Henzor Uzoshi, Samurai Troll
@mastermechanist
(Hello! I have been working on this troll for quite some time now but I can’t seem to get it right for me. The first picture (left one) was my first design, the second picture (right) was a rework, but even then, it looks like a hot mess in my honest opinion. I wanted to rework him again but I couldn’t think of any ideas on how to give him a complete makeover. He needs a more standard outfit, new hair, possibly better horns, and an actual symbol, which I never could come up with. The main theme with this troll is that he likes older Asian traditions, like that of the samurai.)
Okay I’m going to say right off the bat that unless you’re from a culture, themeing a character around a particular country or even around a specific cultural element (like the history of the samurai) is always going to be tricky and is always going to land you in hot water. Doing this is what gets you stereotypical characters like Damara and like Hanzo Shimada from Overwatch.
I don’t know if you’re Japanese- there’s no way for me to know, really. But I’m not, which means I’m going to treat as lightly as I can here while trying to preserve the essence of your character? There’s certainly nothing wrong with having interest in certain cultural histories! I just want to give a little more consideration and try to avoid following in Hussie’s missteps.
So I think the first thing I want to do for you is Do What Hussie Didn’t. I want to actually create a reasonable background to build this troll from. Which is to say… We know Damara speaks Japanese, which means that Trolls must in fact have multiple languages. But Aradia doesn’t speak Japanese, which implies that the rules of language are different on Alternia than Beforus. So how about this for a history:
Thousands of years ago, before the Condesce, many languages were spoken on Alternia. When the Condesce came to power, she sought to squash all those little lowblood languages and established a common Alternian in her native tongue. Lowbloods-to-midbloods have tried for centuries to preserve their cultures, but these have been mostly lost to time.
You could have your character specifically be someone who wants to know more about their lost culture and language, seeking to uncover what’s been left to rot for years. His first hint of good luck in this endeavor could be finding out about his ancestor, who was noted for attempting to preserve the legacy of the Samusaritans (I utilized this because I wanted to use the Homestuck style of naming roles, ex: Threshecutioner, Archeradicator, Legislacerator, Subjugglator). The Samusaritans were an ancient class of warriors who dedicated themself to a code of justice, courage, respect, compassion, honesty, duty, and self-control, and who served to protect the important members of lowblood communities before the Condesce had them wiped out.
Your character’s interest in this specific area could come mostly out of the fact that it’s all he really has access to. He found ancient writings about his ancestor and from his ancestor that at least somewhat detail a partial history and some of the rules.
Anyways now that that LONG prelude is over let’s get to the rest of the review.
Alternian or Beforus: Alternian
Name: Henzor Uzoshi
Originally I came up with this name because I wanted his name to sound like something that would fit feudal Japan. However as time went on, I began to feel that both first and last name didn’t quite fit anymore. Maybe you can give me an opinion on this?
For his name, I’d recommend changing it to Jokoto Ukichi
Jokoto is the Japanese term to refer to ancient swords. His interest in the ancient group of warriors is reflected by this name. Ukichi is a reference to Taguchi Ukichi, who was a known historian who focused on the cultures of the Japanese people, preferring to talk about people rather than the government. This can be an easy way to reference the fact that he’s more interested in the history of his people rather than Alternian Nationalism.
Blood Color:
The symbol implies he’s a blue, but you didn’t actually say. I think I’m going to move him down to a rustblood, though. Both because of the lowblood setup I gave in the beginning, but also because you said he wants to be a formidable warrior despite his blood color, which sounds more like something a lowblood with a physical disadvantage might aspire towards.
Age: about 7 sweeps.
Strife specibus: Katanakind (Or bladekind to be more generic) and Throwingkind (for shurikens, kunai, etc.)
Bladekind does make the most sense. Thrwstarkind is also available and thematically fitting, though I really don’t think you should use it. I think you should maybe give him a 2xbladekind, with him using daishō. A katana and a wakizashi in concord, before when worn together that was the immediate sign that someone was a samurai.
Fetch Modus: Absolutely no clue. *shrug*
Maybe a Target modus where he has to utilize a bow and arrow to knock what he wants down and make it available.
Symbol: Mostly a place holder, but the sword could represent the way of the sword and being a samurai. However this doesn’t fit the symbol system trolls use and is too human in my opinion.
Instead of the sword, I might end up using an altered form of Volans, the Flying Fish constellation. Flying fish at least partially symbolize righteousness and perseverance as well as free will.
Handle: boundlessRonin [BR]
Boundless basically represents having no limits on his boundaries and how far he will go to complete his goals. Ronin means a samurai with no master or lord, which would apply to him since he serves no one.
I do like Ronin in the context of the background I suggested, because he lacks the kind of community that his predecessors would’ve had. Ronin already means wandering etc, so I feel like there’s an implicit boundlessness. Maybe instead you could do roninsConservator, to reference the attempt to conserve the history?
Quirk: I have tried different quirks but nothing seems to stick so again *shrug*
Instead of worrying about a quirk, perhaps you could have him trying to focus on learning Japanese from the very, very bare # of resources that he has? As far as typing goes you could just have him try to demonstrate self-restraint.
ex: no capitalization to project a measured tone. perhaps a tendency to avoid first-person pronouns out of a misguided belief that it’ll help him become more wordly.
