Post by Afonso Silva on Sept 29, 2010 15:22:33 GMT -5
Quem vai ao mar perde o lugar
"he who goes out to sea, loses his place."
Name: Afonso Gabriel de João Silva
Country of Origin: The Kingdom of Portugal / Portuguese Empire
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Height/Weight: 6'/ 158 lbs
Hair/Eye Colour: Dark brown/ green
Affiliation: Pirates
Job: Crew Member (specialty in Navigation)
Appearance:
Afonso is well, Portuguese in his looks; he's tan skinned from his days on the ocean, and has thick, messy dark hair that he tends to keep back in a ponytail. The stubble on his chin can be anywhere from just that to a beard, depending on how long he's been at sea, but he never lets it grow to ridiculous levels. He has those bright green Iberian eyes, dark lashes and all, and his frame's lanky, if not downright skinny. Clothingwise, Afonso usually wears a long sleeved, dark yellow shirt with black stripes, rather tight pants, and thick boots; nothing too fancy.
Personality:
Afonso has the dreaded Nice Guy syndrome, simple as that. He tends to sort of fade into the background; less happy, less exuberant, less extreme. It’s enough that people wonder if he’s just another Spaniard. But try saying that to him, and watch how fast he breaks your jaw. Nice or not, Afonso can have a mean streak. He’s stubborn to a fault, and can be known as melancholy to those that know him—always talking about fado, and saudade, and all of that. He makes a good contrast with his brother that way. It’s very clear they’re not the same person.
…Even so, they have a lot of similarities. They are brothers, after all. Afonso’s friendly and has a love of kids (although not nearly as extreme as Toni), and he can have issues reading the atmosphere here and there. Afonso is a writer--he is from the land of poets, after all--and like his brother, he can get lost in things very easily. One of these things is the sea. In reality, Afonso’s first true love is the ocean. His family, his very life, his background, his dreams, his hopes—everything has come from the sea. He is ever respectful of it, and it holds a special kind of magic over him that he can't really explain.
Afonso is mostly Catholic, although not as good at it as he used to be, like his brother. He loves a good meal, a good party (give him an excuse, he’ll take it.), and a good siesta during the day. Don’t listen to anything anyone says about him being a ‘wife’. It’s not true, and he’ll deny it deeply. …this being said, there’s an old Portuguese saying that you know you have a good wife if she can make cod 365 days of the year 365 different ways.
Can he? He'll never tell.
Likes:
+Poetry
+The sea
+Codfish
+
+Kids
+Fado music
+ Not being Spanish
+ Good wine
+ Dancing
+Cooking
+Navigation
Dislikes:
-People messing with his family
-or his navigational tools
-Being told he's not a good navigator
-flying
-
Fears:
~ Losing his family completely
~Complete and utter loneliness: he's not as friendly as Spain, but he'd be lost without certain people in his life.
Strengths:
&Incredibly tenacious and stubborn...although this can be a double-edged sword
*Afonso will always, always fight back, if it's something he believes in. He is not a shrinking violet in any way shape or form. If you insult something important to him, he will snap back like a rubber band.
& Rather quick on his feet
*Not too much to describe here. Brute strength is not an attribute of his. He's a slippery little bastard.
& Intelligence
*Brains over brawn. Simple as that. Afonso will use his thoughts and aforementioned quickness to win fights; never brute force.
& Loyal like a dog
& Navigational Prowess and skill with tools
*Self explanatory; this is his specialty.
Weaknesses:
*Can sometimes be too stubborn for his own good
Afonso can be thickheaded when it comes to his beliefs. This can lead to him refusing to budge on things at very, very wrong times.
* ...actual Navigation
Afonso gets lost very, very easily. It's become a running joke. Despite his prowess with things like the sextant and navigational abilities, he can get turned around very, very easily. ( I was going to link to www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-igYjn6E4 this song, but tragically, it didn't work ;A; )
* Tends to be a space case half of the time
To say Afonso is a day dreamer would be putting it very, very lightly. He can be a bit of a sap.
* Oftentimes too devoted to friends; he lets them walk all over him
Unfortunately, that dreaminess mentioned above can lead to this. Afonso's a hopeless romantic, and sometimes it's difficult for him to see the bad side in people he loves. Except Antonio, but that's different.
