⇩ ZHELAN IS WARBENDING
ZHELAN
humans are the most contradictory
creatures on the planet.
i'm sure you know.
SEIKURA - YUEN - 10 PW: ME, DOING HOMEWORK
INSTEAD OF THIS APP
褶阑: ZHELAN, FIRST SON OF ZHAO
NAME: zhelan (褶阑)
NICKNAMES:
traitor, unloyal guard dog — esteemed son of one of the most revered fire nation generals
crosses sides to fight against his own brothers.
look, as much as the resistance group loves to
welcome new members, they need to be sure of their loyalty. after all, trust is the most expensive thing nowadays.
rich kid, spoiled brat — forgive zhelan, for he's
always had a silver spoon is his mouth and isn't
quite used to the ways of other people, other
classes.
AGE: eighteen, born 82 a.g.
NATION: the fire nation
BIRTHPLACE: capital city
FACECLAIM:
chinese actor yang yang,
idol huang zitao
APPEARANCE: zhelan is all silky, jet-black hair and pale skin. he's popular with all the girls in the court for his dashing, manly looks and tall physique. zhelan stands at a mighty 6'1 packed with muscles (every girl's favourite subject). he holds himself with the demeanour of a prince but the tenacity of a warrior, taking long strides with perfect posture an always, a pocker face devoid of any emotion.
at least, that's what anybody who's not zhelan will tell you. when he looks in the mirror, all he sees is a broken person covered in the finest military and nobility guard outfits from the fire nation's well stocked cabinets.
NICKNAMES:
traitor, unloyal guard dog — esteemed son of one of the most revered fire nation generals
crosses sides to fight against his own brothers.
look, as much as the resistance group loves to
welcome new members, they need to be sure of their loyalty. after all, trust is the most expensive thing nowadays.
rich kid, spoiled brat — forgive zhelan, for he's
always had a silver spoon is his mouth and isn't
quite used to the ways of other people, other
classes.
AGE: eighteen, born 82 a.g.
NATION: the fire nation
BIRTHPLACE: capital city
FACECLAIM:
chinese actor yang yang,
idol huang zitao
APPEARANCE: zhelan is all silky, jet-black hair and pale skin. he's popular with all the girls in the court for his dashing, manly looks and tall physique. zhelan stands at a mighty 6'1 packed with muscles (every girl's favourite subject). he holds himself with the demeanour of a prince but the tenacity of a warrior, taking long strides with perfect posture an always, a pocker face devoid of any emotion.
at least, that's what anybody who's not zhelan will tell you. when he looks in the mirror, all he sees is a broken person covered in the finest military and nobility guard outfits from the fire nation's well stocked cabinets.
LIKES:
tea - it calms him, even helps him to sleep sometimes (see trivia below) his favourite happens to be green tea infused with jasmine, a flowery type of tea you can catch him brewing at the oddest hours.
black belt - there's always a black bet wrapped around his waist, given to him personally by his best friend. special to him for obvious reasons- a sign of eternal friendship from zuko himself.
sparring - zhelan's the type to think through physical movement. when he's sparring with somebody, it's when his mind is the most clearest, free from intrusive thoughts and constant worrying. it's no surprise then that you can find him, early morning, fighting and dodging like he was sparring with fire lord ozai himself.
tea - it's a must for any double traitor, from the royal courts, who knows ozai, to love ozai's tea. seriously.
DISLIKES:
rough times - sue him, he's a rich boy through and through. sleeping on the cold hard ground? catching dinner? no thank you.
quick to judge - contempt breeds contempt, so when he coems across other nations, zhelan can't help but feel very guarded and around them. it doesn't help that literally half the world hates him. the moment you judge zhelan straight up (and of course, he'll notice) you lose the chance to meet his true self.
nighttime - insomniacs don't like nighttime, and for good reason. night to him, is a sign of a new day filled with a thousand possibilities. anything could do wrong.
