Zhang
San
| home region | fanged crescent |
| gender | cis male |
| age | past expiration |
| orientation | feminine lean |
| profession | mandarin bureaucrat |
| archetype | oh, the devil |
at a glance
Flawless Voice. Even just picking up words from across a room, there's something about his voice: the cadence and crisp enunciation, or the way it manages to fill every syllable with a sense of play... and of promise. It buries itself in there deep and you can't shed yourself of it. It’s the kind of voice you go insane for.
Centuries-Old Drip. A ring for nearly every finger (sometimes gold, sometimes iron, some nested with precious stones the size of a cat’s eye); shoulders draped in expensive furs (many endangered, some extinct); talismans hanging from his belt made of pearl, ivory, and mahogany; the finest kaftan or silk robe koban can buy; gleaming, bright-white boots polished to such a shine you can practically use them like a mirror.
More Presence Than Form. From the way the hairs had stood up on the back of your neck, you were certain that something dizzyingly vast had just lumbered right behind you, but when you look, it's just him: small, slight, unassuming. Rifle through his aetherial makeup and you'll find something neat and orderly, like it's being carefully suppressed and disguised.
traits & themes
He works for the capital, he says; just a low level court official, don’t mind him; a simple bureaucrat, nothing more; but a capital of where, court of whom, and bureaucrat of what?; what indeed; has an uncanny gift for languages and knows many; he knows all of yours, too, and speaks them fluently; yes, even that one; permanent dead-eye smirk and vocal fry; spends a lot of time in Ul'dah with local tongs and triad groups of East Othardian immigrants; he does god-knows-what with them; an outreach program for our diasporas, he happily reassures; always vultures quick to take advantage of our poor countrymen; his given name means three.Short king and unreasonably hot in that ‘corpse chic’ way; loves lavishness, luxuries, and the 'finer things'; confident swagger and bringer of gifts; infectiously, skin-crawlingly chummy; drapes arm over shoulders like “hey buddy where the pain points at, where’s it hurt, huh, lemme help with that”; guilt’s like a bag of bricks, right?; just gotta sit ‘em down; enjoys a good safari; promises conquest to kings and kingdoms to peasants; will give you what you most want and by the time you realise it he’s already feasted on your forfeit heart; no, probably not literally; "the freedom of birds is an insult to me."Seems calm and aloof; but has all the emotions of a velociraptor utahraptor inside a body the size of a chicken tender; given to carefully-restrained fits of rage and longing; you can see it in his eyes, sometimes; “an appetite, nothing more.”
general considerations
Everything here is non-exhaustive. These are general guidelines to understand some of the narrative directions and traits I enjoy for Zhang San's dynamics. The 'quick snapshot' section following this will tl;dr many of my hooks, and more involved examples and atmospheric descriptions will expand on them in the sections below.
Zhang is a pretty bad person. This character is (almost literally) a demon. I know he's terrible, that's sort of the point, so please practice grace & the benefit of the doubt with me so that we can both have fun and create meaningful conflict. Don't worry, it won't be over lame fascist shit (see my OOC section for my feelings on that anyways).
Zhang has wants and is not emotionless. Sometimes, he puts it on as a front, but he is not one of those callous, cleverly-unfeeling, uber-logical villains who think only of their master plan. He can be sad. He can be smug and petty and vain. He can fall in love, be angry and full of rage and humiliated and overcome with longing. In fact, his passion is where most of his evil comes from. He feels everything very strongly. Which means that the things he wants, he puts first, which can be beneficial if people want the same thing.
Antagonism will cost your characters. I'm okay with largely antagonistic narratives (which is not to say it's required or even really a preference). However, understand that I'm mostly interested in narratives like these where the 'good guys' have to hurt... a lot... before they finally get what they want, to the point that it feels pyrrhic by the end. You will most likely spend the majority of the time as Zhang's plaything before it pays off.
quick snapshot
Sorcerers and omyoji looking for knowledge and power.
Desperate, down-on-their-luck individuals looking for relief, escape, or purpose.
People in power who want more power or to safeguard what they currently have - ownings, family, et cetera.