Lusus: His lusus is basically a very large version of the Japanese giant hornet, known for it’s powerful venom (but not the deadliest) and is fast and agile.
Ancestor: The Bushido
That’s only 7 letters, so it won’t quite work. Maybe The Dotanuki. Dotanuki is a feudal school of Japanese swordsmiths.
Personality: He is a rather nice fellow who has trouble fitting in among other trolls despite mostly being able to socially interact with most others. This is because while he understands and uses modern technology a lot (he has a trollian account after all), he also practices and follows some traditions that can be seen by many as outdated or obsolete, much of which stemming from the way of the samurai and his ancestor. He is also a lawful kind of person and an honest troll, as he has distaste of crime and wrongdoing. He also feel that others should do things honorably and not by crude or manipulative means unless absolutely needed.
The whole “modern samurai who isn’t up to date with modern technology” thing is part of a recurring media stereotype, so I’m glad you didn’t fall into it. However, I have to protest that there would be such an outdated or obsolete feeling, or that it would create relationship confusion. I think you shouldn’t have it interrupt at least most of his relationships. You could have some people who think it’s lowblood nonsense and mock him for it, or people who are intimidated by the idea of him exploring old culture and think it’s a dangerous idea? But I don’t objectively think there’s anything about a samurai way of living that conflicts with modern life. He just needs to care about doing right, needs to be compassionate, needs to be brave, needs to be honest, and needs to be in control of himself. None of that should clash with day to day life.
You should probably add him not necessarily being a Lawful person, just a good person. Because Alternian law really doesn’t value life or goodness, and because he’d technically be acting in contrast to Alternian rule. He should be the type who likes to explore and learn and adventure, and rebel just a little bit.
Try not to focus too much on honor because that’s another of those unfortunately overused stereotype things.
Interests: As mentioned before, he loves the way of the samurai, with some exceptions (he hates the concept of seppuku for example). He loves older forms of art and history, which he has a few pieces of in his hive. In terms of modern likes, he has a big interest in television, and loves watching anime, action films, and fighting movies, especially those like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan movies. He also likes growing plants from other places and has a small garden of such plants he takes care of in his hive. In his mind he dreams of becoming a formidable warrior, one that would be feared by many regardless of his blood color.
Well… no one likes the concept of seppuku, even samurai. It’s a ritual death utilized as a last resort or as a punishment. If you want to pay tribute to liking a culture, you can’t ignore the dark parts. Eliminating fear of death while also recognizing the futility of death is an important part of the tenants of samurai philosophy. He doesn’t have to love the idea of seppuku, because no one does. But he does need to recognize it as part of the Historical Context of this identity which he is trying to learn more about.
Old art and history is definitely good. I hope he pulls it up himself, searches out old anthropological evidence. And then researches about it as much as he can. Just an intense search, trying to find context for the past and trying to understand where he and other people came from. Have him interested in folklore and folk songs too, definitely. Maybe a vague interest in rebellions just because of their tangential relationship?
As far as media goes, try not to focus Only on Japanese media interests. He can like that stuff too, but utilizing it exclusively strays into that weird stereotype territory again. Action movies in general is cool!
Add an interest in philosophy and morality. And maybe have him more interested in acting as a protector instead of just being seen as a scary force who makes others fear him?
Title: Knight of Light
I miiight recommend Knight of Heart? Just because of the element of identity exploration and an attempt to figure out his past and develop a sense of self out of it. You could give him a little bit of identity turmoil and frustration about the fact that so much lowblood history was just lost to help bolster this role!
Land: *Shrug?*
Land of Wisteria and Waterfalls, maybe?
Dream: Prospit?
I think he’s definitely leaning towards prospit player.
Design time!:
Horns: I decided to replace them with a bigger set. I wanted to reflect that big swooping curve in the symbol I gave him, but I also wanted them to look like the horns often seen on Samurai helmets.
Hair: I kept the general fluffiness, but I added a top knot.
Eyes: Added that classic bag.
Mouth: I gave him a bit of a smile because I wanted to communicate that he was nice, and made the teeth a bit nubbier since we’ve seen that rust teeth are relatively blunt.
Top: I wanted to give him a more modern look instead of relying solely on samurai outfits, since there’s no reason for a modern troll to dress in armor- even Vriska, someone fascinated with the idea of being a pirate, doesn’t dress like a pirate all the time- so I looked to Japanese street fashion for a bit of inspiration? So he gets a drapey vest and long-sleeve shirt (you can’t tell it’s long sleeved but I promise it is).
Symbol: I gave him the Volans symbol facing upwards and gave the tailfins a bit more of an upward curve.
Pants: I noticed a lot of Japanese street fashion involved baggier pants, so I did call back to the hakama just a fraction of a little bit with those lines.
Shoes: I gave him some keen sandals because they’re comfortable and good for a long day of adventuring without overheating.
I wanted to get this out earlier today, but my tablet decided to throw several fits! Sorry about the late post time. He’s an interesting character and I hope I could provide some valuable insights!
-CD