yokai (gumiho)

nov 6, 1404

617 (appears 40)

archivist / librarian

ᴛᴀʙɪᴛʜᴀ ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢɢᴏᴏᴅ。
library(?)。
plotting, replied。

ɴᴜxɪʜs ᴋᴀᴍɪɴᴀʀɪ。
private message。
plotting, replied。

name。
location。
status。

name。
location。
status。

name。
location。
status。

name。
location。
status。

powers: 
transformation (fox form & various human appearances besides his own), enhanced speed, enhanced strength, low-level magic (warding off spirits, creating/using talismans, little spells, etc.), can survive without food & drink for long periods of time

weaknesses:
yeowoo guseul (fox bead/bracelet) (if he loses all the beads/all of them are stolen/swallowed he will die within 100 days if he doesn't get at least one of them back. the more beads he has the stronger his powers are), bound to keep promises, begins to show fox-like features/traits when in a highly emotional state (ears, tails, claws, eyes, etc.) (thus giving away his true nature)
 

if there's one thing that has remained the same across the centuries that haneul has lived, it is man and creature's pursuit of knowledge. during the first few decades of his life haneul lived deep within an unnamed forest, too young yet to have the ability to transform into anything but the fox state in which he came to exist. once he was older and more skilled, he managed to make his way into the good graces of the then emperor of the joseon dynasty, and obtained a position in the palace archives. back then, haneul's identity as a fox spirit was not a secret. he was well known for his knowledge and expertise, and was often consulted on important matters by the king and other members of his court. however, opinions of supernatural creatures, fox spirits such as haneul especially, quickly began to deteriorate as rumors evolved, and myths changed. eventually, he was chased out of the palace under the threat of death, but not before he was held captive and tortured. for weeks haneul was kept deep within the palace, caged and alone, and every so often one of the king's men would drag him out to the executioners block, where they would cut off one of his nine tails. by the time he managed to escape haneul only had 3 tails left. haneul did not leave without taking his revenge, and the palace was burned to ground with most of the king's inner court slaughtered. the only thing saved was the library, which haneul used the rest of his magic ability (leftover after his attack) to keep safe by placing it in a pocket dimension. in the aftermath haneul was drained, magically, spiritually and physically. the depth of his hurt and rage was too much for him to beat back down, and it ended up controling him for quite a long time. he truly was a gumiho like the legends of the worst kind. tricking humans and leaving them worse for wear, sometimes killing them for the hell of it, feasting on their organs and their lifeforce. then, it was like he one day woke up, and the red fog of anger had cleared. it didn't disappear, but it was no longer driving his every action. haneul found himself halfway across the world in a country he did not know the name of. dazed, knowing no one and only have five tails, haneul decided he would continue what he had sought after even before working at the palace all those years ago. he wanted knowledge, all of it - his greed for literature, art, music, everything and anything he could find, he would have it. so, haneul traveled the globe, visiting libraries, schools, tribes, temples, etc. he was careful and respectful, would only take copies instead of original works and squirrel them away into his personal library. over the centuries he has gathered a vast collection, and within the past few decades it has become a bit of a legend, the walking library. eventually, haneul grew tired of constantly moving around. he wanted a place to stay, permanently, where he could live comfortably and really take the time to peruse everything he's found over the years. this is how he came to lunaria, a place where he wouldn't have to worry too much about human interferance, and ended up taking a position at the mystiq academy as its head librarian. he would prefer not to have to deal with little students and other staff members, but in exchange for housing and income, it is a sacrifice he is willing to make. *more detailed version to come

random ideas floating around in my head ;

+ before he was finally chased out of the palace haneul had to deal with some pretty nasty stuff from other people in the palace, especially members of the king's court. one event that happened to be the final straw was when one of the king's generals managed to drug/stupify haneul to steal his fox beads, and swallowed two of them in order to gain vast knowledge/awareness. as a fox spirit, haneul is quick to hold grudges and quick to revenge, and as soon as he was able to he killed the man by gutting him in order to remove the beads from his stomach and take them back.

+ due to the poor treatment haneul has received over the years due to his status as a fox spirit and (eventually) the "evil" things he has done, he has come to grow into some of those stereotypes. vengeful, quick to anger, a bit of a trickster, etc. he used to be much worse a few centuries ago. lately he's mellowed out and likes to keep to his own business, but somehow other creatures keep bothering him anyway.

+ when he's having a bad day/doesn't want to deal with things haneul sometimes can't help transforming into his fox form to just sleep the day away and not have to worry about extra stuff.

+ he's a bit mean tbh he doesn't generally like other people or creatures, especially if they manage to get on his bad side, but it takes quite a bit to get there so he mostly just views others as annoying

+ ooc but i want him to have y energy adkfjshkfhkjhk

+ many myths about gumiho that differentiate them from kitsune and huli jing talk about how they seduce and kill humans in order to eat their liver and/or heart. gumiho are typically seen as evil, tricksters, bloodthirsty, etc. haneul was not originally like this, but for a century or two he did fulfill these legends due to a hunger for revenge and being half out of his mind. currently, as mentioned above, haneul mostly just likes to keep to himself, and will sometimes mess around with people for fun (tricks & wordplay), but other than that he doesn't go around showing skin to shove his claws into someone's chest. just bc he doesn't do this on the reg doesn't mean he won't in the future, however. mostly, it would probably be in some form of retaliation to someone who has wronged him. for example, just before he had been forced to leave the palace centuries ago, he may have tricked an official or two before ripping out their heart/liver and eating it in front of them, just for fun

+ as mentioned above, haneul had six of his nine tails chopped off as punishment/torture when he was still in the palace. this was in response to, also as mentioned above, his killing of one of the king's generals after his fox beads were stolen (as well as general mistrust of fox spirits, esp gumiho, and his attitude didn't help me each other, he was a bit haughty back then,,,, still is tbh). around this time haneul was around 100-150 years old. he came into his nine tails rather quickly, not so much due to age, but due to his extreme skill and power. having six tails removed severely weakened him, and most likely would have killed him if they got to the other three, though he managed to escape before that. during the two-ish centuries where he was "out of his mind," haneul managed to regain two of his tails, and over the past three-ish centuries has regrown three more. he currently has eight tails, and hopes to soon regain the ninth, once again restoring him to his full power. only time will tell, however, if it will regrow at all.

