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ryslig - application.
OOC INFORMATION
Name: Yayo
Contact: plurk: strexcorp | personal journal: gizibe
Other Characters: -/-
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: "Jaqen H'ghar"
Age: Unknown, approximately early thirties.
Canon: A Song of Ice and Fire
Canon Point: A Clash of Kings, Chapter 47
Character Information: ① ②
Personality: Jaqen's personality can be divided in three parts: the act that makes up "Jaqen H'ghar" as an assumed identity, genuine traits of the 'man behind the mask', and the philosophy and patterns of the Faceless Men and the cult of the Many-Faced God.
Jaqen is a charming fellow. He is polite, eloquent, and well-mannered, and while both his hairstyle and manner of speech might make him look eccentric to some, his overall nature would make him appear trustworthy enough. The only thing that puts a serious damper on his charisma is the fact that he first appears as an imprisoned, apparently highly dangerous criminal, and, later, as a member of the Brave Companions.
Unlike his fellow prisoners (or later Bloody Mummers), he shows not a single sign of a bad temper. Even when Arya makes it clear that she isn't about to do some criminal any favors during their first encounter, he neither threatens nor insults her. Instead, he reacts calmly and remains friendly, if mildly disappointed. This is actually a fairly important bit of canon: he later admits that he was well aware of "Arry's" true gender all along, and threatening to reveal this (or skipping that middle-man and simply going right ahead) could have had disastrous consequences for Arya.
He is shown to drop a smug comment or two, but never entirely without prompt and usually containing a more or less useful hint -- for instance, while he does point out that Arya isn't as quiet as she thinks she is in the bathhouse scene, he also tells her that, if she were to go barefoot next time, results could improve. He then tries to splash her with some water, and while calling him "playful" for it would take things too far, it can't be argued that he did it for the heck of it, hinting on him having some sense of humor.
Speaking of the bathhouse... Time to deal with the final part of the surface. Apparently, Jaqen is taking his personal hygiene rather seriously, and while it's not revealed whether that is part of his act or an actual tick of his, it's mentioned regularly during his appearances, so, combining that with the kind of canon/times he is from, GRRM makes it look like a Big Deal. Thanks, GRRM.
While he seems to be rather comfortable with being Jaqen, and even appears to be a little sad when canon events lead to the end of his stint with that face and name, "Jaqen" is merely the assumed identity of a Faceless Man from Braavos. The man who calls himself "Jaqen" thinks of himself as "No One", as all disciples of the Many-Faced God do. He discarded his real name and origin (if he even remembers both or either), and feels neither the need nor the desire to act like they ever mattered.
Not everything is an act, however.
He is an extremely calm person. Even when faced with dangerous, inescapable, or plain unfortunate situations, he shows no signs of fear, desperation, or anger. Very, very little will actually genuinely be jarring to him, and even then, the calm front is highly likely to remain in place. Any other emotional reaction would simply not be practical and is only likely to make his situation even more complicated, not to think of the fact that wrong steps can throw him back on a job. Days, weeks, months, or even years back.
Not like that matters. Faceless Men are hired for their efficiency, the fact that their murders often look like accidents, and precision. Collateral damage doesn't exist with them, but, at least according to "Jaqen", neither does time. Depending on who his victim is, there can literally be anything from days to years between the contract and the death of said person. Particularly well-protected, important people (think royalty, for instance) aren't easy to get close to, lest of all safely, and the process requires enormous amounts of patience, self-control, and cunning. If he accidentally causes suspicion, draws the wrong kind of attention to his person, he'll have to start over again, or deal with potentially life-threatening consequences. He doesn't just need an ever-changing strategy, he needs to be able to think on his feet at all times to reach his goal.
As a whole, Jaqen rolls with the punches. If life gives him lemons, he agrees to take the black, and when life then goes on to set everything on fire, he isn't above asking for help followed by joining a convenient horde of brutal sellswords. In less flowery words: if an opportunity presents itself, he will work with it to the best of his abilities, but is quick to move on to a better one, should it be necessary and/or useful to him. In the same vein, while his shown default modus operandi is to work alone, if it isn't going as it should, there won't be stubbornness or stupid pride keeping him from working together with someone else. However, this is no sign of loyalty -- that one belongs to his god. Even if he goes as far as to call someone a 'friend', he is unlikely to help them unless he or his god benefit from it.
