General Character Information
Character's name: Hei
Character's canon: Darker than Black
Personality
Hei initially presents as a cold and ruthless assassin, killing off any who would stand in his way without any remorse. He finds it extremely difficult to trust anyone, but it's quite possible that this problem stems from the fact that he doesn't believe others will trust him either. Hei is also a touch on the paranoid side, but it's expected for a guy who has lived a good chunk of his life in the underworld.
His personality tends to be very subdued when he's at peace, and Hei often appears very lackluster and apathetic when just lounging around by himself and waiting on a new job. He has a very serious attitude toward life and is not the type to joke or goof around. Hei's also not one for social interactions--he's more of a lone wolf type. He tends to be fairly quiet and isn't exactly the best conversationalist, even when prodded.
This is not to say that Hei is a soulless, antisocial killing machine. Hei is capable of experiencing and showing a full range of normal emotions. Admittedly, the most common emotions he does demonstrate are anger and irritation and things like happiness and joy are all but mysterious phenomena in themselves, but they're still emotions! Hei's not so far gone down the dark and evil path that he can't experience and show things like compassion and sorrow, even if he still remains rather inexpressive. Hei even breaks the Contractor norm of always thinking logically: there are times when he takes chances, puts himself on the line, and takes the hard way out.
On the flip side of all of this, Hei is, astonishingly enough, capable of acting like a gentle-hearted and klutzy goof. This persona is one he tends to don when he's undercover, and he plays the role disturbingly well. Hei isn't likely to show this facade on board Stacy, but it may be something he uses during a mission if necessary.
History and Background
Hei's story starts with the appearances of Heaven's Gate in Brazil and Hell's Gate in Japan ten years prior to the beginning of the series. These paranormal phenomena, which are less actual gates and more like areas of space with bizarre, physics-breaking characteristics, cause the appearance of Dolls and Contractors. The former are, as their name implies, like dolls--passive and emotionless--and are relatively incapable of taking care of themselves; some of them, however, are capable of certain skills such as observation through mediums, like water and glass. Contractors, on the other hand, are like mutants who have to provide payment whenever they use their abilities.
Hei's sister, Pai, becomes a Contractor with the appearance of these gates, and as the good brother that he is, he joins her in a secret organization known simply as the Syndicate to keep her safe. Unfortunately, joining the Syndicate means that while they'll keep you "safe" (read: alive) as a Contractor (or let you keep your memories of your experiences with a Contractor, if you're a normal human, as these are normally erased by law enforcement or the military), you'll be forced into the blood-stained underworld. As such, both Hei and Pai become assassins, and they eventually end up taking part in something akin to world war that's happening around Heaven's Gate.
During the course of this war, however, another supernatural phenomenon occurs, leaving a huge part of South America gone--vanished, apparently--and a good portion of the people who taken part in the war missing, including Pai. It is also after this event that Hei discovers that he has now become a Contractor--one with his sister's abilities, no less.
Hei continues to work with the Syndicate after the disappearance of Pai, and at the start of the series, his infamy as the Contractor called the Black Reaper is already quite well known, even if very little about him actually is. After all, those who encounter him tend to end up dead, and therefore, unable to talk about his abilities and the like.
Eventually, Hei's past catches up to him in the form of Amber, a Contractor who had been in his team during the war at Heaven's Gate. Convinced that she was behind the tragedy at Heaven's Gate and his sister's disappearance, Hei ruthlessly pursues her in search of answers (or at the very least, revenge), while Amber herself goes about trying to recruit him for her own purposes.
As it turns out, Pai had transferred her powers to Hei, which makes him a human with Contractor abilities--not an actual Contractor--and Amber is after his powers, namely the one his sister had used at Heaven's Gate to make the entire area disappear. She wishes for him to use this ability and save Hell's Gate, oddly enough, by making it vanish. As it turns out, the vanishing act isn't one at all--the area has simply become inaccessible due to its altered physical make-up, almost as if tucked away in an alternate dimension.
By saving Hell's Gate, Amber promises Hei that he will reunited with his sister and that Contractors will have a future but at the cost of millions of lives. And if he refuses? Then all of the Contractors in the world disappear, courtesy of a weapon the world's intelligence agencies have developed alongside the Syndicate--the very group that Hei has been working for all this time.
Torn by his allegiances, emotions, and desires, Hei eventually chooses a third path. Instead of making Hell's Gate disappear, he makes the weapon vanish at the cost of losing any chance of seeing his sister ever again. In doing so, Hei betrays the Syndicate and goes on the run.
It is from this point that Hei will be coming to the game.
Abilities
Hei is a human who has been given Contractor powers. Contractors are like mutants, but most tend to awaken to their abilities instead of being born with them. However, whenever they use their abilities they have to pay for it with an activity they are driven to complete in a rather OCD fashion. For instance, they might have to line up rocks in a grid-like fashion, eat a certain food, or mutilate themselves. Each Contractor has their own payment, and how much they have to pay is often determined by how much of their power they use.
