Profile
Intro
Hakutaku are highly intelligent creatures associated with emperor Huangdi, whom it taught how best to handle ghosts and demons he would encounter. For this reason, hakutaku are seen as knowledgable and are sought after to ward away misfortune or bad dreams.
As a hakutaku, Kotonoha is strongly tied to books and knowledge as a whole. Kotonoha has the unique ability to consume books and documents to absorb knowledge, rather than reading. This ability has given her an extensive inner encyclopedia of information, though she doesn't always understand the context of what she is learning; if asked further information about a random fact she has spouted, Kotonoha will likely be unbable to give a satisfactory answer.
Kotonoha lives in Hot Spring Town deep in Former Hell, where she owns a small book shop and sells self-published works. A kleptomaniac, Kotonoha occasionally attempts to sneak into the Human Village to swipe items from the book store, but usually is unsuccessful.
Appearance
Voice HC: Midari Ikishima
As a hakutaku, Kotonoha is physically characterized by her horns. Unlike fellow hakutaku Kiene Kamishirasawa, who typically assumes a human form, Kotonoha's horns and thus her true nature are visible at all times.
Kotonoha's dark hair is considerably long, ending just above her ankles. Notably, the underside of Kotonoha's hair is orange, which is especially visible due to its length. Kotonoha's horns are black as her hair, accessorized with orange ribbons.
Kotonoha's clothing follows a similar color scheme of black and orange, with additional white accents. The sleeves of Kotonoha's kimono are detached, as is the skirt. Kotonoha wears basic zori sandals with shin-length tabi socks.
Design Notes
- The three crystals between Kotonoha's horns are optional.
About
Kotonoha is a highly intelligent being, but only due to her ability; despite her vast knowledge, Kotonoha has very little experience and often cannot put her acquired skills to good use due to their being situational. This doesn't stop Kotonoha from trying to educate others however-- she will happily tell a full story while only knowing half the details. Often, she will repeat learned information despite not fully understanding its meaning.
Kotonoha owns a small book store, selling self-published work of her acquired knowledge. Though very little of said knowledge was obtained through personal experience, her work is generally well recieved. Much of Kotonoha's personal work is plagiarized, though this is done out of ignorance rather than malice.
Despite her ignorance, Kotonoha genuinely means well. She is good natured and does not take offense to being corrected for misinformation. Her presence is tolerated, even welcomed on some occasions, though her tendency to share misunderstood facts can come off as annoying or pretentious.
While Kotonoha is not unfriendly by any means, she is a compulsive kleptomaniac. Her insatiable appetite for knowledge has resulted in theft of personal diaries, rare books, and even items otherwise useless to Kotonoha such as homework. Though Kotonoha understands that there is nothing of importance to be gained from a stranger's diary or a school kid's classwork, she cannot help but to swipe these items under the pretense that she could benefit even slightly.
Trivia
- The given name Kotonoha (言の葉) is a Japanese compound word meaning "words" or "poetry". Kotonoha's surname, Tachibana (橘), means "wild orange".
- Kotonoha is very interested in the libraries on the surface. She also has a fascination with Kosozu Motoori, whose ability is similar to hers, though less destructive.
- Kotonoha is an avid
readerconsumer of Bunbunmaru Newspaper. This is how she stays up-to-date on what's happening on the surface. - A "warabe uta" is a traditional Japanese nursery rhyme. One of Kotonoha's spell cards references this.
- Kotonoha's last spell card is a reference to the old legend of Shio no Chojiro, a man who was driven to madness by a horse's spirit haunting him.
Magic and Abilities
Consumptive Learning Via Books
Kotonoha has the ability to absorb written text by consuming the item it is written on, which she refers to as consumptive learning. In conjunction with this ability, Kotonoha can break down paper and other organic tools used for written word.
Unfortunately, in order for this ability to work, Kotonoha must completely consume the book or document in question, thus destroying it. Since Kotonoha compulsively consumes any book she comes across, those who have lost personal work or diaries to her are unlikely to get their propery back. Kotonoha has no qualms about how her actions affect others, as her insatiable desire for knowledge trumps any empathy she may have-- she will not hesitate to steal a rare book or important documents if it means she will learn something new.
List of Kotonoha's Spell Cards
- Wisdom Sign 「Monologue」| 知符 「ドクハク」
- Wisdom Sign 「Warabe Uta」| 知符 「童歌」
- Wisdom Sign 「A Somewhat Old Tale」| 知符 「少し昔のお話」
- Paper Sign 「Unnecessary Words」| 紙符 「言葉イラズ」
- Mad Man's Diary 「Salty Chojiro」| 狂人日記 「塩の長次郎」
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