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[World Train] Hotarubi

Published: Jul 23, 2014

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Description

_{For the group:}

_{Name   :
Hotarubi
[ 蛍火 ]

Nickname       :
Hotaru, Hell Squirrel, Kitten, Floofball, Yínghuǒ/ Yínghwa

Sleeper car     :
E14

Gender           :
Male
[It should be noted that his kind views gender as 'a human thing', thus largely unconcerned about it. Hotaru identifies and refers to himself as 'male' out of convenience, and he has no qualms of shapeshifting to female form whenever he feels like it. He has rudimentary grasp of 'gender roles', but like almost everything else, he chooses to not give a damn about it.]

World of origin :
His world is alternate version of Earth, except that the supernatural exists and geographical variations. Demons, spirits, beasts and mythical creatures claim ownership rights over the land as much as human does. Due to the existence of magic and continuous war with the supernatural, the humans of this world is much less developed than Earth. Most civilizations have not progressed beyond early Middle Ages, and technological development is next to nonexistent.

His birth place is Japan, though he calls mainland China and Korean peninsula his home. He refers to the many islands as Akitsukuni, with written kanji 現 (present) and 国 (country).

Birth place       :
Kitsune no Mori / Jukai
[ 樹海 / 狐の森 ]

A vast forest located on the most western point of mainland Akitsukuni. While Shirakami-Sanchi [ 白神山地 ] at the most eastern point of the country is believed to be the gateway to heaven where the gods dwell, Jukai (as the mortals know it) is thought to be the gate to underworld. The forest is so densely packed that the light of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu cannot penetrate through, though it is unknown if this is a natural phenomenon or the result of the malignant powers said to dwell in there. Although housing benevolent and malevolent beings alike, the forest is the traditional home of nogitsune, following the 'birth' of the first nogitsune eons ago. Fox spirits from all over the world are instinctively drawn to this forest to complete their transformation. Due to the amount of fox spirits - often numbering in the thousands - congregated in the area, the forest is also known as Kitsune no Mori (Forest of the Foxes).

Date of birth    :
October 31st

Age :
937 years old

Height :
6’1
188 cm

Weight :
180 lbs
81 kg

Personality type   :
ESTP
Extravert(100%) Sensing(12%) Thinking(75%) Perceiving(44%)

Sexual orientation :
Asexual-aromantic

Creature         :
Nogitsune
[ 野狐 ]

... There are two common classifications of kitsune. The zenko (善狐?, literally good foxes) are benevolent, celestial foxes associated with the god Inari; they are sometimes simply called Inari foxes. On the other hand, the yako (野狐?, literally field foxes, also called nogitsune) tend to be mischievous or even malicious...

[Excerpt from Encyclopedia Demonica.]

When a fox dies, depending on how it lived and the manner of its death, it is reborn either as a benevolent servant of the God Inari known as zenko, or become a malevolent spirit. The malevolent spirits roam the land, guided by instinct to spread malice and chaos to the people, and find other spirits to devour. With every spirit/demon consumed, they grow stronger, until, at one point, they have gathered enough spiritual energy to manifest consciousness. The sentient malevolent fox spirit is called nogitsune, commonly referred as ‘great spirits’ to distinguish themselves from the mindless lesser spirits.

Each nogitsune possesses a hoshi-no-tama. It is their ‘soul’, without which they cannot exist. Hoshi-no-tama can be seen when the nogitsune is dying, or the outer shell (the body of the nogitsune) had been completely destroyed. It would appear only for a brief moment, before disappearing to a safe place to regenerate a new shell. Legend says that anyone who gains the possession of a nogitsune’s hoshi-no-tama will earn its servitude, although extracting hoshi-no-tama from their bodies is almost always fatal.

Typically, only one nogitsune can exist at a time; the consume-or-be-consumed nature of nogitsune compels one to regularly devour fellow malicious fox spirits, lest one becomes another sentient nogitsune and poses a threat to him. It is not strength that grants Hotaru fame to spirits, demons and humans alike, but the perseverance and diligence that have allowed him to live as long as he has. Most nogitsune perish in the hands of their own carelessness; Hotaru’s predecessor grew arrogant and underestimated the numerous young nogitsune that were born due to his neglect. They worked together to take the older spirit down, before turning to devour each other. Hotaru emerged as the victor, and had since then became the only nogitsune in the past nine hundred years.

Becoming kyubi (nine-tailed fox) is most desirable to the fox-clan. Kyubi is revered because of their wisdom, vast knowledge and spiritual energy. All foxes (except the kuda-gitsune) are supposedly able to become kyubi, but very few make it that far due to the long process and fierce competition. Numerous foxes have become kyubi, but Hotaru is the second nogitsune in written history to become one.

