Erika D. Lynn

Name:
Erika D. Lynn
Epithet:

Age:
25
Faction:
Pirate
Gender:
Female
Height:
5'6"
Weight:
140lbs


Appearance:


Erika has long black hair that goes down to the middle of her back and a slim, feminine face and dark hazel eyes that appear as a cat-like gold when seen up close. She has youthful but mature features well paired with an emotionally neutral expression or something that could barely be called a smirk. Her eyes are often stuck with an almost empty firm gaze that would tell anyone that sees her that she's had a hard life to say the least, warmth very rarely slipping into her eyes. She can almost look lonely from a certain angle due to these details, but even she has a hard time discerning what emotion she's feeling at any given time unless it grows intense.

She also looks completely human save for a few small details like the fact she has small fangs on her upper jaw along with the fact that her eyes glow in the dark like a cat's. On the surface, she these are the only traits brought down from her father's side of the family though there could be more that she is simply unaware of. 

Her figure is slim but durable, having quite generously sized breasts that she usually binds down out of habit from her home island's strict dress code which she's mostly abandoned. She has long thin proportions despite her shortness, making her look quite elegant and attractive as far as she's been told by people she's met. She wears a white button-up shirt and close-fitting dress pants when she wants to look somewhat formal, most times wearing short shorts of some kind sometimes with leggings with a tank top or cleavage-bearing shirt when she remembers not to bind her chest. She may even wear things like tube tops to show off her midriff if she can ever consistently break her old habits, feeling her best when she's comfortable even if some would find it bold or revealing.



Personality:


Erika is on the surface at least a confident and domineering woman that says what's on her mind when she decides to share an opinion even if it wasn't asked from her at all. She also has very high willpower, never really backing down unless it's fairly obvious she should probably not interfere with a situation any further. She on top of this never lets others walk all over her, speaking in a firm tomboyish manner most of the time that can sometimes make her sound more sarcastic or aggressive than she actually is. This side of her isn't all there is to her however, having a softer side she only shows out of combat.

This side of her can be quite pleasant but still quite headstrong, acting like a responsible big sister when other need support or comfort even if she's a bit blunt about it at times. She never tries to actively hurt others' feelings but will give others harsh but honest advice such as telling the truth about something important when it may hurt someone more than just making a pretty lie. She also has a sensitivity towards people that may be insecure or not very confident. She knows how that feels and tries her best to help that person out of that mentality and see the good things about themselves rather than just the flaws. She likes to show that she is a good person despite all the horrible things she's done in her past, as if she's trying to seek redemption.

She also has a tendency to protect others who she deems good people with her life due to believing in that she should do what she can to help people and preserve the good left on this earth. She's even gone so far as sustained severe injuries to this end, often sacrificing herself to stand between them and the attacker. She can come off as suicidal at these times...which in some part may seem to be true but usually it's just bravery she doesn't use responsibly. She makes sure the person she's protecting is fine before tending to her own injuries as well, not wanting someone to die because she didn't do enough to save them.

There is a side of herself that she only shows certain people however, being a lonely woman that likes to be physically close to others who are willing to be held by her. She can be extremely cuddly at these times as well as far more feminine than usual, as if trying to capture the warmth of others and use it to fill a void somewhere deep inside her. She can also be oddly quiet and open up as well, known to cry only during these rare occasions. She doesn't know how to say it but deep down she just wants to be seen and loved as a woman and not some ravenous beast again, having to normally suppress her emotions to not worry others.

Despite all these good qualities she does have her own problems. The primary one being the fear that she won't be able to successfully carry the wills inherited to her to the degree others might have better done so, at times questioning if she does things for others or because she wants to do them. She also suffers from an inferiority complex, seeing her losses as her not being good enough rather than just needing a few adjustments to get better. Due to this, she often works herself far too hard in training in an attempt to patch up any sign of weakness no matter how small. She also has another major flaw that was born from her home island's way of thinking that got ingrained into her.

