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2014 Ref: Gin — Description
A collected character info sheet for Gin!

Name: Ginkoruma, "Gin"
Age: Gin's body is ~10, Gin's actual age is... old as dirt. XD Like, so old he can't actually remember how old he is. But Gin is immortal and doesn't measure time the same as most people, so he does not really assign "ages" to himself.
Height: 4'4"/ 1.32 m
Species: Shishi/Komainu- Gin is basically the parasitic spirit of a Shishi guardian animating the body of deceased human. (Pbtthhhbt)

Summarized History Gin is a Gate Guardian. (These guys, for those of you who don't know what a Shishi is- you probably actually do- i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/65… Most people known them as Fu Dogs.) After spending his whole life stuck at his gate in the form of a stone statue, he gets very bored. He gets so bored as the years go by that he starts looking for ways to leave his gate, which is considered the highest taboo among his race. He gets his chance though when approached by a desperate woman living in the home he guards, and her dying child. She begs for the gate guardians to help her, and Gin, seeing the opportunity to leave his statue, decides to move his spirit to the child to try and save him. But the boy dies before Gin can stabilize, leaving him with an empty body. Weighing his options, Gin decides to keep the body, altering it slightly to suit his preferences. He tries to connect with the woman and the rest of her family, but they are frightened and chase him away. Gin then decides to leave and explore the world as he had wished. Shortly after setting out, Gin helps an old woman who is injured on the road. She and her husband take Gin in, treating him almost like their own son. In their care, Gin adapts to suit their needs, taking on the personality of a child. Which, never having truly been a child, Gin greatly enjoys "being" one, so he has kept this persona ever since. Though he is later separated from his elderly caretakers, Gin simply continues on his travels. His goal is merely to see as much of the world and to learn as much as he can while he is still in possession of a mobile form.

Personality: Gin is the epitome of innocent curiosity. Having no preconceptions of the world outside of the small area surrounding his gate, Gin is a truly neutral being. He is kind, sincere, persistent, and extremely optimistic. Gin loves pretty much everything and everyone as soon as he meets them. Because everything is so new to him, and he is so happy to just be out in the world, Gin is nearly always in a good mood. However, he is also very flighty, and does not form many lasting connections to people or places. He drops people as soon as he loses interest in them. Gin can grow bored very easily, and boredom is something he strives to avoid at all costs. In this sense, Gin is rather like a puppy- he goes at full speed until he wears himself out, settles briefly to rest, and then resumes his fast paced life once more. Gin is somewhat lacking in traits such as subtlety, empathy, and respecting people's boundaries. He can be selfish, vain, and even violent if he cannot have his way. If people try to hinder his freedom, he will do everything in his power to prevent that from happening.

