[Original] Harukaka [A]

[Harukaka]

ORIGINAL or CANON: Original


Series of Origin: Original


What was the inspiration for them / do they embody a particular feeling or emotion?

I was inspired to design them after looking back on FFVII and seeing the character of Cait Sith.  I felt like there was something more that could be done with that kind of character, even if he was ultimately just an autonomous doll.


Name: Harukaka


Nickname: Haru


Age: 19


Gender: Genderless, but identifies as Male


Species: Feline Doll


Being Type: Somebody


Position: Chaotic Good


Appearance:



Harukaka is a four foot tall, walking, talking, living and breathing doll crafted in the image of an anthropomorphic black cat. His blue and yellow eyes dilate and shrink in the light, and despite his small and seemingly stuffed stature, the feline weighs 100 lbs. While the stuffed feline's fur is soft and practically authentic, it does not show any internal warmth aside from the engines running within his body to keep him "alive". He wears a red and gold fire-resistant coat over his body, with the hands housing large compartments for a secret set of bladed claws that he utilizes during sneak attacks.

Harukaka's logo, T.C.C. is the logo for his restaurant, The Cat's Cradle. He adorns it proudly on all of his apparel, happy to promote his establishment any way he can. Beneath his thick stuffing and fur is an orichalcum skeleton, made to withstand the test of time and to give him a skeletal structure that could support his body. Not only does his metallic skeleton keep Harukaka from collapsing, it also provides him with the strength to carry heavy objects.



History:

Harukaka was initially the gift to an unborn grandchild, crafted by the hands of the unborn grandson's grandfather who worked to make Harukaka his masterpiece. It was an autonomous puppet that his grandson could play with far into his life, to not only keep him company, but to protect him as well. It would have been a perfect gift for his grandchild, but he never came to be. The unborn child perished in stillbirth and left the grandfather in shambles. And yet, despite this tragedy, the grandfather would return to a horrific sight upon returning home.

The doll he had made, the autonomous puppet, crawled along his floor gazing in curiosity at his environment.  Unintelligible babbling sprouted from the doll's mouth, his blue and yellow eyes so full of life. Harukaka's mannerisms and psychology were all too reminiscent of what could have been. Not wanting to destroy his masterpiece and seeing what he believed to be his grandson's reincarnation, the old man raised the doll as if Harukaka was his grandson. The old engineer kept Harukaka a secret from his grieving daughter, hiding the doll in his attic so as not to frighten and alarm his beloved child. He taught everything he knew to the little feline, how to speak, how to read, and how to cook as well. Despite being estranged and isolated from the outside world due to his grandfather's secretive upbringing, Harukaka lived a happy life, enjoying the time he spent with his grandfather and loving all of the wonderful things he had to teach him.

However, it was only a matter of time before Harukaka grew curious of the world. After disobeying his grandfather a week before his eleventh birthday, Harukaka left the attic and had a chance encounter with the old man's daughter. Unaware of Harukaka's involvement with her life, the kind middle aged woman asked the doll many a question. She was fascinated by how lively and intelligent he was for one of her father's creations. During their conversation, Harukaka learned that this woman was a chef, and had asked her to show him how to make something delicious for his grandfather. Initially outraged at his creation for having disobeyed him in such a way, he was swiftly calmed by his daughter who was completely unaware of the circumstances of Harukaka's creation. Rather than explain the truth, the old engineer lied to his daughter, and allowed Harukaka to accompany her home every once and a while to learn more about his "mother".  Through these visitations and get togethers, Harukaka developed his passion to create beautiful and delicious cuisine.

Being a traveling chef herself, the middle aged woman felt it appropriate to teach the doll self defense, as she knew that it would be hard for him to be accepted by his peers due to his inhuman appearance and creation. She also taught him how to cast fire spells, so that he wouldn't end up burning his fur. Despite the numerous incidents that occurred in Traverse Town, the trio lived happily together. In the grandfather's twilight years, he still kept the knowledge of his grandchild's heart to the grave, passing on at the age of seventy five when Harukaka was fifteen years old. During the past four years, the middle aged woman raised the doll herself, teaching him everything she knew about cooking and the ways of the world until one day, the doll decided to leave home.

