Xiulan Heledhyn

Discussion in 'Character Sheets' started by gnomery, Mar 28, 2016.

  1. gnomery

    gnomery avery, local they/themmie

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    Basic Information

    • Full Name: Xiulan Heledhyn
    • Age: 37
    • Gender: Female
    • Race: Half Ch’ien-Ji, half Talar
    • Main Ambition: Xiu now mainly desires to bring harm to other people, and currently strives towards obtaining enough wealth to support her malicious habits and living costs by befriending new people and searching for jobs, legal or illegal.
    • Special Permission: Malice Voidling Possession
    Basic Information (Expansion)

    • Xiulan mainly sleeps wherever she can, on the surface or in the sewers. So far, she hasn’t made enough money to pay for rent, food, and other necessities monthly, and she has been used to her homeless state ever since she has arrived in Regalia. She currently relies on thievery and the occasional odd job to support herself, but feels this isn’t enough.
    • Xiu wishes to get a steady job that allows her to harm others frequently, or that supports her hobby of harming others. She also wishes to befriend more, having been mainly alone in Regalia for quite some time now.

    Visual Information
    • Eye Color: Murky green
    • Hair Color: Jet black
    • Hair Style: A short, wavy bob
    • Skin Color: A dark, yellow-hued tan
    • Clothing: Comfortable, masculine, and often carelessly selected.
    • Height: 5 feet, 3 inches
    • Weight: 109 pounds
    • Body Build: Slim with little muscle. The fat she does have mainly gathers around her hips.
    • Weapon of Choice: Mage-Level Hex Magic
    Visual Information (Expansion)

    • Xiulan has a softer, flat face. Her eyes are almond-shaped and small, contrasting with her thick lips and broad nose. Her jawline couldn’t be described as angular or sharp, instead being rounded, helping with her harmless appearance. Xiulan has dull, green irises along with bloodshot sclera and dark eye bags. Her typical expression is neutral or tired, not overwhelmingly joyful or miserable. Xiulan’s skin is clear of any freckles, however her cheeks are dotted with scars from acne. Her hair is wavy and a jet black color that almost has a blue tint, always seen in tangles. It is kept in a bob that is slightly above her shoulders. A pair of long, goat-like horns grows from the side of her head.
    • Xiulan is slender, standing at 5”3 and weighing 109 pounds. She is rather weak, having little muscle or fat. Her body type could be described more as a pear than anything, the fat she does have being stored around her hips. The most striking thing about her appearance, other than her eyes, is her unnaturally long, clawed fingers, reminiscent of someone with arachnodactyly, due to her possession. Her “claws” are discolored to be near black. She also has a variety of scars due to her time as a soldier. The most noticeable is rather large and protrudes slightly from the rest of her skin, laying on her shoulder. Not only does she have many scars, but also has a missing pinkie and ring finger on her left hand. Xiulan chooses not to take care of any body hair, which is mostly seen on the front of her arms and legs, as well as her armpits.
    • Xiulan puts little to no effort into her clothing, wearing what would usually be men’s clothing. The colors of her clothes are dulled down, never too bold or attention grabbing. She is usually seen wearing dark, tinted spectacles in an effort to hide her bloodshot eyes. However, she may wear jewelry that she took as trophies from any victims. She typically carries a small, concealed dagger, though she rarely uses it.
    • Xiulan’s accent can be hard to pinpoint, speaking in both Elvish and Tatsugo frequently at home. She tries to make herself sound like the average common speaker, but her mix of an accent comes out frequently. Her voice is rather high pitched, though pleasant to listen to. Her speech may be confusing at times, due to her occasionally mixing up two words and taking sayings literally.

    Personality and Abilities

    Personality Traits

    • Independent- A result of growing up under a strict, tradition Ch’ien-Ji household, and being extremely withdrawn from others growing up, Xiulan has become very individualistic. She is hardly seen asking for help, typically seen taking things into her own hands. This often results in her dragging things out longer than what would otherwise be necessary or causing harm to herself. However, she is usually capable of surviving on her own rather easily.

    • Sadistic- Though a trait she’s shown towards the Wulong all her life, Xiu’s cruel side was made even more evident with her possession. She now enjoys inflicting pain on all races and is almost completely driven by her malice. She will usually not physically harm another, taking more pleasure in bringing mental distress to her victims.

