General Information
Name: Marina Ikle
Nickname/Alias Madam Butterfly. Butterfly
Crew Occupation: Entertainer.
Species Options: Human
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Age: 22
Height & Weight: 5,2 and 115 lbs
Home Island Alabasta
Appearance
Hair Color:Pink
Eye Color:Crimson
Physical Appearance:Her alias couldn't be more on the nose than it already is when it comes to her appearance. Her stature makes her seem like a mere desert flower needing to be sheltered from all manner of weather to preserve it's beauty. Batting eyes and soft laughs easily hide the wiry strength that has been built over the years as a dancer. Her skin is surprisingly pale despite constant exposure to sunshine as her special lotions prevent harsh sunburns that plague her if she isn't careful. However, her work has changed her through the years as her bare feet are calloused and her fingers blister if she pushes herself too hard. While her hands have a few scars here and there from mishaps with her chakrams' nicking her hands during a performance..or the occasional fight.
Her true pride comes in her waist length hair as pink as the setting sunset on her home island. Glossy due to various oils she carefully applies every night without fail to keep it's shine. While it is normally swept up into a ponytail or braid to keep it from her face while performing. Her mood for the day can be noted by the various colored silk ties that she uses to keep her hair back in as companions can come to tell. Occasionally she will allow her hair to loose about her, making her seem much younger than her actual age much to her dismay.
Style: Her attire and presence are in direct conflict with one another on a daily basis. Her footfalls are exceptionally light and she prefers to glide through a crowd as easily as possible without bumping into others. Her posture is lady-like minus her habit of toying with her bangles in an effort to distract herself or is lost thought. While her actual attire is a mixture of provocative and elegance. Fine white silk cloth covers her chest and bottom in the style of a dancer from her native island. While black translucent silk covers her arms and upper thighs. The thigh portions has teasing slits that seem to expand while she dances, just to draw eyes to her performance. While golden and copper bangles decorate her wrists clinking together with the slightest movement as a pacer of sorts. While the chakrams are in similar styling kept about her waist on either hip for easy reach. Bare feet are expected, aside from in the harshest conditions.
Personality
Innate Personality:There are two distict masks that Marina chooses to display, with her actual personality lying somewhere in between. The first mask is that of an entertainer as her smiles are freely given as her cheeks flush at the slightest affection. Flirtatious to anyone willing to give her compliment and a tip or two. While one on one, she can be bit more reserved, but still cheerful as expected of her profession.
While on her downtime around strangers, she is much more closed-off and finds it harder to relax. Curious as wanderer, but will clam up if asked about her own affairs. Around companions, the masks seem to blurr together as she can still be a bit guarded around topics that consider her own history. Yet, she isn't one to shy away trying to make a more innocent crew mate turning crimson after making a flirtatious comment or two..or retorting back sarcastically.
The only topic that seems to foul her mood is her family and a few select incidents that make her blood boil. While her family is like a closing wound it will take time for her to actually speak of them without venom in her voice due to circumstances in which she left them.
While incidents of persistently obnoxious suitors seeking a private 'dance' resulting in a broken nose and a twisted ankle after shoving the man into a post for a lecherous suggestion. Another button would be constant disruptions to her practice as it does take effort for her claim the profession as an dancer worth a performance or two.
Likes: - Sight-seeing
- Cats
- Music
- Sunsets
- Wine
Dislikes: - Cooking
- Sewing
- Impatient people
- Aggression
- Combat
Skills/Talents: Has some talent when it comes to botany at least for entertainment purposes in making sweet smelling perfumes that seem to add just a touch to her performance..and who doesn't enjoy smelling nice. While despite her immense loathing for it, she is decent at sewing and can do basic needlework to patch up a hole or two..medical application does vary. Yet, when it comes to her profession as a dancer it is something she does take pride in as a performance can be a simple distraction or to have someone lower their guard. While her talents as a musician are limited to percussion focused instruments such as tambourines and thimbles useful for keeping time in her steps.
Motivations/Goals/DreamShort Term Goals: Collect various jewelry pieces from each Island ranging from an earring to a precious necklace..as precious memories of her adventures and to share with her sisters back home.
Long Term Goals: Make a name for herself as a dancer to hold a performance to draw every single eye to her art. Dance to every single type of beat known to man from the simple violin to the clashing of blades in the heat of battle. To prove to herself that can hold her own on a pirate's crew.
Reason For Joining As a traveler with a non-fixed income, it can be tedious trying to save up money for passage from island to island. Not to mention there a few islands of rumor that the 'normal' ships wouldn't dare go near due to danger..while a pirate crew it can just be another adventure. Besides it is worthwhile traveling with companions that be trustworthy in difficult situations.
History/Bio:Born and raised in Alabasta as the daughter of caravan merchants, so traveling is in her blood, although not to the scope that she does in the present. While life on the road was busy, it was kept entertaining as Marina was one of five girls and a overprotective elder brother who spent much of the time keeping his rambunctious sisters in check. That isn't to say it all was sunshine and rainbows as Marina loathed her expected role as a caretaker from laundry to cooking..but lived for the chance to watch performers, with one eventually taking a shine to her. Her mentor was a juggler and notable womanizer, but in her naive eyes one of the most handsome men she had ever met. Mentorship turned into a relationship, despite the five year age difference with Marina at sixteen and her mentor a twenty-one..that wasn't the problem for her parents. It was unstable profession..how else would he be able to provide for their darling daughter and any children she would be lucky to have.
