kirin Higanbana, The Teacup Kirin! [Complete]

[Elderflower]

 

 

Roleplay Type: World of Equestria

 

Name: Higanbana

 

Sex: Female

 

Age: Young Mare

 

Species: Kirin

 

Eye colour: Golden

 

Coat: Higanbana’s coat is a soft cherry red, shiny and silky and healthy as can be. Her scales, soft pink in colour, shine brilliantly in the light. After all, her beauty regimen is quite strict!

 

Mane/Tail: Higanbana’s soft pink mane and tail are voluminous and curly. They’re a part of her unbearably adorable charm, partnered of course by her stubby-chubby horns!

 

Physique: This kirin is so small she might as well be pocket-sized. Though in her videos and billboards she looks like an average mare, in real life she’s often confused for an adolescent. This, of course, is part of her appeal. She is the Teacup Kirin! Feminine and little, everybody wants to scoop her up and plop her in a teacop! Don’t be fooled, though - she’s a very fit and very tough, tiny kirin!

 

Residence: Where else could a Neighponese idol call home but Polohama? The lights, the beat, and the restlessness of the city are the spice of life for Higanbana. Though it is not where she was born or raised!

 

Occupation: One of Polohama’s top and most beloved pop idols/models. Higanbana’s cute and creepy charm create a flavour completely unique to her. Upbeat, sugary sound partnered with weird and macabre lyrics and visuals have built up Higanbana’s dedicated and adoring fanbase! She calls her fanbase her Garden, and her fans her Lilies!

Considering how busy the life of an idol is, you would think it is her one and only passion. But that could not be further from the truth. When asking Higanbana about her life, she will always say she was born and raised in Polohama. That, however, is a terrible lie. In truth, she was born in the Forest of the Forsake at the base of Mount Kaminichi. A daughter of the all-female Aokigahara Clan, Higanbana is a trained and fearsome ninja.

 

Cutie Mark: A Red Spider Lily (higanbana)  blooming in the embrace of a crescent moon.

Raised in the dark, mysterious Forest of the Forsaken by a clan of all-female ninja, Higanbana lived a rigid and restrictive life. She woke before dawn, trained in order to earn her meals, and worked for the better of her Clan. Foraging, weaving, dying, tilling, planting, watering, training: these were but some of the tasks expected of a Daughter of Aokigahara. Her evenings were spent perfecting the magic of her breath through practice and meditation, as well. There was no free time, no leisure, and no joy outside of hard work.

And all of that drove Higanbana a little bonkers. For whatever reason, since the moment she could stand, Higanbana was a starlet. She was bubbly, loud, and loved to sing. Everything she did seemed to be aimed at entertaining and amusing others. Her personality, as one might guess, received very polarized responses. While some mares and fillies in her clan adored her, others found they held very little patience for her antics. She was a distraction for their collective goals, and as such required a tighter leash. But the more her leash was tightened, the bigger her personality seemed to grow. She was an unstoppable force of cuteness, which she would quickly learn had its major drawbacks.

Even from a young age, Aokigahara’s training was intense and often dangerous. It required a great deal of individual skill and, more importantly, teamwork. One evening, dashing through the treetops of the Forest of the Forsaken with her fellow fillies, Higanbana saw what made for a perfect stage in an open area of the woods. A tall, flat boulder bathed in moonlight would make the perfect spotlight for one of her adorable routines! Higanbana flitted down onto the boulder and began singing. After all, they were far from their destination where the youkai of the forest lurked. What could go wrong?

Almost immediately, she was set upon by those very same youkai. A shriek escaped her lips and her sisters rushed to her rescue. Together, they pushed back the three macabre beasts, but not without serious injury. When they returned to their tiny village, she apologized for acting out against the plan their training group had skillfully put together for facing the youkai. She also realized, and said as much, that there was a time and place for her to stand in a spotlight, and she must learn to appreciate the beauty in the serene, calculative nature her Clan was trying to instill in her.

And just like that, something clicked. Upon her flank, her cutie mark blossomed! Within the feminine light of the moon bloomed the red spider lily she was named after. So too would Higanbana blossom if she quietly absorbed the teachings passed down by the mares of her clan. That, and of course she bloomed in the spotlight as well! What a lovely dual meaning!

 

Unique Traits: Much like Higanbana’s dual personality and lifestyle, her magic has two strengths! As an idol, when her black flame-breath engulfs something or someone, they cause them to sparkle and glitter in any colour or pattern the kirin dreams up! When working as a ninja, her breath has a muting effect, canceling out any noise her targets might make. It’s an incredibly useful skill, taught to her by the mares of Clan Aokigahara. The sparkling is 100% a Teacup Kirin original.

One of the heaviest focuses in her training within Clan Aokigahara was acupressure. As tiny as she is, brute strength would be hard to compete with. So she learned how to hit pressure points to stun, temporarily paralyze, or knock the wind out of any foe! She needs a pretty big opening to do something as extreme as paralyze a foe, so typically she just stuns them. Still, wielded correctly her talents can really come in handy! Not to mention it’s a perfect way to end a physical conflict without unnecessary violence!