That would be her tendency to only see marines as pure evil dictators and not people in any sense of the word. They tried to enslave her people and wipe them off the face of the earth, so needless to say she at base thinks pretty badly of them, some degree of narcissism mixing with this making her believe she's legitimately above them. This can cause her to mercilessly slaughter them if they so much as step in front of her in the road. This has lead to immense guilt as she's aware that she shouldn't do this, but also compulsively feels an abject hatred and rage towards all marines, especially higher ranking officers.

Optional:

• Likes:

Erika's likes come from various places and experiences from her childhood and adolescence. An example of this is her ungodly high love for cats that stems from a cat she had when she was a kid that kept her company in bed when she was feeling scared. She at first was lukewarm to them at first but after living with a soft, small fluffy animal you start to warm up to it. With Erika however it goes not into a full on obsession but more so a state where she must pet a cat if it's in the same room as her since it reminds her of the good times in her childhood and relaxes her greatly. It's also nostalgic for that reason, having a tendency to cuddle that cat even during serious conversations if she's comfortable enough.

She also likes writing because it used to help her through her emotions when all else failed since it let her imagine a place where it's perfectly okay to not or perhaps never be okay. It also made her able to process her thoughts more easily when her mind was racing, especially since certain feelings she grew up feeling were always deemed inherently wrong. She likes writing fantasy specifically so she can actually explore ideas in a way that's not so obvious that people could guess that she's a parallel to the protagonists she writes. She enjoys romance fantasies more than she'd admit, always burning any piece of romance she writes immediately despite liking them the most out of anything she makes.

 Erika never could show off her figure much on her home island due to a strict sense of modesty and purity, as well as a culture of shame that becomes forced upon anyone who defies this enforced moral code. As a result she thinks very little of the concept of modesty as a whole, preferring nowadays to show off what she's got with confidence and pride. She isn't really ever embarrassed anymore either considering in her mind that implies you have a self-image problem, that or you're too prudish to have fun. She never actively judges others for this, but simply doesn't understand why someone would be comfortable that way.

 Being a woman of culture, she is a quite big fan of flirtation. She discovered this once when she was in Paradise at a bar, stepping outside her comfort zone to try and do things her island deemed immoral for a woman like her. She found it fun to see the reactions of others and liked how much power it gave her in social settings while letting her take advantage of her newfound freedom. She's almost never serious about it but nevertheless loves how she can bring men and women alike close before asserting her independence and dominance by revealing she was just in it to tease them a little bit for lighthearted fun. It makes her feel sexy and desirable whenever she's out and about, something she never gets sick of.

Erika is a thrill-seeker by nature, liking to test and challenge herself in any way she can whether it be a good fight or some other exciting activity that gets the blood pumping. She first discovered this when she worked as a bartender back home always wanting to do the kinds of things she saw other men doing at the tables scattered around. Things like gambling, bar fights, the whole experience really with a dash of some alcohol. The best part in her eyes is something where both parties are having fun and then sitting down for a nice hardy laugh afterwards, maybe even a casual conversation if she likes them well enough.

• Dislikes:

Erika has an intense dislike for specifically alive octopus due to a bad experience when she was very young when an octopus that was fished up in the port latched onto her face suddenly and refused to let go, along with how slimy and squishy they are making that even worse for her in general. If in the presence of a live octopus, she has to resist throwing it into the nearest body of water as violently as she can. Other times she can't stand to be in the same room as one due to an intrinsic fear of being suddenly attacked again, making her unable to relax at all. This does in fact translate to a fear of but not hatred of octopus fishman before she gets to know them.

Another thing she dislikes is her home island itself due to how restrictive it was to her in so many facets and making her more confused about herself than anything at times. She never wishes to return there again if it's not to visit a friend or something of that nature where she absolutely needs to go there though she will outright refuse to stay there for any long length of time. She can behave herself there but won't enjoy herself very much in general, being smart enough to at least know to not do something stupid like start street riots or anything like that even if she desperately wants to at times on some level.

