|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:20 pm
AMITYVILLE ACADEMY ENROLLMENT FORMName: Dao Ming ( meaning "shining path" in Chinese )
Nicknames: Dao
Gender: Female
Age: Appears to be 16
Faction/Race Undead ( Jiang-shi )
Personality: The first impression one can get of Dao Ming is that she is more than a little dim. Easily confused and insanely gullible, she will eat up almost anything a person tells her and take it as truth. Most information goes through her like a sieve, so unless she immediately writes down the important things ( she carries a pad and paper with her for this exact reason ), she will likely not remember it a few days from now. But should you need to confide a secret, she is an excellent ear, as she will either never tell or forget soon after you tell her. She talks constantly, having a penchant for making obvious comments that rears its head when she points out how barren the trees are, or how strong the wind seems, and she will often say the same thing more than once in the course of a single conversation. Needless to say talking to her can be a little redundant at times. However come to her with a problem and she will gladly play the good friend and dispense her passionate opinion, even if her advice isn't the most practical she does mean well. She wants to learn and experience and see a lot in her afterlife, so she'll try her hardest to retain it, really ( this is why the notepad is her most prized possession ).
She has a go-getter attitude and a very optimistic outlook on her afterlife. A moment around her is never dull, and she is always moving with a hop in her step and a constant, if somewhat vague, smile on her lips. Cheering somebody up? No problem! She considers it a task worth undertaking. Challenges are met in a like-minded way. Being the only girl in a vast set of brothers in her home has given her a boyish attitude in some respects, as she will not back down once a challenge is issued. Brawling and roughhousing are some of her favorite activities, and she enjoys any number of contact sports that allow her to be active and prove how strong she is. At times, she doesn't know her own strength, so don't be surprised if she's wondering why you're on the floor when she charges you down for a hug. She is somewhat of a sore loser but gets over it soon enough, either forgetting she was mad or she had such a good time competing that she simply doesn't care anymore. As such, she has a hard time bearing a grudge period, seeing as her energy can be utilized much more easily to a happier task.
Dao Ming has a problem with being indecisive. Seeing as she is dotty and forgetful by nature, she has a hard time figuring out what she wants when put on the spot, and will often go with the first thing that comes to mind.. before changing her mind, then changing it back, and so on. Her memory is also not the best, and she has to write constant notes in order to keep track of the important things. Information goes through her head like a sieve because she is used to being ordered ( via the talismans ) what to do. She places great value in words, and has a natural inclination to believe that most folks are honest. Unless she is told otherwise, she takes most of what she is told and interprets it as fact. Sarcasm, innuendos, and double-edged words might as well be a foreign language to her, and she will have to have it explained a few times in order for her to properly understand some things.
Her main skill is naturally one to do with language. Her first language is Mandarin Chinese, but thanks to her upbringing with her honorable jiang-shi brothers and dao-shi, she has a strong grasp of the spoken common language that was sharpened by years of trial-and-error practice. Because women were not allowed to know how to write in "the men's language" ( standard Chinese text ) during her time, Dao Ming is also a practitioner of Nu Shu, the secret language used by women of her native Hunan province. Until she gets a better grasp on written English, all of her school notes are written in Nu Shu, so she is not the best person to bum notes from on a missed day of class. She is also formal out of habit and will always call a person by their full first name, never addressing them by a nickname ( whether or not they prefer said nickname does not really register with her ). This is something her dao-shi hopes she will get over in time. Likewise, she will only refer to herself as "Dao Ming", even though she has long gotten used to being called "Dao" by most folks.
The ghoul has a slight problem with claustrophobia. The feeling of being caged or trapped in small spaces ( forget getting her into an elevator, she'll race up the stairs, thank you ) is enough to send her into a blind panic, and she will claw her way out into open spaces if she is worked into such a tizzy. However this does not extend to crowds, which she feels she can easily hop up and out of should she start to feel too closed in. She also does not do well with bright, glowing lights, and as such becomes rather lethargic in well-lit places or at noontime. Maintenance on her person has allowed Dao Ming to become rather good at sewing, and it's something she makes a habit of. She's not at the level of skill where she can create whole outfits, but she has gotten quite decent at making stuffed animals and doing cross stitch. Climbing is something she enjoys in her free time, as she likes to get the lay of the land from a nice, private vantage point. Although she avoids any trees or plants that have stickers on them - they are quite a pain to get out if they get embedded deeply enough.
