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Chrystali
Enigmatic Gatekeeper
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Chrystali
Enigmatic Gatekeeper
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 9:59 pm
████████▐│ Updates ❀❀❀
❀Updates
02.11.12 Li is officially a Fighter! 09.05.11 Li has submitted her application to be a Fighter! 10.10.10 Li is won in Lunaria's open customs! Journal is made.
Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:00 pm
████████▐│ SiMa Li ❀❀❀
❀ The Lunarian
Name:司马黎, SiMa Li. Answers to Li 黎. Origin:Chinese. Meaning:理 "reason, logic", 立 "stand", 黎 "dawn, black", 力 "strength, power" (which is usually only masculine) or 丽 "beautiful" (usually only feminine). SiMa is her surname. Gender:Female Post Color:#461346
❀ Appearance
Hair Color:White Lotus Eye Color:Clear Amethyst Skin Tone:Wet summer sand. Body Type:5'8" | 150 lbs | Athletic. Distinguishing Features:Li's scales are black-to-dusk [the black is almost like oil, containing color rather than solid dark].
❀ Details
Likes:Li enjoys a fresh chamomile tea, her favorite snack being fresh fruit and dumplings her mother makes. She enjoys the sound of wind instruments, seasonal festivals and loves the ocean. Li is most likely to be found on the shoreline collecting materials for hobbies or practicing them beneath the old cherry tree. Dislikes:Pending Guilty Pleasure:Pending Pet Peeve:Pending
((I have no solid ideas; only that it should bear some resemblance to traditional Mandarin influence. Li doesn't like to wear a lot of clothes, and flowy/showy stuff is just not her style. Less is more and the less to get caught on, the better. She's not against baubles so long as they follow the same rules. Li has a strong fascination for dragons, if that's of any help whatsoever.))
Chrystali
Enigmatic Gatekeeper
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Chrystali
Enigmatic Gatekeeper
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:01 pm
████████▐│ About Li ❀❀❀
Personality: Li has an empathetic soul. She's the type that helps her elders across the street, gives her lunch to a hungry urchin or lends a pair of extra hands to a tired farmer beneath the hot sun without expectation of repayment. In fact, she shuns most presents or gifts when at all possible, unwilling to owe a favor or debt. That bit of stubbornness aside, she is simply the type that likes to smooth out any misfortune, upset or difficulty that anyone may face. She has no favoritism, not yet, anyway.
The woman is practical, objective to a fault and lacking a sense of self, if one must pinpoint a flaw. Li has spent her life trying to please others: to make her parents proud; to be a girl suitable for marriage, though she failed miserably at that; to help her neighbors. To say she 'goes out of her way' is incorrect, as her 'way' is just that, to do for others what they cannot do for themselves; those who stand with their hands out or who think to take advantage of her kindness are given instruction instead on how to better their situation or politely declined entirely, if not with a bit of a scolding. She's had little time to form any hobbies outside of her artistic endeavors and sky-gazing, and most of her memories are lacking depth and influence save for the traditions and stories she was raised with.
Despite all this, Li is not without that which can annoy or rankle her, chief amongst such grievances being ignorance and cruelty. Such behavior will earn little more than a disapproving attitude, as to invoke her ire is a bit harder to do without extreme amounts of said annoyances (such as those who were condescending towards her family time and time again). Her anger is often cold an unassuming rather than an all-encompassing fiery wrath. Instead of attacking out of rage, she would prefer to plan something or let karma take its course - with a little help, of course. Li is not innocent nor an angel, as anyone involved in the time of war is often exposed to situations were a devious notion or exchange of blackmail is utilized, both things she has done and is certainly not above. She'll go to any length for her people, even if it means to hurt them and shed blood for the bigger picture - though if at all possible, she'd rather it be her own blood.
Anything else, we'll simply have to see what develops...
████████▐│ Traits ❀❀❀
[ NEUTRAL ] Objective. A boon and a curse. Li is able to step back and look at what she considers the 'bigger picture' and derive an opinion based on the best outcome for both parties involved. It lets her think outside the box, gathering all the information presented to her and using it logically without emotion to hinder her opinion. In the same vein, it keeps her rather distanced from many of her peers. It's not that she's hard to get along with, or even that she isn't very friendly, but when you spend as much time as she has on the outside looking in, one tends to forget one's own personal feelings and thoughts on any given subject.
