i'm the son of rage and love ✧ luceti app
Mun
Name: Sarah
Livejournal Username: egregiouslypink
E-mail: egregiouslypink [at] gmail [dot] com
AIM/MSN: glitterslick [aim]
Current Characters at Luceti:
Dawn Summers → tothelibrary
Character
Name: Bartleby
Fandom: Dogma
Gender: THIS IS ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED um. So, Bartleby looks like a guy. And it's heavily implied that if his wings were cut off he would be rendered a human male. However, in his angelic state he's quite literally genderless; he has no sex organs whatsoever. (In fact, he most likely has no... organs-organs. No anus, at the very least.) So... dude, but with caveats.
Age: Older than dirt, in the literal application of the phrase. Dude's been around since before there was an earth.
Time Period: From after Loki shoots two people on the bus and he and Bartleby have to walk until they hit another bus station. (So before the bulk of the crazy outlined in my application, but after the seeds are planted.)
Wing Color: Crown of Thorns (no really.) with dove grey around the edges; in honor of the What Do You Mean, We're Totally Not Boyfriends matching hoodie/tee getups Loki and Bartleby wear for the bulk of the movie. (So basically dark reddish brown with grey because that color coding isn't perfect thanks lj.)
History:
The first thing to cover when you talk about Bartleby is not actually solely about himself. It's talking about the other the angel who is, with very little hyperbole involved, his other half: Loki. They're the original bromance; as long as there have been angels, these two have been friends. It's somewhat of a running gag in the movie that people assume they're lovers.
They were, as Bartleby tells Bethany, 'stationed together'; in Wisconsin, yes, but before then they both fought to cast the unfaithful out of heaven. Loki is the angel of death while Bartleby apparently gets to stand around and lecture-- he doesn't like to watch Loki work, either-- but they're both loyal warriors of God and have proved that loyalty in battle against their own brothers.
(In the movie, Bartleby greets Azrael, a demon who was once a muse-- a muse who refused to fight when God called him to, and was cast out just after Lucifer and his crew fell-- with what can only be called friendly familiarity. He stood by while Azrael was thrown out of heaven, because he believed in the will and word of God unquestioningly.)
But somewhere along that line, Bartleby's unquestioning loyalty began to waver. After Loki finished up killing all the firstborn sons of Egypt, he invited Bartleby out for a drink. Over many (many, many) drinks they begin to talk philosophy, and Bartleby somehow manages to convince Loki that he should give up his lofty position as God's chief enforcer, and take one that doesn't involve slaughter. Loki agrees, but takes it one step further; he quits entirely, throwing down his fiery sword and flipping God the bird.
God is understandably pissed; and as Metatron puts it, this was the old days so He was wrathful and hot-tempered. For their insolence, Loki and Bartleby are punished. They are banished from heaven until the end of time, when they will be forced to sit outside the gates and stare in, always knowing what they lost but never being able to get it back .To add insult to injury, they're sent to Wisconsin and told to stay the fuck put until the Judgment day and their eternal punishment begins. So, basically they've been hanging out in Wisconsin almost entirely on their own since about 1446 or 1290 BCE, depending on which very speculative Biblical timeline you look at. That's a lot of time to drive each other batshit nuts, beat each other up, and grow so close they might as well share one mind.
...Also, thanks to them angels are no longer allowed to drink. Which sucks, gj B and Loki.
So Bartleby started out noble-- although it must be pointed out he used underhanded means to advance that nobility-- when he convinced Loki to resign his position as the angel of death. He did it because he felt sorry for humans; because he came to believe murder in God's name is still murder. He wanted to protect the people he watched. He was thrown out of heaven for that compassion, and still he looked for the good in people. But a millennium and change is a long, long time to remain positive.
By the time the movie starts, Bartleby is desperate to go home. When Azrael sends him a letter providing a way-- a church in New Jersey is celebrating a re-dedication by offering plenary indulgence; in simplified Catholic dogma that means all their sins will be forgiven, if they can find someone to kill them they go straight to heaven. Of course it's more complicated than that, and this is actually a plan Azrael cooked up to end the universe, but Bartleby doesn't know that yet-- he jumps on it like a starving man on a Christmas ham and drags Loki along with him. He glosses over any potential consequences; everything will be forgiven, he tells Loki. Water under the bridge. Any idiot could see that maybe there would be more to it than that, but Bartleby isn't going about this rationally. He just needs to go home.
