★ Character Information ★

Character Name: Aoi Shibuya
Character Age: 18
Character Species: Human/Iriomote Cat hybrid
Current Health: Stable
Outfit: Civilian | Transformed

Character Canon: Tokyo Mew Mew Au Lait
Link to History: Aoi Shibuya is the popular pretty boy of his school. Anzu Hinata is a girl who absolutely adores the endangered Red Data Animals and often researches them. Anzu's older sister, Natsume, works in genetics. On the day of a Halloween party, Aoi hesitantly shows up, where he finds Anzu getting into a fight. He grabs her and runs, only for a Chimera Anima, which is an animal that has been altered to become a much larger version of itself and pose a threat. Aoi wants to save Anzu, and it causes him to transform into the first of the Mew Mews, fused with the genes of the Iriomote Cat.

Aoi's team grows to include other RDA-infused hybrids like himself: Shizuka Yoyogi, the Amazon River Dolphin, Ryusei Kanda, the Komodo Dragon, Ayato Roppongi, the Red and Blue Lory, and Taichi Hiroo, the Amur Leopard. They combine their efforts to stop the surfacing Chimera Anima and ultimately fight back against the aliens the Three Wisemen from Beyond, and ultimately Dark Blue, who wish to save the earth by wiping out all of humanity. As another side of the coin, they've seen humans pollute the world and send valuable species into extinction. However, when it becomes revealed that they need Anzu to further their means, the Mew Mews' attention turns to protecting her and keeping the Three Wisemen from trying to seduce her.

When the Mew Mews are trapped in a post-apocalyptic desert Tokyo, they have to find a way to escape or they'll die in the illusion. Here, Aoi finally realises how much the others matter to him and how he wants to save everyone. Aoi, Ryusei, and Ayato are able to withstand the desert conditions as their genetic animals all live in warm environments. However, Taichi and Shizuka are suffering and their strength begins to escape them. In their desperate hour, Aoi and Ayato work together to find the break in the illusion and manage to free all of them, putting them back in current-day Tokyo as rain pours down.
Canon Point: End of chapter 19, after everyone returns from the simulated desert and Yoyogi expresses his "gratitude" by giving affection to Aoi.
Canon Iteration: Original canon

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills:
Games: Aoi's really good at games, especially of the arcade variety, even being able to get a desired plush in the first attempt from a crane game.

Unathletic: Aoi isn't athletic and prefers to stay out of sports. He fatigues easily in activity, unless transformed.

To Change the Future: Aoi's ability to believe in others and listen to them gives him the ability to say the words that others might need to hear the most, to listen and change themselves, to continue to grow, and allow them to face their future head-on and fight for a better life.

Canon Abilities:
Rapid Healing: His gene fusion also granted him the ability to heal quickly from even significant injuries.

Prehensile Tail: Can use his tail to grab and pull things. Though it's only shown when he's intoxicated.

Mew Mew Metamorphose: As a Mew Mew, this call is a proper transformation that changes his hair and outfit and gives him cat ears and a tail. However, the cat ears and tail can come out without transforming and are prone to showing themselves in high levels of emotion. Despite him being an Iriomote Cat, his cat features look more like a domestic house cat.

1. Speech: When he transforms into a Mew Mew, he can't resist saying certain speech patterns, such as how he'll "Be of service, nyan" to begin the fight or "Adios Amigos" at battle's end.

2. Retsuki: An attack named after the Hollyhock plant, where a series of slashes from his claws defeat opponents.

3. Strength: Transformed, he has a significant amount of strength and is able to withstand high amounts of pressure from even the most gigantic of Anima. He's able to help other Mew Mews with keeping large things from crushing other people.

Cat Attributes:

1. Cat's tongue: doesn't like hot things in his mouth.

2. Hearing: Can hear from long distances, and uses it to find others.

3. Impairment: He is heavily impacted by plants that affect cats, such as silvervine and catnip, and will react accordingly, and may even find it difficult to resist the effects.

4. Heat Resistance: Before being fused with the Iriomote Cat's genetics, Aoi was especially prone to fatiguing in heat. With the Cat's genetics, he can withstand it much more easily. However, this also means he is weaker to cold, now.

