Personality and Abilities
Aug. 20th, 2013 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
respectableadultShippo's character is a bit more complex than it appears to be. While he is very young by demon as well as human standards, he can often act surprisingly mature and show a great deal of insight. He's usually a little mellow even when exasperated or happy, though he can panic at a moment's notice when worrying about things or when he's afraid or even when he realizes how badly he may have screwed up. But in an instant he can remind someone that he's just a kid or state the fact himself. He's almost never afraid to speak his mind or to confront someone with an issue, but may get himself into trouble with his words sometimes because he irritates someone or gives a secret he shouldn't have...which isn't to say he can't consider another's feelings before he speaks or that he can't keep a secret, he just sometimes doesn't think first. He's also surprisingly brave can show a lot of determination. Like most fox demons, he also clever and resourceful despite being so young. He does seem to need reassurance that he has a place he belongs from time to time though.
Shippo can show a lot of understanding for things like relationships or people's behaviors, even though he doesn't always understand all aspects of them due to his age. He doesn't get the more physical aspects of relationships for example, but came to the conclusion that Inuyasha hadn't gotten very far with Kagome because of his reaction to the idea of bathing with Kagome when Shippo brought it up...something that had been perfectly normal in Shippo's family. He also easily caught onto Miroku and Sango's feelings for each other, which led him to being more exasperated by Miroku's lechery than he had been before Sango was a part of the group. He tends to fit his closest friends into more family roles, though he may not realize he's doing it. As such, he has no problem sharing baths with girls or women he's close to since it's how his family did things and he uses that to an extent to gauge how close to each other his friends are. Shippo is perfectly capable of quiet and contemplative moments by himself or with others, as well as participating in serious conversations with or without snide remarks depending on who he's talking to.
He can snap from being angry at them to worried in an instant in serious situations or might go from worried to angry as the situation deems, such as being angry with a friend who's been hitting him to being concerned when he realizes they've gone off into danger without him. He will sit with incredible patience at a location one of his friends is either supposed to return to, has disappeared from, or may appear at to wait for them. He will also protect and tend to wounded or sick friends regardless of any normal annoyance he has at them when they need him to, acting very responsible and taking his job seriously...at least until the friend in question does something to show that the situation is no longer so serious.
He has a sense of honor and does attempt to step up to be a reliable and responsible asset to his friends, and even if he can't help in battle and has to hide he hates being left behind altogether. He'll do just about anything to help anyone he feels truly obligated to, including endangering himself for them or getting on his knees to beg someone he doesn't like if they can help. He's also not the type who likes to sit by and watch someone be abused without proof of wrongdoing if he can do something about it. When in a situation that's stressful, extremely scary, or where he is being relied on by his friends, he may try to psych himself up by telling himself that he's got to keep it together.
Despite being as mature and level-headed as some adults overall, Shippo does slip into childish moments frequently. This usually happens when he's afraid, trying to escape punishment or get something from someone, or trying to get Inuyasha in trouble for hitting him. He can be obnoxious without meaning to mostly because he lacks a brain to mouth filter sometimes, so he tends to speak his mind even if it is insulting. He will sometimes try to lighten a mood but may end up more obnoxious than helpful and can exhibit rash judgement in pointing fingers or just acting without thinking. Like many people he expects to be paid attention to when he's talking about important things, and will become upset whe he doesn't have that attention.
He is just old enough to feel attraction and while he'll try to appear cool and mature to someone he's infatuated with, he's truthfully feeling awkward. But he will go to great lengths for the object of his affection's happiness or safety and even place himself in extremely dangerous situations to help them. The same is true of anyone he feels a strong connection to, such as other orphans.
It's been shown more than once that the deaths or disappearances of the ones he holds dear affect Shippo heavily. He's not good at keeping his own grief in check at all. But if he can he will hold it together until he can find help or it arrives before he breaks down. Someone else's grief over a loss is handled a little better and he's less likely to cry over it, but it still hits him hard especially if he knows the person who is suffering. If given the chance to help possibly prevent his friends from suffering, he will go above and beyond including, but probably not limited to, begging the help of someone who could either easily kill him or that he's less than fond of.