*Can sometimes be too stubborn for his own good
Afonso can be thickheaded when it comes to his beliefs. This can lead to him refusing to budge on things at very, very wrong times.
* ...actual Navigation
Afonso gets lost very, very easily. It's become a running joke. Despite his prowess with things like the sextant and navigational abilities, he can get turned around very, very easily. ( I was going to link to www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-igYjn6E4 this song, but tragically, it didn't work ;A; )
* Tends to be a space case half of the time
To say Afonso is a day dreamer would be putting it very, very lightly. He can be a bit of a sap.
* Oftentimes too devoted to friends; he lets them walk all over him
Unfortunately, that dreaminess mentioned above can lead to this. Afonso's a hopeless romantic, and sometimes it's difficult for him to see the bad side in people he loves. Except Antonio, but that's different.
History:
Afonso grew up in a small family of three; himself, his mother, and his brother. Their father--although to be perfectly honest, Afonso wasn't sure if he was even Afonso's father-had left before Afonso could even identify him as such. Because of that, the eldest brother became the man of the house. He made a promise to protect Antonio when he was barely six, and has kept true to that to this day..the best he could, anyway.
The three of them were poor, but happy. Afonso took on odd jobs to help pay the bills, and before long, ended up working for a mapmaker. It was like he'd found his calling. At the age of 14 he became an apprentice to the mapmaker, and learned to read maps and how to use navigational tools. It wasn't the best paying job and it wasn't the best working conditions for a teenager, but the young man loved every second of it. Slowly, Afonso blossomed under the mapmaker's care, and before long, he was sailing the seas on his own, charting the world just outside of his backyard.
But something was missing.
After all, there was that stretch of bright blue ocean and pale blue sky just beyond the reach of his fingertips, no matter how far he stretched them, no matter how far he sailed in his little dinghy. And Afonso wanted it. Badly.
On the day he turned eighteen, Afonso Gabriel de João Carriedo dropped his last name in favor of the mapmakers--who had passed away months before--Silva. On that fated day, he entered the seedy part of town. And that night, he became a member of a pirate crew.
That was almost ten years ago. Since then, Afonso's moved from crew to crew, surviving gun fights and capturings and even a short stint in jail. He's a hardened sailor now, but he's been to Brazil and back and God knows he loved every second of it. Despite how long he's been on the sea, that wanderlust, that burning desire to sail and discover and explore, is as strong as ever.
Sample/Character Introduction:
They were lost. They were terribly, horribly, really badly lost. Would Afonso ever admit that out loud? No way in hell. But it was a fact nonetheless.
That was the last time he would ever buy a compass off a vendor in China.
After all, the compass he'd been given by the mapmaker was currently with his brother; he'd given it to him before he left, for safekeeping, and as a keepsake. Currently, he was rethinking that plan. When he got back, he'd chase down Antonio, get the compass back, and give him a noogie for good measure--
"Silva, are you sure the compass is correct?"
The voice of the captain startled him, and Afonso turned around, clutching the compass in his hand. There was also the fact that this captain wasn't his captain. He'd been taken prisoner and forced to be navigator for this expedition; it was either find the treasure, or Afonso and his fellow crewmates would be executed.
Afonso exhaled. Well, he'd gotten out of stickier situations before. "Of course I am, Captain. Perhaps you should check the map?"
Shooting a glance up towards the heavens, the Portuguese navigator bit his lip. Alright, God, I sure hope you're on my side this time. Otherwise, I am royally screwed over.
The captain considered the map, and snapped his fingers. "Ah! We grabbed the wrong map from the hull. That must be it. After all, yer' famous fer this, aintcha?"
Afonso smiled and nodded, feeling the tension drain from his body. From now on? He'd been wearing his cross a lot more often.
+++++
I have but one request with this guy; that he can be blood bros (or at least half) with Antonio ;w; I mean, if the Spain is horridly against it, I can totally change it...but yeh.
alsocoughheyilikeiggyportSOcoughcoughcoughimean
Gohan ni pasuta nado demasen to itta hazu desu!
Kono obaka san ga!"