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Application - Piccolo
Player: Masa
Contact: dammitmasa @ plurk
Age: 18+
Current Characters: None
Character: Piccolo Jr
Age: Technically 14, but his original incarnation was five hundred years old and he is physically and mentally an adult.
Canon: Dragon Ball
Canon Point: End of the Cell saga, before the time skip.
Background: here
Personality:
Piccolo is a complex character not only because of his character arc that takes him from villain to hero, but because his persona is made up of several different Namekians that have become a single person. At his core, he is the son of King Piccolo that was born with all his father’s memories and his motivations, but in the body of a small child that rapidly grew into adulthood over the course of a few years. He was prebuilt to seek out vengeance and pursue every avenue available to him to eliminate Goku and follow through on his predecessor’s ambition to rule the world. But he was never just a clone of his father, which ultimately complicated things.
From very early on, Piccolo developed a sense of honor distinct from his father. Experiencing Goku’s mercy at the end of the world martial arts tournament and subsequently playing a part in Goku’s sacrifice to defeat Raditz a few years later created a conflict within him for what it was he truly desired. Even after deciding to train Gohan in the wilderness, he still had his intentions of defeating Goku and following through on his plans. But then he found himself with a child who treated him like a person and called him family. Gohan’s innocence and humanity was new and unique to Piccolo. Combined with his sense of pragmatism, Piccolo was set on a path that ultimately ended with his own self sacrifice to save the very same boy that Goku had died to protect.
By the time he had gone to King Kai’s planet to receive additional training and eventually be revived on Namek, Piccolo had become his own man that was left adrift in what he actually desired. If ever he had desired to return to a life of evil and conquering the planet, all of that ended when he agreed to merge with the Namekian warrior, Nail. The two became one and although Piccolo remained the dominant personality of the two. Although Piccolo would remain prideful and calloused, Nail’s nobility and goodness certainly had its effect upon Piccolo. From then on, he would firmly be an ally of the Earth’s defenders.
Despite having given up his ambitions to take over the world, it would take Piccolo a long time to begin assimilating among his new allies. Despite his vested interest in Gohan, Piccolo often spent much of his time in mediation in the wilderness to focus his own strength. But as time would pass, he would eventually begin to spend more and more time among the Son family to the point that even Chichi had no problem shouting orders at her husband’s former arch enemy. This develops to the point that he even begins to take an interest not only in Gohan’s training, but all his education. Their bond was strong that even when Gohan gave up fighting, Piccolo did not begrudge him this choice.
To the other Z Fighters, Piccolo became their strategist and often times would take the lead when Goku was absent (which seemed a frequent occurrence). Even when some of the other fighters were absent, Piccolo remained consistent in being present to defend the Earth from whatever threat arose. Although he shared Goku’s desire for a challenge, his pragmatism has always been a stronger trait. He is ruthless and more than willing to slay his foes and not likely to be convinced to allow his foes to unlock a greater power level for his own sense of vanity as is the case with Goku and Vegeta and it’s often a point of contention, especially when Vegeta will goad an enemy into becoming stronger and robbing the Z Fighters of their victory.
After his fusion with Kami (his father’s good counterpart), all traces of evil are erased from him. However Piccolo remains a distant figure, grumpy and often cocky despite having been outclassed by the Saiyans on Earth. Where once he might not have cared about casualties, he actually pleads with Cell to spare an innocent man which is quite the contrast to how he might have once acted. However Piccolo has a great deal of pride and prefers to be viewed as unflappable, though it doesn’t take too much for that cool exterior to melt away. During the Buu saga, he frequently lost his cool having to deal with the arrogance and brattiness of Goten and Trunks (exacerbated by their fusion into the endlessly arrogant Gotenks).
Despite is relative comfort living among humans now, Piccolo never fully fits in. Much of this has to do with his unusual origins (he was a Demon King after all), but also his inability to understand certain aspects of human social behaviors. One thing that completely vexes him is human romance. Because his species lack genders and reproduce asexually, it’s not in him to want to seek a mate and so the entire concept of courtship is strange and foreign to him. It’s especially baffling to him to watch Goku and Vegeta deal with their respective wives and their ability to exert their will over their husbands. At one point he decides that everything finally makes sense when Vegeta proclaims that Saiyans are attracted to strong women, which only goes to show Piccolo’s very limited understanding of why people do the things they do for romantic love.
But Piccolo certainly knows what it means to care for others. The Son family is his family now and he often spends time with them, not only for Gohan’s sake. In the follow up series, Dragon Ball Super, he even takes up babysitting duty for Pan and even will make funny faces to make her laugh (though he finds it embarrassing) and seems to know more about her needs than even her own grandparents do. Although Piccolo would maintain that he’s indifferent to others and is fine living in solitude, that’s not at all true. He’s big, he’s green, and he’s disgustingly cuddly on the inside.
Abilities:
Martial Arts: Take away his Namekian strength and Ki abilities and Piccolo remains a highly competent combatant with four lifetimes of experience to draw upon from his father, Kami, Nail, and his own time spent developing his techniques. Piccolo prefers to fight in close combat where his claws and Namekian abilities allow him to overwhelm his opponents.