TRIVIA:
insomniac, a light sleeper - this must be a common trait with guilt-heavy, fire nation nobles. zhelan just doesn't sleep well at night. he's too easily awakened, his mind is always filled with thoughts upon thoughts upon thoughts.
a preferable vegetarian - in a turn of events, zhelan doesn't actually like to eat meat. of course, he's not opposed to it, but between a salad bar and the grill station, he's most likely situated right in front of said salad bar.
ISTJ-A BENEATH THE MASK
incisive, charismatic, observant, dedicated, snobbish
ruthless, solitary, sensitive, perfectionist, defensive
"HE'S GOING TO EAT
YOU ALIVE."
"you're just like your father." the highly feared general zhao is three things: intelligent, dedicated, and ruthless. it's no surprise that zhelan mirrors his father in every way.
he's intelligent: having grown up in the royal court by the virtue of his father's close relation to the fire lord, and by his father's rank in general. books were always within an arm's reach, and when he wasn't practicing to be one of the strongest teen firebenders, then he was reading. soaking up all the information, thinking it might be useful later- after all, didn't his dad say that knowledge is power?
but the scariest aspect of power is knowing how to use it. he's smart, sharp, and knows exactly what to do- he's been swaying the court his entire life, sharp words punctuated with the right charm. people either feared him or they idolized him, with his smooth voice that got the right words to fall into the wrong hands. his father's certainly used him before to butter up people before.
zhelan is militant when it comes to his status. after all, he's the first son of the nation's most highly revered military personnel, the first son of zhao. he knows his position, perhaps that's why he flaunts it sometimes. zhelan's trying- he really is, but when he's been taught to simply dimiss the maids with a wave of his hand, it's no surprise that some find him snobbish, unwilling to try new things.
his father has taught him to be observant at a young age- know their weakness, and you can make them fall. zhao's instilled the same amount of discipline he had when completing missions in his son- the stop at nothing to get what you want, don't bend down for anyone, that sort of destructive code of ethic that worked until it didn't.
but that's what everyone around him sees.
what they don't see is a hallow of a boy driven to perfection. yes, he's succeeded- now what? join his father in the army? stay as the favourite royal advisor of prince zuko? you'll be lucky if he does any of those things before cracking; before showing the world how weak the vase really was. he drives himself to perfection with the ruthlessness and determination instilled in him by his father and god, does his father scare him.
many praised zhao for whatever he did to zhelan to make him perrfect in their eyes- did they know about the lashings? about the starvation? about the abuse he's endured to make sure he's perfect? zhelan should've built some sort of shell, a defense mechanism that allowed him to take hit after hit, word after word without even flinching.
but it gets to him, and the rather ty defense mechanism came in the form of isolating his feelings and compartmentalizing them, shoving them down his throat. get rid of weaknesses. but that's not what dad taught him. dad taught him to fight back anyone who dared to disrespect his name, his nation- dad taught him to be defensive of himself, to be proud of himself, a trait zhelan hasn't and probably will never get rid of. he's a mess, isn't he? defensive but bitter on the inside, the vicious cycle that is his life.
ever since he'd learned the truth about his mother four years ago, the fire nation doesn't like home anymore. maybe it never has, and it took him fourteen years to understand that.
tl;dr zhelan is basically that one rich friend who always says he's fine until he's not. he has major daddy issues and his distrust and avoidance of feelings is because of him.
incisive, charismatic, observant, dedicated, snobbish
ruthless, solitary, sensitive, perfectionist, defensive
"HE'S GOING TO EAT
YOU ALIVE."