    • Loyal- Xiu may be wary of someone at first at first, but if she eventually befriends them, she will become very protective of or even submissive for them. She will restrain herself from hurting those she is loyal to, and frequently justifies her harming of others with it being payback for them having hurt her friends. She often trusts that what her friends want is fine and even her duty to do whatever she can to get what they want.

    • Diligent- Xiulan is incredibly persistent in getting tasks done, rarely giving up unless completely necessary. If she fails the first time, she will always try again, sometimes becoming slightly obsessive. This need for constant hard work was drilled into her head at an early age, enforced by spending a huge amount of time studying magic.

    • Practical- Though Xiu’s desires may be with risk of getting caught, she always thinks her actions through to lower that risk. Her previous hasty behavior which resulted in the death of a friend, as well as her culture’s appreciation for all things intellectual, taught Xiu to be careful and thoughtful.

    • Deceitful- Xiulan has learned to pass as being completely honest, when in reality, she is manipulating her victim with deception. Though originally she only used lies to protect herself, Xiu now spreads untruths without care. This can bite her on the heel, however, as it becomes difficult to keep track of all her lies.

    • Insensitive- Xiu often speaks without care or awareness of another’s emotions. She finds herself shocked whenever someone is insulted by her in casual conversation, especially as she typically doesn’t mean anything by it and is just saying her opinion. Most of the time, she won’t even bother to apologize, as she believes it’s the other party’s fault for taking it the wrong way.

    • Literal- Xiulan is one for getting to the point, hating when people ramble on and embellish their language, when they could easily compress their idea to a sentence or two. Metaphors and sayings will fly over Xiulan’s head, especially with common being her second language and her culture’s tendency for preferring something that is concrete.
    Strengths

    • Mage Level Hex Magic- After studying for many years, Xiu is proud to be a skilled user of her magic, strong in both twisting and sensation hex, though more adept in the twisting form. However, she is very strict about where she uses her magic, typically keeping her hexing off the surface or otherwise away from other people. However, as an effect of her chaotic antimagic, magic she or other mages cast within around 4 meters has a chance to go awry. She may accidentally hex herself and cause hallucinations, or give her victims a hex that was completely unplanned.

    • Cautious- Xiu frequently devises several backup plans before carrying out any actions, which aids her in not getting injured in ways she could have avoided. She usually knows whether or not to proceed with an action, thanks to her careful observing. Though some hurt is unavoidable, Xiu could have ended up in prison or dead several times if it weren’t for her cautious behavior.

    • Resilient- Xiulan is constantly determined to do better and, though she needs time to heal from physical trauma, will be ready to spring back into action after any setbacks. She often keeps going until she no longer can and can prove a difficult enemy if need be. Xiu has limits like everyone else, though she tries to stretch them as far as possible- for better or for worse.
    Weaknesses

    • Frail- Xiu’s small, weak frame can make her an easy target and is rather fragile. She tries compensating for this by her magic and pure will, though often this is rendered useless by how quickly defeatable she is in physical combat. This didn't help her during her time serving as a soldier. She currently has many scars, two missing digits, along with frequent aches and pains from war-time injuries. Her delicate appearance can also impact how others view her outside of fights, and can bring others to try to take advantage of her.

    • Mentally Unstable- Xiulan’s mind isn’t exactly reliable thanks to her possession. Her mind has deteriorated to where Xiu frequently experiences memory lapses and blackouts. She is susceptible to hallucinations, the occasional panic attack as a result of her mind playing tricks on her, and frequent mood swings. This may cause her much confusion and distress and can result in herself or others hurting her in some way.

    • Lack of Empathy- Though Xiu may care about some, she has a difficult time reading anyone’s emotions and frequently reacts inappropriately. This may get her into situations where she angers the wrong person, or pushes those she loves away from her. She has struggled with fully understanding other’s emotions her entire life, and her demonic possession certainly hasn’t helped. In fact, her desire to fix this problem has almost completely vanished.
    Personality and Abilities (Expansion)

    • Xiu has a number of compulsive behaviors such as chewing on the skin around her fingernails, scratching her arms, and picking at any blemishes on her skin. This often causes wounds to get infected or heal slowly. Another one of her compulsive activities is much less destructive- tapping her feet or fingers.

