Huang Pao-lin / 黄宝鈴

✼ 8th zap | action ✼ forward-dated to Christmas Day

lightningcute — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:52:41 GMT

[Pao-lin's first draft in Luceti had turned out simultaneously better and worse than she expected. Physically, she's just tired and sore, with maybe a few leftover minor scrapes here and there, which is a miracle considering that she sustained some pretty significant injuries from constantly being on the front lines. Magical healing is, well...magical like that.

But magic can only do so much for emotional and mental fatigue.

Pao-lin can't lie: once she waded past the initial waves of jitters and actually plunged herself into the battlefield, she'd enjoyed the thrill of real combat, albeit in a much more serious manner than other people would be used to seeing from the bubbly young girl. But then the Third Party breached the barricade, and she had to redirect her energy to looking out for the noncombatants in the Processing Area. With the lives of so many fellow villagers at stake, she'd had to push herself to her limits, even with the help of so many other fighters from Luceti who were more skilled and powerful than herself. Or perhaps it was especially because she was surrounded by so many other powerful fighters that Pao-lin felt compelled to work herself to the bone. She didn't want to fall further behind than she already was by virtue of the cards life had dealt her, many of which she couldn't play the way she wanted back home and some of which had taken on whole new meanings in the game known as Luceti. Normally Pao-lin can brush this sort of thing off, confident that she's walking the path that she's meant to, but for the first few days after the draft she's too tired to even manage a cursory "screw off" to the post-draft blues. She even neglects her training for a little bit, and mostly subsists on snacks and food she already has in her apartment instead of going out to the food places. After being steeped in the chaos of combat for so long, she needs to be alone.

Pao-lin pulls herself together soon enough. She's still got Christmas presents to bake for people, after all, so she can't mope around forever. And Pao-lin already has a pretty good inkling of how she's going to beat down her sudden inferiority complex, the next step she wants to take in her quest to be the best fighter she can be so she can protect people. But there'll be time enough for that after the holidays. For now, she just wants to see her friends.]

***

[Merry Christmas, Luceti! Reindeer Kid is prancing around bringing a bit of holiday cheer to anyone she knows. Friendly acquaintances will be getting small bags containing chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread men, and peppermint brownies. Closer members of her circle will be receiving a larger share of the treats (the gingerbread men may even be customized a little to look like the recipient) plus a small card with a custom message and/or doodles from her! She might show up at your door to give you your present if she knows where you live, or she might just stalk you down at some other place in Luceti. Or maybe you're looking for her! No worries: with a bright yellow winter jacket, green hair, and red-and-green reindeer antlers, she'll be hard to miss.]

✼ 7th zap | video/action ✼ forward-dated to 11/28

lightningcute — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:50:07 GMT

ARIES

Work out. Then again, why bother?
Your socks don't match.
Your clothes all need to be replaced.
Your usually dominant manner is replaced by a coy submissiveness today. Go with it.

[When Pao-lin receives her horoscopes on Friday the 25th, she doesn't really think much of them -- she isn't into that kind of thing, and anyway she's too occupied with thoughts of the mural project. By some miracle, none of her horoscopes take effect during the three days of painting the mural.

But then comes Monday morning.

Pao-lin wakes up feeling way too tired and lazy to do her usual exercises. She chalks it up to being exhausted after the mural project, though, and decides that she's earned a day off. After getting herself refreshed and dressed (albeit in slightly mismatched socks...she was too lazy to find ones that matched, and anyway no one but her will see them so whatever), she puts up this video message on the journal.]

Good morning, Luceti! I just wanted to say a quick thank-you to everyone who put up the mural over the weekend. It looks great, and it couldn't have been done without all of your help! Maybe we could do another one in spring or summer, when the weather is nicer.

[She heads out to Seventh Heaven to get some breakfast before running some errands, namely: 1) going to the item shop to search for some sort of paint sealant to protect the mural and 2) heading to the library not only to return the art books she borrowed as reference/inspiration for the mural, but also to see what kind of kind of books she could use to teach Luca how to draw.

In the afternoon, she passes by one of the clothing shops. To her utter surprise, the dress her parents bought for her as a Christmas present a few months ago is being displayed in the window. She goes in to fetch it out of sentimental value, but then it occurs to her, well, why not wear it today? It's almost Christmas here, after all; it'll be the next best thing to actually being home with her family, even though she reaaaaalllly doesn't like wearing dresses or anything remotely girly.

Once she puts on the dress, she mysteriously finds herself gripped by an odd urge to find a nicer coat to go along with it. Not only does she procure this lovely white coat with matching gloves and fuzzy earmuffs, but she also ends up taking home two other dresses, a very sunny yellow one and a more elegantly understated purple one. She just liked the colors, okay? They'll make nice wall decorations in her living room, or something. It's not like she'd actually wear them, sheesh.

...except that on Tuesday and Wednesday, she realizes that she actually does want to wear one of those dresses when she goes out. And wearing a dress makes her feel...different, somehow. As a result, her every movement becomes graceful and deliberate, and her voice, normally a bit husky for a girl, softens a bit and pitches slightly higher. Lacking her usual interest in being active, she'll spend most of the day inside reading and enjoying some warm, delicious food and beverages. But she may be persuaded to go for a walk around the village if she's got company. ~~Totally not looking at you, Luca. And not you either, Hubert.~~

TL;DR From Monday afternoon onwards, Pao-lin will look and act like a very shy and dainty girl for once. Monday she'll be wearing the dress her parents gave her, while on Tuesday she'll be wearing the yellow dress and Wednesday the purple one. She'll be haunting Seventh Heaven, the bakery, the tea shop, the library, and possibly Good Spirits during the night, so drop by any of those places for a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of Pao-lin in a dress! Or you can catch her before any of these girly shenanigans, if you want. But c'mon. Pao-lin in a dress.]

