Application for high_seas

[redfootzeff]

[Name]: Cybra
[Age]: 29
[Contacts]:
♦ DW: cybra
♦ AIM: CybraRP
♦ Plurk: cybrarp
[Timezone]: Eastern Standard Timezone (US)
[Other Characters]: None



[Name]: Zeff
[Canon]: One Piece
[Age]: 44 (estimated)
[Gender]: Male
[Canon Point]: Post-Sabaody Archipelago Arc


[History]:
Very little is known about Zeff's past prior to his life-changing raid on the cruise ship the Orbit, but what is known is that he served as both captain and chef to the Cook Pirates during the time of Gold Roger. Whether he originally formed the Cook Pirates or if he inherited the role of captain from a predecessor is unknown. They operated with one cardinal rule in mind: While he and his crew plundered their victims' wealth to their hearts' content, they never stole food under any circumstances.

During his time as a pirate, Zeff earned the nickname "Red-Foot" because of the blood that stained his shoes due to his lethal kicks. He had quite a fearsome reputation due to stories told about his devastating fighting style. So fearsome, in fact, that no one would've ever suspected that his journey on the Grand Line had nothing to do with obtaining the One Piece and becoming King of the Pirates but the hunt for a fairy tale.

Approximately eleven years prior to the present, the Cook Pirates sailed the Grand Line on their ship the Cooking George. While on the journey, Zeff himself kept a log book of everything they saw and faced there, a treasure trove of knowledge of the first half of the Grand Line and, possibly, the beginning of the New World. However while most crews sailed the most dangerous of the oceans in order to become the next Pirate King, Zeff was looking for the All Blue, a mythical ocean where the North, South, East, and West Blues were said to come together and contained fish from all four Blues. The rest of his crew didn't share this dream, believing it to be a myth, so it's possible that he never told them of his true reason for going.

While some would call chasing a myth ridiculous if not outright insane, Zeff firmly believed in All Blue's existence. To him, it wasn't just the place where the greatest ingredients of all four Blues were readily available; it was the place where food was always plentiful. His job as captain required that he make sure as many of his crew survived as possible. His job as the ship's cook required that no one would die by starvation in the middle of the sea. Running out of fresh food and water at sea where these resources were scarce if not nonexistent at times was a death sentence to even the hardiest crew. Simply put, a sea like All Blue was Heaven on Earth to any cook, not just Zeff.

After a year of searching on the Grand Line, Zeff ordered the ship turned back towards East Blue. Unlike most pirate crews, the Cook Pirates would not return home defeated in the sense of being left shaking wretches from the horrors they saw. In fact, the Cook Pirates were among the most successful pirates to sail the Grand Line despite their captain not being a Devil Fruit user like many other crews there. However with no sign of All Blue, Zeff decided not to risk sailing too far past the halfway point and putting his crew in unnecessary danger for a myth they themselves didn't believe in. While the first half of the Grand Line was still what many considered to be the most dangerous sea in the world, it was Paradise compared to the latter half known as the "New World", and Zeff cared too much for his crew to subject them to it.

Not long afterwards, they attacked a cruise ship called the Orbit. His pirates looted its riches though one pirate violated the rule concerning food, earning a vicious kick from Zeff. As the pirates prepared to leave to escape the storm coming, they were confronted by a little chef's apprentice named Sanji wielding a pair of knives. Zeff brutally kicked the child for his impudence and earned a surprise when the kid was not only still conscious but even had the spunk to bite down on his leg, the latter action earning a second kick.

It was then that the storm kicked up, a monstrous wave striking both ships and sending Sanji overboard. Against all odds, Zeff dived in to save the boy. Though his crew couldn't understand why, Zeff risked his life for Sanji because of a single defiant declaration growled out as the boy's teeth sank into his boot:

I have to get to All Blue someday!

This shout had earned the laughter and mockery of Zeff's crew. Sanji had even been called an idiot by his own crew. However, Zeff had seen a spark in the boy that gave him some hope that maybe there were others out there willing to risk everything to try and find that mythical ocean. Perhaps he, Sanji, and these theoretical others would prove to be completely out of their minds and All Blue remain nothing more than a cook's fairytale, but they all would've been willing to risk it all for that crazy idea. If Sanji was willing to risk going up against Red-Foot Zeff himself just because he wanted to live to see the ocean they both believed in, then that earned the kid a spot on the new crew Zeff was forming in his mind.