    Strength :

    Kitsunebi
All foxes are capable of fire magic exclusive to their clan: foxfire/kitsunebi. It is noted to be stronger than human-made fire, but inferior to that of the suzaku. Foxes are able to control their fire by will, and highly resistant to other fire (except holy fire). The limit of his techniques is his creativity; Hotaru could focus his magic to a single destructive blast, or scatter them to hit multiple enemies at once. His techniques are notably bright and flashy, terribly so. Kitsunebi can be used defensively and heal injuries (in the form of green fire), though they are best utilized by benevolent zenko. Healing spells cost Hotaru thrice the amount of magic offensive spells do.

       Shapeshifting
He is able to assume human form, with the latter preferred as it takes less space and opposable thumbs are quite useful. It has also become a life-saver several times; he has eluded his hunters by taking the form of a young, innocent child, and blended into the crowd, a fox in a sheep's clothing.

       Illusion
His ability to distort the light and cast illusion is arguably his trump card, especially in the tricks he plays on others. He is fond of conjuring an illusion of a well-endowed, scantily-clad vixen to trick men and steal their money, or lure travelers to stray from their path and meet their demise at the bottom of treacherous cliffs, for his amusement.

    Near Immortality
Spirits lack definite lifespan, allowing them to theoretically live forever if undisturbed. As long as his hoshi-no-tama remains intact, Hotaru can recover from any injuries. (He was able to regenerate a whole new body after it got blown up from the inside by a grenade.) The healing process is typically slow and requires a lot of meal to replenish the lost spiritual energy, but knowing that he will not die easily allows him to fight aggressively without restraint.

      Weakness :

   Coldness
Close kin to fire-elemental, coldness is the bane of his existence. He could use his fire to warm himself, but when he ran out of magic the clock began to tick before his hoshi-no-tama runs out of fire.

      Water
In small amount, he does not mind. But in large scale (such as river, lake and ocean), it is fatal as submerging his hoshi-no-tama would cause it to die out.

       Exorcism
Although technically a spirit, there is enough malice and corruption in him that causes exorcism to be super effective. This weakness of his is not limited to eastern purification rituals; he reacts negatively to anything regarded as holy. Getting hit by anything blessed – especially holy water, for some reason it hurts the most – causes crippling agony. The presence of religious artifacts even if they are not used against him – such as rosaries, prayer beads and ofuda – brings him great discomfort, and reciting prayer is enough to drive him away.

    Tails
Savvy opponents would try to destroy his tails. His spiritual energy is stored in his tails; without them his hoshi-no-tama would be deprived of the sustenance it needed. The death of his hoshi-no-tama means his death as well.

History :

Following his rise as the one and only nogitsune, Hotaru remained in his birthplace for most of his first hundred years. Few humans dared to wander into the forest, but those who did were always subject of much curiosity (and snacks, whenever he felt like it). It was not until after he had learned to shapeshift and cast illusion that he ventured to nearby human settlement. Perfecting the art of How to Human took many trials and errors over the years, but by the time he gained his second tail, he was able to live among humans without raising (much) suspicion. By his third tail, he had found humanity so amusing that most of his time was spent in human society. He constantly made up games, and his favorite was devouring a human and then impersonating them, with victory awarded depending on how long their friends and family would notice that their loved one had been replaced by a fox. (Playing tag with demon hunters, priest and onmyōji was another source of fun, but it tended to become unpleasant if he was caught.)

Despite their conflicting nature, he maintained amiable relationship with the zenko, but looked down on the kuda-gitsune. He kept in contact with fox clans on the mainland; huli jing and gumiho made good companions, although both he and huli jing are puzzled by gumiho’s obsession of becoming human. His relationship with other spirits range from fondness to animosity. He is most cordial to the tengu and tanuki; the former he valued for their wisdom, with the latter he shared fondness of tricks and mischievousness. He was especially hated and feared by jorōgumo and inugami due to his fondness of their flesh, and forbidden entry to anything guarded by shishi and komainu.

He first stumbled upon the World Train sometime after he gained his fifth tail, seeking the mythical train that travels between dimensions on a whim after hearing whispered rumors in the spirit realm. By the time the number of malevolent foxes needed to be controlled, he had made friends and vowed to return to World Train after finishing his business in his realm. Alas, he was immediately caught in a civil war between humans, and the combined forces of spirits and demons that would last for centuries. Despite his best attempts at remaining neutral (with occasional favors granted to the spirits and demons), his reputation preceded him and humans raced to be the first to ‘tame’ the only known nogitsune.

The fox eventually found himself enslaved to a human clan through summoning and binding magic. He was involuntarily made a clan guardian, an assassin, a slave and other things he was not comfortable talking about. His slavery lasted for two hundred years before Hotaru was able to exploit a loophole in the spell that bound him. Slaughtering his captors and cursing the land, the kyubi fled, and once again found a way to the World Train, which he has considered home.

This time, with the intention to stay.