Ki Control: Like many characters in the Dragon Ball series, Piccolo possesses a number of superhuman abilities that surround his ability to control his ki and manifest it with amplified strength, flight, speed, and energy attacks. He is extremely talented in this regard and has multiple techniques of his own invention. His strength has grown to the point of being able to rival a Super Saiyan, though he lacks any transformation techniques to enhance his power further. (Needs nerfed)
Regeneration: Like all Namekians, he is able to regenerate. This ability is one that can be greatly sped up by a conscious effort of using his stamina to instantly regrow a missing limb. Extremely powerful Namekians are shown to be able to do this without slowing down, but for Piccolo it's still a process that can quickly exhaust him if used too many times. He can regenerate from any wound so long as his brain remains in tact and he has sufficient ki to draw upon. (Needs nerfed)
Namekian Physiology: Namekians can extend their limbs with some effort and have a great deal of control over this process. Piccolo can use this same concept to increase his body size with effort, though it does not do anything to make him anymore powerful. He can also use this to create physical copies of himself by literally splitting his body in half.
Enhanced Senses: Thanks to his large ears, Piccolo has a much more acute sense of hearing than normal humans, though this does come with the caveat that high pitched sounds are very painful as a result. His other senses are heightened as well, though not at the same level.
Mental: Like other Namekians, Piccolo is a powerful telepath and can easily establish mental-links with other people, even from a great distance. His great mental discipline allows him to increase his own strength by meditation. He also possesses great telekinetic power and is seen at one point to lift an entire Egyptian-style pyramid with his mind.
Magic: Piccolo possesses a few magical abilities, although he does not rely on them often. Among them is the ability to materialize clothing which is easily his most metro attack. He is also capable of performing the Demon Containment Wave (a special ability to seal an evil being into a container), though he’s only ever used it as a counter.
Alignment: Piphron. Piccolo’s trust and distrust is born from his unusual origin where he is the reincarnation of an evil tyrant, now fused with two noble Namekians following his own reformation from evil. He is by his very nature inherently distrustful of others, but his trust is implicit in those that he has come to see as family.
Other: I’m not sure what the general consensus is for Dragon Ball characters are for nerfs, but in general... that. Piccolo would still be extremely strong, but maybe limit his Ki abilities towards what he was like towards his earlier appearances. Likewise his regenerative abilities would be more like in early canon and much more taxing for him.
Remember that we ask for samples that show 1) core character portrayal and 2) some use of emotions, such as environmental effect. You can also use the same sample source for both, just make sure to directly link or quote the emotion portion. We highly encourage using the Test Drive, and you can use prompts from the Test Drives, Intro Logs, and the Task board if you need them. Refer to the main application page for links and more suggestions.
General Sample: Here and there.
“I assure you my friend, you will not regret this purchase.” The merchant smiled wide so that his golden tooth could gleam.
Piccolo was not having it. He had gone into the store for a very simple request and purchase, but had been bombarded by this small and irritating man who seemed to take the Namekian for a fool. He had already considered simply moving the man out of his path, but that would’ve caused more trouble than it was worth.
“I told you, I only need this one,” Piccolo growled. It was not in his nature to trust others and he had through a kind of natural osmosis of universal knowledge a sense that men with golden teeth are inherently untrustworthy. He lifted the product in question. “So let me buy this or get out of my way.”
The merchant tittered a bit. It was a warm day outside and it was even worse inside. A bead of sweat had begun to form on his forehead and it was threatening to either cascade his forehead to either his cheek or into an eye socket. A sense of professionalism stiffened his hand from removing it. “Well, sir, instead could I perhaps interest you in-”
“No, dammit!” With all the maturity of a Namekian with a combination of several hundred years of life experiences managed to toss all of them aside in one single petulant and impatient moment. He tossed the object on the floor and rose up in the air. This was the sort of thing that caused even more of a scene than simply being a seven foot tall green man. “I’ll buy it somewhere else!”
The Namekian glided over the merchant and landed just at the door, where he exited and slammed the door behind him which shattered with such a sense of finality that it would have been the perfect way of punctuating Piccolo’s visit if he didn’t decide to stop there and turn around. He tilted his head and glared angrily at the merchant. “... I’ll pay for the damage.”
The merchant grinned. Got ‘em.
Emotion Sample:
It hadn't been easy finding a new meditation spot in this place, but Piccolo had been keeping an eye out for places that fit his particular needs. It was quiet, remote, and utterly devoid of other people. If there were mountains, that's where he'd be. He positioned himself just adjacent to a cliff face where he could levitate in the air, cross his arms and legs and simply focus. His effort was not to try and enhance his strength or his mental prowess. Instead, he was trying to suppress his emotions. This was never a difficult trick on the outside, but he'd had more than a few encounters where his impatience had caused unexpected imbalances around him. So now he was going to simply empty himself of emotions.
He focused inward upon himself, removing the layers of the many Namekians he had been before until he found an emptiness that said nothing, was nothing, and knew nothing. He focused on that and emptied his thoughts. It didn't take long, because this was hardly a new experience for himself. Only when he had managed to capture that state of mind did he risk opening his eyes to see the world around him. He was surprised to find that things had simply stopped around him. The water in the stream had stopped, the leaves in a nearby tree had ceased to rustle in the wind, and the distant sounds of singing birds had faded into silence. That alone would be easily overlooked, but the world had also seemed to lose its saturation as well. Suppressing his emotions was just as distracting as having them. The growl that followed instantly dispelled the changes and everything seemed to regain its natural luster and movement.
He snorted in bitter resignation and returned to his meditation, though this time focusing on his own irritation instead. At least that seemed less distracting.
Questions: Nah.