First I just want to thank you beforehand for reading this application. It's not the first time I've applied, but if this one gets approved it will be my first character on GarouMUSH. I do hope this application will show that I've learned -something- from the comments my previous tries received (one of them being not to apply for lupus ;)) I've run this app through a semi-functional wringer: asking opinions from the players on the MUSH, reading all the other applications that I could find, reading logs, perusing the primer and such. I hope it's acceptable. :) I know I have the tendency to describe too much, so I thought it'd be a plus if I summarized my character's story. Some OOC notes, such as a little more on the people the character's interacted with, are also included at the end of the application. So without further ado, my application. They say third time's a charm... ;)
--STATISTICS--
Name: Song Yi Ling, ~Three-Blades~
Race: Garou
Breed: Homid
Auspice: Ragabash
Tribe: Bone Gnawers
Rank: 1-Cliath
Age: 17
--SYNOPSIS--
Born to a mafia-connected father with a penchant for Mah Jong and a Gnawer mother, Yi grows up in the lower class side of Hong Kong. For the beginnings of her life, she is shunned at the school she attends because her ragged appearance is worse that the other children’s appearances are. At night gang members who are on the look out for a decent face and new blood or try to bully her about her father hound her. Perhaps it's through luck, a little bit of spirit-watching, and a school sister who takes pity on Yi, that the young girl manages to get a semi-decent institutional education and avoid the gangs that plague the backwaters of HK. After celebrating her 13th birthday by herself in the family's rundown apartment, Yi finds out her father 'disappeared,' being consumed by the consequences of the gambling bug and cheating in a gang casino. Her mother follows her husband to her death, and Yi is left to run her life to her own accord. To Yi, her family isn't much of a family, but she is still tied to them through blood. She keeps what little memory of her parents alive and continues that facade in school, telling any inquisitive teachers that they are constantly out on business. Only her loyal friend and classmate, Li Ching, knows the truth.
The years following find Yi working on the docks in the mornings before school starts and guiding tourists with Li Ching through the scenic routes of HK for what meager living income she can scrape up and pay for apartment rent and food. Li provides Yi with the only pseudo-family and current stable happiness in her life, so Yi guards her sister with a fierce jealousy. At 16 years, the two girls are ripe targets for the hormonally driven boys that they are constantly around. Jin Shu, a member of a local gang, tries to charm his way inside Yi's iron grasp of Li by playing boy flirt with Yi. The Garou cub finds herself rather annoyed at the plot, but keeps up the facade of nonchalance just as she'd done at school. Then one night, Jin Shu comes to 'visit' Yi at her apartment, where the two girls are keeping each other company. He helps himself to Li while the other is downstairs at the grocers buying a few snacks. She comes back, sees Jin Shu breaking her iron hold of Li, and her Firsting results in a break of trust, a shattered friendship, and three dead machete-wielding members of the Dragon's Fang. Yi gains her street name, leaves her one true childhood friend on the girl's home's doorsteps, and turns away.
A local Gnawer pack hears the wild rumors flying around of something grotesquely killing three members of Dragon's Fang. A teenage girl living by herself, non-affiliated with any gang, and killing three knifewielders singlehandedly is just too unbelievable to be left alone. Their suspicion is confirmed as the kinfetch arrives and leads them to the docks where Yi still works. They follow her, kidnap her, and hide her until the Fangs think her dead. Then, they let her out, and Grandmother teaches Yi about the Garou. Yi's Rite of Passage involves lessons of facing challenges and teamwork since she is used to running and being alone. After a few more months of living in the Sept of Rat's Tail, Grandmother calls Yi to run an errand for the old Gnawer elder. The errand: to go to America and say 'Hi' on her behalf to the kinfolk. Yi thinks she will get to go to the big cities of San Francisco or Los Angeles, and meet all sorts of new faces. She is told her destination is St. Claire, Washington. So, before she could turn back, Yi is tossed into a fish crate, stowing away on a shipping boat to St. Claire. Her last lesson from Grandmother is learned: Never say you'll do favors until you know what is the real favor.
