Chang In
Tongda of the Infinite Inn

Hsien-tsu of the Wu Hsien
Hanumen of the Golden Ark
Advisor of the Court of Emerald Eyes

Description


Hotei: ~In is a good-looking Chinese youth wearing bright clothing and an ineffable grin. He favors golden-yellow t-shirts and fire engine red parachute pants, but can be found in just about anything. In really has no sense of style! White Vans protect the sixteen year old’s feet while performing odd acrobatic antics down the street. His black hair is a mass of tangles on his head half the time, but it only adds to his irrepressibly cute design. Brown eyes twinkle with laughter (when he’s not actually laughing, that is), hinting at something plain wicked beneath. Wait, is that your wallet he’s waving in his hand? Naaah -- couldn’t be -- the boy’s such a sweetheart looker!~

OOC: Appearance 3; Pakua 2; Rank 11; Sanctity

Wani: ~Monkey-man, take the stage! As tall as In stands in his human form, the Wani shape of this Hanumen seems only lankier, yet much more quick and agile. The silly clothing vanishes, replaced with only a solid silk, yellow brazier wrapped around his neck and shoulders like a king’s scarf. His entire body is covered in silvery white fur (unless he’s been rolling the mud, which happens a lot). A long tail whips about behind, batting against women’s behinds or slapping objects out of passerbys’ hands. Only his agile fingers and toes, as well as his face, varies -- they are solid black. The black mask of a face is bright with awareness and laughter and he is constantly bouncing. A smile creases the monkey-man’s face at almost all times. In fact, only when he assumes the dreadful Mask of Shintai does the smile fade. The lips part, revealing sharp teeth. The eyes darken and harden like granite. The fur all stands on end, seeming to shiver with suppressed fury, and the monkey-man’s hackles stand up so sharply that they appear to be bony spines up and down his back. Dexterous fingers clench and unclench. If he’s been so annoyed to take this horrible masque, he’s not going to throw noodles at people. He’s going to stuff lard down their throats.~

OOC: Appearance 0; Pakua 2; Rank 11; Sanctity

Animal: ~Awwww…wait, aren't they a nuisance? Yeah, but they’re so cute. This silvery gibbon may only be a couple feet tall, but he’s is long-limbed, agile, bright-eyed, and ready for urban life as only a monkey can be. Watch your wallet, lunch, and girlfriend!~

OOC: Appearance 3; Pakua 2; Rank 11; Sanctity



"Hey, hey, relax! It was just a joke, see? No permanent damage!”

History


Youth

Chang In wasn’t always a happy child. He used to be moody and lazy, prone to odd fits of depression. A sensitive boy, his parents doted on him as they could. His only friend’s parents doted on him, too, and he spent much time with their daughter. Zhaoti Shiuan remained close to Chang In, probably because of how close their families were. Their fathers were business partners in a profitable Oriental rugs merchandise in Beijing.

In spent much of his time playing games with Shiuan. They played tag, house, coloring, everything children do together -- except In only did it with Shiuan. And in those days, Shiuan only played with In. Their entire childhood continued in suburbia in this manner until their pre-adolescent began. Shiuan was going through changes In didn’t understand, and they began to split ways just a bit. School was tougher, and Shiuan was making more friends since she was such a pretty girl. In wasn’t half-bad himself, but he was always such a cry-baby that the other boys ignored or made fun of him.

Kun Shou & Tutelage

But all of those teenage ordeals became moot one fateful late morning in winter of 1998. In a freak accident, a Chinese airplane crashed…right into their grade school in the middle of classes. In recalled screams of shock as the lights blasted out and the huge explosion that deafened him for what seemed like ever. It didn’t help that the roof was suddenly burying him and his entire class in rubble. The entire school building’s roof collapsed. By destiny perhaps, this was the only case in which In and Shiuan not only shared but sat next to each other. So it was that they clung to each other in desperate fear and pain. Both suspected limbs were broken such was the pain, and breathing was getting harder and harder. They could hear almost nothing but other children’s moans and cries.

