Charlotte Linlin

Charlotte Linlin, best known as Big Mom, is the captain of the Big Mom Pirates, and the only woman among the Yonko. She is the matriarch of the Charlotte Family, which makes up the infrastructure of her crew, consisting of herself, and her tens of children and husbands. She also, from Whole Cake Island, rules over Totland, allegedly seeking to form it into an utopia where all the world's races come together to be treated equally, without discrimination or segregation.

She is the last Yonko to be named. Her epithet was first mentioned just after the Battle of Marineford by Eustass Kid, and her real name by Pappug in the Fishman Island Arc. She is both the main antagonist of the Totland Arc, and one of the central antagonists of the Yonko Saga.

Appearance
Big Mom is an incredibly large and obese woman with a wrinkled face that has almost no neckline, and a chin that barely sticks out of her rotund torso. Most often wearing a gleeful grin, she has a very wide mouth, with lips covered in red lipstick, large, round teeth, and a long, thick tongue that tends to stick out. She also has long, curly light hair that juts out wildly and goes halfway down her back, as well as bulging, bloodshot eyes, a beak-like nose, and plump, round cheeks. A light-colored tattoo is also on her left arm, below the shoulder, having yet to be seen more clearly.

She is often seen drooling large amounts of what appears to be acidic saliva.

Big Mom wears a dark tricorne hat bearing a jolly roger on the front and a large fluffy light feather, the former having been seen in two versions: one consisted of a standard skull with crossbones behind it, as well as large flame-like patterns to the sides, and another one had two crossed sabers instead of crossbones, and its lateral flame patterns were smaller; on its top the hat is edged with a thick light line, and beneath it is a light, polka-dotted bandana. That aside, Big Mom dons a pink dress with red polka dots and white ruffles on its neckline and bottom edge, with a wide, rippling light cape attached to its back, falling to the ground. The outfit is completed with dark blue high heels, one turquoise pearl wristband on each of her wrists, and golden, jewelled rings, single ones on her left thumb and every finger of her right hand.

Personality
I wonder if we can explain the situation? She is like a monster who would destroy a whole country for sweets! One of the Yonko... Big Mom!

Big Mom loves sweets, making all the islands under her external protection (outside Totland) pay her in whatever kind of confectionary they can produce. She seems to be obsessed with sweets to the point that her likes and dislikes are heavily based on them, being willing to destroy a country for failing to deliver them. Despite this, she does not lose control when Luffy claimed to have eaten all of her candy; instead, she is perceptive enough to see through his lie to protect Fishman Island. Generally, there are two things she dislikes: bitter treats, and invitees not showing up for her tea party. Demonstrating herself to be very brutal, she does not forgive those who refuse invitations to her tea parties, and she will kill people precious to the absentee as a "present". As Vito put it, "even demons come when being called by Charlotte Linlin".

That aside, although she does not seem greedy, Big Mom appears to have a rather capitalist mindset. She strongly believes that a pirate must accept no compromises or delays for something they want. Pappug thinks she is protecting Fishman Island with a business perspective, since the deals made with the candy qualify as racketeering, even though she prioritizes sweets over money and treasure. She initially refused an alternative payment of treasure when the candy tribute could not be met, and she also doubled the required amount of candy in exchange for a deadline extension of merely two weeks.

She appears to be quite ruthless, being famous for decimating countries over slight infractions, though most often when they fail to make their payment, disregarding any reason for the failure, and rationalizing that she despises people unable to keep their promises.

Besides, Big Mom is a cannibal, and is voracious to the point of eating some of her own subordinates out of looking forward to eating sweets on her tea party.

On the contrary, Big Mom also has a desire to create an nation where all races can happily live together. She is very jolly when in a good mood, and she enjoys celebrating the fulfillment of her ambitions with song and dance. However, the cheerfulness betrays an underlying sense of malice, as she is unfazed by the violence necessary to achieve her goals. She is also willing to completely disregard any of her children's wishes on marriage for the sole sake of strengthening her crew.

She refers to herself with "ore" (おれ), a very masculine way of saying "I", instead of the gender-neutral "watashi" (私) that most other females use.

Crew
Her subordinates call her "Mama" (ママ), and most seem to be afraid of her. Since she is willing to eat her subordinates when she is hungry, she doesn't seem to care for their well-being very much (at least of lower subordinates, if not those outside her direct bloodline). So far, only the unnamed three-eyed girl and Bobbin appear to be unafraid of her. Bobbin even had a friendly chat with Big Mom after returning to her at Whole Cake Island. She scolded Tamago for being willing to deal with Luffy for treasure in exchange for a deadline extension.

To sail under Big Mom, new enlistees must have their bloodlines tied to the crew; because of this policy, the patriarch of the Vinsmoke Family engaged his third son to the 35th daughter of the Charlotte Family. However, in the event that a bride or groom from an outside family has multiple existing affiliations, they must sever those connections that are external to the political agreement; this was the case with Sanji, with Pekoms disclosing that Big Mom is only interested in Sanji's Vinsmoke heritage, rather than his present membership of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Family
Big Mom has 39 daughters, 46 sons, and 43 husbands, the latter scattered all around the world, building the foundation of the Big Mom Pirates. From her 85 children, Linlin also has some grandchildren.