He wants badly to be considered to have some importance, so he hates when the enemy gives him the brush-off even if he's terrified of them...not so badly that he'll pursue them alone or anything though. He's also not immune to peer pressure and to keep up appearances may sometimes be goaded into doing things he doesn't want to or normally wouldn't...though if the person he's wronging has a tendency to pick on himlike Inuyasha, then he'll probably enjoy the task to an extent. He's not so weak-willed that he'd try to seriously hurt someone, that he didn't feel deserved it, of his own free will though. When pressured into a situation where his honor has to come before his fear he may try to sound fearless, however unconvincing the act may be, but his brave words are probably a poorly disguised plea for help from his friends.
As a fox demon, he knows a little bit about how to play on emotions. He is a good actor and can be convincingly heartbroken seems to have mastered crocodile tears. He generally knows just when to play the "I'm just a little kid" card and can use his childishness to get what he wants from a lot of people. If he knows someone well enough he can actually impersonate them convincingly, and if he's at least seen them in action he can passably. He's clever enough to think of a way to get out of many situations and also knows when his best bet is to stay out of sight. He seems a bit cowardly, but it's because he is still a small child and not a powerful demon. Dangerous situations are something natural to be afraid of but he will usually stick close to his friends even while very afraid.
Even though he's a demon, Shippo seems to understand more complex emotions that demons are said not to be able to. He acknowledges that humans are weaker than full-blooded demons, or even half-demons, as a simple fact without being intentionally condescending and generally interacts with humans the same as anyone else. He doesn't normally pull tricks on them and several of his crushes were human. He can understand their fear of demons, but he doesn't like when it results in all demons being hated equally. Likewise he doesn't approve of demons who attack humans just because they can, or either race picking on half-demons just because they're half-demons. He actually can easily enjoy playing with any children regardless of what they are and him disliking anyone is based on their actions.
Abilities
Shippo is a demon so he's immortal. Being a fox demon specifically, he's got somewhat heightened senses, but his nose is nowhere near as sharp as a dog demon's. He is able to smell the difference in races of those he's around without having to be right on top of them, but tracking is not and may never be his strong point and scents that are strong enough to bother demons with keen noses don't really bother him much. He's physically strong enough to carry a human child a bit bigger than him on his back without slowing much or hindering his surprisingly good jumping ability. He can take a bit more damage than most humans but is far from invincible.
Shippo's fairly proficient in fox magic, which is mostly very realistic illusions, moreso than other fox demons around his age. The tools most often used for this are his toys and various leaves, acorns, mushrooms, talismans, and very small statues that he carries with him: He's also knowledgeable about the fact that many smaller demons use similar tricks and is less likely to fall for most of the more common ones. The art of transformation may still fool him because he doesn't always use all of his senses, but this is most likely in the cases of convincing female disguises or in situations he really can't take the time to double-check. His fox magic can also be combined with other types of magic for new effects, such as working with the exorcist's talismans to turn himself or others completely invisible, making it much more flexible than it seems.
Mostly he can make the toys and mini statues appear larger, heavier, or more dangerous than they actually are, such as his toy snake appearing to be a real giant snake or dragon, or his tops appearing to be large and crushingly heavy. No matter how real they look and seem to feel, these illusions are temporary, but can leave quite and impression including indents in the ground from larger items. He also owns a little toy horse that can be transformed into a flying mount that can carry one person. In the manga and one of the movies, Shippo was the toy horse himself.
At one point he was shown to have a little toy propeller, which when attached to a person made them fly in a direction with no control over it.
The talismans can work to extend the effects of things like the mini statues being enlarged to pin someone, effectively keeping them prisoner until the talisman is removed. It seems that not just anyone can do so though.
The mushrooms or acorns can be made to appear alive, shrieking or crying distractingly and can be a distraction for enemies or an alert to allies that can lead them somewhere.
Using leaves he can create copies of himself or other objects to fool his opponents, or transform some other objects accordingly for traps. He can also transform himself into anyone, though it takes a lot of practice with a transformation to hide his tail properly in that form. He can also transform into other animals or even items as needed, but the resemblance to what he needs to be isn't always perfect. He can become a giant floating balloon-like form to fly and can carry up to one adult in this form, though at current it would be extremely hard on him to try. By mid-series he was able to carry one person easily though, and by the end he was able two easily carry two plus extra items. His balloon form can also be used to cushion the impact of one or more people sent flying, though the collision is less than comfortable for him.
