#bebebe

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✨ Bebebe's Origins ✨

-Born in the autumn-kissed fields of Planet Earthfall, Bee came from a loud and loving household. She got her daddy's eyes, her mama's smart mouth, and a temper that only contact sports could tame, growing up country-girl strong from years of helping raise Gips on her family's humble farm. It was a simple life, hectic and far from the lap of luxury, but it was always home, and she loved every moment she spent in it all the same.

-In time, though, as the wonder of childhood faded into the liminal uncertainty of her teen years, Bee's eye began to wander away from the comfortable repetitiveness of life on the farm, drifting instead towards the distant, unknown horizon. In the market square, she'd chat with strangers about the foreign lands they haled from. At the bookshop, she'd skim through travel guides for neighboring planetoids and astroid belts. At night, she'd climb up to the loft of the family's big barn and lay on a bed of hay to watch the skies, hoping to catch sight of starships entering and leaving the atmosphere like shooting stars, her eyes alight with longing and her feet growing more restless by the day.

-Then, on the cusp of adulthood, a handsome drifter (whose name she's long since forgotten) caught her eye and captured her heart with tales of life beyond the stars, filling her imagination with places and and people and opportunities she could only dream of knowing firsthand. Though he'd promised to take her there "someday," Bee found that she was no longer content to just wait to reach those faraway stars. In the end, she would set out on her own, leaving home with tears and hugs and well wishes aplenty, her heart hammering with fear and giddiness in turn as the ship she'd boarded lifted her into the cosmos for the first time...

-Bee would spend many, many long years adrift around the galaxy - no set path, no destination in mind, just a hungry sense of wanderlust pulling her along like a dowsing rod. She traveled light, rarely settling in one place longer than a few weeks, taking her rest in interstellar hostels or inns when she wasn't camping out under an alien sky. When funds were slim, she took odd jobs to support herself - usually some kind of manual labor that only added to her impressive strength and endurance over time. In time, she slowed her whirlwind pace and learned to savor her time in each new locale she found herself in, immersing herself in cultures so vastly different from her own, making friends from all walks of life both temporary and long-lasting, and tasting more exotic and delicious meals than she ever thought she would.

-It was not always an... easy road to travel, especially at the start, when youthful naiveté still shielded Bee from the worst of what places beyond the homestead had to offer. She faced more than her fair share of misfortune out in that great cosmic unknown. Danger and misdirection, hunger and homesickness - some that left scars, some that don't show...

-But Bee had been raised to be tough, in both body and in heart. Out in the world, she learned how to take care of herself. How to survive, how to protect herself, how to fight when there was no other option. She also learned a bit about humility, when to not fight back, when to ask for help when she needed it. No matter how dark her circumstances were, Bee's outlook remained bright and full of hope, for she believed - and still does - that the universe was so much bigger and more beautiful than its shortcomings would suggest. (Of course, if those shortcomings ever wanted to get up in her face about it... well, her daddy always said she had the meanest right hook in the county.)

-At some point during her far-flung travels, Bee found herself revisiting an old passion from her childhood: the world of spectacle fights. As a young girl predisposed to punching her problems away, she'd been fascinated by the concept, devouring any book or magazine she could get her hands on about masked fighters and bloody rivalries and the fervor of a crowd cheering for their favorite in the ring. She wouldn't get to see a real match in person until much later, and when she finally did - crammed sardine-tight in a crowd of screaming strangers, watching cape-wearing, weapon-wielding, showboating fighters duke it out in smoke and light and, well, spectacle - it was like something she hadn't known she was missing clicked snugly into place. So, completely on a whim, Bee dropped everything and signed up for the interstellar wrestling circuit.

-A quick demonstration of her well-honed strength and lively personality was more than enough to impress both the recruiting team and the trainers assigned to her, securing her an official spot on the circuit within only a few months' time. But getting in was the easy part. There were many years where the losses outweighed the wins, her raw power outclassed by experience and finesse in the field, the training unlike anything she'd endured before... Still, she was undaunted, moving slowly but surely through ranked matches and tournaments of increasing size and acclaim. She forged alliances and rivalries (largely for the crowd's benefit - behind the scenes, she was close fiends with many of her opponents) and even earned a good bit of fame for a time thanks to her fiery persona, remarkable strength, and skill with her weapon of choice, the greathammer. By the time she held her first championship belt in her hands, she felt like she was on top of the world.

-It was some time during the height of her career that she met Jojojo, spotting him standing stiff-backed and stoic amongst a group of visiting Star Warriors who’d seen her latest match. It'd taken several conversations with the man to get him to give her more than a grunt or a one-word response, which only served to pique Bee's interest in him even more. She likes to talk about how much she enjoyed the process of slowly cracking open Jo's hardened soldier exterior, of seeing just what it took to make him scoff or roll his eyes or crack a smile. She'd tease him about his strict adherence to protocol and propriety, her heart warming when he'd splutter indignantly or try to hide the hint of red darkening his feathers. She'd even gotten him to spar with her a time or two, and found herself quite impressed by his own fighting prowess (even if she did win most of the time).

