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YOSHIYA "shi" YAMATO Age 17 Gender male Height 5'6" Kanji 大和.佳也 "Canon" Kami-verse History Marion Wing was born into this modern world of spirits. And he was born as a Cursed Child. In his world, these children were born with their souls existing between the physical and human world. A visual cue to this condition was unnatural hair and eye colours. In the case of Marion, this was his white hair and cyan blue eyes; Traits neither of his parents had. His parents were a young couple, who were not quite ready for the responsibility of a child. His father eventually walked out on them, leaving his mother with a son that didn't even look like her... Which would be a fact that followed Marion for the rest of his life. By the time he was five years old, his mother could no longer ignore how creepy her son looked. Combining with the not-so-accidental warning of a fortune teller, the young woman became convinced that her son was not her son at all: He was some sort of spirit from legend, and he was there to curse her for her sinful early life. So she did what any responsible adult would do... Just kidding. She abandoned her young son by an ocean deity's shrine, and tried to physically escape her supposed demons. All the while, her son turned out to be exceptionally bright. Marion understood every word from the fortune teller and he understood why he was left at the shrine. But despite being smart enough to understand these things, he was still a young child. Since he saw the adults in his life believed he was a curse, Marion came to agree with their assessment. He made no effort to chase after his mother, because he loved her and didn't want her to be cursed anymore. There was a sliver of fortune in this portion of the tale. The shrine where Marion was abandoned was not abandoned itself. It was tended to by the elders of a nearby fishing village, who continued to believe in the ocean deity that once resided there. On the flipside, it was not a shrine full of happy spirits. The village only believed in the bad luck and curses of the ocean: They blamed the shrine for every bad fishing season, every storm, every sinking ship, and generally any misfortune that befell them. The spirits that gathered there were either negative by nature, or not eager to fill the role of The Ocean's Curse. The spirits were especially discouraged because the shrine was located on a cliffside, far from the village, and no one even visited it. That is, until those village elders found Marion. When he was found, Marion would not reveal his name. He was given the name Shiro, the Japanese word for white, because of his striking white hair. His unusual and sudden appearance led many of the elders to believe Shiro was some sort of Kami. All of the faith and superstition eventually stuck to Shiro, making him a living shrine for The Ocean's Curse. In other words, Shiro was made a Sacred Child. The Ocean's Curse was the kind of lonely spirit that wanted to see more of the world, and moreso it wanted to change the villager's opinion of its power. Shiro, it hoped, would be a chance to make the villagers love the Ocean Kami again. Shiro was cared for by the villagers as if he truly was a Kami. This made the children his age distant and the elders fearful of upsetting him. When things in the village went wrong, they blamed Shiro for them. This did hurt the Ocean Kami, who was truly doing their best to bless the village with their bits of power. But the villagers did not credit things like calm seas and lots of fish to a Kami, but to their own skills as fishermen. So the Ocean Kami never managed to change their perception. Eventually, the village's opinion of Shiro solely one of fear. They had always been afraid to destroy the shrine built into the seaside, because they did not know how to 'kill' a building... But a human shrine was another matter entirely. The villagers began to debate whether or not they should straight-up commit murder and solve their "Curse of the Sea" problem once and for all. The Ocean Kami that used Shiro was mortified by this. When they discovered what was afoot, they left their living shrine and began searching for help. They hoped to find a Spirit Seer in time to rescue Shiro and clear up the misunderstanding. But they were not fast enough. The Ocean Kami was weaker than they expected. They couldn't even warn Shiro not to trust the villagers. One night, Spirit Hunters came into the village due to a request. They found Shiro, brought him back to the physical shrine, and murdered him. At the very least, no one had the heart to disrespect the dead child's body beyond the initial stab in the back. All of the spirits in the area were 'exorcised' away, except for the Ocean Kami. They had been searching for help and far enough away to avoid the slaughter. When that Kami returned, they found their innocent shrine had been murdered at the young age of ten. Then, things took a nightmarish turn. The Ocean Kami was devastated to have led their Sacred Child to die. They cried and threw a tantrum, creating stormy seas that destroy a portion of the village. Their wrath was meant to make the villagers feel bad, but they continued to only lay blame on outside forces. In particular, they blamed the