lightninghavoc | Empatheias application

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Meowzy
Contact:

Meowzy
Age: 31
Current Characters: Rose Quartz

⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Yuan Ka-Fai
Age: 4000+ years old
Canon: Tales of Symphonia
Canon Point: After the first game.

Background:
Wiki page

Personality:
Yuan is an extremely withdrawn person, refusing to place too much of his trust in others. If something needs to be done, he will try it himself, only asking for help when he has no other options left. He believes that the end justifies the means and will easily sacrifice others (if necessary) to reach his goals. This doesn't just pertain to innocent teenage girls, as he was prepared to take the life of his best friend if that was what it would take to reunite the two worlds. Yes, he did the Mana transfer thing to save Kratos's butt, but there were plenty of assassination attempts before that. Yuan could hardly have saved Kratos if he'd succeeded in killing him in Hima, just before Colette headed out to the Tower of Salvation. Aside from this, he won’t hesitate to sink to the level of blackmail. The fact that Lloyd is his friend's son doesn't gain the slightest bit of sympathy from Yuan, instead only painting a big target on Lloyd's back as a tool to manipulate Kratos. (And in the OVA, Yuan goes so far as to injure Lloyd just to increase the pressure on Kratos.)

Needless to say, Yuan is not a nice guy. He's a pessimist and bears a particularly bad grudge towards humans. Or, as Lloyd describes it, he has “a real negative attitude”. This is likely due to the high level of half-elf discrimination that has been reigning the world for over 5000 years. He refuses to admit his mistakes or apologize for anything, likely seeing this as a sign of weakness. The only time he swallows his pride and asks for something nicely is when he's desperate to retrieve his old engagement ring from Lloyd. Quick to raise his defense, Yuan will easily lose his temper when challenged or mocked. In fact, in Tales of Fandom Vol 2, Kratos states that the only honest part of Yuan is his temper. Colette, however, has an entirely different take on Yuan's character. She says that “he always looks a bit cross, but he's really doing all he can to find happiness.” Zelos then proceeds to add that “you could also say the guy has got no luck.” Colette might agree with that, as she was the one who suggests in a sidequest that Yuan's trying to find a four-leaved clover.

Four thousand years ago he was more immature, which is evidenced by several sources. In the Kharlan War era flashbacks from both Tales of Fandom vol. 2 and Tales of Symphonia the Animation, Yuan tends to complain a lot (especially when they're taking a detour to help some sick humans), but becomes flustered when complimented by either Kratos or Martel. There's also a skit in Tales of the Rays where Kratos states that Yuan has become more mature since then. He isn't all grown up, though; just look at that scene where he helps the party break into the Tower of Salvation, only to add a “Don't think that I want to be your friend or anything!” after the fact.

Despite his cold personality, there are two people who have truly managed to get close to Yuan and earn his trust. The first is his late fiancée, Martel Yggdrasill. Whenever she was near, Yuan would turn into a stuttering, blushing mess, thus making him an easy target of mockery for her younger brother and their human companion. Unable to disagree with anything Martel said, Yuan could be easily wrapped around her finger and forced to take on a bit more of a warm attitude. It seems the only one who was oblivious to his infatuation for the longest time was Martel herself. Even after her death, Yuan remains loyal to his fiancée and her ideals, doing whatever he can to respect her final wishes. Despite being offered a chance to bring her back from the dead, he instead chose to defy that opportunity, as he knows she wouldn't have wanted anyone to be sacrificed in her stead. It must've been a very difficult decision for him to make. Reaching his objectives means that Martel's soul will be lost forever, but their engagement ring, which remains on his hand after all these years, is the symbol of his undying love.

The other individual who managed to reach Yuan’s compassionate side is, despite everything already stated so far, Kratos Aurion. Though the human was his greatest enemy on the battlefield during the Kharlan War, Kratos is the one who introduced the half-elf to the Yggdrasill siblings. The man’s apathetic attitude towards others is something that aggravated Yuan greatly, and surely still does. Though claiming to be companions, the two hardly ever acted as true friends. Even so, their relationship is one of mutual respect. Throughout the years, Yuan tried to gain Kratos’ allegiance on several occasions, only to fail. In the end, he endangers his own life to save the human’s, by means of a Mana transfer. Two years after the game's end, they're still in touch with one another through a secret means of communication. While Yuan does question Kratos's intent not to let Lloyd in on their conversations, he ultimately respects the decision.

The relationship between Yuan and Mithos Yggdrasill is neutral, at best. Though they likely never had any real fights during the Kharlan War, Yuan only saw the boy as Martel’s younger brother, not a friend or a peer. He believed that Mithos was nothing but a hopeless idealist and had vowed to reveal his hypocrisy. Mithos found this attitude amusing, at most, and seemed quite fond of teasing Yuan whenever he could. The two would often play games of Jan-Ken-Pon (rock – paper – scissors), in which Mithos always came out victorious. After Martel’s death, Yuan agreed to follow the boy’s ideals, though there is a chance he knew from the very start the boy was mistaken. As madness kicked in and Mithos turned into the ruthless leader known as Yggdrasill, their relationship only worsened, until the point where Yuan had nothing but scorn for his former companion.

Not much is known at the relationship between Yuan and his lieutenant, Botta. The Renegade leader places his faith in Botta’s capabilities during harsh times, trusting that the man will take care of things accordingly. Likely, Botta had to work hard to earn this kind of respect, but it seems Yuan never truly got close to him. The reaction to his lieutenant’s death is apathetic, and while it might be that Yuan simply did not want to show his grief in front of Lloyd and his friends, it still speaks volumes that he keeps a pokerface when receiving such bad news.

Abilities:
First we have the abilities that come with his Cruxis Crystal. One ability uses the body's mana to alter its metabolism and stop the body's internal clock. Aside from that, Yuan can summon mana-based wings to fly with. Though he never uses them in battle, it's assumed that he can use certain 'angel' techniques like Judgment as well. On rare occasion, Yuan can be seen teleporting away in a cutscene (it's the same with Kratos), but it's very unclear just where this teleportation power comes from and how far it reaches. I would assume it's another Cruxis Crystal benefit, but it's never explained or put to good use in the game.

Furthermore, Yuan is a lightning mage who never shows any inclination to other elements. Aside from the typical lightning techs (or artes) like Thunder Blade, Thunder Explosion, Indignation and Lightning Havoc, he can summon a little ball of lightning to the palm of his hand and launch it.

Alignment:
Sosyne! Yuan is, after all, very quick to lose his temper. He could benefit greatly from learning to be more calm during confrontations, but you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Other:
N/A

⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉

General Sample:
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Emotion Sample:
Test Drive Comment

Questions:
None!