( application )
OOC
NAME: KeiAGE: 35
CONTACT:
CHARACTER(S): None
IC
NAME: Zhongli (A.K.A Morax, Rex Lapis)AGE: 6000+, appears to be late 20s/early 30s
SUITABILITY: Though not human, Zhongli is over 6000 years old, takes the form of an adult man, and is regularly shown to both behave as and be perceived as an adult.
CANON: Genshin Impact
CANON POINT: End of the Fontaine arc / Version 4.2 | Zhongli hasn't appeared on screen since the start of the Fontaine arc, but his voice lines indicate that he's aware of the world state as of that moment.
ABILITIES
Combat
Zhongli is skilled in the use of polearms, spears, lances, and other such weapons. Furthermore, he's well-versed in the tactics of fighting solo or alongside others, against single enemies or groups of them. He's not a prodigy or anything like that, but he can more than hold his own.
Geo
As a skilled wielder of Geo energy (or earth element magic), Zhongli is able to manipulate it to a variety of ends. Examples of this include:
- Creating shields that can absorb all types damage (up to a certain threshold)
- Resonating with other elements to create shields that block specific elemental damages
- Summoning stone pillars, which themselves can radiate bursts of Geo energy
- Instantly creating objects from stone, like meteors and spears
- Freely manipulating and shaping the objects he creates
While there is some downtime between his ability to do these things, and his energy isn't limitless, these are all fairly simple tasks by his standards. It isn't difficult for him to repeat them over and over again in a short period of time.
Geo Archon
The skills listed above are only a small fraction of what Zhongli is capable of when manipulating Geo, the sort of things he can do repeatedly without exerting himself. Zhongli is, to put it simply, a god. Specifically, a god of contracts, wealth, and the element Geo. Stories, mythology, and legends have attributed all manner of apparently true feats to him, such as raising mountains, lowering sea levels, throwing giant stone spears large enough to form an island chain after they landed, carving functional eyes for a blind dragon, shapeshifting (into both a dragon form and a variety of human forms), crafting money that contains magic power, creating pocket dimensions, and defeating many other powerful gods in combat.VICES
Nerfing Note: Obviously, everything listed above is very powerful in a potentially game-breaking way. However, in canon Zhongli has recently made a decision to step back from his role as a god. Furthermore, Zhongli will view his participation in Game 52 as a form of contract between himself and the hotel, and so he will not use his abilities to try to destroy or escape the Golden Peacock. If possible, I'd like to ask to keep all of his extra impressive abilities intact, but only use the destructive ones with mod permission during appropriately dramatic situations. And if it's not possible, I'm happy to drop them entirely!
▶ UNCOMPROMISING: This isn't to say that Zhongli is unable to negotiate or refuses to engage in any sort of give-and-take, and he does both of those things often. However, once Zhongli considers a contract, discussion, or debate settled, he is entirely unwilling to budge from those agreed upon parameters. What the parameters may be doesn't matter. He's even enforced a contract in which one party was already dead, and punished the surviving party for violating the rules of that contract.
▶ LACKING PERSPECTIVE: A point that will come up a lot when discussing Zhongli is that he's very old and very powerful. While this comes with a good number of advantages, it does mean that his ability to relate to and blend in with mortal societies is touchy at best. The best example of this is his relationship with money. Zhongli is the god of wealth, and all the the money in Teyvat was created using his power. But having access to a theoretically infinite amount of money—enough that he once built multiple houses out of coins—means that he has no idea how to develop a budget, makes endless impulsive purchases, and frequently ends up broke and needing other people to foot the bill for him.
▶ COLD: Even without considering his non-human perspective on the world, Zhongli is not a cruel person. Nevertheless, his sense of propriety reigns supreme in nearly any situation. He has informed old friends that he wouldn't help them if they undertook certain tasks even though he was perfectly capable of offering his help; given a woman information that induced a severe crisis of faith after she broke the terms of a contract; and sealed an old friend of his in a prison for centuries. No matter how sentimental he can be at times, he doesn't allow that sentimentality to overrule his logic.
