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[franchisepirate]

Player Info

Name: Lena
Age: 33
Contact: lenainverse @ plurk |
Characters Already in Teleios: Carol Peletier
Reserve: April 21

Character Basics:

Character Name: Westley aka The Man in Black aka The Dread Pirate Roberts
Journal: franchisepirate
Age: Approximately early to mid-20's. His exact age is never specified.
Fandom: The Princess Bride (film) [Note: Although the film is my primary canon, I draw from the novel for historical background and character backstory. In the rare instances where the two contradict (the setting of the Pit of Despair for example) movie canon will supersede.]
Canon Point: Following being "killed" by Prince Humperdinck using The Machine ("mostly dead")
Debt:

Class A: 25 years - estimated 20 or so murders and 5 counts of betraying his country of origin and its leaders
Class B: 200 years - easily 400 counts of robbery and assault and other piracy-related activities
Class C: 10 years, 120 counts of manipulation and lying and general mayhem

List crimes you’ve created for your character here.

GRAND TOTAL: 235 years

Canon Character Section:

History: Film canon @ Wikipedia | Book canon @ Wikipedia | Westley @ Princess Bride Wikia

Personality:

Westley is the quintessential self-made man. From his poor and underprivileged beginnings, using his own strong will and formidable brain, was able to become one of the world's greatest fighters and heir to the richest pirate treasure in the known world. The fact that his youth was spent in servitude still eats at certain aspects of his self-image, but Westley is the type of man who won't let anything, not even death, keep him from his goals.

A poor boy raised essentially as a slave on Buttercup's family farm, Westley didn't waste his time doing the minimum to get by nor let the disrespect shown to him get him down. The less people thought of him and the worse they treated him made Westley all the more determined to prove himself. An ambitious person, he trained himself to only need a few hours' sleep each night so that he could stay awake and work his mind and body into sharp, lethal tools. As a result he is not only strong and quick but brilliant, and able to adapt to any situation and turn even the most lopsided circumstance to his advantage. When he found himself aboard the Dread Pirate Roberts' ship about to be executed, Westley was able to find a way to not only come through the experience with his life, but his hard work and dedication led Roberts to name Westley the heir to his name and ship.

Westley, however, would say that it was true love that got him through that situation. He believes unquestionably in the power of love, convinced that no matter what he would find his way back to Buttercup's side. Upon discovering his and Buttercup's mutual love for one another, Westley had to leave to seek his fortune across the sea in order to afford marriage and promised Buttercup that no matter what, he would always come for her. He never wavered in his faith or in that promise. Even when Buttercup betrothed herself to Prince Humperdinck in a fit of grief after Westley's supposed death at the hands of Roberts, a disguised Westley sought out Buttercup and rescued her from her kidnappers despite the fact that she didn't wait for him as she promised.

That's not to say there haven't been moments of doubt, however. Given his poor background, Westley has questioned Buttercup's love for him, however briefly. When a masked Westley rescued her, he was particularly cruel to Buttercup, taunting her with stories of her love's demise at the hands of pirates, in order to determine whether she betrayed him and fell in love with Prince Humperdinck. Only a few words from Buttercup cleared the matter up and Westley never doubted her faithfulness again.

Time and again, Westley proves himself remarkably adaptive. He is able to win various types of fights by using his quick wit along with his versatile skills in order to emerge victorious from even the longest odds. Thanks to his own self-training as well as his training as an apprentice pirate, Westley is able to use whatever is at hand, even if only his own mind, to worm his way out of any bad situation, even surviving torture and near-death because of his iron will. Sheer determination and refusal to lose don't hurt either, and Westley has both in spades.

In fact, if there's a weakness Westley has, it's that he can be too confident, sometimes to the point of aloofness. He also tends to be nonchalant and have a distinct air of infallibility when he feels he has the advantage, which can be irksome -- particularly to the person he's opposing. (That's part of the point, actually.) He's not by any means untouchable, as like any person Westley has his moments of weakness, but he tends to overcompensate with bluster and bravado rather than appear vulnerable. However, he is unfailingly polite and charming enough to compensate for this most of the time and avoid seeming a braggart.