✼ 6th zap | video ✼ back-dated to earlier in the day

lightningcute — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:54:14 GMT

[If Luceti were a martial arts movie, the following scenes would be presented in a training montage, complete with dramatic cinematography and epic orchestral music:

✏ Pao-lin going to the library to check out various art books
✏ Pao-lin scribbling furiously in a sketchbook and frowning thoughtfully at said scribbles before tearing out the page, crumpling it up, and then tossing it randomly over her shoulder, where it joins a roving gang of other unwanted brainchildren
✏ Pao-lin scouting out the location for her mural
✏ Colored pencils being dumped out in unceremonious slow-motion onto a tabletop, to be culled down to the very best by Pao-lin's discerning eyes
✏ Pao-lin sweeping eraser shavings off a page already worn thin with multiple erasings
✏ A pencil sharpener dropping to the floor, vomiting out pencil shavings that still need to be cleaned up as of the time of this entry
✏ The dark silhouette of Pao-lin from behind, illuminated only by the light of a lantern, as she works late into the night
✏ And finally, a hard-won smile of victory and relief as she holds up the final product of her blood, sweat, and brain cells

But since Luceti is just an RP, all you get is that checklist. |D You'll have to provide your own soundtrack, I'm afraid. (Ghost Love Score may be a good place to start, though.)

TL;DR, Pao-lin worked hard on this, yo. Designing this mural had been more difficult than she'd thought it would be: she actually slacked off a bit (but just a bit!) on her usual training in order to make sure she could give her best to this project. Now she's ready to show off what she's got. Are your bodies ready?

Pao-lin shoves some clutter off her worktable before setting the journal upright on it and turning the video feed on. As she sits down, her eyes stray briefly to the side as she checks a nearby piece of paper to remind her what to cover in this post. Then she smiles and waves.]

Hi, everyone, it's Pao-lin here again! I came up with a design for Luceti's mural!

[Proudly (and yet a little bit shyly), she holds out a sketchbook featuring this eye-blisteringly bright rendering of her design idea.]

I tried to use the happiest colors I could think of! [Yes, there is a predominance of yellow and yellowish tones in the design. She is totally not biased at all. Totally not.] The red circles are gonna be where anyone can paint in their favorite thing about their own world, or even about Luceti if they want. And it doesn't have to be red, either, there'll be other colors! I also tried to go with something simple so it wouldn't take too long, and so that it'd be easier for more people to help out. [Also because trying to design anything more complicated gave her ~~mun~~ a headache.] As for when this will happen...I checked the calendar at the Welcome Center, and I think it might be okay if we started work next Friday. I know that it's right after Thanksgiving, but it'll be a good way to work off all the food you eat! Since it's a simple design, we can do most of this on Friday and Saturday as long as there are enough people painting. That way, anyone can come in on Sunday and add their own drawings in the circles! Most of the circles will be painted beforehand, but we can always do more if we need to.

[A pause as she checks her reminder list again.]

Oh! The mural will be located between the Welcome Center and Azzip. Toph has volunteered to raise a stone wall for us to paint on, as well as a shelter around the wall so that we can paint without being snowed on or whatever. Thanks, Toph!

Well, I think that's all for now. If you have any questions or comments, don't be afraid to tell me, okay? I want to make sure that this mural is the best that we can make it!

((OOC: Has been spammed all over lucetiooc here, here, and here. First IC post here.))

✼ 5th zap | voice ✼

lightningcute — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:29:50 GMT

[Now that Luceti has escaped imminent destruction (for now), Pao-lin is finally going to make a journal post about this. She got the idea about a month ago while talking with Caesar during the experiment in September, but once her own fairytale shenanigans befell her, it slipped her mind. And then when she finally remembered again, it was like Fairytale Event 2: Electric Boogaloo (With 100% More Moon!). Not exactly an ideal time to try and organize something other than getting things back to normal.

And...well, this sort of falls under "getting things back to normal", in a way. Hopefully it should be a good distraction for some people.

So in the morning, after Pao-lin's done her kung fu exercises and thought about what she wanted to say, she'll make this voice post.]

Um, hi, everyone! If you don't know me, my name is Pao-lin. I know we're all still dealing with the last experiment, but I guess that just means we all need something to cheer ourselves up, right?

So I was just thinking...maybe it might be nice to paint a mural somewhere in Luceti, something bright and happy and colorful. I haven't thought of anything specific yet, but I definitely want to hear everyone's ideas! It'd be better if we could do it where everyone could see it easily, like somewhere in the plaza, but a friend said that the Rec Center might be a good place, too.

((OOC: If you missed it, there's an OOC post here on the topic!))

✼ 4th zap | video/action ✼

lightningcute — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:22:34 GMT

[The video feed shows Pao-lin sitting cross-legged on her bed, her hands resting clasped on her legs. When she speaks, her voice is a bit trembly, but she makes up for it with a big -- though apologetic -- smile.]

Um...to everyone whose things I might've broken or messed up during the experiment...I just wanted to say I'm really sorry. If you want or need my help in fixing things, I'll be glad to make up for the trouble I caused.

