Pinokuni Sylva
Introduction
A wood based automaton and Jack’s best friend. He originally had tagged along with Jack because he didn't have much else to do but he's grown too attached to leave the farm boy now. Pinokuni's Fairy Godmother is Azure of the Blue, who is also the same person that cursed him with a nose that glows when he lies. Pinokuni can manipulate magical strings that can both control, cut, and constrain. He also has quite the potty mouth but is one of the few characters who can back it up.
Personality
Pinokuni speaks what's on his mind and doesn't really care who gets offended or hurt by it. It's rare for him to apologize for his own actions as a majority of the time, he doesn't even mean it. He justifies his actions by saying his nose will glow if he doesn't use complete honesty. He comes off as rude but to his friends, he is astoundingly loyal and kind...the sass remains though.
History
Pinokuni was originally a lost soul floating in the small gap between Lore and The World Without Happy Endings. Azure stumbled upon him and decided he needed a second chance. Knowing just the man to bring him to, she arrived at Mr. Hearth's workshop and worked alongside him to create Pinokuni's wooden body. Eventually, his body was marked with the Symbol of the Pulse and his soul was placed inside , beginning his new life as an automaton. All memories of his existence prior to waking up in Lore were completely erased...or so he believed.
Early on however, Hearth began to take notice that Pinokuni wasn't like the other automatons he had made. He began showing signs of more complicated mental development, often exhibiting more interest in homeschooling lessons than his other wooden siblings. Meanwhile, Azure took notice of the more negative side effects of placing a human soul within a wooden body, noticing a mischievous side arising. As a consequence, she winded cursing Pinokuni with a spell that caused his nose to glow when he lied.
Pinokuni moved on to helping keep his automaton siblings in top health, tidying up their paint when they'd get scratches, fixing their hair when they'd get messed up, and acting like a genuine big brother. Occasionally, for story time, he'd read chapters out of The Adventures of Pinocchio to some of his siblings when Hearth was too tired. Every so often, Azure would come to visit, checking in on both Hearth and Pinokuni's mental health.
Eventually, Pinokuni outgrew home education and was enrolled into school with human children. There he winded up meeting Romeo during class, who he'd nearly immediately latched onto. He never acted out too much, which saved him from suspension. Romeo, however, eventually got expelled after pushing his class clown status too far. Their friend resulted in Pinokuni bringing very specific words back home that led to a swear jar being put in place.
Romeo and Pinokuni's friendship began to become rocky as Romeo had found a new crowd to hang out with during his absence from school. One that Pinokuni wasn't very fond of. Not wanting to lose the first and only friend he had, Pinokuni bared with the discomfort. Mixing the random glimpses of the past life he lived in his sleep, Pinokuni's mental health began to take a toll. Hearth's concern grew to the point of Azure having to step in to behave as a therapist for Pinokuni. However, no matter how much she tried, there were just some things Pinokuni didn't talk about-like all the stunts Romeo would put him through or the punishments he'd inflict on him if he refused. There were also some things that Pinokuni couldn't get Azure to talk about-like what his dreams meant and why he was so different from his siblings.
Eventually, everything came crashing down as the peer pressure to misbehave from Romeo alongside the expectations to be good led to Pinokuni having an breakdown. What resulted was a fight between a child and his parents. Tired of all the stress and secrets of his origins, Pinokuni declared he was done. When Hearth tried to calm him down, he was simply told that he could make a new perfect kid to replace him. That night, Pinokuni left home, not aware it'd be the last time he'd see his family. Hearth, guilt ridden over how he treated Pinokuni over the years, couldn't bring himself to go after him. As a final request, Heart asked Azure take Pinokuni under as her godchild. Promising to protect him, she'd became Pinokuni's fairy god mother and flew off after the automaton.
That same night, Pinokuni ran into Romeo, who showed signs of something being extremely off. Surprisingly, he apologized for his past treatment of the puppet and invited him on a trip to Blissland, where he could make up for all his past treatment. Due to being in a vulnerable emotional state, Pinokuni accepted under the belief that this was the beginning of better things. Instead, the puppet found himself battling for his life against Romeo while onboard a ship heading straight towards the Cetus sea. Before he could get one final hit in, he was sent into the gaping maws of a leviathan.
For 2 years, Pinokuni lived inside the monster, reflecting on his life, his attitude, and the people around him. Eventually, he was fished out by the giant of the beanstalk, where he was "employed" as a little dancing toy act before finally being rescued by Jack.
Skills and Abilities
Due to Pinokuni being an automaton, his body is merely just a vessel for his actual soul which lies inside of him. With enough force, or enough damage to his body, his soul will begin to leak out.
Nose
A spell placed on him by Azure to discourage lying. Whenever Pinokuni tells a lie, his nose begins to glow a bright blue
Soul Possession
So long as the desire vessel has the marking of the Pulse on it, now matter how crudely drawn, and movable limbs, Pinokuni temporarily place his soul inside of it and possess it.
Märchen
The True Blues are blue glowing strings that can control and restrain their opponent/target. They can't be broken unless they are cut by another Märchen. In extreme cases, they can be used for slicing flesh and even bone.
Puppet King
Jokingly refered to as his "Final Form", Pinokuni summons and possess a large four-armed marionette body. In this form, he is able to command inanimate objects like dolls, puppets, and other anthropomorphic items.
Trivia
- Pinokuni is "numb" to some extent, lacking the nerves to feel certain sensations. Due to this, he doesn't mind the cold and can take quite the hit without backing down.
- Pinokuni can feel varying levels of heat, including a little bit of sunlight. He tends to enjoy sunbathing due to this. However, fire causes extreme pain to him, leading to mild pyrophobia.
- Pinokuni's cheeks glow red when he feels flustered or embarrassed.
- Pinokuni naturally smells like toasted almonds.
- After his experience with the leviathan, which he spent 2 months inside of, Pinokuni has thalassophobia.
- Pinokuni's name is a merging of the Italian word "pino"(pine) and the Swahili word "kuni"(wood).
- Pinokuni was the third and final name chosen for the character. The other two contenders were "Pinnochio" and "Pinolo. The first was scrapped due to being a type I noticed too late and the latter just didn't fit his character enough.
- Pinokuni is also the beginning of me using alternative names for Beanstalked character so they wouldn't share the same names as the original fairy tales they were based off of. Originally, I had changed his name due to the fear of a little kid stumbling across him while trying to find the original more family oriented fairy tale character.