"you're just like your father." the highly feared general zhao is three things: intelligent, dedicated, and ruthless. it's no surprise that zhelan mirrors his father in every way.
he's intelligent: having grown up in the royal court by the virtue of his father's close relation to the fire lord, and by his father's rank in general. books were always within an arm's reach, and when he wasn't practicing to be one of the strongest teen firebenders, then he was reading. soaking up all the information, thinking it might be useful later- after all, didn't his dad say that knowledge is power?
but the scariest aspect of power is knowing how to use it. he's smart, sharp, and knows exactly what to do- he's been swaying the court his entire life, sharp words punctuated with the right charm. people either feared him or they idolized him, with his smooth voice that got the right words to fall into the wrong hands. his father's certainly used him before to butter up people before.
zhelan is militant when it comes to his status. after all, he's the first son of the nation's most highly revered military personnel, the first son of zhao. he knows his position, perhaps that's why he flaunts it sometimes. zhelan's trying- he really is, but when he's been taught to simply dimiss the maids with a wave of his hand, it's no surprise that some find him snobbish, unwilling to try new things.
his father has taught him to be observant at a young age- know their weakness, and you can make them fall. zhao's instilled the same amount of discipline he had when completing missions in his son- the stop at nothing to get what you want, don't bend down for anyone, that sort of destructive code of ethic that worked until it didn't.
but that's what everyone around him sees.
what they don't see is a hallow of a boy driven to perfection. yes, he's succeeded- now what? join his father in the army? stay as the favourite royal advisor of prince zuko? you'll be lucky if he does any of those things before cracking; before showing the world how weak the vase really was. he drives himself to perfection with the ruthlessness and determination instilled in him by his father and god, does his father scare him.
many praised zhao for whatever he did to zhelan to make him perrfect in their eyes- did they know about the lashings? about the starvation? about the abuse he's endured to make sure he's perfect? zhelan should've built some sort of shell, a defense mechanism that allowed him to take hit after hit, word after word without even flinching.
but it gets to him, and the rather ty defense mechanism came in the form of isolating his feelings and compartmentalizing them, shoving them down his throat. get rid of weaknesses. but that's not what dad taught him. dad taught him to fight back anyone who dared to disrespect his name, his nation- dad taught him to be defensive of himself, to be proud of himself, a trait zhelan hasn't and probably will never get rid of. he's a mess, isn't he? defensive but bitter on the inside, the vicious cycle that is his life.
ever since he'd learned the truth about his mother four years ago, the fire nation doesn't like home anymore. maybe it never has, and it took him fourteen years to understand that.
tl;dr zhelan is basically that one rich friend who always says he's fine until he's not. he has major daddy issues and his distrust and avoidance of feelings is because of him.
BACKGROUND
here's the story everyone knows: firebender yinhua is a close cousin of the royal family and a noble in her own right, the only woman ozai respects. she's as fiery as him, with a temper to match and not to sound like a redneck, but ozai would definitely date her if, y'know, he wasn't related to her.
what a shame it would be if she married another noble, one that would tie her down to a lifetime as a homemaker when clearly, yinhua is one of the strongest female benders. ozai introduces her to zhao, an up and coming soldier. they hit it off, and two years later- zhelan is born. the rest is history.
[ tw ] here's what they don't know: zhelan is not his mother's son. zhelan is the product of a mistress, one of his father's women who accompany him to far flung places to do things his wife couldn't do during wartime. comfort woman- that's who his real mother was.
but zhelan is oblivious. his mother loves him very much anyways, and his dad is a general, whee! sure, his life is always dictated by training and reading and excercising and yeah, he's never really had a childhood- but that's what dad wants, right?
up until he was fourteen, zhelan was under his father's wish and command. he got close to zuko, the only other boy around who understood what it was like to have a controlling father. together, they tried to have the chldhood they never had, but that ends when zuko is banished to the high seas to find the avatar on a wild goose hunt.
he isn't there when zhelan finds out the real truth.
he isn't there when zhelan finds his mother with a sword through her neck and his father's hands, dirty of blood. her blood. he killed her, the only person who ever loved him and he can literally feel the world crumbling in his hands as he falls to his knees.
