Kinoko

Kinoko is a yellow kuparkuke from the planet Fungaia, and a space adventurer.

It’s very unusual to see a kuparkuke in space, but, following his chance abduction at the hands of a gang of poachers, Kinoko has defied all the odds. Far from being afraid of this strange new world he’s found himself in, he’s loving it, and he’s making the most of all the new opportunities that have opened up to him!

Kinoko is a free spirit who hates boundaries and restrictions and who never likes to settle in one place for too long. As a kuparkuke he grew up not even knowing there were other worlds beyond Fungaia, but now that he knows this he just wants to explore all of it. Together with his starsprite companions, who seem mysteriously drawn to him, Kinoko now travels the galaxy, searching for answers about the lost legends of Galaxy, and pursued by the sinister and shady Order of the Event Horizon.

Physical appearance

Kinoko is a yellow kuparkuke, easily recognisable amongst the villagers of Enoki because of his extraordinarily large ears. He’s shorter than average for an adult kuparkuke, but his ears more than make up for this. The insides of his ears are white, and the tips are a darker tone of yellow-orange. He has large, space-blue eyes and a round pink nose. He has messy yellow hair on the top of his head, and his cheeks are bright and pink. His tail is adorned with a white, diamond-shaped tip and a singular stripe around the tip’s edge.

On Fungaia, he wore traditional kuparkuke garments including red gloves and red/brown boots. As a forager, when travelling outside the Enoki Village he would also wear a pointy red travelling hat along with a cloak of green leaves. If he was travelling after dark, he would often also carry a glowing mushroom lamp to light his way.

In outer space, he has traded his traditional kuparkuke outfit for something a bit more modern and stylish. He now wears a simpler outfit comprised of dark blue gloves, dark blue boots with golden stars on the soles, and a matching, dark blue scarf adorned on either end with two more large, golden stars.

Personality

Socially, Kinoko is guarded and reserved. Years of ridicule have left him deeply insecure about his appearance, causing him to retreat into himself. In solitude, with no one for company but his starsprite friends, he feels safe from judgement. When he does feel confident, though, he shows a different side: one which is sarcastic, talkative, and full of wit. Though he has a tendency to be withdrawn around aliens and his fellow kuparkukes, he is deeply kind, caring, and loyal to his starsprite companions. Together, Kinoko and the starsprites form a bond unlike any other, and that bond only grows stronger with time, becoming unbreakable, and making them inseparable.

Though going into outer space wasn’t ever something he planned on (he didn’t know it existed, for one thing!), Kinoko’s now very happily living the adventurer’s life. Back on Fungaia, the teasing he received for his ears made him self-conscious. He never really felt like he belonged with his tribe, and his life with them was miserable for it. Even despite his close bond with the then-chief, Astraeus, he felt like an outsider and an alien. Thus, when he got the chance to go back home, he rejected it.

In outer space, even though he misses Astraeus and his few, close friends, Kinoko is happier than he ever was on Fungaia. Ironically, he no longer feels like an alien, because when nobody belongs, everybody belongs. He really enjoys travelling between worlds and he has a lot of fun in space. He’s always eager to try out every new experience he can, whether it’s taking part in some dangerous new activity, tasting new foods and drinks, meeting new species, or visiting new planets entirely.

Kinoko’s new life in space has made him more optimistic and carefree. His impulsiveness and his curious, inquisitive nature get him into a lot of trouble, but he’s generally always been pretty good at getting back out of it too. Of course, trouble in space is quite different to trouble in the Enoki Village, and he isn’t in space long before he begins making himself some very powerful enemies indeed.

Role in Star Herectic

In Star Heretic, Kinoko is the main playable character.

Naming Kinoko the Star Heretic is perhaps the only thing both the Order of the Event Horizon and the Order of the Galactic Halo agree on. With his mysterious connection to the starspirtes, and his ability to to receive their blessings and command them, Kinoko’s actions are considered blasphemous and highly dangerous. As such, he is both feared and detested, particularly by Event Horizon, whose goal it is to bring about Blackhole’s unmaking of Galaxy’s universe. Kinoko must be neutralised before his bond with the starsprites becomes too great – and perhaps unstoppable.

Driven by his belief that the gods and their fanatical followers are the greatest threat to the universe, Kinoko is determined to bring an end to Blackhole and his reign of destruction. He holds little affection for Galaxy, too, for it was her failures and her disdain for all mortal life that led to Blackhole’s creation. As the Star Heretic, Kinoko bows to no god.

As a playable character, Kinoko can control and command the starsprites. The more he bonds with them, the more they’ll empower and serve him, protecting him from harm, aiding him in battle, and doing all manner of things to assist him in his journey through the stars.

Skills and abilities

Kinoko is the only mortal being in the galaxy that can communicate using the Chime: the ancient language of Galaxy and her creations, Blackhole and the starsprites. It is how he learns to communicate with his starsprite allies. Nobody knows where this ability came from, but one way or another, Galactic Halo and Event Horizon are determined to find the answers. 

Thanks to Kinoko’s overlarge ears – seemingly the result of a rare genetic mutation – he possesses the ability to glide, something no other kuparkuke can do. This ability makes it much easier for him to get around and reach high places. On Fungaia, he was quite ashamed of this ability until Astraeus encouraged him to see it as a gift. When he finally did learn to embrace it, he found himself able to reach places and things that were otherwise unreachable.

Besides gliding, Kinoko’s ears help him in several other ways. His hearing is five times stronger than that of an average kuparkuke, meaning he can hear tiny sounds most others would miss, like the sound of leaves crunching and twigs snapping in the distance. He has an easier time tracking animals and staying alert for incoming danger. On top of all this, his ears are also long and large enough to wrap around himself when it’s cold. All in all, they’re a great tool for his survival!

Kinoko’s quick to learn new technology in general, helped by the fact he is so excited about every new thing he comes across, and so eager to know how to use them. He is also quite intelligent, being quick to think, and he has the leadership skills necessary to command his starsprite companions. Even without the aid of the starsprites, though, he knows how to brawl; he’s fast on his feet, and he isn’t afraid to get scrappy with those who are a danger to him and his starsprites.

Equipment and possessions

As a kuparkuke, Kinoko’s not the materialistic sort, and generally-speaking possessions mean very little to him.

With that said, he dearly adores his beloved star ship. Custom-built to his exact specifications, the star ship is equipped with all the tools and functions he needs to do all the things he loves most. Its onboard computer assists him in navigating space and finding interesting new waypoints. A built-in scanning system can detect any recorded living species and tell him everything he needs to know about them. It transforms into a car for terrestrial travel, and it’s roomy enough for all his starsprite companions. Best of all, it’s star-shaped and it shoots rainbow jets of fuel from its thrusters, enabling Kinoko to cruise around space in style!

Back on Fungaia, Kinoko still has a mushroom house waiting for him, should he ever choose to return. Except for small things like their clothes and accessories, the kuparkukes of the Enoki tribe don’t really own things in the same way that we do. Instead, their mushroom homes are considered gifts from Fungaia which are kept under the stewardship of the tribe. They cannot be owned, and they have no monetary value. They are assigned freely to kuparkukes, so that everyone has warm shelter and a roof over their head.