Mikio (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
insectubus) wrote2012-10-08 08:22 pm
insectubus) wrote2012-10-08 08:22 pm
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profile/information (wip)
Taken and edited from the somarium profile meme (with permission)
[Character Name] Mikio (no surname)
[Age] Never counted. Born a bit before when samurai were slowly declining in Japan as American traders came in, followed by other foreigners soon after, around the 1860's. Mikio was born somewhere between then and the 1840's, closer to the latter.
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Pansexual
[Eye Color] Yellow
[Hair Color] dark grey
[Height] 6'4"
[Other] Dark brown antennae, four arms, black fur covered legs, with hooves for feet, and small devil wings.
[World] When talking to Mikio, you might hear him mention "England" and "Japan", so you would assume that he comes from our Earth. He is indeed from an "Earth" but the world he is from is much different than ours. There is no heaven nor hell. If you are good, you "cross over" and rest in peace. If you are bad or if you have regrets, then you are earthbound as a ghost, forever restless until you have no more regrets or have done something to earn your way into eternal peace. Religion still exists, and since there is no evidence of the lack of heaven and hell, many humans still follow the beliefs of their religion. Because of this many humans still view demons as the evil creatures they are in their scriptures and they fear them. However, those who are not religious still fear the demons, since many of them have frightening appearances and many humans are too stubborn to learn about them. While there are some creatures who are evil and predatory, humans assume all of them are, even though there are benevolent ones as well.
The "Hell" of Mikio's world, however, has nothing to do with how humans behave or what they believe in, nor is there any evidence yet of it actually being Hell. Some suggest it's simply its own dimension, and that Hell still exists but is different that what this is. Because of that, instead of hell, it is simply known as the “Demon World". Accordingly, in Japan, it is called “Akuma no Sekai” or “Akuse” as a nickname.There are no tortured souls in this possible 'hell', nor are there demons who torture them. Akuse is simply a residential area where any demons you find roaming around Earth come from. Besides demons, there are also other mythical creatures such as fairies and boogeymen and other monsters that are 'made up' in our world. Just like Earth, they have their own regions, too. There's a giant desert region, lush forest regions and even fantasy-like cities. There even exists a large, Victorian-like city devoted to possessed dolls and Gothic clowns. The skies are red, and they have an unknown light source. There is no sun, yet the day is lit like there is, and dimmed when night comes. At this time, no one is able to figure out how this works, but scientists in Akuse are studying. All in all, Akuse is considered a Wonder of the World in Mikio's universe, filled with many mysteries yet to be solved and hypotheses yet to become theories
Human disguise is a popular form of magic in Akuse, and used as one of the way for demons to study humans without startling them. The power of transforming into a human is something the demons are given as an option to learn. However, many demons choose not to use this magic, such as incubi who have pride in their bodies. And unfortunately, it is a difficult ability to learn, therefore many demons have not perfected it, and can be caught by revealing a tail or horns that they could not change. As demons are trying to get along with humans in this world, they take on the names and labels that humans give them, rather than name themselves, such as the Western and Eastern incubi. The Western incubus or succubus normally would call themselves something different, but as a way of trying to accept human culture, they name themselves Western and/or Eastern incubi, despite not having Europe, nor Asia in their world. A Western incubus, which is what Mikio's father is, takes a mostly human form, but with furry legs and hooves, curled horns, and large wings. They are the more sexual (of the two known breeds), that feed and gain power by pleasuring others and absorbing their energy. Eastern incubi are more slender than their Western counterparts, and have more human-like legs with sharp-nailed toes. Their wings are smaller, as they are more dreamlike and tend to float rather than fly. Despite being less intimidating in appearance, they are more sadistic, and get joy out of causing misery just as much as pleasure. Western incubi have more black and grey color schemes, whilst Eastern ones can come in a variety of colors. Eastern incubi are more dream-oriented, and feed off of energy through dreams and nightmares. They aren't Asian per se, but are called "Eastern incubi" since they were 'discovered' in East Asia and are in bigger numbers there. They have also been discovered in smaller numbers in Eastern Europe. It's not just Western and Eastern incubi, there are many "breeds" of demons that apply human labels to their kind.
Akuse is generally filled with more monstrous demons that don't fit in the human world at all. Otherwise, many creatures choose to live in the human world, be it in forests, sewers, mountains, or any place else partially inhabited by humans or not. This is because while many demons want to interact and establish relationships with humans, the feeling isn’t entirely mutual. They are usually either shunned and feared by human society or captured for experiments, both of which have led to a breakdown in communication between the two. But there are humans out there who are generally interested in demons and befriending them, wanting to learn about them and their world. It is because of these good people that motivate demons to keep interacting with them, despite the risk of capture or shun. Another reason why some demons live in places other than houses would be that many demons need certain environments to live. They cannot live in human houses or cities, so they live in their specific environments and come out when a nearby human walks by to communicate with them if they are interested in doing so. Akuse is also a good mode of transportation for skilled portal users. Many demons have the power to use portals between Earth and Akuse, and the more skilled they are, the more precise locations they can calculate with their portals. Portal travel, however, has its own rules. Portals can only travel through the human and demon worlds. If demons want to travel from a place on earth to another, they must make a portal to Akuse first, and then make a portal to their desired location from there.