his father kicks at him, tells him to get up and be a man and help him dispose of her body. he was so high up in the military and such a damn good strategist, who cares if he killed his wife as long as ozai didn't know? and ozai didn't know, for he was far too preoccupied with other things to realize his favourite cousin didn't die of dysentry or whatever deadly disease. later, he spits at zhelan, "that was going to come forward and tell everybody about your real mother. ha! imagine her, trying to ruin my good reputation."
zhelan swallows heavily- real mother? "what? didn't you know you're from a who died when you were born? goodness, everyone knows you get your firebending powers from me."
that was the day zhelan lost all faith in the fire nation, the day he woke up from the grip of his father. he trains harder for his mother, hopes to be the same type of bender she was- powerful. zhao was wrong, he may not have been his mother's son but he certainly got his powers from her somehow. they were strong, and they had true strength behind him, unlike zhao's firebending skills which always lacked whatever made it genuine.
so when he stumbles across a ragtag group of resistance fighters, zhelan doesn't report them. no, this is zhelan's purpose- he can feel it in his bones.
here's the story everyone knows: firebender yinhua is a close cousin of the royal family and a noble in her own right, the only woman ozai respects. she's as fiery as him, with a temper to match and not to sound like a redneck, but ozai would definitely date her if, y'know, he wasn't related to her.
what a shame it would be if she married another noble, one that would tie her down to a lifetime as a homemaker when clearly, yinhua is one of the strongest female benders. ozai introduces her to zhao, an up and coming soldier. they hit it off, and two years later- zhelan is born. the rest is history.
[ tw ] here's what they don't know: zhelan is not his mother's son. zhelan is the product of a mistress, one of his father's women who accompany him to far flung places to do things his wife couldn't do during wartime. comfort woman- that's who his real mother was.
but zhelan is oblivious. his mother loves him very much anyways, and his dad is a general, whee! sure, his life is always dictated by training and reading and excercising and yeah, he's never really had a childhood- but that's what dad wants, right?
up until he was fourteen, zhelan was under his father's wish and command. he got close to zuko, the only other boy around who understood what it was like to have a controlling father. together, they tried to have the chldhood they never had, but that ends when zuko is banished to the high seas to find the avatar on a wild goose hunt.
he isn't there when zhelan finds out the real truth.
he isn't there when zhelan finds his mother with a sword through her neck and his father's hands, dirty of blood. her blood. he killed her, the only person who ever loved him and he can literally feel the world crumbling in his hands as he falls to his knees.
his father kicks at him, tells him to get up and be a man and help him dispose of her body. he was so high up in the military and such a damn good strategist, who cares if he killed his wife as long as ozai didn't know? and ozai didn't know, for he was far too preoccupied with other things to realize his favourite cousin didn't die of dysentry or whatever deadly disease. later, he spits at zhelan, "that was going to come forward and tell everybody about your real mother. ha! imagine her, trying to ruin my good reputation."
zhelan swallows heavily- real mother? "what? didn't you know you're from a who died when you were born? goodness, everyone knows you get your firebending powers from me."
that was the day zhelan lost all faith in the fire nation, the day he woke up from the grip of his father. he trains harder for his mother, hopes to be the same type of bender she was- powerful. zhao was wrong, he may not have been his mother's son but he certainly got his powers from her somehow. they were strong, and they had true strength behind him, unlike zhao's firebending skills which always lacked whatever made it genuine.
so when he stumbles across a ragtag group of resistance fighters, zhelan doesn't report them. no, this is zhelan's purpose- he can feel it in his bones.