[Later in the day, she can be found at the tea shop, drinking tea while reading a novel she borrowed from the library, or at the Battle Dome, further testing out her own capabilities as well as those of the Battle Dome.]

✼ 3rd zap | action ✼ forward-dated to 9/30

lightningcute — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:45:20 GMT

[Lucetians today may notice a little girl in a green tunic and matching pointy, floppy hat wielding a pink feather duster and a large pot lid doing one of two things:

1. Breaking into various buildings in the village. Be warned if there are clay pots or other such things in the vicinity: she'll be tossing them around to break them and get at any goodies inside. Acquiring quest items may be accompanied by her humming the appropriate music.

2. Whacking bushes and shrubbery with her feather duster. She may also roll into trees.

What are you witness to?]

✼ 2nd zap | action/written ✼ back-dated to 9/22

lightningcute — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 05:57:11 GMT

[It's her fourth day in Luceti, but Pao-lin still wakes up at the crack of dawn expecting to see her own bedroom plastered with posters of her favorite martial artists and anime characters. Instead, she's faced with the blank walls of her new living space: room 36 on the 8th floor of community housing building 7. The people at the Welcome Center had randomly assigned it to her on Monday night, and she'd moved in then because she didn't have anything else besides the clothes she wore, a few extra clothes from the shop, and some basic toiletries.

She's sort of regretting it now. It's too quiet here in the apartment, especially on a mostly-empty top floor. The Welcome Center at least had a few volunteers manning it late into the night, along with other New Feathers temporarily staying there to get their bearings like she had. The hum of their presence distracted her from the truth of her situation — a truth which now fully sinks its claws into her, alone as she is in an apartment built for at least three people.

Someone has snatched her away from Sternbild, from her job and her friends. Someone has trapped her in the middle of nowhere with people she doesn't know, for a purpose that's simultaneously clear and muddled.

It's not that Pao-lin is unused to being by herself. She lived with Natasha back in Sternbild, but Natasha was a busy woman, working a side venture as some sort of independent business consultant along with her day job as Pao-lin's manager for Odysseus Communication. Pao-lin would be frequently left to her own devices at nights while Natasha worked from home. But at least then she had her movies to watch or manga to read or her sketchbook to draw in. Not so in room 36: it's bare and bland, a well-furnished prison. She's not home anymore. And no one will notice or care, because apparently time has stopped back in her world.

Pao-lin suddenly finds herself having to blink back tears. She rubs at her eyes, telling herself that it's just because she just woke up and her eyes are dry. Anyway, she's not allowed to be depressed until she's done her forms for the day.

This is a rule she's had for years, almost as long as she's been training in kung fu and tai chi, though she didn't consciously verbalize it to herself until later. Doing kung fu makes her happier and stronger, so obviously she's never allowed to sit around and whine about things until she's at least gone through a few forms to keep the gloom monsters at bay. And even then she shouldn't ever dwell too much on bad things: she has to keep on keeping on, because it'll make her stronger and she'll be able to protect herself and those she loves. It's okay to be sad for a bit, because it's normal to feel sad about certain things, but in the end she has to defeat the gloom monsters. She has to be strong, and she can be strong if she just keeps training.

Pao-lin brightens at the thought of training, and throws off her blanket. Maybe if she just follows her usual routine here, things will start to feel less weird and more manageable. Plus, she's a Hero. She needs to stay in shape so that she can be ready to help people at any time!

After washing up and brushing her teeth, Pao-lin changes into a kung fu uniform she found in the shop, and heads to the rooftop to practice. Anyone who happens to catch her on the roof will be treated to an informal lightshow, for Pao-lin also practices channeling her NEXT power through her movements and strikes. She'll spend about half an hour up there; she'd normally spend a lot more, but she hasn't eaten breakfast yet, so after showering and changing she'll head to Seventh Heaven.

Pao-lin brings her journal with her to the restaurant, both so she can review the Luceti guide and make sure she understands as much as she can about her situation, and to also ask a question of the Lucetian masses. She's still a little weirded out by the idea of talking into a book, so her question is written instead, in readable round print.]

Does anyone want to come with me to the Battle Dome sometime? It sounds really interesting, but I don't want to go by myself, since I haven't been there before. I think it would be a lot more fun to train with other people! Plus, I want to see what everyone else can do, so I can learn!

I'm Pao-lin, by the way. I hope to meet new friends while I'm here in Luceti!

[Her post-breakfast wanderings take her to the library. She'd corresponded with a certain girl over the journals yesterday who mentioned that she spent a lot of time in the library, so Pao-lin's curious to see if she'll find her there. And she's just curious about the library in general: maybe they'd have a bunch of shelves for manga and comics like the Sternbild Public Library did! Which is a long shot, admittedly, but Pao-lin's willing to settle for some fantasy novels too, or some how-to books on drawing. She doesn't know how long she'll be stuck in Luceti for, but she might as well keep herself occupied if her captors were nice enough to provide her with entertainment.

Armed with a small stack of books from the library, Pao-lin wanders over to the tea shop to stake out a place to read while drinking some tea. It'll almost be like she's back home in Sternbild.]