VIRTUES
▶ PATIENT: Zhongli has no issue having to wait a while to get the results he needs. Whether it's a plan that takes years to enact, a meeting with friends he has to wait months for, or a pot of tea that takes hours to brew, he shows little to no signs of impatience or discontent. Something worth doing it worth taking the time to do properly—which is why the few times he shows signs of impatience are usually with people that cause delays or detours not because of their careful planning, but because they're goofing off or intentionally slacking off.
▶ DILIGENT: This is the upside to Zhongli's 'uncompromising' flaw: when he dedicates himself to a cause, he does not waver in his dedication to that cause. For thousands of years he has adhered to his contract to protect the people of Liyue, and only ceded his role as a god when he realized that the people of Liyue would be better off no longer relying on him. In the course of making that decision, and as part of another contract his formed, he even permanently surrendered an item that personified his authority as a god to another party. At no point did he protest or seem unhappy with these arrangements, instead approaching each incident with patience and dignity.
▶ KIND: Despite the importance of diligence, upholding contracts, and following his head over his heart, one of the first things we learn about Zhongli is that he's a kind person. Upon finding a treasured heirloom that a man was forced to pawn to pay for medical treatment, Zhongli doesn't hesitate to pay off the man's debt and allow him to reclaim said heirloom. He acquires powerful and rare medicines for his sick friends. He praises his subordinates for their contributions to Liyue's prosperity. He speaks warmly about the other Archons and the sacrifices they've made. No matter what else he says and does, kindness is ultimately what guides a majority of Zhongli's decisions.
SURVEY
▶ I REGULARLY MAKE NEW FRIENDS.
▷ 1. Zhongli isn't what anyone would describe as a social butterfly, and it's hard to tell what he's thinking at a given moment. However, Zhongli is extraordinarily well-connected and regularly seen in the company of new acquaintances. His erudite nature makes it easy for him to strike up a conversation with nearly anyone, and he does so often. That said, nearly all of his close relationships are with his subordinates or those he has contracts with. The closest friendship he has with someone that could be considered his peer is with the wind god, Venti—and while it's a genuine friendship, their contrasting personalities means their relationship can be a touch acerbic at times.
▶ SEEING OTHER PEOPLE CRY MAKES ME WANT TO CRY TOO.
▷ 5. Zhongli is not a cruel person, and he doesn't have a heart of stone. Nevertheless, he isn't someone that reflects or resonates with the emotions of others and he has an easy time maintaining composure in the face of someone else's distress.
▶ I OFTEN MAKE A BACKUP PLAN FOR A BACKUP PLAN.
▷ 3. Zhongli doesn't leave things to chance, but he doesn't spend all of his time scheming contingency plans. So while he'll consider and plan for a handful of possibilities in a given situation, he's not going to waste his time playing 5D chess over scenarios that may never occur.
▶ I USUALLY STAY CALM, EVEN WHEN UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE.
▷ 1. When you're 6000 years old you learn to maintain a level head even in extraordinary strange or distressing situations. It's rare to even see Zhongli surprised, never mind discomposed. Amusingly, the situations most likely to make his composure slip are extremely low-stakes ones, like being teased by an old friend in front of newer acquaintances, or being called on to judge a poetry contest.
▶ I AM VERY SENTIMENTAL.
▷ 1. In contrast to his apparent lack of empathy, Zhongli is a deeply sentimental person. He talks often of the friends he's lost to tragedy; honors those friends during festivals for remembering lost loved ones; is often found sitting in quiet reflection at a place where he used to regularly meat with one such friend; and in his mortal alter ego he specializes in funeral rites for adepti, many of whom are his personal friends.
▶ EVEN A SMALL MISTAKE CAN CAUSE ME TO DOUBT MY OVERALL ABILITIES AND KNOWLEDGE.
