Personality and Abilities
Sep. 20th, 2013 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
littlewoodgeckoPing Pong is primarily an energetic, sometimes hyperactive, and fairly happy-go-lucky person by default. He's helpful, easygoing, kindhearted, and eager to please and in overall character. At first glance he's also brave, determined, and has a strong sense of good over evil, and he actively enjoys the chance to kick villain butt when it presents itself. Naive and sincere, he doesn't go out of his way to impress normally and doesn't go through pretenses, nor does he always understand when he's done something to irritate someone...especially if he hasn't actually done something wrong. Interestingly, despite his naivete, he's not gullible when it comes to people and things that he deals with on a regular basis.
Having traveled much of Europe delivering messages, Ping Pong understands multiple including English, which he uses the most. Oddly, though almost definitely because it isn't his first language and so he doesn't always know the words he wants, he speaks primarily English but with sprinklings of French, Italian, and Spanish here and there. When he's really worked up he tends to use almost fluent French, Italian, or Spanish, but sometimes can still stick to mostly English.
Despite having been raised in temples and mostly dealing with other monks Ping Pong is very well socialized, most likely because he has traveled so much. He likes to make friends, or to at least be on good terms with the people he's around and is very polite and enjoys being helpful, attempting to get along with just about anyone he meets. A good Samaritan, he's quick to offer a helping hand when a person seems like they could use it. He doesn't shy away from hard work and likes to see others happy and in the case disputes will try to diffuse them if he can, especially if they're about him. He's willing to volunteer to do even some of the most odd or potentially dangerous tasks...such as crawling into a dragon's mouth to search inside it for answers. Doing a good job, especially for friends or those he looks up to, is very important to him.
Despite aspiring to become a great Xiaolin Dragon someday, Ping Pong is a little bit of a sheep. He has strong beliefs and morals but in many things he defers to the decisions of others unless he has a serious reason to oppose such decisions. He may not always speak up for others, or even be oblivious to the fact that something is wrong in the group if everything lrgely seems normal. He's also quick to want to join in with friendly fun or just relaxing time in the groups. But if the group has done something wrong, even if he wasn't directly the wrong-doer, he will be one of the first, if not the first, to apologize both for his actions or the group's.
Ping Pong likes to learn, so much so that he has already studied almost 1500 years of history and the answers to things like how bees fly with such small wings and why baboons have bright red bottoms. When presented with the chance to learn new skills that might be useful he will eagerly jump on the opportunity and strive to live up to his teacher's expectations. He's fairly well-read in various subjects, including but not limited to: the nature of dragons, legendary mystical objects, and technology and how it works.He stated that he reads a lot, and implies that it wasn't only for his studies, so it's probably a hobby picked up to pass the time when nothing else is needed to be done. He's often quick to act, which has equal chance to work for or against him depending on the situation, and constantly seems to have energy to burn. When excited in any way outside of battle, he becomes much more animated and may move or speak at faster speeds and as such may be harder to understand if he's trying to convey something.
At times a bit clueless, Ping Pong is obviously very innocent and is naive enough to not always realize ulterior motives and may even miss things like poorly disguised jealousy. He may also not realize some good things said about himself or others, and likely would miss flirting or most sexual innuendo if he heard it. More obvious things like lies that he's aware of or the tricks of someone he knows can't be trusted aren't likely to get by him though. It would take a lot to seriously break mistrust toward an enemy and he's pretty reluctant to beleieve someone who was his enemy would just change. But if he were convinced then they would probably be treated the same as any other friend until he was given a reason to mistrust them again. By the same token, it would probably take a lot to break the trust he has in his friends and people he looks up to.
His innocence, willingness to please, and tendency to quietly endure what's expected of him can easily lead to him being taken advantage of even by his friends. He tries so hard to do what's expected of him that no matter how impossible something seems he'll still try to do it and feel as though he failed if he can't or falls behind...which may lead to him doing something foolish in order to get things done.
He strongly believes that if one has the truth then everything falls into place, though he knows not everyone is truthful. This is also the trait in his mentor, Omi, that he respects above all else. He has the type of honesty that lets him genuinely give praise when he feels something is praise-worthy, even if he does come across as easily impressed at times, but doesn't seem the type to talk down to others. He also shows the appropriate respect to most people, especially his elders, provided they are not his enemies. But again he never really becomes outright disrespectful to even those people he doesn't respect.
When in the presence of someone he really looks up to, Ping Pong's demeanor doesn't change too much even if he worships the ground they walk on. He does want to be around them more and their praise or disappointment in him has a stronger effect, but he continues to be himself and wouldn't do anything he'd be unwilling to do for anyone else to gain their favor. Letting that person down is something that would be extremely hard on his self esteem, even in circumstances where it was an outside factor responsible and he knew it. But he seems to not be lacking in confidence, simply humble. He accepts praise given when he's earned it, but also takes the responsibility for something when made aware that he's at fault...whether he was actually the one at fault or not. He is the type to do whatever seems to be the right solution to rectify his error as well. It's pretty obvious when he has a favorite because that's who he gives most of his attention to, but that's only most of his attention since he still has time for others.
