- GuestGuest
[Bio] Papillon D. Fran
Fri Jul 28, 2017 6:23 am
Papillon D. Fran
Basic Character Information
Starting Bonus: Can't Touch This swapped for: Super Rookie | [Starting Bonus Roll]
First Name: Fran
Middle Name/Initial: Drevil
Last Name: Papillon
Epithet: "Frenzy Eyes"
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Faction: Bounty Hunter
Profession:
Sniper: Having been disabled for a major part of her life, Fran has been forced to rely heavily on other possible means to earn her money and owing to her particular upbringing, this has unfortunately led down a thorny path. Thankfully, Fran possesses beyond impeccable vision and is even unobstructed by matters such as darkness and mist. Her unbelievable eyesight has led her to become a sniper that is considered unmatched in her field by some and her accurate shots serve her no less discredit.
Spy: Making full use of her circumstances, Fran is capable of posing as an innocent and virtually harmless girl. Fran can easily work her way into the heart of organisations using her mostly harmless demeans and as her wheelchair possesses a few nifty tricks of its own (capable of holding her limited armoury of guns), Fran is normally in a far more secure position than her opponents are led to believe.
Singer/Pipa Player: Fran isn't just all about combat, she has her fair share of cultural expertise too. A protege player of the pipa, Fran is capable of charming and beguiling her listeners with a few plucks of the strings and if that wasn't enough, the tipping point is her singing voice. Though Fran has little interest in having her voice heard, she will intermittently make small exceptions to sing.
Physical Appearance
Height: If she were to stand (which is impossible without external support), Fran is around about 196cm
Weight: 73kg
Hair Style: Fran's hair is incredibly thick and tends to tangle easily. However, she has little care for her own outer appearance and will often provide her hair with limited attention. As such, her hair is often left as it is when she wakes up: messy, unkempt and falling in loose curls. She additionally has very long bangs that obscure her face, with the exception of when she is sniping. Her hair falls incredibly long too, largely because she finds hair treatment a terrible bore and hasn't cut it since she was 10.
Hair Color: Black with tones of indigo
Eye Color: Crimson with ringed pupils
Scars: All her scars are invisible to the naked eye
Clothing and Accessories: Fran normally dresses very warmly due to her fear of the cold. Her favourite possession is a white robe with beautiful silver butterflies embroidered around the hem and massive billowing sleeves that envelope her hands. Fran rarely feels the heat and is capable of bundling up even in the midst of the warm and humid seasons. However, during these times, she will often leave her robe draped over her shoulders, allowing more air to ventilate through its folds. During the colder seasons, Fran will go all-out with the jumpers, parkers, scarfs, ear muffs, beanies and even heated blankets. The last and most notable of her accessories is her wheelchair, which she is always present in as she would be incapable of moving without it. Fran exerts little energy in the movement of her wheelchair as it is electronically controlled and the compartment under her chair is spacious enough to accomodate the few artillery she has in her possession.
Description: Owing to her restricting conditions, Fran has limited means to stay in shape and she is therefore physically frail and weak. Slender by nature, Fran also has perpetual dark circles ringing her under eyes from her insomnia and ghostly pale skin. However, despite her insomnia, Fran's crimson eyes always shine with a level of ferocity that is far beyond what any normal or healthy being is normally capable of and it is these eyes that have granted her epithet, "Frenzy Eyes". These eyes also possess a ring that surrounds her pupil and the number of rings will increase as she becomes agitated, stressed or emotional. As the number of rings increases, her own mental stability will become erratic and often lead to one of her common bouts of hysteria. In this "frenzied" state, Fran's need for survival will take over all her senses and will lead to psychotic behaviour. However, despite such negative energy, it is highly possible that if given the chance to recuperate her mental affliction and if she were to put more attention into her physical presentation, Fran could actually be quite beautiful in her own right. Underneath the deathly aura and decrepit state, there is potential for elegance to captivate those with a more attentive eye.
