Folkmore Application

[gonepostal]

★ Character Information ★

Character Name: Su Fei
Character Age: 27
Character Species: Human
Current Health: Alive. Down a leg, but that's just whatever at this point.
Outfit: Her favorite dress, though without the armor. The floral hair comb was a regain from the chest in her TDM threads. She'll also have her crutches, but not her wheelchair or prosthesis (they get much less use, anyway, so she'll be fine).

Character Canon: Original Character
Link to History: Her Toyhouse page should hopefully serve the same function as a wiki! Please ignore any mentions of Fire Emblem—she was originally designed for a tabletop campaign inspired by Fire Emblem (in a Fire Emblem Heroes/jamjar style, where each character was dragged in from a world of their own), but has been fully divorced from that franchise, beyond thematic inspirations, for Dreamwidth roleplaying purposes.
Canon Point: Years after the end of the war; by now, Su Fei has had a few years to adapt to her qilin and her courier service.
Canon Iteration: Original

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills:
✉️ Combat, generally. Su Fei used an axe to fight for a very long time, and the war hasn't been fully taken out of the woman; she's rusty, but her instincts always remember violence. She can more or less hold her own unarmed as well. She does not have much practice fighting on crutches or astride a horse (qilin), but she was good enough at what she did for long enough (and is good enough at navigating the world on crutches or horseback) that she can adapt.
✉️ Basic medical skills. Don't ask her to treat your infection or deal with a poison, but she can identify how severe your wound is and patch it up accordingly—at least well enough to hold until a medic gets there.
✉️ Overall strength. Su Fei is built like a brick shithouse. She's so strong. Within regular human capabilities, sure, but she's so strong.
✉️ Horseback riding and flight. She's been getting around on qilin-back for a long time, and she's good at navigating the world around her from there.
Canon Abilities: n/a! Su Fei has no supernatural, psychic, magic, etc. powers.
Role: Legend
Role Qualities/Attributes: I probably am not going to go for any visual physical changes; I might experiment with changing eye colors but I don't wanna hard commit to keeping it until I get to play with it a little! Meanwhile, some of the less obvious features—strength, durability, pain tolerance, bravery—are things Su Fei already has in spades, so I'm interested in enhancing them a little further.
Role Reasoning: As discussed later in the app, Su Fei does not for a moment consider herself a good person. Her self-esteem is hot garbage. She tries, but doesn't feel like she'll ever overcome old instincts built over the course of the war, and her inherent leanings towards violence will always follow and haunt her. That said, trying to be good is important to Su Fei. Being cast in a role that very explicitly says, "you are a good person, you are a representation of the kind of goodness you've always striven for," is going to 1) give Su Fei something to aspire to, and 2) put some significant pressure on her! Su Fei is going to want so desperately to live up to the status she's been given, but just the fact that it's being asked of her is going to make it even more of a struggle to do so. I'm excited to play out Su Fei working to be the best she can but struggling under the weight of the belief that she simply can't.

★ Personality ★

What is the most important and defining relationship(s) in your character's life and why?
Though Su Fei made many important connections over the course of the war, the one that defines her life most strongly is, whether she realizes it or not, her relationship with Jian. He was an orphan taken in as a ward of the temple her father ran, and while they were close in age and essentially raised together, she did not see him as a sibling for most of their lives. Still, he was always important to her, and a childhood of telling his bullies to back down turned eventually into Su Fei choosing to follow him when he went to war. Had it been anyone else who went, Su Fei wouldn't have tagged along, but if gentle and skittish Jian could go, why couldn't she? Besides, she had protected him this long.

In the end, she failed, though: when she waved him past her to treat someone else, he walked right into an imperial trap on the battlefield and was burned alive. It was far from the first time Su Fei had seen death, but this one hit her the hardest. Jian felt like her responsibility in many ways, and she blamed herself for sending him away, for not being there, for not doing enough. This is arguably the foundation of much of her trauma and her ongoing need to take responsibility for everything going on around her. His death reshaped the way she looks at relationships as well: she never was brave enough, in her mind, to call him brother until it was too late. These days, she's more conscious of not taking connections for granted.