However, Hei's abilities have been transferred over to him from his sister, which means that he is not technically a Contractor. Because of this, he is freely able to use his abilities as often as he wants without any punishment. It should be noted, however, that Hei does not leave his abilities in a constantly "on" state or anything; he merely activates them for a few seconds at a time whenever he needs to.
The main skill he has at hand is the ability to self-generate and manipulate electricity freely through a medium. For instance, Hei can channel electricity through metal or water (or through a human body, which is likely one of his favorite mediums), but he can't simply call down lightning from the skies or make electricity fly through the air. Hei can control exactly how much power he's packing, meaning that he can flat out kill someone or just zap them enough to put them out for a few minutes. Also of interest is that when he has his abilities activated, he himself cannot be harmed by electricity.
Hei's other skill is not nearly as well explained. Apparently, he is also capable of changing molecules at a quantum level, but this is not an ability that he normally busts out and uses. If nothing else, his control over this skill is poor at best. While Hei does eventually learn to use this ability with a bit more reliability in the manga, from where he comes from currently, he hasn't quite managed this yet. Even "mastered," however, this power seems to be rather inefficient. It requires Hei to be a short distance away from his target, and he has to spend ages concentrating.
All in all, however, there is very little chance that Hei will bother to use this ability in-game. As mentioned before, he's not very good at controlling it (especially at this point in time), and it's quite a bit slower than simply zapping someone. Plus, without the Meteor Fragment, the extent and degree to which he can change something is severely limited.
***
Hei is kind of like Batman with some bonus powers.
While he lacks skills with batarangs, Hei instead uses double-bladed knives on wires, as well as non-knived wires, as grappling hooks, offensive weapons, and conduits for his electricity-based powers. Being the assassin that he is, he's also exceptionally good at hand-to-hand combat and decent enough with firearms, even if he's not usually one to use them. Hei also demonstrates some pretty fantastic strength, agility, speed, and dexterity. On top of that, he has quite a bit of endurance as well as a high pain tolerance.
On a far less serious note, Hei also has the ability (or rather, a need) to consume absolutely ridiculous amounts of food. He has no trouble finishing a meal for ten on his own and then come back for more in a few hours. Unsurprisingly, Hei is a very good and very efficient cook.
Character's canon: Darker than Black
Personality
Hei initially presents as a cold and ruthless assassin, killing off any who would stand in his way without any remorse. He finds it extremely difficult to trust anyone, but it's quite possible that this problem stems from the fact that he doesn't believe others will trust him either. Hei is also a touch on the paranoid side, but it's expected for a guy who has lived a good chunk of his life in the underworld.
His personality tends to be very subdued when he's at peace, and Hei often appears very lackluster and apathetic when just lounging around by himself and waiting on a new job. He has a very serious attitude toward life and is not the type to joke or goof around. Hei's also not one for social interactions--he's more of a lone wolf type. He tends to be fairly quiet and isn't exactly the best conversationalist, even when prodded.
This is not to say that Hei is a soulless, antisocial killing machine. Hei is capable of experiencing and showing a full range of normal emotions. Admittedly, the most common emotions he does demonstrate are anger and irritation and things like happiness and joy are all but mysterious phenomena in themselves, but they're still emotions! Hei's not so far gone down the dark and evil path that he can't experience and show things like compassion and sorrow, even if he still remains rather inexpressive. Hei even breaks the Contractor norm of always thinking logically: there are times when he takes chances, puts himself on the line, and takes the hard way out.
On the flip side of all of this, Hei is, astonishingly enough, capable of acting like a gentle-hearted and klutzy goof. This persona is one he tends to don when he's undercover, and he plays the role disturbingly well. Hei isn't likely to show this facade on board Stacy, but it may be something he uses during a mission if necessary.
History and Background
Hei's story starts with the appearances of Heaven's Gate in Brazil and Hell's Gate in Japan ten years prior to the beginning of the series. These paranormal phenomena, which are less actual gates and more like areas of space with bizarre, physics-breaking characteristics, cause the appearance of Dolls and Contractors. The former are, as their name implies, like dolls--passive and emotionless--and are relatively incapable of taking care of themselves; some of them, however, are capable of certain skills such as observation through mediums, like water and glass. Contractors, on the other hand, are like mutants who have to provide payment whenever they use their abilities.
Hei's sister, Pai, becomes a Contractor with the appearance of these gates, and as the good brother that he is, he joins her in a secret organization known simply as the Syndicate to keep her safe. Unfortunately, joining the Syndicate means that while they'll keep you "safe" (read: alive) as a Contractor (or let you keep your memories of your experiences with a Contractor, if you're a normal human, as these are normally erased by law enforcement or the military), you'll be forced into the blood-stained underworld. As such, both Hei and Pai become assassins, and they eventually end up taking part in something akin to world war that's happening around Heaven's Gate.
