At 16, you lied about your age to join the Marines. There you grew under the tutelage of the likes of Garp the Hero and Admiral Aokiji. By the age of 22, you were promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, and were being actively groomed for a position as a Vice Admiral.
After seeing the evils the World Government perpetrated, and the fact that the Marines protected and supported them, you left the Marines.
Eventually you set sail as a pirate with the goal of becoming Pirate King. In the waters of the Grand Line you found great success.
You fought and lost against Fire Fist Ace in what was the toughest battle of your life. Though you did not win the fight, you gained more than you lost from the battle.
You are famous for having defeated the Shichibukai, Sir Crocodile, in open combat. The Battle lasted half a day, and was witnessed by the entirety of an island's population. After being defeated, Crocodile's status as Shichibukai was rescinded, and you continued your travels along the Grand Line.
Shortly thereafter, you and your crew were crushed by Admiral Kizaru after being betrayed by your ship's Second Mate, Griff Benedict, whom you witnessed on the deck of the marine's ship. Aside from the traitor, your entire crew was killed or captured. You were badly injured, and slipped below the ocean’s waves. Unconsciousness took you.
You thought yourself dead. However, you survived. Without knowing how, you found yourself on a sandy beach.
A Man's Dream Never Dies is a One Piece Forum Quest by Mazrick on Sufficient Velocity.com. The main character is Morgan D. Bartholomew, a former Rear Admiral in the Marines and now Captain of the Black Suit Pirates, whose goal is to become the next Pirate King.
The roleplay can be found here
. It went on for a year before being abandoned at the end of 2016.
A Man's Dream Never Dies contains examples of:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: There are three things that piss off Bart instantly. Hurting any member of his crew, traitors, and getting so much as a scratch on one of his suits.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Jim, the monstrously large Sea King which nearly destroyed Bart's ship, The Iris, and is then made target practice for Bart's new finishing move: Wrath and Will.
- Attack Reflector: Bart's newest secret technique, Celestial Mirror. It reflects the power of an attack thrown at him back at the attacker, but with his own power added to the counter-attack, which magnifies its power.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Bart will take any opportunity to wear his highly prized suits. In fact, his badassery is actually enhanced by wearing them!
- Bat Out of Hell: The ability of Bayne, a member of Emperor Kaido's crew and a Giant, who escapes from Level 6 alongside Bart and Ace, as a result of eating the Bat Bat Fruit.
- Berserk Button: Harming Bart's suits and hurting his crew are good ways to piss him off. Traitors are an extreme case.
- Big Brother Mentor: Since finding Andrus on the ruins of his home island, Bart has taken him under his wing, almost like a parental substitute. Bart has since instilled in him a passion for suits and is putting him through the same training regime Bart himself endured under Garp the Fist.
- Book Ends: The first story arc ended almost as it began, with Bart and his new crew beset upon by the upper echelons of the Marines. It was not an Admiral this time, but two Vice Admirals, one of them Bart's former mentor, Momonga. Unlike before, his crew survived to fight another day.
- Canis Major: The Dog Dog Fruit: Model Amaterasu turns Bart into a wolf so black from absorbing the light around him that everything else looks brighter in comparison.
- Cassandra Truth: Bart told Momonga that he would break out of Impel Down in less than a year and that he would be stronger coming out than he was when he went in. He said the same to Magellan when the Warden threw him into his cell in Level 6. They both scoffed at him. Bart was right. He developed full body Armament Haki, broke out barely two months later, ate the Dog Dog Fruit: Model Amaterasu, killed Magellen and wrecked Impel Down.
- Catchphrase: Bart's catchphrase is "Manners Maketh Man".
- Cool Sword: All of the Grade Swords are basically this, but Soburin (Sovereign) one of the 12 Saijo O Wazamono and the sword of Gol D. Roger, stands out the most.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Bart's Wrath and Will and Celestial Mirror are extremely powerful attacks that also drain Bart to the extent he won't be able to fight once he's used them.
- Death or Glory Attack: Bart's Wrath and Will is incredibly powerful, capable of taking out powerful enemies in one shot. But its drain makes it unusable as anything else than a finisher. And should it fail to defeat the enemy, well...
- Determinator: Griff's Betrayal resulted in the Black Suit Pirates being attacked by Admiral Kizaru. Bart wakes up in South Blue, severely wounded, and having no idea if his crew has been completely killed or captured. The most damage was done to Bart's leg which was rendered near unhealable. Lesser men would give up. Bart's sheer refusal to stand down here sets the tone for the rest of the story as he sets forth on first recovering and then getting strong enough to get revenge/save his crew. Word of God states that Bart is at least Luffy tier in sheer willpower to give a comparison.
- Doomed Hometown: Andrus lost his home because of Ashcloud Augustus' rage. This starts his journey with the Black Suit Pirates.
- Drowning My Sorrows: What Dahlia, a highly skilled Navigator, is reduced to after losing her brother and crew. She blames herself because she feels that she could've done something to avert their deaths.
- Experienced Protagonist: Bart, as a former Marine Rear Admiral and a Pirate Captain who defeated Sir Crocodile of the Shichibukai, started the story as a world famous pirate and at around the level of strength Post-Timeskip Luffy had.