((OOC: TL;DR You can catch Pao-lin doing her zap-a-riffic kung fu on the roof of CH7 during the early morning, eating breakfast at Seventh Heaven afterwards, browsing the library during late morning, or drinking tea and reading around lunchtime! Placeholder comments and the like are encouraged, since I know we have to deal with this fairytale event. :D;;))

✼ 1st zap | action ✼ forward-dated to the morning of 9/18

lightningcute — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 01:31:10 GMT

[Luceti, behold! There is a young girl sleeping in the plaza fountain today. Yes, in the fountain, her back propped against the rim and her white New Feather dress bobbing in the water. Her head is resting on her journal as though it were a pillow.

Despite this inconvenient napping place, not to mention the pain she's likely feeling from her new wings, she doesn't seem to be inclined to wake up anytime soon. Someone should nudge her so that she doesn't get a cold! And, erm, so that she doesn't continue to offer an underaged wet T-shirt show to anyone passing by.]

✼ appointments ✼

lightningcute — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:58:26 GMT

Got something you want to say to this girl? Interested in sparring with her? ~~Want to ask her out on a date?~~ Just want to say hi? You can ping her here -- just make sure to put the date, the type of action (voice/written/action), and the location if necessary.

You can also use this post to get in touch with me if for some reason you don't want to just PM me, haha.

✼ threading ✼

lightningcute — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:56:36 GMT

Just a log of threads involving Pao-lin outside of this LJ. Threads are dated to when she first commented, not to when the original entry was posted.

09-21-2011 - frost_jewel / Mia
09-25-2011 - goldenglasses / Vash the Stampede [event - fairytale]
09-25-2011 - subsultive / Luca Milda [event - fairytale]
09-26-2011 - cakeblocked / Luke fon Fabre [event - fairytale: The Emperor's New Clothes]
09-27-2011 - mydearapple / Caesar Silverberg [event - fairytale: unknown]
09-30-2011 - gomugomunopwn / Monkey D. Luffy [event - fairytale: The Lord of the Rings]
10-02-2011 - pugilistinpink / Little Mac
10-05-2011 - acuitas / Amiti
10-05-2011 - hear_thanatos / Yuri Petrov
10-06-2011 - blessedbyfarore / Link
10-08-2011 - burningdownfate / Zuko
10-08-2011 - mistyarc / Hubert Ozwell
10-09-2011 - hi_no_dansu / Sabin Rene Figaro
10-10-2011 - shadedsunlight / Ginia Solana [as Alice]
10-11-2011 - banditsblindly / Toph Bei Fong
10-13-2011 - hiken_ace / Portgas D. Ace
10-15-2011 - talontrot / Kazooie
10-15-2011 - asobouyo / Elicia Hughes
10-17-2011 - itsaxingthing / Ling Yao
10-17-2011 - lostinmyway / Grune
10-18-2011 - eyesofremorse / Joshua Bright
10-18-2011 - mydearapple / Caesar Silverberg
10-20-2011 - erythrophilia / Grell Sutcliffe
11-03-2011 - wildkotetsu / Kotetsu Kaburagi
11-05-2011 - corrinesbell / Sheena Fujibayashi
11-05-2011 - mindgooshed / Barnaby Brooks Jr.
11-06-2011 - asterism_angel / Cheria Barnes & seleniahymn / Tear Grants
11-07-2011 - frost_jewel / Mia
11-08-2011 - cakeblocked / Luke fon Fabre
11-08-2011 - shadedsunlight / Ginia Solana
11-09-2011 - mymaidmadeflan / Leon Magnus
11-09-2011 - mistlegacy / Rydia Highwind
11-11-2011 - debelnerdlinger / Atsuro Kihara
11-11-2011 - raizanshou / Asbel Lhant (as seekskrosophie, with mistyarc / Hubert Ozwell as outbranch)
11-11-2011 - wingenvy / Zack Fair
11-16-2011 - mikangirl / Nami
11-16-2011 - thederpyhalf / Yui Konagi
11-17-2011 - magicalesbian / Kari Nijihi (as Hoshikyo)
11-17-2011 - insertsparkles / Suoh Tamaki
11-18-2011 - shadedsunlight / Ginia Solana (as picobartender) (with consultmybooks / Rupert Giles & folkloristic / Helios Sprensonne, both as children)
11-20-2011 - subsultive / Luca Milda
11-21-2011 - lostinmyway / Grune
11-22-2011 - notshadowfever / Doctor Eggman
11-23-2011 - first_darkness / Saten
11-25-2011 - noprevaricating / Archie Kennedy
11-28-2011 - mindgooshed / Barnaby Brooks Jr. [event - horoscopes]
12-06-2011 - redheaded_rock / Alexis Rodgers
12-07-2011 - wannabolt / Rainbow Dash
12-10-2011 - purestpurifier / Mega Man Volnutt
12-10-2011 - justicereigns / Smoker
12-13-2011 - malnosso / Malnosso NPC (with talontrot / Kazooie & consultmybooks / Rupert Giles)
12-14-2011 - sierra_023 / Daisy SPARTAN-023
12-20-2011 - subsultive / Luca Milda (as straightachick)
12-24-2011 - wildkotetsu / Kotetsu Kaburagi
12-24-2011 - happyends / Madoka Kaname (with thederpyhalf / Yui Konagi)
12-28-2011 - shadedsunlight / Ginia Solana
12-28-2011 - mikangirl / Nami
12-28-2011 - wildkotetsu / Kotetsu Kaburagi
12-12-2011 - consultmybooks / Rupert Giles

