▶ PLAYERHANDLE: Orange Crates
CONTACT:
orangecratesOVER 18? Y
CHARACTERS IN-GAME: Chu Wanning (The Husky and His White Cat Shizun)
▶ CHARACTERNAME: Chang Geng
CANON: Sha Po Lang
CANON POINT: Chapter 96, after he'd gotten stabbed but before Gu Yun arrives.
AGE: 23
BACKGROUND: https://sha-po-lang.fandom.com/wiki/Chang_GengPERSONALITY: There are two things that have shaped Chang Geng's personality the most. The first is the Bone of Impurity, a curse placed on him by the woman who raised him. Because of it, he's constantly plagued by nightmares and suffers through attacks where he hallucinates and his emotions go completely out of control. In order to manage this, Chang Geng has always made sure to keep an even temper, to not allow himself to become overly emotional or agitated. It's the root of his calm personality that makes him seem like he wouldn't rush even during disaster, and why he seems to be removed from mortal wants and greed. It's also the source of his self-hatred and slef-disgust. He knows, this curse may one day drive him insane, turn him into a madman that will slaughter everyone.
Chang Geng's iron will and determination is nothing to scoff at. Early on in his life, he'd been cursed with the Bone of Impurity and, instead of being destroyed it he managed to live until adulthood while managing to keep his sanity. Even the envoy from the Man where this curse originated was impressed with this. Since young, he's decided that there's no obstacle that he can't overcome. Once Chang Geng sees a problem he'll immediately start thinking of ways to solve it and won't stop until it has been resolved. He is very much a 'where there's a will, there's a way' sort of person in this respect. Even during the siege of the capital where many people around him were scrambling around he didn't waste time on fear or worrying about dying, instead, he focused on finding solutions to every problem that crops up.
He doesn't allow for excuses. If it can work, he'll use it. He won't sit around wringing his hands because of shackles such as propriety, tradition or personal connections (with one exception). If someone can be used, he'll collude even with bandits. If a method is workable, he can crashland a plane in enemy territory to push his own agenda forward.
The second thing that shaped Chang Geng's personality was Gu Yun. If Bone of Impurity had taught him restraint, Gu Yun had taught him to covet: knowledge, experience, power, peace...all so he could one day be able to protect one person. It was for Gu Yun's sake that he took up medicine, that he took up a position in court, that he tried to make the country prosperous. He changed from a teenager who didn't like leaving the house and dealing with crowds to a man who could handle himself with self-confidence in court. His most important philosophy, 'in battle, those who don't want to die, die first', all came from Gu Yun. Gu Yun was his greatest source of strength but also his greatest weakness. Gu Yun's so important almost all of Chang Geng's insecurity is tied up with him and he has yet to untangle all of it at Chapter 97. He wants to be close to him, but is afraid that the ugly parts of him will push him away. He fears that there will be a day where Gu Yun won't return to the battlefield and yet all he can do is support him from within the court. It's pretty clear that if anything were to ever happen to Gu Yun Chang Geng also won't live long after. Someone once noted, the difference between Chang Geng and those who went insane from this curse was one Gu Yun and that is undoubtedly true.
He is very charismatic. Part of this is his calm demeanor that can make people feel reassured just by being around him but he's good at reading people and a good actor. That means he's able to figure out how to win people over. He is also diligent and hardworking, talented and yet not arrogant about either his personal achievements nor his rank. It's the sort of personality that makes people gravitate towards him.
He's spent years acquiring all sorts of skills and knowledge from the scholarly to the mundane to the practical. He's knowledgeable to the point where once, when the group he was with needed someone who could speak a foreign language they all automatically looked to him with expectation even though there was no reason for them to think he would know it. He isn't just book smart, he is able to apply this knowledge effectively allowing him to come up with strategies in tense situations and to counter the schemes of others by thinking many moves ahead of them.
In a kinder world, he could have grown up to be a softer person because he's also kind. In the early chapters when he was being escorted out of his hometown that had been attacked, he'd seen one of his friends being attacked and, despite being a child himself, despite the fact that he was as safe as he could be, he'd rushed into the fray because he couldn't watch someone be killed without doing anything.
His character had been honed by cruelty and he grew up far too fast. He's even used kindness as a way to manipulate others. But he's still that child that had jumped into the river to save his yifu when he thought he'd fallen in, who had nearly cried when the woman who raised and abused him for years told him, at the end, 'I had wronged you', even going so far as to lay her down on her bed after she died.
But, he had given his heart to someone and to protect them, he had to save the country. To make that happen, he couldn't always be kind. That being said, he still only goes after those who are corrupt or are directly harming the country and the reforms it needs. He's never cruel without a reason to be.
Of course, around Gu Yun he can be soft and vulnerable, often even acting spoiled and demanding attention.
WORD COUNT 999
POWERS/ABILITIES:Bone of Impurity: Bone of Impurity is a curse that causes Chang Geng to be plagued with nightmares and can cause hallucinations that he cannot break out of without help. However, it also gives him strength and intelligence above the average person. There's some debate in canon about how valid this is and it's never made unambiguously clear if the curse is really a curse or just poison in this regard. However, it does make Chang Geng's body heal faster and makes him harder to kill. It's hinted at that only when the Wu Er Gu become insane do they have full access to their potential as an 'evil god' but you know. Then they'd be insane. Also could be manipulated using key words that only those who have studied these arts would know. The negative effects become harder to manage when he gets sick but easier when he's bled (because the poison is in the blood).
Medicine: He's studied under the tutelage of the current head of the most famous doctor family in Great Liang so he knows how to treat simple issues with acupuncture and prescribed medicine.
INVENTORY:- A hand-sewn pouch
- medicine
- a set of silver acupuncture needles
MOONBLESSING: Sanguis
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