Difference between revisions of "Sebastien/Persona"

Latest revision as of 22:49, 5 October 2012

The myth of the spirit fox is not at all exclusive to Japan, though it has special resonances for Japanese culture, where the concept has been expanded to include a wide variety of perspectives. Wikipedia has the following to say:

"Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. They are a type of yōkai, or spiritual entity, and the word kitsune is often translated as fox spirit. However, this does not mean that kitsune are ghosts, nor that they are fundamentally different from regular foxes. Because the word spirit is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, all long-lived foxes gain supernatural abilities.

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. Local traditions add further types."

Probably the most familiar image of the kitsune is the nine-tailed type, about which wikipedia states:

"Generally, a greater number of tails indicates an older and more powerful fox; in fact, some folktales say that a fox will only grow additional tails after it has lived 100 years. One, five, seven, and nine tails are the most common numbers in folk stories. When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold. These kyūbi no kitsune (九尾の狐, nine-tailed foxes) gain the ability to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. Other tales attribute them infinite wisdom (omniscience)."

Being shadow-possessed, Sebastien's shadowform lacks the bevy of tails that would be a hallmark of personal enlightenment, for what are probably obvious reasons: his shadow-possession indicates a serious, potentially dangerous imbalance within himself -- something antithetical to kyūbi no kitsune.

While all of the forms that his shadowform takes are one-tailed foxes, that is where the consistency ends; he's capable of taking a variety of shapes and sizes for different purposes, from fennec-sized kits (for one of his favorite activities, Running the Hell Away and Hiding) right up to pony-sized iterations with fur like fire that have no analogue in the natural world.

Through some quirk of his shadow-possession, he is incapable of sensing the resonance of others unless he's been exposed to it for a very long time, and formed some manner of significant attachment to the person in question...at which point he's able to sense it very strongly.

His own resonance tends to center around natural themes -- sunlit trees, foliage, wildflowers, damp earth -- but particularly those that one might think of as belonging to the autumn season, including berries, frost, and evergreen sap. For many, there may be overtones of certain herbs or spices associated with fall, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, or maple. It might remind someone of sitting by a lit fireplace, or it might feel more like being out in the biting cold of the snow.