- Face Death with Dignity: In the end it was subverted, but when Bart thought he was going to die fighting off two Vice Admirals so his new crew could escape, he went out with a laugh and a grin before he faded to black.
- Famed In-Story: When the quest started, Bart was already infamous around the world for defeating a member of the Shichibukai.
- Foil: Ace to Bart. Ace is laid-back where Bart is uptight, both were rookies on the Grand Line at the same time, both were taught by Garp, and both have eaten fire-themed Devil Fruits. They also watched their parent/parental figure die without them being able to do anything to stop it.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: After the majority of his first crew were killed and the rest captured after Griff's Betrayal, Bart has tried to keep his distance emotionally from his new one. However, he always fails. Once he is reunited with the Neo Black Suits, everyone who knew Bart from South Blue is astounded at how personable Bart actually is when he isn't deliberately keeping his distance.
- Honor Before Reason: Bart will always stay true to his word, no matter how inconvenient it is. This may lead to an... interesting situation with Big Mom. This nearly caused Bonney to leave the crew in order to screw over Big Mom, who is Bonney's actual mother, before Bart convinced Bonney that his word kept the crew safe and that he would help Bonney destroy Big Mom one day.
- I Let You Win: Garp in his first fight with Bart. If he had countered Bart's last attack then he could have killed Ace by accident.
- In Love with Your Carnage: This is the best way to describe Shiliew of the Rain's interest in Bart. Calls him "brother" and approves of when Bart's actions cause massive amounts of destruction and murder even as Bart himself is horrified.
- Irony: The World Government and Marines called Bart a rabid dog before they threw him into Impel Down. Since his stay in there he has eaten the Dog Dog Fruit: Model Amaterasu, which turned him into an actual dog.
- I Warned You: Bart warns Momonga that he should have killed him right before he is imprisoned in Impel Down. He also tells him to get stronger before he and Bart meet again. Momonga is indeed stronger when they next meet but its not enough to keep Bart from one shotting Momonga.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Bart holds a zero tolerance for slavery. After witnessing the World Government's atrocities, he quits the Marines. Even as a pirate, he tries to keep civilian casualties to a minimum and is overcome with guilt when his actions result in heavy civilian casualties such as what happened at Bluerun.
- Lightem Up: Bart, thanks to his DF powers, has light based abilities. He hasn't developed specific moves but it is know he will be able to make lasers and light blades at the very least.
- Lightning Bruiser: While Bart is a speedster, a combination of being a D. and a trait gained from being trained by Garp the Fist, as well as Armament Haki, make Bart surprisingly durable and strong as well. Eating a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit has only increased both his speed. strength and durability. Bart's main focus during the timeskip for actual training was to massively increase his speed and shore up his relative weaknesses in strength and durability which made him an even better example of this trope.
- Papa Wolf: As with most Pirate Captains, Bart takes his duty to his crew seriously. Any attack on them is considered an attack on Bart himself, and woe betide anyone who actually kills a crewmember or mocks their deaths. So far Bart has consistently shown intense hatred for the traitor Griff and Marine Admiral Kizaru, who are responsible for the destruction of his first crew. A recent additions to this list are Shiliew of the Rain, who brutally 'carved' his tailor and shipwright in a perverse attempt at repaying a debt; Garp who killed two of Bart's subordinate Captains at the battle of Saboady, and CP-0 Agent Six or "Borrowed Time" as Bart nicknamed her who nearly killed Boa and killed 3 members of Bart's crew while he was killing Kizaru.
- Playing with Fire: Bart has fire control. His flames are so intense that when he first ate the fruit, he melted seastone. Nearly all of LV 6 and word of author said that was nowhere near full blast for him at the time.
- The Power of the Sun: The Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, Dog Dog Fruit: Model Amaterasu, like the Goddess it is based off, grants the user dominion over the sun, fire, and light. Its the reason he's now called "Black Sun".
- Red Baron: Black Sun Bart, Silva the Slayer, Fire Fist Ace, Black Mask Sol, etc.
- The Rival: Ace. Beat Bart when they were both rookies sailing the Grand Line. Ate the Mera Mera Fruit, a Logia type Devil Fruit which grants him the elemental affinity of fire.
- Single-Stroke Battle: Seven Sea Strike and its upgrade, Solar Strike. The former used to kill Black Mask Sol - formerly of the Big Mom Pirates - and the latter on the Warden of Impel Down, Magellan.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Rare Steaks paired with Red Wine for Bart. And as per canon Bonney seems to enjoy pizza. A lot.
- Training from Hell: What Bart went through under Garp and what he is now putting Andrus and the crew through.
- Took a Level in Badass: Bart, already a badass when the quest started, has grown significantly stronger since then as seen by his acquisition of the Inu Inu no Mi: Model Amaterasu - which has been confirmed to be a lifewiper - and the sword of Gol D. Roger, Soburin, which is also one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, aka the best blades ever made. The one year training timeskip at the island of Morterra (literally Death World) resulted in Bart and the Black Suits as a whole taking several levels.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Ace and Bart. Ace may troll Bart and he might snipe back at him but deep down they trust each other and have each others back.