What does your character feel like they struggle with still? Where could they improve? This could be physically, mentally, emotionally, or otherwise.
HOO BOY. HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE.

The woman is out of the war, but the inverse isn't quite true. Su Fei's instincts tend towards violence; she is most comfortable with a weapon in her hands, and when something makes her jump, the first thing she wants to do is start swinging. If she encounters trouble, her first thought is always how she can fight her way out of it. She hates this part of herself. Su Fei wants so desperately to be good, and doesn't feel like she can be anymore, after so many years of fighting and killing. She wants to be kind, gentle, patient, and warm, but Su Fei considers herself irrevocably broken. In her mind, she is a soldier before she is anything else, and this cannot change, no matter how much she wants it to. She works hard to stifle those old war instincts and do good for those around her, but her self-esteem is all but nonexistent, and she cannot see it as enough.

Is your character capable of forgiveness or will they hold a grudge until they die? Would anything ever make them change their mind?
Su Fei wants to be the kind of person who forgives. Smaller slights generally don't register on her radar, and she's quick to set aside concerns over a mistake, even a less-than-honest one. More significant transgressions, though, are unlikely to go without comment, and more than once, Su Fei has said "it's okay" but maintained an uncharacteristically cold persona in someone else's presence.

For the most part, good deeds can counteract bad ones for her: if she has reason to believe you're reliable when the chips are down, she's likely to look past old incidents—you'll just have to prove it to her. Seeing others she's holding a grudge against take care of or protect those around them, or otherwise act brave or virtuously, makes Su Fei feel guilty, like she's being petty. There are some lines one cannot uncross in her mind, but they are few: think murder of innocents, tyranny, torture. Otherwise, Su Fei tries to forgive others, she's just not very good at it.

If you could give your character a Taylor Swift playlist, which songs would be on it and what would they represent about your character?
can i just say this is the only important part of an app i've ever done. i'm not even a swiftie at all i had to RESEARCH for this but character playlists are all i care about so this was fun

Anti-Hero // i should not be left to my own devices / they come with prices and vices / i end up in crisis / i wake up screaming from dreaming / one day i'll watch as you're leaving
A neat and tidy encapsulation of the way Su Fei perceives herself: as someone who is deeply flawed and incapable of being good, no matter how hard she tries; there is an inherent evil in her and it will destroy her someday.


The Archer // combat, i'm ready for combat / i say i don't want that but what if i do
There is, of course, an obvious hook for this one: Su Fei's instincts eternally returning to fighting and violence, whether she likes it or not. Similarly to Anti-Hero, this reflects a lot of her self-perception and the way she considers herself broken and irredeemable because of her past. Also the room is on fire, invisible smoke / and all of my heroes die all alone is just. Chef's kiss. What a line for someone who watched most of her war friends die in fights where the enemy utilized new fire technology!!


Peace // but i'm a fire and i'll keep your brittle heart warm / if your cascade, ocean wave blues come / all these people think love's for show / but I would die for you in secret / the devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me / would it be enough if i could never give you peace?
A choice specifically to highlight her relationship with Meili—they met during the war as comrades and ended up romantically involved. Su Fei lost her leg taking a blow intended for Meili. After the war ended, so did their relationship; a mutual decision based on the realization that now that they were trying to return to normal lives, they simply weren't much good for each other. Still, especially as the only surviving two left from their old group, they remain extremely close, with Su Fei even being the godmother of Meili's kids. They may not be able to give each other peace, a return to the lives they lived before, but their support for each other is unconditional.

★ Player Information ★

Player Name: Courtney
Pronouns: she/her
Are you over 18?: yes
Contact(s): nidorina (preferred), Courtney#0069 on discord
Who Invited You?: AF
Current Characters: n/a
Permissions: Here
Writing Samples: Murdergame meme, Jamjar-setting PSL