He carries a number of fire bombs (firecrackers) that can be used for minor damage or a great distraction.
His fox fire can be used at will and works great as a light to the darkness. It can burn things like spider webs, but is not as hot as real flames. This makes it next to useless beyond a distraction in most cases, but is good for defense especially against the heat of a fire.
Despite not actually being evil, Shippo is still very vulnerable to the effects of holy powers. He suffers extreme fatigue and lethargy near powerful holy barriers and can take serious damage from attacks of the same type.
Shippo can show a lot of understanding for things like relationships or people's behaviors, even though he doesn't always understand all aspects of them due to his age. He doesn't get the more physical aspects of relationships for example, but came to the conclusion that Inuyasha hadn't gotten very far with Kagome because of his reaction to the idea of bathing with Kagome when Shippo brought it up...something that had been perfectly normal in Shippo's family. He also easily caught onto Miroku and Sango's feelings for each other, which led him to being more exasperated by Miroku's lechery than he had been before Sango was a part of the group. He tends to fit his closest friends into more family roles, though he may not realize he's doing it. As such, he has no problem sharing baths with girls or women he's close to since it's how his family did things and he uses that to an extent to gauge how close to each other his friends are. Shippo is perfectly capable of quiet and contemplative moments by himself or with others, as well as participating in serious conversations with or without snide remarks depending on who he's talking to.
He can snap from being angry at them to worried in an instant in serious situations or might go from worried to angry as the situation deems, such as being angry with a friend who's been hitting him to being concerned when he realizes they've gone off into danger without him. He will sit with incredible patience at a location one of his friends is either supposed to return to, has disappeared from, or may appear at to wait for them. He will also protect and tend to wounded or sick friends regardless of any normal annoyance he has at them when they need him to, acting very responsible and taking his job seriously...at least until the friend in question does something to show that the situation is no longer so serious.
He has a sense of honor and does attempt to step up to be a reliable and responsible asset to his friends, and even if he can't help in battle and has to hide he hates being left behind altogether. He'll do just about anything to help anyone he feels truly obligated to, including endangering himself for them or getting on his knees to beg someone he doesn't like if they can help. He's also not the type who likes to sit by and watch someone be abused without proof of wrongdoing if he can do something about it. When in a situation that's stressful, extremely scary, or where he is being relied on by his friends, he may try to psych himself up by telling himself that he's got to keep it together.
Despite being as mature and level-headed as some adults overall, Shippo does slip into childish moments frequently. This usually happens when he's afraid, trying to escape punishment or get something from someone, or trying to get Inuyasha in trouble for hitting him. He can be obnoxious without meaning to mostly because he lacks a brain to mouth filter sometimes, so he tends to speak his mind even if it is insulting. He will sometimes try to lighten a mood but may end up more obnoxious than helpful and can exhibit rash judgement in pointing fingers or just acting without thinking. Like many people he expects to be paid attention to when he's talking about important things, and will become upset whe he doesn't have that attention.
He is just old enough to feel attraction and while he'll try to appear cool and mature to someone he's infatuated with, he's truthfully feeling awkward. But he will go to great lengths for the object of his affection's happiness or safety and even place himself in extremely dangerous situations to help them. The same is true of anyone he feels a strong connection to, such as other orphans.
It's been shown more than once that the deaths or disappearances of the ones he holds dear affect Shippo heavily. He's not good at keeping his own grief in check at all. But if he can he will hold it together until he can find help or it arrives before he breaks down. Someone else's grief over a loss is handled a little better and he's less likely to cry over it, but it still hits him hard especially if he knows the person who is suffering. If given the chance to help possibly prevent his friends from suffering, he will go above and beyond including, but probably not limited to, begging the help of someone who could either easily kill him or that he's less than fond of.