dead boy Shiro for their recent curse. Shiro was revived because of this. His passing spirit was attached to his shrine, his body, which had died but not been destroyed. Shiro was oblivious, and thought he had just been lucky somehow. He did not even realize that he was now the Curse Kami that the villagers so strongly believed him to be. He was reunited with his Ocean Kami patron, if you even want to call them that. Shiro had never directly met the Kami that used him as a shrine. They were ashamed of what they had done and did not want to make Shiro unhappy, so decided not to tell him the full story. Shiro was simply led to believe that he had been saved by the spirits living at that shrine and he was grateful. During their initial reunion, the Ocean Kami took the form of a young woman. 'She' now wanted to openly care for her former Sacred Child and fill the role of a mother or big sister. It quickly became apparent that their relationship had changed considerably. For one, the Ocean Kami no longer had any sort of physical shrine. She was clinging only to Shiro and knew she needed to let him go: He could not be the shrine for two Kami, and it was more important he now house his own spirit. The other major difference was her new relationship with Shiro, who was a very strange case. Shiro was a Kami who lived in his own physical body. He still retained that special connection to the physical world that other spirits dream of. This meant that Shiro also had the ability to use that secret naming magic, even if he did not understand what it was. So when Shiro decided he had to call the Ocean Kami by a proper name, he accidentally created her shrine. He decided that she was so beautiful, kind, and wonderful that she was a real-life "Princess." Or "Prinny," as she preferred to be called. The name "Prinny" became the Ocean Kami's new shrine, even if neither of them realized the significance. Prinny still loved Shiro as if he was her own child, so insisted that he leave the village and run far away from the ones who hurt him. She thought this meant they would be separated forever. She insisted that she walk with him to safety, expecting that she would eventually meet a boundary and have to leave him. However, the boundary never came. Prinny was able to follow Shiro all of the way to the next town. Because she did not know of name magic, Prinny assumed this meant she still shared Shiro as a shrine. She decided to stay this way until it became harmful to him, and protect him for as long as possible. The next years of Shiro's life were a strange few. Though his body was dead, Shiro believed he was alive and kept 'living.' He aged, got hungry, got tired, and got hurt like he believed he should. Prinny's spirit form was weak and invisible to normal humans, but she provided companionship and guidance as best she could. Shiro met kids his age and spoke enough of his "big sister Prinny" that they came to believe she was real. Thusly, Prinny eventually gained the power to be seen by others and hold a physical form. After all, even adults were expecting to see Shiro's guardian when they came to his house. Their house was another strange factor to their new life. It was customary that Kami go to the shrines of any town or land they visited, and politely introduce themselves. Otherwise, they were seen as invaders out to steal faith and often eliminated by the local, established spirits. Prinny took Shiro to the shrine of Asteria City and taught him to introduce himself. Asteria City did have a fairly active and established Kami: She was called Tina and she used the City's mascot as her shrine. Likewise, she looked like the fictional fairy that Asteria City used in a fifty year old advertising campaign. Tina's shrine was the tourism bureau. It had a statue of her mascot self outside and was filled with "Tina the Aster Fairy" posters. Tina allowed Shiro to live the attic, which is to say... Suddenly, there was a homeless boy in the attic. Things would have been very different if not for Shiro's use of naming magic. His talk of Tina being a real person who really did live upstairs in the old tourist bureau gave Tina credibly, faith, and the magic to make that a reality. Pretty soon, little Shiro had two big sisters who were looking after him. For three years, they did have a peaceful life in Asteria City. Tina was strong enough now to give Shiro and Prinny real, legal identities: Shi Yamato and Prinny Harper. The sisters decided to let "Shi" enroll in the local school (more like, they were forced by concerned parents and LAWS to let him go,) and reluctantly admitted that they needed part-time jobs. But they were all very happy. Despite some grumbling, the Kami were even happy to have the need for real jobs and real money. They were living the dream of any spirit... Which is to say, they finally felt like they were living. But again... everything came to an unfortunate end for the happy family. Prinny was still the Kami of the Ocean, even when she wasn't seaside. Tina was still the Kami of Aster flowers, even when she worked as a waitess. And Shiro was, still, a Curse Kami. Shi Yamato still became associated with misfortune. He was still cursed, all of the way from the old village, and radiated bad luck. He cracked mirrors by looking