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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8649463" data-attributes="member: 30538">Shānyáng/山羊<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-RWPkTSL/0/a4a6fbff/M/EY1lEYWXQAAEBlW-M.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />No house of the Shēngxiào has seen so much turnover as the house of the Goat. The first occupant lasted barely a month before an ill-considered scheme revealed the existence of the group to the newly-founded Ghost Sweepers, resulting in his demise in battle. Two others followed him, both pursuing more subtle schemes focused on gaining control of the vice trade in their respective bases of operation, only to fall in their turn to rivals within and without the group. And then, in 2016, the man who would become the current occupant was chosen, and quietly signaled his intentions by adopting the alias Shānyáng in mockery of Shēng Lóng. Despite that, he has held on to his position for slightly longer than his predecessor, and seems likely to endure for a while.Suzushiro Yagi never wanted to be a teacher. Raised by a stern grandmother and told that both of his deceased parents had been teachers -- which does not seem to have been the case, incidentally -- he was not given any real choice in his profession. So he spent his life studying, never making any friends during his days in high school or college, and finally emerged from it as a student teacher shortly after his grandmother passed away. Finding the entire situation miserable, he vowed to do the bare minimum to keep his job and nothing more. When he suspected that one of his students was being bullied by her classmates, Yagi chose to ignore it, since he was just an educator, not some sort of caregiver. Even when she asked him for help, he told her to just avoid the bullies and they would eventually leave her alone.That did not happen, and the bullies ended up killing her. The fact that her teacher had known about the situation and done nothing about it became a huge scandal. Yagi found himself suspended, which was not so bad given that he hated being a teacher. But he was also summoned to a meeting with the head of the family to which his late student had belonged, and he suspected that they would not be interested in listening to his excuses about how he had thought it was not his job to protect his students. He was right ... but not in the way that he thought. Expecting to find the family head, older sister to his student, to be angry, he was startled and failed to consider the implications of the calm reception he received instead. When he finally offered up a half-hearted apology for the situation, Yagi was not at all prepared to be told that, far from being upset at him for his role in the death of her sister, she was quite grateful for what he had done -- as it had made it that much easier for the bullies, whose services she had purchased, to get her sister alone and murder her, so that she was now the sole heir to their family fortune. Stunned at this confession, Yagi stammered out a vague threat to go to the police with what he had learned. The family head smiled and explained this would be hearsay testimony and invalid; she had already arranged for the actual killers to escape any punishment, and wondered if he really thought she could not protect herself. When he attempted to leave -- to flee, really -- he found himself held in his chair by a force he could not perceive. Heedless of his increasing panic, the family head explained to him that the time had come to discuss the reward for his services to her. Since he was going to lose his position because of this, it was only just that she arrange for one to replace it. He was going to be joining the staff of a private school that her family owned. "And no matter what happens," she told him with a terribly cruel smile, "you will always be a teacher there, for the rest of your life." Whatever guilt his shallow, selfish nature had allowed Yagi to feel was instantly erased by the despair of being caught in a profession that he had come to hate, and his mind broke. It reformed a moment later when Diorite, observing this experiment by the second occupant of the house of the Rooster, granted him the power he now possesses. It is one of the more subtle powers in the employ of the Shēngxiào, secretly warping minds so that the victims experience confusion, depression and misfortune without ever being able to associate these symptoms with their source. For the most part, Yagi uses his power on whichever of his students manages to attract his interest, whether for good or bad behavior. However, he has also unleashed its full effects in public areas as a distraction for other members of the Shēngxiào, and has become accomplished at pretending to be affected by whatever strange phenomena is at work. Recognizing that he has next to no combat ability without his powers, Shānyáng will seek to escape from any conflict with someone who seems able to resist them.Ironically, Shānyáng has a very poor relationship with Haha Niwatori, who brought him into the Shēngxiào on the assumption that he would support her in its power struggles. His fractured mind makes it difficult for her to exercise her mind control powers over him, and any social threats that she might make have no meaning to him. She could end his employment, but that would be a reward to him. He cares nothing for money or social status, and could probably incapacitate most of the minions in her employ quite easily. On the other hand, she is immune to his powers as well. So they confine themselves to verbal sniping, ironically convincing most of their fellows that they are strongly allied.Perhaps the central tragedy of Suzushiro Yagi is that he is, in fact, a good teacher, able to keep the attention of his students and convey the lesson plans set by the school board so that students understand them, and possessing a great memory for names, faces and personal information. He only lacks the empathy required to use these skills effectively. If not for the fact that he was forced into the profession, he might have come to it naturally, or found some other way to employ these talents that benefited humanity. But he was a nail that stood up and was then ... not hammered down, but pulled out from the board in a way that twisted it into a disturbing shape.Shānyáng -- PL 9Abilities:STR 0 | STA 3 | AGL 1 | DEX 0 | FGT 2 | INT 2 | AWE 2 | PRE 4Powers:Aura of Despair: Progressive Selective Burst Area Affliction 9 (Resisted by Will; Dazed & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Stunned, Incapacitated), Extra Condition, Insidious, Subtle - 56 pointsSuch Misfortune: Selective Burst Area Luck Control 2 (forced reroll, negate), Insidious, Luck 5, Subtle - 17 pointsUtterly Unfazeable: Immunity 5 (interaction skills); Immunity 20 (mental effects), Limited to half effect - 15 pointsAdvantages:Assessment, Connected, Daze (Teacher), Eidetic Memory, Hide in Plain Sight.Skills:Deception 8 (+12), Expertise: Current Events 8 (+10), Expertise: Popular Culture 7 (+9), Expertise: Teacher 7 (+11), Insight 10 (+12), Perception 8 (+10), Persuasion 6 (+10), Stealth 8 (+9).Offense:Initiative +1Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 0)Aura of Despair -- (Burst Area Will 9)Defense:Dodge 4, Parry 5, Fortitude 4, Toughness 3, Will 8Totals:Abilities 28 + Powers 79 + Advantages 5 + Skills 31 + Defenses 12 = 164 pointsOffensive PL: 9Defensive PL: 4Resistance PL: 6Skill PL: 7Complications:Bitterness--Motivation. Near-sighted. Secret Identity. Subject to Orders."Heroes ride ... goats walk."</blockquote>

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