▷ 5. Zhongli has been alive for a very long time, and has made his share of mistakes in that time. Bluntly, he can't afford to lose confidence in himself every time he messes up. So he neither dwells on nor denies his mistakes, and instead opts to learn from them, correct them when he can, and move on.
▶ I AM MORE INCLINED TO FOLLOW MY HEAD THAN MY HEART.
▷ 1. While Zhongli can be, and often is, deeply sentimental, he's not someone that's ruled by his emotions. He is methodical, patient, and thoughtful and prefers to carefully think through any decisions he makes.
▶ I AM PRONE TO WORRYING THAT THINGS WILL TAKE A TURN FOR THE WORSE.
▷ 4. Again, Zhongli has been alive for a very long time and had to deal with a huge variety of strange, unusual, and dangerous situations. He's aware of how quickly a bad situation can get even worse, and just as aware that needlessly stressing about it will get him nowhere. He is far from carefree, however, so while the worries don't consume him they're not far from his thoughts, either.
▶ I ENJOY WATCHING PEOPLE ARGUE.
▷ 2. Zhongli isn't someone that's eager to see any fights, but he does enjoy witnessing debates, negotiations, diplomatic meetings, academic arguments, and so on. He finds the perspectives of others quite interesting and is always curious to see them express and defend those ideas. Debates are just a good setting to see people thoroughly express and discuss their ideas, principles, and philosophical standpoints.
▶ I TEND TO AVOID DRAWING ATTENTION TO MYSELF.
▷ 3. This is a matter where intent and results diverge. Zhongli is, in fact, trying to blend in now that he's retired from being a god. The problem is that Zhongli is really weird. He's an apparently perpetually broke wanderer of unknown origin who has the appearance of a young man and the personality of someone's grandpa. And yet he is also an elegant individual with refined, precise tastes and an encyclopedic knowledge on a huge variety of subjects. Despite his best efforts, he tends to stick out in people's memories.
▶ I OFTEN DO THINGS AT THE LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT.
▷ 5. If Zhongli has plans to do something, he tends to act on those plans whenever the time is right. Sometimes this calls on him to delay acting until he's certain he needs to, but he is neither a slacker nor a procrastinator. He won't put off doing something unless there's a good reason for it.
▶ I FIND IT EASY TO EMPATHIZE WITH A PERSON WHOSE EXPERIENCES ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM MINE.
▷ 1. Empathy isn't the most accurate word, as Zhongli does not often echo the emotions of people around him. Nevertheless, he is keenly aware of how varied the experiences of humans and the other residents of Teyvat can be, and he always takes care to try to understand those experiences and reflect on how they influence their decisions and behavior.
▶ I BECOME BORED OR LOSE INTEREST WHEN THE DISCUSSION GETS HIGHLY THEORETICAL.
▷ 5. Completely the opposite! While Zhongli's interests do tend to align more with the grounded and practical aspects of life, he still deeply enjoys theoretical and philosophical discussions. As mentioned above, he loves to see other people argue for and defend their ideas. He has absolutely no issues engaging in those discussions himself, and can often be found doing so at various restaurants and tea houses in Liyue.
▶ I RARELY FEEL INSECURE.
▷ 2. Zhongli has had a long time to become secure with himself and his role in the world. He's not immune to self-doubt, however, and in recent years began to question if it was in the best interest of the people of Liyue to maintain his role as their god. He eventually devised a way to test if his existence as a god was still necessary—and when he determined that it was not, he willingly stepped aside.
▶ I AM STILL BOTHERED BY MISTAKES I MADE A LONG TIME AGO.
▷ 1. This is an interesting one. On many occasions Zhongli has mentioned old friends he misses, unhappy memories that stick with him, and events that he would have liked to see play out differently. Of particular note, the events of a war 500 years ago had a profound impact on him. Profound enough to set off a chain reaction of decisions that eventually resulted in him willingly surrendering part of his godhood. However, it's important to note that he doesn't wallow in these emotions. He accepts them and moves forward, preserving the memories while taking measures to ensure they don't happen again.
RANK REQUESTS: Ace, Jack, 10, or 7.
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