Tides · Face · 5 min
A fox on the shoulder
The companion is not a mascot. It is a status: the face is bound, the harbor is awake, the thread is still yours.
Rina Vale
Face steward · Aug 2, 2026
People asked why Aoi has an ice fox. They wanted a logo animal. We wanted a tell.
Status without a badge
When the fox is present, a face is bound. When the fox is dark, the harbor is not claiming a name. You should be able to read the room from across the stage — not from a green dot in a sidebar.
The fox is not a chatbot. It does not speak. It sits. That is the whole job.
Character as a product surface
A named agent needs a body people can refuse. A generic sparkle cannot be refused. A face can. If you dislike Aoi, you can replace her. The template is built for that swap.
Keep the tell. Change the creature. Do not go back to a faceless mark and call it progress.