During the course of this war, however, another supernatural phenomenon occurs, leaving a huge part of South America gone--vanished, apparently--and a good portion of the people who taken part in the war missing, including Pai. It is also after this event that Hei discovers that he has now become a Contractor--one with his sister's abilities, no less.
Hei continues to work with the Syndicate after the disappearance of Pai, and at the start of the series, his infamy as the Contractor called the Black Reaper is already quite well known, even if very little about him actually is. After all, those who encounter him tend to end up dead, and therefore, unable to talk about his abilities and the like.
Eventually, Hei's past catches up to him in the form of Amber, a Contractor who had been in his team during the war at Heaven's Gate. Convinced that she was behind the tragedy at Heaven's Gate and his sister's disappearance, Hei ruthlessly pursues her in search of answers (or at the very least, revenge), while Amber herself goes about trying to recruit him for her own purposes.
As it turns out, Pai had transferred her powers to Hei, which makes him a human with Contractor abilities--not an actual Contractor--and Amber is after his powers, namely the one his sister had used at Heaven's Gate to make the entire area disappear. She wishes for him to use this ability and save Hell's Gate, oddly enough, by making it vanish. As it turns out, the vanishing act isn't one at all--the area has simply become inaccessible due to its altered physical make-up, almost as if tucked away in an alternate dimension.
By saving Hell's Gate, Amber promises Hei that he will reunited with his sister and that Contractors will have a future but at the cost of millions of lives. And if he refuses? Then all of the Contractors in the world disappear, courtesy of a weapon the world's intelligence agencies have developed alongside the Syndicate--the very group that Hei has been working for all this time.
Torn by his allegiances, emotions, and desires, Hei eventually chooses a third path. Instead of making Hell's Gate disappear, he makes the weapon vanish at the cost of losing any chance of seeing his sister ever again. In doing so, Hei betrays the Syndicate and goes on the run.
It is from this point that Hei will be coming to the game.
Abilities
Hei is a human who has been given Contractor powers. Contractors are like mutants, but most tend to awaken to their abilities instead of being born with them. However, whenever they use their abilities they have to pay for it with an activity they are driven to complete in a rather OCD fashion. For instance, they might have to line up rocks in a grid-like fashion, eat a certain food, or mutilate themselves. Each Contractor has their own payment, and how much they have to pay is often determined by how much of their power they use.
However, Hei's abilities have been transferred over to him from his sister, which means that he is not technically a Contractor. Because of this, he is freely able to use his abilities as often as he wants without any punishment. It should be noted, however, that Hei does not leave his abilities in a constantly "on" state or anything; he merely activates them for a few seconds at a time whenever he needs to.
The main skill he has at hand is the ability to self-generate and manipulate electricity freely through a medium. For instance, Hei can channel electricity through metal or water (or through a human body, which is likely one of his favorite mediums), but he can't simply call down lightning from the skies or make electricity fly through the air. Hei can control exactly how much power he's packing, meaning that he can flat out kill someone or just zap them enough to put them out for a few minutes. Also of interest is that when he has his abilities activated, he himself cannot be harmed by electricity.
Hei's other skill is not nearly as well explained. Apparently, he is also capable of changing molecules at a quantum level, but this is not an ability that he normally busts out and uses. If nothing else, his control over this skill is poor at best. While Hei does eventually learn to use this ability with a bit more reliability in the manga, from where he comes from currently, he hasn't quite managed this yet. Even "mastered," however, this power seems to be rather inefficient. It requires Hei to be a short distance away from his target, and he has to spend ages concentrating.
All in all, however, there is very little chance that Hei will bother to use this ability in-game. As mentioned before, he's not very good at controlling it (especially at this point in time), and it's quite a bit slower than simply zapping someone. Plus, without the Meteor Fragment, the extent and degree to which he can change something is severely limited.
***
Hei is kind of like Batman with some bonus powers.
While he lacks skills with batarangs, Hei instead uses double-bladed knives on wires, as well as non-knived wires, as grappling hooks, offensive weapons, and conduits for his electricity-based powers. Being the assassin that he is, he's also exceptionally good at hand-to-hand combat and decent enough with firearms, even if he's not usually one to use them. Hei also demonstrates some pretty fantastic strength, agility, speed, and dexterity. On top of that, he has quite a bit of endurance as well as a high pain tolerance.
On a far less serious note, Hei also has the ability (or rather, a need) to consume absolutely ridiculous amounts of food. He has no trouble finishing a meal for ten on his own and then come back for more in a few hours. Unsurprisingly, Hei is a very good and very efficient cook.