Harukaka did not want his world to consist of just his family and his mother's restaurant. Harukaka was a curious and determined spirit, wanting to see the stars and live out his potential. He was inspired by all of those that would come to the town from distant, albeit destroyed lands, wanting to see the various cultures and cuisines. Haru wanted to experience everything this universe had to offer him, but the doll knew that he could not fulfill his potential by staying at home for eternity. After giving his mother a tearful goodbye, Harukaka set off on his journey to create his own restaurant, and to one day make it the best restaurant known to all kind.

Current Primary Objective:
To sample the various cuisines in the galaxy, and to take this knowledge and become the greatest chef in the universe!

Learning type:
Haru is a kinesthetic learner, willing to learn more about his environment by trying new things and working hands on with objects.


Personality:

Harukaka is a very outgoing and rather blunt individual, always happy to say what's on his mind even if it might piss off others.  Whether it be his distaste in a meal, or his approval of a companion's actions, he'll be happy to show his emotions on his sleeves.  That said, he is very passionate about his cooking, and is more than happy to share a meal to any who require his services, be they villains bent on world domination, or starving heroes looking for a meal.  Given his less than human anatomy, it's surprising that this doll can have such colorful emotions, but Harukaka simply boasts that he's "just that awesome," and waves it off as if it were nothing.

In all honesty, his origin bothers him at times, and while he knows full well how his body was made, he was never able to understand how he came to have his heart.  Regardless, Haru always carries a chipper demeanor with him, and is confident in his abilities as not only a chef, but in his strength to protect his customers and friends.


Home World:

Traverse Town


Natural Affinities/Abilities/Skills:

Having "grown up" in Traverse Town, Harukaka was no stranger to magic, and, wanting to become a chef of his own, without the need to manually start his own fires, Harukaka made sure that the first spell he would learn would be Fire.  While he can use Fire offensively, Haru simply uses it to start camp fires and light his stoves, preferring to keep things small and subtle rather than loud and destructive.

His natural ability comes with him being a doll, and this ability is his inability to die unless his Heart is removed.  Removing his limbs will certainly impede his movements, but being a doll and lacking blood, Harukaka can sew his limbs back onto his body, given enough time and a sewing kit.  However, Harukaka's limbs cannot move independently from his body, becoming limp and effectively useless.  However, if his head is removed from his body, then Harukaka's head will be the only functioning segment of his body.

Due to having no real organs or brain chemistry, Harukaka is naturally immune to poison, and can simply spit it right back out if he eats any toxic food.  This does not mean that he is immune to acidic liquids, however, and Harukaka can still be effected by spells such as Confuse, Sleep, and Blind.


Limitations/Drawbacks:
 
Due to the fact that Harukaka is, anatomically, a stuffed doll with mechanical parts, he is very easy to knock back and send flying.  Not only that, but he has a natural weakness to fire, and without his red jacket, he will easily burn if hit with fire magic. 

If a body part is separated from his body, it will take three consecutive posts for Harukaka's body to repair the fibers and metal skeleton. Even then, the repair being so swiftly done will make it easier to remove.  If his head or his body is completely destroyed, his Heart will leave and Harukaka will die.

His fire magic has a cooldown of one post before he can cast another, and can currently cast only 5 fire spells before needing to take an Ether.  The spell can only travel for ten feet before extinguishing, and due to it's small size, is ill fitted for combat against larger creatures.

Also, despite being a construct, Harukaka can still succumb to the psychological need to eat and drink.  Not only that, but his body uses organic and liquid components to fuel his engines, and if he does not receive any nourishment his body will shut down to recharge itself. 