The Past
Main Traits:
- Cool, careful, calculating and composed
- Silent and observant
- Gloomy and pessimistic
- Prone to hysteria
Likes:
- Blankets, warm tea and strange foods
- Classical literature and folklore
- Work and money
- The pipa
- People she can trust
Dislikes:
- Being misjudged or underestimated
- The cold
- Being unable to earn money
- Herself
Hometown: Centaurea, South Blue
Personality: Asides from being physically disabled, Fran has a whole list of issues that often lead to an unstable mentality. However, despite all this, Fran has an undeniable and ever-growing urge to live. She has an iron will that is unmovable even in the worst of circumstances and she is prepared to sacrifice almost anything in order to assure her own survival. Although her mental complications often lead to bouts of hysteria, feelings of self-degradation and lack of self-worth, Fran has never once given up her will to live. Her mind is often wrought with irrationality, paranoia and she can become absent-minded and dull at times. However, when faced with a situation where her life is at risk, she always snaps out of it. If anything, she relies on these instances where blood taints the air and adrenaline pumps through her body, because it's during these times when she feels most alive. Almost as though she needs proof to ensure that she is indeed a living and breathing person, Fran seeks blood with the sort of desperation only the dying possess. She despises and fears the idea that one day she may no longer be able to move at her own will and it is this fear that drives every fibre in her body to survive. Fran also discovers that she finds solace in money. To her, the money she receives from her jobs is a form of recognition, but at times her feelings are mixed. On the one hand, money is tangible proof that she is acknowledged and even needed, to a certain extent. However, deep in her heart, she knows that this is not the recognition she so desperately seeks, but as she still has no understanding of what true success is, she continues to pursue money, blood and work with an almost mindless and soul-crushing attitude.
However, depression and mental instability isn't all that Fran has to offer and she doesn't spend every day of her week consumed in hunting and quenching blood lust. Fran appreciates many things, but the majority of these things are shared by those of the elderly folk. For example, she favours peaceful villages, drinking tea and hot springs, where she can finally be as warm as she would wish to always be. She is no stranger to drinking alcohol, but she is always mindful that she doesn't abuse her consumption enough to become intoxicated, though during the few times when she is, she acts like an actual old man, even with perverted inclinations. Furthermore, Fran is a talented pipa player and she possesses a particular fondness for traditional music in general. She even carries this into literature, enjoying classical tales in folklore, mythology and even fairy tales. Fran can act very elderly at times too (not just when she's drunk), lacking a basic understanding of popular culture, and can at times find teenage slang and fashionable trends baffling. Although she doesn't eat much herself, Fran likes to ensure that those she cares about are well fed and tends to cook more than necessary when she is in the company of others. Surprisingly, Fran is an adept cook and she even enjoys knitting and embroidery when given the time (she isn't very good at it, but she can't get enough of making blankets). Knitting and making blankets is almost like a mental outlet for her, a means to distract her from the ghosts in her mind. Perhaps this is why her blankets always come out awful, because her mind is always a tangled mess (much like the outcome of her blankets), but she always seems most happy during her silent knitting activities or when she is playing the pipa (which, thankfully, she has much, much better successes in). She can get fairly proud of her completed works, even if they often resemble something like a disfigured stuffed toy (but don't tell her that, let her have her moment), and will try giving them away to those she finds tolerable as gifts of appreciation. Do keep in mind that Fran isn't much of a talker and so many of these scenarios tend to start with her pushing a weirdly-shaped blanket into someone's face until ultimately, they have no choice but to accept, albeit with a lot of confusion.
