Shinrai Takekuki

Kumoti of the Ananasi
Sarderi of the Damhán
Myrmidon of the Storm
Kar of the Colony of Viscid Laniary
Honorary of the Court of Bamboo Talons
Phantom Edge of the Changing Phantoms

Description


Homid (Female): ~Incredible! Easily one of the loveliest faces around, Shinrai's beauty can hardly be described or compared. Something about her very person inspires artists to masterpieces, causes the opposite sex to drool and pant, and causes automobile accidents. Exotic sensuality clings to every simple motion. The diminutive, 20ish Japanese woman clearly recognizes her own attributes as well, often bearing a cool smirk. She stands about 5'5" and certainly couldn't weigh more than 110, but she is not delicate -- her form is strong and well-toned from constant exercise. Shinrai can often be found clad in a pair of onyx bell-bottoms, with matching shoes, blouse, and vest. A pair of emerald-hued Lennon glasses often rest over her clear, rich-brown eyes. Her ebony silk tumbles freely down her back, reaching her knees in length. Her succubus features are, put simply, dazzling. Few can tug their gaze away from the woman who must, at the least, be a multi-winner of the "Miss Universe" contest.~

OOC: Appearance 5 (dazzling); Style 3; Sex Appeal; Cunning 6, Obedience 5, Wisdom 9

Homid (Male): ~Incredible! Easily one of the most handsome faces around, Shinrai's masculine beauty can hardly be described or compared. Something about his very person inspires artists to masterpieces, causes the opposite sex to drool and pant, and cause automobile accidents. Exotic sensuality clings to every simple motion. The 20ish Japanese man clearly recognizes his own attributes as well, often bearing a cool smirk. He stands about 5'7" and certainly couldn't weigh more than 140, and his form is strong and well-toned from constant exercise. Shinrai can often be found clad in a custom-tailored suit by Versace, complete down to the leather loafers. He prefers black slacks and jacket with a burgundy or ivory shirt and a matching tie. His silky black hair flows down in an amazingly-long ponytail that reaches his knees. His noble countenance bears a patient glint of perpetual satisfaction with the world. Rich-brown eyes flow over his surroundings from behind emerald-hued Lennon shades, acknowledging the dumbfounded stares and nothing more.~

OOC: Appearance 5 (dazzling); Style 3; Sex Appeal; Cunning 6, Obedience 5, Wisdom 9

Lilian: ~Ugh! So much for irresistible beauty! Now a witness is confronted with a horrifying monster. And yet, the creature possesses a sort of hypnotic beauty primal in its arachnid appearance. Like the demon kings and queens of myth, Shinrai is half human and half spider -- and the human portion is terrifyingly beautiful still. Regardless of current gender, this werespider is eight feet tall and possibly 600 pounds of arachnid power and speed. The rear of her massive body is a spider's plump abdomen, but from the waist up the viewer is confronted with a humanoid body. Six insectoid legs click lethally along, the rear four spreading out from the abdomen, the first two just above the waist. The creature's last two limbs are tensely muscled, humanoid arms ending in claw-like hands. The Lilian's head is all but human, the eyes possessing a spidery faceted state, and his pedipalps visible and dripping deadly venom. Shinrai keeps his long hair in Lilian, and it flows wildly down his back. The Lilian's entire body darkens to ebony black and the abdomen carries a light covering of black hair -- and even the hairless humanoid torso possesses a keen shine to it, suggesting that it is a solid exoskeleton, not soft flesh.~

OOC: Appearance 0; Delirium; Cunning 6, Obedience 5, Wisdom 9

Pithus: ~Anything that was human is now gone. A witness is now confronted with a gigantic black spider, tiny hairs covering both the bulging abdomen and slightly smaller cephalothorax. The Pithus must weigh over 500 pounds, yet its eight legs carry it with predatory fleetness. Multiple eyes focus on its current prey, mandibles clicking and dripping corrosive poison. The ebony coloring of the giant spider again carries a sheen suggesting bone-like hardness. Despite the terrifying appearance, Shinrai still carries a measure of primal beauty. Not that one is likely to be sexually attracted -- it is more of an awe-inspiring deadliness in this hemavore's every motion.~