@ lucetilogs

[A Midsummer's Night Dream]
09-19-2011 - main comment, with:
     ➠ thederpyhalf / Yui Konagi
     ➠ purestpurifier / Mega Man Volnutt
     ➠ consultmybooks / Rupert Giles
     ➠ lostinmyway / Grune
     ➠ folkloristic / Helios Sprensonne
     ➠ talontrot / Kazooie
09-19-2011 - onlyonepath / Irvine Kinneas
09-19-2011 - wannabolt / Rainbow Dash
09-19-2011 - subsultive / Luca Milda

[Visiting the Apartment of Innocence]
09-22-2011 - with:
     ➠ subsultive / Luca Milda
     ➠ ruinedhiswish / Iria Animi
     ➠ merelyaweapon / Spada Belforma

[Legend of Linkda: Lucetian Lunacy (event - fairytale)]
09-28-2011 - with:
     ➠ blessedbyfarore / Link [Princess Zelda]
     ➠ lostinmyway / Grune [Ganondorf]
     ➠ consultmybooks / Rupert Giles [Navi]

[Trying out the Battle Dome]
10-13-2011 - with purestpurifier / Mega Man Volnutt

[Hero Party]
10-20-2011 - with:
     ➠ lostinmyway / Grune
     ➠ talontrot / Kazooie
10-23-2011 - talontrot / Kazooie
11-04-2011 - blessedbyfarore / Link

[Majora's Mask (event - Halloween)]
10-24-2011 - pugilistinpink / Little Mac [Giant's Mask]
10-24-2011 - consultmybooks / Rupert Giles [Scarecrow Mask]
10-27-2011 - acuitas / Amiti [Hockey Mask]
10-28-2011 - hear_thanatos / Yuri Petrov [Gnat Hat]

[Moonfall (event - Halloween)]
10-30-2011 - with:
     ➠ mistyarc / Hubert Ozwell
     ➠ purestpurifier / Mega Man Volnutt
     ➠ its_troublesome / Nara Shikamaru
     ➠ lostinmyway / Grune
10-30-2011 - ruinedhiswish / Iria Animi

[October 31st (event - Halloween)]
10-31-2011 - with:
     ➠ mymaidmadeflan / Leon Magnus
     ➠ purestpurifier / Mega Man Volnutt
     ➠ consultmybooks / Rupert Giles
     ➠ wannabolt / Rainbow Dash
     ➠ mirrorblade / Claude C. Kenny
     ➠ lostinmyway / Grune
11-01-2011 - mydearapple / Caesar Silverberg
11-03-2011 - mistyarc / Hubert Ozwell
11-03-2011 - dragoon_pride / Kain Highwind

[Mikan-picking]
11-16-2011 - with:
     ➠ mikangirl / Nami
     ➠ wildkotetsu / Kotetsu T. Kaburagi
11-17-2011 - markofthebrave / Katara

[Thanksgiving + New Feather party]
11-22-2011 - with:
     ➠ rollypolyclover / Yotsuba Koiwai
11-22-2011 - outbranch / Hubert Ozwell [child]
11-22-2011 - pose_andsparkle / Alex Louis Armstrong
11-23-2011 - blessedbyfarore / Link
11-23-2011 - picobartender / Ginia Solana [child]

[Mural-painting]
11-22-2011 - with:
     ➠ paintsthewalls / Rapunzel
     ➠ subsultive / Luca Milda
     ➠ mistlegacy / Rydia Highwind
     ➠ mydearapple / Caesar Silverberg
     ➠ magicalesbian / Kari Nijihi
     ➠ mistyarc / Hubert Ozwell
11-22-2011 - shadedsunlight / Ginia Solana
11-23-2011 - pose_andsparkle / Alex Louis Armstrong
11-23-2011 - banditsblindly / Toph Bei Fong
11-23-2011 - lostinmyway / Grune
11-23-2011 - talontrot / Kazooie
11-23-2011 - hiken_ace / Portgas D. Ace
11-23-2011 - dragoon_pride / Kain Highwind & mistlegacy / Rydia Highwind
11-23-2011 - chikaidestroyer / Albert Silverberg
11-24-2011 - amurui / Senri
11-25-2011 - pugilistinpink / Little Mac
11-26-2011 - thederpyhalf / Yui Konagi
11-26-2011 - wildkotetsu / Kotetsu T. Kaburagi
11-26-2011 - ombra_lira / Sheik
11-26-2011 - wise_maiden / Raine Sage
11-26-2011 - blessedbyfarore / Link

[Event - horoscopes]
11-28-2011 - raizanshou / Asbel Lhant
11-28-2011 - pigtailed_loli / Anise Tatlin
11-28-2011 - subsultive / Luca Milda

[Christmas ball]
12-02-2011 - with:
     ➠ heavenslament / Terra Branford
     ➠ sierra_023 / Daisy SPARTAN-023
     ➠ talontrot / Kazooie
     ➠ lostinmyway / Grune
12-04-2011 - consultmybooks / Rupert Giles
12-04-2011 - shadedsunlight / Ginia Solana
12-04-2011 - lists_to_port / Jack Sparrow
12-04-2011 - blessedbyfarore / Link

[Breakfast buffet at CH7]
12-12-2011 - with:
     ➠ redheaded_rock / Alexis Rodgers
     ➠ folkloristic / Helios Sprensonne

[Girls' baking day for the winter holidays]
12-13-2011 - with:
     ➠ thederpyhalf / Yui Konagi
12-13-2011 - with:
     ➠ happyends / Madoka Kaname
12-15-2011 - talontrot / Kazooie