- History:
- "The Woman Frozen in Time"For Fran, life was just normal before she'd lost her legs. Yes, she was poor; yes, she was homeless; yes, she had no family or friends, but she'd known nothing else. Living in the slums of the ruined kingdom of Centaurea, Fran was accustomed to the ways and necessities for survival. It was steal or starve and in extremes, kill or be killed. Fran lived amongst the lowest of the low in Centaurea, a village far from the central city called Jujon Village. Here, only the sick, the dying and the evil stayed. For young Fran, she was none of these, at least no more evil than most, and she lived as well as scum could. It wasn't until slave traders passed the village, catching children in the "Harvest" (a barbarous name that befits the ruthless and heinous acts of taking children with even a fraction of vitality and selling them to be exported off the island) that Fran's already precarious life took a sudden turn from the worst to the even worse. Captured in the “Harvest”, Fran was transported to Centaurea’s northern port, but as she was mostly healthy, albeit malnourished, she was more than ready to put up a fight. Her attempts only amounted to a rabid bite to the slaver’s forearm and a heavy knockout to her head. Disgusted, the slaver left Fran on route to the port in a frozen field with a thick blanket of snow. Fran woke with her head dizzy and groggy, the cold numbing her body and senses. Without a clue as to how long she had been left in the snow to die for, Fran began to move, but she quickly realised that her legs were frozen and unmovable. Driven as she was for survival even then, Fran’s tenacity dragged her across the frozen fields with a mild blizzard blowing all around her. The cold seeped through her bones and pierced her blood, but sheer determination was all Fran had use for. Fortunately, Fran soon found herself in a cold and rigid village after a short distance of travel (but still a massive feat given she couldn’t use her feet) and she found shelter amongst the other homeless. It was almost as though the village itself was frozen. The people were silent, some half dead and the others motionless on the street. Regardless of the dead or the dying, every man and woman’s face was tinged with blue. Exhausted from her journey, Fran fell asleep but when she awoke, she realised her legs were still paralysed and she panicked. She tried vigorously rubbing them back to life, picking them up and dropping them, but when nothing would work, she resorted to beating them with stones. Fearing death, her despair and refusal to believe that she had lost the use of her legs was not unwarranted. How could she steal if she couldn’t run? How could she fight if she couldn’t stand? How could she live if she couldn’t move?
To this day, ten years later, Fran’s memories of the first day buried in cold, fear and pain haunt her in both nightmares and hallucinations. She still remembers the days when she had felt as dead as those thrown out in the blizzard. But she lives, and that’s all that counts."The Woman Who Just Wants to Live"Upon realising that her legs were paralysed, Fran knew she had no time to dwell in fear for the future. Her only option was to work out a solution now and fast. Dragging herself to the dumpster, she scavenged for leftover food and something to help her walk. She found little to eat, but the latter was more promising as she found a sturdy and long cane to lean on. Using this and the cold walls for support, Fran began to make her way to the estate at the top of the hill, a little way away from the village. The few wealthy of Centaurea had little care for the poor and many even funded the Harvests that took place regularly, but Fran had no choice. Her only option was to appeal or steal a great deal of money from them. In her state, the mission seemed impossible but Fran saw no other means for survival and death was never, and never will be, an option. Dragging herself to the top of the hill exhausted all her strength, especially considering that she had little food in her stomach. The pain in her legs was also returning. The nasty combination of the frigid temperature and the self-inflicted welts soon proved to only worsen her legs’ condition. By the time she had pulled herself up the hill and was lying on her back, staring up at the magnificent estate, Fran had enough time to dwell on her hasty decision. Pleading would do nothing and stealing was impossible, but her resolve told her that it was no use without even trying and so she pulled herself to the estate’s front door, feebly knocking before her courage deserted her. When the door opened, all it took was one look to confirm her anticipations. By sheer chance, Fran happened to glance upon the wanted poster of a pirate and recognised him as the slave trader that had tried to Harvest and kill her. It was then that Fran realised that she was in the home of a marine officer and she changed her method.
“I can find him and kill him,” she told him. “I’ll give you half the bounty on his head and all I ask for in return is a wheelchair and a gun.”
Her argument was feeble, but something in her eyes, a look of fanaticism and “frenzy”, shook the marine’s resolve and sparked interest. Incomprehensibly, the frenzy in her eyes moved him and he supplied her a wheelchair, but he refused to provide her a gun. Instead, Fran led him to the slaver’s hideout (considering how loudly they had been discussing their plans, it’s no surprise that Fran knows where they were, especially when they believe her to be a corpse in the snow fields) and the marine set up location to snipe him. But Fran stopped him and pleaded that he let her snipe. She wasn’t entirely sure what drove her to ask this, but deep down, she must have known that she needed to do something in order to prove that she was worthy of keeping around. The marine was reluctant, but Fran’s persistent and frenzy eyes soon swayed him. Fran had never held a gun before, least of all a complicated and high-calibre sniper’s rifle, but she knew she had no room for mistakes. Her first bullet hit his shoulder, but she quickly adjusted her scope and the second one didn’t miss; this was her first hunt.