According to Purin, Big Mom uses her children's marriages to strengthen her own crew and she did not even gave her own children a choice on whom to marry. At the same time, they know her personality as stubborn, and Purin herself claims that she cannot defy her mother, and that they already gave up on their dreams of marrying someone of their own choice.

Jinbe
Sometime after the Battle of Marineford, Big Mom has allowed former Shichibukai Jinbe and his crew to serve under her. This was partially done as Big Mom has placed Fishman Island her control, although she allowed them to do as they pleased. Jinbe isn't really loyal to her and is thinking of leaving her but does worry of what she'll do to Fishman island. Jinbe had stated to the Straw Hats once he settles his business with her he'll join them.

Capone Bege
Big Mom and Capone Bege are affiliated, as Bege's crew became during the timeskip subordinates of the Yonko. Bege and his crew were on the Big Mom Pirates's ship that was chasing the Thousand Sunny. Big Mom seems to have a good opinion of Bege as a subordinate, as he was responsible along with Pekoms and Tamago for returning Caesar to her and defeating the Straw Hat crew.

Vinsmoke Family
Big Mom has formed an alliance with the patriarch of the Vinsmoke Family who arranged for his third son to marry one of her daughters in order to connect the two families. Through the family, she has control of the mythical army Germa 66. According to Pekoms, Big Mom has expressed interest in the family's advanced technology, which was one of the reasons for the wedding.

Protectorates
Given her capitalist mindset, Big Mom only imparts protection upon her chosen territories for as long as they can meet the demanded candy tribute and will not hesitate to have them destroyed if they are unable to pay it. Her idea of "protection" specifically offers only protection from external pirate attacks, as her crew stated that the local uprising on Fishman Island was none of their concern. The sweets produced by Fishman Island were a particular favorite of hers. She refuses to give any period of grace under normal circumstances, but was willing to do so once for Fishman Island simply because she was amused by Luffy's declaration of war against her.

Monkey D. Luffy
Big Mom knows of Luffy's relation to Garp and of his involvement in the events at Marineford. When she sends her subordinates to collect the candy tribute from Fishman Island, Luffy talks to her via a Den Den Mushi, claiming that he is responsible for the island's lack of candy. Big Mom accuses him of lying and refuses the treasure that he offers as a replacement. She admits the Supernova has nerve for standing up to her and decides to target him instead of Fishman Island. In response, Luffy notes that he can't leave Fishman Island under the protection of someone who would destroy it on a whim. He declares that he would defeat her in the New World and claim Fishman Island as his own territory.

Luffy's friction with Big Mom further intensified when he discovers that Sanji has been coerced into a political marriage with Big Mom's daughter, and which will result in him leaving the Straw Hat Pirates. Knowing this, Luffy decided to sneak in and ruin the ceremony.

Caesar Clown
In the past, Caesar Clown was commissioned by Big Mom for specific research. Despite his research failing, he still took money for it, causing Big Mom to pursue him. When her crew attacked the Thousand Sunny to retrieve him, Caesar begged the Straw Hats to protect him from her wrath.

Monkey D. Garp
It is unknown what her relationship is with Garp, but it is known that the first time she talked with Luffy, she identified him to be as "Garp's Grandson" which is something that he is rarely addressed as.

Sanji
In order to combine the Germa 66 with the Big Mom Pirates, Charlotte and Sanji's father arranged a marriage with his third son Sanji to her 35th daughter Purin. Because of this, she primarily refers to him as "the Germa boy".

Abilities and Powers
As one of the Yonko, Big Mom is one of the four most powerful pirates in the world. She has a mouth large enough to devour an entire person. When she becomes hungry, she produces abnormal quantities of a highly corrosive saliva. It was stated by the Gorosei that she is one of the few people capable of stopping Blackbeard.

Through her strength as one of the most powerful pirates, Linlin has managed to amass a very powerful crew, as well as several strong subordinates such as Jinbe, a fishman and former Shichibukai, and Capone Bege, one of the members of The Worst Generation. She has a high influence over the underworld as well, having connections with the Vinsmoke Family, which lead the legendary Germa 66. Those that marry her daughters automatically become part of her crew.

While under Big Mom's protection, Fishman Island is protected from pirate attacks, indicating a powerful influence similar to that of the late Whitebeard. She has been stated to be able to destroy entire countries over sweets. She's intimidating enough that even her underlings Pekoms and Tamago, who are pretty powerful themselves, are afraid of talking to her when she is angered.

Big Mom's overall influence seems to allow her to gather information about the backgrounds of people that might be of her interest, with said information possibly being used to issue threats and demands. It is said that even demons of Hell would attend her tea parties if they are invited, and anyone who does not show would be choked by regret the next day.

