Fictional thought exercise

[chipotle]

In a setting that is an alternate version of feudal Japan, with races of anthropomorphic animals instead of humans but no other (overt) magic and myth, what would it mean for a fox-person to be a kitsune?

Comments

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Well, if there's no magic, then I must conclude that you also mean there is no Godess Inari. Since the white Kitsune is supposed to be a messenger from Inari, having no Inari rather defeats that.

Of course you can easily use this in a plot. Have a superstitious populace who believe in the flying spaghetti... sorry, I meant to say Inari. And a couple of societal organizations similar to the church that gains power and wealth by feeding this myth. Then throw in the white fox who -should- be a priestess, but wants nothing to do with it.

A lot of it depends on who the main character POV belongs to.

[traveller-blues.livejournal.com]

From a writing mechanic, your narrator is either going to be the kitsune him/herself, in which case you're going to be going with the 'alien trying to fit in' route -- hide your magic, avoid discovery, avoid the temptation to use your magic.

If your narrator is someone who is mortal-normal who meets said kitsune, then it's going to be either friendly (benevolent magical encounter that people don't believe the narrator when he/she tries to retell of the encounter), or evil (lending itself to the witch hunt style storyline).

And of course, there's Allen's 'discovery of a god that is like us but not like us' angle gifting the lucky follower with some benediction, which begs the title:

"Inar' I, Mage."

-Traveller