Not as often explored as she likes, but Dao Ming also has a fascination with anything girly. Having grown amongst guys, she finds the world of females refreshing and exotic, but does not know how to take it when it comes to exploring alone. She seeks a ghoulfriend to show her the ways of make-up and fashion. As far as boils go, she is a dim bulb in the romance department and has a bit of a complex - to her, none are better than her beloved master or brothers. Someone who wants to grab her attention should be able to best her in a brawl and not be afraid to get in her face.
Why are they enrolled in Amityville Academy? Dao Ming finds herself lacking direction. She is used to taking orders, and much of what others say is treated like an order now that she is not within immediate contact of her master, so naturally she will do pretty much anything she is told.
She has enrolled in the Academy in hopes of fully becoming her own master and being a free-thinking ( in this case, -doing ) ghoul. Independence is the name of the game.
The atmosphere of the school holds a fascination with Dao Ming, having never attended one during life ( although she does not remember this fact ). She has no formal education and sees each and every class as a fresh, exciting opportunity. She will stare and listen raptly in each and every class, despite the fact she doesn't retain the knowledge unless she notes it down immediately. She is a cheerful, polite addition to any class, despite never volunteering answers or opinions of her own from the get go. Ask her to read out loud or perform any other specific tasks, however, and she will do it with gusto.
Brief History: Dao Ming's life before death was much like other ( affluent ) girls in China. Being the only child of parents who had dearly hoped for a son ( as well as being unable to produce another child ), she spent most of her fourteen years in the human world kept out of the way. The girl was trained from early on to be an ideal candidate for marriage - even if her unbound feet lessened her chances ( her mother's sister had died from blood poisoning caused by foot binding, and that chance was one her parents did not want to take ). But the teenager had far greater plans: she wanted to see the world that the Christian missionaries in town preached about, and leave this one far behind. However terrible sickness would cut her life and dreams terribly short, and she and her father would die from it.
It was here, nearly twenty years later, that a dao-shi came across her grave, and upon reading the marker decided he had found an unexpectedly strong jiang-shi candidate. What he discovered instead was a scrawny dead girl - it seems that in the years since her death, raiding armies had destroyed most of the markers, and the dao-shi had read her father's marker by mistake. Rather than abandon her, the reaper took pity on Dao Ming and brought her with him. The world of Halloween brought many surprises for the newly-awakened jiang-shi. The ragtag group of others her dao-shi had awoken became her family of sorts. She joined in their fights, did the deeds her master wanted done, was taught to speak in the manner of the citizens of Halloween, and felt a comforting sense of belonging. Her master shared experiences of his training in a prestigious academy, and Dao Ming clung to these stories with much excitement. Her dao-shi was a good master, not only tending to their hurts and providing their needs, but he also spoke of the future. "There is no better land than this for those like us. The academy, especially, will look after you. Particularly you, little sister," he would note with amusement, making the girl rather flustered at the mention ( if she had any blood left, it would have been pooling in her cheeks! ). The other jiang-shi would roll their eyes and shrug, never having been the school type or well past the accepted age, but the prospect made Dao Ming absolutely dizzy with want.
Soon enough, she was granted another surprise from her family. A hard day of work around the modest manor of the reaper was rewarded with the grand news - it would be off to school for Dao Ming as soon as it was possible. Her smiling brothers and dao-shi were nearly bowled over by the young girl's hug, but embraced her nonetheless. With high hopes and a fuzzy sense of direction, Dao Ming set out for the Academy, clutching only her passport, some money, and a quickly scrawled note to be given to Admissions upon her arrival.
"We humbly ask that you accept this confused, wayward jiang-shi and give her guidance in all she needs to know."
Natural Ability:
Maneuverability - Jiang-shi boast superior hand-to-hand combat abilities. They also are able to jump and glide to and from uncanny heights, almost as if flying.
FEAR:
Essence Drain - Jiang-shi are known not only to drain blood but life essence as well. In Dao Ming's case, this comes in the form of sapping her opponent's energy. She draws out their energy from the mouth to weaken her opponent and use that energy to heal her own hurts. However energy draining takes immense concentration, and for one as dotty and scatterbrained as Dao Ming, this is not an easy task.
At first year level, she can manage to make an opponent feel a little woozy for a few minutes. As she progresses, she may even advance enough to making them fall in a clean faint. Until she can better her concentration, who knows?
Physical Description: Dao Ming is at a short - to - average height, in the 5'3" - 5'7" range, and is long in the torso and arms but short in the legs. Feminine developments are well-proportioned but modest, with the hips being more accentuated than her bustline. The years of being dead have elongated her limbs even moreso, her arms in particular, which now hang far below her knees. Her hands also have grown larger and the fingers are long.
