Jin Zixuan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
amnopeacock) wrote2021-04-24 05:31 pm
amnopeacock) wrote2021-04-24 05:31 pm
Entry tags:
Slumscape App
PLAYER
NAME: BG
CONTACT:
OVER 18? Yes
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER
NAME: Zixuan Jin
CANON: The Untamed (Mo Dao Zu Shi live action)
CANON POINT: Death
BACKGROUND: Wiki page
SUITABILITY: I want to really dig into what makes Zixuan tick. He's not a bad guy, just socially awkward and a bit obliviously spoiled, being the heir to a very wealthy clan and being powerful in the cultivation arts. I would love for people and situations to take advantage of this so he can work out what really matters and deal with surprises in a more constructive way. He will always make the most of whatever situation he's thrown into, even if he blusters a bit at first, he'll pick himself up and get his hands dirty. In canon, he fights supernatural beings with spiritual weapons (mostly ghosts, ghouls, zombies, and demons) so sharing his body with a supernatural being will definitely prove interesting, especially needing to rely on said being for the power he's used to will prove fun. I think he would adapt quickly after sitting down, meditating, and talking with his youkai, and would want to try and help.
QUESTIONNAIRE:
● Your character finds an injured okami deep in the woods. Its leg is broken, trapped under a fallen tree, but it’s clearly in good health otherwise. They know this type of youkai is able to discern the morality of their past actions, and can turn hostile to them based off that judgment. What do they do?
Zixuan would feel kinship with it and immediately move to help free it. He figures if the other okami attacks him based on his past, it will be deserved and he will defend himself as he leaves. Moreover, if the okami does not attack him, he would seek to help set the broken leg, even help it to where it may rest and heal. Even if he weren't host to an okami himself, he would act in this way.
● Your character's worst enemy asks to meet alone by moonlight in a remote location, to discuss temporarily banding together against a larger threat. How do they respond to the invitation?
At first impulse he would ignore the invitation, suspicious and wary of his known enemy's nature. However he would think about it further. In the end he would accept the invitation, because banding together with a known enemy to deal with a greater threat is better than striking out alone and risking more certain failure.
● Your character has the option to lead a rampaging oni away from path where it would find and attack a lone, inhabited farmhouse. However, the only road they can distract it down leads to the city, where it will inevitably do more damage. What do they choose to do?
Looking at both options, Zixuan would choose a third option by facing the oni and protect the lone farmhouse after leading it down that path. He wouldn't just abandon even one family for his choice to put it in danger, even if it put his life at risk.
● A shrine of a powerful god offers your character a unique boon crafted to overcome the biggest challenge they’re currently facing. In return, it only asks to be able to possess your character for a 24 hour span of its choosing, which they will not necessarily get warning for. How do they feel about the exchange, and more importantly, do they accept it?
Zixuan would be humbled by the offer and have the gut reaction to accept it, but then would think on it hard. Part of the challenge of life is to figure out ways to overcome every challenge thrown at him, and the purpose of cultivation is to learn and experience new things. In the end, he would decline, though not for fear of being possessed without warning, but because he feels he must learn to overcome it himself. He would be as polite as he can, though awkward, and ask if there is some other offer the god wishes to make.
YOUKAI: Okami
INVENTORY:
- Suihua (sword)
- Spare set of sect robes
- Small pot of vermillion paint
- Small bag of gold coins
- Small bag of medicinal herbs that also give off nice smell
- Small grooming kit
SAMPLES: Both samples are from TDM
SAMPLE 1
SAMPLE 2
Revisions
- Zixuan is from a culture where they study and train hard from childhood to be righteous and good, strong enough to defend those who need help even if they do not always receive accolades in return. Zixuan in particular was raised to inherit his father's position as sect leader, so he's worked extra hard to model himself as a good and just person. More than for appearances sake, he believes himself to be a good person, even if he has made mistakes as a youth and acted too rashly.