The rescue workers tore through the rubble. Groups of children were freed all at once. It seemed to the pair that their classroom must have been last; that’s simply because their classroom was in the central interior of the building. Sadly, by the time the workers arrived to their destroyed room, some of the children had expired.

In and Shiuan were among the dead. At least until the rescuers came to their intertwined bodies. Two hirayanu spirits lurked nearby. They were spirits that had bonded in a previous incarnation and were determined to return together. As the timbers and fixtures were pulled away from the two children, the hsien breathed in the Kun Shou. Life was restored to the children, even as their true souls departed to Heaven. And the rescuers were none the wiser. The injured children were rushed to the hospital with their peers.

Within weeks, the damage was mending almost completely. In and Shiuan once more spent a great deal of time together. Their parents noticed a lot of change in both kids’ personalities. Shiuan was maturing emotionally and quickly, becoming a bit of a worry as such a flirt. Her parents viewed In as a beneficial influence, as an anchor keeping Shiuan’s feet on the ground (and from getting pregnant or something). In meanwhile finally “came out of his shell”. His parents were pleased to see the old moodiness replaced with a constant, infectious gaiety. Of course, within a month of In’s recovery from the terrible accident, his parents found super glue in their shoes. But they accepted it as good-naturedly as loving parents could: after all, their boy was happy and becoming popular in school (which was held in a temporary location of course).

And In knew the reason for the changes. He recalled quite promptly after the Kun Shou that he was Hanumen, a Monkey King reborn. He helped Shiuan remember that she was Nyan, a Cat Princess. Together they examined their hsien existences, toyed with their restored powers, and experimented with gaining those lost in the process of reincarnation. Their affections grew for each other, too, and In and Shiuan spent a lot of time making out when no one was looking.

Early Years

At school, In became the resident class clown. No one topped his shrewd jests and annoying pranks. His popularity was due to the fact that no one was spared his wit, including teachers. He earned many a whipping and raps, but took all the fuming teachers’ beatings with an irrepressible grin: which made him all the more impossible in school. Fortunately, In had enough wisdom not to push the teachers so much that he would be expelled. Instead, he kept his pranks against the teachers occasional enough that they often laughed instead of (or at least in addition to) the (failed) disciplining.

His favorite prank was actually played on the school cafeteria manager. She was a prim old woman who insisted that everything be in perfect working order. If anything was out of place, the kids would hear her screams at the other cafeteria workers through the walls. When she got tired of having bananas as part of the school’s a la carte menu due to their cost and short expiration, In took action. One day after school, she strolled into the kitchen to find the floors utterly littered in bright yellow banana peels. Eyes boggling, she took one careful step into the room and found an alley of tile through the sea of peels. Outraged, she strolled along to the kitchen telephone to complain to the principal…and missed In’s trip-wire halfway across the kitchen. A bucket of liquefied banana fell from the ceiling light fixture, and she was soaked in the sweet, sticky fruit. With the bucket on her steaming head, it was all In and his best guy friend, Po Han, could do to not shriek in laughter, and they managed to slip away free. The culprits were never discovered, and the bananas were still pulled from the menu, but In entered the school’s hall of underground fame ever after for that one.

But In knew common schooling wasn’t enough for he and his kitty-cat. He dragged Shiuan off once a week to the Di Fu (Ministry of Earth). He simply recalled from his last Hanumen life just where the Li Shen could be found. The Komuko there were glad that the pair found their way back to the fold of hsien, and was content to aid their more magical studies. Of course, he was disappointed that neither was willing to join the Di Fu, but both hirayanu made it clear that they to get on with their adolescence before they could commit elsewhere. For the sake of the families’ harmony, the wise Earth Lord, Ji Bao, agreed.

So for the next four years, this life-style seemed effective for the paired hsien. In and Shiuan were content with their lives even if they both disliked the Communist regime that was so profound in Beijing. Nonetheless, In was disconcerted when his father announced that the family and business would be moving to America for the sake of capitalism. In was sworn to secrecy, and the Hanumen knew better than to go telling his friends in school. He was glad to hear that the Zhao’s were of the same mind. He and Shiuan pondered, however, what they would do for the hsien in such a faraway place.