Love can survive many things, but in the harsh dunes of Alabasta, money or the lack of it can easily spell the end of romance. So Marina was left to her parents as her lover departed to the seas promising to return once wealthy enough to provide for her. Life wasn't a simple fairy tale as Marina's yearning faded as the years passed by and hope turned into ash. By the age of eighteen with her elder siblings having broods of their own, her parents began pestering her about the future. One fight led to another as Marina found herself on the deck of a departing ship with fury in her heart.
Parents have a horrible ability to be right it seems as she finds herself almost broke at Twin Capes with her need to wander creeping up on her day by day. What could go wrong with joining a simple pirate crew?
Relationships
Family/Friends: Ikle Clan
Markus Ikle and Rosa Ikle (Parents)
Marina's loving parents that make their living as merchants in the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta. Not on great terms with their daughter due to her departure.
Argus Flek (Lover?)
Her first love that departed from her homeland in search of wealth to provide security for Marina. Whereabouts currently unknown due to lack of communication. Marina still harbors feelings for the man..with surprisingly loyalty. His own faithfulness is questionable given the rumors circulating these days.
Dynamics: (Relations with player characters, update as necessary based on interaction.)
Name of Player Character Here || Impression: (Insert Here) | Current Relationship: (Insert Here) |
[Description of Relationship]
Combat Information
Able to defend herself in singular combat with your average street thug through reliance on her flexibility and chakrams, but only for a limited time as she isn't exactly trained in the ways of combat. Hopes to grow stronger and developing her own style of fighting that can be effective in larger groups.
Name :Silk Hiding Steel
Type:Instrument and Weapon Based
Explanation:Her fighting style is a mixture of grace and blades as she is light on her feet to easily skirt incoming blades with a giggle or two. Her own weapons aren't meant to deal killing-blows, but cause irritating and hopefully debilitating ones as the target wastes their stamina in hopes of trying to catch her off guard. Poking and prodding with barbed insults to work up a target into an emotional fluster makes it all the easier to fatigue them with each swing.
Combat Personality/Style: Solo duels aren't her style as she prefers to play the field and assist comrades where she can either by drawing an opponent's attention or help relieve some pressure of a crowded situation. However, she isn't stupid enough to dive headlong into combat without having a plan in mind nor is she exactly brave to step up as a front row fighter.
Strengths : Her strongest advantage over any opponent is her mobility to easily draw out combat situations to fatigue an opponent by letting him/her attempt to land blows. In terms of a defensive fight with her on the outside, users of heavy weaponry such as hammers etc can be easy pickings once worn down a bit as long as she is confident enough to take them on. While similar weapon users users such as lighter blades or daggers are perfect matches to fight against as long as she can keep up her own stamina in delivering or blocking blades.
Weaknesses:Gun-users are her worse nightmare as she can't exactly fight back without the risk of being hit by a bullet or two in an effort to even get close to her target. While herself against multiple combatants isn't favorable either as her stamina can't withstand it for long.
Experienced swordsmen can easily toy with her own skills until only retreating is left until her back is against the wall.
Experience: Took up her chakrams only two year ago after one too many incidents with rowdy customers or seedier taverns after a long day of work. She can handle herself somewhat, but could use a bit of teaching by an experienced swordsmen to teach her combat techniques and methods to help train body for it.
Equipment: Chakrams. In the simplest terms circular rings with blades spikes along the outside. Forged with hot steel and then painted a luminous golden color to look somewhat normal with her dancing attire. The weapons themselves are used like daggers for slicing in arc-like motions and for short range stabs. Able to be thrown, but have to be retrieved which can be a poor idea as the weapons work best in a pair. One to act as a defensive weapon and the other offensive..or dual-wielding for an all out offense.
Sample Techniques: One-Step: Brings down her left chakram in a downward arc
Two-Step: Follows up from One-Step with her right chakram in an upward arc.
Dance with Me!: Uses a bit of spare silk wrap to tie around an opponent's limb before dancing away in an effort to pull them off balance.
Eyes on Me!: Flirts a bit in combat before drawing them in for a kiss or two..only to disappoint with a knee to the face.
Finale: A last ditch effort to finish off a fight by physically throwing her chakrams at an opponent and fleeing the scene while her weapons remain behind, hopefully to be collected eventually.
Meta Information:
Character Growth Plan: She hopes to become more trusting of people without being so guarded about her personal issues. To truly find her comfort zone outside the aura of performing, time with the crew should be able to her succeed in that. Finally accepting her parents' love and reconciling with them..despite all these years. Falling in love with an honest and good man.
Combat Growth: Improving her talents in combat under the guidance of a fellow swordsmen on the crew until she is capable of fighting alongside the rest of the crew for the entire engagement instead of buckling under pressure or stress. Possible learning varied assassination styles of fighting.
Planned Story Points/Arcs: Possible reunion with her once-lover? As well as returning to Alabasta for a small family reunion..
History: Her parents weren't exactly common merchants, but dealt in black market goods and had less than reputable clients. Spy networks were another family business hence their occasional alliance with entertainers..in order to gain information through them. This disgusts Marina as she sees her dancing as a way to show her art to the world..not to pervert it for darker purposes..outside of defending herself. Or so she justifies that..it isn't exactly her favorite topic point to discuss.
Other: N/A