into them, brought rain to field trips, caused accidents, and spread unhappiness. As soon as one person blamed him, his curses began to snowball. Within three years of moving to Asteria City, even the modern cityfolk believed Shi had to be cursed. There was just no other explanation. Spirit Hunters moved in. He was recognized by some as being the "Shiro" they had tried to kill three years prior, further cementing his Curse Kami legend. This time, Prinny and Tina were both caught in the crossfire. The pair of them insisted Shi leave ahead of them, but never managed to follow after him. He had never planned to live on his own, nor had he ever known he was a Kami. He initially returned to Asteria to find his sisters, but found the tourism bureau had been burnt to the ground. Tina's statue was shattered and most of the mascot's appearances had been vandalized. Her spirit no doubt had no where to return and had been destroyed. As the reality sunk in, Shi was noticed by some of the town's residents. Fortunately, it was the kinder ones who found him first. They gave the young Kami money and supplies, then insisted that he run away before he was killed too. They called it the last favor they could perform for Tina and Prinny, who had truly been loved by some residents. When Shi asked how he could repay their generosity, he was given a simple request: "Find a place where you'll smile again." Shi did not understand the request at first, but he did his best. For a few years, the thirteen year old boy wandered around lost and confused. He wanted to learn more about whatever he was, so followed a trail of libraries. It was a learning experience on many fronts. As he gradually came to understand that he was a living shrine, Shi also met many more spirits. He never came to understand his ability to name spirits and give them shrines, but was always grateful for the company. He also came to learn his most unfortunate lesson: He was, and always would be, a curse. Time and time again, he encountered as much misfortune as he spread. Those who let the homeless boy into their house would lose everything. Those who treated him kindly became hurt or unhappy. Even Shi himself suffered lose time and time again, whether it was a friend or precious object. Throughout it all, Shi determined that he would keep smiling. He understood that he was a unique Kami and had what all spirits wanted: A physical life. And Shi intended to make use of it. He also learned that he needed to back off and not cause so much pain and suffering. At age fifteen, Shi is more self-aware. Perhaps too self aware. He tries not to interact with others out of fear of cursing them, and is generally living alone. That doesn't stop him from at least trying to be happy: He enjoys composing and playing music, reading, and a lot of one-player sports and games. While he does long for a family again, he has no idea how to handle his growing curses. And they are growing, despite all of his attempts to stop it. Personality . FIRST IMPRESSIONS: sweet. cute. polite. considerate. First impressions can be deceiving. While it is true a portion of Shi's outer personality is an act, it is just as true that he has his genuine highlights. That said, Shi gives off the impression of being akin to a shoujo manga heroine: He's a nice person who smiles a lot and powers through his hardships. His initial instinct is to be polite and considerate. Shi also comes off as being shy, linked to how overly conscious is of those around him. He's also the type to smile a lot. When he's in a neutral mood (ex.: not afflicted with recent trauma,) then he will almost consistently be smiling. It is pretty plain that this kid has a talent for optimism, as he seems able to drag himself out of the angsty pit of despair no matter how deeply he may fall. And in his rush to look after others, Shi is often throwing himself under the bus-- noticeably so. A lot of this stems from honest factors of his personality. Shi is definitely someone who cares deeply about the people around him. He hands out his love and trust like free samples, and does it with the motivation that you'll be a repeat customer. And yes, he does possess the inner strength to get through tragedy and come out smiling. But like all characters whose personality sections become threatening light novels, there is more going on under the surface. I'm so sorry. . GRATEFUL FOR LIFE A huge motivating factor for this kid is the fact that he is glad to be alive. He knows he is in a blessed situation and is very glad for it. His blessed situation is something a lot of humans take for granted, which does make his gratefulness seem weird out of context: Shi is glad to exist physically. This means that Shi obsesses over physical things. He is freakishly happy that he can taste food, glad that people can see his face, happy he can hug a soft stuffed animal, grateful when you hear him... Where Shi is from, a Spirit does not have these things. Existing in a physical form is a luxury to Spirits and Kami, and Shi is very aware of that. This results in Shi coming off as kind of weird. He gets excited over trivial and weird things: For example, he would probably enjoy touching a slimey animal because HE CAN FEEL SLIME! Shi also forgives painful things, such as being