Subsequent to this, the marine, Captain Joseph Patch, decided to take her in and train her as a sniper. Her talent soon came to surface and rumours of the disabled sniper quickly spread across the marine base. There was even talk of training her to become a Cipher Pol agent, but rumours were just rumours. Fran never once had a chance of becoming a marine officer and she knew this even before her mentor gently informed her. Then why had he been so insistent on training her to become a competent sniper? If not to become of use to the marines, then what for? For the three years that Fran spent with the marines while never becoming a marine herself, she spiralled into depression and self-loathing. By her last year, her condition took a turn for the worst and she was forced to suspend her training. She spent months locking herself in a dark room and only Patch worried about her, bringing her food and spending time to talk with her. Fran's will to live had always been strong, but when challenged with her overwhelming circumstances, she was rendered to little more than an emotionless doll. However, as still and disquiet as she appeared, Fran's mind was engaged in a mental battle with herself and her depression. Her mentor was the only one who could see this and he finally stopped trying to talk to her, only providing silent support and company. Weeks passed, turning into months, and Fran showed no signs of pulling through. Her mental state was starting to take it's toll on her body too, her physical condition deteriorated significantly. Then, Fran suddenly disappeared. Devastated, Patch used all means and resources available to search for her. But as a child who had grown up in the slums, Fran knew every hidden channel there was to know in Centaurea or at the very least, where to find them. When a year passed with no signs of where Fran had gone, Patch could no longer waste marine resources to search for the possible corpse of a 12-year-old girl and he was forced to give up.
When her mental battle between her will and her depression came to a stalemate, neither giving up trying to obtain full reign, Fran instinctively decided that she desperately needed to do some sort of "soul searching". For the first part of this search, she spent most of her time moving mechanically, as though something possessed her to move without her own will. She put her marine training to use, taking bounties where possible and exchanging them for money. When she discovered the pipa, a traditional lute that she became very attached to, she showed her first signs of recovery. Then she discovered the beauty of embroidery, the warmth of hot springs, the joys of literature, the soothing effect of warm tea and before long, she rediscovered her will to live. She still has no concrete answer to why she must live, but at the very least, she now knows that she must live because she can. If the marines or even her own body refused to accept her, then all she had to do was prove to everyone that she was strong enough that she didn't need their approval. Upon this discovery, she started accepting more and more jobs, straining her ever-weak body to do more than it could. The hard work paid off and she quickly became a renowned bounty hunter, but ironically, it came at the expense of her mind and body. As the days passed, she grew increasingly tired and her depression's power was returning. It was then that she remembered her former mentor, Captain Patch. She wondered if he still remembered her or worried about her and after some hesitation, she decided to return to the marine base.
Despite her wariness, she was pleasantly surprised by his ecstatic welcome. Believing her to be dead, Captain Patch had spent the years chastising his own inability to help her, until rumours of the disabled bounty hunter had started to rise. However, after the relief subsided, the captain launched into a lecture, chiding her for her sudden disappearance and causing him immense worry. This left Fran momentarily stunned, but there was something about the lecture that was quite liberating. She had never received a lecture from someone who cared about her in her life and she had never had someone worry about her enough to reprimand her for it. Half way through, she found herself repressing a giggle and by the end, she was genuinely laughing. The bemused captain was forced to cease his lecture, as it was his first time ever seeing her laugh and to be fair, this was her first time laughing too. Fran still lapses back into depression every so often, however with the support of the captain (who's wardrobe is filled to the brim with weird blankets and anyone who opens it often worries that he's being cursed) and her continued soul-searching, Fran becomes increasingly stronger and stable.