---STORY IN DETAIL (and in first person)---
I remember the time when the no-moons would say they'd throw any rowdy cubs onto the next shipping boat for America. "Toss you in like a batch of sawfish, and off you go," they'd cackle. I always thought it was a joke. Well, I hope they're laughing through their spittle-ridden jaws now. So while we're sitting amidst these slime-covered seafloppers, why don't I tell you a little joke about myself?
---
The streets of Hong Kong are a great place to get food. More particularly, a knuckle sandwich and bullet holes. And here I am, born to an all-you-can-eat buffet. I won't bore you with the details of exactly what happened between Ma and Ba, but the gist of it is that they met each other at a club's back alley. He'd 'saved' her from a couple of testosterone-filled drunks, and later banged her instead. She was surprisingly grateful. Why? He offered to buy her a drink. Nah, not just that. He liked her enough to let her have the keys to his place, and the two played out like some sappy library romance with the background set in The Godfather. My ma was a Gnawer, just as I am. Any room with a couple of warm blankets, some cheap soup noodles, a TV and a couple of rats for company was welcome enough. I think her luck transferred over through a knotted birth canal, along with a couple of Rat-fetch.
---
I called myself lucky. I humored the spirits well enough to keep my parents 'til I was old enough to run from the jocks and teachers at school by day, and machete-wielding street gangs by night. After my 13th birthday, my father thought it noble to sacrifice a limb or three to the Mah Jong gamblers down the street. My mother went tumbling after. At least she left me with the keys to the place. With Ma and Ba since drowned under the riptide of the HK underworld, I've had to stand on my own ten toes. Life was good for the most part, very rough and tumble around the backwater parts of town and the occasional verbal fight in school. Yeah, I stayed in school. Even if my parents hadn't the grandest of education, my mother left me with the impression that I had to acquire a few more solid brain cells than my father. Besides, how else can I joke around, if I can't read any of the comics I get these lines from?
---
A few years of working on the docks and guiding tourists through the markets paid off enough of the gang heads to stop breathing over my neck for my father's gambling debts. The fishmongers didn't seem to mind an extra pair of hands in loading and cleaning fish, or an extra pair of breasts to fantasize about. The foreign folk loved their Kodak moments. From the ever-popular presence of American tourists, I managed to learn communicable English. Who could resist a pair of schoolgirls willing to give foreigners a quick tour of the camera-shots of the city? Li Ching and I made some quick bucks with just a nice phrase and a smile. Well, she did most of the talking, and I just smiled and added comments. The shopkeepers appreciated our tact when we lured the hapless moneybags into their souvenir and grocery shops.
---
Looking out for my little school sister was a near full-time job. Sweetest little girl you'd ever know, always bringing extra snacks or a spare rice ball at lunch, completely ignoring all the disapproving glares and jeers from our classmates, and somehow always managing to stick her nose into the wrong places. Still, I shadowed her enough to whisk her out of a few crocodile jaws before they snapped down. I had my share of troubles with the locals, but managed to scrape enough of a living and maintain a truce with the local folk. The gangs were annoyed I didn't see any of them fit to join up, but they eventually found other new bloods to bother. So came my dance just outside the system; they didn't bother me, and I wouldn't eagerly go tramping through their turf. Li was a different story. Even the innocents have their wild sides, you know? I don't think her parents knew of her flip side, but they found me harmless enough to leave little impression on their Little Li. I intended for it to stay that way, but I guess I just wasn't lucky enough for that.