With the okami in need, he would help it despite any danger to himself, as this is part of what he'd see as his duty. So while he knows there is a possibility he will be attacked once the other okami is freed, he would still help it to the best of his ability - he has done something similar in canon, where he helped Jiang Cheng rescue Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji - Wei Wuxian is someone he has argued with and fought frequently throughout their lives despite technically being on the same side (side note, I'm using Eastern order for those three names, Western would be Cheng Jiang, Wuxian Wei, and Wangji Lan). It is not that likely the okami would actually attack him, as he has lived morally a pretty good life.
I say he is spoiled, because he has been raised as the only acknowledged son of his father, making him the heir of a very wealthy and influential sect. He has several half siblings who have not been acknowledged, or are acknowledged but not seen as viable candidates for taking over after their father. He has essentially been placed on a high pedestal between his position, and his own hard work to become a strong cultivator (user of the martial arts, spiritual power, and other fine arts). As a teenager, he was extremely awkward about showing emotions, to the point he would get into ridiculous fights (mostly involving Wei Wuxian) or run away (when Jiang Yanli, his betrothed, then his wife, confronted him about who had actually invited her to a Night Hunt, and he had to admit he did actually like her) depending on if he was angry or embarrassed. As he grew up, he came to accept and learn how better to show his emotions and speak up for himself, rather than be essentially a face or puppet for others to use. His wife had a big impact on this growth, as well as the war he fought in.
I did not add these to the original answer as I did not see how to incorporate them before, so thank you for the expanded questions!
● For the third question in particular, we'd like to see more discussion with regards to his values and where they came from. Your answer suggests that he is selfless by nature. Is he generally the type to self-sacrifice? Why is that?
- Zixuan's values were formed partially through what he feels is expected of him as his sect's heir, then through his studies to be a cultivator, then the war and growing up emotionally. As heir, he learned he needs to listen to his people's problems, try to help fix or solve them, hold good relations with the rest of the cultivation world in an effort to keep the world safe and peaceful. During his studies, he learned more of how to do these things, though it was half book-knowledge and half trial-by-fire (aka being thrown in with other sects' students in an effort to learn from each other, which ended up in fights sometimes). And lastly, the war taught him how to actually work with other people from various backgrounds, cultivation level, and how to conduct himself in the way he wants others to see him. He grew emotionally and learned how to express himself in a calmer way, though old relationships (namely with Wuxian) can still spring him to react before thinking.
He also observed how his father handled his illegitimate children from the many prostitutes his father was with throughout his life. Namely, the dismissive way his father treated them, even when those, like Jin Guangyao (Guangyao Jin, Western order) who shares a birthday with him, worked hard to be approved of, but was constantly dismissed or cast out or generally distrusted. Zixuan saw how hard his brother worked and tried to understand why his father kept dismissing these efforts, to the point he did his best to talk his father around accepting his brother, pointing out all the good Guangyao has done for their sect and the cultivation world as a whole. Between observing his father's behavior and doing his best to mitigate between his parents from when he was young, he strove to be the best leader he could be, better than his father.
He never saw his half siblings as potential replacements, just as people who deserved to be given the chance to be recognized as who they are. In this way, he is selfless, though in part it is learned through observing the selfishness of others around him (especially in his sect). He even does his best, for his wife's sake, to help her sect brother, Wuxian, despite the long history of disagreement between them. He learned that a cousin was going to ambush Wuxian on the way to Zixuan's son's one month celebration, and immediately ran off to try and stop the altercation. He knew it would put him in danger, went anyway, because he believed Wuxian would do nothing to hurt anyone.
Zixuan would rather put himself in danger than risk harm being done to another who might be less able to withstand whatever danger is at hand. This is in part because he sees that as his duty, but also because he feels it is only right. During the war in particular, where his father was reluctant to join the war (accused of waiting until he was sure which side would win), Zixuan himself joined the efforts pretty much right from the beginning. This shows that while his spoiled and arrogant, when it comes right down to it, he will do what is right.