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expiation app
Player: Gray
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
talkincodes
Age: 30+
Current Characters: n/a
Link to Reserve: Here
Character Name: Zhou Zishu
Character Canon: Word of Honor
Canon Point: Episode 31, after his rescue
Age: 28
Crime: Treason
CW: Self-harm, suicidal ideation
Background: Wiki
Personality:
At first glance, Zhou Zishu is a fairly unassuming figure. Quiet, stoic, easy to overlook. Of course, that’s because he’s put significant effort into making himself easy to miss. After a decade spent in the shadows of the imperial court, Zhou Zishu has gotten very good at fading into the background, and those habits are hard to break. In most situations, his first instinct is to stand back and silently observe until he gets a good handle on the situation. And he is very good at observing. If he is pushed into showing emotion, it’s more likely to come across as extremely dry sarcasm or cold anger. He’s a stern, demanding teacher and a ruthlessly efficient leader.
But while being unobtrusive might be his usual reaction, he did leave the court life for a reason. When he gets a chance and feels comfortable enough for it, Zhou Zishu revels in the opportunity to be loud and obnoxious and impolite. He slouches and curses and generally makes an irritation of himself. His way of showing affection involves a lot of teasing and fond insults and he can be surprisingly physically affectionate for someone who initially comes across so coldly. That side of him is most likely to come out around people he feels comfortable with, but he can also lean into it when he feels like being particularly annoying.
Because the man he is now is determined to live out the remainder of his life however he wants. A lifetime of weight and expectations made him into a good and charismatic leader, but it also all but broke him when everything fell apart. Zhou Zishu is a man who feels deeply, and he very much internalized the need to take care of his people. The fact that he failed twice – first by being unable to protect the sect he inherited at 16 and then by slowly losing every single member of his sect despite his attempt to take them to the capital for protection with his Crown Prince cousin – is a huge reason as to why Zhou Zishu considers himself an abject coward. In his mind, he’s constantly running from his problems. Whether or not that’s objectively true, he certainly had no problem punishing himself for it. Taking the Nails was as much a way to punish himself for failing his sect members as it was the only way he saw out of the life he no longer believed in.
And he did honestly believe in it once. The too-serious child that had to be tricked into playing rather than training grew up to be someone genuinely convinced that he could make the world a better place. A decade in the worst parts of the imperial court and the many murders and atrocities he committed there destroyed any last shred he had of idealism, but somewhere under the cynicism and wry acceptance of the hypocrisies of the world there is still the boy who wanted to make things better. He’s just focused that part of himself on the people closest to him, rather than on the entire world. For the people he considers his, he will do anything for them – fight through armies, offer himself up as bait, stand against the entire orthodox world, whatever it takes.
He’s found his reasons to live now, and he will do literally anything to protect them. Anyone who has a problem with that is welcome to fight him about it.
Abilities:
Martial Arts - A master martial artist who has been training almost his entire life. Skilled both barehanded and with a sword, he favors swift, decisive strikes, relies heavily on speed and agility, and is not afraid to fight dirty if need be. He’s also a master of a specialized technique of his sect, Swift Moving Steps, which consists of fast, precise footwork and at full power can let him move almost inhumanly fast.
Qi Manipulation - As a martial artist, he can control his internal energy and use it to enhance things such as speed, strength, and endurance, as well as being able to manipulate objects to a degree such as being able to throw his sword and have it return to his hand or turn tiny rocks into projectiles. He can also use it to lighten his weight, allowing him to leap at least a story into the air and essentially glide some distance, as well as being able to stand on and brace himself against things that should not ordinarily be able to hold his weight. Due to his injuries, he only has access to about a third of the qi he should be capable of using.
Disguise - A specialty of his sect, Zhou Zishu is extremely skilled in disguise techniques, using masks and makeup to completely change his appearance and even his body shape. It’s also helped to make him a keen observer of other people to the point where he’ll sometime unconsciously mimic the gestures of others.