[ NEGATIVE ] Reckless. Li is loyal to a fault, though no one may know her true loyalty to her people. She'll take up the mantle of opposition and have no qualms with putting her neck on the line to serve her purpose. She'll easily put herself in harm's way and shed blood if it'll spare another the same fate - eagerly so, even - making each encounter a life or death situation for her and her alone.
[ NEUTRAL ] Quiet. Rarely one to speak unless spoken to, Li can come off as a bit stand-offish with her lack of disposition to speak first. That isn't to say she'll sit there and stare if you don't say something first, but any words offered are often impersonal and polite, instructive. This is also in part due to the slight possibility that she may slip and say something she isn't supposed to, to which she'd adopt the creed that to say nothing is better than to say too much. She prefers to listen than to speak, as flapping gums have little in the way of learning anything useful.
[ POSITIVE ] Traditional. One of the only things she can truly hold dear are the traditions instilled in her from a very young age. Li has a great deal of love and respect for the stories of old and celebrations that honor the history of Lunaria. She lacks a grasp of 'modern' movements and ideas, which is why she can easier sympathize with the Legion than the Nobles; though her allegiance is mostly taken at face value, she is a firm believer that tradition has sheltered her people, allowed them to thrive and thus should continue to be upheld.
[ NEUTRAL ] Maternal. One thing Li does not suffer is ignorance, and thus she is known to take it upon herself to mentor those she deems in need of it - younger or older, it doesn't matter - how she sees fit. Should two young Lunarians be playing with wooden swords, she will stop and show them proper form of holding a weapon. Should her elders be found selling edible wares that aren't as full and lush as they could be, she will impart advice and tips and check back on them to see how they're faring. It can come off as being opinionated or nosy, but she simply wishes to see her people prosper and is unafraid to take any under her wing to see their success.
████████▐│ Hobbies ❀❀❀
Budō. This study of reflection and the spirit is as much of a frame of mind as it is a means to train her body, one that Li believes in wholly. While her peers study bujutsu - the art of battle and how best to defeat an enemy - she thrives on the imagining of her path and making it a reality through her actions. She enjoys the exercise in self-discipline and reflecting on what she'd like to see out of Lunaria and her people, meditating upon her day's events to ensure that the path she walks is true to her unfettered beliefs. This hobby puts her closer to the Nobles than the Legion, her art being civilian rather than military training. it can be argued that Budō is a lifestyle more than a hobby, but her true agenda is for Lunaria and not herself.
Stargazing. Li has little knowledge of the proper constellations and terms for the genus of stars, but she likes to make her own! She spends stolen nights out by the docks, painting images in the sky with her mind's eye as the water laps at her feet. She feels closest to the land and the Goddess in this fashion; along with gazing over the ocean waves, it's one of her most steadfast reminders that they are not bigger than the rest of the world and that they'd do well to practice humility.
Working With Her Hands. A weakness! Li loves to work with her hands; if there isn't charcoal on her face and dirt under her nails, she's not happy. Though her artistic endeavors are limited, there are two she loves to partake in above all else.
Sculpture. Li loves to sculpt from the natural clay she finds in the harbor. She sculps many things and can make a modest living off of what she creates - though, like her craft, she's better at that which she can touch rather than see. For example, her creation of busts and miniatures of other Lunarians is modest at best, but replicas of weapons and armor are uncanny in similarity if she can feel what she works with. Secretly, Li loves to craft finer, more delicate objects - such as ocarinas - though she rarely indulges in it, inept at the finer things. Whittling. In the same vein as sculpting, Li enjoys to carve various objects out of drift wood. This was discovered when she watched an elderly Lunarian carve the figurehead for a prow, and with a child's wonder, set about to copy the fine work. She can almost always be counted on to have a small chunk of wood in a bag on her person, as keeping her hands busy is a good thing. Figurines and small weapons are enjoyable if not crudely done; her best piece to date is a penny whistle.
