I admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for these RPs. Got a character concept that I love but never been able to fully play as.

Maybe this will be the one?

Captain Balthier D. Sydney [+]

"Heh heh heh. Do be careful when venturing too far out to sea.

Here, there be dragons."

Name: Balthier D. Sydney

Epithet: Black Dragon Sydney

Blue/Sea: West

Crew/Base: (Former) Captain of the Black Dragon Pirates.

Bounty/Rank: 99,999,999

Age: 22

Height: 6'7"

Appearance: He is tall, built lean and muscular, with dark red eyes, messy black hair, the back braided in a long tail, tanned skin and a black dragon tattoo that runs from his right wrist to his bicep.

He wears a nice black trench coat, open, with a button-down maroon shirt and loose white pants girded by a black sash. (He removes the coat during a fight because he likes it and doesn't want it ruined.)

Personality: He has a easy-going temperament, and in general, is a hard worker. He has a wicked, sometimes morbid sense of humor, and a mild temper. He can be more than a little arrogant and stubborn, he defiantly hates being told what to do. He is a thrill-seeker with a lust for adventure that is without equal. He loves to live life on the edge, which can result in him diving head-first into ridiculously dangerous situations without a second thought and a smile on his face. He can be kind, even charming, but to his enemies he is terrifying and merciless. He loves food, drink, and alcohol. Of the latter, he has built up a superhuman tolerance for it, which only drives him to consume more to get more drunk.

Devil Fruit:

Ryū-Ryū no mi [+]

Name: Ryū-Ryū no mi

Type: Ancient Zoan

Description: One of the rarest and most powerful devil fruits in existence, the Ryū-Ryū no mi allows it's consumer to transform and take on the attributes of a dragon. Practically, this comes with an incredible increase in physical and mental attributes, the ability to fly on massive wings, the ability to breath fire, nigh-impenetrable scales, and natural weapons in an assortment of claws, horns, and a tail. It also instills various draconic traits, such as savagery in battle, a love of treasure and collecting things, a fierce pride, and a diabolical cleverness. The influence is overall weak, a strong will can recognize and ignore this.

These is, however, a rumor, more of a ghost of a legend told by drunks at a bar for one more pint of ale, that there are true dragons in the world, and that this fruit was the product of a pact between them and the Sea Devils. A second rumor claims that the fruit will eventually turned it's owner into a dragon. A third claims that this forbidden fruit has the power to destroy the world.

Unfortunately, it's power makes it a difficult fruit to master. So far, Balthier has only attained the first Transformation, a humanoid-dragon hybrid.

Natural/Learned Skills: Balthier is best described as a jack-of-all-trades but master-of-none. He can cook well enough not to give people food poisoning, he can clean, make, break, fix, navigate, perform first aid, or fight. He is always eager to learn something new.

He has a rudimentary understanding of Haki, able to use two of the three types: Armament and Observation. His skill in Armament is impressive for his relative experience. He has a knack for it. Observation, on the other hand, he struggles with, but can use to a satisfactory degree.

It is unknown if he has potential for Conqueror's Haki.

Weapons: Himself. He's learned in several forms of martial arts, his specially are vicious infighting techniques.

Transportation: Was a massive iron-clad Frigate called the Nidhogg. Now, he has nothing.

Dream/Goal: Adventure, and to find his old crew.

Origins: Born to a somewhat well-to-do family, Balthier received an extensive education from a young age. His life was completely and drearily normal. He dreamed of one day setting out to sea himself. But that normalcy abruptly ended when he was thirteen. His home was attacked by pirates, and in the chaos he was separated from his family. He never saw them again. He was left on the streets, another orphan boy, until one day, through some strange circumstances, he met a man who took him in.

This man's name was Alzac.

Alzac was an old, long retired smuggler pirate. He had taken the wealth he had earned from his dubious trade and settled down to more reputable carrier. By those who knew him, he was considered a wise and kindly man. During his carrier as a pirate, he was often scorned for being idealistic and merciful. He was something of a contradiction: a peaceful criminal. Force, for him, was a last resort. He strove to handle matters as nonviolently as possible, though dirty tricks and intimidation were all fair. Many mistook this for weakness, but they would be dead wrong. He was a master swordsman and an excellent navigator; he trained Balthier both how to fight and how to sail. Unfortunately, in two short years, he died of simple age, peacefully in his sleep. In those short years, however, he became as much a father to Balthier as his biological father. He also passed his dream on to Balthier, a dream to find the One Piece.

Balthier mourned him, but understood that his adopted father wouldn't want him to wallow in grief. So, a short month later, he gathered supplies and set out on the sea to seek his fortune. But, despite his skills, the only job he could find was as a cabin boy on a merchant vessel. He took it, deciding he would make it work.

The captain of that ship was a cruel and uncaring man. Many a long voyage was spent under the lash with little food, water, or other luxuries maximize cargo space. Undermanned too, they were forced to do the work of a crew twice their size. During a particularly bad storm, the captain drove them mercilessly until the crew snapped and mutinied with Baltier at it's head. Their mutiny succeeded with auspicious ease; the former captain and a few loyal crewmates were unceremoniously beaten, then tossed in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean.

That story of how Balthier, despite his young age, became captain of the soon-to-be infamous Black Dragon Pirates. A very successful carrier as a privateer pirate followed, during which he eventually earned a bounty of exactly 99,999,999 berries for piracy, mayhem, public indecently, public drunkenness, larceny, sinking multiple Marine warships, capturing multiple Marine warships, sacking two cities, destroying a Marine base, impersonating a Marine Captain, burglarizing a Marine Captain's house, and shaving a Marine Captain's prize showdog. During which he earned his devil fruit powers. How this happened is a story for another time.

But then, after hedonistic seven years of piracy, his second mate, a man named Alistair Tianlong, decided he wanted the money and fame. So he lead a mutiny of his own, in turn, marooning Balthier on some deserted island, where he spent nearly a month struggling to survive with a sea-prism stone bullet in his shoulder, rendering him weak and unable to transform.

But it seemed like fate still had something in store for him. He managed to signal a passing ship, and from there, get to a doctor who surgically removed the bullet. Now, he set out to sea once more with revenge on his mind.

@ladyonyx04is it ok to assume we’re all on one crew or how does that work?

@KillBox at the moment, everybody seems to be either crawlers, or part of a crew already.

Red Lion Pirates still accepting fresh blood.

WIP, Bio will be completed and image will be added [+]

Name:Kuroda Jōichirō ( 黒田 城一郎 )
Pirate, Navy, Citizen: Former marine, currently free agent pirate.
Age:Late 20s
Devil Fruit [if acquired]:Pika Pika no Mi (Glint Glint Fruit)
Natural/Learned Skills:Kenbushoku Haki (Very basic), Busoshoku Haki (Moderate), Rokushiki (Basic knowledge, limited practical usage), Swordsmanship (High moderate), Cooking (High basic), Medical (Very basic), Navigation (Next to none)
Bio:Jōichirō was born in the North Blue
Picture:

@Crimson Raven If a fight starts up, which it might, feel free to jump into that.