FIRST DATE | B. Zuka

Appearance

• Body: Very tall, stands at 6'4" (193cm). His skin is paper-white in color, a common skin color among inphernals. Zuka is not as muscular as he was in his youth, but he still maintains a fair amount of muscle that is noticeable even beneath the clothes he wears, indicating his strength. He only has one arm as the other is missing due to an incident in his younger years.
• Face/Head: He has thick black eyebrows and black-colored eyes. His eyes have no sclera and are completely black. His teeth are sharp and pointy similar to those of a shark. He has four grey horns, two emerging from each side of his head. Said horns wrap around his head and taper into spikes. His top right horn is damaged at the tip as a portion of it had broken off.
• Hair: He is completely hairless. Inphernals are inherently hairless, meaning it is impossible for Zuka or any other inphernal to have hair.
• Clothes: He wears a featureless dark gray peaked cap. He has a gray, square-shaped bandage on his left cheek. Zuka wears a lighter gray bandana around his neck, a gray zipped jacket with pockets, and a black driving glove on his remaining hand. His right sleeve is tied up into a knot in place of his missing arm. Around his waist, Zuka sports a utility belt with a small bag on his hip along with light gray pants and black military boots.

Background

• Not much is known about his childhood. Everyone who was around that time is now long dead, so he is the only one who can tell others about it. Despite this, he writes it off as nothing interesting, just typical newspawn life.
• After his childhood, he became a soldier and ambassador for Blackrock. During his time as a soldier, he became extremely famous. Everyone in Blackrock (and even outside the region) knew his name. After retiring, he runs his own shop, "Zuka's Stop N' Shop" in the Crossroads.
• During his retired years, he found a young inphernal who had blown a couple of his limbs off. This young inphernal was Rocket, Zuka's now adoptive son as Zuka took him in. The two have lived together ever since.

Relationships

• Rocket: Zuka's 22-year-old adoptive son. Zuka took him in after Rocket had blown an arm and a leg off due to an incident when he was young. He officially adopted him not long after that. Zuka loves his son and would do anything for him. Even if that means allowing Rocket to have fun with pyrotechnics or participate in Phights, which Zuka disapproves of.
• Sword: Rocket's best friend. Zuka finds Sword's innocence and good-hearted nature to be endearing. He doesn't have to worry about Sword being a bad influence on Rocket; it's usually the other way around where Zuka has to tell Rocket off for making Sword do something dangerous with him.

Personality

• Traits: stoic, blunt, sassy, reserved, direct, caring, generous
• When alone: Cleans his shop, or is running the shop. Nothing much is on his mind during these times except Rocket and the state of the shop.
• When angry: He usually is not angry. But the rare times that he is angry, his voice is lower than usual and he attempts to directly state his grievances towards the other person without swearing. He gains an attitude if the other person tries to escalate.
• When in public: Keeps to himself. Usually only talks to Rocket or other people who come up to him and start a conversation. He prefers to keep interactions with strangers and people he doesn't really know very well brief. He becomes noticeably annoyed when these interactions last longer than two minutes. The exception is with other vendors in the Crossroads, who he is comfortable talking to for long periods of time and actively helps them whenever they need it.
• When with Rocket: Soft. Rocket is the only person who can reveal his soft spot. It's no surprise; Rocket is his adoptive son after all.

Goal: To look out for Rocket and continue running the shop until he inevitably hits the bucket.

Likes and Dislikes

• Likes: Rocket, his shop, Sword, the Crossroads, the sky, the smell of fresh air, sugary coffee, tea, spicy food, a close-knit community
• Dislikes: Loneliness, Rocket participating in Phights or playing with pyrotechnics, Rocket being a bad influence on Sword, the thought of dying, Illumina, extremely egotistical people

Speech

• Has a deep, low voice. It is for the most part quite monotone unless he is very emotionally moved.

[These are merely examples of how Zuka may speak and should NOT be used verbatim.]

• Talking to a customer at the shop: "Sorry kid, the shop's already closed for the day. How 'bout you come tomorrow? We open at 7 sharp."
• Talking to himself: "Wonder what my kid's doing now. He better not be Phighting... I should really step in. But he's real happy when he and Sword participate..."
• When angry: "You're pissing me off with your lollygagging. Please stop or else I'll kick your bum out and I won't be sorry 'bout it."

Notes

• When stressed or when feeling lonely, Zuka likes to take out a cigarette and smoke. He can easily go through a pack without realizing it.
• Has never had a romantic partner, as romantic relationships are rare between inphernals. But if he was asked out, he wouldn't reject the offer.