Erika greatly dislikes her own wild and frankly sadistic instincts that seem to randomly kick in, especially during times when the moon hangs high though she has no idea why this happens. This first awakened when she had accidentally hurt someone she beat in an arm wrestling contest, starting to enjoy the act of inflicting pain on others. Not to the degree of murder or making them bleed in most cases, with how sadistic of a mood she's in depending on her mood and how much she gets into whatever she's doing. She falls into this when fighting marines due to her already low opinion of them in general, at some points mocking their weakness while smugly laughing at them if she doesn't restrain herself.

She also dislikes how she can sometimes get carried away in her thrill-seeking. She can feel pressured and keep going whether she wants to or not such as when she ended up taking riskier and riskier bets until she couldn't afford a place to stay that night when she inevitably lost against a more experienced gambler on the Sabaody Archipelago. She didn't really stop doing equally dumb things once or twice but right afterwards always regretted it not knowing how to avoid doing so in the future, just being bad at saying no in certain social situations when she is made to feel less confident for some reason as if going past her comfortable limit in terms of risk will make her seem more capable.

She also has a dislike for people that abandon their dreams or goals since she almost did that herself and knows how much now she'd regret that decision if she'd made it. She sees people like that as weak in many ways since she assumes they couldn't face themselves and push through hardship to accomplish their dreams. She associates it with a lack of drive and passion as well, knowing that if they tried they very well may have succeeded and beaten the odds. It's this aspect she dislikes the most since she knows deep down that they must feel the same problems she had that made her almost give up.

• Interest:

Erika's interests are inherent to her as a person, more than just simple hobbies or past times and more intrinsic details that she would only share with the people she trusts the most or feels she should share with others. The following contain some things she has never told anyone for better or worse along with certain details she's accidentally or voluntarily told others about.

In her teen years, Erika met a girl she grew quite close to. At first it appeared to be a simple friendship but as things progressed it would become clear to her at least that it was much more than that, something akin to physical attraction mixing in with the desire to be close to her. This terrified her greatly considering her home island was very unkind to those kinds of things in general, leading to nobody besides her ever knowing. She's still scared of anyone even knowing since she isn't sure how the world at large would perceive her, but plans to one day at least feel comfortable about it herself.

Erika discovered she was naturally drawn to being a leader once she'd gained the confidence to stop bar fights and other violent happenings at her old job, not wanting to subjugate but stop tragedy from striking those that don't deserve it. She always takes the initiative when possible, striving to lead with fair judgement along with an interest in how a leadership role actually functions even on her downtime such as managing supplies and such. She just wants to see things go as smoothly as possible really. This also pairs well with her naturally high willpower, meaning she finds it interesting that she can even exude such a commanding aura about her in the first place.

• (Disinterest):

Erika's main disinterest is submitting to anyone for any reason not tied to the current task at hand. She was told her whole life that she just needed to do what she was told and fall in line and effectively kill her tomboyish and rebellious personality in favor of what a few decided was the correct way to be god knows how long ago. She rejected that completely and decided then to never let her spirit get crushed, though some part of her was just never capable of compromising that one thing. She suspects this comes from her father which would make sense but it makes her also wonder what parts of her mother she carried down.

Another experience that less shaped her but made her aware of something she despised on the most fundamental level was when she discovered the concept of arranged marriages. This made her realize she wanted nothing with anyone or anything that tried to decide her future or fate for her. She always actively resisted forces like this when she was able to adequately do so but currently does all she can to make herself as free as possible seeing as in her mind she has a whole life of adventure ahead of her. The marines are the main target of this resistance seeing as she became a pirate by complete accident.

• Morality Alignment:

Erika's morality could best be described as chaotic good, meaning she tries to do the right thing but doesn't always follow the laws to do so. She believes in a very strong sense of justice and respect for every life in some way with very few exceptions, though none based on things like race, gender, or any quality that would be defined as an immutable characteristic.  She also believes that there must be proper checks and balances for any system where there's a leader of anything, as well as a strong sense of personal freedom and liberty. In summary, she values generally good morals along with respect and dignity for people generally speaking. As an additional note, she believes very strongly in forgiveness if someone really does make a conscious effort to be a better person even if they've done horrible things in their past.


Future: Erika wants to be a master of her fighting style before passing it on to the next bearer of it. She also wants to end up as someone that has made an impact on the world in some way, whether it be inspiring others to greatness or rising to it herself. If possible, she also wants to find someone she can end up marrying and travel the world with them so she can show them all the things wonderful about the world, as well as visit the last island in the grand line that the log pose points to. If that never happens, she still wants to have a crew of some sort that she feels close to on a personal level. She wants these things because they're everything she never had growing up or knew before that she could have, so the possibility of it now in front of her pushes her towards this path, even if it will be hard on her. Simply put, this is the will she wants to forge for herself to let others inherit.
Dream/Goal: Erika's dream is to carry out the will of those who gave theirs to her, embodying everything they would want her to be and so much more. She wants to make those people proud, even if they're dead or can't see her anymore in a way similar to how someone could want to be an example for others to follow. Her dream in that sense is more to make herself someone she herself can be proud of rather than looking up to others forever to possibly give others that were like her hope that they can become better than they were even a second before that instant.


Job:

Name: Weaponmaven
Background: Erika became a weaponmaven as she calls it after inheriting her master's will to use the weapon passed down to her and then expand the style in her own way. She wants to do so by adding a new weapon to its core while creating more techniques for the first weapon.
Combat Potential: Being a weapon-focused job weaponmavens have almost entirely combat potential, capable of having mastery over different weapons or even hand-to-hand martial arts with enough training and dedication.
Non-Combat Potential: Very little non-combat potential exists, the only skill of note that doesn't strictly adhere to combat being a finely honed eye for even small details in things whether it be a crack on the floor or how to perform a technique they want to utilize.

Salary: None currently



Home Island: Noirevoile, Florian Triangle
History:

Erika's story begins the night the revolutionary army officer and mink Saikyo Sasaki and her mother Anne D. Killigrew met when his ship found itself lost in the florian triangle in highly unfamiliar territory attempting to return to the New World after losing his crew to a skirmish with the marines. After many days of trying to find a way out to no avail along with supplies dwindling by the day Saikyo decided to sail to the nearest island he could find, at first being held at sword point by the locals before it became evident he posed no real threat. Erika's mother was one of the first to show him enough hospitality to give him a place to rest. This obviously led to the two bonding over the long period of time that he lived there, leading to the two getting married eventually.

Some time after Erika's birth a revolutionary army base was set up by her father, making him arrive home late if at all on some nights due to either managing ranks, filing mountains of paperwork or having conversations with the revolutionary army about various important tasks that have been done or need to be done still. This left Erika to be raised mostly by her mother who didn't quite understand the complexity of the job the revolutionaries actually did and as such handed down some inconvenient opinions about the revolutionaries by accident. Not to say that Erika grew up actively hating the revolutionary army but she didn't want to be part of it either, assuming that she'd end up just like her father if she joined him.

Her younger years were absolute hell for her, being put through rigorous etiquette classes that tried to make her into what the aristocrats of the island saw as acceptable instead of her genuine self. She was well educated if not more educated than most islands would have her on the bright side, though there were many gaps in history due to the isolationism of the island limiting their knowledge of the world greatly. From exposure to social norms of Noirevoile she gained the signature naivety and borderline narcissism that could lead to the more spontaneously violent tendencies that can form in some there. One of the groups she learned to be this way towards the most were the marines as a result of a conflict they had with the island before it drifted into the Florian Traingle.

By her teen years she was put through some extreme measures to avoid the usual cultural proceedings of being forced into an arranged marriage completely against her will for the sake of the economic, social, or political progress of the suitor's family. This was an especially tangible threat as her family on her mother's side was known for their political influence in the local area. Instead she had her name changed by her mother to abuse a legal loophole that let her escape this fate due to not technically being in the family anymore and thus not holding the social and political power that came with it. This was the turning point in her life where she decided that she was going to not sit around and live her life idly when she could be helping people considering the traditional values of her island prevented her from being respected on the same level as her peers for wanting her life to be in her hands. The only roadblock was her sheer incompetence in anything resembling a skill or talent.

