Zenko Shin and Naoki

NEW CHARACTER ALERT!

After much research and wracking through ideas with my buddy (who has quite an extensive knowledge on all things Japanese), I have created a kitsune character that I might plan to do something with in the future. I have a vague idea, but it hasn't been put on paper yet. However, I found a nice little character profile online, to help me organize information about this character and possible thoughts for a possible story. Link to profile -->jodyhedlund.blogspot.fr/p/char…

A little about him!

Name: Zenko Shin (Zenko is a Japanese title for a "Good Inari Fox" ) 

Age: 598 years old

Height/Weight: 5"11” and 141 lbs

Body type: Ectomorph Slender 

Texture (i.e. of hands, skin, etc.):Smooth skin and silky hair. In fox form he has the same  texture to his fur.

Clothing style/frequently worn clothes: Japanese traditional. Specifically wears a lord’esque style of kimono. However because of his ability to shapeshift, Shin can don many outfits for both male and female. Will occasionally wear a mask to protect his anonymity when using illusions.

Eye color (list synonyms):  Orange Typical fox eyes. 

Hair color and style (list synonyms): A rust color to match his fur coat color. As a fox he has black paws and ears with a white belly and tail tips. His hair is extremely long and reaches below his buttocks, typically he ties it back but when he is hiding among humans, he wears it down in order to hide his pointed ears.

Other distinguishing physical traits (2 or 3 unique tags, specific to only that character): Aside from his fox form, Shin must keep some form of his kitsune traits in any of his transformations. Since he takes the form of a human most often, he retains his fox eyes, and his human ears end in a point. Regarding his tail, he can hide it along with his fangs and claw like nails, but this takes more energy and he reserves this for when he is associating himself with humans. However, the more energy he drains from himself, especially when using illusions or fox fire, many of his kitsune attributes can be visible (like the claws, teeth and tails).

Action tags (i.e.scratching head, nail biting, etc.): He'll pick at his teeth and claws, occasionally.

Verbal tags (i.e. “My, my,” “Huh?” etc.) (also list speaking style: talkative, soft-spoken, loud, formal, accent, fast,etc.): Shin is very talkative and seems to enjoy hearing himself speak, much to the displeasure of others.

Physical imperfections or something would most like to change: He is constantly wanting to increase the number of tails he has (currently 5) so he can increase his overall power and knowledge.

Race/Ethnic group: Kitsune or Fox Spirit/Demon

Religion: Shinto

Years of schooling: Did not attend a formal school and was taught most of his skills by his mother, Kaiya a Celestial Fox and goddess of a large forest and mountain.

Any special occupational training: See above ^^^

Occupation: Fox Demon/Spirit who is conditioning himself to become a god like his mother.

Skills, Abilities, and Talents: Shapeshifting, Illusion and Fire magic, and Possession.

Personality Type (Include Archetype): ENTP “The Debater” A smart and curious thinker who cannot resist an intellectual challenge.

Admirable personality traits (strengths): Cunning and Quick Witted, Imaginative, Passionate, Determined.

Negative personality traits (weaknesses): Arrogant, Selfish, Ignorant, Boastful, Deceptive.

Quirks or eccentricities (off beat manner of behavior, dress, or speech that is peculiar to a person and distinguishes them from others): Will make continuous eye contact with others (either for respect or to unnerve them), and, like other kitsune, always carries around a little white ball and is very possessive of it (he stores some of his power in it).

Things that make him/ her angry: Shin is quick to change his emotions and becomes very angry by even the slightest insults, that or if someone were to tamper with his property (particularly stealing food from his shrine).

Method of handling anger: He has a hard time handling anger, and if insulted will immediately take out some form of verbal or magical aggression out on the victim. This can range from a quick illusion or trick to a full fledged attack.

Things that embarrass: He will become embarrassed when his illusions or magic fails to fool an individual. He is also embarrassed to be wrong in almost every aspect.

Method of handling embarrassment: Placing a front, or becoming extremely frustrated. He will basically behave the same way as when he is angry, by playing a trick or harassing his victim.

Fears: Loss of independence, commitment, and responsibility 

Method of handling fear: Lashing out or running away/hiding. Shin does not scare too easily, but when he is, he will run away or hide in an attempt to solve his problem.

Bad habits or vices: Tends to go overboard playing tricks or illusions on victims whether they be human or spiritual. He has a bit of a vice for romance, but this is because he wishes to find a respectable and the best mate possible. However, he is often unsatisfied, leaving him to keep searching.