And as the movie progresses, that 'need' turns into 'deserve', as Bartleby slowly spirals downward. The final nail in his coffin (such as it is) comes when by the movie magic of chance Bartleby and Loki end up on the same train as the movie's lead character, Bethany. She's accompanied by a motley crew of sidekicks (including the thirteenth Apostle and two prophets who would really just rather be back in front of the Quickstop) and she's heading the same way they are.
Unbeknownst to Bartleby, she's headed to Jersey for the same reason they are, only flipped; Bethany is the Last Scion (a descendant of Christ; the last one, to be specific) and she's been tapped to stop their re-entry to heaven. At first, Bethany and Bartleby get along; they drink together (well, she drinks and he pretends to drink) and they discuss their lives. Bethany shares her lingering anger and heartbreak over losing her husband, Bartleby talks about the void he feels where God used to be. And then Bethany lets her mission slip, and that last piece of the crazy puzzle slips into place.
Panicked, Bartleby goes batshit fucking nuts. He breaks a bottle and holds it against Bethany's throat, threatening her. And after Silent Bob throws Loki and then B off the train, he proceeds to have a truly epic meltdown. He rants and raves about how their expulsion was unfair, how humans have it too good while angels are fucked. It's a side of the more controlled, sardonic character even his best friend seems surprised by, and it only gets worse. The angel who never even liked to watch Loki kill the wicked, the one with compassion and understanding and sympathy for humans, suggests the impossible. In order to facilitate their reentry to heaven, Bartleby says they'll have to kill Bethany. A woman who is not only an innocent but also the last living relative of the son of God, and Bartleby wants to slit her throat.
It's safe to say at this point, the crazy train has truly left the station.
After physically shoving Loki into continuing on to New Jersey with him, they turn up for their swan song; a massacre at the church that will provide them their way home. Bartleby has clearly gone off the deep end by now; he uncases his wings and orders Loki to do the same, then goes on what can only be described as a killing spree. Innocent and sinner alike, he slaughters them (messily) while a now human Loki watches and gets sloppy drunk.
After our heroes show up, they attempt to get some sense from a seriously inebriated Loki, but it's Bartleby's reintroduction to the scene where things get truly awful. He makes it clear that he understands the consequences of reentry now, but he doesn't care. That-- and his continued willingness to kill Bethany-- alone would be enough to show just how badly Bartleby has broken under the strain he's dealt with for so long. But when the now human-- and hence, equipped with a conscience-- Loki drunkenly attempts to stop Bartleby, the final proof of just how much he's shattered comes through. After one last embrace (yeah, they're a little gay, sob) Bartleby stabs his best friend and brother; an act that will not only render the obvious, ie death, but will condemn Loki to hell.
(It's worth pointing out that Bartleby only does this after he's set on completely destroying the world; he'll kill Loki, but he won't condemn him to hell forever.)
Bartleby's story ends when he transubstantiates after Jay shoots him-- repeatedly with an Uzi-- in his wings, causing him to become mortal; he rushes to the church to end it all, but God (who was MIA during the rest of the movie thanks to Azrael's scheming) shows up to block his way. A visibly heartbroken Bartleby cries on Her shoulder, and just before She kills him he thanks Her.
(and because that was insane tl;dr, check out my mad wiki linking skillz for convenience.)
(also, here is an early draft of the script for Dogma; it offers more in-depth backstory in places.)
Personality:
Bartleby's personality is interesting in that it has some very highly contradictory aspects. On one hand, he's empathetic and ready to listen, yearning to see the kind of goodness humans are capable of; he's the guy next to you in line at the store who will pick up something you drop and when you laugh and thank him, saying the day is driving you nuts, he'll ask if you want to talk about it. And he'll mean it. He hangs out at the arrivals gate at the airport regularly, soaking in all the love people feel when first reunited. He's had quite literally forever to observe people, and has a certain fascination with and sympathy for them. He's a natural listener (not shocking, given his type of angel are called 'Watchers') and despite an innate ability to look at people and see all their sins, he's able to see the good, and try to hold fast to that.