yelled at or injured, because he feels he should be glad to feel anything at all. His appreciation of these trivial things reflects in how he treats other people. Firstly, he understands that normal humans don't have the same respect for their physical existence as he does. That's fine. He never holds it against them. To be so spoiled by a luxury is enviable, and he doesn't hate people for complaining. What he does do is try to help people appreciation their blessing as best he can. He also tries really hard to leave physical, lasting evidence of his existence. Shi's hobbies include things like composing music, playing various instruments, baking and cooking, and light sewing. He wants people to be happy they have ears, taste buds, and a body they can dress up. He also wants to leave things behind, so when he inevitably vanishes he won't be lost forever. . HAPPY BY CHOICE Shi's happiness and grateful personality is genuine. He is not pretending to love his life... all the time. The truth is that this kid has many reasons to be sad and he didn't just magically get rid of them. He chose to get rid of them. It's as unhealthy as it sounds. For as his appreciation for his life, Shi is also burdened with guilt over it. A lot of people who he has loved, and still loves, died to get him where he is now. Shi knows that his life is precious. When he gets upset, particularly when he's mad about the cards life gives him, Shi worries he's throwing salt in his dead loved one's wounds. So while he is almost always going to smile in the end, know that he doesn't always smile for the right reasons. Sometimes, Shi is just smiling because he thinks it is his job. He thinks that, as a Spirit gone Kami, he doesn't have the right to complain about his physical life. There are Spirits who envy his position and he doesn't want to hurt them by complaining about a gift. Once again, he's very considerate. Too considerate. He lets it define him in a very unhealthy way. Shi can be taken advantage of and hurt over and over AND OVER, because he doesn't want to ever think ill of his lot in life. He does not entirely understand that you can be happy to be alive, but sad about the life you love. . POOR ANGST MANAGEMENT He's in his teens now, but Shi can be very childish. Particularly regarding how he understands and handles his emotions. Now, I will briefly rise to his defense in two ways. For one, Shi died when he was ten years old. His emotional development got thrown off track very drastically. Secondly, Shi has never had a stable figure in his life to raise him. His decided family and role models come and go through a fast moving revolving door. They are rarely around long enough to teach Shi the things we take for granted, like how to grieve or how to be angry at someone. Likewise, Shi hasn't had anyone to teach him to properly distinguish the evils of the world. He's naive and easily tricked, which leads him to easily fall into situations where he wants to scream or cry. His mechanisms for dealing with these things are self-taught, by a physically dead kid who feels pressured into smiling. Shi tries to bottle up negative feelings for as long as humanly possible. He will change topics, tell smiling lies, and ignore his negativity. And he's very rarely going to let anyone help him deal it. When he reaches his breaking point, Shi will flee and vent privately. He does not want anyone to see him as being ungrateful to live, and he thinks taking more than a few minutes to deal with sadness equates to him wasting his precious life. It's not healthy, but he's never learned it is the wrong way to handle himself. . NARCISSTIC The way that Shi is perceived is incredibly important to him. This kid is practically homeless for a large portion of his life, but he won't be caught dead looking it. That's actually part of his problem: He doesn't want to be caught dead. Shi is a Kami piloting his own corpse. His body is dead. There's even a gorey stab wound on his back. Yet Shi does not look like your classic zombie child: I purposefully colour his icons with blush on his cheeks, eyeshadow around his eyes, and sometimes I add frickin eyelashes. No one looks like that rolling out of grave. The kid spends his bits of money on cosmetics and meticulously maintains his make-up, hygeine, fashion, and aesthetic to look lively and healthy. Shi cares A LOT about how he looks. He cares about how other people look too. He's downright narcissistic. His big sister, Prinny, got her name because she looked like a 'Princess' to Shi. He attached that narcissistic, appearance-based name to her so hard it became a magical shrine. While part of his naming ability is do to him loving the Spirits and their personalities, it shouldn't be ignored that Shi creates shrines that are attractive. The names he picks usually relate to something physical. Looks matter a lot to this kid. Granted, Shi also grows in an environment where being physically seen is a great gift. Spirits lament the fact that no one can see them. A Spirit that can be seen by humans and have a physical body is considered blessed (and has probably transcended to being a Kami, but ssh.) Shi was also harassed and murdered because of his appearance. His Kami name, Shiro, comes from his deathly white hair. The only reason