The thing that makes the Faceless Men so efficient is their ability to blend in. Just because he is now stuck being Jaqen, doesn't mean he lost that skill. Being charismatic and sociable is one thing, being able and willing to learn another. One of the first thing a disciple of the House of Black and White has to do is to assume an identity and then go out and live that identity's life. Learn the language, get to know the culture, the customs. Learn secrets, tricks, normal everyday life things that might come in handy one day, if only to make his lies more believable. Listen to the rumors and stories. Meet the people. All these things are as important to a Faceless Man as a shield is to a knight: they form his identity, the knowledge is power, and they protect him when push comes to shove. In other words, not only is he excellent at picking up on a lot of things, but he also knows how to properly use said knowledge -- and when it's better to keep something for himself.
In his eyes, death is nothing to fear. Death is a "gift" from the Many-Faced God, and as such, not a bad thing. This does not mean he wants to die; the cult surrounding his god just and simply sees death as something natural and inevitable. Immortality or a long life don't matter, death is fate. ... Fate that can be bought for an incredibly high price and is distributed by "Jaqen" and his fellows.
He is a religious man. This can't be stressed enough. To him, killing isn't about fun and it isn't about having a job, it's a religious service he does in the name of his cult. This is why accidental additional killings (like the murdering of passerby servants) are to be avoided. This is why killing an important person can take so very long, and why the price is so high. It buys the taking of one life and thus justifies it. Anything that goes beyond that is not justified and requires some seriously extreme circumstances for Jaqen to be the cause of it (for example: as the only way to avoid having to kill himself).
The same goes for saving lives. Within his religion, it is considered "cheating" the Many-Faced God, thus creating a debt... which then needs to be paid. This is why Jaqen is unlikely to save anyone, unless the benefits outweigh the cons of having to kill a person to make up for the saved life, particularly in a situation in which he will not be able to evade the consequences by donning a new face.
5-10 Key Character Traits: calm, assertive, dishonest, patient, efficient, unwavering, ruthless, determined
Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, or EITHER? A fitting one, please.
Opt-Outs: Arachne, Goblin, Troll, Naga, Minotaur
Roleplay Sample: I hope this will do. c:
Name: Yayo
Contact: plurk: strexcorp | personal journal: gizibe
Other Characters: -/-
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: "Jaqen H'ghar"
Age: Unknown, approximately early thirties.
Canon: A Song of Ice and Fire
Canon Point: A Clash of Kings, Chapter 47
Character Information: ① ②
Personality: Jaqen's personality can be divided in three parts: the act that makes up "Jaqen H'ghar" as an assumed identity, genuine traits of the 'man behind the mask', and the philosophy and patterns of the Faceless Men and the cult of the Many-Faced God.
Jaqen is a charming fellow. He is polite, eloquent, and well-mannered, and while both his hairstyle and manner of speech might make him look eccentric to some, his overall nature would make him appear trustworthy enough. The only thing that puts a serious damper on his charisma is the fact that he first appears as an imprisoned, apparently highly dangerous criminal, and, later, as a member of the Brave Companions.
Unlike his fellow prisoners (or later Bloody Mummers), he shows not a single sign of a bad temper. Even when Arya makes it clear that she isn't about to do some criminal any favors during their first encounter, he neither threatens nor insults her. Instead, he reacts calmly and remains friendly, if mildly disappointed. This is actually a fairly important bit of canon: he later admits that he was well aware of "Arry's" true gender all along, and threatening to reveal this (or skipping that middle-man and simply going right ahead) could have had disastrous consequences for Arya.
He is shown to drop a smug comment or two, but never entirely without prompt and usually containing a more or less useful hint -- for instance, while he does point out that Arya isn't as quiet as she thinks she is in the bathhouse scene, he also tells her that, if she were to go barefoot next time, results could improve. He then tries to splash her with some water, and while calling him "playful" for it would take things too far, it can't be argued that he did it for the heck of it, hinting on him having some sense of humor.
Speaking of the bathhouse... Time to deal with the final part of the surface. Apparently, Jaqen is taking his personal hygiene rather seriously, and while it's not revealed whether that is part of his act or an actual tick of his, it's mentioned regularly during his appearances, so, combining that with the kind of canon/times he is from, GRRM makes it look like a Big Deal. Thanks, GRRM.