This landmark trait came to light when she overheard maids and other staff gossiping about how she was such a failure compared to both of her parents, not having managed to do anything of not in her life yet as she was expected to. She couldn't necessarily prove them wrong but she wanted to. Unfortunately she lacked the drive to do so at this stage and just let it pass over like a tumultuous storm that ravaged her confidence before leaving after doing enough damage. She hated herself more and more by the day, locking herself up in her room for weeks at a time as to not give others a reason to disappoint them or their expectations. Her mother worried but did nothing because she was all too aware of how it'd be seen by others if she helped someone seen as a failure.

She sunk into an extremely deep depression after this, writing at home in her free time most hours of the day to make her emotions easier to manage so she wouldn't cry herself to sleep each night. If a draft of a story wasn't good enough in her eyes she cut the part away she didn't like and worked on it until it was good in her eyes. She continued this practice into her later teen years but never published anything, thinking that it wouldn't be good enough for others to want to read. One story she wrote and worked on over the course of years made her realize something after she looked at it once she reached the age of 18; She'd been incrementally improving with each time she'd found a small mistake in her writing, taking out unnecessary things to mold it into something she can be the most proud of out of everything she's done. The thought that changed her life then came to her mind. What if she applied that same method to the other things she wanted to get better at? What if she could help others avoid a life as miserable as hers in some way?

With this mindset she started working an honest job that'd be seen as a lowly menial job for a woman of her social and economic stature just to spit in the face of her society more or less. She worked as a bartender for most of this time, gathering money to afford a piece of jewelry she'd been looking to get but not wanting to spend her family's money on it. This small goal was the first step to her walking the path she'd fins herself on later in life. She also knew deep down that her home island was only stifling the potential to grow more able to help others using her method since it required being exposed to different things that could point out her flaws rather than just stating she has them. That lack of proper criticism along with how constrictive growing up there was made her hate it anyways.

When all seemed to be going well her mother suddenly fell ill to a form of apparently hereditary heart condition that made her bedridden due to weakened heart valves, and thus ability to pump blood through the body effectively. Erika got the news when she was on break at work, being allowed to go home to see her. The worse she got as days passed, the more Erika was pushed to make her future her own since her mother never could. Those days felt like another dark cloud hanging over her head as she tried to keep a positive front. In private however she simply couldn't process this situation very well without feeling like she should have been a better more talented daughter so there would be something to be proud of at least at times like this. She in tern locked these emotions up, having a hard time feeling anything emotionally.

Whether she knew it or not, Erika inherited her will with one simple request when things were their darkest. "Keep moving forwards, You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you." That was the last request made by her mother as she died from a major heart attack, a smile on her face knowing that Erika was on the right path in life. Erika however was distraught as all of her emotions poured out finally, feeling scared and alone and that she just agreed to a promise she could never fulfill. She had to though, it'd be unforgivable to not pursue that will as it'd help her even in death. She wouldn't die in a way.

The suddenness of that last exchange reminded her of how transient life could be, as well as how cruel yet merciful it could be as she at least got to smile at the end of it all, able to live on in her as well. In this way death was a reminder to her that it didn't matter how long you live, but rather what you do with it that matters. It was also a wake-up call that her mother's will now lived in her which prompted her to launch herself only towards the goals in life she had for herself. The only roadblock was her lack of confidence in herself, as well as the fear of the unknown and her own failure kicking in. That and she had to inherit her mother's will on top of that. To most, this would be more a suggestion but her family always did teach the importance of their initial D as well as the will inherited by those who carry it. It was never known what this will was, but she knew letting it die would be unacceptable.

At first she struggled with her bearing the will of her mother, feeling like the pressure to not fail would crush her before remembering that this mindset exactly was if nothing else pathetic. She knew this but some part of her was scared. She'd lost the only reason she couldn't leave her home and explore so she could become more than she used to be, though the reality and risks of leaving started to really weigh on her now that she'd have to face them rather than just thinking about them. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that she had a personal crisis due to these conflicting emotions, but it ultimately helped her grow in the end. It let her grieve and vent her emotions and fears openly for once in her life. It made her reflect on her own faults and what she needed to do to improve herself, just like she set out to do before this event. She first wanted to at least learn to defend herself so others wouldn't have to save her all the time and die because of her weakness.