he hasn't changed his hair colour is because it is an aspect of his mortal life, which is a concern I will cover shortly. . SEEKING APPROVAL Physical appearances aren't all that matter to Shi. He cares a lot about how people perceive his personality as well. Shi is one of those kids who is constantly seeking for approval. He has always wanted to be someone people like. Even before he as labeled a Curse Kami, before his home village ganged up to murder him, and before he was abandoned by his mother, 'Marion' wanted to be liked. Now moreso than ever, he understands that the way people perceive you is important. As a Kami, Shi's existence is largely dictated by how humans see him. He is a Curse Kami precisely because so many people have cursed his very existence. He understands that he causes even more trouble when more people label him as a "curse." And that trouble will lead him to losing people, places, and happiness. So Shi puts a lot of effort into how people perceive him. Before delving into how Shi wants to be seen, I should point out that "wanting to be liked" makes him overly cautious and he usually just comes off as shy. He's watching his every word, every action, and every reaction to get a positive response. When he's not sure how to proceed, he hangs his head and stutters in a quiet, nervous voice. That's not at all how he wants people to see him, but hey. If we all came off how we want to, the world would be weird. . DESIRE TO BE PERCEIVED AS "KNIGHTLY" What Shi wants to project is the image of someone confident, polite, happy, and self-reliant. Read his writing samples now and laugh at how far off the mark he actually is. Shi will tell blatant lies to people, thinking he is somehow covering his trail. His lies are meant to throw people off the scent of how lonely, scared, and dependent he actually is. Sometimes, Shi does find himself in a situation where he can project his desired image. When he gets the ball rolling, Shi tries to flower his speech with "fancy" speech. More like, he sounds like he read one Shakespeare play and thinks he now fluently speaks ye olden English. When he's got the act going, he smiles politely and behaves like a gentleman. He wants to be like a fairytale knight. But Shi is not a fairytale knight. The fact he wants it so badly just goes to show how aware of that fact he is. Shi is a Curse Kami. He is a Spirit of a young boy who was tossed to Kami status.... because people hated him too much to let him rest in peace. The very fact he is able to exist and struggle for happiness is linked to how much people hate him. That's a hard fact to live with. It's even harder to live with it while choosing to smile. The way Shi lives with his Curse Kami existence is really a testament to his strong will. Shi probably could be some form of fairytale knight, if he wasn't so caught up on the Curse Kami reality. . SELF HATRED Being a Curse Kami scares him. Shi hates it. He may live with it, but he is never happy with it. While he might smile a lot and while he has the potential to be a cute and goofy child, the fact he is a Curse always exists. Shi knows that he can get people killed just by hanging around them. His craving to be liked and in good company contradicts his kind hearted love for everyone around him: He wants to be with people, but he knows that it wrong. So Shi often plays an annoying game of tug-of-war with people when he first meets them. He is simultaneously trying to be a good boy and push them away, for their safety, while trying to give them chances to tug him over, for his sake. Inevitably, Shi is probably always going to let himself be tugged over. His desire to love others for selfish reasons keeps outweighing any selfless love. He has accepted this, since he is a Curse Kami, and decided that the most he can do is "be careful." He tries very hard not to let his friends get TOO close. Like an emo, edgy anime boy, Shi tries to hold people are arms' length. He would rather not hurt people and prove to them he's a curse... For his sake as much as theirs. As I close this personality, I will end it with the fact that Shi doesn't like himself. He's trying his best to be happy. He really does want to achieve a happiness that justifies all the lives lost to save his... but he's tired. That revolving door of relationships took its toll on him already, and now he is just standing there letting it slap him in the face. Shi believes too strongly that 'love and happiness' exist, even for Curses. Because Shi also believes that he's a Curse. He has seen too much proof that this is true. He might deny facts that get in the way of his ability to enjoy his life, but that doesn't mean he thinks highly of himself. This self hatred are also, ironically, what make him such a dangerous Curse. A Kami is defined by humans, and Shi's mortal body-- the shrine his Spirit is attached to-- is still capable of defining Kami. So as long as Shi holds the belief that he is a Curse Kami, that is not going to change. FORTUNATELY, a few good relationships and some consistency in his life can right that. Or could. If he stopped getting people killed. But eh. Some cycles are doomed to repeat themselves. Live until you become a villain, right, Shi? Abilities & Inventory permissions art credit, code credit