Past
Big Mom made dealings at some point with the rogue Marine scientist Caesar Clown. However, he embezzled a large sum of money from her to fund his own research. She seemed to have not noticed, but Caesar feared that if she ever caught him, she would find out for sure.

Timeskip
After the Battle of Marineford and the death of Whitebeard, Fishman Island was once again vulnerable to pirate attacks and to the slave trade. Big Mom decided to protect it in Whitebeard's place but demanded large amounts of candy as payment, thus leading to the Candy Factory's creation. The Sun Pirates would also ally with her crew for protection due to Jinbe having resigned from his position as Shichibukai. Although she kept Fishman Island safe from pirate attacks, she did not actually care for the island's well-being. Her "protection" was more like holding the island hostage, threatening to destroy it if it missed a monthly tribute.

Fishman Island Arc
After the Straw Hat Pirates and the Ryugu Kingdom defeated the New Fishman Pirates, Big Mom sent two of her subordinates to collect the monthly candy tribute, unaware that the factory had been destroyed in the fighting. She was excited for an upcoming tea party at which she anticipated eating the candy from Fishman Island. She asked some of her subordinates if they were also excited but then apparently ate them, saying they could continue being excited in her stomach. Shortly thereafter, Bobbin returned from destroying an island that had failed to make its monthly candy tribute, reporting that everything had gone up in flames. Pleased, Big Mom commented that the baked sweets from that country were delicious and that the island must have smelled wonderful as it burned down. When she learned that Fishman Island might not be able to make their monthly payment, she ordered a call to be made to the island at once. Pekoms and Baron Tamago were too nervous to answer when the call went through, so Luffy answered it instead.

Luffy claimed that he had eaten all ten tons of the candy meant for her tribute. Big Mom accused him of lying, but Luffy insisted that he spoke the truth. When Luffy offered her their treasure as a replacement, she was greatly offended, saying she would only accept candy and that she couldn't eat treasure. Tamago informed her that Eustass Kid had recently sank two of their ships and they were in need of money to cover the damages, so they should accept the gold and allow Fishman Island two weeks to recover and make new candy. Big Mom was further insulted by the suggestion, believing that pirates should not compromise.

However, she told Tamago that she had become interested in Luffy, and so she shifted the target of her wrath from Fishman Island to Luffy alone. She also agreed to take the offered treasure as compensation and gave the island extra time to make their payment, although she doubled the amount of candy required. Luffy decided that it was too dangerous to leave Big Mom in charge of Fishman Island and declared that he would defeat her when they meet in the New World. He announced his intention to claim Fishman Island as his own territory, utterly infuriating Big Mom.

Zou Arc
Sometime after Sanji and his group arrived at Zou, Big Mom and Sanji's father arranged a political marriage between Purin and Sanji to unite the bloodlines of the Charlotte and Vinsmoke Families.

Totland Arc
Three days before the tea party, Big Mom oversaw the wedding preparations. As she sang and danced with her underlings, she looked forward to the wedding and stated that she heard of Luffy's presence in her territory.

Translation and Dub Issues
In One Piece Green: Secret Pieces, Linlin's epithet was romanized as Big Mom. However, in Chapter 610, her name was romanized as Big Mam. Later, in Chapter 651, her name was again romanized by Oda as "Big Mom", when Sanji was fantasizing about her appearance. Occasionally, errors in romanization occur, and Oda simply makes mistakes. This has been evidenced in the past concerning Alabasta and Iceburg as well.

Support Appearances

 * One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X

Trivia



 * When Tamago stated that the sweets-loving Big Mom was a female pirate, Sanji imagined her as an attractive redhead.
 * She shares her name with the real-life pirates Charlotte Badger and Charlotte de Berry.
 * The real appearance of Big Mom differs considerably from the silhouette shown during Monkey D. Garp's explanation of the Yonko. Unlike her early silhouette, she has a rounder nose and rounder teeth. However, this may have been due to changes in her appearance over the timeskip or because her character design was not yet complete.
 * The charlotte is a popular french cake, matching the character's interest in sweets.
 * While the Big Mom Pirates and Totland as a whole seem heavily inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Big Mom in particular appears to be based on the Queen of Hearts from 1951 Disney's animated adaption of the novel, as they share the following similarities:
 * Their extreme selfishness in general.
 * Their similar appearances: they are both obese, and have a bulbous nose and a very wide grin; whereas Big Mom is just incredibly huge, the Queen of Hearts appears to be abnormally tall when standing near her tiny husband, the King, who barely reaches up to her knee; one may compare Big Mom's tricorne to the Queen's crown; they also both wear a dress.
 * They both have the tendency to order people decapitated; Big Mom with affiliates of no-shows of her tea parties, and the Queen of Hearts with those who merely annoy her in general.
 * Additionally, Big Mom's obsession with tea parties seems based on The Hatter, another prominent character from Alice in Wonderland.

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