He carries a journal that he writes about his daily life in. He keeps it with him fairly often and his entries also include well done little drawings of the things that stood out about a day's events, hinting that he might like to sketch in his spare time. He has surprisingly good skill in drawing despite showing no interest in it as of yet. The fact that he keeps a diary shows that he likes to look back on things in his life and he tends to record both the good and bad rather than one or the other.
Ping Pong is a competitive person sometimes, but his level competitiveness isn't most people's view of competitive. He's confident but not cocky and doesn't seem to really even view his competition as competition unless it's more of a good vs. evil situation. He plays and fights hard in anything from a battle for a new Shen Gong Wu to beating his fellow monks to get the mail on days that their families send them letters, but is a good sport and simply does his best in whatever he does. If he wins then he doesn't gloat, and if he loses or has to concede defeat he'll still be gracious and congratulate his opponent sincerely...unless they're evil in which case he'll be quietly disappointed.
When not in direct-opposition types of competition he is willing to work side-by-side with his rivals, albeit reluctantly since it's generally a good/evil team-up and runs the risk of betrayal, with no motives but the chance for both of them benefit from the cooperation for the greater good.
Ping Pong is not fearless, but his strong determination lets him stand and face situations even some adults couldn't. He has a sense of honor and will attempt to protect those who need it, though if it were a bad guy it would be with more reluctance. His mind doesn't seem to work on the idea of what he stands to gain from a situation, even if there is something to gain, but from trying to do the right thing...even if what seems to be the right thing puts him in a dangerous situation. His sense of honor isn't so strong that he wouldn't enjoy beating up even a pathetically weak villain though, since it would still be a villain being evil. Even though he can have fun in a fight or in his training, he knows very well when the situation is serious or when his utmost focus is required and will give it. He won't back down from a challenge when something important is at stake, and will do anything in his power to deal in a serious situation.
For some reason Ping Pong is very afraid of turkeys, though he's also perfectly aware that it's not a normal fear. As such he's ashamed to admit it to other, though he doesn't exactly try to pretend that he's not afraid. He just doesn't want to admit it especially to someone he looks up to. More reasonably, he is also afraid of being unable to ever amount to anything, which is part of his motivation to try so hard in everything he does. He wants nothing more than to be acknowledged because he legitimately did well in his endeavor. Alongside that is the want to be included, not so great as to try to be where he knows he's not wanted or able to be but enough to attempt to keep up in the activity. He can take being turned away for whatever reason, but that doesn't mean there won't be any potentially hurt feeling for him on the matter.
Apparently not one to lose his temper easily, Ping Pong is more likely to be seen pouting in disappointment than losing his temper. He goes from his usual happy demeanor to serious in the times that call for it, but it takes something bad happening like him seeing a friend hurt by someone for something to actually upset him. Even in a situation where danger seems immediate to him or friends, he would rather find a more peaceful solution if he could see one present itself. Likewise if the most obvious solution to a dire situation involved sacrificing someone else he wouldn't want to do it, but may be forced to no matter his feelings.
Like his mentor he sleeps balancing on his head in a meditative position, which he can maintain even on narrow surfaces unless he's abruptly awakened by something. For some reason, he also doesn't mind sleeping naked and has little modesty about his body. But if leaving his room before actually getting dressed for the day, he does have the common courtesy to at least cover himself in a blanket first.
Abilities
Ping Pong is a Xiaolin apprentice and a fairly competent fighter despite lack of formal training. His speed is well above that of a normal human, allowing him to cover large distances in short amounts of time, though not as quickly as flying on Dojo or a plane. His physical strength and endurance re also above average, as he's been shown to have the strength to break a stone wall with his fists and the endurance to put up a fight after trying to hold off the assault of multiple jungle cats. The wiki says that he's frail in combat, but he has been shown to be able to get up after being slammed into his allies, having a much larger person land on him hard enough to leave an indent in the ground, and being slammed into a rock wall with enough force for his light body to leave an impression...he's also been only knocked unconscious when being thrown through a solid wood door.
Combat-wise he is quick and agile, able to flip and dodge as well as use several fighting techniques such as Slapping Mosquitoes, but he still needs training and has a lot of room to improve. His current skill level puts him above a normal person, but nowhere near on par with a master of martial arts. His tiger instinct, the ability to sense the movements around him and predict and appropriately react to them, are not yet well trained. He can usually follow the movements, even using the reflection in his glasses to see enemies attacking from behind, but he can be taken by surprise or misjudge an action.
