demonhealer | Application @ empatheias

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Rea
Contact:

NearTheHeart
Age: 22
Current Characters:Winry Rockbell (

shadowsthedawn), Tifa Lockhart (

amemoryorus)

⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Cho Hakkai, previously Cho Gonou
Age: 23
Canon: Saiyuki
Canon Point: Saiyuki: Reload vol. 10, chapter 50. (The end of Reload basically)

Background: Hakkai’s wiki, general Saiyuki wiki

Personality: What is first apparent about Hakkai is the fact that, compared to his traveling companions, he seems to be the one that is most normal and in possession of the most basic of manners that his fellows seem in complete lack of. He thanks the people they meet in their travels for their hospitality, berates his teammates for terrible table manners (mostly Goku), and forcibly diffuses the tension between the group when they are in public so that they don’t all look like a bunch of lunatics (or well he tries anyways. Half the time they look like lunatics anyways before the day is over.) He’s basically the team mom in all the ways that matter; he’s teacher to Goku, a thoughtful ear to Sanzo, and ~~keeper~~ best friend to Gojyo, while being the voice of reason for everyone.

But despite all of this, underneath Hakkai’s outer exterior of gentlemanly kindness, lies a man far more dangerous and messed up. Once upon a time he had been a regular guy, a school teacher, who lived quite happily with his sister/lover Kanan, until the day she was kidnapped by a youkai who forcibly impregnated her, leading her to kill herself before Hakkai’s eyes. So if this wasn’t traumatizing enough, Hakkai retaliates by going on a rampage against the youkai and his men, killing them all singlehandedly and in return he gets turned into a youkai himself. I only rehash this out here so it can really be understood that Hakkai has a deeply complicated and resentful relationship with youkai, including himself. For a long time the very thought of befriending or accepting a youkai’s existence was hard on him, including accepting what he had become. This is why he’s so off put by Gojyo’s youkai friend Benri from the start, and is dismissive and even disgusted by Benri’s rhetoric of youkai being free of limiters. The limiters Hakkai wears act both as a reminder of what he is now and also keeps him from having to fully face what he’s become. However, his approach to youkai has changed significantly over the years. Through their travels Hakkai and his group have experienced the prejudice and foul treatment of humans and youkai from both sides. The group, minus Sanzo, even spend some time in a youkai village which really opens their eyes to the fact that the youkai have as much reason to hate humans as vice versa. But what’s telling is the fact that Hakkai and the others really get to know these youkai, come to like them, and grieve for them. Hakkai, over time, has become more comfortable with acknowledging the youkai aspect of himself, and seeing other youkai as more than just monsters, even though he still keeps his limiters on at all times. But this has much to do with the Minus Wave and its effect on youkai as well.

Hakkai also carries a great deal of guilt and remorse for his past actions. Despite his complicated relationship with youkai, it does not escape him that he murdered people who had lives and families of their own. At one point he gets confronted by a loved one of a youkai he killed and he goes so far as to start tearing his own eye out in repentance, until Goku comes along and tells him to knock it off. So it can be said that Hakkai has a bit of flair for the theatrical and macabre. Repentance is a big deal for Hakkai, who changed his name from Gonou after Sanzo earned him his freedom from the Three Aspects. From that point he feels an obligation, to Sanzo but also to himself, to live a better life without regrets.

He, as well as his companions, has a very pragmatic view of the world. Their favorite saying is that “from now until the day I die the only side I’m on is my own” and this describes the group well in general, but Hakkai specifically in that he wants to help people when they’re in need, but he’s not here to be their hero and tell them that everything is going to be okay. The group as a whole preaches a very “pull yourself up and walk on” mentality that they do follow themselves. They don’t allow themselves to be defeated by the horrible things they encounter on the road, and I’m only speaking broadly of the group in this way because they very much have a pack mentality regarding this philosophy of theirs.

Although he tends to be the straight man of the group a lot of the time, Hakkai has a very unique sense of humor that sometimes arises in strange moments. It goes from anything between lightly teasing to outright verbally eviscerating someone with a smile on his face. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when Hakkai is joking and when he’s gearing up to beat someone’s ass, something which is very unsettling for his travel companions.
Which brings me to the fact that Hakkai is a king at keeping a straight face; his smile is a lot like the Mona Lisa’s in that it can be interpreted a million ways but good luck in actually figuring out what he’s feeling at any given moment. Hakkai’s appearance, the way he speaks and acts, can very much be used to his advantage in that he looks the most reserved and plain of his group, but he’s probably the most dangerous, something that his teammates are well aware of. And it takes a lot to break through Hakkai’s general calm reserve, but once done people tend to regret it. Sure fire ways to get under Hakkai’s skin tend to be related to his past and harm coming to his teammates.

And just as a note, because Hakkai is so good at disguising his emotions, shoving them down, a lot of the effects he’ll cause the environment (when he does cause an effect at all) will probably be very small, barely noticeable things. Bigger effects will likely only happen what he’s under a great emotional strain or feeling something quite strongly, and I hope I conveyed this in his sample.

Abilities:
Chi Manipulation: Hakkai is able to manipulate his chi both offensively and defensively. He can create blasts with his chi capable of taking out individuals, as well as use his chi to create shields or barriers around himself and/or his group to protect against outside attacks. He can also use his chi to heal wounds, but as he cannot restore blood loss or repair excessive damage, his abilities extend more towards minor injuries, broken bones, and such.

Youkai Form: When Hakkai removes the cuffs on his ear, his limiters, he releases his youkai or “demon” form which has heightened sense, speed, agility, and strength. In this form he also has vine tattoos that wrap around his body which he can manipulate and use as weapons against his opponent.

Misc: Hakkai has good marksmanship and is fairly capable in handling a gun. He also has decent hand-to-hand skills when the situation calls for it.

Alignment: Sosyne. Hakkai is overall a very calm and stable presence, preferring to be the calm and logical one amidst his otherwise emotional and aggressive companions. But he also has another side of him that harbors a lot of anger stemming from things which happened in his past, although he does his best to keep this side of him under wraps.

Other: Hakkai has a small pet dragon named Jeep/Hakuryuu who serves as both his companion and the group’s mode of transportation through his ability to shapeshift into a Jeep. As he spends most of his time in canon as a Jeep or in the background, I don’t believe he has enough character to be app-able and I would like to request that he be brought to Verens with Hakkai if possible. (Just to be clear he also doesn’t speak but does make little humming sounds.)

⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample: TDM

Questions: N/A