- Gray
[tracker=/t131-tracker-gray-starks#504]
Name : Gray
Epithet : "The Conqueror"; "Black Fist"
Age : 49
Height : 10'2" (310 cm)
Weight : 1043 lbs (473 kg)
Species/Tribe : Cyborg Human
Faction : Pirate
World Position : Lurking Legend (Former Yonkou)
Crew : Black Fist Pirates (Destroyed)
Ship : Sangria's Vane (Destroyed)
Crew Role : Captain (Former)
Devil Fruit : Pressure-Pressure Fruit
Bounty : [ber=r] 5,000,000,000
EXP Bonus : +0.20 (to all allies)
Income Bonus : +0.20
Shop Discount : -30%
Balance : [bel] 25,000,000,000
[[strollingdeath]][[baneoftheweak]][[riseandshine]][[childofdestiny]][[freakofnature]]
[[punchoutguru]][[dulcetvirtuoso]]
[[improviseadaptovercome]]
Posts : 3990
Re: [Bio] Papillon D. Fran
Sun Jul 30, 2017 5:16 am
Frenzy wrote:Papillon D. Fran
Basic Character Information
Starting Bonus: Can't Touch This swapped for: Super Rookie | [Starting Bonus Roll]
First Name: Fran
Middle Name/Initial: Drevil
Last Name: Papillon
Epithet: "Frenzy Eyes"
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Faction: Bounty Hunter
Profession:
Sniper: Having been disabled for a major part of her life, Fran has been forced to rely heavily on other possible means to earn her money and owing to her particular upbringing, this has unfortunately led down a thorny path. Thankfully, Fran possesses beyond impeccable vision and is even unobstructed by matters such as darkness and mist. Her unbelievable eyesight has led her to become a sniper that is considered unmatched in her field by some and her accurate shots serve her no less discredit.
Spy: Making full use of her circumstances, Fran is capable of posing as an innocent and virtually harmless girl. Fran can easily work her way into the heart of organisations using her mostly harmless demeans and as her wheelchair possesses a few nifty tricks of its own (capable of holding her limited armoury of guns), Fran is normally in a far more secure position than her opponents are led to believe.
Singer/Pipa Player: Fran isn't just all about combat, she has her fair share of cultural expertise too. A protege player of the pipa, Fran is capable of charming and beguiling her listeners with a few plucks of the strings and if that wasn't enough, the tipping point is her singing voice. Though Fran has little interest in having her voice heard, she will intermittently make small exceptions to sing.
Physical Appearance
Height: If she were to stand (which is impossible without external support), Fran is around about 176cm
Weight: 63kg
Hair Style: Fran's hair is incredibly thick and tends to tangle easily. However, she has little care for her own outer appearance and will often provide her hair with limited attention. As such, her hair is often left as it is when she wakes up: messy, unkempt and falling in loose curls. She additionally has very long bangs that obscure her face, with the exception of when she is sniping. Her hair falls incredibly long too, largely because she finds hair treatment a terrible bore and hasn't cut it since she was 10.
Hair Color: Black with tones of indigo
Eye Color: Crimson with ringed pupils
Scars: All her scars are invisible to the naked eye
Clothing and Accessories: Fran normally dresses very warmly due to her fear of the cold. Her favourite possession is a white robe with beautiful silver butterflies embroidered around the hem and massive billowing sleeves that envelope her hands. Fran rarely feels the heat and is capable of bundling up even in the midst of the warm and humid seasons. However, during these times, she will often leave her robe draped over her shoulders, allowing more air to ventilate through its folds. During the colder seasons, Fran will go all-out with the jumpers, parkers, scarfs, ear muffs, beanies and even heated blankets. The last and most notable of her accessories is her wheelchair, which she is always present in as she would be incapable of moving without it. Fran exerts little energy in the movement of her wheelchair as it is electronically controlled and the compartment under her chair is spacious enough to accomodate the few artillery she has in her possession.
Description: Owing to her restricting conditions, Fran has limited means to stay in shape and she is therefore physically frail and weak. Slender by nature, Fran also has perpetual dark circles ringing her under eyes from her insomnia and ghostly pale skin. However, despite her insomnia, Fran's crimson eyes always shine with a level of ferocity that is far beyond what any normal or healthy being is normally capable of and it is these eyes that have granted her epithet, "Frenzy Eyes". These eyes also possess a ring that surrounds her pupil and the number of rings will increase as she becomes agitated, stressed or emotional. As the number of rings increases, her own mental stability will become erratic and often lead to one of her common bouts of hysteria. In this "frenzied" state, Fran's need for survival will take over all her senses and will lead to psychotic behaviour. However, despite such negative energy, it is highly possible that if given the chance to recuperate her mental affliction and if she were to put more attention into her physical presentation, Fran could actually be quite beautiful in her own right. Underneath the deathly aura and decrepit state, there is potential for elegance to captivate those with a more attentive eye.