In Mikio's case, he was raised in a demon gathering deep in the Aokigahara Forest of Japan. In this gathering, there were mainly omukade (giant monstrous centipedes), ushi-oni (bull demons with different bodies, such as bipedal or crab-like), and kitsune (fox spirits), along with minor numbers of a few other creatures.
[Background] Mikio's life started when an incubus from London got himself into some trouble and escaped by stowing away on a trade ship, where he had to stay hidden, or else be thrown overboard. He spent weeks hidden in the ship, and eventually grew hungry. If he had been wise, he'd have tried to catch those who dared to go into the storage alone to feed on, wiping their memory afterwards. Instead, he helped himself to some of the gin stored in kegs until he was too intoxicated to think. In his drunken state, he began to dance and stomp around the storage room, and eventually got caught by the sailors. Panicking, the incubus formed a portal to the demon world to escape.
After teleporting back to the demon world, the intoxicated demon still wanted to explore Earth, and so he made a portal once again and ended up deep in the Aokigahara forest in Japan. He was drunk and starving, and if he didn't find a meal soon, there was going to be trouble. He stumbled across a young woman, with silky dark brown hair and piercing yellow eyes. No questions asked, he went for her. The young woman was an omukade, a giant centipede that lived in the caves underneath the forest. She was a ditzy, foolish young woman, who didn't understand much about biology, and interspecies mating. Unaware of the possibility of deformed or dead children, she allowed the incubus to court her. She was in heat and desired a mate, but sadly couldn't find one nearby. Desperate, she learned a spell to turn herself human, so she could find a mate that way. Finding the incubus, she was so happy that she fell in love right away and declared the incubus her husband. Unfortunately, the incubus couldn't refuse, for neither one understood each other. The incubus assumed she was just okay with him feeding on her.
The incubus woke up the next morning underground, embraced in a giant centipede's coils. The omukade had transformed back overnight, and when she woke up, she affectionately greeted her 'husband'. The incubus had no memory of last night, and he became disgusted that he was near such a beast. Gathering his things, he made a run for it. Needless to say, the omukade was heartbroken. Deciding there was nothing she could do, she decided to raise her young by herself and gave birth to the eggs as usual. However, much to her dismay, when it was time for them to hatch, they didn’t. It was then that one of her sisters explained to her that she had unwittingly mated with a creature whose seed could not make her bear children. She kept her eggs for a while longer, unable to throw them away.
One day, however, she heard the sound of something poking and scratching. One egg had survived! It was a miracle! Excited, the omukade took the egg and placed it in a hollow tree to let it hatch while protected. She was ecstatic and impatient, and ended up cracking the egg open to let the baby out. What was inside made everyone around her gasp in horror. The contents were what seemed to be a baby, but with two bumps under his arms, antennae poking out of his head, and tiny hooves where feet should be. It was a miracle indeed that the baby survived, but his life obviously came with consequences. While the omukade herself wasn't treated too badly (though some gave her the cold shoulder), everyone looked at the baby as if he were some horrifying deformed creature. The mother, however, was simply glad that she had a child of her own. He was special to her, and thus she gave him a name, something uncommon to demons in this world at the time. He was named Mikio, or tree trunk man, since he was hatched in a tree.
As he grew up, those bumps under his arms grew longer, and eventually formed into a second pair of arms, making him look much more horrifying to his neighbors. Luckily, not everyone despised him, as the wiser demons were entirely sympathetic to him. He learned how to use that second pair of arms, and they grew very advantageous for him. The older he became, the more his leg hair grew until eventually his lower half came to resemble that of a Western incubus. His antennae grew longer, and he learned how to use them to track and heighten his senses.
When he was around twelve he discovered some humans walking around the edges of the forest. On asking his mother about them, she began to tell him stories of the humans- who they were, where they came from, their relationship with demons, and everything in between. Mikio was so amazed that he wanted to meet a human for the first time. One night he approached a camp filled with mainly older men and their young sons. Mikio at first approached a young boy of about six, who cried at the sight of him. The cry startled Mikio, and also attracted the worried father. When the man saw Mikio, he grew pale, called out to the others, and they chased the curious demon away with their weapons. It was then that young Mikio realized that not only was he feared by humans like his mother warned him, but he wasn't accepted by his fellow demons either. Mikio was devastated by this fact, but for some reason didn't lose his curious nature. Perhaps it was because he was the sole survivor out of his brothers and sisters, that he kept an optimistic point of view. He dreamt that one day he would get along with humans and possibly even start a family with one. That might mean adoption if they were going to have kids, but it didn't matter to Mikio.
Mikio grew up trying to appeal to his neighbors, despite knowing that they didn't like him. Occasionally through luck, he made a few friends during his childhood but the parents of those friends disapproved. That wasn't surprising, but Mikio was confident that he would win the approval of all the demons in the forest. But his biggest priority was humans. They became an interesting subject for Mikio. The demon wanted to know more about them like many others demons do, and he sometimes even wished to live amongst them.