---
Little Li's charming ways earned her the eye of a member of the Dragon's Fang. The guy's name was Jin Shu, and he was a cunning little worm. Seeing me with Li all the time, he figured he would charm me first. Li found it all very tantalizing, her older 'sister' finally getting some love in life. I played along, not wanting to break her dreams about me. Those dreams quickly turned into nightmares. Li and I were in my since rundown apartment, keeping ourselves amused with the day's stories. We'd called Li's parents to let her know where she was (heck I wasn't -that- uncultured in my manners) and that I'd take her home in an hour. Oddly enough, they placed their trust on me. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for breaking it. Anyway, Jin found out where I lived (probably from one of the school snitches) and he came knocking. I couldn't have turned him away with Li smiling as she opened the screen door. With a polite cough, I took the keys and made my way down the stairs to get a few more snacks for our 'guest.' When I returned, I found Li sprawled over my floor and Jin's hand over her mouth, making his presence much too welcome. That night, my Rage broke loose faster than a snake's bite. Jin managed to make it out with a pair of chopsticks jammed through his shoulder, and one monster snapping at his spine. A couple of his friends were waiting in an alley outside, a blade apiece. Suffice to say, I locked up my place, took a cleaned-up but shatter-brained Li home, left her on the doorsteps and never made myself clearly visible to her again.
---
Gossip-worthy news spreads through Hong Kong alleys like wildfire. I managed to twist the flying flames enough to cut Li from the picture, and she was quiet about the events of that night. She and her parents moved up to Beijing shortly after that night, and I'm glad I'd gotten in a last goodbye. I'd left a note, saying it was too hot in Hong Kong, and she should go looking for a decent fan. After her parting, suddenly everyone I connected myself to was after my case. Not just the Dragon's Fang, but also a particular low profile pack who called themselves the Rat's Tail. I was already running from my enemies and myself at the time. I thought I found it easy enough to run from these pursuers too. I should've noticed they weren't chasing me with machetes, but they -were- running on four legs. So that's how I finally fell from my lone perch in society and joined up with my second family. They gave me a nice warm welcome, stuffing me in a closet as the Fangs came searching for the suddenly infamous 'Three-Blades.' I think even the rats began to find my welcome a bit trying, though I did scrounge up my manners and apologize for any stepped on tails.
---
The year following my joining to the Rat's Tail was shortly filled with drama, adventure, and of course, more closet space. They told me I was Garou, and a Gnawer at that. Okay, I had a few more labels to add to my nametags. I did, however, greatly appreciate this curse of a changing gift. Shifting to four paws and slipping away saved my hide more than once since I learned how to control the ability, and it helped me save others from a less than gracious fate. Learning about how we Garou used to watch over humans like a bunch of sheep, I was reminded about Little Li. That set a pain in my heart, and a liquid fire in my eyes. Grandmother was gracious enough not to press me about it, but I eventually told her. She taught me the Litany. That was a great shocker - now I had rules and responsibilities. I'll always respect Grandmother's words enough to fire them from my fangs at the leeches, fish bait, and any threat that come crawling in from the docks.
---
I think I'm boring you. I suppose I should tell you how I got stuck in this fish crate, eh? Yeah, it's about time I told the punch line. I had to pass a test. Of course I knew it was going to be more than writing an essay. I never thought China was so big, or as hazardous, until my rite of passage started. Luckily, I didn't do it alone. And lucky me, I was doing it with a bunch of Gnawer cubs like myself. Our mission, whether or not we chose to accept it, was making it back to the caern in two weeks time, and to bring a few souvenirs for the elders. Easy enough, except when you consider we were dumped down in the middle of Shanghai with a few hundred yen. Lucky us. To make things short, we managed to work our way onto a fishing barge, and float back down into Hong Kong without too many cub-overboard situations. Our lesson was learned: working together as a pack gains a greater goal, and saves many a cub from a watery grave. Grandmother appreciated our gifts of the fishing barge and a couple of true jade rat statues to the pack's possessions, and let us newly rited Gnawer cubs clean up the boat for a new, floating, living space as our reward. I think my personal lesson was I would be around fish for the rest of my life.
---
Not long after, I was sent for to run some errands. My task was to deliver a 'Hi' message to our Kinfolk in the U.S.A. "Great!" I thought. I would finally get to see "Gold Mountain," or as the tourists called it, San Francisco. Or, maybe I'd get to go to Los Angeles, or perhaps even Seattle. Any place that was different perked my curiosity. I gladly accepted the errand. I learned another lesson then - don't say you'll do a favor before you know exactly what the favor is. Before I knew it, I was standing out on the docks again in the middle of the night, with a small pack of clothes slung over my shoulder, and a couple of family to see me off. With a lighthearted laugh, Uncle tossed me a small money pouch and threw me up and into a fishing crate along with a few other humans. Our destination: St. Claire, Washington, U.S.A. What kind of a place is St. Claire? Well, hopefully it's some place I'll find my luck dancing under the moonlight. And maybe, a place with a little more than just fish.
