Those of you who followed me for a long time may know is that I have two chipmunk characters that have the distinct honor of being my chipmunk fursona. The first was Jerry Lee while the second is his younger brother Norman Lee who became my current fursona Tamias the Chipmunk. But what I never told any of you is there is a third Chipmunk that took the reigns. His name is Stripes. He existed between Jerry Lee's retirement and Norman Lee's reawakening as Tamias the Chipmunk. I never mentioned Stripes because as seen in the original drawing of Stripes, shown in this artwork's included inset, Stripes was pretty much me fanboying the living hell of the Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM cartoon back in the late 90's. That's how cliche and trope-tastic things were back then for the Chipmunk Kingdom. That's why he only lasted a few years before before I retired him, dumped the storyline and started over with what would become the current Chipmunk Kingdom lore.
But that leaves a gaping 150 year gap between Jerry Lee and Tamias that sorely needs to be filled. Obviously the easiest choice was to bring Stripes out of retirement. But I can't have a Sonic fanboy character in my lore. He would stick out like a sore thumb and, secondly my entire lore would be thrown back into same chaos that forced me to dump everything and start over. So the goal here was to breath new life into this retired character by transforming him from his old Sonic-esque looks as he was drawn waaaaay back in the 90's to my current chipmunk character design format.
I attempted to find ways to bring many elements of his original design into his current looks. The shape of his Sonic the Hedgehog eyes were carried over into the curves of his new hair line. His cheek tuffs and his hair style come together to replicate the shape of his original head. Meanwhile the colors and patterns of his original clothing served as inspirations for his loin cloth pattern. Oh and I chose green eyes as a nod to the fact that his original design was influenced by me fanboying the Sonic SatAM cartoon back in the day. For better or worse that is a part of my history.
Overall I am overjoyed with the overhaul of Stripes. He's turned out to be one very handsome chippy more than fitting for bringing out of retirement and returning him into what is now the Chipmunk Kingdom lore.
And now for Stripes' character bio.....
Stripes the Chipmunk Guardian, successor of Jerry Lee.
Character Bio
Timeline: The 150 year arc between Jerry Lee’s apparent self sacrifice to save chipmunk kind and the world from the Inner Circle and Norman’s Lee’s reawakening as Tamias the Chipmunk.
Full Name: Ora Tecumseh (Ora- Latin word meaning prayer and Tecumseh the name of a native American chief leading a bold tribe of courageous warriors.)
Nick Name: Stripes (A nickname derived from the saying “earning your stripes” given by those close to him due to how seriously he takes being the direct successor of Jerry Lee as the guardian of the Chipmunk Kingdom, feeling he has big shoes to fill.) At first, Stripes took his nickname as a bit derogatory. But over time he has accepted that name as a badge of honor as he grew and developed through the course of his duties as the Chipmunk Guardian, including a letter “S” as his identifying symbol on his loincloth.
Chipmunk Race: Striatian
Mentor: Delphi Parthenon, a historian charged in rediscovering history lost to chipmunks during the Inner Circle Era and adopted father to Stripes.
Family: Biological family is unknown, presumed all lost to the conflict that led to the Inner Circle’s downfall and the rise of the current New Kingdom era. However, due to how extremely rare it is for chipmunks to have green eyes and Hakooji himself having green eyes as well, there is speculation that Stripes may be one of the last, if not, the last carrier of Hakooji’s bloodline. During the Inner Circle’s reign, a genocidal campaign was launched by the Inner Circle to exterminate all green eyed chipmunks from existence as a vile attempt to insure that the teachings of Hakooji and his descendants were all lost forever. But a small few, Stripes included, apparently managed to survive and endure. Stripes unaware of the significance of the blood flowing through his veins denies being even worthy of such holy blood let alone having any biological connections to Hakooji. Though being of blood descent of Hakooji will prove to be critical to the future of the fledgling New Kingdom and Chipmunk Culture itself as the only one who can repair broken Synergy Crystals are Hakooji himself and his blood relatives and descendants.
Personality:
Stripes tends to be fairly quiet and subdued in nature as he is not quite sure of who he truly is as a person due to a lack of family nor role models to go by other than his adopted father and mentor, the very scholarly Delphi Parthenon. Though, his peers describe him as a black and white contrast. On one hand, he tends to be shy and soft spoken especially when inquired about any deep feelings or anything exploring his inner self. In fact, he is downright awkward when in situations that call upon him to learn more about himself. But on the other hand, he boldly comes alive when he feels that he is in his element of adventure and facing adversities as the Chipmunk Guardian having a childlike enthusiasm for the thrills and dangers his duties presents. Even though he is very well learned thanks to his mentor, Stripes' childlike enthusiasm carries over into his outlook in the form of a very optimistic view of the world around him. Maybe he can be a little too optimistic for his own good. As such, discrepancies between his optimism and the harsh realities of a still fragile but gradually healing Chipmunk Kingdom.