Additional Info:
-Because Gin's host body is deceased, it does not age or grow ill. Gin's power keeps it "alive" and functioning, but it can't grow or mature. Also, Gin's body cannot heal wounds on its own. Gin can repair minor damage to his host with his own power, but he cannot correct major injuries, which means he has to take care not to be too rough on it. Inevitably, Gin's body will eventually deteriorate beyond his use, which is why he is so bent on making the most of his time using it.
-Gin can alter the appearance of his body to look more like his true Shishi form, but as changing too drastically would be permanent, he tends to limit his changes to only minor features. He doesn't usually make these changes on purpose though. They are more triggered by heightened anger or fear. (Basically, Gin throws one heck of a temper tantrum) Similarly, he can actually return his body to a fully human appearance if desired, but he doesn't like to unless absolutely necessary. Changing his body is not something he likes doing at all if he can help it.
- Gin isn't really any stronger or faster than a human child, but he has exceedingly high endurance and stamina.
-It is possible for Gin to switch to a different host body, but he cannot inhabit an unwilling host. Taking a dead body is much easier than taking a live one.
-The boy whose body Gin inhabits was named Colton. Since Gin took over just as he died, his body actually retains some residual memories of its former owner. Gin has some of Colton's emotional and tactile memory. Basically, he has some of the same behaviors or preferences that Colton had, such as favorite tastes/smells, or even emotional attachment to things Colton cared about. For example, a person that Colton may have loved, Gin often feels strong attachment towards. Or an object or animal that Colton liked, Gin will usually favor as well. Whether or not any part of the human's soul is actually still residing in his body is unclear, though Gin is sometimes frustrated by these residual impulses. He doesn't seem to like Colton very much, which might be partly why he does not enjoy returning his body to full human form- as it makes him look just like Colton.
-Because Gin is a gateway spirit, he habitually "guards" entryways. This means he almost always sits with a clear view of a room's entrance, and he will sometimes sit outside or doorways or gates simply because it is familiar to him.
-Gin has a good memory for names, but he is often inclined to give people nicknames, ever since getting one of his own. The elderly woman who took him in called him "Gin," claiming that his full name was too long. Since Gin took a liking to the name, he likes to give nicknames to other people to share the enjoyment he gets from his own.
-Gin has a the literacy level of roughly a 6 year old and his handwriting is awful. He only learned to read and write from the elderly couple that took him in, and since he didn't stay with them for too long, he didn't get too far. Because of this, Gin does not like to read or write as it is difficult for him. He prefers learning through first-hand experience. He does like to draw though, and he will usually just doodle when given something to write with.
- Despite his childlike literacy, Gin naturally speaks in a somewhat archaic and cryptic fashion. However, upon adopting a child's personality, he altered his manner of speech to match. Usually, he speaks like a little kid, but he occasionally speaks more akin to his true nature, which can cause some confusion for people.
-Gin's true power as a Shishi is in warding away harmful spirits. His original purpose was to keep these unwanted and disruptive spirits away from the home his gate resided at. However, it takes two to realize this power fully, so without his female counterpart, warding is not something Gin can do very well.
-Along that vein, Gin's female counterpart is a komainu named Chen. You can kind of consider them like a married couple, and this is sort of like a "mid-life crisis" for Gin. XD Though they are eternally bound to each other, they currently aren't getting along. Chen is really pissed at Gin for leaving basically. Kind of just one big domestic dispute with them right now.
- Most gate guardians never have any desire to leave their gate, making Gin something of an anomaly. However, all Shishi eventually leave their gates when there is no further use for them (but never before). Once the settlement or structure they guard has been abandoned for many years, they simply leave. It is unknown where they go, or what happens to them after they leave, but once they do, their statues become nothing more than decoration. There are very few gates that still possess their guardian spirits, and eventually, there will be none at all as there are no "new" Shishi. They seem to have all been created at the same time (whenever that was) and have slowly dissipated ever since.
-Also, because people were being dummies about Gin's sword before and insisted on pointing out that "OMG how can he draw his sword if it has a spike in the end! OMG are you dumb? What a bad design!!" I figured it was time to show his sword out of the scabbard. XD There's no spike on the blade, people. It's purely a decorative piece on the scabbard. Calm down. Lol! (Also, I decided to put the heel of his boots on the exterior now, so it makes at least a little more sense to people. Just think of the boots more like a costume-look rather than a normal shoe... Bet you didn't know Gin's been wearing heels this whole time? XD)
- Clarifying this, because I got asked about it- Gin doesn't actually need to eat, he just does it for fun. He doesn't eat very often, since it gives him stomach aches, but he likes trying different foods. Mostly he eats raw meat (hence the carnivore comment) but he eats other things occasionally. Kind of like a dog. But since his body doesn't have a properly functioning digestive system, he actually has to throw it up later. Kinda nasty, but Gin'll try just about anything new- including foods. But his teeth make it hard to eat things other than meat. When I say he is carnivorous though, I mean that his actual spirit is carnivorous. As a Shishi, Gin is made to repel and destroy evil spirits, and if he fights with one directly, he will often destroy it by consuming it. Though in human form, he cannot do this as it would tear his body apart to try and consume that much energy. But his appearance still reflects this base nature.

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