Meanwhile the Orbit and the George both sank, all hands still aboard the two ships lost. Zeff and Sanji ended up surviving only to be stuck on a barren rock with no way of obtaining food. Sanji was out cold for two days while Zeff watched over him and gathered what food and treasure washed up. The food bag--a small bag of five days' worth of provisions--he gave to Sanji while taking none for himself. Instead, he tricked Sanji into believing he also had food by wrapping up the treasure in a bag and claiming it to be his share. He then ordered Sanji to watch for ships while he did the same on the other side of the rock, telling him not to talk to him so they both could conserve their energy. Once he took up his own position, Zeff bit down on a piece of driftwood and smashed his own right leg with a rock, severing his leg just below the knee. His leg became the only food he had for the next eighty-five days.

At some point during this ordeal, Zeff devised a new dream. Knowing his life as a pirate was over, he decided that should he survive, he would use the treasure he'd gathered to build a restaurant in the middle of the sea. Anyone who entered through its doors--be they pirate, marine, or civilian--would be fed. If that person was starving and had no money, they still wouldn't be turned away from a good meal. This dream he shared with Sanji when the boy came to his side of the rock to steal food only to discover there was none, Sanji declaring that he would see through.

Fortunately, the pair were rescued by a passing ship and were given medical treatment. Very likely the latter part took a while due to the effects of starvation along with Zeff having to learn to get around on one leg. They went on to use the treasure to purchase a ship called the Baratie which became their restaurant. Sanji became Zeff's apprentice and later his sous chef.

Over the next ten years, the Baratie became a hotspot despite its location in the East Blue being so close to the Grand Line. People would sail to the restaurant to experience the five-star dining provided by not just Zeff and Sanji but an entire crew of hot-headed chefs who'd been drawn to the Baratie over the years. The waitstaff, however, was inconsistent, most often being Sanji or one of the other chefs performing double-duty due to the waiters getting too scared and running off. The restaurant's popularity was boosted by visitors coming to watch the chefs fight off any pirates themselves rather than calling the marines for help. Despite the occasional attack, days on the Baratie tended to be very much the same.

Things changed abruptly when a stray shot crashed through the ceiling of Zeff's bedroom, injuring the head chef.

The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy, went to see Zeff and apologize for the damage caused. Zeff immediately ordered that the pirate would repay his debt by working for free for an entire year when Luffy admitted that he was flat broke. Luffy was made into the new chore boy who caused quite a bit of trouble in the kitchen and on the dining room floor. Luffy also started pestering Sanji, insisting that the sous chef become the cook for his crew in spite of each vehement refusal, after witnessing Sanji give a starving pirate a meal.

Shortly thereafter, the Baratie was attacked by the Krieg Pirates. The pirate crew had returned from the Grand Line starving and demoralized after the other forty-nine ships in the fleet were destroyed by Dracule Mihawk. They came because Gin, the second-in-command, told Don Krieg about the restaurant where Sanji had generously given him the food. Krieg lied to Gin, claiming that he just needed food for him and his men, that they would leave the restaurant in peace after getting it. Once his strength returned, however, he then attempted to take over the restaurant to make it his new flagship along with taking Zeff's logbook. Zeff himself prepared the food for Krieg to give to his starving men, knowing that it was very likely that the Krieg Pirates would attack.

As predicted, a battle for the Baratie began, Zeff agreeing to Luffy's offer that successfully repelling the pirates would render the debt he owed for the damage null and void. Due to his peg leg, Zeff wasn't able to fight on the front line with Luffy and Sanji, but he kept a close eye on the proceedings and even managed to block an attack by Krieg's minion Pearl that could've set the restaurant ablaze. At one point, Gin broke his wooden leg and held him hostage to get Sanji to stay his feet, but Gin ended up releasing him when it became increasingly obvious that Sanji would rather die than abandon the restaurant. Unable to do anything, Zeff could only watch as the fight continued, concluding in a win when Luffy knocked out Don Krieg himself.