While he seems to be rather comfortable with being Jaqen, and even appears to be a little sad when canon events lead to the end of his stint with that face and name, "Jaqen" is merely the assumed identity of a Faceless Man from Braavos. The man who calls himself "Jaqen" thinks of himself as "No One", as all disciples of the Many-Faced God do. He discarded his real name and origin (if he even remembers both or either), and feels neither the need nor the desire to act like they ever mattered.
Not everything is an act, however.
He is an extremely calm person. Even when faced with dangerous, inescapable, or plain unfortunate situations, he shows no signs of fear, desperation, or anger. Very, very little will actually genuinely be jarring to him, and even then, the calm front is highly likely to remain in place. Any other emotional reaction would simply not be practical and is only likely to make his situation even more complicated, not to think of the fact that wrong steps can throw him back on a job. Days, weeks, months, or even years back.
Not like that matters. Faceless Men are hired for their efficiency, the fact that their murders often look like accidents, and precision. Collateral damage doesn't exist with them, but, at least according to "Jaqen", neither does time. Depending on who his victim is, there can literally be anything from days to years between the contract and the death of said person. Particularly well-protected, important people (think royalty, for instance) aren't easy to get close to, lest of all safely, and the process requires enormous amounts of patience, self-control, and cunning. If he accidentally causes suspicion, draws the wrong kind of attention to his person, he'll have to start over again, or deal with potentially life-threatening consequences. He doesn't just need an ever-changing strategy, he needs to be able to think on his feet at all times to reach his goal.
As a whole, Jaqen rolls with the punches. If life gives him lemons, he agrees to take the black, and when life then goes on to set everything on fire, he isn't above asking for help followed by joining a convenient horde of brutal sellswords. In less flowery words: if an opportunity presents itself, he will work with it to the best of his abilities, but is quick to move on to a better one, should it be necessary and/or useful to him. In the same vein, while his shown default modus operandi is to work alone, if it isn't going as it should, there won't be stubbornness or stupid pride keeping him from working together with someone else. However, this is no sign of loyalty -- that one belongs to his god. Even if he goes as far as to call someone a 'friend', he is unlikely to help them unless he or his god benefit from it.
The thing that makes the Faceless Men so efficient is their ability to blend in. Just because he is now stuck being Jaqen, doesn't mean he lost that skill. Being charismatic and sociable is one thing, being able and willing to learn another. One of the first thing a disciple of the House of Black and White has to do is to assume an identity and then go out and live that identity's life. Learn the language, get to know the culture, the customs. Learn secrets, tricks, normal everyday life things that might come in handy one day, if only to make his lies more believable. Listen to the rumors and stories. Meet the people. All these things are as important to a Faceless Man as a shield is to a knight: they form his identity, the knowledge is power, and they protect him when push comes to shove. In other words, not only is he excellent at picking up on a lot of things, but he also knows how to properly use said knowledge -- and when it's better to keep something for himself.
In his eyes, death is nothing to fear. Death is a "gift" from the Many-Faced God, and as such, not a bad thing. This does not mean he wants to die; the cult surrounding his god just and simply sees death as something natural and inevitable. Immortality or a long life don't matter, death is fate. ... Fate that can be bought for an incredibly high price and is distributed by "Jaqen" and his fellows.
He is a religious man. This can't be stressed enough. To him, killing isn't about fun and it isn't about having a job, it's a religious service he does in the name of his cult. This is why accidental additional killings (like the murdering of passerby servants) are to be avoided. This is why killing an important person can take so very long, and why the price is so high. It buys the taking of one life and thus justifies it. Anything that goes beyond that is not justified and requires some seriously extreme circumstances for Jaqen to be the cause of it (for example: as the only way to avoid having to kill himself).
The same goes for saving lives. Within his religion, it is considered "cheating" the Many-Faced God, thus creating a debt... which then needs to be paid. This is why Jaqen is unlikely to save anyone, unless the benefits outweigh the cons of having to kill a person to make up for the saved life, particularly in a situation in which he will not be able to evade the consequences by donning a new face.
5-10 Key Character Traits: calm, assertive, dishonest, patient, efficient, unwavering, ruthless, determined
Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, or EITHER? A fitting one, please.
Opt-Outs: Arachne, Goblin, Troll, Naga, Minotaur
Roleplay Sample: I hope this will do. c: