Post by revolverjesus on Sept 29, 2009 21:35:16 GMT -5
Canon Character Application
My name is RevolverJesus and I am 17 years old. I want to join this site because I need to take a break from fanarting and writing seems like a good idea to get that ‘urge‘ out. I have been roleplaying for three months and I normally post between the 200 - 400 word mark. Here is my application:
Character name:
Sadiq Adnan - Turkey
Age:
Appears to be in his late twenties to early thirties, but has been around for the past 1300 years or so.
Appearance:
Sadiq stands a few inches shy of a solid six feet. Broad shoulders and a well-built frame give him a looming presence, reinforced by the peculiar porcelain mask he wears - suggesting a love for theatrics, or the want to turn a blind eye. He has a tawny complexion and is of Caucasian descent with some Mongolian influence. A cropped cap of dark, curly hair lies underneath his usual fez, a distinctive double curl twisting like a forked twig at the base of his neck.
Like most other countries, Turkey has his share of ugly scars: circular ‘dents’ dotting his back from musket balls fired by Spain and Italy during the Battle of Lepanto, numerous gouges from centuries of the Russo-Turkish Wars, countless stab wounds from where Greece had tried to impale him during both of their revolutions, and recently, small burns from terrorist attacks due to an unstable political scene. Not that it matters much to him - like a dent or a scratch in a plate of armor, each wound has its own grandiose story, something that Turkey is all too happy to share.
Personality:
Vivacious, amicable and undeniably cheerful, Turkey holds an almost childlike fascination with people as a whole. Being situated between Europe and Asia (and in the past having ruled an empire across three continents) has made him all the more appreciative of the different cultures that come and go throughout the country. He loves telling stories and hearing them, living for the moment with excellent food or in the steam baths. On the flipside, Turkey still holds a streak of artistic brutality from his Empire days. He’s incredibly competitive and more than willing to crush anything that stands in his way. He and Greece in particular are still bitter about past events and now argue over their boundaries in the Aegean Sea. They’ve come close to war again a few times, and can’t even stand to be in the same room with each other.
Turkey upholds the ideals of his former boss Ataturk with zealous devotion - it was Ataturk who saved the dying Ottoman Empire from being dismembered by the Triple Entente and Greece directly after World War I, and reformed the Empire into what it is now. Though Turkey now looks at the law with an objective lens rather than through traditional Sharia law, he’s stubborn and almost authoritarian when it comes to silencing those who slander Ataturk, himself, or promote touchy subjects like Cyprus and Armenia.
His cosmopolitan disposition and desire to keep the separation between church and state as far from each other as possible has affected his worship somewhat. Turkey outright violates the ’no alcohol’ rule, but is otherwise fairly devout in keeping with the pillars of Islam.
Occupation:
Turkey is a Corsair with some skill in Mysticism, owing far back to his roots before he converted to Islam. His magic allows him to inflict a variety of physical and mental ailments on his enemies, and inspire his comrades. A master sailor and an adept swordsman and marksman, he has started leaning towards the technological side of things to keep up with his western contemporaries.
Strengths:
He is well aware of his position in the world as the bridge between Europe and Asia, as well as being a relatively friendly doorway into the Middle East. His heartwarming and sunny personality causes others to be immediately comfortable and intimate with him. Even when he’s riled up, he tries to keep an impartial view on affairs, though his neighbors have their suspicions.
His competitive nature and goals to become more associated with the West have served him well in modern times. He is self-sufficient when it comes to feeding his people, allowing him to concentrate on industrialization.
Weaknesses:
Turkey gets very defensive when others start pointing out his flaws, to the point where he’ll withdraw support, or if in the country, have them arrested. His liveliness can be off-putting to the more reserved. There are certain incidents in his past as the Ottoman Empire that he absolutely refuses to acknowledge happened. As a result, his relations with some countries have become rocky.
His relationship with Greece leaves something to be desired. They’re liable to get into a brawl if left together for too long.
Backstory:
Turkey’s oldest memories involve the rocky wastelands of Mongolia, the ferocious sandstorms of the Arabian Peninsula (where he learned about the true nature of the world), and finally settling over the coasts welcoming the wine-colored Sea of Marmara in Anatolia.
He remembers distinctly the cacophony of an empire crumbling around him (the Seljuk Sultanate), the creaking of an empire desperate to stave off its splintered remnants (Byzantine Empire), and the crunch of trampled bodies to make the dream of an empire true (Osman I).
Needless to say, Turkey’s - or more appropriately, the Ottoman Empire’s formative years were spent unifying the rest of northwest Anatolia and laying down the framework for the downfall of the Byzantine Empire. Even before he emerged as a very real threat to Christian Europe, the Ottoman Empire had begun to absorb the wealth of culture of those he had taken over, leaving them in relative peace so long as tribute was paid. Before long, the majority of the Balkan Peninsula had fallen to him, but at the cusp of the fourteenth century overconfidence in eastern Anatolia led to an abrupt stop in conquest.
In a moment of weakness the Ottoman Empire fell into disarray and civil war, his leader taken captive by the Mongolians and his leader’s sons fighting for the position of sultan. Mehmet I emerged as ruler and went right back into reclaiming the Balkan territory that had wriggled out of his control. The Ottoman Empire soon regained his former status as a nigh unstoppable war machine. Now with Mehmet II as sultan, the seat of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, was no more than the next logical step in the Ottoman’s expansion. Its fall and the campaigns afterwards brought the rest of the Balkan Peninsula into his service, including Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia.
From there the Empire reinforced the navy, took Egypt and spread into the Red Sea, taking two of the most important holy cities of Islam (Mecca and Medina). Through the efforts of Suleiman the Magnificent towards the late sixteenth century, Hungary and Romania had been taken into servitude and the Empire spread west into North Africa. By then the Ottoman Empire was fully in competition with Portugal and Habsburg Austria.