When he reached his early teens, Mikio began to question his demon life. One of the things he pondered on was the food his mother provided for him: chunks of questionable meat. When he asked his mother, she was hesitant, but she confessed that it was human flesh. Only then did Mikio realize one of the many reasons why he'd been discouraged from becoming overly familiar with humans: omukade are a human's predators, and he was expected to be one of them. Of course when hearing of this expectation, Mikio refused. Since he was taught how to hunt, Mikio resorted to eating the flesh of wild animals. There was no difference between animal and human flesh to him, so it worked out pretty well. His refusal to eat humans was considered insolence towards his mother and the nature of demons, so it definitely ruined any good relationships he was hoping to get with his neighbors.
Mikio craved companionship. He was alone with his mother, shunned by other demons, and he didn't like it at all. His nameless mother, who grew wise from her experiences, decided that she would teach him a spell she learned to transform so he could go out into the world and attempt his dream of living and learning with humans. Much to his dismay, Mikio was unable to transform into a human, and could only change into a centipede as small as a pencil. Along with the transformation spell, Mikio's mother also taught him how to use portal travel so he could go from place to place like many other demons. After learning those spells, Mikio agreed with his mother's wishes to travel and observe. He didn't belong in the forest where he wasn't accepted. He desired to travel the world, meet people, learn new things, and perhaps start a family.
That was the last time he would see his mother for awhile (he later on made regular visits to her). After a long farewell, Mikio crawled in disguise about the streets of Edo, watching as samurai declined, westerners came in and out to trade, and the world slowly modernized. Being a centipede did take up his energy, so he couldn't stay as one forever. When he wasn't in his centipede form, he used disguises to hide his horrific appendages. Booties for his hooves, long yukata that covered his legs and hid his arms, and straw hats that hid his antennae. When he had enough power to make portals, he would travel around to different countries, learning of human life there, and a little bit of the language. Mikio aged slowly, and even as he hit a century, he appeared to only be in his twenties. Throughout his life, while he made a few friends, most of those who saw him screamed and ran. When his guard was down and he revealed his monstrous form, that kind of reaction was common. His lifestyle of traveling stayed like this until up to the present.
Right now, Mikio lives in an abandoned schoolhouse, in a room furnished with furniture and necessities that he obtained from Akuse. Around the 1990s Akuse had become fully modernized just like the human world, and technology had become more widespread. Many demons adopted human habits and lifestyles and many of them purchased whatever they needed from stores that developed in Akuse. As Mikio lived, he visited the demon world several times to earn money and necessities. Thanks to that, he has hot water, a TV, clothes, and many books that he found lying in the empty library. There are rumors that the building will be destroyed, but other rumors suggest that demons will take over and turn it into a living complex for them. For now, Mikio has decided to stay, hoping that the latter will happen. When Mikio walks out, he goes out in baggy clothes and hats that hide his demonic features. He looks silly, but he would much prefer that people stared at him strangely over screaming and running.
As mentioned earlier, Mikio has avoided eating humans by feasting on raw flesh of animals. Often he'll go to a supermarket and buy himself raw steaks to munch on. Later on in life, Mikio discovered his incubus side, and has grown urges to mate with others to feed off their sexual energy. Like mentioned before, not everyone who saw Mikio avoided him. There were fortunate times when he had found those who were interested in his otherwise terrifying form. Mikio has attempted to seduce these people with varying degrees of success and over time has grown skilled in the bedroom. Eating raw animal flesh and having intercourse are two ways of surviving as a demon in the human world that Mikio has discovered.
[Personality] As Mikio grew up, he experienced a lot of disappointment and heartbreak: from when he discovered that he ate humans, to the absence of his father and the mystery of his identity, to the reactions of humans who see him, and the nonacceptance of his demon neighbors. With all of this taking a strain on his emotions, Mikio grew timid and soft-spoken. His voice is monotonous, showing little to no emotion, and he himself rarely breaks his pokerface. His expressions are very subtle, and he only shows extreme anger or sadness in the most dire of situations. He does, however, become happy very easily, and every so often, one will get a chance to see his ecstatic, beaming face.
Mikio's biggest and most noticeable trait is his curiosity and habit of analyzing his surroundings and situations. Mikio tends to think more than speak, and will appear to be spacing out from time to time. Every movement, every sound, every situation is a wonder to him. His curiosity is endless, and can never be satisfied. Mikio had been questioning everything and everyone from the day he was born. He still wonders to this day why he's still alive, how, and if it should be considered a blessing or a curse. Humans and technology are his biggest interests, which explains why he wanted to live among them, despite the negative reactions they have when they see him without a disguise. Due to his incredible optimism, he really hopes that one day humans will look past his monstrous form and see him for who he is.
This optimism isn't something that just happened. Mikio's cruel childhood could have made him a cold and distant man. But he had a nurturing mother, who protected him and loved him, and gave him assurance and confidence. His mother was a giant centipede, and his father was an incubus. Mikio is, therefore, the result of what is considered inter-species sex amongst demons. Given the circumstances of his birth and the high rate of infant mortality and deformity surrounding it, the fact that he is alive and healthy with little deformity is considered a miracle, and he therefore does not think of himself as deformed. Even so, being a child of two species is considered humiliating and is utter stupidity. Mikio would have been killed out of mortification to his species. But thanks to his protective mother, anything mentioned of the idea was ceased soon after. So not only is Mikio lucky to be alive and born healthy, but his life is spared. Mikio believes it's a sign, and so his hard childhood has not impacted on him enough to make him cold and cruel. He believes he'll make some sort of difference, and so he keeps this optimistic view of the world.
