Yumekui-Baku

Yumekui-baku (Japanese: 夢喰い獏 "Dream Eaters"), also known simply as baku, are a kind of youkai in Inazuma.

Overview

Appearance

In their original form, yumekui-baku are small and round, with squishy, colorful bodies and curly tails. They also have small eyes, short limbs, and droopy noses, which causes some to compare them to tapirs or boars.^[1] They also have small ears. They are often seen floating; this seems to be their primary mode of movement.

Only some yumekui-baku can take a human form.^[2] In this form, they tend to have large, pointed ears.

Described by Prune as "Cute in appearance with soft, dough-like bodies."^[2]

Powers and Abilities

Yumekui-baku are able to enter and influence the dreams of humans and other youkai.^[3] They also consume these dreams for sustenance, a characteristic that is unique to their kind.^[4] Their dream-metabolism seems to resemble human digestion; it takes time and energy to break down the dreams, continuous consumption causes a feeling of satiety, and eating a nightmare (a dream filled with negative emotions) can cause indigestion. A baku needs to be in their own dream to digest dreams.^[5] When a dream is consumed, its owner loses all memory of it.

To a yumekui-baku, each dream has its own distinctive flavor, but in general, positive dreams tend to taste "pleasant, warm, and delicately sweet," while nightmares can taste bitter, acidic, or metallic.^[6] Particularly strong nightmares act as toxins — consuming one may cause nausea, fatigue, acute physical pain (like "the sensation of being cut or burned"), coma, and possibly even death.^[3][7] The baku may also suffer mental side effects, depending on their ability to understand the emotions involved. For example, Mizuki, who has dedicated years to studying the human mind, feels every negative emotion she consumes from her patients, whereas most other baku barely even notice them.^[8]

The yumekui-baku have an unwritten rule among their kind, which is to never eat a good dream without the owner's permission, as it is known to cause mental instability to the owner.^[5][9] As a result, most baku do not know what good dreams taste like.^[6]

Yumekui-baku are also capable of creating dreams,^[10] implanting thoughts,^[8] and even entering the subconscious of a wakeful host, if it has been dissociated from their conscious mind.^[11] They may also be able to extract dreams without consuming them,^[1] or affect them in other ways.

Most yumekui-baku have little to no combat ability.^[3]

History

The yumekui-baku are known as lesser youkai, and are thus less famous than the kitsune, oni, or tengu. They are traditionally depicted as "benevolent and carefree" beings who are always ready to help others, but have no wants of their own.^[12] In the prime days of the youkai, they seem to have lived quiet lives, spending their time farming and weaving "to make ends meet" while sometimes offering their dream-eating services to those in need. They are said to have played similarly quiet roles at the Hyakumonogatari Taikai, such as serving drinks or simply sitting attentively in the audience.^[13]

During the Cataclysm, the yumekui-baku went into hiding as they were ill-suited for battle. Some still feel guilty over not being able to fight alongside their fellow youkai.^[14] The baku re-emerged after the calamity to assist in the recovery efforts, working themselves to the bone to extract the nightmares that plagued everyone who fought against the Abyss. Some sustained great illness or injury from overexerting themselves.^[3]

In the present day, the yumekui-baku are gradually integrating into human society. One of their more prominent members, Yumemizuki Mizuki, has recently become a major shareholder of Aisa Bathhouse, and now works as a clinical psychologist there along with a number of her kin.

Known Yumekui-Baku

Playable Characters

Mizuki

Other Characters

5 Characters match the category selection:

Trivia

• All yumekui-baku seem to have the belly stripe characteristic of the Malayan tapir.
• Yumekui-baku cannot access the dreams of people in Sumeru, as the Dendro Archon holds authority over all dreams within Sumeru's borders.^[15]

Etymology

• The yumekui-baku are based on the Japanese baku, a yōkai of the same name.

Other Languages

Language	Official Name
English	Yumekui-baku
Chinese (Simplified)	食梦貘 Shímèng Mò
Chinese (Traditional)	食夢貘 Shímèng Mò
Japanese	夢喰い獏 Yumekui Baku
Korean	바쿠 Baku
Spanish	Baku
French	Baku dévoreurs de rêves
Russian	Юмэкуй-баку Yumekuy-baku
Thai	บากุเขมือบฝัน
Vietnamese	Yumekui-baku
German	Yumekui-Baku
Indonesian	Yumekui-baku
Portuguese	Yumekui-baku
Turkish	Yumekui-baku
Italian	Yumekui-baku

Change History

References