Cache of Talents
Kinfolk of the Boli Zouiszhe
Correspondent of the House of Yizhi
Description
~Chu appears to be a pretty normal and at least half-intelligent Chinese guy in his mid-20s. He approaches with a diplomatic air, wearing a pleasant smile and a decent suit. His tie color matches his mood. It's his only real dress code liberty. His attire otherwise matches rainy weather in grays, browns, or blacks. Of course, the fancy suit also suggests a well-paid and professional career. Maybe he's a young turk of a lawyer or doctor -- he seems too laid back to be corporate. His night-black hair is a tad longer than traditionally acceptable. It frames features that would be plain were it for the affable expression and star-bright brown eyes. Chu's average frame denotes no particular physical advantage, but everything about him shouts "smart!"~
OOC: Appearance 2
"Don't be afraid to let a stranger help you. We all have experiences worth sharing; our common insights can deliver us from blindness into enlightenment."
History
Youth
Hong Kong received Xian Chen Chu in 1976. Both of his parents were bright scientists probing the limits of evolutionary biology. Both of his parents worked for Wangguo-Zhihi, a division of the mega-corporation, Jin Zhangpeng. The Xian's worked for their corporate lab in earnest, for they knew that the Boli Zouiszhe owned it all. More importantly, they knew they were related to these urban Garou! When the Xian's expected their baby, they had little hope that the child would be born true Garou like some of their relatives. But perhaps in their labs, they were exposed to some kind of "weird science" or radiation. Chu was just a human boy, but that exposure altered him in ways he didn't manifest right away. Of course, why this might have been relevant did not enter their minds until years later.
Even in early years, Chu proved to be a bright boy. He always played well with the neighborhood kids in suburban Canton. Chu also seemed well-liked at recess by his classmates. He excelled in school, too, demonstrating great intellectual aptitude for academic studies. In high school, he managed to keep the same girlfriend all throughout. He found himself able to intuitively guess her whims and anticipate her needs. In fact, the same applied to his best friends. He just paid more attention to Su!
More and more, Chu was able to understand other people. He used this talent to great capacity as a youth -- the ultimate party confidant. All of his teachers recommended psychology to the youth. And frankly, that career choice sounded perfect to Chu. But as time went on, his talents grew...freakish. He began to hear, or at least imagine that he heard, voices. These "hallucinations" eerily took the form of his girlfriend, pal, and parents. The voices he heard tended to be random chatter. Yet soon Chu realized they weren't hallucinations. Not when he was observing correlating actions being taken by the persons whose thoughts he "overheard"! Nevertheless, Chu was worried that he was going insane. So he kept the disturbing developments to himself.
Education
Then off to college Chu went. He attended the University of Hong Kong, majoring (of course) in applied psychology. He also carried a minor in psychiatry. Chu overall remained very keen on understanding the mind, especially so he could figure out himself. Perhaps that's why he also dabbled in parapsychology. He had an odd, spacey girlfriend in college. Her name was Li Ko and she actually majored in parapsychology. Aside from that, she was an occult nut, and also toyed with roleplaying games. She believed in the existence of the supernatural. So even though Chu did not (since his parents kept his heritage a secret), he felt okay with confiding his mysterious powers to Ko. She jumped all over the opportunity to study that. And Chu enjoyed profiling his oddball girlfriend in turn!
While Li Ko allowed Chu to practice telepathy on her, his college career grew more demanding. He pushed steadily for his doctorate, intelligent enough to decipher and enjoy the difficult sciences involved. Chu also amazed his colleagues and professors with his insight and talent with counseling. Perhaps that's why he was invited to do his internship at the Canton State Asylum. And since it would be an excellent addition to his superb resume, Chu readily agreed.
And Chu dealt with numerous patients who were seriously disturbed. He illustratively gave them hope and more peace of mind. His fellow therapists were quite impressed with his talent. A few already began to hail him out as the next B.F. Skinner. Unfortunately, Chu began to feel the effects of prolonged exposure to such madness. Due to his emotional and mental sensitivity, Chu went home every night with throbbing headaches. Slowly but surely, a nervous breakdown approached. Nothing Chu did, nothing his girlfriend said, and nothing Chu took could alleviate the incredible stress.