She found a master willing to train in combat so nobody would have to be burdened by taking care of her after many attempts, for a while only finding people that were either too afraid to hurt her to even try teaching her or feared losing respect from their peers for training such a rebellious girl. She was terrible at even the most basic of techniques, constantly disappointing her master because she couldn't live up to his high standards. She was abandoned in favor of other more talented students, this being the first time her lack of strength she thought she had sank in. She tried to convince them she was good enough but they always rejected her in on the basis of her inherent lack of physical strength. This was the deciding factor in facing the dangers of the sea, using part of the inheritance she'd obtained from her mother's death to buy a ship capable of sailing the Florian Traingle and Paradise so she could see what other places had to offer her as her current arrangement wasn't doing her any good.

Before she went anywhere she had to deal with a few obstacles she didn't exactly prepared for. The first of these that presented major issues would be what Noirevoilians called "The Demons of the Mist", massive beings that towered thousands of meters above even islands with piercing red eyes that watched any ships that crossed the Florian Triangle. They were thought to be responsible for the mass destruction of ships that passed through the area or even worse- tried to escape the boundaries of the mist. This effectively meant she had to wait for a day the mist cleared while at the same time having a map and log pose that could lead her toward a safe island rather than straight into the calm belt which would be certain death. The only real option she decided there was at the time would be to go in the direction she assumed was the total opposite of the calm belt.



The second major problem she might encounter would be pirates, though in her mind it wouldn't be that bad considering all she knew about them was what novels and fiction told her with any certainty. They made most pirates seem like pretty nice guys and that could end up getting herself killed or sold into the slave trade or some other fate worse than death. Thankfully she was sensible enough to bring a knife with her in case she did get into trouble. She foolishly assumed this was enough to sufficiently defend herself, not knowing much about guns much like many on her island thanks to their education system romanticizing the old ways of the world. Her father was at least kind enough to give her a basic flintlock pistol with instructions on how to use it.

She still didn't have a grasp on the true meaning of the words her mother had told her even when she set sail and headed for paradise proper. The seas were rough and her ship barely survived the trip due to a minor storm and inexperience. In addition to this, she was attacked by marines soon after dropping anchor on a small marine base by accident, her attempts to reason with them falling on deaf ears. She was predisposed to not like them much anyways given how historically they almost destroyed her home island according to folklore, but this made her first experience what it was like to have to kill to survive. She felt guilt and remorse for it, but she had to do it to not die herself. She ended up stealing a sword and cutting down everyone that so much as came near despite having no finesse or etiquette in her fighting, just swinging it like a barbarian. In this rush of adrenaline she didn't realize that the marines stationed there were completely wiped out since they lacked an officer at that moment.

Because of a den den that a marine had at the time, word of this massacre swiftly got to the marines without the context of attacking her first with no warning. She stole a small vessel that could get her at least to the next few islands as the marines chased her wherever she went. She became known to bring death and destruction as marines often turned towns upside down hunting her after she left. She realized at some point that she had indeed gotten stronger through these conflicts, ending up breaking her swords and her gun imploding after a certain point when she tried to fight a marine Commander. She lay there with a firing squad next to her head before feeling the rush of the wind pass her. She wondered if this was what it was like to die, just laying there until she realized she was saved by a mysterious swordsman who fended off the officer, later giving her shelter in their home after opening her eyes. She was never so grateful of anyone before and instantly asked if she could be taught to be as strong as they were.

They saw potential in her based on her current strength as well as her drive and passion to improve herself, something that became evident once they talked to her more at their residence. It turned out they were looking for someone to pass a certain fighting style down to. It was a style started by a swordsman who could only learn a single technique who then passed it down to someone else with one wish: pass it on and make your own addition to it. This tradition was carried down to Erika and presumably no one else, her coming to realize they were that original founder but never said anything to save their pride. Each generation was to add a new weapon or set of techniques to the style in addition to the one that came before. Erika started training under this master starting from the first and only one form that existed, even the stances of each form being  asked to remain unchanged from each individual who made that technique. That was the idea of the art this swordsman used.