His element is wood, but he hasn't yet shown any ability to manifest it and may not without guidance from someone who either has an elemental power or is a Xiaolin monk, or unless he's in a dire situation that causes it to manifest...in which case he would still need regular training to master it. He has been shown to have the potential to learn at least basic control over wind, fire, and earth as shown in one episode that the other monks have been teaching him. It's not known yet if he could do water as well though.
Having traveled much of Europe delivering messages, Ping Pong understands multiple including English, which he uses the most. Oddly, though almost definitely because it isn't his first language and so he doesn't always know the words he wants, he speaks primarily English but with sprinklings of French, Italian, and Spanish here and there. When he's really worked up he tends to use almost fluent French, Italian, or Spanish, but sometimes can still stick to mostly English.
Despite having been raised in temples and mostly dealing with other monks Ping Pong is very well socialized, most likely because he has traveled so much. He likes to make friends, or to at least be on good terms with the people he's around and is very polite and enjoys being helpful, attempting to get along with just about anyone he meets. A good Samaritan, he's quick to offer a helping hand when a person seems like they could use it. He doesn't shy away from hard work and likes to see others happy and in the case disputes will try to diffuse them if he can, especially if they're about him. He's willing to volunteer to do even some of the most odd or potentially dangerous tasks...such as crawling into a dragon's mouth to search inside it for answers. Doing a good job, especially for friends or those he looks up to, is very important to him.
Despite aspiring to become a great Xiaolin Dragon someday, Ping Pong is a little bit of a sheep. He has strong beliefs and morals but in many things he defers to the decisions of others unless he has a serious reason to oppose such decisions. He may not always speak up for others, or even be oblivious to the fact that something is wrong in the group if everything lrgely seems normal. He's also quick to want to join in with friendly fun or just relaxing time in the groups. But if the group has done something wrong, even if he wasn't directly the wrong-doer, he will be one of the first, if not the first, to apologize both for his actions or the group's.
Ping Pong likes to learn, so much so that he has already studied almost 1500 years of history and the answers to things like how bees fly with such small wings and why baboons have bright red bottoms. When presented with the chance to learn new skills that might be useful he will eagerly jump on the opportunity and strive to live up to his teacher's expectations. He's fairly well-read in various subjects, including but not limited to: the nature of dragons, legendary mystical objects, and technology and how it works.He stated that he reads a lot, and implies that it wasn't only for his studies, so it's probably a hobby picked up to pass the time when nothing else is needed to be done. He's often quick to act, which has equal chance to work for or against him depending on the situation, and constantly seems to have energy to burn. When excited in any way outside of battle, he becomes much more animated and may move or speak at faster speeds and as such may be harder to understand if he's trying to convey something.
At times a bit clueless, Ping Pong is obviously very innocent and is naive enough to not always realize ulterior motives and may even miss things like poorly disguised jealousy. He may also not realize some good things said about himself or others, and likely would miss flirting or most sexual innuendo if he heard it. More obvious things like lies that he's aware of or the tricks of someone he knows can't be trusted aren't likely to get by him though. It would take a lot to seriously break mistrust toward an enemy and he's pretty reluctant to beleieve someone who was his enemy would just change. But if he were convinced then they would probably be treated the same as any other friend until he was given a reason to mistrust them again. By the same token, it would probably take a lot to break the trust he has in his friends and people he looks up to.
His innocence, willingness to please, and tendency to quietly endure what's expected of him can easily lead to him being taken advantage of even by his friends. He tries so hard to do what's expected of him that no matter how impossible something seems he'll still try to do it and feel as though he failed if he can't or falls behind...which may lead to him doing something foolish in order to get things done.
He strongly believes that if one has the truth then everything falls into place, though he knows not everyone is truthful. This is also the trait in his mentor, Omi, that he respects above all else. He has the type of honesty that lets him genuinely give praise when he feels something is praise-worthy, even if he does come across as easily impressed at times, but doesn't seem the type to talk down to others. He also shows the appropriate respect to most people, especially his elders, provided they are not his enemies. But again he never really becomes outright disrespectful to even those people he doesn't respect.
When in the presence of someone he really looks up to, Ping Pong's demeanor doesn't change too much even if he worships the ground they walk on. He does want to be around them more and their praise or disappointment in him has a stronger effect, but he continues to be himself and wouldn't do anything he'd be unwilling to do for anyone else to gain their favor. Letting that person down is something that would be extremely hard on his self esteem, even in circumstances where it was an outside factor responsible and he knew it. But he seems to not be lacking in confidence, simply humble. He accepts praise given when he's earned it, but also takes the responsibility for something when made aware that he's at fault...whether he was actually the one at fault or not. He is the type to do whatever seems to be the right solution to rectify his error as well. It's pretty obvious when he has a favorite because that's who he gives most of his attention to, but that's only most of his attention since he still has time for others.
