Terry Bellefleur

Terry Bellefleur is an ex-military man in "The Southern Vampire Mysteries". He is a very kind person. A friend of Sookie's, he is always willing to help out Sookie and Sam when they need him. He is tough and can be considered an outdoors man. Terry is an Iraq War Veteran and because of this he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He cannot be forced to interact with others for too long because he becomes unstable. Terry is also the cousin of Andy and Portia Bellefleur. He is also a dear friend to Lafayette Reynolds, Tara Thornton, and Holly Cleary.
==History==
===Pre-Series===
Terry was born and raised in Bon Temps some time during the 50's. Terry had a bad war, had been wounded, captured, and held prisoner for two years.
===Dead Until Dark===
In the first book, "Dead Until Dark", Terry is introduced as Andy & Portia's second cousin. Terry filled in for Sam at Merlotte's the night of Bill's speech at the DGD meeting. Sookie tracked Jason down at Merlotte's giving Terry a message to give to him. When Terry had gotten back from telling Jason to come to his grandmother's house, Sookie also asked him if he could call Sam and tell him she had troubles and couldn't work for a few days.
===Dead to the World===
In the first book, "Dead to the World," Terry came in early in the mornings to sweep and mop the floor.
===Dead as a Doornail===
In the fifth book, "Dead as a Doornail," Terry cleaned Merlotte's early in the morning along with a couple of other businesses. Fills in for Sam three or four times a month. He helps Sookie by tearing down Sookie's kitchen when it burns.
===Dead Reckoning===
In the eleventh book, "Dead Reckoning," Terry is playing darts in Merlotte's when Sandra Pelt enters to kill Sookie. Sam passes Terry the baseball bat from behind the bar. Terry knocks Sandra out but reacts horribly to the sight of blood. As Sookie comforts him, he tells her that "the shining one" and "that big blond one" told him to watch over her in exchange for ridding him of his nightmares and protecting his beloved dog.
==Physical Appearance==
Described as a Vietnam veteran in his late 50's that existed narrowly on govt disability of some kind. Had obvious facial scarring. Terry is red-haired but when he needed to shave you can tell his whiskers were grey, which made the scars on his left cheek stand out more clearly. Red hair, but graying a little more each month and instead of tanning his skin took on a rough redden look in the sun. In later novels he is graying, and his auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. His skin is pale, but ruddy. Due to his time spent in Nam, Terry's body is covered in terrible scars.
==Personality==
Though mentally unstable due to his time at war, Terry is a kind person who helps out Sam and Sookie whenever they need it. Terry's tour of Vietnam left him with claustrophobia, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), and horrible scars. He becomes unstable when forced to interact with other people for too long or when he has to participate in violence to save another. In Dead Reckoning, he used the bat Sam passed to him to strike Sandra Pelt in defense of Sookie, he had a breakdown that required a sedative. However, he is a tough outdoors-man who loves Catahoulas and feels most at home when he is hunting.
==Powers and Abilities==
As a former U.S. Marine, Terry is trained in the use of firearms, hand-to-hand combat, as well as a variety of military strategics.
==Relationships==
===Sookie Stackhouse===
Sookie Stackhouse is one of the few people Terry speaks to regularly. He thinks she is a good woman, and he is happy that she, unlike the other townspeople, isn't afraid of him. He and Sookie sometimes work together at Merlotte's.
===Sam Merlotte===
Sam Merlotte is Terry's boss. He respects Sam's opinion and feels safe with him. After requiring a sedative in Dead Reckoning, he stayed at Sam's trailer.
===Andy and Portia Bellefleur===
Andy Bellefleur and Portia Bellefleur are Terry's second cousins, but there is no reason to believe that they are close in the books.
===Arlene Fowler===
Arlene Fowler had sex with Terry one night while drunk, she tells Sookie about all the scars on his body.
===Niall Brigant and Eric Northman===
Niall Brigant and Eric Northman both paid Terry to spy and watch over Sookie. They presumably gave him money and definitely stopped the nightmares featuring his horrific time at war.
==HBO portrayal==
In the HBO series True Blood, Terry is portrayed by Todd Lowe.
Terry is not nearly as unstable in the TV show True Blood as he is in the novels. In the novels, he keeps to himself and rarely speaks to anyone. When he does hold conversation, it most often with Sam or Sookie. He comes in the late hours or early in the morning to clean Merlotte's in order to avoid the crowds and noise. We can assume that he may use drugs, but it is never expressly stated in the books. He is a Vietnam veteran with severe PTSD and does not seem to have a handle on the condition.
"Television Terry" is younger in the show than in the novel, and the attribution of his PTSD is to Iraq rather than Vietnam. Even though he admits to drug use to cope with the after effects of war, Terry is more in control of his PTSD on the show. He helps Lafayette through some exercises to regain control of his own PTSD, which shows that he has taken steps to better his mental health. He also is a recovering addict.
"True Blood Terry" is more social, yet he still has some awkwardness when speaking to others. He seeks out social interactions unlike the "Novel Terry" who largely avoids crowds. He attends Arlene's engagement party and even asks Sookie to dance. Somehow he attends Maryann's parties but it is probably due to his attraction to Arlene, with whom he eventually enters into a relationship. He's often seen talking with Sam or having engaging in friendly ribbing with Lafayette. "True Blood Terry" also has a close family ties with Andy, though both admit jealousy of the other. He considers Sam, Lafayette, and Sookie friends as opposed to the novel's "lone wolf" Terry.
More people have some trust the television Terry than the novel's character. Terry on the show is Sam's go to man to tend the bar and cook when shorthanded. Arlene allows Terry to be with her kids, Lisa and Coby alone, but only for a short period of time. He even goes out of his way to prove that his is trustworthy by confronting and giving Arlene a list of reasons why he would be a good dad. He's seen caring for Mikey, he and Arlene's son, by himself.
In contrast to the books, on four occasions, he helps other people deal with stressful situations. In the show, Lafayette is accosted by Andy for some "V" shortly after suffering torture by Eric in Fangtasia's basement. Lafayette breaks down physically and mentally in the kitchen. Terry comes to comes to his aid by forcing Andy to leave and comforting Lafayette by holding him and talking him through the stress. Later, he helps Andy realize he needs to kick his "V" addiction by taking Andy to their childhood fort. The third and forth occurrences happen with Arlene. When the house catches on fire, he urges Arlene to get out and looks for the children. When, Rene Lenier appears to her on Halloween night, she is terrified. He runs to her aid after the apparition and calms her down.
"Television Terry" also is stable enough to have a monogamous relationship with Arlene and her kids. They marry and raise Arlene's son with Rene Lenier, Mikey as his own. He loves Mikey so much that when Arlene tried to abort the pregnancy through Holly's witchcraft, he is devastated. He was overjoyed and celebrated when the baby survived the ritual. Terry often asserts to Mikey that he is his father, not Rene. He maintains that Mikey is a good child, even though Arlene is convinced he is evil like his father.
The current story line has Rene appearing to Arlene on Halloween night. He warned Arlene to watch herself around Terry because the ghosts of his past will catch up to him.
As of the episode "Don't You Feel Me", Terry is dead on True Blood.
==Appearances==
Category:Characters
Category:Humans
Category:Dead Until Dark characters
Category:Living Dead in Dallas characters
Category:Dead to the World characters
Category:Dead as a Doornail characters
Category:From Dead to Worse characters
Category:Dead and Gone characters
Category:Dead in the Family characters
Category:Dead Reckoning characters