OOC: Appearance 0; Delirium; Cunning 6, Obedience 5, Wisdom 9

Crawlerling: ~Hundreds of ordinary-seeming spiders about the size of one's palm scatter over the ground or floor in haste! Obviously accustomed to ground travel, they make good time vanishing from whatever caused this change of form -- perhaps due to the fact that most of the time, the spiders are wandering wolf-spiders. Arachnid experts will even notice their resemblance to the Australian breed. Yeah, don't grab one -- it just won't feel good.~

OOC: Appearance 0; Cunning 6, Obedience 5, Wisdom 9

"Yes, but how does it taste?"

History


Youth

Shinrai's first memory was of the dank smell of an underground hole in a wet, grassy field. It was inky dark but he heard his siblings hatching nearby. Ravenous, he fell upon them and devoured them each in turn. And he got bigger... No, he did not become a giant spider right and there, but his bloated form was noticeably different. He ventured forth from that hole in the ground and the moon shone for the first time on a very large wolf spider of the Australian breed. However, Shinrai was not in Australia. The spiders who conceived and created him were lab-rats in a controlled experiment outside Osaka, Japan. Perhaps they had been bred in Japan, perhaps they had been directly taken from Australia -- it mattered little to Shinrai. He was a growing boy and he set out to hunt, as wolf spiders do. Who set up that experiment and why was also never answered, and again it mattered little to the spiderling. What is known to Shinrai is that it is likely that whoever started the experiment did not finish it, for he was captured from the wild fields by no scientist.

A young woman, half Japanese and half Caucasian, discovered the enlarged wolf spider while combing the fields -- perhaps she was at least privy to whatever experiment had been taking place. As Kin to the Damhán, she knew almost immediately what Shinrai was and endeavored to capture him. So she did and with minimal fuss. Shinrai was taken away before someone or something else (like the Kumo!) found him. Shinrai spent the next year in a large cage hidden underground in the city. Shinrai was raised in a dank room underground, and the walls were covered with famous models, male and female, for some reason. The spider's captive holdings were vast only for a time. As the months passed, he was fed bushels of fellow arachnids of the wolf spider breed. And with each meal, Shinrai grew larger and larger, nearing the terrifying size of the Pithus. All the while, he remained under the watchful care of that Kin lady and a tiny egghead of a man.

Metamorphosis & Tutelage

At last in late '77, his body now the size of a large dog, began to pulsate and expand wildly. Shinrai did not know what was going on...yet he did not fear it either. Instincts told him it was what must occur. Besides, the twitches and spasms the large arachnid had been suffering for weeks prior had prepared him for this event. The cage could not hold him and he burst forth, but he was not in a rage -- he just needed to feed and get the many questions now rampaging through his heightened mind answered. The caretakers had forseen this and an unfortunate goat was fallen upon by the giant spider and devoured. With much trial and error, guided by the old egghead, Shinrai discovered all the forms available to the Damhán. When he at last took Homid, he was a fantastically handsome young man...just like the photographs on the room walls suggested. The egghead was mutely gleeful, as evidently Shinrai's Metamorphosis had been subjected to the Amari Aliquid's experiments. But the old man was surprised further when Shinrai later took the form of a beautiful female instead. Gender identification clearly meant nothing to the werespider. The old egghead endeavored to teach Shinrai the human custom of modesty at that point, and the schooling continued. Shinrai was also subjected to other experiments of the old man at the same time. In Shinrai's ignorance and naivete, he fell victim to what could only be called rape while in his female form. The old man knew Shinrai could and should put his (and her) charms to good use.