Any corruptible, exploitable, or repressed personality at all, probably, vulnerable to the temptation of his promises.
Priestesses (especially those from East Othard) who would normally want to oppose him, but lo: he's hot or he has something you need.
Criminal or law-seeking types looking to make use of his services or put them to a stop.
Anyone who has a quest that's important enough to them to make bad decisions and 'deals with the devil' to see it done.
Or players who would like to see their characters get a little dirt under their nails, lose a little of that perfect polish.
See some of these in expanded, atmospheric forms below!
rotten apples
You are his ideal mark: a stunningly learned scholar or sorcerer with either the right amount of intellectual arrogance or not a lick of common sense. You know the type, the one who couldn’t resist the promise of forbidden knowledge if it had a biohazard symbol stamped on it… and was on fire. He’ll ask you to do something for him, and in exchange, you can have this scroll. You don’t know what's on it? No worries, that’s why the first job is exceedingly simple, just to lay the groundwork for future cooperation and willingness to work together.
the ungentle mandarin
He finds you desperate, broke, or broken. He tells you he works for 'the capital' and takes you as you are. He tidies you up and cleans the blood from your mouth. You're lost and rudderless, but that's okay - many of the things he finds are. He knows just where to fit you in and how to give you purpose. Such harmless, simple jobs, too (little errands, courier work, maybe a bit of security detail if you have the skillset for it), but little-by-little, things change. Hopefully there’s still some of you left by the time you realise he’s been gnawing you up the whole time.
at the table with kings
You are a high noble, business magnate, grand abbess, politician, or some other individual of wealth, power, or influence. You are introduced to him by a colleague or dear friend at either a banquet, ball, house call, or social function. You've had trouble with that thing. What thing? It hardly matters now, since he's going to make it all go away. The two of you really could work wonders for each other.
gutter-angel
It's unfair, isn't it? To have all of that beauty inside you - the want and longing, the curiosity, the rage - and yet never really being able to touch even the surface of it. Suffocating, like a lifetime spent bound in a straightjacket by a dozen principles and strictures. You just never realised it... until him. And suddenly, when you're around him, it makes everything seem so much more obvious... so much easier, doesn't it? He makes everything feel so much... better.
sinnerman
Houses of pleasure and music, gambling dens, opium dives. He’s too finely dressed for places like this, and so maybe it was just a delusion from a night of alcohol or narcotics. A fever dream, it has to be, especially the more chilling parts of it. It has to be. Except, there he is again, after a knock at your door or approaching you in public. “Ready to get to work? We had an agreement.”
sparknote hooks
The miko or exorcist falling for the devilish boy; or simply being tricked by him; the model majordomo or fiendish vizier; it's neither gold nor an apple, but the 'gift' he gives you causes plenty of chaos anyways; the tragedy of getting what you want; an onmyoji or magus becoming his protege; it's okay if you don't have the money to repay him, he'll put you to work.
yes, please!
being open to headcanon and worldbuilding
themes of: horror; ritual; horrific rituals; obsession; spiritual corruption; flawed, nasty, no-good hotties
reading my guidelines in the 'hooks' section
distinguishing between the lore made simply to facilitate gameplay mechanics vs. the 'real stuff' (i.e. i prefer not to treat tomephones and fantasias as narrative canon, and i'm even iffy on aetherytes, idc how big they are...)
being 23+ irl strongly preferred; additionally, this character in particular has no business interacting with minors on any level whatsoever, so please ensure your characters are of a decent age, too.
please, no
ooc capitalists/libertarians, fascists (this includes being pro-Israel or pro any current government really), misogynists, transphobes, you get it
super-modern or sci-fi themes, glams, et cetera
making frequent references to plot-beats in the msq; i don't dislike the msq at all, but the thing is i've already played it and prefer writers who are confident enough in themselves to come up with their own content without feeling the need to call on the same stuff we've all already seen
miscellany
if i'm tagged up and you think our styles are a good fit, you're welcome to approach!
this is my ugliest carrd, please forgive me sire...!!
also be nice to me, it's the law