Chipmunk Guardian:
If there is one thing Stripes does take dead seriously, it is his duties as Chipmunk Guardian. A part of it is a motive driven by his love for thrill seeking adventures that come with the job. However, the other motive is he seems to know he has a big pair of shoes to fill considering that he succeeded the legendary Jerry Lee as chipmunk guardian. Perhaps in Stripes’ mind, being as good as Jerry Lee himself at heroism would be an easy ticket to finding himself as a person and his place. Little does he know that being a guardian is a lot more than merely saving the day from the bad guys. He will learn that threats to the Chipmunk Kingdom are more nuanced than merely beating the bad guys and everybody then living happily ever after.
Stripes will come face to face with a threat to the Chipmunk Kingdom and its culture in the form of a figure named Jobe. Unlike Artakash, Jobe is no bear. This despot is not even of any predatory species. Leading the Inner Circle remnant, known as the Rightful Order, Jobe is a chipmunk. Stripes will have to face off with the Rightful Order and its leader who believes that the teachings of Hakooji are false since no chipmunk has yet to see the powers of Tawa invoked by chipmunks since Jerry Lee had his final battle with Artakash. Feelings of Tawa forsaking chipmunks permeate throughout the recovering Chipmunk society.
These jaded sentiments are being leveraged by Jobe to increase the Rightful Order’s influence and power over the Kingdom. Even Stripes’ faith in the newly restored chipmunk culture are tainted with doubts as well as he sees chipmunks not living up to Hakooji’s teachings as his fellow kin seem to side with the Rightful Order and its Inner Circle doctrines despite Jerry Lee’s selfless sacrifice. Stripes even rejects the notion that he is a descendant of Hakooji. Only what Delphi, along with Queen Lewisa, and the Chipmunk Chieftain Maz, have taught Stripes keeps the Guardian from further doubt.
Making matters worse, the Synergy Crystal from years of misuse by the Inner Circle, is cracked, diminishing its ability to act as a conduit for chipmunks to gain Tawa’s powers. This only serves to reinforce doubt and embolden Jobe and the Rightful Order in their mission to reestablish the fallen Inner Circle as the sole religion and culture of the Chipmunk Kingdom.
Stripes faces the challenge of finding himself as a person and to accept the fact that he has Hakooji’s blood flowing through him. Knowing he is the descendant of the chipmunk who cast his vote for day so long ago, learning who he is as a person, and remaining resolute in the teachings of his Holy ancestor, are keys for Stripes to succeed in a valiant quest to defeat Jobe and the Rightful order once and for all, mend the damaged Synergy Crystal, and insure an unhindered path for the newly restored Chipmunk Culture to solidify its place as the rightful culture and identity of all Chipmunk Kind.
Love Life:
Stripes, having always been awkward with his personal feelings stemming from not knowing who he truly is as a person, has a naive view of romance. It's as if he acts like a young person who just came of age not really sure of how to accept his desires and urges. It's not because he was born like this. Stripes could very well have “earned his stripes” so to speak. But he is always too focused on his adventures as the Chipmunk Guardian and living up to the high bar Jerry Lee sat. Of course he won’t snub a potential romantic partner. Behind the shyness and blushing is a hidden interest. It's a matter of Stripes being anything but a swooner. It's a matter of his naivety of himself as a person and lack of practice in the art of love that makes him a rather adorable clutz that the those of the opposite sex enjoy toying with.
Fortunately for Stripes the one showing interest in him is of excellent character. This special person eyeing him up sees far more virtue and inner strength in him than even Stripes himself realizes. Widowed by the climactic end game of the final battle to overthrow the Inner Circle, this special person sees Stripes as being every bit as good as her lost lover and best friend. That special person is none-other than Lewisa. This little revelation adds a complication to Stripes’ challenges. Not only will Stripes need to find himself and get his house in order when it comes to love life. Stripes has a choice to determine whether to not overstep his bounds out of respect of the chipmunk he succeeded and feels he must live up to or help the monarch of the Chipmunk Kingdom fill a giant hole in her heart, so she may have the will and the encouragement to lead the Kingdom on its road to recovery and blaze a trail to a bright future.
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Published:
2 years, 1 month ago
05 Mar 2022 09:54 CET
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