Early Years

So eventually, Shinrai learned all there was to know for a young werespider in service to Ananasa. The danger of the Kumo who dominated arachnid affairs in Nippon was emphasized, but Shinrai showed no fear regarding the presence of the Goblin Spiders. Even then, the egghead knew a Myrmidon faction suited Shinrai. However, that was for Queen Ananasa to decide. It was not long before the cautious Damhán in Japan met surreptiously in a sacred realm hidden in the Umbrascape of the Andaman Islands. This place was the only remaining holding of the Damhán in Asia, as the Goblin Spiders dominated in many places and had spies everywhere. It was in this spirit-cave that the Rite of One was performed. Shinrai was at last witness to his terrible and wise Queen, Ananasa. For Shinrai, the Queen spoke, his first task in service to his Queen was to go back to Japan and to the outskirts of the city of Kure and observe the Kumo there. Many nests of Goblin Spiders were reputedly going up so near the devastation of Hiroshima. He remained in the Andaman Web for over two years, completing his training under more experienced Ananasi. Then at last, he coolly bid his first teacher and current tutors good-bye and left for Kure.

And Shinrai dedicated himself to the task set before him. He adopted to the wild fields, cultured rice paddies, and other farms of the region with ease. His Sylie was well-hidden in the woods and there is where he reported what he witnessed in a radius of a hundred miles through constant wanderings. For several years, he proved his survival sense and avoided contact with the dangerous Kumo whom he spotted engaging in their twisted, evil activities. So Ananasa imparted another job, this one more in line with the faction she had chosen for him: Kar. He was to begin monitoring and counter-acting the aimlessly destructive force the Kumo were inflicting on the farming regions -- which were home to many insects and arachnids! This is one of the few occasions Queen Ananasa advocated direct action against the Kumo, though it was not an assault on the Goblin Spiders themselves. Instead, it was merely balance-checking. Balance must be maintained, everywhere. Needless to say, Shinrai felt quite honored. He heeded the advice of the spirits and his Queen and began to take action.

When the Goblin Spiders paid the locals human well to keep silent about what they might witness, the farmers grew fat and lazy. Their crops thrived and the insect population boomed. Shinrai slipped into that microcosm and culled the odds -- he did not hunt down the other insects, he hunted the spiders. Those spiders that remained were forced to grow stronger and faster in order to cut down the healthy insect population. It was during this time that Shinrai lost a leader to a hungry wasp. Ever since, Shinrai has no recollection of the old man or young girl who were his first caretakers. He has forgotten that entire period of his life. Though, to date, Shinrai feels little regret for it. As Arachnid Breed, he never learned to prize family connections of any sort. Still, he remembers that wasp and something instinctive reminds him of that episode. It was a healthy reminder that there is always a bigger fish. Shinrai continued to attend his duties thereafter faithfully despite the natural predators.

Not long later, the Kumo exterminated a pack of wolves in the woods Shinrai inhabited to reduce competition over food (composed mainly of deer and rabbits). So Shinrai eliminated the food. The Kumo were forced to feed on humans only. Though they had no conscience problems with this, the Kumo were clever enough to realize killing too many humans would be very bad. But they had no choice with their animal food source all but gone. Not long after, a beautiful girl led the angry mob and constables to the Goblin Spiders' lair. The girl disappeared as the mob attacked the lair, a lair scattered with the corpses of the farmers' sons and daughters. The evil Kumo were burnt out and the survivors forced to flee (for a short time).

The final confrontation with the local Kumo came in 1996 in the city of Kure. The Goblin Spiders had retreated to the metropolis to lick their wounds. At Queen Ananasa's behest, Shinrai pursued. The Kar soon found an unlikely ally in the local hengeyokai. They, too, were not fond of the Kumo. Realizing Shinrai was of other stock -- that he was "of the Wyld" -- and not blinded to obvious facts as the Sunset People tend to be, they accepted Shinrai's coincidental aid instead of adding him to the list of werespiders to kill. He was nicknamed the "Phantom Edge" and among the Beast-Courts the apellation has stuck ever since.