The Past
Main Traits:
- Cool, careful, calculating and composed
- Silent and observant
- Gloomy and pessimistic
- Prone to hysteria
Likes:
- Blankets, warm tea and strange foods
- Classical literature and folklore
- Work and money
- The pipa
- People she can trust
Dislikes:
- Being misjudged or underestimated
- The cold
- Being unable to earn money
- Herself
Hometown: Centaurea, South Blue
Personality: Asides from being physically disabled, Fran has a whole list of issues that often lead to an unstable mentality. However, despite all this, Fran has an undeniable and ever-growing urge to live. She has an iron will that is unmovable even in the worst of circumstances and she is prepared to sacrifice almost anything in order to assure her own survival. Although her mental complications often lead to bouts of hysteria, feelings of self-degradation and lack of self-worth, Fran has never once given up her will to live. Her mind is often wrought with irrationality, paranoia and she can become absent-minded and dull at times. However, when faced with a situation where her life is at risk, she always snaps out of it. If anything, she relies on these instances where blood taints the air and adrenaline pumps through her body, because it's during these times when she feels most alive. Almost as though she needs proof to ensure that she is indeed a living and breathing person, Fran seeks blood with the sort of desperation only the dying possess. She despises and fears the idea that one day she may no longer be able to move at her own will and it is this fear that drives every fibre in her body to survive. Fran also discovers that she finds solace in money. To her, the money she receives from her jobs is a form of recognition, but at times her feelings are mixed. On the one hand, money is tangible proof that she is acknowledged and even needed, to a certain extent. However, deep in her heart, she knows that this is not the recognition she so desperately seeks, but as she still has no understanding of what true success is, she continues to pursue money, blood and work with an almost mindless and soul-crushing attitude.
However, depression and mental instability isn't all that Fran has to offer and she doesn't spend every day of her week consumed in hunting and quenching blood lust. Fran appreciates many things, but the majority of these things are shared by those of the elderly folk. For example, she favours peaceful villages, drinking tea and hot springs, where she can finally be as warm as she would wish to always be. She is no stranger to drinking alcohol, but she is always mindful that she doesn't abuse her consumption enough to become intoxicated, though during the few times when she is, she acts like an actual old man, even with perverted inclinations. Furthermore, Fran is a talented pipa player and she possesses a particular fondness for traditional music in general. She even carries this into literature, enjoying classical tales in folklore, mythology and even fairy tales. Fran can act very elderly at times too (not just when she's drunk), lacking a basic understanding of popular culture, and can at times find teenage slang and fashionable trends baffling. Although she doesn't eat much herself, Fran likes to ensure that those she cares about are well fed and tends to cook more than necessary when she is in the company of others. Surprisingly, Fran is an adept cook and she even enjoys knitting and embroidery when given the time (she isn't very good at it, but she can't get enough of making blankets). Knitting and making blankets is almost like a mental outlet for her, a means to distract her from the ghosts in her mind. Perhaps this is why her blankets always come out awful, because her mind is always a tangled mess (much like the outcome of her blankets), but she always seems most happy during her silent knitting activities or when she is playing the pipa (which, thankfully, she has much, much better successes in). She can get fairly proud of her completed works, even if they often resemble something like a disfigured stuffed toy (but don't tell her that, let her have her moment), and will try giving them away to those she finds tolerable as gifts of appreciation. Do keep in mind that Fran isn't much of a talker and so many of these scenarios tend to start with her pushing a weirdly-shaped blanket into someone's face until ultimately, they have no choice but to accept, albeit with a lot of confusion.