    • Xiulan has a disposition for acting. She pretended to be someone she was not as a game when she was a child, and has since proven to be a very convincing actor. She hasn’t pursued a career in it at all, though if ever necessary, she will jump to play a role, in the theatre or not.
    Likes


    • Theatre- Xiu loves sitting down to watch performers tell an exciting story, or even being part of it. She has only ever taken part in acting as a hobby, though. Occasionally, she tries to write, but is much more skilled in acting the lines out than writing them.

    • Inflicting Pain- The most obvious like of hers, Xiu shows with many of her actions that her one of her favorite things is bringing harm to others. She enjoys seeing a twisted, mangled face as a result of her own will. She had a dark side before her possession, but it was only amplified by it.

    • Magic- Xiu, of course, dislikes when magic is being used against her, but has a respect for most who use it, seeing as she had to go through the process of studying for years to get to the point she’s at and understands the thought that goes into it. She is fascinated by other forms of magic, and will become very nosy once she discovers someone she knows is a mage.
    Dislikes

    • Boredom- Xiulan, like many, despises boredom and won’t allow herself to be caught doing nothing. Throughout her life, she has almost constantly been working or taking care of her basic needs. Regalia has left Xiu with plenty of wasted time, but she tries her hardest to be occupied with something at all times, whether it be casually talking with people or tormenting them.

    • Loud Noises- Xiulan, still used to the tranquility of the Wang-Tzu islands, dislikes any yelling or raised voices of any sort that aren’t caused by her actions. She will go out of her way to tell others to quiet down, and usually makes a mental note of who to bring suffering to in the future after talking with obnoxious individuals. If a noise is much too loud, Xiu can be overwhelmed and even break into a panic attack if the noise doesn’t cease to continue.

    • Romance- Xiu has difficulty understanding what anyone feels, and that translated into romance is bound to cause trouble. She is often either unaware of anyone flirting with her or uncomfortable with it, and may push any possible romantic partner back. She doesn’t see the point in pursuing any relationship, viewing them as either leading to children, who would tie her down, or heartbreak.
    • Other Ch'ien-ji- Though she was raised by them and grew up around them, Xiu has a distaste for most Ch'i due to those prideful ones who discriminated against her for being half Talar. She has a difficult time opening up to Ch'ien-ji and is wary of every single one she meets. She will even go out of her way to torture them in particular.

    Relationships

    • Liling Tang-Heledhyn- Xiulan doesn’t have the most positive relationship with her mother, having frequently fought with her the last time they saw. Liling was very strict, and put much pressure on Xiulan to be a successful mage, causing Xiulan to be incredibly stressed.

    • Abdellaer Heledhyn- Xiulan is much more fond of her Talar father than her mother, despite rarely seeing him. She remembers him constantly bringing her gifts to her from his occasional trips to Daendroc. Although their relationship went south towards the end, Xiulan still has a positve impression of her father.

    • Jian Heledhyn- As teenagers and children, Xiulan and Jian were incredibly close, spending almost every moment together. After he passed away at an early age, it brought much distress to Xiulan, making her feel even more obligated to fulfill what was once their shared destiny.
    • Ai Tang- Xiulan’s aunt, Ai, was the one who taught her hex magic. Although Xiulan was forced to visit her aunt, she frequently looked forward to her lessons with Ai. Ai would allow Xiulan a safe place, somewhere she could be herself and have fun.

    • Biming Xu- Like many Ch’ien-Ji, Xiulan is uneasy with change, and switching to the entirely different lifestyle of being a soldier from a student would have been much worse without Biming. Biming helped Xiulan adapt to the difference, and they became close friends. Unfortunately, he passed away in battle, upsetting Xiulan greatly.

    Life Story
    Birth

    Liling Tang-Heledhyn, her mother, and Abdellaer Heledhyn, her Talar father, met each other when Abdellaer was studying hex magic and doing lowly work in the small Yang-Tzu island near Daishima. He soon took a large break from work and study after meeting Liling and married her. Xiulan was born to her parents on August 18th, 266 AC, alongside her twin brother, Jian.

    Childhood

    Xiulan was raised almost entirely by her mother, due to her father being frequently at work or in study. When her father did spend time with her, it was teaching her Elvish. From the beginning, her mother put much pressure on Xiulan and her brother Jian, to fulfill their destiny decided by the stars the night they were born. Fitting of her temperamental and belligerent manners, Xiulan was expected to become a soldier and fight against the Wulong. She often showed no mercy, even while simply playing with dolls, encouraged by her mother to do so.