SKILLS
firebending — zhelan is a fierce firebender, one of the most advanced fire benders in the court, perhaps second to or just as good as princess azula. some skills he's developed include: flame redirection, fire missles (some people shiver at this one) and zhelan's personal favourite, the dancing dragon as taught to him by his uncle. he has complete and total control over his skill, being able to augment and control the flames themselves.
though firebending doesn't have a lot of defensive techniques, zhelan's more or less mastered most of the existing ones and is constantly coming up with more techniques.
but that's not what makes people scared. it's zhelan's natural power of lightning generation, a rare power usually seen in royalty. he isn't royalty, and he damn well knows that he might be burnt alive if anyone ever knew of his powers. he's picked it up from watching fire lord ozai train in the courtyards as a young boy, to secretly training with zuko himself. either way, if- no, when push comes to shove, zhelan won't hesitate to unleash this deadly power of his.
observation, intelligence & strategy — zhelan is smart, smart enough to anticpate your next five moves before you even know what's happening. his eyes are naturally drawn to the smallest twitches, the slight misstep, the hint of distrust in someone's voice. yes, zhelan knows it all, and his relentless study of strategy and intelligence in his younger years have paid off quite well in knowing how to respond to such observations. do you run, or do you hide?
combat — zhelan is naturally, a very fit man with combat skills to show for. take away his bending, he'll be fine. he moves fast and he moves sharp, in combination with his firebending powers, it makes for a very strong man worthy of the fear of a thousand soldiers.
charm — don't be fooled by his slightly anti-social behaviour. zhelan is not a wierdo, no, he's quire the charmer. his intuition and his natural talent for conversation can easily persuade an innkeeper for a night, or an uncle for advice.
chi blocking — as if he couldn't be any stronger. but again, zhelan is one of the strongest firebenders, stronger than azula herself. it's no surprise that he's effectively mastered the art of chi blocking, anything helps in the ring after all.
RELATIONSHIPS
prince zuko — he, in many ways, reflects zhelan. they're both around the same age, both ruthless and highly emotional. that's why they're the best of friends. they can teast each other on anything, pretend to spar with fire. he knows everything about zuko's life, about his inner turmoil and the son of a known as his sister. though they contant each other every now and then since zuko went off at 13 to find the avatar, nevertheless when they do reunite, expect there to be bouts of teasing and flames reaching sky high as the two idiots reunite on one ground.
zumi — zhelan isn't sure what to think of her. yes, they've probably talked once or twice but she went off with his best friend so he only knows her as his best friend's cousin.
[ potential love interest namja saying ]
iroh — again, he hasn't seen his favourite pseudo-uncle in forever, but zhelan is forever indebted to iroh for teaching him what he could in his thirteen years. he's also guided him from the high seas through letters of thought, and zhelan is glad that such a man like him exists willing to fend for someone who isn't even his own blood.
azula — he understands azula's position: how everyone whispers that the crown would most defintely pass zuko, and onto azula. either way, she's a good partner for sparring, but incredibly annoying and y. still, zhelan puts up a fake front for her.
LOVE INTEREST
feel free to hook zhelan with anyone (tho he's a heteroual bc y'know, toxic masculinity enviroment and ) (if they both get chosen, most preferably littlemisstouble's zumi!!!) or any sort of bender who's a good sparrer and someone who doesn't give up. zhelan doesn't get alone with people exact opposite of him: he needs someone strong, someone who can be stubborna nd get through him.
firebending — zhelan is a fierce firebender, one of the most advanced fire benders in the court, perhaps second to or just as good as princess azula. some skills he's developed include: flame redirection, fire missles (some people shiver at this one) and zhelan's personal favourite, the dancing dragon as taught to him by his uncle. he has complete and total control over his skill, being able to augment and control the flames themselves.
though firebending doesn't have a lot of defensive techniques, zhelan's more or less mastered most of the existing ones and is constantly coming up with more techniques.
but that's not what makes people scared. it's zhelan's natural power of lightning generation, a rare power usually seen in royalty. he isn't royalty, and he damn well knows that he might be burnt alive if anyone ever knew of his powers. he's picked it up from watching fire lord ozai train in the courtyards as a young boy, to secretly training with zuko himself. either way, if- no, when push comes to shove, zhelan won't hesitate to unleash this deadly power of his.