His optimism and love for humans explains why he's so kind, like a gentle giant. His kind, on his mother's side, are a group of ravenous centipedes that will brutally kill and eat the flesh of human beings, or if they're in a rush, swallow them whole. Having this kind of reputation, Mikio strives everyday to show how much he isn't like them. He'll do almost anything, from offering to help carry groceries, to helping troubled people who are being come onto by persistent individuals in the streets at night, to offering a place to stay for those he thinks needs it. Any opportunity he finds that could leave a good impression, he'll take. He doesn't behave in an open manner, however. He always speaks softly, and avoids eye contact by bowing his head or lowering his hood or hat. He also tries to give compliments every once in a while. Sadly, since he has grown up in the forest with minimal human contact, and even now his contact with humans is brief at best, his compliments come out a bit blunt and possibly uncomfortable or are taken the wrong way.
Indeed, Mikio is very blunt. While he is around humans a lot, he only occasionally interacts with them for extended amounts of time. He helps out any human in need, but he will rarely talk or engage in conversation. His words are spoken briefly, and he usually leaves once he has finished helping with whatever it was that a human needed help with. Because of this, he never learned what makes for appropriate conversation, and therefore speaks whatever he wants to speak. If he finds someone's odor to be offensive, he'll say so. If he finds something annoying, he'll say so. If he finds someone attractive and wants to mate with them, then by all means he will say so. This is often followed by the other becoming flustered or defensive, and Mikio will usually be confused as to why they are behaving as such.
To summarize, Mikio is always willing to approach a human and talk with them. However, once the talking starts, fear and timidity take over, and Mikio's conversations with humans become brief and he leaves soon after exchanging a few words.
Despite analyzing humans for so long, he has still much to learn about them, especially if they are changing over the years. Not only is Mikio blunt, but he has old fashioned views about life as well. He sees women as submissive gatherers, and men as dominant hunters; men hunt for food and women bear the children. That doesn't necessarily mean he is stuck with this kind of thinking. Considering his curiosity and love for humans, he is capable of being taught about how things have changed over the years, and that strict gender roles such as this are declining and lifestyles are changing. Again, he has so much to learn about humans, and he isn't going to stop learning no matter what.
Despite having many adult thoughts and desires, such as mating and having a family, he still behaves like a child sometimes. Technology and many human products are very interesting, and at times he desires to play with them, like a toddler finding her mother's phone. Technology changes over the years, which explains why Mikio is always interested and amused. In fact, it wouldn't be rare to find him in a toy shop, pressing a button on a machine, or jumping when he squeezes a squeak toy. If he would get along with humans, children would be the easiest to befriend. But along that childish side is a motherly side.
Getting deeper into that, Mikio craves companionship. He has very little interaction with humans for he's afraid of how they would see him. Because of that, plus his shunning by other demons, he is very lonely. He always longs for friends or mates, to be desired and wanted, to be accepted. He doesn't want to live his whole life shunned. Contradictory to this, however, is his fear of getting intimate with a woman on a personal level. While he desires friends, his insects instincts show when he longs for a spouse. He's afraid to be eaten, as he always feels like procreating with a woman will cause her to eat him afterwards. It is a silly, irrational fear, something he hopes to overcome one day. This would explain why he shows no preference to what gender his spouse would be. If he can't get over the fear of marrying and procreating with a female, he'll go for a male. While his views on gender roles are somewhat old fashioned, he doesn't believe in discriminating what gender his partner is.
Mikio overall is most known for his desire in communicating and bonding, despite his actual hesitance and courage to do so. He is definitely not the man with his heart on his sleeve. His expressions are subtle, but that doesn't mean he's cold or emotionless, and sometimes hints of his true feelings come through in his body language. While he behaves rather distant and quiet, he isn't destined to be this way forever.
[Specialties/Abilities]
Transformation: Sadly he cannot create a human disguise like many of his neighbors, and is cursed with that horrific form since he doesn't have that kind of power. He did learn and gain an easier power, however, to turn into a mukade, a vicious centipede that is somewhat common in many areas of Japan, especially in more rural areas. These creatures are known to have venomous bites, but with the spell being only a disguise, and Mikio's lack of venomous bite in his original form, his bites as a centipede are harmless and not that painful.
Strength: He's not as strong as many other demons, but he is stronger than the average human. He can lift some heavy objects, rip and tear flesh off animals, and easily assist you with any stubborn pickle jars.
Climbing: Despite being born in a body that is mostly incubus, he grew up with insects, and taught himself how to move around like them. He can climb certain walls that have obstacles he can hold onto, such as building exteriors and mountains. Because of this, he can't climb interior walls and smooth surfaces. He does attempt to do so at times, but utterly fails. He ends up making a fool of himself.
Chicken flight - Mikio's wings are small due to his deformity, so he cannot fly like other incubi. He can fly in short lengths, and can use this ability to assist him with climbing, jumping from roof to roof, or take advantage of head starts when in pursuit. If he flies too long, he can tire out and make his back sore.
Antennae - His antennae can pick up things humans can't. He uses it as an extension of his senses, mainly sound, touch, and sixth sense. His antennae twitch when he senses a change in atmosphere.
