Exhibit C: Charlotte Linlin and O-Lin’s Personality
Charlotte Linlin, and her older alter-ego O-Lin, are innocent, kind, naive, and gullible. Prior to Carmel’s disappearance, Linlin wasn’t aware of her own strength but wanted everyone to get along and would try to punish others (not realizing she was hurting or killing them). When she was angry at Luffy for eating all the red bean soup at the Udon prison, she was mad at him not because she wanted to eat it, but she wanted to share it with others.
Exhibit D: Death and Devil Fruit Transfers
Oda has indicated in the story that when a Devil Fruit user dies, their fruit reappears nearby on a tree. This concept was elaborated on further in Punk Hazard, when Smiley reincarnated into Shinokuni. Smiley had eaten the Sala-Sala Fruit, Model: Axolotl, and upon its death, the fruit appeared in a bag of apples close by, and this was deliberately shown to us.
Exhibit E: Linlin’s Appetite
When Linlin was forced to fast during the Winter Solstice Festival, she fasted for 12 days, complaining every day, and then mentally snapped near the end. Her hunger pangs were satiated after fatally injuring Jorul, and Carmel moved the orphanage to another island.
When Big Mom was denied wedding cake at the Tea Party, her hunger pangs kicked in, and she drastically lost hundreds of pounds of weight over the course of eight hours. Her hunger pangs were satiated after finally receiving Sanji’s replacement cake, and her weight returned.
Exhibit F: Oda’s Drawing Style of Evil Women based on Aging
As Big Mom got older, not only did she put on weight (ultimately this is irrelevant as Carmel never put on any weight), her facial features became more exaggerated. We see these exaggerations with other female antagonists compared to previous ages – Giolla at age 49, Ms. MerryChristmas at age 51, and Mother Carmel’s face at age 80. Oda employs a regular pattern of having an evil personality twisting and contorting one’s face. And Oda gave us a HUGE breadcrumb on this with Denjiro’s face changing from 20 years of hatred towards Kaido.
Final Exhibit: Mother Carmel’s Disappearance and Linlin’s New Powers
At Linlin’s sixth birthday, she was so excited to eat with her family that she couldn’t control her eating, and upon finishing her feast, she realized everyone was gone. Only two witnesses saw what happened – Streusel, and a Giant from Elbaf. It has been strongly implied that Linlin engaged in cannibalism, eating her entire family including Mother Carmel. After this event, Linlin seemed to have “inherited” Carmel’s Soul Soul fruit powers, without consuming the fruit. We were never shown or told if she found the fruit nearby and ate it.