observation, intelligence & strategy — zhelan is smart, smart enough to anticpate your next five moves before you even know what's happening. his eyes are naturally drawn to the smallest twitches, the slight misstep, the hint of distrust in someone's voice. yes, zhelan knows it all, and his relentless study of strategy and intelligence in his younger years have paid off quite well in knowing how to respond to such observations. do you run, or do you hide?
combat — zhelan is naturally, a very fit man with combat skills to show for. take away his bending, he'll be fine. he moves fast and he moves sharp, in combination with his firebending powers, it makes for a very strong man worthy of the fear of a thousand soldiers.
charm — don't be fooled by his slightly anti-social behaviour. zhelan is not a wierdo, no, he's quire the charmer. his intuition and his natural talent for conversation can easily persuade an innkeeper for a night, or an uncle for advice.
chi blocking — as if he couldn't be any stronger. but again, zhelan is one of the strongest firebenders, stronger than azula herself. it's no surprise that he's effectively mastered the art of chi blocking, anything helps in the ring after all.
RELATIONSHIPS
prince zuko — he, in many ways, reflects zhelan. they're both around the same age, both ruthless and highly emotional. that's why they're the best of friends. they can teast each other on anything, pretend to spar with fire. he knows everything about zuko's life, about his inner turmoil and the son of a known as his sister. though they contant each other every now and then since zuko went off at 13 to find the avatar, nevertheless when they do reunite, expect there to be bouts of teasing and flames reaching sky high as the two idiots reunite on one ground.
zumi — zhelan isn't sure what to think of her. yes, they've probably talked once or twice but she went off with his best friend so he only knows her as his best friend's cousin.
[ potential love interest namja saying ]
iroh — again, he hasn't seen his favourite pseudo-uncle in forever, but zhelan is forever indebted to iroh for teaching him what he could in his thirteen years. he's also guided him from the high seas through letters of thought, and zhelan is glad that such a man like him exists willing to fend for someone who isn't even his own blood.
azula — he understands azula's position: how everyone whispers that the crown would most defintely pass zuko, and onto azula. either way, she's a good partner for sparring, but incredibly annoying and y. still, zhelan puts up a fake front for her.
LOVE INTEREST
feel free to hook zhelan with anyone (tho he's a heteroual bc y'know, toxic masculinity enviroment and ) (if they both get chosen, most preferably littlemisstouble's zumi!!!) or any sort of bender who's a good sparrer and someone who doesn't give up. zhelan doesn't get alone with people exact opposite of him: he needs someone strong, someone who can be stubborna nd get through him.
DEVELOPMENT
currently, zhelan is a mess of himself who's trying to keep it in. as he progresses through the story and through the resistance group, he'll learn to forgive his father and get rid of the weights that hold him down, the murder he witnesses at the hands of his father. he'll learn what's good, and what's wrong.
he'll make his mother proud of him, zhelan swears on it.
perhaps he'll even find love, and not just the romantic kind. love from all of his friends, love from family- the same type he lost. zhelan is a hard character, yes, but he's capable of growth. just like everyone else.
UGH it's done hi i am vERY sorry for this ty layout and,,, generally ty character but hello this is my small son zhelan who's very complex but is mostly a misunderstood piece of with too much money to compensate. please love him.
currently, zhelan is a mess of himself who's trying to keep it in. as he progresses through the story and through the resistance group, he'll learn to forgive his father and get rid of the weights that hold him down, the murder he witnesses at the hands of his father. he'll learn what's good, and what's wrong.
he'll make his mother proud of him, zhelan swears on it.
perhaps he'll even find love, and not just the romantic kind. love from all of his friends, love from family- the same type he lost. zhelan is a hard character, yes, but he's capable of growth. just like everyone else.
UGH it's done hi i am vERY sorry for this ty layout and,,, generally ty character but hello this is my small son zhelan who's very complex but is mostly a misunderstood piece of with too much money to compensate. please love him.
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