Long as you got a sky, a ship, a crew

( All kindsa people out there. )

Name: Belle
Age: 28
Contact: thesouthernbelle
Other Characters: Adelaide LeBlanc, Zevran Arainai
Interests: Getting down and dirty with the soldiering work, being a meatshield for the delicate flowers of the Inquisition. Doing jobs, getting paid, poking about gigantic conspiracies and getting beat to hell. General misbehaving and hijinks. Getting this green glittering shine out of his hand would be pretty awesome as well.


Name: Malcolm Reynolds
Canon/OC: Firefly (Native AU)
Journal: aintwejust
Race: Human
Nationality: Fereldan
Occupation: Mercenary/Soldier/Rancher/Captain/Hunter/Mabari Wrangler/Con-man/Criminal/Smuggler/Etc
Age: 31

History

Canon History

• Born in 10, Dragon, grew up on a ranch North of West Hill where he was communally raised by all sorts of the ranch hands and learned to ride and farm and raise cows and whatnot. Picked up a lot of different languages from them and a lot of knowledge, stuff like literature, the chant, stuff about the North, the Qunari. It made him want to travel and see the world for himself.


• Joins the Fereldan Army at 16 to see the world. Sees a lot of the road and the barracks, not much of the world. But he's learning to fight and that's not nothing. Trains hard, treats his betters with respect, does a lot of bandit clearing to keep the lands nice and tidy, ends up a sergeant.


• Ostagar happens. He and a small squad were out in the wilds trying to get back before nightfall. They come up in time to see the Darkspawn sweep over the troops stationed there like an avalanche- and in time to watch half the army haul ass back to Denerim. Without a commanding officer or orders? They haul ass with them.


• Meet back up at Denerim and poke about for what in the Maker's name happened- get shouted down. Goes back to keeping his head low and doing as he's told.


• Battle of Denerim. New King Cousland leads them into battle and he's happy to be fighting to protect his home. Less happy about all the death and cleanup afterward. Resigns (deserts) afterward with his right hand man (woman), figuring he'd given enough to King and Country.


• Finds himself a ship, a crew, and starts running jobs carrying freight or folk across the Waking Sea.


• Good jobs are slim but he gets a hit off an old war buddy about smuggling. Takes the job, it goes smooth, he gets paid.


• Begins smuggling a little more often along the coast. Crazy Hijinks ensue when his name gets around for getting the job done, including:
  
  • Steals a shipment of lyrium for a buyer in Orlais, returns it when he finds out it's for sick and desperately addicted templars.
  
  
  • Picks up a survivor of a Darkspawn raid during a smuggling op- guy's tainted and crazy, damn near kills the crew.
  
  
  • Sneaks into a fancy Starkhaven Party for a smuggling contact. Ends up in a duel. Wins!
  
  
  • Gets married (kinda) and damn near killed (again.)
  
  
  • Does a dead drop in a podunk town where his Mabari is a hero.
  
  
  • Steals a bunch of potion and poultice supplies from an Orlesian University to sell, makes a hefty profit.
  
  
  • Steals a one of a kind crossbow/handcanon type...thing. Hasn't found a fence for it yet. Almost gets killed by his wife (again).


• Transports one River and Simon Tam across the sea without much muss or fuss. Much.


• Takes a job running some goods up the Frostbacks, something goes boom in the sky and suddenly he's got a glowing green shard in his hand. How bout that?

Personality

Malcolm's more moral than he'd let on, or than he'd really much care to admit. The particulars are simply connected to a strong personal code he'd cobbled together over the years from people he'd met on the Ranch and in the military. You mind yourself and your crew. You don't leave a man behind. You don't spit on the little guy, you help them. You don't abide slavery or cruelty. If you gotta kill you make it clean. If someone starts shit? You end it. Someone tries to kill him and his, he kills them back. Sometimes asking questions first or trying to sort out why borrows more trouble than it's worth and he's not above putting a knife in someone before they can make problems. Fair fights are overrated, what matters is getting you and yours out of there before any of you end up dead. You make your word you keep it. So on and so forth.

This keeps him a little apart from the rest of the criminal world he weaves in and out of at will, gives him a little respectability and as can be noted; makes a few of his contacts feel like he holds himself above them. Thinks himself better. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, as long as he's able to go his own way he don't much care about the job or about who's feeling sore that he's all articulate and educated.