Personality :

| Calculating | Capricious | Chaotic | Cunning | Curious | Detached | Fair | Independent | Realist | Reasonable | Sarcastic/Snarky/Witty | Self-serving | Understanding |

Hotaru is a man whose affiliation needs to be constantly guessed; he sides with whoever he wants and leaves as quickly as he comes in. He appears to be speaking without care, but each word is chosen carefully to never reveal on whose side he is. To him, nothing is set in stone; the best decision is the one that can be changed at any time, and the best statement is the one with open interpretation. As a person motivated by the fulfillment of his own needs, if he has to choose, he will pick one that benefits himself the most. His own survival is his number one priority; values conventionally hailed as ‘positives’ such as loyalty, honor and courage cease to exist if they get oneself screwed over. He will not offer assistance to others until his own safety is guaranteed, likely to make his escape if his person becomes compromised. He opines that self-interest and tactical retreat (which he refers to as ‘self-preservation instincts programmed in your genetics, learn to use them they’re there for a reason’) should be accepted as the norm, and glorification of so-called heroic, honorable death needs to stop. (Quoting himself, 'Your death might be honorable, but you'd still be dead. Rotting corpse buried six feet under doesn't smell like honor to me.')

Although nonconformist and only abides rules of his own making, he is unusually nonconfrontational and generally quite accepting of differences. He sees the big picture; exact details do not matter as much as the achievement of a goal. Due to this, he is willing to overlook mistakes; grudge and revenge (which may last for centuries and disproportionate to the wrongdoing) are reserved to most serious offenses. While far from harmless, for a spirit of malevolent inclination he is strangely benign; he is more interested in amusing himself than acting as an agent of evil. Though chaos is an inseparable part of himself; he sees peace as the prelude of stagnation, and to progress one must experience turmoil. He has innate desire to cause conflict and constantly be on the move, because he considers motionlessness to be the epitome of evil. Left to thrive, it will degrade the mind. Not to mention, oh, the boredom.

His view of the world is that of pragmatic cynicism, believing that everything exists in various shades of grey. He is a realist at heart; he dislikes optimism because it always is a hair’s width away from delusion, but the defeatism of pessimism does not sit well with him either. He never holds onto hopes because hopes bring expectation, and more often than not expectation causes disappointment. Neither does he hold onto people, nor wish that people would hold on him. While gregarious and loves to be the center of attention, he has difficulties forming attachment and personally prefers to remain detached. He admits that he gets lonely sometimes, but accepts that this is necessary; attachment to others infringes on his freedom. His belief in his own absolute freedom means believing in the absolute freedom of others; he would only give advice and never interfere. (If it ends disastrously, he will cackle and say something the along the line of 'I told you so, dumbass.') Though less-hotheaded than he was four hundred years ago, his patience remains short; most of the time he will respond by snarking, but violence is always within an arm's reach.

Likes :
- Chaos
- Books
- Cuddles
- Braids
- Poetry
- Calligraphy
- Shenanigans
- Friendly spars
- Snark spars
- Napping in the sun
- Honeydew milk tea

Dislikes :
- Exorcists
- Coldness
- ‘Babysitting’
- Messed-up fur
- Motionlessness
- Forced to choose a side
- Being backed to a corner
- Bloodstains on his clothes
- Messy ink drops on calligraphy papers
- Rodents, termites, fungi, humidity a.k.a damn destroyer of books

Misc. Facts :

Rants a lot.

Always assume that he is trolling unless stated explicitly otherwise.

His beast form is larger than what is depicted on his app. Reference coming soon.

He was named 'Hotarubi' by the spirit of Jukai. He used to have abysmal control over his fire, and the spirit thought it was fitting to name the little fox after the light of small fires that followed him everywhere he went.

He answers to Chinese and Korean reading of蛍火, Yínghuǒ and Yínghwa respectively.

Due to his pseudo-Japanese heritage, he natively speaks Japanese, Mandarin and Korean. (The ancient forms, at least.) He has picked up several languages, and is most fluent in Snark, Insult and Profanity.

His main diet consists of spirits and demons. Other beings typically possess so little spiritual energy that he never bothers with them, but those with vast reserves make fulfilling snacks. He is especially fond of children green tea, sake and rice cakes.

Blue and Orange Morality. Baffled by human values, but throws no fuss over it as he realizes that the values that he lives by are likely to be just as baffling to humans.}

_{Stat distribution:

Level     : 1

Health   : 100

Magic     : 170

Attack    : 100

Defense : 50

Speed     : 80}

_{RP sample:
Hotaru: "That is so not fair." Upon sensing a new presence on board of the train, the fox abandoned terrifying commuters and passengers alike by creative uses of his illusion, and went to investigate. How delightful, the newcomer was a spirit! Short-lived as it was, because he quickly discovered that she could not be consumed. Hotaru found sustenance in many, many things, but water and ice spirits were off-limits, simply because they were the antithesis of his fiery nature. Devouring them would cause considerable agony, causing him to prefer easier preys.

But that was not what he was referring to by 'fairness'.

"Seriously? Half a foot in four hundred years, and I'm still not the tallest. There is something very, very wrong with the passengers of this train." He stepped into view, tails waving lazily with hands in his pockets. His grin was wide, malicious as always.}

Image size

1900x1300px 3.09 MB

Comments28

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XianTan

May 16, 2015

_{uu I really wanna rp with him-- ya'know, if you plan on staying in the group ofc!~}