In the form of it she has, she only has the sword technique passed down to her known as Daishō or "big-little", which utilizes a long sword and a shorter sword with the user also keeping a seppuku knife on their person for the sake of tradition. She was only given a single technique that she's mastered though she works on developing new techniques as she gets some inspiration for one. Part of this involved her fighting people with unique fighting styles wherever she went to possibly see if she'd want to do something like they do to add a new weapon or martial art to the style, never finding anything that fit her taste. She in battles like this was often compared to a demon or a wild beast, someone devoted to victory and strength in those moments.

The most memorable instance was with a corrupt bounty hunter aligned with the world government that was working with bandits to rob the town while acting like he was saving it. He did so by paying government officials under the table to keep quiet. It was an open secret that nobody stated, Erika being told not to fight him or try to help the town as others died trying. She saw this as her first big moment to help people in a significant way, challenging the man despite only having a single attack. To her dismay he was a gunner, able to sink a good number of rounds in as Erika fiercely fought him. She almost died to him, a shot only an inch away from her heart saving her life as she mustered her strength through the pain as her wounds stained the ground red. She was driven by instinct and determination, a fire igniting inside her as she vowed to not die to trash like him, to surpass him! This final exchange saw her letting out her single technique, her sword making a signature ring as it sliced the air with the force of a magnum, a deep and lethal cut forming on the man's chest.

She was congratulated by the town but as soon as word came that she'd killed this guy, marines soon showed up. She had to go into hiding as she recovered, a blind rage that they were defending such an awful man behind sweet words and lies bubbling up until she was well enough to fight them. A marine officer was accompanying them, meaning she had to run...though she knew the townsfolk wouldn't take that well. The townsfolk were able to go unharmed because of a risky gamble she made; she challenged the marine officer to a fight and if she won he'd leave town but if she lost she'd go quietly. Regardless of how dumb it'd be to accept the officer, who turned out to be an ensign accepted. It was another hard fought battle but Erika won with more ease than the bounty hunter, funneling the rage and determination into herself while she launched herself at the man, being parried and blocked until one hit landed, staggering him. That was his funeral as she had no mercy, using his vulnerability to aim right for the heart, attempting to impale him. She then felt herself be thrown into a building nearby, cuts and bullet wounds opening up as things from the outside looked dire for her. She knew she couldn't beat the man head on so she needed to get smart, watching his movements as she got back into the fight. She learned from him mid-fight and overcame him through a difficult battle of attrition as her willpower fueled her body to move even if it begged to just stop and admit defeat. She engraved this feeling into her body, powering through it to fight. After a grueling half hour she came out on top, his fast movements slowing down and leaving openings. This meant she used every opening to her advantage, killing him with a lucky stab, sparks flying off the edge of her sword as her slash was being attempted to be blocked to no avail, blood flying onto the ground like an arc of liquid death. Battles of this intensity are what Erika sought out, getting stronger and stronger with each one.

After a while of outgrowing the local tough guys as she encountered similar situations she started training by fighting the marines when they eventually discovered her location rather than running away constantly. She ended up causing many marine casualties this way along with an alarming number of low ranking officers officers and close to a dozen warrant officers with one or two ensigns that didn't take her seriously enough, the threat she posed seeming to grow by the day. At some point during this period of time she got sick of being a menace to the grand line and decided to instead head to the North Blue as a stowaway on a prison ship she thought was a cargo ship. Needless to say she broke out of it, destroyed a good portion of it and just seemed to appear in the North Blue overnight with no paper trail as to who she was or why she was being chased by marines everywhere she goes.

The straw the broke the camel's back with the marines however was when she was at some point captured on a small prison ship, with a combination of cunning and her now trained body she managed to pickpocket a key one day while she used her beauty to distract a guard she lured into her cell and waited for the time to strike. When she knew they arrived at a small marine base for transferal to a bigger prison she unlocked her restraints and recovered the swords she stole, cutting up marine grunts mercilessly as she managed to commandeer a boat and escape in the chaos of her escape along with the high risk of death the marines were faced with as almost all of the low ranking staff on that floor needed medical attention to live. They chose to save their own men of course, simply opting to give her a considerable bounty when you account for the fact she'd only been a pirate for less than a year at this time. This achievement could mark her as someone that could potentially become a supernova if her bounty wouldn't be high enough to let that title be applicable already.

