME: Nishi
Current AGE: I'm dead in internet years
Player TIME ZONE: US MST
Personal JOURNAL: thegame
Player PLURK: YourOverlord
Current CHARACTERS: Rosette Christopher, Vennett
» CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character NAME: Rufus Barma
Canon & MEDIUM: Pandora Hearts, Manga
Canon PULL-POINT: Chapter 65
Character AGE: He is approximately 67 years old, though he stopped aging in his 30s.
Character ABILITIES: Rufus Barma wields metal fans and is on par some of the finer swordsmen of his time, either defending or attacking with them. His primary powers comes from his contract with an entity known as the Dodo, a black winged Chain. While most Chains are near immortal creatures possessing overwhelming power, the Dodo is one of five special ones.
With the Dodo, Barma can summon exceptionally real, vast and complicated illusions that are so powerful that attacks from them can shock a victim into death. They do not seem to be able to mask Barma's presence and they are outright stated as being unable to affect real objects. The Dodo can also be summoned, becoming a flightless bird of great strength and endurance, as well as channelled into black, destructive energy.
Character HISTORY: In depth information about the series can be found here. But to sum up: Pandora Hearts focuses on a world that is held together above another world known as the Abyss. The Abyss is a powerful universe that is integral for the 100 year cycle of reincarnation that all souls go through. It is the birthplace of fantastic creatures of immense power and near immortality known as Chains. And most importantly, it is where everything that ever was, and would ever be is found. And the only place that that script can be altered.
There are two types of contracts, focusing specifically on legal and illegal ones. Most illegal contractors contract with Chains for the simple reason of changing the past. A tragedy drives them to a cruel pact that, for their wish, they have to kill and allow their Chain to devour souls as their price. In the end, they are dragged into the Abyss and will eventually transform into a Chain themselves, outside of the reincarnation cycle.
Legal contractors are specifically approved by an organization known as Pandora, overseen by the four Great Dukedoms. These Chains decide who is worthy themselves, and their contract bears the price on the contractor's body, rather than needing to devour and destroy others. As such, only these four Dukes are able to choose who has these powerful weapons, and can severe the contract at any given point in time with their key to the Abyss.
Duke Barma is one of these four Dukes. His family was originally exiled from another country and had, through an alliance with the hero of the country, Jack Vessalius, secured their place with guarding a Gate to the Abyss and a special, powerful Chain known as the Dodo. He comes from a line of people famed for being knowledgeable on a vast array of topics.
The Barmas traditionally have dabbled in everything from the mystical arts and sorcery, to history, literature and the simple brokerage of information. They are entrenched as a powerful and cunning ally in Pandora's informal rule of the country.
Rufus Barma is no exception to this. He presents himself as distant and mysterious, a person who has lived longer than anyone else in Pandora and all of the Dukedoms and has a wealth of information on the past and present. It's an advantage he guards closely and uses with great precision.
Known for being egotistical and prideful, it was no different in his youth nor in his present. He was known for exploring and seeking out every secret in the Academy he was reared in, and his manner of proposing to the girl that caught his fancy was ... lacking a certain... humility. Or romance, for that matter. It did set into action, however, the course of his life.
His role in canon is specifically both the person who tends to be able to explain what had happened in the past, but the person who is arranging the few paths available into the future. You just may not LIKE him while he's doing either of those.
Character PERSONALITY: It is particularly difficult to get a perfectly clear view of who and what exactly Rufus Barma is, as he presents several different selves to the viewer in the course of the series. All of them are wildly night and day to each other.
There is the illusion of Duke Barma that is the one he has officially hidden behind. Masking himself as a rotund, elderly gentleman (if freaky, ball-shaped one), he seeks to shock and put people off guard as the unreal man dances on the ceiling and drinks from the full teacup he had worn as a hat. This guise is loud and obnoxious, flying into incredible rages at humans who change and render his precious data outdated. He interrupts, speaks over, and makes outrageous claims, all to keep anyone speaking with him perpetually off balance.
There is the silent, respectful vallet he poses as in the Rainsworth family, tending to the needs of the matriarch and pushes around her wheelchair. For some time, possibly even decades, only the Duchess Sheryl Rainsworth herself knew it was him. It was a position he used both to gather information, hide his true presence at meetings of the four Great Dukedoms and of course, be next to the woman he greatly admired and loved.
And finally, there's the self he shows to the main protagonists and antagonists of the story. Rufus Barma as a cold, distant and calculating man with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He always seems to know everything that is going on, from trivia to the large events passing. (No small part due to his most trusted servant, Reim.) He is blunt and often rude to a fault, and has little tolerance for those dancing around the point. He has an unpredictable and violent temper... that only seems to show up when he needs to test a change in someone or push another. He proclaims that humans only worth to him is the value of information they possess, and is often the genius advising the moves of the organization, Pandora, in navigating the delicate political and world altering events of the current canon. His rare kindnesses and his overt cruelties all seem to tie back into his own personal and political gains.
Who he truly is, like all truths, is some middle ground of all of it. He is, at the core of everything, motivated by his love of one brilliant, beautiful mind, a sharp and dangerous personality... A woman who declined his proposal 50 years ago.. and every action and political move he's made is a love letter to her. (And for the most part, for all that Barma is actually rather socially awkward and absolutely insensitive to cultural norms and ... sometimes basic empathy in the face of his own ego, she really does seem to enjoy and profit from this game as well.) Information is a tool to him, guaranteeing him political and personal survival, rather than an ends in and of itself. While he is cold, cruel and often rude to his allies, there are times when their emotional and interpersonal progress seems to honestly please him, despite it being unfavorable to his current plans. Not that it changes his treatment of them... he's more than willing to seemingly destroy everything for the big picture. After all, that's what he promised the woman he loves that he would do.
In short, Rufus Barma is absurdly brilliant, a total asshole and an idiot.
» EXSILIUM INFORMATION
Chosen WEAPON: Rufus Barma would choose a ring granting invisibility. Innately, it will only work for ten minutes at a time and need an hour or so to recharge, and this is fixed regardless of evolution. When first claimed, it will have the simple limitations of not masking scent, sound or even dimensions for the spatially aware. Eventually, and with a lot of time, it will solve those gaps.
Character INVENTORY: He will be carrying two metal-bladed fans, Arthur Barma's memoirs, a jeweled pendant, a pair of large-stoned earrings, a few letters and his own journal, a couple of silk pouches filled with sunflower seeds, and way too many layers of clothes.
» SAMPLES
First PERSON:
[The following text is posted to the network almost a month into Rufus Barma's stay. It has no identifiers, and no video or audio is replied in kind. Simple and stripped of the flowery, antiquated language he's known for, he took some time to truly hide himself.]
The organization we take part in now is a curious one. We are a mishmash of all of our worlds and cultures, crudely lumped together with fragile ties between us. It reminds me of a story I had heard, and am prone to wonder if all are the same. In order to better understand the pieces that are around us, I would like to hear your legends. The births of your worlds, the reshaping, and should you be so unfortunate as to know it, the death of the same.
Keep your anonymity if you like; my curiosity is scholarly.
Third PERSON:
Please see here for his test drive! The following threads both show his interactions with canonmates and non canonmates, given a wide range between pressured and calculating.
» ADDITIONAL NOTES The convoluted, Early Modern English way of speaking is implied to have been affected, likely to further the illusion that Duke Barma is even older than he is. However, the only time he won't be using it will be with his illusions.