Purring - He can purr like a cat, except it sounds lower and somewhat demonic. Not exactly a powerful ability, but it's definitely something humans can't do.
[Character Name] Mikio (no surname)
[Age] Never counted. Born a bit before when samurai were slowly declining in Japan as American traders came in, followed by other foreigners soon after, around the 1860's. Mikio was born somewhere between then and the 1840's, closer to the latter.
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Pansexual
[Eye Color] Yellow
[Hair Color] dark grey
[Height] 6'4"
[Other] Dark brown antennae, four arms, black fur covered legs, with hooves for feet, and small devil wings.
[World] When talking to Mikio, you might hear him mention "England" and "Japan", so you would assume that he comes from our Earth. He is indeed from an "Earth" but the world he is from is much different than ours. There is no heaven nor hell. If you are good, you "cross over" and rest in peace. If you are bad or if you have regrets, then you are earthbound as a ghost, forever restless until you have no more regrets or have done something to earn your way into eternal peace. Religion still exists, and since there is no evidence of the lack of heaven and hell, many humans still follow the beliefs of their religion. Because of this many humans still view demons as the evil creatures they are in their scriptures and they fear them. However, those who are not religious still fear the demons, since many of them have frightening appearances and many humans are too stubborn to learn about them. While there are some creatures who are evil and predatory, humans assume all of them are, even though there are benevolent ones as well.
The "Hell" of Mikio's world, however, has nothing to do with how humans behave or what they believe in, nor is there any evidence yet of it actually being Hell. Some suggest it's simply its own dimension, and that Hell still exists but is different that what this is. Because of that, instead of hell, it is simply known as the “Demon World". Accordingly, in Japan, it is called “Akuma no Sekai” or “Akuse” as a nickname.There are no tortured souls in this possible 'hell', nor are there demons who torture them. Akuse is simply a residential area where any demons you find roaming around Earth come from. Besides demons, there are also other mythical creatures such as fairies and boogeymen and other monsters that are 'made up' in our world. Just like Earth, they have their own regions, too. There's a giant desert region, lush forest regions and even fantasy-like cities. There even exists a large, Victorian-like city devoted to possessed dolls and Gothic clowns. The skies are red, and they have an unknown light source. There is no sun, yet the day is lit like there is, and dimmed when night comes. At this time, no one is able to figure out how this works, but scientists in Akuse are studying. All in all, Akuse is considered a Wonder of the World in Mikio's universe, filled with many mysteries yet to be solved and hypotheses yet to become theories
Human disguise is a popular form of magic in Akuse, and used as one of the way for demons to study humans without startling them. The power of transforming into a human is something the demons are given as an option to learn. However, many demons choose not to use this magic, such as incubi who have pride in their bodies. And unfortunately, it is a difficult ability to learn, therefore many demons have not perfected it, and can be caught by revealing a tail or horns that they could not change. As demons are trying to get along with humans in this world, they take on the names and labels that humans give them, rather than name themselves, such as the Western and Eastern incubi. The Western incubus or succubus normally would call themselves something different, but as a way of trying to accept human culture, they name themselves Western and/or Eastern incubi, despite not having Europe, nor Asia in their world. A Western incubus, which is what Mikio's father is, takes a mostly human form, but with furry legs and hooves, curled horns, and large wings. They are the more sexual (of the two known breeds), that feed and gain power by pleasuring others and absorbing their energy. Eastern incubi are more slender than their Western counterparts, and have more human-like legs with sharp-nailed toes. Their wings are smaller, as they are more dreamlike and tend to float rather than fly. Despite being less intimidating in appearance, they are more sadistic, and get joy out of causing misery just as much as pleasure. Western incubi have more black and grey color schemes, whilst Eastern ones can come in a variety of colors. Eastern incubi are more dream-oriented, and feed off of energy through dreams and nightmares. They aren't Asian per se, but are called "Eastern incubi" since they were 'discovered' in East Asia and are in bigger numbers there. They have also been discovered in smaller numbers in Eastern Europe. It's not just Western and Eastern incubi, there are many "breeds" of demons that apply human labels to their kind.
Akuse is generally filled with more monstrous demons that don't fit in the human world at all. Otherwise, many creatures choose to live in the human world, be it in forests, sewers, mountains, or any place else partially inhabited by humans or not. This is because while many demons want to interact and establish relationships with humans, the feeling isn’t entirely mutual. They are usually either shunned and feared by human society or captured for experiments, both of which have led to a breakdown in communication between the two. But there are humans out there who are generally interested in demons and befriending them, wanting to learn about them and their world. It is because of these good people that motivate demons to keep interacting with them, despite the risk of capture or shun. Another reason why some demons live in places other than houses would be that many demons need certain environments to live. They cannot live in human houses or cities, so they live in their specific environments and come out when a nearby human walks by to communicate with them if they are interested in doing so. Akuse is also a good mode of transportation for skilled portal users. Many demons have the power to use portals between Earth and Akuse, and the more skilled they are, the more precise locations they can calculate with their portals. Portal travel, however, has its own rules. Portals can only travel through the human and demon worlds. If demons want to travel from a place on earth to another, they must make a portal to Akuse first, and then make a portal to their desired location from there.
