[The Great ME!]

My personal(and now animation-group) mascot, Chi~<3
Chi is a Yokai species(created by me) known as Takekitsune or "Bamboofox", and Yokai are typically "monsters" or creatures with magical abilities in Japanese culture. Kitsune(foxes) are a common favorite and are depicted in various different ways. Magical kitsune(not all are magical, mind you), the Yokai variety, are most often associated as tricksters and shapeshifters capable of growing many tails as they grow older, such as the very popular and oldest nine-tailed foxes, or Kyuubi-no-Kitsune which are often times depicted as spirits of Wind. Kitsune typically have a Kitsune-bi, also called Foxfire or Star-ball, which holds much of their power and their life. A kitsune seperated from it's Kitsune-bi is likely to die, especially if the ball is destroyed.

Takekitsune are a particularly special, but also rare, type of Kitsune. In their first 100 years of life, Takekitsune are very small and weasel-like, and make their homes inside the hollows of bamboo stalks. Only at 100 years do they start to look and become more the size of other types of foxes, and can begin to take on a somewhat human-form(much like Shippo looks, from Inuyasha). While most kitsune can only grow to have nine tails, Takekitsune can grow to have Ten and become a Kami(God) capable of creating it's own star/world. However, to obtain these tails, a Takekitsune must consume many "partners", other beings that they bond with. A Takekitsune can only consume one partner every hundred years, starting at the age of 200, and then that partner will lose their original bodies but continue to live on immortally through one of the fox's tails, and the persons' knowledge, thoughts, skills, and talents will be shared and become the fox's as well. Once a fox becomes 1,000 years old and has devoured 9 parnters(mostly humans), they can gain their 10th tail to become a Kami.

Only 5 Takekitsune are known to have ever reached 10 tails, as most others either die or do not seek to obtain 10 tails. Two of them are the original Takekitsune. The 3rd one, however, was tainted by many years of war and destruction, as Takekitsune are incredibly sensitive and influenced by their environment and experiences in their first 100 years of life. Because of this, the Takekitsune, Tokoyami, became a demon instead of a God, and devoured mythical beasts of great power rather than humans, and ravaged the land looking to wipe out mankind for their destructive and harmful ways. Another 10-tailed that had become a Kami not long after, and cared deeply for humans, fought against Tokoyami, but the demon fox's power was much greater because of the creature's she chose to consume. Because of this, they only managed to seperate Tokoyami from her tails and seal them away in seperate locations, and the other fox that fought her died.

Since the destruction of the lands and sealing of Tokoyami, people feared that such a thing might happen again, and so Takekitsune were hunted and killed until believed to be extinct. It was after that when Chi was discovered and raised by a Monk from a grove of dying bamboo, inside of a baby bamboo shoot. Chi is the 5th Takekitsune to become a 10-tailed Takekitsune-Kami. He is the revered guardian diety of his village, where a shrine for sheltering and raising Takekitsune is also built, and lives with several other, younger Takekitsune since then as well as the shrine's current head priest, Chuujun. His name translates as "Thousand Winds Bamboo Child". The first character for Thousand in his name, "Chi", is most often said as "Sen", however "Chi" is another way to say it in some names and it irritates him to no end when people read his name as "Senkazetakeko".

As with all Takekitsune, Chi's gender is ambiguous. He can switch between male or female at any time.




I'm thinking about possibly doing adoptables with this lineart, but not sure if anyone's even interested in it, so still debating with myself.

Character and species belongs to me.

Domo arigatou gozaimashita
~The Great Me

[Andiliion]

ah! i knew this looked familiar, ive seen your little bamboofoxes on da before ^^ im a fan |D

but anyway, love the art!

[The Great ME!]

Hehe, thanks I'm honored you'd say that XD(love your color-in's and art too btw)

[Bearheart]

*squeals* this is amazing! He's so cute!

[The Great ME!]

Thanks ^^

[LOCW_Bluestarwarrior]

Wow, this is a really awesome concept! I'd definitely follow is they became adoptables.

[The Great ME!]

Thanks, I'm glad you think so =^.^=

[The Great ME!]

bump

[The Great ME!]

bump

[birdy-boots]

I like this
I like this a lot c:
It's so fluffy >w<
Awesome species developement too~ They sound pretty awesome.