Prejudices: Shin is often noted to believe that humans can be “useless” and “stupid.” However, it seems that humans are the ones he tends to target most of his illusions and romantic advances on, since he finds them easy to fool and manipulate. He’s very proud of his kitsune heritage and therefore can be ignorant of other races of spirits and demons.

Sense of Humor: Cynical and Sarcastic

Physical illness or affliction: He may become ill from worldly afflictions, usually the result of human actions or a curse from another demon. This illness do not happen very often, however, and is most likely to become injured due to the fact that he is not physically very strong. In fact, Shin is quite physically weak and relies on his wit and magic to defeat enemies.

Hobbies/Interests: Shapeshifting into different forms to explore other societies and races (like humans), practicing and bettering his magic techniques, creating pranks and tricks for other races.

Favorite Foods: Inarizushi, Sake, Tea, Miso Soup, Oden, and Atsuage

Favorite Color: Gold

Favorite Place: An Inari shrine, in which he resides, within a forest near the base of a mountain. 

Item(s) special to character: A little white ball that he carries with him constantly. This ball can be seen among many kitsune, and contains some of their power which is stored away in order to have a reserve for emergencies.

Person/friend close to character: 1.) Goroyama the Oni (though the relationship is more tolerance than anything) 2.) Haru the half dog demon 3.) Kaiya his mother, Celestial Fox and servant of Inari 4.) Umeko a human that Shin becomes caught up with in an attempt to seduce her 5.)Naoki, his subordinate.

Description of home, home life, and economic status: Shin lives in the spirit realm that can be entered through a specific Shinto arch at the entrance of a cave. However, unless a human is accompanied by a spirit/demon, only the spirits may enter through freely. In this realm, Shin will typically travel inward to reside in inns and other spas ran by local spirits. However, he has another home in which he spends most of his time. This one can be found in the human realm at the base of a mountain in a forest. It’s an Inari shrine and he typically resides there since he  is the guardian of that local forest and land, a title passed down from his mother. Despite his ranking in the kitsune (5 tails), Shin is typically looked down upon by other spirits and considered a nuisance, due to his unrespectable personality. The only one who seems to fawn over him is his little subordinate, Naoki, a silver fox, who begged to be his servant in order to receive a title and become a delegate under a powerful spirit/demon fox.

Brief family history: Shin was born to a Celestial Nine Tailed Fox, named, Kaiya. When on Earth, she had an long affair with a peasant human, named Satoshi. With him, she had Shin. After a while, Satoshi ended up passing away, but when he had died, Kaiya left the human world, and returned to her shrine on top of a high mountain to dedicate her time to her son. When he became old enough, she instructed him to better himself and broaden his experience in order to continue his growth to acquiring his nine tails. Then, upon leaving for the Heavenly Realm, she took his humanity, so that one day he may take her place as the land god (though he must prove himself worthy first). Therefore, he left to become a guardian of a nearby human forest and piece of land, under Inari. However, he struggles to bring himself use his abilities responsibly and help the humans. Even though he wants to achieve the title of Celestial Fox, he feels undermined at times for using his abilities for insignificant requests from humans. Because of his arrogant, manipulative, and selfish disposition half of the time, it causes an obstacle on his way to achieve his ultimate goal. In order to acquire his nine tails, he must let such foolish behavior pass and accept a life of tranquility, grace, and selflessness. During his life, he attempts to learn these aspects, and struggles frequently.

Character’s goals (What they want)(Their biggest dream): His main goal is to become a Celestial Fox, like his mother, and rule over the land as an illustrious servant of Inari.

Character’s motivation (Why they want the above goal): In accomplishing his goal as a Celestial Fox, he believes he will gain honor, and bring good fortune to the kitsune race.

Character’s conflict (What is keeping them from their goal): He has a hard time obtaining this goal, because Shin tends to stray off the benevolent path and use his skills for mischievous, selfish, and deceptive reasons. However, he must try to overcome such behaviors and strive to become a peaceful and helpful individual.

Summarize character’s Fatal Flaw (the main problem to work through): He’s arrogant and needs to be put in his place and humbled. Shin must learn to care for others and become loyal to them in order to become a Celestial Fox. Later on, he begins to realize and discover how to achieve this as he befriends Goroyamma, Haru, Naoki and Umeko.

To learn about Kitsune you can visit my other artwork here -->

Anywho, he may or may not become a major character at some point, I've never written anything pertaining to mythology, so this might be quite a fun and interesting challenge. The other main characters of the possible future story will probably pop up here with a profile.

Sorry if this one was too long But it's a nice way to get things straight and organize your character's traits. I highly recommend it!

~Chrissy