- History:
"The Woman Frozen in Time"For Fran, life was just normal before she'd lost her legs. Yes, she was poor; yes, she was homeless; yes, she had no family or friends, but she'd known nothing else. Living in the slums of the ruined kingdom of Centaurea, Fran was accustomed to the ways and necessities for survival. It was steal or starve and in extremes, kill or be killed. Fran lived amongst the lowest of the low in Centaurea, a village far from the central city called Jujon Village. Here, only the sick, the dying and the evil stayed. For young Fran, she was none of these, at least no more evil than most, and she lived as well as scum could. It wasn't until slave traders passed the village, catching children in the "Harvest" (a barbarous name that befits the ruthless and heinous acts of taking children with even a fraction of vitality and selling them to be exported off the island) that Fran's already precarious life took a sudden turn from the worst to the even worse. Captured in the “Harvest”, Fran was transported to Centaurea’s northern port, but as she was mostly healthy, albeit malnourished, she was more than ready to put up a fight. Her attempts only amounted to a rabid bite to the slaver’s forearm and a heavy knockout to her head. Disgusted, the slaver left Fran on route to the port in a frozen field with a thick blanket of snow. Fran woke with her head dizzy and groggy, the cold numbing her body and senses. Without a clue as to how long she had been left in the snow to die for, Fran began to move, but she quickly realised that her legs were frozen and unmovable. Driven as she was for survival even then, Fran’s tenacity dragged her across the frozen fields with a mild blizzard blowing all around her. The cold seeped through her bones and pierced her blood, but sheer determination was all Fran had use for. Fortunately, Fran soon found herself in a cold and rigid village after a short distance of travel (but still a massive feat given she couldn’t use her feet) and she found shelter amongst the other homeless. It was almost as though the village itself was frozen. The people were silent, some half dead and the others motionless on the street. Regardless of the dead or the dying, every man and woman’s face was tinged with blue. Exhausted from her journey, Fran fell asleep but when she awoke, she realised her legs were still paralysed and she panicked. She tried vigorously rubbing them back to life, picking them up and dropping them, but when nothing would work, she resorted to beating them with stones. Fearing death, her despair and refusal to believe that she had lost the use of her legs was not unwarranted. How could she steal if she couldn’t run? How could she fight if she couldn’t stand? How could she live if she couldn’t move?
To this day, ten years later, Fran’s memories of the first day buried in cold, fear and pain haunt her in both nightmares and hallucinations. She still remembers the days when she had felt as dead as those thrown out in the blizzard. But she lives, and that’s all that counts."The Woman Who Just Wants to Live"Upon realising that her legs were paralysed, Fran knew she had no time to dwell in fear for the future. Her only option was to work out a solution now and fast. Dragging herself to the dumpster, she scavenged for leftover food and something to help her walk. She found little to eat, but the latter was more promising as she found a sturdy and long cane to lean on. Using this and the cold walls for support, Fran began to make her way to the estate at the top of the hill, a little way away from the village. The few wealthy of Centaurea had little care for the poor and many even funded the Harvests that took place regularly, but Fran had no choice. Her only option was to appeal or steal a great deal of money from them. In her state, the mission seemed impossible but Fran saw no other means for survival and death was never, and never will be, an option. Dragging herself to the top of the hill exhausted all her strength, especially considering that she had little food in her stomach. The pain in her legs was also returning. The nasty combination of the frigid temperature and the self-inflicted welts soon proved to only worsen her legs’ condition. By the time she had pulled herself up the hill and was lying on her back, staring up at the magnificent estate, Fran had enough time to dwell on her hasty decision. Pleading would do nothing and stealing was impossible, but her resolve told her that it was no use without even trying and so she pulled herself to the estate’s front door, feebly knocking before her courage deserted her. When the door opened, all it took was one look to confirm her anticipations. By sheer chance, Fran happened to glance upon the wanted poster of a pirate and recognised him as the slave trader that had tried to Harvest and kill her. It was then that Fran realised that she was in the home of a marine officer and she changed her method.
“I can find him and kill him,” she told him. “I’ll give you half the bounty on his head and all I ask for in return is a wheelchair and a gun.”