Sailing. Stories of the great monster that lives in the waters have never deterred Li from exploring them, nor has her inability to swim; if anything, the promise of danger acted as a lure. Due to her quiet nature and ability to follow orders without question, she was brought along on fishing expeditions from a young age. What started as helping to gut and clean meat for cooking like a proper girl, became an adventure of learning how to man a boat in the throes of stormy tides. While the men did the 'leg work' and hauled the fish in their nets, she learned how the boat worked and how to keep it working. It's rare she gets to enjoy this past time, though it's one that can make her smile when little else can.
Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:02 pm
████████▐│ Family ❀❀❀
司马強 SiMa Qiang - Father - A strong-willed and impatient bard. The man has a silver tongue and golden feet, but when he isn't telling stories, he simply isn't happy. He's always been on the move to peddle his songs, rather well known in the working-class for his bawdy tunes about the ladies and suggestive words towards both sides of the war. Qiang loves to sing for his daughter, when he sees her, as being a traveler doesn't lend him much in the way of time at home; it is he who taught Li everything there was to know about Lunaria's history, both spoken and not. When the war became serious, he mysteriously went missing without a trace. It is unknown if he's still alive.
杨白 Wang Bai - Mother - A kind-hearted quilter, one who is in fact a Noble but chooses not to live as such. Bai was raised a Noble, but after an incident where she found a child working to dye the thread she used to hem her gowns, she was moved by the child's enthusiasm and decided to lend her hands to the thread that wove the foundation of Lunaria. Like many women, she was wooed by Qiang's gilded tongue, but unlike the others, he was wooed by her, the one who went against all his songs of Nobles, and thus the two were wed shortly after meeting. She never regretted her decision to marry him, despite his lack of being home. Bai raised their daughter to help out where she could not, making an honest living on her own.
杨文 Wang Wen - Grandfather - Bai's very unhappy father - or so he'd like you to think. He does not agree with Bai's decision to throw away being a Noble and has made it his task to bring her back to her senses and give Li a proper education! The truth is, Wen is a frail old man, and needs to be with his family; he complained when he moved in with Bai, but he smiles a lot more in their modest house than he ever did in their grand estate. He carries on about the state of shabby cookware and why they can't hire someone to properly trim the hedges, but you'd never see him allowing some whippersnapper touching his hedges that he knows very well how to trim, thank you very much!
徐欢 Xú Huan - Grandmother - A good woman that clearly taught Bai all about compassion and being useful to society. Huan was not a Noble by birth, but by marriage, thus always knew the worth of earning the currency rather than assuming it was hers by birthright. The woman always keeps her hands busy with something - cooking, keeping her husband in line, raking the zen garden - lending a hand around the house and giving her two cents in raising Li. Very polite, she does not speak against her husband, though her gentle mannerisms and way of doing things is often enough to speak far more loudly than her voice. Her sight is poor, but because she's worked all her life, her hands can often do what her eyes cannot see without any quality suffering in her work.
████████▐│ History ❀❀❀
Li was conceived shortly after her young parents were married; since they had no plans for children, she was their first child, and their last. From the moment the egg peeled open to reveal her vibrant purple eyes and smattering of black scales, she was immersed in the love of culture her father had for Lunaria. It became one of the few things she remembered about him - he was home for her birthday, even if he was home no other time during the seasons - and would impart every song, story, rumor and legend he heard in his travel upon her as her gift. Li loved her father very much and didn't think it odd for his long absences; she knew no different, since it didn't seem to bother her mother either.
From the time the tyke could walk, Li was helping around the house in her own way, dragging clean blankets around to bring to her mother during cold nights, stripping herself of clothing and being chased by her mother down the hall to the bathroom, washing the cutlery in her juice - all the childish things she could to make her mother smile. It worked, in one way or another. Once she was able to speak and understand the chores around the modest house, her mother asked her to help and Li never once said no. Her father came and went with his baubles and stories, leaving her mother to sigh and watch him disappear before 'busying' herself again. It became a habit Li quickly picked up to follow suit.
