Bellemere 『One Piece』

[Well, that sure was odd. That... yeah, that shift. Bellemere wasn't as affected as some unfortunate souls, but it still left her wondering just what else they were rarin' to throw at the village. She wasn't one to dwell on things or make dark of them, so instead when she speaks over the journal her voice is very light and happy.]

[Voice]

That sure was a weird few days, wasn't it? It was almost as if half the town was stuck practicing for a play without even knowing what the damned thing was. Though... I'm pretty surprised at some of the costumes—some of you boys wear a dress far better than I ever could.

Hope you guys didn't end up completely embarrassing yourselves to someone.

[grin grin, as she smokes a cigarette]

By the way, the name's Bellemere. I don't think I mentioned it before, but I might as well now that I'm getting comfy. Got any stories in your worlds like the ones we lived a few days ago? Witches? Damsel-saving princes? Any of that?

[Beyond that, she's noticed a lot of seriousness afterward... She wonders about that. When she leaves her journal she goes to the item shop and is pleased to find her old rifle in the weapon's shop. In pretty good condition, despite it having been bitten into pieces last she saw. She takes it over to the barracks for some shooting practice, before getting some groceries for the Strawhat house.

They'd all just dealt with their chef leaving—Bellemere would have had to claim blindness if she said there wasn't a considerable fog lingering in the kitchen. And with that in mind, she cracks open a cook book, and begins making something from it. While she rarely made things for herself, she knew a thing or two on how to make a damned meal.

So when everyone was set for dinner, they could have a real meal around here. Veggies, ham in orange sauce, bread, the whole shebang. The kitchen'll be bright with lights and smelling of various cooked goods..]

Have any problems with Bellemere? Just drop a note here.

( Application under the cut! )
Character

Name: Bellemere
Fandom: One Piece
Gender: Female
Age: 30-years-old
Time Period: Post-Death (Chapter 78)
Wing Color: The color of her hair; A purple-red color.
History: History here.

Personality: Bellemere was at first a rambuncious trouble-maker on Konomi Islands, so much so that Genzo had nicknamed her 'Little Thug' over time; despite her problems, she had a good heart and was by no means a bad person, which is evident in the way the villagers treated her. Like her daughter in future years, Bellemere knew how to get what she wanted. Some say it's a plus. :|

While she herself tended to cause trouble, she developed a strong dislike for the pirate occupation (well--the bad side of piracy, which there was a hell of a lot of). Pirates often caused awful problems among small islands and villages like hers, and so she was determined and confident to help deal with these kinds of sea dogs. Not only that, but she wanted desperately to show that she was capable to the people who knew her only as an immature delinquent. By joining the marines and showing both her skills and her responsibilities, she could tell them all she wasn't immature anymore.

Bellemere was and is an extremely confident person, from the time she was little up until her final moments. It often got her in over her head in the past, but she was also very dependable and capable, earning her a high spot in the Marines as a reliable captain; she eventually mastered artillery and rifles quickly to become as efficient as she could in her job. Even so, she often jumped right into situations, more often than not avoiding the high road; she does this even when Arlong threatens her very life, instead giving up hers for her daughters so that they wouldn't have to be banished (and of course, because her motherly affections couldn't permit her to deny they were her daughters).

During that particularly awful battle she had given up on life—in truth, Bellemere, while one to live to the fullest, had never had much of a fear of death; she was prepared to lay down and die quietly then, and when it came time to die for her children, she was less fazed by her upcoming death and more heartbroken over not giving them the life she'd wanted to give her daughters. However, in that important battle, she didn't die, instead living for the sake of the two orphaned girls who had stumbled across her. Using the usual Bellemere determination, she found herself a boat and sailed all the way back to her home island amidst a treacherous storm. Her first concern were the girls, who were suffering from fever. Which is yet another personality trait she has: even though she's oftentimes stern and would probably slap a man over the head for bull, she's also surprisingly selfless. She eats nothing but tangerines, at one point, so that her children can eat better food.

She's a mother, first and foremost now. Even though she's grateful for it, she's abandoned the title of captain, and outright speaks nothing much of her marine days. She'd much rather simply work the Mikan fields and raise her kids. Granted, she's still mischevious as her old days, flirting with men (poor Genzo), and teasing where teasing is totally applicable. Immaturity is hard to entirely erase in someone as fiery as Bellemere, and so she has moments were she's less-than-adult. She's even slapped Nami across the face for speaking ill of Nojiko and Nami's lack of blood-relation. And at one point, she claims that Nojiko is sometimes more mature than she is. She's impulsive, head strong, and can be short-tempered. However, she is definitely a devoted parent, to be sure.