In Mikio's case, he was raised in a demon gathering deep in the Aokigahara Forest of Japan. In this gathering, there were mainly omukade (giant monstrous centipedes), ushi-oni (bull demons with different bodies, such as bipedal or crab-like), and kitsune (fox spirits), along with minor numbers of a few other creatures.
[Background] Mikio's life started when an incubus from London got himself into some trouble and escaped by stowing away on a trade ship, where he had to stay hidden, or else be thrown overboard. He spent weeks hidden in the ship, and eventually grew hungry. If he had been wise, he'd have tried to catch those who dared to go into the storage alone to feed on, wiping their memory afterwards. Instead, he helped himself to some of the gin stored in kegs until he was too intoxicated to think. In his drunken state, he began to dance and stomp around the storage room, and eventually got caught by the sailors. Panicking, the incubus formed a portal to the demon world to escape.
After teleporting back to the demon world, the intoxicated demon still wanted to explore Earth, and so he made a portal once again and ended up deep in the Aokigahara forest in Japan. He was drunk and starving, and if he didn't find a meal soon, there was going to be trouble. He stumbled across a young woman, with silky dark brown hair and piercing yellow eyes. No questions asked, he went for her. The young woman was an omukade, a giant centipede that lived in the caves underneath the forest. She was a ditzy, foolish young woman, who didn't understand much about biology, and interspecies mating. Unaware of the possibility of deformed or dead children, she allowed the incubus to court her. She was in heat and desired a mate, but sadly couldn't find one nearby. Desperate, she learned a spell to turn herself human, so she could find a mate that way. Finding the incubus, she was so happy that she fell in love right away and declared the incubus her husband. Unfortunately, the incubus couldn't refuse, for neither one understood each other. The incubus assumed she was just okay with him feeding on her.
The incubus woke up the next morning underground, embraced in a giant centipede's coils. The omukade had transformed back overnight, and when she woke up, she affectionately greeted her 'husband'. The incubus had no memory of last night, and he became disgusted that he was near such a beast. Gathering his things, he made a run for it. Needless to say, the omukade was heartbroken. Deciding there was nothing she could do, she decided to raise her young by herself and gave birth to the eggs as usual. However, much to her dismay, when it was time for them to hatch, they didn’t. It was then that one of her sisters explained to her that she had unwittingly mated with a creature whose seed could not make her bear children. She kept her eggs for a while longer, unable to throw them away.
One day, however, she heard the sound of something poking and scratching. One egg had survived! It was a miracle! Excited, the omukade took the egg and placed it in a hollow tree to let it hatch while protected. She was ecstatic and impatient, and ended up cracking the egg open to let the baby out. What was inside made everyone around her gasp in horror. The contents were what seemed to be a baby, but with two bumps under his arms, antennae poking out of his head, and tiny hooves where feet should be. It was a miracle indeed that the baby survived, but his life obviously came with consequences. While the omukade herself wasn't treated too badly (though some gave her the cold shoulder), everyone looked at the baby as if he were some horrifying deformed creature. The mother, however, was simply glad that she had a child of her own. He was special to her, and thus she gave him a name, something uncommon to demons in this world at the time. He was named Mikio, or tree trunk man, since he was hatched in a tree.
As he grew up, those bumps under his arms grew longer, and eventually formed into a second pair of arms, making him look much more horrifying to his neighbors. Luckily, not everyone despised him, as the wiser demons were entirely sympathetic to him. He learned how to use that second pair of arms, and they grew very advantageous for him. The older he became, the more his leg hair grew until eventually his lower half came to resemble that of a Western incubus. His antennae grew longer, and he learned how to use them to track and heighten his senses.
When he was around twelve he discovered some humans walking around the edges of the forest. On asking his mother about them, she began to tell him stories of the humans- who they were, where they came from, their relationship with demons, and everything in between. Mikio was so amazed that he wanted to meet a human for the first time. One night he approached a camp filled with mainly older men and their young sons. Mikio at first approached a young boy of about six, who cried at the sight of him. The cry startled Mikio, and also attracted the worried father. When the man saw Mikio, he grew pale, called out to the others, and they chased the curious demon away with their weapons. It was then that young Mikio realized that not only was he feared by humans like his mother warned him, but he wasn't accepted by his fellow demons either. Mikio was devastated by this fact, but for some reason didn't lose his curious nature. Perhaps it was because he was the sole survivor out of his brothers and sisters, that he kept an optimistic point of view. He dreamt that one day he would get along with humans and possibly even start a family with one. That might mean adoption if they were going to have kids, but it didn't matter to Mikio.
Mikio grew up trying to appeal to his neighbors, despite knowing that they didn't like him. Occasionally through luck, he made a few friends during his childhood but the parents of those friends disapproved. That wasn't surprising, but Mikio was confident that he would win the approval of all the demons in the forest. But his biggest priority was humans. They became an interesting subject for Mikio. The demon wanted to know more about them like many others demons do, and he sometimes even wished to live amongst them.
When he reached his early teens, Mikio began to question his demon life. One of the things he pondered on was the food his mother provided for him: chunks of questionable meat. When he asked his mother, she was hesitant, but she confessed that it was human flesh. Only then did Mikio realize one of the many reasons why he'd been discouraged from becoming overly familiar with humans: omukade are a human's predators, and he was expected to be one of them. Of course when hearing of this expectation, Mikio refused. Since he was taught how to hunt, Mikio resorted to eating the flesh of wild animals. There was no difference between animal and human flesh to him, so it worked out pretty well. His refusal to eat humans was considered insolence towards his mother and the nature of demons, so it definitely ruined any good relationships he was hoping to get with his neighbors.