He carries a journal that he writes about his daily life in. He keeps it with him fairly often and his entries also include well done little drawings of the things that stood out about a day's events, hinting that he might like to sketch in his spare time. He has surprisingly good skill in drawing despite showing no interest in it as of yet. The fact that he keeps a diary shows that he likes to look back on things in his life and he tends to record both the good and bad rather than one or the other.
Ping Pong is a competitive person sometimes, but his level competitiveness isn't most people's view of competitive. He's confident but not cocky and doesn't seem to really even view his competition as competition unless it's more of a good vs. evil situation. He plays and fights hard in anything from a battle for a new Shen Gong Wu to beating his fellow monks to get the mail on days that their families send them letters, but is a good sport and simply does his best in whatever he does. If he wins then he doesn't gloat, and if he loses or has to concede defeat he'll still be gracious and congratulate his opponent sincerely...unless they're evil in which case he'll be quietly disappointed.
When not in direct-opposition types of competition he is willing to work side-by-side with his rivals, albeit reluctantly since it's generally a good/evil team-up and runs the risk of betrayal, with no motives but the chance for both of them benefit from the cooperation for the greater good.
Ping Pong is not fearless, but his strong determination lets him stand and face situations even some adults couldn't. He has a sense of honor and will attempt to protect those who need it, though if it were a bad guy it would be with more reluctance. His mind doesn't seem to work on the idea of what he stands to gain from a situation, even if there is something to gain, but from trying to do the right thing...even if what seems to be the right thing puts him in a dangerous situation. His sense of honor isn't so strong that he wouldn't enjoy beating up even a pathetically weak villain though, since it would still be a villain being evil. Even though he can have fun in a fight or in his training, he knows very well when the situation is serious or when his utmost focus is required and will give it. He won't back down from a challenge when something important is at stake, and will do anything in his power to deal in a serious situation.
For some reason Ping Pong is very afraid of turkeys, though he's also perfectly aware that it's not a normal fear. As such he's ashamed to admit it to other, though he doesn't exactly try to pretend that he's not afraid. He just doesn't want to admit it especially to someone he looks up to. More reasonably, he is also afraid of being unable to ever amount to anything, which is part of his motivation to try so hard in everything he does. He wants nothing more than to be acknowledged because he legitimately did well in his endeavor. Alongside that is the want to be included, not so great as to try to be where he knows he's not wanted or able to be but enough to attempt to keep up in the activity. He can take being turned away for whatever reason, but that doesn't mean there won't be any potentially hurt feeling for him on the matter.
Apparently not one to lose his temper easily, Ping Pong is more likely to be seen pouting in disappointment than losing his temper. He goes from his usual happy demeanor to serious in the times that call for it, but it takes something bad happening like him seeing a friend hurt by someone for something to actually upset him. Even in a situation where danger seems immediate to him or friends, he would rather find a more peaceful solution if he could see one present itself. Likewise if the most obvious solution to a dire situation involved sacrificing someone else he wouldn't want to do it, but may be forced to no matter his feelings.
Like his mentor he sleeps balancing on his head in a meditative position, which he can maintain even on narrow surfaces unless he's abruptly awakened by something. For some reason, he also doesn't mind sleeping naked and has little modesty about his body. But if leaving his room before actually getting dressed for the day, he does have the common courtesy to at least cover himself in a blanket first.
Abilities
Ping Pong is a Xiaolin apprentice and a fairly competent fighter despite lack of formal training. His speed is well above that of a normal human, allowing him to cover large distances in short amounts of time, though not as quickly as flying on Dojo or a plane. His physical strength and endurance re also above average, as he's been shown to have the strength to break a stone wall with his fists and the endurance to put up a fight after trying to hold off the assault of multiple jungle cats. The wiki says that he's frail in combat, but he has been shown to be able to get up after being slammed into his allies, having a much larger person land on him hard enough to leave an indent in the ground, and being slammed into a rock wall with enough force for his light body to leave an impression...he's also been only knocked unconscious when being thrown through a solid wood door.
Combat-wise he is quick and agile, able to flip and dodge as well as use several fighting techniques such as Slapping Mosquitoes, but he still needs training and has a lot of room to improve. His current skill level puts him above a normal person, but nowhere near on par with a master of martial arts. His tiger instinct, the ability to sense the movements around him and predict and appropriately react to them, are not yet well trained. He can usually follow the movements, even using the reflection in his glasses to see enemies attacking from behind, but he can be taken by surprise or misjudge an action.
His element is wood, but he hasn't yet shown any ability to manifest it and may not without guidance from someone who either has an elemental power or is a Xiaolin monk, or unless he's in a dire situation that causes it to manifest...in which case he would still need regular training to master it. He has been shown to have the potential to learn at least basic control over wind, fire, and earth as shown in one episode that the other monks have been teaching him. It's not known yet if he could do water as well though.