Valentine

## Backstory:

Jagoda island, known for its delicious fanberries, was a small island in the North Blue (Fanberries are a type of berry in the shape of a hand-fan that are both delicious to eat raw and delicious to use as a seasoning or ingredient, new research is also revealing its benefits in medicine and skincare. Its juices provide a wide range of benefits (imagine it as the coconut oil of their world)). The berries are known as the specialty of Jagoda island, as they are unable to be grown anywhere else. On this island are two towns, well one large town and one small village. The two locations are known as Fenas and Tahi, respectively. Fenas boasted a population over 10,000, while Tahi only houses a few hundred. The wealthiest citizens lived in Fenas, while Tahi was home to the poor farmers and fishermen of Jagoda. Although fanberries are widely believed (even in Fenas) to be able to be grown anywhere on Jagoda, the truth is that in the area around Tahi, no fanberries could grow. No one knows why, but the elderly mayor of Tahi has some theories. The fact that Tahi couldn’t harvest any fanberries meant that they stayed poor relative to the wealthier Fenas.

Although Tahi was considered poor, in reality the villagers had everything they’d ever need and lived relatively peaceful lives. The governor of Jagoda was an old marine, and knew the value of good security in his citizens lives, thus allowing everyone on the island to never know the terror of a pirate attack.

It was here in Tahi that I, Val, was born. I was the child to a loving couple of newlyweds. My father was a fisherman that went by the name of Jack. My mother, Abbagail, was both a florist and a baker, someone who was able to brighten the days of my fellow villagers as well as leave them full and happy. Jack was a carefree man, clumsy and nonsensical, he always knew how to leave me giggling. As a parent, well let’s just say he was someone who could be friends with anyone and I considered him a friend to me as well. Abbagail, was definitely my parent though, while Jack could leave me grinning from ear-to-ear whenever I felt down, it was always my mother who could turn away my troubles and make me feel better genuinely. And it wasn’t just me, while Jack could jumpstart a town festival at the drop of a hat, Abbagail was the one whom everyone went to for advice, even when she was young.

So it was unfortunate when I grew up more like my father than my mother. But not much more.

I was nine when I first traveled to Fenas, My mother Abbagail was incredibly sick, and my father was incredibly worried, and not at all like his usual self. Finally he went to get a doctor who could treat her. I myself, was incredibly excited to be able to go to Fenas. I know I’m a terrible child, especially with my mother so sick and all, but I was young and my father wouldn’t shutup about how great the city was, in an effort to cheer me up I guess.

When we finally arrived I was awestruck, the buildings were huge and beautiful, nothing like my village. And there were a TON of people, EVERYWHERE! I’ve never seen so many people in one place before, not even at the party my father threw when he caught a supposed legendary white fish and all the villagers participated. On the other hand, I was finally shown the darker side of having so many people in one place. It was while I was looking into the windows of a toy store, marvelling at the creations, when a couple of bullies who were up to no good started making trouble in the neighborhood. They were a few years older than me and for whatever reason, decided to harass me. They looked down on me because of my clothes and accent. This didn’t bother me at all, I felt as if they were being idiots for making fun of the little things like my straw hat (not like Luffy’s hat, it was just a simple farmer's hat) and shorter hair. I was willing to ignore them and be on my way, when they found out I was from Tahi, and started to make fun of my parents and village. How we were poor and simple.

Like I’ve said before, I got my care-free attitude from my dad, and my kindness from my mother. But my pride was something all my own. My entire life the villagers have praised my parents for their characteristics, and I’ve in-turn admired the villagers as if they were family. So when these two started to bad-mouth everyone else besides me, I couldn’t take it sitting down and went to fight them. In the end they left me battered on the side of the road. What did you expect? They were older and bigger than I was. Afterwards, I eventually found my father and we both went home with the medicine he got for my mother. I was unhappy, however, about what the kids said about my village, and I made my first mistake--I went to my father for advice instead of my mother. In the end, he completely avoided my question but from him I was able to learn about pirates, marines and treasure and devil fruits and the Grandline the seven warlords and the four emperors.

In the end my mother was able to recover and go back to her shop and life moved on.

It was when I was sixteen that my parents decided to travel the world. My parents wanted to do it before they croaked, and my father fancied himself an adventurer. So he built a ship with the help of some of the villagers who would be going with them, found a crew in Fenas and set sail. But Val, you may be asking, your parents aren’t that old, why didn’t they wait until you came of age? Well here’s the thing, my mother was afraid that her lifespan was coming to an end quickly. Since her illness when I was nine, she has had a brush with death constantly, and frequently, for the past seven years. Some were simple, such as a snake bite, or a building falling on her from bad weather. Some were rather elaborate, like the time a castaway she volunteered to take care of turned out to be a rather nasty pirate. Apparently he was a survivor of an engagement between his crew and the Jagodian soldiers. When he finally came to, he thanked my mother for her kindness and went on his way, what's strange is he was known to be a deranged murderer. There was also the time the soldiers of Jagoda mistook her for a wanted criminal and almost killed her, but she was saved at the last minute by the mayor. The soldiers then apologized and left.

There was also the time a sea king got too close to the island when my mother and father were out on the water to relax and she was swallowed whole! Thankfully, my father was able to rescue her, but that was when it became apparent that bad luck seemed to follow my mother.

It was as if God himself was trying to kill her off and make my childhood tragic.

In the end they left and I stayed, I didn’t want to give up in my search for treasure in the caves to the north of town. There ended up being no treasure, so I resolved to follow in my parents footsteps and see the world in its entirety. And my first stop was Loguetown.

## STATS:

Stamina (STAM): 11

Strength (STR): 7

Speed (SPD): 14

Perception (PER): 13

Dexterity (DEX): 14

Willpower (WILL): 11

## MISCELLANEOUS:

Weapons: *Survival-esque Hatchet, Camping-esque knife* Food, backpack filled with essentials.

Beli: 5000 Beli