-With enough time and gently-built trust, Bee learned more about the man beneath the armor - the cold home he'd haled from, the arduous years he's endured under a knight's heavy helm, the cynicism, the exhaustion, the loneliness that had encased him. It touched her in a way few others have, especially when she caught glimpses of Jo's more nurturing side, the parts of himself kept hidden for so long out of shame or repression... until she started coaxing it out of him again. She can still remember the look of awestruck surprise on Jo's face when - as he channeled magic into his sword - green vines twined around its blade instead of frost. It was beautiful (as was the sword).

-Their courtship was a long but comfortable one, filled with a soft-burning affection and the respect of equals. There was conflict and compromise, as there is in any relationship, but - in keeping with Bee’s ever-agreeable outlook - the good always seemed to outweigh the bad. She would be the one to propose some years later, and Jo (once he’d collected himself) would present her with a pair of rings - an old tradition from his homeland, he’d explained, one he'd always found rather charming but not one she need adhere to if she found it disagreeable. She’d only laughed and kissed him, saying she didn’t mind if it made him happy, letting him slip the ring over her finger before doing the same for him.

-The years would pass at a wild, whirlwind pace, not dissimilar to Bee's initial trek into the stars. And, though she'd loved every second of her time in the circuit, it came as no surprise when the burnout started to creep in, her eye once again looking towards the horizon, her fingers fiddling restlessly with the ring on her finger. She tried to push through for the sake of her reputation (and at some not-so-helpful urging from the circuit's dispassionate higher-ups), but even her fellow fighters could see the dip in her spirits. And, when Jo had his accident, Bee had no choice but to sit herself down and, for the first time in a good long while, really think about the future ahead of her.

-In the end, planning for retirement from the circuit hadn't been nearly as daunting as she'd thought it be, though there were still tears and hugs and well wishes aplenty. She felt that old wanderlust kicking in once again, not quite the same as what she'd started out with, seeking to find a place to rest for a while, to nest and build a home with a man who - in her eyes - deserved better than the one he came from.

✨ Bebebe Fun Facts ✨

-Bee - being the kind and gregarious woman that she is - is well-liked by just about everyone in the quaint little village they've made their nest in, able to make friends of even the grouchiest souls (if her choice of partner is any indication). Though, despite having a veritable well of patience, it would not be wise to push her buttons too much or talk smack about anyone she cares about. There’s a reason they used to call her Madame Caldera in her wrestling days…

-Bee loves food just as much as her son, having discovered and devoured many exotic dishes during her travels (though she still has a soft spot for the southern comfort food of her homeland). She is a regular customer over at the bakery run by Para's dad and jokes that she would’ve probably been an intergalactic foodie if she hadn’t joined the fighting circuit instead.

-Much as she needed the break from the high-energy world of spectacle fights for a while, Bee finds that retirement life can get a bit boring if she has nothing proactive to fill it with. So, in addition to helping out with community events, Bee takes a part-time position as a PE teacher and sports coach for the children of the village. It's a daunting job, trying to wrangle all those young'ns, but she thinks it's more than worth it to help keep them all happy, healthy, and active.

-Before meeting Jo, Bee had never thought of herself as the motherly type. She's always been good with kids - having minded both the animals and her smaller cousins back on the farm - but tended to shy away from the idea of raising one of her own (who's got time to settle down when there's still so much everything out there?). Spending time with Jo and building a home with him on Popstar seemed to assuage that concern somewhat, as did befriending the other parents-to-be in the neighborhood. In the end, they only had the one child together, but Bee has loved her precious little Dedede from the moment she first held him. In fact, one of the very few points of contention between her and her husband is just how much she "coddles" the boy, often accused of "spoiling him rotten" and letting him get away with "just about anything." She personally wouldn't go that far, reminding Jo of all the times she's had to raise her voice to her little troublemaker of a son, too... though, she won't deny that she's more prone to treating her boy with affection that discipline. Hard not to after seeing her pride-and-joy rush up to her with stars in his eyes one day, begging to learn how to wrestle like her.

-Even after decades of marriage, Bee still knows how to fluster her prim-and-proper husband.