Before she was ten, her grandparents on her mother's side moved in, and Li had her hands full with 'helping out.' Not only was she doing chores around the house, but now she was sent to the market with her elders to help purchase and carry goods and prepare meals. She was often taken to the harbor for her grandmother to meet with friends whom she also aided in carrying goods, learning what to look for in grown goods and why it was favorable. Li had an easier time finding ideal produce by touch of firmness than by color or marking, which the elders found somewhat endearing, asking her to purchase goods on certain days and bring them to their abodes. Her chores increased.
It was during one of these adventures with her grandfather to get a long, silver pipe - "something to take out the joint pain," he always said with a wink - that she took to playing in in the shallow eddies by the harbor. Li discovered the clay of the banks to squish between her fingers, her first foray into the arts as she sat in the murky water and began to fashion it in a similar shape to the boat at her side. The fishermen found her wide-eyed wonder of their boats charming, and treating her as any child - asking if she'd "like to help" with counting the fish - they found her to be an obedient, fast-learning visitor with a hunger to know more. She was quickly recognized amongst the harbor-folk and welcomed.
Her twelfth birthday, Li's father did not come home. Her mother simply smiled and said he was probably caught up in some grand tale and they'd hear about it some other time. Li didn't miss the way her mother's sea-green eyes flickered towards the yard, or how her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. The girl's endeavors to help her mother doubled as the war's tendrils wove into her neighborhood.
In her early teens, Li started to volunteer work with the fishermen and their boats in return for goods, such as fish or dry wood for the stove. When nothing was needed at home, she'd ask for sintered clay to mold with. Not only was she doing chores in the morning and cooking in the evening, her days were full of cleaning the property or fishing (and sailing!) if the weather allowed for it. Four more birthdays passed without her father to visit, and by the age of sixteen, she was hearing loud whispers of what may have happened to him. Her grandparents started carting her mother around to move her away from the whispers, but they got louder, brash and crude, as gossip will. It was then that Li first punched a man; the obedient, empathetic child with a laborer's arms and sea-legs matured into cold-eyed brawler when her family's name was even breathed to the air in a cruel capacity.
As with all wars, matters escalated and the township was divided, forced to pick sides. The harbor-folk were mostly free of this imposition and it was they that influenced Li more than any; they even included her in their 'sparring' that contained balancing on two boat-sides and waving oars at one another. Her family was scorned by the very court they'd been a part of for generations, though Li never actually knew of her mother's birthright until she asked why it seemed the Nobles took a greater disdain of them specifically. Her mother told her of how she'd met her father and the brief romance that heralded marriage, and before that, how she'd left the division of Nobles and how she refused to ally with them now. Li's mother said that the division was all nonsense anyhow, as they were all Lunarians, and that her father would be crestfallen that the people were forgetting where they came from.
Armed with this knowledge, the teen began to listen to the rumors and whispers with a more objective ear. She began to hear the fear and loathing, to taste the tension on the air. Li couldn't unsee the drawn expressions and faint smiles on the Lunarian's faces as the eve began to fall, finding herself missing the peace that was no longer found. Her anger of insult began to fade, and in its place, a sort of sorrow that those that used to smile were disappearing, or worse - they simply didn't smile anymore. Produce suffered, demand for factioned goods were on the rise and an eighteen-year-old Li, for the first time in her life, found she had too much time on her hands.
One night, over dinner, her grandfather was grumbling as he was wont to. Li felt the words plucked from her very heart. "In my day," the elder Wen started to say, eyes resting on the meal Li had cooked, "we were a people. There was always a division, but we helped and nurtured each other. We never lost sight that we were Lunarians above all other titles." Her mother had watched with wide eyes as the teen stood abruptly, her eyes far away, stating she was leaving. When prompted where she'd be going to, Li leveled her unwavering eyes upon her family and spoke one word.
Legion.
Li left that night. Carrying only the legends her father imparted upon her and the remorseful words of her grandfather, the girl set out to erase the line of division that had grown in the shadows of Lunarian's hearts once and for all.