Her argument was feeble, but something in her eyes, a look of fanaticism and “frenzy”, shook the marine’s resolve and sparked interest. Incomprehensibly, the frenzy in her eyes moved him and he supplied her a wheelchair, but he refused to provide her a gun. Instead, Fran led him to the slaver’s hideout (considering how loudly they had been discussing their plans, it’s no surprise that Fran knows where they were, especially when they believe her to be a corpse in the snow fields) and the marine set up location to snipe him. But Fran stopped him and pleaded that he let her snipe. She wasn’t entirely sure what drove her to ask this, but deep down, she must have known that she needed to do something in order to prove that she was worthy of keeping around. The marine was reluctant, but Fran’s persistent and frenzy eyes soon swayed him. Fran had never held a gun before, least of all a complicated and high-calibre sniper’s rifle, but she knew she had no room for mistakes. Her first bullet hit his shoulder, but she quickly adjusted her scope and the second one didn’t miss; this was her first hunt.
Subsequent to this, the marine, Captain Joseph Patch, decided to take her in and train her as a sniper. Her talent soon came to surface and rumours of the disabled sniper quickly spread across the marine base. There was even talk of training her to become a Cipher Pol agent, but rumours were just rumours. Fran never once had a chance of becoming a marine officer and she knew this even before her mentor gently informed her. Then why had he been so insistent on training her to become a competent sniper? If not to become of use to the marines, then what for? For the three years that Fran spent with the marines while never becoming a marine herself, she spiralled into depression and self-loathing. By her last year, her condition took a turn for the worst and she was forced to suspend her training. She spent months locking herself in a dark room and only Patch worried about her, bringing her food and spending time to talk with her. Fran's will to live had always been strong, but when challenged with her overwhelming circumstances, she was rendered to little more than an emotionless doll. However, as still and disquiet as she appeared, Fran's mind was engaged in a mental battle with herself and her depression. Her mentor was the only one who could see this and he finally stopped trying to talk to her, only providing silent support and company. Weeks passed, turning into months, and Fran showed no signs of pulling through. Her mental state was starting to take it's toll on her body too, her physical condition deteriorated significantly. Then, Fran suddenly disappeared. Devastated, Patch used all means and resources available to search for her. But as a child who had grown up in the slums, Fran knew every hidden channel there was to know in Centaurea or at the very least, where to find them. When a year passed with no signs of where Fran had gone, Patch could no longer waste marine resources to search for the possible corpse of a 12-year-old girl and he was forced to give up.
When her mental battle between her will and her depression came to a stalemate, neither giving up trying to obtain full reign, Fran instinctively decided that she desperately needed to do some sort of "soul searching". For the first part of this search, she spent most of her time moving mechanically, as though something possessed her to move without her own will. She put her marine training to use, taking bounties where possible and exchanging them for money. When she discovered the pipa, a traditional lute that she became very attached to, she showed her first signs of recovery. Then she discovered the beauty of embroidery, the warmth of hot springs, the joys of literature, the soothing effect of warm tea and before long, she rediscovered her will to live. She still has no concrete answer to why she must live, but at the very least, she now knows that she must live because she can. If the marines or even her own body refused to accept her, then all she had to do was prove to everyone that she was strong enough that she didn't need their approval. Upon this discovery, she started accepting more and more jobs, straining her ever-weak body to do more than it could. The hard work paid off and she quickly became a renowned bounty hunter, but ironically, it came at the expense of her mind and body. As the days passed, she grew increasingly tired and her depression's power was returning. It was then that she remembered her former mentor, Captain Patch. She wondered if he still remembered her or worried about her and after some hesitation, she decided to return to the marine base.
Despite her wariness, she was pleasantly surprised by his ecstatic welcome. Believing her to be dead, Captain Patch had spent the years chastising his own inability to help her, until rumours of the disabled bounty hunter had started to rise. However, after the relief subsided, the captain launched into a lecture, chiding her for her sudden disappearance and causing him immense worry. This left Fran momentarily stunned, but there was something about the lecture that was quite liberating. She had never received a lecture from someone who cared about her in her life and she had never had someone worry about her enough to reprimand her for it. Half way through, she found herself repressing a giggle and by the end, she was genuinely laughing. The bemused captain was forced to cease his lecture, as it was his first time ever seeing her laugh and to be fair, this was her first time laughing too. Fran still lapses back into depression every so often, however with the support of the captain (who's wardrobe is filled to the brim with weird blankets and anyone who opens it often worries that he's being cursed) and her continued soul-searching, Fran becomes increasingly stronger and stable.
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