[Draft - underground mine (preparations)]
12-15-2011 - with:
     ➠ its_troublesome / Nara Shikamaru
     ➠ mikangirl / Nami
     ➠ acuitas / Amiti
     ➠ wise_maiden / Raine Sage
12-15-2011 - wildkotetsu / Kotetsu T. Kaburagi
12-15-2011 - wingenvy / Zack Fair
12-17-2011 - talontrot / Kazooie

[Draft - underground mine (fighting)]
12-15-2011 - with:
     ➠ mydearapple / Caesar Silverberg & wildkotetsu / Kotetsu Kaburagi
     ➠ mymaidmadeflan / Leon Magnus
     ➠ itsaxingthing / Ling Yao
     ➠ merelyaweapon / Spada Belforma
     ➠ immadragon / Hermana Larmo
     ➠ mindgooshed / Barnaby Brooks Jr.
     ➠ eyesofremorse / Joshua Bright
12-16-2011 - dragoon_pride / Kain Highwind
12-16-2011 - boomchucka / Selphie Tilmitt
12-16-2011 - acuitas / Amiti
12-16-2011 - first_darkness / Saten
12-16-2011 - frost_jewel / Mia
12-17-2011 - talontrot / Kazooie
12-21-2011 - whatdeheckisdat / Dhaos
12-21-2011 - hiken_ace / Portgas D. Ace

@ lucetilocked

09-25-2011 - mydearapple / Caesar Silverberg
10-28-2011 - its_troublesome / Nara Shikamaru

✼ how's my driving? ✼

lightningcute — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:55:13 GMT

How am I doing with Pao-chan? IP logging is off, anonymous commenting is a go!

✼ profile & character survey ✼

lightningcute — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:54:10 GMT

Additional reference sources here. Some (...most?) weren't available when I was doing the original application. Speaking of which, the original application for anyone who's curious can be found here.

LAST EDITED: DECEMBER 8, 2011

Name: Huang Pao-lin / 黄宝鈴. (Hero alias: Dragon Kid)
Fandom: Tiger & Bunny.
Gender: Female.
Age: 15.
Time Period: Some point after the end of the first season. (Specifically: February 1, NC1980)
Wing Color: Same color as her hair.
History: You can find a brief summation of what's known about her canonically on the Tiger & Bunny article on Wikipedia, but a slightly more detailed headcanon history follows below...

Huang Pao-lin (or Huang Bao-ling, if we really want to be precise about romanization rules given the official characters for her name) was born in Hong Kong, ~~the elder of two children. Although her parents loved her very much, it was clear that they had a preference and higher hopes for her younger brother Bao-zhi, two years her junior.~~ This preference became even more pronounced once it became obvious that Pao-lin was not a girl given to typically "feminine" things like playing with dolls or wearing dresses -- she instead preferred to spend her time playing outdoors, usually with the other boys of the neighborhood, participating gleefully in bug hunts and various sports games. And when she discovered the wide world of martial arts movies, she begged her parents for kung fu lessons. Initially they refused, but after Pao-lin nearly broke her neck imitating some of the flashier movies she saw in her favorite films, they decided that she should at least learn how to do things correctly so she didn't accidentally kill herself in the process. So at age 5, Pao-lin began taking kung fu lessons.

At age 6, her NEXT power of controlling and generating lightning began to manifest.

Word of this got around, and Pao-lin lost most of her friends, either because they were frightened of her or because their parents were. Left with all this time to herself, she spent it practicing her kung fu when she wasn't watching movies, reading comics, or doing responsible things like helping around the house or schoolwork. Her sifu was a kindly old man who lived in an apartment building not far from Pao-lin's old home; she took both public and private lessons with him. Although he wasn't a NEXT himself, he had been friends with one before and thus knew that they were just as human as everyone else. Through kung fu and tai chi, he taught Pao-lin how to control her NEXT power, convincing her to view it not as some curse but as merely a tangible manifestation of her chi. Pao-lin didn't always believe him, especially when she was being taunted at school for who she was, but going through the forms on her own usually gave her peace of mind, and it allowed her to deal with her circumstances without snapping. Her parents, however, were understandably less at ease about the situation. Not only was Pao-lin refusing to behave like a proper young lady, but she also had these strange powers that scared off anyone who knew about them. Who was going to marry someone like her? And what sort of career or job could someone like her have?

Only time will bring the answer to the first question, but the answer to the second question came when Pao-lin was 11 years old, in the form of Odysseus Communication, a company based on North America but owned by a Chinese man named Yung-fa Chang. Chang, along with a woman named Natasha Evans, visited Pao-lin and her family wanting to know if they would be interested in having Pao-lin work for the company as a "Hero" on HeroTV, a show based in the city of Sternbild in North America where NEXT used their superhuman powers to catch criminals and save innocent bystanders from various perils while showing off advertising on their Hero costumes. Both Pao-lin and her parents were enthusiastic about the idea (well, "enthusiastic" is probably overstating things with regards to her parents, but it's accurate enough for Pao-lin's reaction). This was a prime opportunity for Pao-lin to make productive use of her quirks, especially since her starting salary would easily exceed that of both of her parents' combined. She would also be living under the care of Natasha as a kind of foster daughter, so she wouldn't have to live on her own in a strange country.

Two months later, Pao-lin's parents saw her off at the airport with a wish to "make their country proud", and thus Dragon Kid was born. She would finish three seasons of HeroTV before being whisked away to Luceti.