Mikio craved companionship. He was alone with his mother, shunned by other demons, and he didn't like it at all. His nameless mother, who grew wise from her experiences, decided that she would teach him a spell she learned to transform so he could go out into the world and attempt his dream of living and learning with humans. Much to his dismay, Mikio was unable to transform into a human, and could only change into a centipede as small as a pencil. Along with the transformation spell, Mikio's mother also taught him how to use portal travel so he could go from place to place like many other demons. After learning those spells, Mikio agreed with his mother's wishes to travel and observe. He didn't belong in the forest where he wasn't accepted. He desired to travel the world, meet people, learn new things, and perhaps start a family.
That was the last time he would see his mother for awhile (he later on made regular visits to her). After a long farewell, Mikio crawled in disguise about the streets of Edo, watching as samurai declined, westerners came in and out to trade, and the world slowly modernized. Being a centipede did take up his energy, so he couldn't stay as one forever. When he wasn't in his centipede form, he used disguises to hide his horrific appendages. Booties for his hooves, long yukata that covered his legs and hid his arms, and straw hats that hid his antennae. When he had enough power to make portals, he would travel around to different countries, learning of human life there, and a little bit of the language. Mikio aged slowly, and even as he hit a century, he appeared to only be in his twenties. Throughout his life, while he made a few friends, most of those who saw him screamed and ran. When his guard was down and he revealed his monstrous form, that kind of reaction was common. His lifestyle of traveling stayed like this until up to the present.
Right now, Mikio lives in an abandoned schoolhouse, in a room furnished with furniture and necessities that he obtained from Akuse. Around the 1990s Akuse had become fully modernized just like the human world, and technology had become more widespread. Many demons adopted human habits and lifestyles and many of them purchased whatever they needed from stores that developed in Akuse. As Mikio lived, he visited the demon world several times to earn money and necessities. Thanks to that, he has hot water, a TV, clothes, and many books that he found lying in the empty library. There are rumors that the building will be destroyed, but other rumors suggest that demons will take over and turn it into a living complex for them. For now, Mikio has decided to stay, hoping that the latter will happen. When Mikio walks out, he goes out in baggy clothes and hats that hide his demonic features. He looks silly, but he would much prefer that people stared at him strangely over screaming and running.
As mentioned earlier, Mikio has avoided eating humans by feasting on raw flesh of animals. Often he'll go to a supermarket and buy himself raw steaks to munch on. Later on in life, Mikio discovered his incubus side, and has grown urges to mate with others to feed off their sexual energy. Like mentioned before, not everyone who saw Mikio avoided him. There were fortunate times when he had found those who were interested in his otherwise terrifying form. Mikio has attempted to seduce these people with varying degrees of success and over time has grown skilled in the bedroom. Eating raw animal flesh and having intercourse are two ways of surviving as a demon in the human world that Mikio has discovered.
[Personality] As Mikio grew up, he experienced a lot of disappointment and heartbreak: from when he discovered that he ate humans, to the absence of his father and the mystery of his identity, to the reactions of humans who see him, and the nonacceptance of his demon neighbors. With all of this taking a strain on his emotions, Mikio grew timid and soft-spoken. His voice is monotonous, showing little to no emotion, and he himself rarely breaks his pokerface. His expressions are very subtle, and he only shows extreme anger or sadness in the most dire of situations. He does, however, become happy very easily, and every so often, one will get a chance to see his ecstatic, beaming face.
Mikio's biggest and most noticeable trait is his curiosity and habit of analyzing his surroundings and situations. Mikio tends to think more than speak, and will appear to be spacing out from time to time. Every movement, every sound, every situation is a wonder to him. His curiosity is endless, and can never be satisfied. Mikio had been questioning everything and everyone from the day he was born. He still wonders to this day why he's still alive, how, and if it should be considered a blessing or a curse. Humans and technology are his biggest interests, which explains why he wanted to live among them, despite the negative reactions they have when they see him without a disguise. Due to his incredible optimism, he really hopes that one day humans will look past his monstrous form and see him for who he is.
This optimism isn't something that just happened. Mikio's cruel childhood could have made him a cold and distant man. But he had a nurturing mother, who protected him and loved him, and gave him assurance and confidence. His mother was a giant centipede, and his father was an incubus. Mikio is, therefore, the result of what is considered inter-species sex amongst demons. Given the circumstances of his birth and the high rate of infant mortality and deformity surrounding it, the fact that he is alive and healthy with little deformity is considered a miracle, and he therefore does not think of himself as deformed. Even so, being a child of two species is considered humiliating and is utter stupidity. Mikio would have been killed out of mortification to his species. But thanks to his protective mother, anything mentioned of the idea was ceased soon after. So not only is Mikio lucky to be alive and born healthy, but his life is spared. Mikio believes it's a sign, and so his hard childhood has not impacted on him enough to make him cold and cruel. He believes he'll make some sort of difference, and so he keeps this optimistic view of the world.