---OOC NOTES---
Sept of Rat's Tail: A triad of Gnawer packs near the docks of Hong Kong, with their fair share of Glass Walker interaction due to local triads and gangs. The sept isn't too large, about 25 or so total Garou and kinfolk amidst three separate packs, but the connections they have span far and wide through the tribe.
Grandmother Rui: The oldest elder in the caern, a motherly Philodox (rank 4) with a sense of sharp wit that boggles even some of the quickest Ragabash. She heads the Caern of Rat's Tail, taught Yi the Litany and decided her RoP. She is not particularly well traveled herself, but does attentively listen to any of the talesingers that pass through or even just the ramble of someone who wants to talk. She tries to keep in touch with the kinfolk and other septs in larger cities of the U.S. where orientals may reside. (Whether the Gnawers in St. Claire know of her or not, would be something I'd work out with whoever is in charge)
Yi's mother (Tsao Luen Shi, ~Reads-In-Darkness~): A Bone Gnawer Theurge, she made it a key goal in her life to try and give Yi a better life than she had, whether or not her daughter turned out to be Garou. She was Yi's first stable source of family, as Yi's father was always out working, and then gambling the earned money away. Luen worked at the club she met Yi's father at, and continued working there until her death. She was not a member of the Sept of Rat's Tail, but from another caern deeper in the city. The only reason why her caern members did not retrieve Yi, was that the Sept of Rat's Tail got to Yi first. It didn't matter too much, since the two Gnawer septs kept in contact. Her love for her corrupt husband was her tragic downfall, and though Yi doesn't know it, her mother had died trying to protect her father from the angered vampires he gambled with.
Kinfolk in St. Claire: The person she is looking for is one that Grandmother Rui called, "Xia Doh." Yi wasn't given a description, but she knows the person is affiliated with Garou.
Yi's personality: While seemingly very extroverted in the self-narrated bio given, all her wit and words usually never make it past her throat. She grew up in the clash of British/Chinese culture and the underground rebellion of youth, where manners are a required tradition, and at the same time those manners are thrown aside when blades are drawn and bullets fired. She has known the family life since she did live with both parents until she was 13, and then with various Gnawers in the caern's boundaries. Yi is a sort of happy-go-lucky girl, but underneath the mask of the clown are some very black tears that she holds back from flooding; the act of crying is seen a sort of weakness, a source of vulnerability, in the environment and culture Yi was raised in. Since her First Change, Yi has cautioned herself from attaching readily and closely to anyone, for fear of losing the companionship she’d gain. The break off of her companionship with Li hits her hardest; the ingrained fear of failure that comes from her culture sits heavily inside her, and deep down she feels she failed Li. Though she distances herself from others, she also is searching for something, or someone, to fill the hole that Li left.
Yi's appearance: I haven't quite thought of a description, but she is recognizably Cantonese in appearance to anyone who knows their Oriental Asians- dark brown hair down to a little past the middle of her back, coffee brown eyes, golden tinged, tanned skin, and a lean, compact, muscular albeit unkempt look from working outside and running around Hong Kong. If she were cleaned up a bit and 'deodorized' of fish stink, she could pass as an average Glass Walker easily if she keeps her mouth shut (which she does often anyway.) Clothing most obviously gives her away to be lower class: dirty fraying T-shirt with the classic Asian jumble of English words that mean nothing on it, jeans, and muddied grey sneakers that are almost worn down to the last of the rubber soles. Her small pack contains her slightly fraying school uniform, another T-shirt, and a comb.
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That's it! :) My congratulations and admiration to you for getting to the end of this long app. (I hope, at least, it was a bit as interesting as a woman's skirt.) If I make it through the initial pick and you've got questions, please ask away. Again, thanks for reading it, and I hope I get accepted to GarouMUSH.
-Viv