Thought I forgot about my kitsune samurai, didn't ya?

After having been blown away by the badge  lizardbeth did for me, I asked her to try her hand at drawing Nirata.

Nirata's always been a bit of an enigma to me. I have her story universe pretty fleshed out, but as for how to portray her has been a point of contention to me. Gunmouth drew her wonderfully at AWA '06, and for a while I had that vision for her personality in my head.

Kitsune, historically, have been portrayed as hedonists and tricksters, but to me, Nirata was always a little more 'mature' than that. Over the last couple of years, as the story universe fleshed itself out in my head, Nirata became more and more mischievous, using her feminine wiles and her illusory magic more than her swords to combat the various demons. She was still a master swordswoman, but she became more sultry, using her cuteness and allure to disarm her enemies rather than... disarming them. ;)

Liz's picture really captures that mental transition, and I like her this way. Sexy and sultry, but still independent and skilled, able to hold her own. :)