With the attack over and the restaurant saved, Zeff encouraged Sanji to leave the restaurant with Luffy and continue on to the Grand Line to search for All Blue and find it for the both of them. Of course, Zeff's form of encouragement was stomping on Sanji's pride as a chef in an attempt to get Sanji to quit, a ploy that Sanji saw through when he overheard the chefs talking to Luffy about how good Sanji's cooking really was and how they'd put on a show for his own good. Sanji declared that he was leaving, and Zeff claimed that he regretted letting Sanji live in the first place and good riddance.

Sanji started to leave without saying a word to anyone when Zeff told him to not catch a cold as a farewell. This sparked a sudden flood of tears from all the Baratie's chefs along with Sanji and Zeff themselves. Sanji even bowed his head and thanked Zeff for all the years together before sailing off with Luffy.

Time passed on the Baratie much as it always had though Zeff kept an eye on the newspapers for news of Sanji and the Straw Hats. Following the incident at Enies Lobby, Sanji received his first bounty and his first wanted poster. Unlike the other Straw Hats, Sanji's was a rather poor drawing rather than a photo much to the amusement of Zeff and the other chefs. Zeff posted up the wanted poster, and the cooks freely told everyone who came that the restaurant was where Blackleg Sanji grew up as a way of drumming up extra business.

It was sometime afterward when news of the Straw Hats' defeat at Sabaody Archipelago became public that Zeff woke up on Isla Empieza.

[Personality]:
To put it mildly, Zeff is a gruff former pirate. He's hard on those around him, delivering a swift kick with his peg leg when someone steps out of line. Praise is a rarity to come from him especially when it comes to food. Someone is far more likely to hear insults from the old pirate even if they manage to get close to him, the rough treatment Zeff's way to challenge someone to improve their skills.

Most of the time, Zeff is very serious. However, he has his moments of losing his temper which can cause quite a bit of damage. Usually, that damage is applied to whoever had set him off's body but on occasion it also could mean damage of property. Considering how powerful his kicks are, which will be explained in the Abilities section, it's quite extensive damage to someone's body or property.

Still, unless his temper runs away with him, he's very calm and quick-thinking in a fight. In fact, he seems to fight just as much with his head as he does his foot and peg leg. Though he possesses a considerable amount of power, he recognizes his limitations and positions himself to where he'd be most likely to be useful should anything break through the front lines. This ability to assess a situation swiftly and come to a decision likely carries over to his cooking where hesitation to come up with a solution to a mistake can swiftly lead to even bigger mistakes which could ultimately waste precious food. Not to mention his resourcefulness to make delicious food from dwindling stores or whatever that can be found or fished up.

He does, however, have his softer moments such as when he told Sanji not to catch a cold when his sous chef was leaving the Baratie to become a pirate. These glimpses of his softer side are very brief, however. His loved ones have to put up with the gruff exterior just as often as any random person on the street. The only advantage they have is they can understand the double-language of scathing insults much better than the average lay person.

As briefly mentioned before, Zeff has a high respect for food. This is because in the middle of the ocean, food and fresh water are so hard to come by. Anyone attempting to steal from any galley's stores or even those from another ship is punished severely. Very likely due to his own experience of slowly starving to death, he will not let anyone go hungry. This is the main reason that All Blue is so important to Zeff: A place with all the fish in the four Blues meant a place where no one would have to starve.

Whatever crew Zeff serves on or whoever manages to crack that rough exterior, he cares for them very deeply in his own gruff way and is very willing to make sacrifices on their behalf. Despite being a highly successful pirate on the Grand Line and well on his way to possibly discovering the All Blue, Zeff voluntarily turned his ship around to safer waters to spare his crew--all of whom didn't believe in the myth--from suffering and even dying because of his dream. Like most pirate crews hunting for the One Piece, the Cook Pirates were likely willing to support Zeff in becoming the next Pirate King but because that wasn't Zeff's goal, it was like tricking them to sail under false pretenses. While willing to risk his own life for All Blue, Zeff's responsibility to ensure the lives of his crew as both captain and cook ultimately took priority no matter how badly he wanted to see it. Even following the sinking of the George and the Orbit, though Sanji wasn't even an official member of his crew, Zeff was still willing to make the sacrifice of his leg and by extension his days as a pirate to try and save the boy who might one day go to sea and find All Blue for the both of them.