✨ Jojojo's Origins ✨

-Born in the endless winter of Shiver Star, Jo came from wealth, raised in a home rebuilt from the ruins of another - half an intricately-carved manor of magically-insulated ice and stone, half the bones of something old and industrial from a time long gone. It was a magnificent house, but a cold one, and not just from the ever-present winter outside. His family ran in elite circles both on- and off-world, projecting an air of austere dignity to whatever guests they sought to impress. With Jo, however, they were simply distant, routinely leaving him in the care of housekeepers when they weren't making offhand critiques about his posture or his manners or his technique during fencing lessons. When he did do something to earn their approval, it felt like a sliver of sunlight peeking through a heavy curtain, a warmth he craved for how fleeting it was.

-And so, for years, Jo molded himself into a the shape of a "good son," seeking and hoarding those effervescent moments of parental approval like bits of treasure, all while channeling his growing resentment and loneliness into other, more constructive avenues. Reading, swordplay, piano lessons, anything to occupy his hands so his father would not call them "idle." He also began spending time in the family's greenhouse, an exceedingly rare luxury on his icy home planet and a little space of warm, quiet solitude for him to escape to. He can still recall his small fingers brushing over leaves and petals that would never survive outside, feeling the green-scented life pulsing within, imagining the worlds without snow where they'd been taken from. He hesitates to admit it, but those might've been the only times in his childhood when he felt even a semblance of happiness...

-Jo had grown up well aware of the Galaxy Soldier Army and its doings, his mother being a veteran herself and his father a regular financial contributor to their cause. It was practically drilled into him that he would join once he came of age, and he never felt the need to dispute it (though he never exactly agreed either). In hindsight, it feels like his parents couldn't wait to be rid of him, practically shoving him onto the starship barely a day into his legal adulthood, smothering him with farewells and good-lucks and all the love they'd never given him as a child, a brittle and fickle parting gift. In the decades to follow, correspondence between them would slow to a trickle until the letters simply stopped coming. He would never set foot in that icy manor house again, nor return to the planet it'd been built upon. Even to this day, Jo cannot say with certainty how he feels about that.

-Jo would go on to spend much of his adult life under the GSA's roof. Any arrogance or reluctance his privileged upbringing might've fostered in him was swiftly worn down once training began. Fortunately, he's always been more resilient than some would give him credit for, not to mention quite adept at following orders. In time, he found his footing as a soldier, rising through the Star Warrior ranks at an admirable clip, the years ahead of him filled with victories and hardships aplenty. He earned respect among his commanders and found friendship among his comrades (begrudging though it might've been), surprising them all when he displayed an aptitude for magical conductivity, learning to weave the very elements around him into his weapon of choice, the longsword.

-Meeting Bebebe was an... unexpected development. He'd had little interest in courting even before his time in the military, and encountering this brash and noisy woman during some downtime between missions did little to change that (even if her skill with a greathammer was rather impressive). He hadn't expected to see her again after the first meeting... only to bump into her time and again by pure happenstance, his squad stationed on the same planet or astroid colony or space station as her circuit's tour route. It had taken a bit of getting used to, her gregariousness, her teasing honesty, her loud and... infectious laughter. Hard to say when he started looking forward to seeing her, listening to the stories of her travels and letting himself laugh along with her.

-She was so... different from him, Jo would find himself musing. Fascinating in a way he struggled to articulate. This farm girl turned cosmic wanderer turned renowned prize fighter, as hungry for life and for connection as she was for food, always craving more but still willing to share what she did have with others. It made something in him ache, a part of himself he'd closed off for years under the mantle of a good son, the turmoil of a soldier's duty, the battleground dirt and stardust caked under his nails... He doesn't think he'll ever fully share her boundless love for life, but he does appreciate certain aspects of it - a warm breeze, a cup of coffee, the scent of rich loam and healthy leaves in a well-tended garden.

-Time seemed to pass at a pace both too fast and too slow for Jo. He continued his work in the GSA, taking on missions of higher priority and even volunteering to train new recruits. He'd earned many a medal on his lapel and even some commander privileges, practically on track to become a General at the rate he was going. This and other news he would share with Bee whenever he was able, comfortable enough to be a bit more open with her, not to mention appreciative of her attention and considerate feedback. There were not many sunny days in the life of a Star Warrior, but, for Jo, she was another rare ray of light peeking through the cloud cover. And, unlike some, she did not flee at every sign of rain. She proved as much when she proposed some years into their courtship. (She had to steady his hand as he slipped the ring over her finger.)

-Though Jo has many an exciting and grisly tale from his time overstars, his recounts are often... dry, monotonous, focused more on the "cold, hard facts" of what transpired as opposed to his own subjective experience within it. Not to say the scars are quiet under his feathers, or that the memories don't often play through his own mind in far more vivid detail...