However, as much as Bartleby feels sorry for humans, there's a separateness there. Being essentially immortal and banished to live on earth means he has had eons to watch humanity, to know he can't go home; but as much as he can't go back to the life he knew, he also can't fully integrate into the human world. It's a difficult position to be stuck in.
In addition to that empathy and separation, Bartleby is somewhat of a fatalist by nature. He's never been the one bringing down judgment (that was Loki's job) but he knows intimately well just how short the human lifespan is, and as such doesn't exactly feel his job is to save people so much as watch them. (Although at one point in the movie when Loki is about to kill an innocent woman along with a room full of sinners, Bartleby does stop him.)
He's not outwardly violent; like I said, he allows Loki to kill the board members behind the Mooby franchise-- sinners, all-- but he doesn't want to watch, preferring to sit outside. At first glance, he's the steady one, the good influence. Loki is the loose cannon, and Bartleby the anchor.
Underneath that empathy and calm, however, is the potential for some Grade-A crazy. Bartleby only ever wanted to go home, to be forgiven. That's the one thing driving him: he wants to go home, wants it enough he's willing to become human and die to get it. And after a millennium waiting and hoping and being ignored, he's built up some serious resentment and anger. (And, it must be said again: crazy.) While the face he shows the world is the good listener, it's important to note that he always has that potential for going Defcon Five under the surface. (As Loki puts it, Bartleby has eons of repression to purge.)
Beyond the nice guy and the crazy, there's another side to Bartleby that is much more caustic. To put it plainly, he can be a smug, condescending douchebag. This side of his personality is shown largely with Loki, most likely because it's a familiar (and familial) relationship. When it's just him and Loki, Bartleby likes to talk. A lot. He's one of those guys who will play devil's advocate in an argument just because he likes a good debate, almost as much as he likes winding people up. (Loki is, for the record, the best to wind up.)
Strengths:
PHYSICAL:
Physically speaking, B is pretty damn strong. While there's no evidence in canon he could, say... pick up a tank or an elephant, he is easily able to snap a man's neck by just putting a hand on his head and twisting, and he's able to pick up people off the street, fly around with them for a little while then drop them to the ground. (Dude has some issues.)
He's rocking immortality, as well; he's been around since the beginning of time, and barring removal of his wings he can expect to be around at the end.
He's also pretty damn close to invulnerable; so long as the aforementioned wings remain intact, he'll stay alive and heal anything.
MENTAL:
Bartleby is smart. His job pre-Heavenly boot to the ass involved-- as Loki puts it-- "standing around and reading" at Sodom and Gomorrah. If Loki is the warrior, B is more think-tank. He's had the span of human history plus some more time before humans existed at all to pick up knowledge, and he's put all that time to good use.
On the powers side, with one look at a person Bartleby can know them. Are they good, are they bad, what are their sins and what have they done over the course of their lives? All it takes is a glance and a human's secrets are his to look over.
EMOTIONAL:
Bartleby's greatest emotional strength is his empathy. He genuinely cares, especially about humans; before he was exiled, he cared enough to convince Loki to put down the sword and stop killing in the name of God. Post-exile is the same; while Loki prefers to screw with humans, Bartleby never stops trying to find the good in them. He needs to care about the people he gave up his life for. (If only because without that caring, all his loneliness and suffering is for nothing; with his hope of God forgiving him and allowing him to go home dwindling down to nothing, belief that his cause was just is what sustains him.)
Weaknesses:
PHYSICAL:
Not a whole lot, other than 'don't cut off the wings!' which goes double (literally and figuratively) in Luceti.
His other main physical weakness (or, more appropriately, limitation) is being either unable/not allowed to eat or drink. Canon doesn't state outright he can't eat (as in, it's physically impossible) although in the one scene where Bartleby and food collide, he's shown chewing up popcorn and then spitting it into another container rather than swallowing. Since there's no other canon facts other than angels used to be able to consume alcoholic beverages before B and Loki screwed the pooch for everyone and God outlawed angelic drinking, it's reasonable to believe this lack of eating is not due to a biological impossibility, and rather is based on that same (or a similar) Edict From The Lord. (Try not to think too hard about how a being with no way to expel anything-- be it liquid or solid-- from their body can consume food and drink, it will ruin your life.)