Personality: Probably the first thing that anyone notices about Pao-lin is her tomboyish nature. She's very adamant in voicing her dislike for anything remotely girly, a fact which causes Natasha much consternation. But it's been shown that she can appreciate cute things: she shows off a maternal side in caring for the mayor's infant son (in fact, she's the only one out of the Heroes that he responds favorably to), and she eventually chooses to wear a pair of flower hairpins given to her by her parents as a parting gift once she finds out that the meaning of the flower on the hairpins is "thinking about you always". Episode 13 also revealed that Pao-lin is perhaps not completely at ease with her tomboy nature: she apparently considered herself less of a "girl" than a flamboyant heel-wearing, pink-clad gay man. While Pao-lin does genuinely have interests that don't coincide with mainstream notions of femininity, part of her insistence on tomboyishness may also be a defense mechanism against the isolation and ostracization she experienced when she was younger. She has it in her head that in order to endure her trials, she has to be strong, and being "strong", to her, means eschewing anything associated with being a typical girl.

Despite this serious side, Pao-lin is a more or less happy, cheerful girl. In fact, even considering how dangerous her work is and the fact that she's away from home, she's probably happier in Sternbild than she was in Hong Kong. But she's also still a bit lonely: being a Hero doesn't give her much free time, and she has to keep her Hero identity secret from the public. She doesn't go to school, instead learning the basic curriculum from Natasha, and although she definitely gets along with and likes her Hero co-workers, they're also technically her rivals at HeroTV, which complicates things slightly. There's also major age gaps to contend with; the current Hero roster contains two other teenagers, but they're on the older end of the spectrum, and a difference of a few years means a lot more to a young girl like Pao-lin than it would to an adult. But sharing the common experience of being a young Hero bridges these age gaps a little (or a lot), and as such Pao-lin's grown closer to them over time. She's also begun to think of the adult Heroes as surrogate family members: Kotetsu as a father, Antonio as an uncle, Nathan as a mother or an older sister, and Keith as an older brother. (She doesn't quite know what to make of Barnaby yet, though.)

Still, Pao-lin can be a little shy about asking her co-workers (or sometimes even her caretaker) for help if she needs it. Because she grew up without many friends and with parents who didn't really understand her, she's always felt that she had to deal with her problems on her own. Not to mention that forging it out on her own also falls within her assumption that this is what will make her stronger, and that asking for help is "weak." She'll usually try to keep an upbeat or a determined front, but every now and again the facade will crack, as it did when Kotetsu began teasing her about how cute she would look with flowers in her hair, and she blurted out to him and Barnaby about her frustrations with her parents. When it does, she'll quickly retreat and maybe sulk for a little bit before returning and pretending like nothing's wrong, hoping that everyone will just conveniently forget about her little outburst.

As a Hero, Pao-lin is probably up there with Keith and Kotetsu in terms of how much idealism and optimism she holds about her job -- which is to say, a lot, especially considering how corporate the job is in the world of Tiger & Bunny. While the 16-year-old Karina got into it because her sponsors promised to also help her with a budding music career, and 19-year-old Ivan spent (or used to spend, anyway) most of his Hero career photobombing for his sponsors because he didn't think he was capable of anything else, Pao-lin decided to become a Hero because she really wanted to help people. This was influenced by a lot of different things: the frequently black-and-white situations of the movies she watched and the comics she read, her desire to become someone better than the girl who was teased by her peers and misunderstood by her family, and just overall a sunny, kind disposition. Of course she understands that there are less savory parts of the job aside from the expected dangerous situations (for example, Natasha constantly being on her case about how Pao-lin's boyish tendencies apparently make her less appealing as a Hero -- whether this is actually true is never explored), but she hasn't yet reached the point in her life where she's cynical about what she's doing. Really, her life so far kinda sounds like something out of a shonen manga, and that's just awesome -- how could she hate it, even with all of its bad points? Those are just obstacles to be overcome, things to make her stronger in the end, anyway.

When left to her own devices, Pao-lin spends her time reading comics (she likes both American superhero comics and Japanese shonen manga), drawing, training, and watching/re-watching martial arts movies. She also doesn't mind playing games like basketball or soccer, though she's not necessarily the best at it. And sometimes, when she's walking the city, she'll stop and stare at some of the clothes in the fashion boutiques, trying to convince herself that she's only interested in them from an aesthetic standpoint, and not because -- god forbid -- she'd actually like to try them on, just once.

Strengths:

physical - Pao-lin is a very skilled and acrobatic martial artist, able to fight both barehanded and with a staff (and possibly other weapons). She frequently combines this with her NEXT power of generating electricity, which is strong enough to stun someone. She's also quick and light on her feet.
mental/emotional - Surprisingly for her age, she can keep a calm head in dangerous situations. Probably the only reason she was caught trying to escape her bindings in a hostage situation was because the person who was holding her (and the mayor's infant son) hostage had a NEXT power that allowed her to literally smell danger. Pao-lin's also very disciplined about her kung fu training, working through forms while waiting for a criminal to show up at a location she was scouting out.

Weaknesses:

physical - Pao-lin is stronger than most girls her age, thanks to her martial arts training, but considering her small stature she's not that much stronger. She has to rely on her NEXT power, her agility, and her knowledge of sneaky, decisive strikes in order to take down criminals. Episode 10 shows that Pao-lin has a tendency to be a kill-stealer -- presumably she lets the other Heroes wear down or distract the bad guys before she swoops in for the final strike, netting her points with only part of the effort.
mental/emotional - For all of her discipline and experience with the darker side of life, Pao-lin's still just a teenage girl living away from her loving family in an unorthodox environment. There are certain aspects of life that she hasn't been exposed to yet, including things involving hormones, and it might be difficult for her to navigate such things without either a peer support group or an older, wiser mentor to help shed light on a few confusing things.