Eye Colour: Bronzed yellow irises with blackened sclera, framed by dark purplish rings around her eyes. Both eyes are normally wide open and slightly cross-eyed, adding even more to her air of dottiness.
Hair Colour/Style: Originally a sleek black color when she was alive, her hair has lost some of its luster and now looks dulled, with a sheen of green throughout ( from mold ). Style-wise, she has flared bangs that frame her face, while the rest is choppily cut to just past the nape of the neck. She keeps it up in two low-tied puffy pigtails.
Skin Colour: A pale greenish color, marred in places by dark scars and bruises, especially around her wrists and neck. Thanks to the years of decay, it has a fuzzy quality to it from mold.
Clothing Style/Colours: Dao Ming's outfit would be a modern interpretation of the traditional Qing dynasty formal clothing seen on most jiang-shi in popular culture. Her outfits would favor dark colors with splashes of bright patterns. She likes long sleeves that drape over her hands ( that she can roll up at her convenience ) with otherwise tight-fitted tops ( oftentimes with Asian elements, such as the inclusion of Mandarin collars and frog clasps ) and baggy pants. She is fond of cute but comfortable clothing - something she can run and brawl in without it being a hassle. She would retain the rounded Mandarin cap or some kind of hat, where her ju-fu talisman would hang from the brim.
Extra: Thick black stitches are visible around certain portions of her body, most notably cutting across her face and the bridge of her nose, which were tended to by her dao-shi after one too many sparring matches gone awry with her brothers. Her fingers are tipped with especially long, blackened fingernails. She keeps these well-manicured ( a habit of hers, ingrained muscle memory if anything else ).
References: These are oldoldold and reflect my previous design of her, so the artist has complete creative license. <3!
Dao Ming by Dragain
Dao Ming by haliekins
Tektek reference
Possible Emblem Ideas: Perhaps the ju-fu talisman? I am open to suggestions!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:46 pm
it seems like Dao Ming would be a prime candidate for bullying; to the extent that single student would be able to order her around by just saying to her "Only listen to me."
i see her being subservient, but is there anything that stops her from becoming a slave to a resident of Halloween? Possibly a feeling of strong loyalty to her previous master?
sorry if this doesn't make sense~
i'm slightly brain dead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:52 pm
no no, it made perfect sense to me. <3 thank you.
as for your crit, i do see her as having some bullying issues with those who will hit on the fact she listens to orders. but perhaps i need to give some more thought into what might stop her from being a complete sheep. the sense of devotion to her previous would be a good starting point. let me do some editing in her info there~
thanks for the crit!
EDIT: aaaand fixed! hope that works a bit better. <3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:40 pm
A jiang shi! Oh gosh, I totally remember watching those on television when I was young... They would be all "hop hop hop" while looking for victims to suck the blood of. xD It also makes me curious - is she sensitive to light like the traditional jiang shi is?
*Chinese living in Asia, seen many cheesy horror shows as a kid*
Anyway, love the personality you gave her! She's so naive and adorable, yet can be blunt to a fault at the same time. One thing I wish to know more about though, is if there's anything that can make her angry or upset? How about happy? Since she appears to lack self-control in areas since the death of her dao shi, does her emotions work the same way as a normal (well, as normal as normal gets in Halloween) person?
Also, wouldn't a body have rotted completely in a hundred years? Or are we going to ignore that here? xD Last thing I wish to note is that since she was from China, wouldn't she speak only Mandarin? When/Where did she learn English from?
That concludes my crit! <3 Hope its useful!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:49 pm
super useful, thanks dragain! <3
mastering herself, i guess, also includes mastering her emotions. conveying them properly has never been a strong suit of hers, other than when she's feeling some extreme emotion. but i'll definitely add that bit in the information, as well as what gets under her skin/happy.
that is.. actually a very good point. XD i think i could probably push back the amount of time between her death and when her dao-shi found her and just say she wandered in search for a very long time.
also i will address the language issue. that completely slipped my mind. XD!
EDIT: crits addressed and all information has been updated. thanks again! <3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:01 pm
If she had wandered for a long time, I imagine that she would have picked up a new language along the way. x3 And I'm glad you found it useful!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:24 pm
i've done a bit of condensing/rearranging on the history and personality sections, so i do hope things make a little more sense now. @ A @
still seeking normal critique of course, but i'd also like some feedback on her FEAR ability! does anybody else have any more interesting ideas for that?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:05 am
Crit!