In addition to that, as a side note in case Bartleby was ever rendered human in Luceti via experiment or other means: he would have no idea how to function as a human being. Eating, sleeping, even using the bathroom: these are all foreign needs for Bartleby. He knows about them in theory, but the practice will not be instinctive. If this happened to him he'd be at an extreme disadvantage until he adjusted.
MENTAL:
Bartleby is both smart and an angel. Therefore, he's also something of a speciesist snob. He doesn't hate humans, although he is jealous of them. (Which is not something he's conscious of feeling until later in the movie, and even then he wouldn't categorize his feelings as jealousy.) He actually likes them, even as his rock solid faith in their goodness erodes.
Despite that affection: he's well aware of the chasm between himself and humanity. When he actually talks to people it's like... someone much older interacting with a particularly precocious child; while you may treat them with kindness and basic respect, the power balance is clearly set. Bartleby isn't human, he's more than. This then slots humanity into the box marked 'lesser than'.
EMOTIONAL:
Emotionally speaking, Bartleby's biggest weakness is The Crazy. He's been banished from home with no hope of ever returning since the Plagues of Egypt; he's built up a wealth of resentment and anger and hopelessness that only need the right trigger to set off his own personal timebomb.
He's an idealist and crusader who's been slowly losing faith, century by century, and it's turning him into a somewhat caustic cynic. The caustic nature only really seems to come out around Loki, likely because Loki is both familiar and another angel; and thus, Bartleby's equal.
Samples
First Person:
[ there's a man standing in the forest, staring intently up at the sky. he doesn't seem to feel the cold and just stands like that, unmoving, for quite a while. then he sighs and looks down at his feet. ]
We just wanted to go home. Isn't enough enough, yet? Haven't we paid our dues?
[ he's not exactly expecting an answer, and it shows. speaking to god is a habit borne of long, long years of practice; so far, he hasn't answered back. ]
At least this isn't Wisconsin. [ crossing his arms over his chest, bartleby looks towards the treeline. ] Loki. [ this time the lack of response obviously bothers him, and his eyes narrow. ] Loki, what did we talk about with the hide and seek thing? I realize the Ritalin seeking behavior is a cry for attention, but there are better ways to get your fix. Like paying rent for once, or not using all my cereal and putting the box back empty.
[ there's still no reply, and his tone goes from exasperated to worried. ] Loki?
Third Person:
There's a painful, echoing lack of the presence in Luceti. At first Bartleby was too confused, to angry to register it; but once he calmed down and took stock, it became apparent. On earth it was muted, dull; like hearing someone speak underwater. A reflection rather than the thing itself; a shadow of the Word. But He was there, even if he was out of reach and his foothold in the world fragile at best. It was hardly the same as home, but it wasn't gone entirely, either.
Here, there's nothing. Vast, empty nothing; like the world's been expanded past its limit and shrunk to nothing, all at once. It burns, tears at him, hurting more than the wings on his back ever could hope to imitate.
Bartleby never wanted autonomy, never wanted to truly buck Divine authority. But Loki's job was just unpalatable (unfair) and after the first born-- children who could have grown to be something; philosophers, artists, mothers and fathers and husbands and wives, all those lives wasted for a man He could have struck down Himself and ended everything in one blow-- he brought Loki around to his way of thinking. (It wasn't hard, and Bartleby still feels a twinge of guilt about that; his brother has always been easily led and he took advantage of that, good cause or not.) But it wasn't supposed to be Loki's grand gesture that ended it; Bartleby had arguments. Reasonable speeches about loss and the things mankind was capable of. But Loki had to throw the sword down and flip God the bird, and they were both kicked out to live with the dull echo of Heaven ringing in their ears.
Now, it's worse. The humans here won't be able to tell what they're missing, feel the lack of their Divine Creator. But angels were never given choice, a way to shut out the pain.
Swallowing hard and staring longingly at the bottle of whiskey he appropriated but cannot-- will not-- open, Bartleby wishes, for the first time, for Wisconsin.