[Character survey being slowly, slowly filled out...]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Pao-lin is 5'2" and pretty thin.

2. How old is she?
15.

3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
She has pretty good posture for the most part. She usually likes to slouch or sprawl herself out whenever she sits down, though.

4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
She's pretty fit, thanks to her martial arts training, and she doesn't have any sicknesses of any sort.

5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
She's very much at ease with her body. Her movements are energetic and loose.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
For most people, Pao-lin likely falls on "the cute side of plain" (to borrow a phrase used by another Asian chick I know). Pao-lin herself doesn't really think she's all that attractive.

7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
She's not as ghost-pale as Ivan, but neither is she as tanned as Kotetsu.

8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Her hair's a pale sage greenish dirty blonde color (if that makes sense), and on the thin side. It's a bob with uneven edges, as though it were a pixie cut that grew out.

9. What color are her eyes?
Windows match the curtains!

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Not really?

11. What are her chief tension centers?
I still have no idea what this question means. XD

12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does she have six of the same suit?
Her trademark outfit is her yellow-and-black striped jumpsuit, but the rest of her wardrobe looks like she had an older brother that just dumped all of his old clothes onto her. XD So there are lots of faded T-shirts that may have been free swag at some random promo event, sweatpants, gym shorts, and even a few baseball caps. She does have jeans and a couple of nicer, more fitted tops, but that's because Natasha bought them for her. She also has a faded kung fu uniform or two.

13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
Some of her clothes look a little too big for her, but she's not swimming in them or anything. Pao-lin dresses for comfort and ease of movement, coordination be damned.

14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
Well, being a Hero, it's pretty much a given that she has to dress differently for it.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
...

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
It's fairly husky for a girl her age, though it's still pretty cute. *gets zapped*

2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
She's not loud, but she's not quiet either. She's outgoing and friendly.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Not in English. In Japanese, she uses the first-person pronoun "boku", which is typically used by young boys (and older males when they're being deferential/polite).

4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
Being from Hong Kong, Pao-lin's native language is Cantonese, but she's also proficient in Mandarin and I'm assuming she's acquired native-level fluency in English (canonically, she lacks a stereotypical Chinese accent, which both of her parents have when they show up in a flashback).

5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Every now and again, while taking notes during her lessons, she'll write things down in Cantonese before looking up the English equivalent. And of course, when she calls her parents back home she speaks in Cantonese.

6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
She'd probably have to think about her words a bit.

7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
If anything flusters or upsets her, she's more likely to go quiet and keep her words short as opposed to babbling on nonsensically.

Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
She's not either, actually, but this doesn't mean that she's stupid. She's mostly just naive, I think.

2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?

4. What kind of education has the character had?
She went to school in Hong Kong, but ever since moving to Sternbild she's been homeschooled by Natasha.

5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?

6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?

8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?

9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?

10. Which is her default: fight or flight?

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?

13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?

14. What does she fear?

15. What are her hopes or aspirations?

16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
More or less okay. She still doesn't like it when they try to make her act/look/dress more "feminine", but she knows that they do love her, so she'll put up with it for a little while.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?

6. Does she have other close friends?

7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
Pao-chan is very easy to get along with. She's always open to trying to make new friends (she invited the devil to breakfast her first week in Luceti).

8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
...can't they both be important to her? Although considering how far apart she has to live from her family, not to mention feeling kind of distanced as a result of her parents trying to make her into something she's not, Pao-lin likely feels closer to any friends that she has.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
Single. Siiiiiingle.

10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Nope.

11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
If the 5th drama CD is to be believed, she may have developed a crush on Blue Rose, but who knows.

12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
~~Someone who can cook.~~

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?

14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?

16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
"...why would you put that there?!"

17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Gigglesnort.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
My headcanon birthday for her is April 4, which puts her as an Aries and which quite frankly fits her quite well. Her Eastern sign is the Wood Dragon, assuming that the year numbers in T&Bverse correspond directly to the year numbers in our 'verse -- which they don't, technically. But if we just go by numbers alone, then 1964 is Pao-lin's birth year, which is the year of the dragon. You'd almost think the creators planned for that sort of association.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
Pao-lin was raised as somewhere between Taoist and Buddhist, but she's basically their equivalent of an Easter-Christmas Christian.

3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?

4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?

5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?

2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?

3. Where does she live? House, apartment, trailer? Is her home her castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does she share it with others?

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
Comics, movies, sometimes art supplies.

5. What does she do for a living? Is she good at it? Does she enjoy it, or would she rather be doing something else?
SHE'S A SUPERHERO AND SHE FUCKING LOVES IT. Though she knows that she can't do it forever.

6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Besides exercising and training, Pao-lin likes reading comics (both Western-style superhero comics and Japanese shonen manga), drawing, and watching martial arts movies.

7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?

Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:

1. Color? Yellow.
2. Smell?
3. Time of day?
4. Season? Spring.
5. Book?
6. Music? Kung-Fu Fighting. Yes. That damn thing.
7. Place?
8. Substance?
9. Plant? Asters (the flower on the hairclips her parents gave her).
10. Animal? Dragons, duh.

END
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