First of all - awesome, seriously awesome. You've put a lot of work into this character, and it shows! It's really easy to get a feel for what this character would be like in a roleplay, and the fact that you put the effort into writing up a full history pretty much blows me away. She has a backstory, she has a goal, she has pretty much everything she could need in order to be played at any moment. Great work!
Now, to attempt to be more helpful....
I'm a bit curious about some of the design choice you've made - which isn't to say that they're bad ones, but more that I'd like to understand why you took that direction and what that means about Dao Ming's character. For a girl that was raised during the 1800's in China, she seems very comfortable around people - you describe her as being blunt, being chatty, etc. Are there any gender qualms she has? Is she less likely to feel relaxed in talking with males who are her age or older, or is she basically emancipated from those sorts of things? How would she react if someone were to approach her in a gender discriminatory way - would that be a hot issue for her, or would she just go along with it?
Another question I have is about her education, pre-Halloween town. She's been alive (well, sort of) for somewhere between a hundred and two hundred years, depending where in the 19th century she died, and she didn't spend all that time idle. What sort of things has she learned? Reading and writing aren't a given, not even in her native language, unless she chose to pursue them; but if she did, it would be interesting to find out what subjects she's studied and how that has shaped her perception of the world. (Though, clearly, you want to put some limits on this - if she's well-educated already, what's she going to a high school for, after all?)
I liked the take you used for her FEAR; it's visually evocative, in my mind, and I think makes for an interesting attack with a lot of potential for growth as she continues along her education. Her natural ability makes good sense for the character, aswell. I was surprised, though, that I didn't see any mention of blood-drinking anywhere. Is that something you've decided not to include, on the basis that it was a Western concept? I was thinking that it could be a potential solution to the fact that she can't heal cuts; on some level, you would want there to be some way for her to be able to mend an injury if it was necessary, or else it would seem like spending two hundred years in a body that lacks the sort of physical sensations that would keep you in one piece would make her a patchwork quilt of a creature. It's something to consider, at least.
Anyway, that's all that's come to mind. It's not incredibly helpful, I fear, but you've done a really good job already, so there isn't much that screams for help. I hope this was in some way useful to you, though!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 4:46 pm
this was really insightful. @ A @ and thank you for the critique/comments! i'm glad you find her interesting. X3 - naturally, dao ming does have some reservations about speaking openly with males her age or older, and will definitely be more clearly noted in her profile. part of this was eased with her dao-shi and the other jiang-shi, who had openly encouraged her to be as open with them as she felt comfortable with. while she did ease up when it came to talking with them, she still had her own share of anxieties and habits she could not kick ( i.e. she does not start a conversation with a male, but rather lets them begin it - or is spoken only when spoken -to- ). as far as sexual discrimination, i think her time with her dao-shi will have made her a bit sensitive to it, but not enough to say anything. not yet, anyway, as her old ways are too deeply ingrained. - as far as her education goes, she isn't very schooled in world issues, history, or any of the things that most children go to school for. matters of maintaining the home, sewing, and other such homely things have crossed over from her previous life. she cannot write or read english very well at all and will likely need help with that. she cannot even write in the standard chinese script, since it was discouraged for women to know it during the time. i was thinking of having her know nu shu, which would also place whereabouts she was during her lifetime. also the fact that all of her school notes being written in nu shu and unreadable by those who even know how to read chinese brings a smile to my face. so overall, dao ming is pretty much interested in anything she can learn, going into the whole school business very much like an eager, wide-eyed child. XD - i mentioned blood sucking once but i could probably expand upon that a little more. it makes sense that either blood or essence-sucking could heal current hurts to her body, definitely less maintenance in the long run. biggrin thanks again for your crits - i'll toss these up right away! i'll get one back for you soon. <3 EDIT: profile updated again! now to see if there's anywhere i can condense things, but otherwise all crits have been addressed. biggrin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 9:49 pm
made a few changes and just wanted to update. heart i would be happy to trade critique for critique!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 11:33 am
Mainly me having fun since jiang shi = one of the few childhood monsters that I used to see on television. xD Plus I wanted to practice a bit. It says "Ni hao" (Hello) on her fu since I can't do the fancy design on the ref.
I didn't shade it and I know I missed out the stitches, because I started to feel sleepy, and I ought to be sleeping. =x Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Wthout fu!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 3:02 pm
aodissdsoi heart ! thank you so much! this totally made my day. ; A ; <333
do you mind if i stick her in my sig? with credit of course. <3 *loves on her*
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:18 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:43 pm
quest updated with some reference images~ huzzah for images!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friendly Conversationalist
|
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:38 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