The code and his education don't keep him from being playful. He minds himself and his crew but has a sense of humor about the world and about their business, plays the odd trick on them or spins white lies that he'll find amusing later on down the line. Sometimes it makes trouble but usually he can talk his way out- or brawl his way out. Either way, he makes off well enough to keep sailing another day and keep moving forward. Much as he wants to do anything else Malcolm keeps moving forward; as far from the memory of Ostagar and Denerim as he can get. The war made a ruin of his loyalty to King and Country, the Darkspawn shook his faith in the Maker.

Waiting for a hand up and out from a King or the Maker will leave a body waiting for awhile. In the aftermath of all that loss and destruction and blood Malcolm put his faith in other people, the genuine good they can do when they're not being greedy sons of bitches and the good that can come of a lotta people pulling together for a common cause. Kings and Gods don't save the people. People save people. And maybe he wants, just a little, to be that kind of person.

Or maybe he wants to get paid. A little of both.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Can Take A Beating - Mal gets kicked a lot, never kept him from standing back up again and going at it twice as hard. He's hearty and doesn't know when to quit- ranching in his youth and soldering in his early adulthood gave him a solid constitution and a distinct inclination to not stay down even when moving hurts. He's an effective meatshield, knows it, and works with it. Sure he'll be complaining about it afterward but he'll get back up and throw himself to the front of the line if it needs holding.

Former Rancher/Soldier - Ranching gave him a skillset not a lot of Fereldans have: Riding. He knows his way around a horse and can ride fairly well, even taught himself how to do a couple of stabbity tricks on horseback. As a member of Fereldan's standing army he's been drilled in combat with a short sword, squad tactics, a little scouting, a lot of camping and waiting, and a whole lot of marching. He didn't much like the marching but he made due- it built up a solid reserve of stamina for running in his later life. He's a solid fighter with a shortsword due to this time but prefers his newfangled polearm/shortsword combo. Keep the pokey and violent things far, far away from him, please and thank you.

Sailor - While it ain't as crazy as riding around in the middle of a storm, Mal can navigate and find his way around with the stars provided he can see them well enough on land. maybe not just as well as clouds and trees and other such things get in the way more often than not but he can make his way where he needs to in good time.

Savvy - Mal's been around the continent a time or two, picked up a lot of tidbits from doing jobs all over. He's quick to think on his feet and can fall back on things he's done in the past as basis for a particularly strange plan that may or may not work- but it totally worked this one time so it'll be shiny. He's got a quick mouth, an honest demeanor and a pleasing face; it's enough for him to talk his way out of some trouble before it's done and get some jobs that might've not come his way otherwise. For all that he's a crook, he's a respectable crook, and that comes hand in hand with his reputation. He gets the job done, he gets paid, everyone's happy.

Criminal Background - Most of those jobs are of questionable legality, more or less. The smuggling, the thieving, the conning his way in and out of high society functions to do a bit of smuggling and thieving- all this tends to overshadow his legitimate business ventures enough that while his reputation for getting the job done is good? It does leave a few standing warrants for his arrest in some coastal cities. And maybe a few minor bounties for his head. That. He may or may not be aware of. But hey! The Inquisition has his back, right? Right. Merde.

Powerful Enemies - One of the aforementioned jobs for a few groups of very unpleasant people have left them wanting Mal captured alive. For. You know. Talking! Interrogating. Torturing. he got away from it once but he'd really rather not roll through that again so maybe the Inquisition will be a good place to hide till he gets a lot of notice.

Inventory

• One Bay Mare named Sasha


• One Mabari named Jayne


• Shortsword


• Glaive with a detachable blade, along with Various heads, including:


• Halberd


• Partisian


• Bill


• Spear


• One Brown, armored coat


• Bag of mail and trinkets for various peoples in the Inquisition.


• A few skins of ale


• Spyglass for scouting


• A glowing green SHARD in his hand

Motivation

Work that needs doing, jobs that'll pay- and he's got this weird glowing shard in his hand he'd like to have looked at so he can go along his merry way without, you know. Attracting demons and the like. That'd be shiny.


Sample 1 - exeunt pursued by a bear.
Sample 2 - old friends have a drink.