5. Jump: Can jump extremely high.

6. Climb: Adept at climbing, and especially will use his jump to assist with it.

Role: Which role will you put them in? Legend
Role Qualities/Attributes: I don't really want him to manifest much else. Maybe a halo? Too many additional might give him more of a complex than he already has. Although, because of his cat ears and tail, he'll definitely side with being called a familiar once someone else calls him that. He doesn't want extra attention, thank you. The emotions-triggered ears and tail are enough, thank you very much.
Role Reasoning: He's a hero, although a very reluctant one. But as the story progresses, his heart is in the right place and he starts wanting to help and save everyone. He cares for others genuinely and comes to believe in them. He wants to change the future for the better, be it by an individual person, or humanity as a whole. And it makes him try to make connections with others, to offer them words to support them and cheer them on. Even if he hates being a cat-like hero, he comes to accept his destiny and strives to protect others. And as much, he'll strive to make a difference here, for anyone who may need just a shoulder to lean on, or someone to give support as needed.

★ Personality ★

Please choose one of the follow options for your personality section. Please clarify which option you have picked and, if option 2, which questions you are answering:

Option 1. Summarize your character's personality in general and what their full potential would look like to them and what they would be willing to go through to meet that potential and what gaining that potential would mean to them. 400-800 word requirement.

Aoi Shibuya is initially standoffish and has a hard time believing in himself. He feels that others don't really understand him, as others tend to treat him more as a pretty face than a person. Because of other peoples’ "ideas" of him, he finds it hard to open up about the things he likes. As a result, he can give curt answers, coming acrost as cold or stuck up.

Aoi ultimately believes he's useless, despite having genetics that make him a hero. He's bad at studying, he isn't athletic, and he has a hard time trying to do the right thing in the moment. He admires people who can act on their impulses to help others, and outwardly expresses his awe and envy in those circumstances when he's able to observe and compare himself to them. He often wishes he could be more straightforward.

Being a hero is a bit of a double-edged sword to Aoi. On the one hand, what kid didn't dream of being a superhero back in the day? And now he gets to live that. However, because of his issues with his own self-esteem, he struggles with it. He doesn't feel deserving of the role, especially being called the leader. The thing that keeps him moving forward is the promise that when they save the world, those powers will dissipate. It's especially frustrating to him when he can't control his emotions and his cat ears and tail pop out in response.

He's easily flustered and often doesn't know how to handle affection. Not that he considers it a bad thing, but that he's severely worried he's misunderstanding the context of said affection. He tries to keep a hoodie on his head to cover any surprise cat ears in moments of high emotion. However, despite being easily flustered, he is also easily jealous when he gets attached. Though he certainly doesn't go out of his way to sabotage anyone, but he will sulk when he feels like someone he loves is interested in another. Eventually, he starts to admit his feelings, saying he's annoyed at first, and making baby steps to admit his feelings.

Aoi's greatest strength to offer is his support and belief in others. He believes in the good of others, and as he gets more used to having friends, this strength grows tenfold. He offers support and companionship to those he feels truly need it. He becomes more and more willing to fight for others and change their futures to something more positive than the bleak outcome that they feel they're fated to. He shows others their strengths and cheers them on to keep growing. And he knows that if he needs to rely on them, that he can. He doesn't hesitate when it comes to them. Even when fighting the villain, he listens to her, and as he dies, he believes that the villain can be reasoned with, and just needs to be heard. That there is something truly good in her heart. In the end, he's right. He learns that communication is invaluable, and continues to save others with it.

Ultimately, Aoi may be insecure, but his heart guides him to do the right thing. He ultimately supports others and only desires their well-being and the best possible future for them. He's willing to even sacrifice himself to earn that better outcome. With his qualities, he's a true friend and will cheer them on and give them all of the support he can.

Aoi's true potential comes in accepting himself and being more open. Yes, he cheers others on and relies on them for support. But this could grow even deeper if he realised his own value and was able to spread his light to others. If he could find himself truly welcomed by others and seen for who he truly is, he would be able to grow and value his contributions to humanity, so much more so than just being marked as a mandatory hero. He has a core that genuinely cares about others, and being able to acknowledge his true self despite others' expectations of him would give him a strong foundation to keep aiding others in any way he can.