Where the Kumo took up lair in a downtrodden slum, Shinrai was there, watching. Earning the grudging respect of the Nezumi, Shinrai again moved against the Goblin Spiders' food source. He let himself contract the flu and spread it to the humans of the area. Soon the Kumo were infected, too. While lack of medical insurance actually killed a few of the poor folk in the slum, the Kumo were in a bad position indeed. While the human authorities moved in to contain the viral outbreak, Shinrai tipped the urban Beast-Court off. Soon, Nezumi, Wantong (Bone Gnawers), and others aggressively assaulted the Kumo. And Shinrai fought among them, insuring Goblin Spider blood ran thick that night. The "noble and honorable servant of Gaia" was rewarded in Court, all of which Shinrai calmly and graciously accepted. A minor fetish was bestowed upon him and he was recorded in the Emerald Scrolls. It was not because he was personally so fantastic but because he was one of the very few werespiders worth noting as far as the hengeyokai were concerned. He was regarded the way a Sunset People might honor a Black Spiral Dancer who betrays the Wyrm and aids a Garou sept accomplish some great victory against his former masters. All the same, Shinrai was pleased. He knew he had done well to have earned such respect. Of course, they did not quite understand why Shinrai was sometimes represented by a female (who claimed to be Shinrai's sister), but they did know the ways of the "good" werespiders and questioned little.

Recent Years

However, if the hengeyokai were pleased, Queen Ananasa was only expectant. Shinrai received no laurels from his Lady, only the same curt acknowledgement all his other deeds achieved. It was a cold reminder that his duty was to the Queen, not the Beast-Courts or the Emerald Mother, and Shinrai recognized that. Again, his underspoken humility shone and he patiently awaited his Queen's, his Mother's, instructions. It was time for a change of scenery, she said to him. He had proved himself trustworthy to the hengeyokai and that was to be exploited. He was to go to America, to the Little Asia community of Kansas City, where the hengeyokai formed a Court. Indeed, it was not only a Court of hengeyokai but many different supernaturals. They were to be observed and his wilderness-evolving practices taken there. There he served faithfully for well over a year, watching the hengeyokai establish their territory; he helped protect that land if only to keep his own Sylie unfound. He dissuaded the Sunset People from wandering into the Hirasaki Preserve many times without violence. While in the city, Shinrai investigated the destruction of the TAT building, observing the Weaver-spiders go back to work at its reconstruction. In time, like the TAT, the Court of Infinite Ages collapsed. Shinrai simply watched. When the Coalition was formed in its place, for his "loyalty" to the hengeyokai he was offered an honorary place in the Court of Bamboo Talons. He accepted, prepared to continue to what he had been doing for some time now.

Though things grow bleaker, Shinrai smiled. Her Queen had things well in hand and all was on schedule. Though she knew her concern was one tree in a great forest, she was wise enough to see most of the entire forest. Shinrai knew that forest is mighty and healthy. Like her name suggested, she was the reliable bamboo stalk in that forest. She would bend with the wind and grow taller and stronger, all for her Queen.

Weakness

A Cold Heart


Despite any display of civility or amiability, Shinrai cares for no one. He can admit love for his Queen, but it is distant and aloof devotion -- he's never truly met her, after all. Shinrai's callousness is not so much based on a devotion to work so much as a simplistic outlook on life. Indeed, her personality is comparable to the average Rokea. However, Shinrai is Kumoti, and dynamism can play a role even in the Damhán's personality. He may learn to care about someone eventually.

Likelihood of Corruption


Average.

Shinrai looks out for "#1" from the vantage of a wild animal, not a greedy 80s reject. He avoids urban centers and corrupt influences but not exclusively. Shinrai remains well-rounded, spiritually-speaking, while dutifully serving her Queen. However, there is much Shinrai does not yet know about the Queen's enemies, and naivete can lead to disaster and defeat. She has made enemies with the Kumo, and while the Goblin Spiders might seek to destroy Shinrai first, who says hauling the Kar before Rati is out of the question?

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