At first, their kamuii sifu, Ji Bao, recommended that they stay behind in the Di Fu. But neither of them seemed really interested or ready for such a serious court. Ji Bao wracked his brain and remembered the one Court in America, in Kansas City’s Little Asia. So the teenagers dropped subtle hints of commercial practicality in their parents’ laps. They realized their kids had a point: San Francisco was overdone. So came the real task: getting out of China.

Recent Years

And neither In or Shiuan could help there. They returned to their studies while their parents made the arrangements. By September of 2003, the parents had procured well-designed false IDs and passports for travel to and life in the USA. Having saved quite a bit of capitol, the parents were all ready for the move and to start business anew in America. Of course, they still had to essentially take out a loan. What the hirayanu didn’t realize, and even now only suspect, is that the parents made a dark deal with the Triads. In and Shiuan were expecting a jumbo jet like the one that smashed into their school years ago. Instead, they were ferried overseas in a small private plane with some very serious-looking people…

In knew his parents never looked worried. They were well-off enough to afford such a luxurious smuggling. But he knew they owed these folk nonetheless. And while In was not actually related to the Chang’s, he became determined to make sure they stay safe and prosperous. Once in Kansas City’s Little Asia, In obtained a job as a line cook in Panda’s Takeout. There he could juggle noodles to his heart’s content, make money to put away for later or for fun with Shiuan (or to buy gas for his Peewee Herman scooter), and keep an eye on folk coming through that part of town.

Furthermore, he and Shiuan both felt compelled to join the loose Court of Emerald Eyes, since it was not directly associated with any of the old courts of the Middle Kingdom. In all of his recollection, In could not remember a time when the shen acted in such accordance as they did in the Coalition of Little Asia. This, he boded, could be very interesting indeed!

Remembrance


In has an excellent memory of his past. Before incarnation in Chang In’s body, the Hanumen was the baneful pride of the Yu Court of Peking. Essentially the court jester, he put everyone at ease, kept the mandarins on their toes, and made life generally more interesting for everyone there. A Suijen, however, took offense to the Hanumen. Though In doesn’t know this much, he does remember the ambush that the Suijen set up, and dying at the claws of many bakemono. The event stirred the Court from a brief time of stagnation, and many Yomi were purged in In’s name. The blood was shed nonetheless; worse, his Nyan lover was also victim. In spite of In’s excellent memory, he can only grasp at scenes from his previous incarnation. He can only summon brief glimpses from older past lives, many of which followed the same road if in different hsien courts or societies. In other words, In views his unending, direct reincarnations as a direct dharmic progression leading him towards true harmony. Death is only a temporary setback.

Fortunes Favored


Style: Folk Magic
Examples: Ming shu, I Ching, jiaobei, Taoist alchemy

Significant Other


Lovers in past lives, these two hirayanu manifested in a pair of teens who grew up together. Still they stayed together, and their adolescent love develops into the ancient pact of pure love they once shared. It seemed likely that In will get to bask in the loving favors of Shiuan Zhaoti for years -- no, ages to come!

Painfully, in 2007 the two lovers had a Big Fight. It was In’s fault, really. He played a prank on a pair of co-eds and brought on Shiuan’s righteous, jealous wrath. The Nyan was so put out by his refusal to apologize that she left him and town altogether, returning to China to give the silly monkey time to ponder upon his mistakes. But he did, and she still loved him, so she returned to him not too long later and their long, adorable love persists.

Shiuan

Weakness
Jack Ass


In doesn't know when to stop or shut up sometimes. Eventually, someone's just going to beat the hell out of him. And as much as she might love him, that someone will probably be Shiuan!

Likelihood of Corruption


Low.

For one, Hanumen are too good and kind-hearted. Secondly, a fallen Hanumen isn't just scary, it's too weird to even dare conceive!

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Coalition of Little Asia

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