As an idol, Higanbana has a powerful and impressive voice. The most enchanting element of her singing is the pure emotion she can channel into it, though she rarely gets to show that skill off as a pop idol. Her usual upbeat music follows the trend of sugary-sweet hits, and only during her once-per-record ballads can she really get a chance to belt it out. Despite all of this, it goes without saying that her cuteness it her most unique trait!

 

History: Born within the mist and shadows of the Forest of the Forsaken to a Clan that is little more than myth in Neighpon, Higanbana grew up following a strict and imprisoning Code that sought to stomp out her uniqueness. Clan Aokigahara raised ninja, not pop idols. It wasn’t until after she earned her cutie mark that the kirin understood why things were that way and she learned to set her charm and talents free only when it was appropriate. And safe (see: when there weren’t youkai hiding in the shadows, ready to pounce her or her sisters).

Once she had learned that valuable lesson, however, she began to excel at her training. The way of Clan Aokigahara was a path she passionately followed, training mind and body to shape herself into an excellent shadow warrior. Though she also desperately enjoyed the rare occasions when she got the opportunity to perform her little made-up songs and dances with her clan. As time passed by, she grew hungrier for stories of the outside world. There were only three reasons any mare left the safety of Aokigahara Village: to work as ninja-for-hire and bring wealth back to their clan, to find opportunities for permanent work amongst the lords of Neighpon (and bring wealth back to the Clan), or to find a mate so they might bear their Clan a new daughter. And of course, each mare who returned to the Forest of the Forsaken returned with stories, and they were tales that Higanbana lived for.

When she was of age and the Mothers of Aokigahara deemed her training complete, Higanbana made the decision to leave. It broke her heart, but she knew that she would always yearn for a different life if she remained home. Thankfully, her sisters understood this and sent her along happily and teary-eyed. Her Mothers did much the same, with a few exceptions. First: outside of the Forest of the Forsaken, Clan Aokigahara existed only in myth. That, and powerful illusory magic were the only reason their Clan remained safe and unchallenged. Second: a mare might leave the Village, but they could never leave the Clan. As such, her wealth must be shared with her sisters, to be delivered personally or given to a sister sent to meet her. And last of all: keep an eye out for worthy stallions, to make her sisters’ task in searching for suitable mates easier. This meant strong, kind-hearted males who would have no qualms raising a son if one of her sisters was not blessed with a daughter.

With that, Higanbana set out for Polohama, and when she arrived in the city she learned to live in the shadows. Armed with her skill and the advice of her sisters and Mothers, she shrouded herself with darkness, appearing only to those in need and performing tasks (protecting them/their loved ones, locating their enemies, etc,) to earn a living while she tried to make it as a star.

During her first audition, she was chased out of the auditorium when she shocked the talent scouts with her macabre lyrics. During her second audition, she met the longma mare who would become her manager and took the first steps into her career.

Through hardship and toil she made a name for herself, and eventually became known across all Neighpon as Higanbana the Teacup Kirin: Neighpon’s most adorable idol! Her night life has been quite successful, too, as potential clients lay red spider lilies in their window whenever they require the assistance of the shadow-dwelling heroine living a rather vigilante-like lifestyle in Polohama.

It might seem silly that the flower she was named after was her calling card, but Higanbana is very skilled ninja, and none who have had dealings with the Red Spider Lily would ever consider it might be a beloved Polohama idol. Mostly, they assume she’s just another Higanbana fanatic! After all, the Teacup Kirin has a reputation as a shy, adorable, and clumsy mare! Constantly tripping slipping, and dropping things! Luckily, she manages to keep her cool when she performs at least!

 

Character Personality: Bright, bubbly, and upbeat! Higanbana is the perfect image of a pop idol. She’s demure, sugary-sweet, and very polite at all times. Sure, she might have a macabre and weird style, but that could never cancel out the unbearable cuteness of her size and stubby-chubby horns! As an idol, she is often slipping, tripping over things, dropping props, and apologizing. Sometimes it can be quite a pain for directors, but when the pressure is on her she always gets her act together!

Unfortunately, though, she has one glaring personality flaw that doesn’t pair well with fame: Higanbana is absolutely terrified of males. She was, after all, raised by a Clan of quiet, composed mares - visions of serenity and focus. With no exposure to males until she came to Polohama in her late teens, she just can’t help but feel flustered and shy around them! Especially the pretty ones, they always make her blush and fumble and try to hide behind her fluffy, fluffy tail!

Despite all of this however, when she darkens her fur and dons the garb of Clan Aokigahara, Higanbana is a skilled and ruthless ninja. She can take down youkai and bad guys by utilizing her magic, her smarts, and most importantly her in-depth understanding of countless creatures’ anatomies and the art of acupressure.

 

Character Summary: Painfully cute idol by day, fearless ninja by night! Higanbana is a teacup-sized kirin who can put up a good fight, travel undetected through the dark, charm thousands of creatures across Neighpon, and belt out an irresistible tune! She’s quite the impressive package, for one who also happens to be, well, terrified of males and prone to horrible clumsiness when she’s not focused on being a good ninja.

She’s dedicated to her Clan, her fans, and her friends! The highlights of her life at any given time are visiting home and visiting her fans. Stardom requires a mare to sacrifice many things, but she’ll never give up her loving nature and humility. After all, she learned long ago the dangers of being an arrogant attention-seeker

[RainbowFoxxy]

Beautifully written! Enjoy playing your new Teacup!