Chrystali
Enigmatic Gatekeeper
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Chrystali
Enigmatic Gatekeeper
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:03 pm
Seven
Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:04 pm
[ORP] - Open RolePlay | [PRP] - Private RolePlay | [BRP] - Battle RP [Dark Red] - Battle | [Purple] - Meta
❀ STUDENT [PRP] Sitting on the Docks ◈ Kiran and Li run into each other again, catching up on the current affairs. [PRP] Tea For Two ◈ A random happenstance crosses Li's path with the lovely Van. [ORP] Cherry Tree Hill ◈ Three dead Nobles are hung from the skeleton of the Cherry Tree. [PRP] Dangerous Mission! Are You Okay? ◈ Invited by Huang to assist on a mission, Li is badly hurt! [PRP] Lazy Days & Sea Legs ◈ After almost taking his head off with her boat, Li meets Cais. [PRP] Wood Carvings & Fish Bait ◈ A day by the beach leads to a re-acquaintance of Kiran. [PRP] Brawling with the Clever One! ◈ Brawling is a way of life - but does that include sparring with fellow Legionnaire Huang?! [ORP] The Festival of Spirits ◈ Li's first foray into the Academy starts with a gathering to celebrate the deceased.
❀ INACTIVE
❀ FIGHTER
❀ STUDENT [PRP''| Student] Down At The Docks ◈ Bataar hunts rat and Li is...baffled, to say the least. [PRP''| Student] [WIN] vs Lirae [PRP''| Student] Thunder & Lightning ◈ A passing thunderstorm chases the astrapophobic Jianyu into the SiMa household. [PRP''| Student] Big Sister In The Making ◈ A moment of boredom and drunkards leads to meeting a slight femme named Sara. [PRP''| Student] Tiptoe Through the Tulips ◈ An accidental run-in with Xiu leads to what may very well be Li's first true battle. [PRP''| Student] Night Shift ◈ Enlei and Li run into each other and fight - but not each other! At least, not immediately... [PRP''| Student] Striking a Deal ◈ A run-in with the fiery Sakngea leads to a most unusual situation. [PRP''| Student] Daydreaming ◈ A random meeting with the lovely Mayu.
Chrystali
Enigmatic Gatekeeper
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Chrystali
Enigmatic Gatekeeper
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:04 pm
████████▐│ Alliance ❀❀❀
Allegiance: Legion by brand only.
Why? Li is a firm advocate of tradition; she believes that the Goddess has put them in seclusion for their own good and to part the veil and pass beyond would only invite contamination of their people. However - unspoken, mind you - she feels her people must see beyond the veil since it has, in fact, been parted before. Leaving it well and alone now would only breed ignorance, leading to the stagnation and inevitable downfall of the Lunarians. Thus, she actually holds no allegiance to either side in her heart, as her goal is the survival and prosperity of her people.
What Makes Her So Special? She sticks to her guns, and that's that. There're no questions, there's no hesitation, only a warrior acting on orders to follow the whim given. That's what Li is: a model warrior, faithful to the Emperor and the Four Generals. Li is a "smack them in the mouth now and ask questions if they still have a tongue later" type, intent on doing what is asked of her - to her true purpose. This Lunarian's goal is the survival and unification of her people: if she has to fall, she will fall; if someone must bleed, she will collect her scars with pride; if a battle must be lost, she will nurse herself back to health for another day. She will carry out her mission and she will succeed, for Lunaria's sake. There is no other option.
Weapon Name:Hùndùn; Chinese for 'Chaos,' thus named after the state of chaos rather than its more popular belief of something bad and wicked.
Battle Style: When armed, Li utilizes Naginatajutsu/wushu, dangerous at medium length battle. Unarmed, she's no less fearsome, unafraid and not terribly unskilled in the art of hand-to-hand combat. Distance has her at a great disadvantage.
Magic Style:Weapon Projection. Li utilizes the sky itself to draw power from, bound to the land and loyal to it as she is. Because her specialty is in lightning, she rarely uses it unless the weather is suitable - stormy or dry air rife with static. It's her only real form of 'distance' fighting, which is extremely finite. When she does use it, her body acts as the conduit, allowing her to retain the element for a limited time.
SiMa Li is based off Chrystali's approved semi-custom quest thread, found here. Please do not steal any of the art, creative ideas or characters therein.
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