Application for The City

[zewu_jun]

OOC INFORMATION.

NAME: Tea

CONTACT: teaandreveries or PM

AGE: 30+

OTHER CHARACTERS: Also applying this round with Abe no Seimei (emyoji)

IC INFORMATION.

BASICS

CHARACTER NAME: Xichen Lan

CANON: Mo Dao Zu Shu (book)

CANON POINT: The end of the book

AGE: Early 30s

BACKGROUND

HISTORY: wiki history

PERSONALITY:

What impression does your character give when meeting someone for the first time? How does the first impression differ from your character’s true nature?

At first meeting, Xichen appears like a proper orthodox leader: patient, quiet, and disciplined by the many restricting rules of his clan. He is gentle and withdrawn, conducting himself with the schooled behavior of a man born into aristocracy who has few practical concerns. However, beneath that, Xichen is observant, stubborn, and more practical than he lets on. Annoying him reveals hidden passive aggression and sometimes a sharp sense of humor that can be cutting. He is also more deliberate about his image than he first seems. Xichen might not be a strategic genius, but he does carefully choose what to say and when he says it in order to protect or aid those close to him. He has a habit of covering for those around him and has a strong bias for those he likes, readily breaking rules and using his position to make excuses when his loved ones or friends are at risk. While he is genuinely sympathetic, his warm nature is often misleading, as he can be outright defiant if he's pushed.

How does your character handle stress? What do they do in an emergency?

Under physical duress, Xichen is fairly good at responding. He can handle combat and medical emergencies with a cool head, readily jumping to the defense of anyone immediately in danger and even deflecting bullies with convenient excuses and distractions. On the battlefield, he had staged multiple rescue operations, so quick thinking while under threat is something he does well. He typically manages to remain level-headed and focused, preferring to compromise where he can and only fight to uphold peace. As long as the threat is straightforward, Xichen is a capable defender that prioritizes the safety of those around him over anything else. However, under emotional stress, he does pretty poorly. He is mostly driven by his emotions and personal desires, so when his beliefs or actions are questioned he panics, causing him to either freeze in decision paralysis or lash out as if he can fight emotional threats the same way he does physical ones. He can become reckless and defensive, acting more aggressive than usual out of fear.

What are your character’s fears? How do they hinder or challenge your character?

Xichen is afraid of hurting innocents or those close to him unjustly. While he wants to uphold fairness, he questions the harm his decisions may cause whether active or passive. This causes him to second-guess himself frequently and can even interfere with his ability to function during normal tasks, sending him spiraling into doubt or distraction if confronted. They also keep him from taking chances, since he might unwittingly hurt someone else without realizing the potential is there before it happens. After attempting to protect his sect and his oath to his sworn brothers came into conflict, Xichen has realized a hard truth that even the best intentions can lead to disaster. With the ultimate reveal of Nie Mingjue's and Jin Guangyao's respective tragedies, Xichen feels guilty for failing his oath to them, and at the same time questions a lot of their decisions. Not being able to cleanly pick a "right thing" to do, Xichen is a troubled man who doubts his own ability to recognize good from evil. This often makes him rely too much on others, both for assistance and direction.

POWERS

SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Xichen is a well-read and diligent student for his time period and place. He's a gentleman from a family with strict etiquette, a fair leader who knows his way around a battlefield, and is pretty good at keeping secrets.

qi control - Xichen can control the internal energy of his body, using it to a superhuman degree. He can help enhance his physical strength, control his body's density to a certain amount that would let him walk lighter or hit harder, and channel it into other people or objects. This has various uses, including assisting healing, powering objects in an attack, and even making his sword fly.

musical techniques - Not technically considered magic, Xichen's clan practices a specific school of energy control that uses music as its medium. By learning specific, sect-proprietary songs, Xichen can manipulate the energy flow in himself and listeners around him to achieve specific effects. This includes healing, producing energy "wave" attacks, inducing sleep or nausea, and other similar effects both positive and negative. The effectiveness depends largely on the energy control of his target and their ability to hear the songs. Deaf targets won't be affected.

sword skill - Xichen is trained in swordsmanship and martial arts, which also relies on his internal energy for mastery of complex techniques. His dexterity and strength are above that of baseline humans, letting him perform feats like cutting stone and acting with faster movements than those that haven't trained their internal force like he has. At his best, he can send waves of energy out with his sword slashes and use his qi to telekinetically move his sword. Even among his peers, he's considered decently impressive.

magic - Xichen can also use magic. This, unlike qi techniques, relies on external items like talismans and spellcraft that uses ingredients that are supposed to produce magical results in certain combinations. These generally are used for things like creating wards or barriers, hiding objects and people, or disrupting energy within a certain vicinity. Xichen does not make much use of magic, as he usually doesn't have need to carry or create these spells.

NERFING: Nerfed, Xichen won't be able to produce strong effects through any qi manipulation he uses. His physical abilities will be closer to normal martial arts, and any techniques he uses will have dampened effects, making them much easier to shake off or recover from. While he's still trained, without the internal power behind his movements, he is more like a slightly above average swordsman with some of his musical abilities having low to moderate impact, wearing out quickly since he can't use his full power behind anything.

WEAKNESSES: N/A

SAMPLES.

TDM thread 1 | TDM toplevel | TDM thread 2

Comments

In-Game Inventory

[zewu_jun]

This will be subject to change as the game progresses.

Initial List.
- Lan sect robes, head ribbon, and xiaoguan headpiece he was wearing
- Liebing, his white jade flute (inert)
- qiankun pouch (inert)
- Lan sect token (in case he gets lost and needs to be returned! ...also inert.)