Westley's quick wit applies also to turns of phrase and wording things just so, in order to come off as genteel even when he's being insulting and dismissive. He's a gentleman to the last, and even the vilest villain will get an insult worthy of a Shakespearean drama... and, most likely, some measure of mercy. Despite the reputation of the Dread Pirate Roberts, Westley doesn't prefer to kill his enemies unless he must. He leaves Inigo, Fezzik, and Humperdinck alive, though he is not above killing when absolutely necessary, as shown when he poisoned Vizzini in order to save Buttercup. That said, he is quick to use the reputation of Roberts in order to strike fear in people and encourage their compliance. It's another way to turn things to his advantage without the situation becoming messy.

Westley tends to have a certain flair about him, particularly when faced with some manner of challenge or fight. He is relaxed and appears entirely in control of himself, even participating in witty conversations during fencing matches and other contests. Not afraid to show off, Westley somehow manages to do so and seem humble at once. When fencing Inigo, Westley used his non-dominant sword hand initially so he could later surprise his opponent, but also complimented Inigo's technique throughout the battle. Although he is confident, he appreciates and acknowledges talent and skill in others. And, always, he respects it.

Whether in spite of his past or because of it, Westley became a man who will overcome all obstacles to get what he wants. And what he wants is a life with his true love, no more or less. Whatever he has to do to achieve that, whether it means giving up sleep, or becoming an outlaw pirate, or fighting a giant, or breaking into a castle gate guarded by sixty men, he's not going to fail. No matter what.

Being in Teleios will likely be viewed as a new adventure, albeit one which Westley doesn't intend to experience for long because he has his love to get back to. Being as adaptable as he is, and as hard a worker, it's likely he'll make the best of things while trying, with some manner of covertness, to figure out how to engineer an ingenious and improbable escape. He won't be deterred in his goals, but he's a patient man, so his single-mindedness will not interfere with carving out a life for himself somewhere in the city, however temporary he views it. Westley will surely take advantage of every possible opportunity, be it alliances (or friendships), chances to learn new skills, and most definitely the Agentmas-type circumstances. It's also possible that he could add to his list of crimes by resuming some level of pirate-like activities, such as theft or whatnot, but it's likely that he would first attempt other means of acquiring his needs. As far as his listed crimes, he'd make no argument; such is the life of a pirate, and it was all to good purpose in the end. The most difficult part will be his separation from Buttercup, but Westley is the eternal optimist and so wouldn't likely let it get him down. Nothing can stop true love, be it death or royal engagements or being whisked away to a multiverse.

Powers/Abilities: Westley is a human with no supernatural abilities. However, according to his experience and training as a farmhand and pirate, he possesses various skill sets.

Strength and Endurance: Westley possesses extreme strength and endurance. Even before his days on the Revenge, Westley did manual labor at Buttercup's family farm and trained himself to only sleep four hours per night so he could learn more and work harder. It is stated that no one but Fezzik the Giant would be strong enough to climb the thousand-foot rope up the side of the Cliffs of Insanity, but Westley did so. He is also able to cope with the lower levels of torture from The Machine, a device that uses suction to suck the life out of a person and was designed to be extraordinarily painful. Westley is also excellent at hand fighting and utilizing his speed and skill to defeat even larger and stronger opponents, such as Fezzik. In addition, he has built up an immunity to Iocaine powder, one of the deadliest poisons known to man, and is able to consume quantities that would kill a man without any noticeable effect.

Swordsmanship/Fencing: Trained by famous pirates, Westley is an exceptional swordsman. He is able to fight with both hands at a master level and has studied all of the famous attack techniques, defenses, and maneuvers. He was able to fight Inigo Montoya, the greatest fencer in the world, at an equal level and even defeat him.

Strategy and Planning: Perhaps Westley's greatest skill is his ability to adapt and use whatever means necessary to achieve his goals. He is able to plan attacks against far larger groups of opposing forces with limited men (the infiltration of Humperdinck's castle) and resources and is also able to think on the fly and quickly turn a seemingly hopeless circumstance toward his favor. He out-witted Vizzini, who was considered a very smart man (and considered himself a genius beyond measure) by using his own hubris against him, and similarly uses Inigo and Fezzik and Humperdinck's greatest assets against them, in order to eventually defeat them.

Appearance: Westley is a tall man with blond hair, described by others as handsome and well-built, with "eyes like the sea after a storm". As the Dread Pirate Roberts he prefers to wear all black clothing and a mask that covers the top half of his face. He favors a small ponytail and a thin mustache. Image links: Westley without his mask | Westley fencing as the Dread Pirate Roberts

Samples:

Actionspam Sample:

Samples here!

Prose Sample:

Death isn't quite what Westley expected. Not that he had terribly many expectations, having not planned on dying at the present time. Until a few moments ago he was laying in a torture chamber plotting his inevitable and brilliant escape which would of course lead to a long and blissful life with Buttercup, but here he is nonetheless.

In fact, the whole thing has been rather civilized. They don't even refer to it as death, but a potential try-out for utopia, perhaps (he'll pardon the strange logic for the sake of relative accuracy, and because it's a veritable drip in the nonsensical bucket at the moment). Far from the dark, cold depths of Davy Jones' Locker, Westley has had the whole situation neatly explained and awakened in what, compared to any home he's ever had, is an estate fit for the miserable likes of the pompous Prince Humperdinck himself.

The very thought of that paunchy lout sparks an anger that won't soon fade, but Westley lets it quietly simmer. It won't do to be ungracious to his apparent hosts, nor is it strategically sound or of any use at all to make a scene.

And strategy is, as ever, on his mind. Generous and apparently benevolent this society may be -- and time will tell if those hold true or not, there's a large difference between the temporary benefit of the doubt and the blind trust of a fool -- but Westley doesn't intend to stay. His true love is back where he left her, preparing to be wed to that pox-marked miscreant and waiting for Westley to whisk her away to happily ever after. Which is still the plan, and a fine one it is! Westley came back from the dead once for her, and he'll do it again.

There is, however, the problem of where to start.

No matter, it's far from the first time Westley has found himself in less than favorable circumstances. His entire life has been a series of unfavorable circumstances, and he's managed to claw his way through in more-or-less good condition. Except for the part about being dead, but no use focusing on what can't yet be changed.

And so he'll begin at the most apropos of places: wherever he's currently standing. (Even more apropos would be 'the beginning' but, again, he's accustomed to less than favorable circumstances.) Already having inventoried his meager belongings, Westley has noted that his shirt, torn by an Unusually Sized Rodent, leaves him barely decent, but more of immediate concern is that his mask is conspicuously absent. Not the worst of follies, but inconvenient. If there was any consideration of resuming his piracy here, that is a step in quite the wrong direction. Rule one of being an outlaw is to at least attempt not to be identified. People can snicker as they will, but the fact remains that even Buttercup didn't know him with the mask on -- granted, she had thought him five years into death number one at the time.

His sword is also missing, not that he's terribly surprised. Keeping a civil afterlife probably necessitates a policy against arming the newcomers. Again, inconvenient, but he's improvised before.

So, he's left with taking stock of his surroundings before reassessing the situation. Judging by the grand ballroom in which he and the rest of the crowd have landed and the brief descriptions of the surrounding area, this locale is too vast for a simple afternoon of scouting to suffice. That will make quick escape a fool's errand unless he is particularly lucky at the outset, and pardon his skepticism but all evidence thus far is to the contrary.

There is also the matter of the device on his wrist. Westley glances at it dubiously. He's not in the business of using things at which he is not an expert, or at the very least learned enough to avoid looking like a cretin. There is also the fact that he was very recently on the receiving end of some state-of-the-art technology with the very unfavorable result of being here and dead. No, he'll refrain from any attempt at it for now, and perhaps find a manner of removing it before he finds the occasion desperate enough to try. And, as luck would have it, he's quite literally surrounded by people with whom to inquire.

Well, best be on with it. As they say, fortune favors the bold.