She sailed to the North Blue to blend in with the civilians and deal with less threats over all. She figured marines of the caliber she was used to dealing with wouldn't be in this sea since she'd heard the blues are weaker seas during her travels. found travelling this sea far easier in comparison but also more boring, leading her to hold back and not show her power very often unless it was to stop a fight before it started by way of sheer intimidation. She often had minor  unremarkable skirmishes with pirates as she traveled about that usually resulted in widespread death and destruction of entire towns and tiny islands so much that it'd take years to repair the damage at no fault of her own if she was attacked, though it was always blamed purely on her and not the instigating pirate crews. She's currently more mellowed out, trying to be a decent person seeing as the guilt of being so awful weighed on her mind more and more but finding it hard to catch a break at the same time. She still has little idea what she needs to do next in her adventures, but she's figuring it out as she goes.

Acquaintances: N/A

Starting Traits:

Name: Animalistic (Maine Coon Cat Half Mink)
Type: Racial
Effect: Based on the animal base, the player may add 2,000/4,500/6,000 Doriki to any Attribute (multiple Attributes permitted) | B/A/S Rank Character

Name: Strong Heart
Type: Racial
Effect: +4,500 Spirit & Willpower Doriki

Trait Name: Orochigiri
Type: Character
Origin: Erika's intense and single-minded training with her swords resulted in her learning precise critical angles and positions to stab and slash at to inflict more harm to make up for her lack of physical strength.
Description: Damage bonus to bladed weapons scales with Level.
Levels: 5
Lv.1 | +1 level to injuries inflicted with bladed weapons
Lv.2 | +2 levels to injuries inflicted with bladed weapons
Lv.3 | +3 levels to injuries inflicted with bladed weapons
Lv.4 | +4 levels to injuries inflicted with bladed weapons
Lv.5 | Flying Slash gains the benefit of this trait when used with bladed weapons
Requirements: Become proficient with bladed weapons

Trait Name: Two-Sword Style
Type: Job
Origin: Weaponmaven
Description: User is proficient in using two swords (or any bladed weaponry) to fight at a time.
Levels: 5
Lv.1 | Basic Proficiency
Lv.2 | Skilled Proficiency
Lv.3 | Technical Proficiency
Lv.4 | Expert Proficiency
Lv.5 | Heroic Proficiency
Requirements: None


Trait Name: Flying Slash
Type: Job
Origin: Weaponmaven
Description: By swinging the sword or other bladed weapon with sufficient force and speed, this creates a powerful pressure in the form of a compressed air blade, allowing the swordsman to cut things from a distance.
Levels:
Lv.1 | Allows the use of flying slashes.
Requirements: Proficiency with bladed weapons.

Items:

Name: Standard Katana
Class: Common
Grade: D
Description: A katana that's not unique in the slightest, mass produced and cheap but usable. Made lighter so even young men can use them. Its size is standard, having a 2.31 shaku (70cm or 27.5in) long blade with a hilt long enough to handle with one or two hands.
Weight: Light
Stats: D-
Slots: 2
Arrangement & Cost: N/A

Name: Standard wakizashi
Class: Common
Grade: D
Description: A wakizashi that's not unique in the slightest, mass produced and cheap but usable. Made lighter so even young men can use them. Its size is standard, having a 1.485 shaku (45cm or 17.7in) long blade with a hilt long enough to handle with one hand.
Weight: Light
Stats: D-
Slots: 2
Arrangement & Cost: N/A

Beli: 10,000,000
Bounty: 24,700,000
Doriki: 26,000
Attributes:
Strength & Power: 1500 (E-)
Endurance & Durability: 7000 (D-)
Speed & Agility: 45000 (D-)
Perception & Wits: 4500 (D-)
Spirit & Willpower: 13000 (C-)

Desired Grade: A