+ there is a meaning to his name, sa haneul: "sa" is the korean word for 4, and also sounds similar to the korean word for death, which is why the number 4 is considered bad luck. "haneul" means heaven and/or sky in korean, which he (haneul) thinks is quite ironic considering his status as an "evil" spirit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumiho

vibes ;
yes mom - tessa violet
people i don't like - upsahl
caffeine - lolo zouaï

浜倒そきゆ類7表オ合社だ指様38連トげず謙返ニケミセ無写ヱ芸康ゃルぞフ草歴モヤセク庫能そに戦韓ホウノ信便トレヒチ児交ヒレソメ巧幕フネヌ面紀ひ問省因組園ぴぞてび。打マワツ暮源ロヤリ札気ぴ航奄と来論いを宣9防ルづ計時ヱアステ速戒42焦21事マミヘ香影よ職月モユニエ音展ー料万ーろぞ沖帯ヱ奪碁んドクあ春求チイ獲拘肌陶さぼ。

*may be altered if they do not fit setting/plot of the roleplay

nighttime visitor + student + unsurprisingly, there is a restricted section of the library - or rather, two of them. one section is owned by the mystiq academy, a collection of tomes and scrolls and all manner of documents that really aren't for the prying eyes of undergraduate students. the other section, well, that's haneul's personal collection of knowledge he's obtained over the centuries. as part of his tenure with the academy haneul agreed that they would have permission to access most his archives under strict supervision from himself, while he in turn would be provided with an agreeable living situation and source of income working as the academy's librarian. so, pray tell, why does haneul find you snooping through his restricted library in the middle of the night?

century too short + non-human staff or civilian + almost 100 years ago you met a fox spirit and pleaded with him to grant you the knowledge of which you seeked (whatever that knowledge is/was is up to you). while he initially refused, your continued persistence led to him eventually giving you one of his fox beads to swallow, but only upon the condition that you fully understood what you were agreeing to. back then, you decided the consequences were worth the risk, and accepted. now, it will soon be 100 years exactly since that day, and haneul, having found you to be living in lunaria, is going to be taking back what was originally his. whether that is through kissing or killing you depends on how you respond.

(untitled) + non-human staff or civilian + your relationship with haneul is... complicated, to say the least. it usually involves him actively trying to main and/or kill you, and you defending yourself while trying not to attack him in turn. perhaps out of guilt, or deep remorse? after all, you two haven't always been at odds like this, but something changed centuries ago to drive a wedge between your close relationship. to haneul, it was a stinging betrayal from someone he had trusted so greatly, one that he vowed to return by killing you for good (so why is he never able to follow through?). but what is it to you? and is there any hope of you and haneul reconciling once and for all, or are the two of you destined to go down in flames?

punishment's favorite + student + sometimes, if the teachers are too busy to handle the detention students, they are handed over to haneul to oversee in the library. for however long the duration of their detention lasts, students under haneul's care get to enjoy the privilege of cataloging the new and old literature of mystiq academy. this includes checking in any returned books, writing (by hand) reports of any damaged books and carting through the aisles to reshelve anything that's been taken from its usual spot. you just so happen to be one of haneul's most frequent student visitors, to the point where the two of you have a weird limbo of somehow being comfortable and uncomfortable around each other from being in the same place so often.

you! + any non-human + for reasons unknown to you, haneul killed one of the people you were closest with a few centuries ago (could be a friend, family member, lover, etc.). it seemed to come out of nowhere. one day, you had seen them healthy and well, and the next, you visited their home only to find haneul kneeling over this person with blood in his mouth and claws in their chest. you could never forget the image of gold-yellow eyes, half-crazed, and a monster with a heart in his hand, already half-eaten. haneul managed to escape, most likely due to you trying to revive your companion, but it was already too late. there was no heart left to bring back to life. now, you have finally found haneul again at the mystiq institute. will you demand answers for what he did, or would you prefer to take revenge when he's caught off guard?

random starters ;
❒ library + you were caught sneaking around the library after hours in the restricted section, but not before you managed to accidentally get yourself cursed by one of the scrolls you weren't supposed to be reading in the first place. whatever little creature / monster you've turned into is up to you !!

name! melo
timezone! gmt-5 (est)
roleplay style! 3rdpov - para, semi & novella
(longer posts = slower replies)

notes! please don't ever poke me for a response, i don't forget, i just get busy or my muse crashes. i'm currently working and going to school, but the semester will be over in a few weeks so i'll have a lot more free time then. i love plotting and winging (but if winging pls let me know any topics/tropes you want to avoid, and i'll do the same). if you want to plot, chat, etc. pls feel free to private message me. also, if i have any open starters, you can respond to them without asking as long as they haven't been taken by someone else. <3