    Adolescence

    As it came time for Xiulan to start learning magic, her mother felt strongly about carrying on the family’s tradition of learning and sent her to start visiting her aunt to begin. Much of Xiulan’s adolescence consisted of learning the magic with her twin brother, constantly disobeying their aunt and sharing the frustrations of not being able to sufficiently cast yet. Jian and Xiulan became an almost inseparable pair, seemingly appropriate for their shared fate.

    After visiting Daendroc to meet his father’s family, Xiulan’s brother, Jian, passed away from an illness he caught during his trip. Instead of her mother allowing time for her to grieve, she pushed Xiulan harder to practice hex magic, driving Xiulan to become a recluse and lose what social skills she had.

    Xiulan’s life became dedicated to studying, with much less emphasis on education of other things, and would continue throughout her young adulthood until becoming an adult. The little free time she had, she spent participating in a local theater.

    Adulthood

    Xiulan, at the age of 22 began practicing more for the life of a soldier, and put more pressure on herself to become skilled in hex magic. Upon becoming an actual soldier, however, she was actually forced to cooperate and interact with others. Xiulan felt rather uncomfortable at first, not only having a different appearance than what was typical, but also having limited social skills. In fact, many of her 'peers' would insult or ignore her based only on her Talar heritage, something she hadn't faced nearly as much beforehand, due to her being so closed off from others. However, she did warm up to one other soldier, one that showed her kindness and understanding- a man named Biming Xu. She spent most of her time while not fighting either talking with him or practicing.

    Although most of the battles and raids Xiulan fought in were successful and flawless, she did have one failure which saw to the end of her career. While attacking a group of the Wulong, she began to get carried away. She didn’t see them as living- only pests that couldn’t really feel pain. She cruelly toyed with them using her hexes and, as she felt powerful, overexerted herself, resulting in her being possessed by a malice voidling. When she was unnecessarily torturing some, the other wulongs attacked Biming and killed him.

    The newly possessed Ch’i moved back home, deciding to not be a soldier anymore, deeply hurt over the death of her friend. She slowly shifted from one who seemed to have even a degree of compassion for others, to enjoying inflicting mental and occasionally physical pain on other Ch’i. Eventually, her parents reached a tipping point with her changed behavior and decided to kick her out, forcing her to move to Regalia at the age of 33.

    Regalia

    Xiulan, ever since reaching Regalia, struggled to make money, mainly stealing it from others. She has learned to become much more secretive with her malicious behavior, often wearing a disguise before going into the sewers to abuse others. The effects of her possession have worsened from the day she arrived, making it much more obvious of her demonic ailment.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    #1 gnomery, Mar 28, 2016
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2016
  2. gnomery

    gnomery avery, local they/themmie

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    ~Reserved for character development stuff~
     
  3. LumosJared

    LumosJared Around

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  4. TheBioverse

    TheBioverse ❖ Prince of Thieves ❖

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    Review!

    Alright, looked over the entirety of the app. Really well done, nicely balanced. Though, I do have a pair of suggestions to really bring the character to the best possible standard!

    Firstly, her frail frame. It's a great weakness for a Chi'en-Ji, which leads me to ask - has she suffered any injuries in her time as a soldier? From what I can tell, she did a lot of work in the front lines. Naturally, the wounds would have healed by now, but were there any particular injuries that left a bad dent in a joint somewhere? A patchy bruise? Anything to really mark her as a war veteran.

    Secondly, her Talar heritage. I especially liked her pronunciation quirk regarding this hybrid, even if she does speak both languages. Question is this - the Ch'ien-Ji are a very proud people. Did she not suffer any hardship on the military due to her mixed blood? Was she not discriminated against whilst growing up? Is there any resentment she holds now against proud ch'ien-ji in Regalia, with her ever controlling malice possession?

    All in all, brilliant, balanced app. Feel free to tag me once the edits have been made, @steven8903 !~
     
  5. gnomery

    gnomery avery, local they/themmie

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    @TheBioverse
    Yaay, your review put a grin on my face. I made changes and marked them in blue (They're under the visual information expansion, weaknesses, the personality and abilities expansion, and in the life story). Thank you!!
     
  6. TheBioverse

    TheBioverse ❖ Prince of Thieves ❖

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    Edits and lovely and special permission is good to go!

    Accepted!~
     
  7. gnomery

    gnomery avery, local they/themmie

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    Thanks! Can't wait to play as Xiu.
     

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