Passive:


Heartborn Embers

Weapon:

Harukaka wields a Scimitar in his mouth to mainly slash when his six claw blades are hindered or are detached, allowing him to strike even when armless. Otherwise, his main weapons of choice are the hidden blade claws he hides in his sleeves, allowing them to shoot out with a simple flick of the wrist.

Role Playing Sample:

The night sky was cool to the touch, the breeze cascading around the brightly dressed feline as he lay in a seemingly endless field of grass, gazing up at the beautiful night sky, imagining all of the worlds that he had yet to visit, the places that still needed to be explored.  Still, having been gone from home for so long, it wasn't hard for Haru to feel homesick, the feline doll gently holding onto his red jacket, a gift ordered from his foster mother to protect him from the fire he would have to work with to create the many meals he strove to create. Still, he knew he couldn't come back to Traverse Town empty handed, he needed to learn at least a few new recipes before he would return.  After all, he wanted to surprise his mentor by showering her with exotic food and culinary delights that she never could have dreamed of!  Harukaka smiled, just thinking of the look on her face brought him joy and a renewed vigor in his quest.

"Don't worry, Master, I'm going to make you and Dad proud of me, just you wait," The doll told himself, his voice befitting his young age with how soft it was.  He would raise a covered paw up to the stars, grasping out at them and grinning, knowing that it was only a matter of time until he learned it all.

[Jin]

Hello Wiesel,

To start things off, I'd like to offer a few corrections that can be made in regards to spelling, grammar, and syntax.

"Harukaka is a four foot tall, walking, talking, living and breathing doll, crafted in the image of an anthropomorphic black cat."
The comma after doll shouldn't be there.

"He adorns it proudly on all of his apparel, happy to promote his establishment anyway he can."
Anyway should be two words when used in this situation.

"...crafted from the hands of the unborn grandson's grandfather who worked to make Harukaka his masterpiece."
This sort of sounds like someone cut off the grandfather's hands and used them to make Harukaka. Try using "by" instead of "from."

"It would have been a perfect gift for his grandchild...but he never came to be, the unborn child perishing in stillbirth and leaving the grandfather to be in shambles."
You're using the ellipsis to indicate a pause here, but you'd be better off using a comma and then making the last part a new sentence.

The first sentence of your second paragraph in the history section is a veritable comma parade. Try to clean it up a little bit. Break it up into two or three sentences to try and increase readability.

"Not wanting to destroy his masterpiece, and seeing what he believed to be his grandson's reincarnation..."
This comma shouldn't be here as you're making a two-item list rather than conjoining two different subjects into one sentence.

At this point, I think you know that a lot of my critiques are going to be about comma use. Go back and make sure you're using commas where they should go. I don't expect perfection, but there's still room for improvement.

"Haru is a Kinesthetic learner..."
Kinesthetic shouldn't be capitalized here.


I'm a little concerned about the length of time you have specified to reattach limbs that have been blown off. Five posts is quite a long time, especially when you take into account the relative lack of an "x seconds per post" system we have here. If you're comfortable with it, feel free to keep it as such, but know that you'll mostly be on the honor system with it in the future.

Other than what I've listed above, everything looks good. You've got solid characterization, and your narrative is relatively free of any holes.

As is customary to World Destiny, you have a two week period to respond. Any notice from you about the status of your work will do.

Good luck and happy editing!

[Harukaka]

Thank you for all of the input Jin, I went ahead and fixed up the comma usage, and decreased the amount of time it takes for Harukaka to repair lost limbs. Instead of implying that he stops all combat and just sews at his arm, I instead have his body perform automatic repairs in the event of a lost limb.

[Jin]

Your grammar is looking next to impeccable. I have to say that while I don't usually enjoy anthropomorphic characters, I'm liking your bio more with each reading. I see no reason why you shouldn't be thrown into the mix.

Good work. Be sure to check your mail for a reward notification.