His optimism and love for humans explains why he's so kind, like a gentle giant. His kind, on his mother's side, are a group of ravenous centipedes that will brutally kill and eat the flesh of human beings, or if they're in a rush, swallow them whole. Having this kind of reputation, Mikio strives everyday to show how much he isn't like them. He'll do almost anything, from offering to help carry groceries, to helping troubled people who are being come onto by persistent individuals in the streets at night, to offering a place to stay for those he thinks needs it. Any opportunity he finds that could leave a good impression, he'll take. He doesn't behave in an open manner, however. He always speaks softly, and avoids eye contact by bowing his head or lowering his hood or hat. He also tries to give compliments every once in a while. Sadly, since he has grown up in the forest with minimal human contact, and even now his contact with humans is brief at best, his compliments come out a bit blunt and possibly uncomfortable or are taken the wrong way.
Indeed, Mikio is very blunt. While he is around humans a lot, he only occasionally interacts with them for extended amounts of time. He helps out any human in need, but he will rarely talk or engage in conversation. His words are spoken briefly, and he usually leaves once he has finished helping with whatever it was that a human needed help with. Because of this, he never learned what makes for appropriate conversation, and therefore speaks whatever he wants to speak. If he finds someone's odor to be offensive, he'll say so. If he finds something annoying, he'll say so. If he finds someone attractive and wants to mate with them, then by all means he will say so. This is often followed by the other becoming flustered or defensive, and Mikio will usually be confused as to why they are behaving as such.
To summarize, Mikio is always willing to approach a human and talk with them. However, once the talking starts, fear and timidity take over, and Mikio's conversations with humans become brief and he leaves soon after exchanging a few words.
Despite analyzing humans for so long, he has still much to learn about them, especially if they are changing over the years. Not only is Mikio blunt, but he has old fashioned views about life as well. He sees women as submissive gatherers, and men as dominant hunters; men hunt for food and women bear the children. That doesn't necessarily mean he is stuck with this kind of thinking. Considering his curiosity and love for humans, he is capable of being taught about how things have changed over the years, and that strict gender roles such as this are declining and lifestyles are changing. Again, he has so much to learn about humans, and he isn't going to stop learning no matter what.
Despite having many adult thoughts and desires, such as mating and having a family, he still behaves like a child sometimes. Technology and many human products are very interesting, and at times he desires to play with them, like a toddler finding her mother's phone. Technology changes over the years, which explains why Mikio is always interested and amused. In fact, it wouldn't be rare to find him in a toy shop, pressing a button on a machine, or jumping when he squeezes a squeak toy. If he would get along with humans, children would be the easiest to befriend. But along that childish side is a motherly side.
Getting deeper into that, Mikio craves companionship. He has very little interaction with humans for he's afraid of how they would see him. Because of that, plus his shunning by other demons, he is very lonely. He always longs for friends or mates, to be desired and wanted, to be accepted. He doesn't want to live his whole life shunned. Contradictory to this, however, is his fear of getting intimate with a woman on a personal level. While he desires friends, his insects instincts show when he longs for a spouse. He's afraid to be eaten, as he always feels like procreating with a woman will cause her to eat him afterwards. It is a silly, irrational fear, something he hopes to overcome one day. This would explain why he shows no preference to what gender his spouse would be. If he can't get over the fear of marrying and procreating with a female, he'll go for a male. While his views on gender roles are somewhat old fashioned, he doesn't believe in discriminating what gender his partner is.
Mikio overall is most known for his desire in communicating and bonding, despite his actual hesitance and courage to do so. He is definitely not the man with his heart on his sleeve. His expressions are subtle, but that doesn't mean he's cold or emotionless, and sometimes hints of his true feelings come through in his body language. While he behaves rather distant and quiet, he isn't destined to be this way forever.
[Specialties/Abilities]
Transformation: Sadly he cannot create a human disguise like many of his neighbors, and is cursed with that horrific form since he doesn't have that kind of power. He did learn and gain an easier power, however, to turn into a mukade, a vicious centipede that is somewhat common in many areas of Japan, especially in more rural areas. These creatures are known to have venomous bites, but with the spell being only a disguise, and Mikio's lack of venomous bite in his original form, his bites as a centipede are harmless and not that painful.
Strength: He's not as strong as many other demons, but he is stronger than the average human. He can lift some heavy objects, rip and tear flesh off animals, and easily assist you with any stubborn pickle jars.
Climbing: Despite being born in a body that is mostly incubus, he grew up with insects, and taught himself how to move around like them. He can climb certain walls that have obstacles he can hold onto, such as building exteriors and mountains. Because of this, he can't climb interior walls and smooth surfaces. He does attempt to do so at times, but utterly fails. He ends up making a fool of himself.
Chicken flight - Mikio's wings are small due to his deformity, so he cannot fly like other incubi. He can fly in short lengths, and can use this ability to assist him with climbing, jumping from roof to roof, or take advantage of head starts when in pursuit. If he flies too long, he can tire out and make his back sore.
Antennae - His antennae can pick up things humans can't. He uses it as an extension of his senses, mainly sound, touch, and sixth sense. His antennae twitch when he senses a change in atmosphere.
Purring - He can purr like a cat, except it sounds lower and somewhat demonic. Not exactly a powerful ability, but it's definitely something humans can't do.