Inventory:
- the robes he’s wearing
- his whip sword
- a collection of small bottles containing various poison antidotes
- a wine gourd
- money pouch filled with s few pieces of gold and silver
Samples: One | Two
Questions: n/a
Contact:
Age: 30+
Current Characters: n/a
Link to Reserve: Here
Character Name: Zhou Zishu
Character Canon: Word of Honor
Canon Point: Episode 31, after his rescue
Age: 28
Crime: Treason
CW: Self-harm, suicidal ideation
Background: Wiki
Personality:
At first glance, Zhou Zishu is a fairly unassuming figure. Quiet, stoic, easy to overlook. Of course, that’s because he’s put significant effort into making himself easy to miss. After a decade spent in the shadows of the imperial court, Zhou Zishu has gotten very good at fading into the background, and those habits are hard to break. In most situations, his first instinct is to stand back and silently observe until he gets a good handle on the situation. And he is very good at observing. If he is pushed into showing emotion, it’s more likely to come across as extremely dry sarcasm or cold anger. He’s a stern, demanding teacher and a ruthlessly efficient leader.
But while being unobtrusive might be his usual reaction, he did leave the court life for a reason. When he gets a chance and feels comfortable enough for it, Zhou Zishu revels in the opportunity to be loud and obnoxious and impolite. He slouches and curses and generally makes an irritation of himself. His way of showing affection involves a lot of teasing and fond insults and he can be surprisingly physically affectionate for someone who initially comes across so coldly. That side of him is most likely to come out around people he feels comfortable with, but he can also lean into it when he feels like being particularly annoying.
Because the man he is now is determined to live out the remainder of his life however he wants. A lifetime of weight and expectations made him into a good and charismatic leader, but it also all but broke him when everything fell apart. Zhou Zishu is a man who feels deeply, and he very much internalized the need to take care of his people. The fact that he failed twice – first by being unable to protect the sect he inherited at 16 and then by slowly losing every single member of his sect despite his attempt to take them to the capital for protection with his Crown Prince cousin – is a huge reason as to why Zhou Zishu considers himself an abject coward. In his mind, he’s constantly running from his problems. Whether or not that’s objectively true, he certainly had no problem punishing himself for it. Taking the Nails was as much a way to punish himself for failing his sect members as it was the only way he saw out of the life he no longer believed in.
And he did honestly believe in it once. The too-serious child that had to be tricked into playing rather than training grew up to be someone genuinely convinced that he could make the world a better place. A decade in the worst parts of the imperial court and the many murders and atrocities he committed there destroyed any last shred he had of idealism, but somewhere under the cynicism and wry acceptance of the hypocrisies of the world there is still the boy who wanted to make things better. He’s just focused that part of himself on the people closest to him, rather than on the entire world. For the people he considers his, he will do anything for them – fight through armies, offer himself up as bait, stand against the entire orthodox world, whatever it takes.
He’s found his reasons to live now, and he will do literally anything to protect them. Anyone who has a problem with that is welcome to fight him about it.
Abilities:
Martial Arts - A master martial artist who has been training almost his entire life. Skilled both barehanded and with a sword, he favors swift, decisive strikes, relies heavily on speed and agility, and is not afraid to fight dirty if need be. He’s also a master of a specialized technique of his sect, Swift Moving Steps, which consists of fast, precise footwork and at full power can let him move almost inhumanly fast.
Qi Manipulation - As a martial artist, he can control his internal energy and use it to enhance things such as speed, strength, and endurance, as well as being able to manipulate objects to a degree such as being able to throw his sword and have it return to his hand or turn tiny rocks into projectiles. He can also use it to lighten his weight, allowing him to leap at least a story into the air and essentially glide some distance, as well as being able to stand on and brace himself against things that should not ordinarily be able to hold his weight. Due to his injuries, he only has access to about a third of the qi he should be capable of using.
Disguise - A specialty of his sect, Zhou Zishu is extremely skilled in disguise techniques, using masks and makeup to completely change his appearance and even his body shape. It’s also helped to make him a keen observer of other people to the point where he’ll sometime unconsciously mimic the gestures of others.
Inventory:
- the robes he’s wearing
- his whip sword
- a collection of small bottles containing various poison antidotes
- a wine gourd
- money pouch filled with s few pieces of gold and silver
Samples: One | Two
Questions: n/a
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