As for pirates in general, Zeff is relatively non-judgmental aside from his brutal response to the cardinal sins of wasting food and stealing it from another ship's crew. After all, it'd be grossly hypocritical given his own former life as a pirate. In fact, the Baratie was run much like a pirate ship despite it being a restaurant with a harsh kick with his peg leg being the primary way to keep his hotheaded cooks in line. He's even willing to leave other pirate crews alone if they leave his crew alone. However, he knows that not all pirates will extend the same courtesy which was why the Baratie was equipped with a special foot-powered weapon in the fish figurehead as a defensive measure and the cooks were well-armed and always ready to fight. The only mercy he'll give an opponent is that should the attacker be starving, he will feed them before kicking them into oblivion, a trait passed on to his apprentice.

[Abilities / Strengths & Weaknesses]:
Due to his over twenty years' experience as a chef, you'll be hard-pressed to find another cook of equal or better knowledge. He can prepare a wide variety of five-star restaurant-worthy dishes in spite of limited ingredients on the sea. His knowledge of food and nutrition in general is rather extensive. Given the opportunity, however, he'd likely be more than willing to learn more about foods he doesn't know about.

Zeff uses the unique form of martial arts known as Red-Leg Style that he taught Sanji. This fighting style relies on kicking techniques rather than both kicks and punches or even a weapon since a cook's hands are his life. As he knows very well, a man can cook without a leg but a cook is useless without his hands. It's very likely that most of the basic techniques of Blackleg Style originated from Zeff's own fighting techniques.

Because of how he fights, Zeff has an incredible amount of lower body strength. When he was still a pirate, the amount of force he was able to produce behind a single kick was said to easily break through rock and even leave footprints on iron. As mentioned in the history section, the blood that stained his shoes from these powerful kicks was earned him the name of "Red-Foot" in the first place. His upper body strength is nothing to laugh at either since he's able to perform both two- and one-handed handstands to support his weight as he uses his legs to fight. Despite having a peg leg, he still maintains the ability to kill a man with his kicks, Sanji himself describing Zeff's kicks to be more powerful than a fishman's. The wind alone from one of his kicks was even able to blow out Pearl's fire pearls in mid-air and make them fall harmlessly to the ground during the attack on the Baratie.

However, his peg leg does provide significant limitations to Zeff. Despite his position of head chef, he isn't always cooking on the Baratie, sometimes just lounging on his bed or sitting somewhere reading the newspaper. This is likely because of below-the-knee amputation side effects such as phantom pain. He also can't always move quite as quickly as most normal people can. While he can hobble along about as fast as a regular person walking, the ability to run is beyond him and, therefore, limits his maneuverability. This is the main reason that Zeff will not fight on the front lines despite having more than enough physical strength to do so. Also, if his peg leg is broken, this leaves him very vulnerable to attack.

[Limited Powers]:
The physical limitations of Zeff's peg leg should help him from being overpowered. Unlike his protege, Zeff doesn't have any special attacks like setting his leg on fire. (Not that it'd be a smart idea to use them if he did because wood burns really well.)

[Other Important Facts]:
Fun fact: Zeff will generally refer to Sanji by "Brat" or the nickname "Eggplant" that the older chef gave him. Why "Eggplant"? Only Zeff knows and he's not telling.

[Samples]:
♦ Thread: Not sure how long you need but here is a thread from the test sail meme with two characters outside his canon. Also, a Dear Mun post with a Sanji who isn't at High Seas already.
♦ Post:
[Zeff is in a downright foul mood as he hobbles through the marketplace. He curls his lip at the latest grocer's attempts to sell "fresh produce", running out of any semblance of patience.]

How do you all have the nerve to call any of this food fresh?!

[He picks up one of the carrots on display.]

Look at how limp this is! It'll be growing mold within the next day or two, I guarantee it. And this squash...[He sets down the carrot to indignantly grab a squash, shoving it in the seller's face.] The skin is discolored in places which means it's starting to rot! Not to mention how shriveled the stem is! Are you trying to feed people or poison them?!

[A snicker over his shoulder makes him turn his head to glare at the fishmonger's wife. He points a finger in her and her husband's general direction.] I'll get to you two and that collection of rotting chum you call "fish" in a moment!