He wants badly to be considered to have some importance, so he hates when the enemy gives him the brush-off even if he's terrified of them...not so badly that he'll pursue them alone or anything though. He's also not immune to peer pressure and to keep up appearances may sometimes be goaded into doing things he doesn't want to or normally wouldn't...though if the person he's wronging has a tendency to pick on him
As a fox demon, he knows a little bit about how to play on emotions. He is a good actor and can be convincingly heartbroken seems to have mastered crocodile tears. He generally knows just when to play the "I'm just a little kid" card and can use his childishness to get what he wants from a lot of people. If he knows someone well enough he can actually impersonate them convincingly, and if he's at least seen them in action he can passably. He's clever enough to think of a way to get out of many situations and also knows when his best bet is to stay out of sight. He seems a bit cowardly, but it's because he is still a small child and not a powerful demon. Dangerous situations are something natural to be afraid of but he will usually stick close to his friends even while very afraid.
Even though he's a demon, Shippo seems to understand more complex emotions that demons are said not to be able to. He acknowledges that humans are weaker than full-blooded demons, or even half-demons, as a simple fact without being intentionally condescending and generally interacts with humans the same as anyone else. He doesn't normally pull tricks on them and several of his crushes were human. He can understand their fear of demons, but he doesn't like when it results in all demons being hated equally. Likewise he doesn't approve of demons who attack humans just because they can, or either race picking on half-demons just because they're half-demons. He actually can easily enjoy playing with any children regardless of what they are and him disliking anyone is based on their actions.
Abilities
Shippo is a demon so he's immortal. Being a fox demon specifically, he's got somewhat heightened senses, but his nose is nowhere near as sharp as a dog demon's. He is able to smell the difference in races of those he's around without having to be right on top of them, but tracking is not and may never be his strong point and scents that are strong enough to bother demons with keen noses don't really bother him much. He's physically strong enough to carry a human child a bit bigger than him on his back without slowing much or hindering his surprisingly good jumping ability. He can take a bit more damage than most humans but is far from invincible.
Shippo's fairly proficient in fox magic, which is mostly very realistic illusions, moreso than other fox demons around his age. The tools most often used for this are his toys and various leaves, acorns, mushrooms, talismans, and very small statues that he carries with him: He's also knowledgeable about the fact that many smaller demons use similar tricks and is less likely to fall for most of the more common ones. The art of transformation may still fool him because he doesn't always use all of his senses, but this is most likely in the cases of convincing female disguises or in situations he really can't take the time to double-check. His fox magic can also be combined with other types of magic for new effects, such as working with the exorcist's talismans to turn himself or others completely invisible, making it much more flexible than it seems.
Mostly he can make the toys and mini statues appear larger, heavier, or more dangerous than they actually are, such as his toy snake appearing to be a real giant snake or dragon, or his tops appearing to be large and crushingly heavy. No matter how real they look and seem to feel, these illusions are temporary, but can leave quite and impression including indents in the ground from larger items. He also owns a little toy horse that can be transformed into a flying mount that can carry one person. In the manga and one of the movies, Shippo was the toy horse himself.
At one point he was shown to have a little toy propeller, which when attached to a person made them fly in a direction with no control over it.
The talismans can work to extend the effects of things like the mini statues being enlarged to pin someone, effectively keeping them prisoner until the talisman is removed. It seems that not just anyone can do so though.
The mushrooms or acorns can be made to appear alive, shrieking or crying distractingly and can be a distraction for enemies or an alert to allies that can lead them somewhere.
Using leaves he can create copies of himself or other objects to fool his opponents, or transform some other objects accordingly for traps. He can also transform himself into anyone, though it takes a lot of practice with a transformation to hide his tail properly in that form. He can also transform into other animals or even items as needed, but the resemblance to what he needs to be isn't always perfect. He can become a giant floating balloon-like form to fly and can carry up to one adult in this form, though at current it would be extremely hard on him to try. By mid-series he was able to carry one person easily though, and by the end he was able two easily carry two plus extra items. His balloon form can also be used to cushion the impact of one or more people sent flying, though the collision is less than comfortable for him.
He carries a number of fire bombs (firecrackers) that can be used for minor damage or a great distraction.
His fox fire can be used at will and works great as a light to the darkness. It can burn things like spider webs, but is not as hot as real flames. This makes it next to useless beyond a distraction in most cases, but is good for defense especially against the heat of a fire.
Despite not actually being evil, Shippo is still very vulnerable to the effects of holy powers. He suffers extreme fatigue and lethargy near powerful holy barriers and can take serious damage from attacks of the same type.