-His last mission, for example, had been a harrowing one. Through a rather alarming distress signal, the higher-ups learned of a planetoid in a nearby star system being ravage by violent earthquakes and sent Jo and his company to assist the local GSA branch with civilian recovery. The response time was fast, thank stars, the casualties kept to a minimum... but he can still remember the state of that doomed place, not simply the work of your average natural disaster, but a full-blown cataclysm. He recalls how the land quaked as if in seizure, cracked and split right down to the red-blazing core of the planet. He saw roads, homes, forests, fields, and even entire mountains and oceans swallowed by the fissures, lit briefly from below before disappearing into the fiery slag. He can still recall how he'd been the one to steady his crew as they headed bravely into the fray, keeping the pulse-pounding horror that nestled in his chest locked tight behind the ironclad countenance of a commander.

-He'd been guiding one of the last civilians into the rescue ship when it happened. It wasn't even the worse one he'd felt that day, the tremor that knocked him off his feet, but the fall that followed felt like an eternity, the heat of the planet's carved-open core racing to embrace him as he bounced off the jagged shelves of rock on either side of the fissure, knocked unconscious before he could even utter a prayer to the stars overhead...

-He awoke a day later in the main GSA infirmary, a bandaged-wrapped mound of matted feathers, cussing, and pain that he could hardly swallow down without feeling sick. Apparently, one of the more reckless rookies in his unit had thought it wise to follow their captain down into the fissure on a warp star, plucking him from the fiery jaws of death just in the nick of time. Jo had some strong feelings about the commendation the kid received for nearly getting themself killed along with their commander... but reason - and, above all else, gratitude - would eventually prevail over a bit of wounded pride (especially once the painkillers kicked in).

-The recovery that followed was long and grueling, softened somewhat thanks to frequent visits from Bee and his closer squadmates. Once Jo could walk again, he found himself with a limp that hadn't been there before, along with a new scar on his left foot that twinged something awful when he put too much stress on it. He tried to ignore it at first, returning to his training and other duties as usual, but the new pain in his foot - along with the myriad of other scars (physical and otherwise) left by decades of martial combat - made that nearly impossible. In the end, it was Bee who convinced him that it might be time to "hang up the helmet," a truth that shamed and terrified him, but made bearable thanks to her gentle reasoning, her promise to stick with him no matter what comes next. It made the retirement party his company would surprise him with a bit easier to endure (and enjoy).

-Believe it or not, moving to Popstar together had been Jo's idea. He'd visited the planet once or twice on non-combat missions, fascinated by its natural beauty, if a tad suspicious of it strange, almost utopic serenity (especially once he learned where it stemmed from). Coming there again so many years later, feeling the grass under his feet and the sunshine on his face, his aches and pains reduced to afterthoughts, his unquiet mind allowed moments of peaceful dreaming... well, perhaps he could get used to it. If not for himself, then definitely for his sweet and radiant Bee who, in his opinion, deserved the world and beyond.

✨ Jojojo Fun Facts ✨

-Jo has always been a rather introverted soul, valuing the peace of solitude over the disorder of the social interaction. He is civil and respectful with most of his neighbors, if a bit brusk and standoffish. He can talk mechanics with Bow's mom, discuss herbalism with Para’s mother, or trade tales of time overstars with Sir Tort (through whom he also keeps in contact with his old commanders and war buddies back in the GSA... definitely just for correspondence and not for long-distance contract work to fill the void left by his unexpected retirement). Curiously, he's also found camaraderie with Whispy Woods of all people, the old tree offering Jo wisdom when he comes seeking answers or advice, and patience when he just needs some space or a place to vent.

-With more time on his hands and more encouragement from his wife, Jo has taken a position over at the local apothecary in the village run by Para’s mother, further rekindling his love of plants and nature to the point of taking up gardening again in his own time. He practically fills their home with potted plants of all sorts, even giving his favorite ones names (don't laugh - he takes his plants very seriously).

-When he's not busy at the apothecary or away on *ahem* off-the-clock GSA business, Jo occasionally makes time to train some of the older children in the way of the sword should they be interested (and his bad foot permitting). He's not exactly a patient instructor, nor a terribly kind one, but he can be an effective one to the right students (as showcased by Meta and his - in Jo's words - remarkable aptitude for swordplay).

-Jo’s relationship with his son is… strained, to put it lightly. For as much as he resents the strictness and neglect of his own upbringing - and would never willingly bring harm to his own boy - some of it still manages to bleed, if unconsciously, into his own style of parenting. He has a habit of piling expectations upon poor Dedede, many well-intended but verging on unreasonable, often followed up with curt critiques and passive-aggressive disappointment whenever his "layabout son" fails to meet them. And, unlike his father, Dedede has no desire to fit into someone else's idea of what a "good son" should be, more inclined to shout back or storm off or go cry about it to his mother, childish acts of rebellion and perceived weakness that only serve to reinforce Jo’s frustration with him. Bee does her best to mediate things between them, to foster patience and encourage understanding, but there is only so much she can do for her "sweet, oh-so-stubborn boys."