Like all great empires before him, the Ottoman Empire’s expansion led him to protect his land on multiple fronts, stretching his forces thin. Eventually he fell into a period of decline that would last until his reformation as Turkey. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries brought incompetent rulers and with them, the loss of Hungary and encroaching British and French influence in North Africa. The nineteenth century brought further losses. Nationalism was burgeoning across Europe, and the Ottoman Empire was crippled by the disease stagnation had set in. In the years leading up to World War I, the Empire had lost all but his territory in the Middle East. It was almost certain he would meet the same end as Ancient Rome.
The secret alliance with Germany brought the Ottoman Empire into World War I. From there he lost the rest of his land to Russia, Britain, France and Persia, retaining only enough to defend his capital - and by the time the Treaty of Versailles ended the fighting, Britain had occupied Istanbul.
Nationalism had not forgotten the majority ruling the Ottoman Empire. The earlier Gallipoli campaign brought to the front the growing identity of the Turks as a people, and coupled with Greece’s invasion of western Anatolia, Turkey’s future boss, Mustafa Kemal, capitalized on these feelings of pride and resentment. It was here the Ottoman Empire took on his current name of Turkey, and overturned Greek and Entente forces to negotiate post-war conditions on his terms.
Since then, Turkey has taken efforts to break away from his past, actively striving to again become a major power in both Europe and Asia. He stayed neutral during World War II and sided with the United States in the Cold War years. Though he seems to be relatively unstable - he’s had no less than four military coups and an economic collapse since he reformed - Turkey has managed to keep his wits about him, always looking to the ideals of Ataturk to guide him. He’s now looking forward to breaking proper into the European Union, and there doesn’t seem to be much that can dampen his enthusiasm.
Sample Post:
His laugh was rich and bawdy and full with the kind of love borne from the lusting of life, not from the baseness of sensuality but from the love of humans being human, from religious love and love for his people.
“You’ve come at a good time, my child.” The clatter of plates and spoons being hastily passed around underscored the talk in the stall - talk of the harvest, of sales, of friends, of husbands and of wives. The center held a small bonfire, licking the chunks of dripping mutton skewered above it. Around the tiny group the barricade of carpets, pots and jewelry were awash in vermillion flame and striped by long, red-tinged shadows cast by their vendors. The boy looked up at the man who had ushered him into the circle and gulped, at once both intimidated and awestruck.
The shadows from the fire made the man’s mask sinister, even if his jovial smile didn’t match. The boy muttered “Thank you” as the man passed a bowl to him. Another small bowl exchanged hands.
“Sesame seeds?” The boy nodded. A liberal pile splattered upon his aşure. Sadiq passed the condiment above the boy’s head to a reaching hand. That rich, patriarchal laugh sounded again, finished by, “Then he better go hiking back east, eh?”
Chuckles of approval swept the shopkeepers. Sadiq turned to the boy. “Are you lost, child?”
The boy was acutely aware of the kebabs sizzling their rawness away. He steeled himself and licked his spoon clean, remembering what his mother had strictly told him. “I’m here to pick up a carpet, amca. My mother sends her son because she has fallen ill.”
“Oh? How unfortunate. May God be with her.” Sadiq shifted his position so he was facing the boy. “Tea?”
“Thank you, amca. It was that rug there.” Politely the boy took a sip and averted his eyes, preparing for the display to come. He didn’t like the man’s mask - there was no way to gauge a reaction without the subtleties of the eyes. Bargaining would be difficult. He knew he could rely on other cues but was unsure if he could catch them.
Sadiq was enjoying himself immensely. The boy before him was obviously green, yet had an aura of persistence. The plastered smile on his face grew wider. “Your mother has good taste, eh? How much did she decide on? 1400?”
The game had begun.
The boy glared at the mask. His hands ran across the weave of the carpet, inspecting it, fingernails catching the imperfections. “800.”
“It was made just today, you know! 1200.”
“750.”
“1100. We have families to feed!”
The boy’s mouth twitched, a pang of guilt arcing in his mind. But surely this was just another sales trick. “800, and two of those pots.”
“1000.”
“900, and give me that cigarette box, too.”
“Boy, you smoke at your age?” Sadiq laughed, producing a hand rolled cigarette from a hidden pocket. He lit it and the heady fragrance of bitter liqueur mingled with the perfumes of anise and tender lamb and the bowl of aşure still in the boy‘s hands. Then as an afterthought he handed another cigarette to the boy, sealing the offer. “Very good! Your mother is beaming.”
The boy was slightly bewildered but pleased that he had managed to save a hundred lira and gotten more out of it. Sadiq leaned over and clapped an idle vendor on the shoulder. “Hey, help this boy, will ya? He’s very smart! I‘ll watch your shop while you‘re gone.”
With some grumbling the vendor got up and hoisted the carpet onto his shoulder. The boy had the pots cradled in an arm, the bowl in the other hand, the smoke box in a pocket, the unlit cigarette dangling between his teeth.
“Many thanks, amca!” He said with some difficulty. The disgruntled vendor barked and hurried him along.
Next to Sadiq the owner of the stall scoffed, as irritated as the vendor who had gone off. “I’m not letting you handle sales again! You could have gotten at least two hundred more.”
“I’m sure he didn’t have more than a thousand.” Sadiq turned back to the fire, his good mood even better. Another set of pink kebabs were rotating upon the spit. The tea was sweet and so was the aşure. He couldn’t remember a time when the tobacco had tasted so good.
The future had never looked more promising.
… Turkey is love. <3
(this is a freakin' novel jeebus)