Strengths: Bellemere is physically pretty damn strong. She may not seem it, being a thin little lady, but don't let the looks decieve you. She was entirely capable of knocking the hulking fishman Arlong to his back with a kick (which was followed up by stuffing the barrel of a gun into his mouth). She's quick, tough, and has a strong endurance. Not to mention, a pretty good tolerance to pain; even after getting her arm stomped bloody, she was able to recooperate from it enough to hug Nami and Nojiko, and then soon after fold them without any sign of pain on her features.

Mentally, she has the mind of a soldier buried back behind the years of rest in the village. She knows damn well how to handle a weapon and will use it if she has to. Beyond that, she has always been strong mentally, in the face of danger or any other concerning situation; panic doesn't overtake her, and she's almost always swift to action (maybe a little too swift to it). She knows it's all a mind thing, pain. Overcoming it just takes a little practice and effort on her part.

Her emotions can sometimes be her strongest attribute. It's her feelings toward her family that keep her strong, and anything involving them and danger will harden her up into her peak abilities. Lady can be a fiery ball of rage if warranted, which... may or may be a good thing.

Weaknesses:

Unfortunately, Bellemere's strength is uncomparable to say, Luffy or Sanji's. She's not capable of kicking people into the sun, and when it comes to One Piece characters, she ranks pretty low on the strength scale. She has no powers, no real attributes that make her stand out as a unique fighter, and no real defense against people who eat devil fruit, have powers, or can do extraordinary things in general. Against some of the crazier shounen people in Luceti, she'd fare a lot less better than most. But hey, at least she gives 'em hell when she can.

As mentioned, her impulsive or fiery emotions can be a good thing. However, there are times when they obviously aren't; she has no real desire for strategy in a cut-and-dry case of one-on-one, and if someone gets the better of her feelings she wouldn't hesitate to blindly charge in an insult and/or hurt way. She's selfless, but in that way she doesn't think much on her own health because of it. She's also quick to lash out if something truly digs down deep, even if she can typically keep stoic about the more difficult things. When people question family? Loyalty? Their friends and family's worth? She's not very good at controlling her good hitting hand. It may end up putting her into danger, or causing more of a problem than things need to be.

Mentally... She's a normal human with normal flaws and weaknesses. She has no protection against the dangers of mind-control or anything else of that nature, save for a strong will when she needs to have one. And likewise, her ability to learn anything outside of the filial spirits will be little to none; she's no magician or mage. She hasn't learned anything like that, nor will she ever seek it out. Meditation or anything of the sort? Naaah. The only thing she can safely say is she'll try to be strong enough to endure whatever is thrown her way.

Samples

First Person:

[Puffing on a cigarette, the voice is mostly level, tinged around the bristled edges with the sign of exasperation.]

So... they actually gave you an orchard. Are they trying to keep me from complaining ahead of time? Because as much as I love mikans, this isn't going to cut it for me until I'm allowed a lot more acres of wiggle room... without this barrier here. And maybe not threaten me with needles and wartime situations.

But I guess it's better than nothing—I'll be sure to thank you for the extra land before I knock your skulls out the back of your heads, hmm?

...

[sigh]

Don't bother, Bellemere; it's all just tough talk until anyone can actually do something, right?

Third Person:

Orange. There were round, bright orange spheres glistening above her, followed by the hot smell of summer mud and the even hotter feel of the air against her face. She runs a hand across her eye, her nose, the side of her jaw, and sits up like a gear had jammed her movements; the drugs were still a problem child, until enough time went by for her to collect her senses and thoughts. She knew... She remembered Nami and Nojiko and their teary faces, and she remembers telling them that she loved them...

The orchard's familiar, but everything around it... was not. Was she dreaming in death? Maybe that's what ghosts are supposed to be, or something. She never got around to presuming anything about the afterlife, so it was hard to tell if this was or wasn't some phantom prison. Thanks a lot, you shitty lot of pirates. Ah, but... maybe she should try to look around. See if anyone was visible. Get out of this ugly dress. It may take a few attempts at standing upright—what the hell, is she a consistently drunk ghost? Guess all those nights of heavy drinking carry over.

She rubs her temple at the whirling headache that was beginning in her eyes and across the bridge of her nose.

And then, with a sudden urge to be careful, she reaches out to one of the trees and plucks up one of those round orange spheres, feeling the cool, bumpy skin beneath the rounds of her palm. It felt real. But there was just no way it could be, right? Not unless she dreamed up all of it, dreamed up Arlong coming to her door, dreamed up Nami and Nojiko pleading for her to stay, dreamed up getting shot...

What kinds of crappy ass dream would that be?

No, something was off, and she was certain that once she could walk a decent straight line, she'd figure this all out.