So Chu turned to drugs. He poked what street ties he knew of at university. A steady diet of marijuana laced with codeine accompanied Chu's nightly regimen. Li Ko disapproved of Chu's addiction, but was not willing to try and stop him herself. But when his parents arrived to visit, Li Ko squealed on Chu. His parents pretended not to know of his visit, enjoying the weekend with their son. But a week later, his folks returned with a new relative, "Uncle" Bai Tao. It was time to reveal to Chu at last his true heritage. Tao stood before Chu, his parents in the background. Right before his shocked eyes, Uncle Bai shifted up from his human form. Next thing Chu knew, a werewolf towered above. Although afraid, Chu did not feel the innate terror Uncle Bai explained most humans would feel in the presence of a werewolf. Chu couldn't help but chuckle -- it looked like Ko was right about the supernatural after all. Then the werewolf spoke, voice gruff but clear. Uncle Bai told Chu about his true nature, about the Garou. Keeping an open mind, Chu listened eagerly, curious to learn all he could. But Uncle Bai promised full answers only after Chu graduated. He had to kick the habit. Shocked that Bai Tao knew his secret addiction, but assumed it was werewolf "magic" of some sort, Chu paled. He couldn't meet his parents' eyes as he agreed to the Garou's terms.
Jin Zhangpeng
Thus, Chu cleaned himself up, with Li Ko and his parents granting plenty of social support. Chu worked his ass off to graduate. His final published thesis was about the effects the insane can have on the people who treat them. He was twenty-six when he obtained his doctorate in psychology. Now that he kicked his drug habit, his brilliant insight and talent promised a bright future. Immediately after graduation, Uncle Bai Tao hired Chu as a corporate psychological consultant. It was Chu's job to help corporate officers and managers cope with business stress. Chu was promised an incredible package of a $75,000 a year salary to start, full fringe benefits, and the answers he longed after for months. Uncle Bai informed Chu more about the realities of the Garou. Chu learned that moon-inspired lunacy was real, at least for the werewolf. Rage, he learned, was a serious issue for Garou. Out-of-control fury had no place in the Boli Zouishze's board rooms, certainly. Despite the terror some Kin feel when they discover their true roots, Chu felt relieved. His telepathic abilities no longer seemed so freakish. So Chu was eager to help his extended family. And the psychologist was prudent enough to keep his trap shut regarding the Garou to outsiders.
Accordingly, Chu decided to confide his psychic talents with his "uncle". Bai Tao reassured Chu that such abilities were unsurprising for one born of such "enlightened" blood. However, Uncle Bai warned Chu to never use those powers on Garou. Not even those he treated as patients was permitted, without the werewolf's expressed permission. Or else. Chu took the warning to heart. Memories of Bai Tao's crinos form aptly convinced the young psychologist.
So over the next two years, Xian Chen Chu worked for the Jin Zhangpeng corporation in Hong Kong. He treated dozens of workers, human and Garou alike. One of his most prestigious successes was the aid he gave Xi Lan Kong. Xi Lan was a severely disturbed werewolf who was born with the congenital ailment of schizophrenia. No medicine he ever prescribed helped the woman. Fortunately, a Garou with unusual pharmaceutical knowledge could help Xi Lan some. Chu provided sympathetic and insightful counseling to Xi Lan, though. That was combined with subtle behavioral conditioning, including monetary and favor incentives.
America
Soon, Chu was considered Xi Lan's personal physician. When she moved to America to join an immigrants' Beast-Court, Chu was compelled to follow. He was encouraged to continue his treatment of the woman while filling the same function for Jin Zhangpeng's offices in Kansas City's branch office. The office was located in the Little Asia distract, naturally. With a slight raise in salary, Chu agreed. He settled into the district, soon learning of the Coalition of Little Asia from Xi Lan. The open-minded young man readily accepted the idea of many different kinds of supernatural creatures. He decided to join the group of humans in this Coalition despite his Garou kinship. He could still aid the hengeyokai, but he could also help more of his fellow man in the House of Yizhi. Not long after he joined the Coalition, the Western branch of his Garou family, the Glass Walkers, contacted him. They wanted him to interview and consider treating another Garou patient: Shannon Lewis. So Chu considered it while he continued to explore, practice, and try to develop his telepathic powers.
Significant Other
Xian Chen Chu began to see Sionna Georges in 2004 as his patient. The psychically-talented psychologist was also helping Xi Lan Kong cope with her problems. But Sionna he found as sane as Garou are going to come. Her fears were rational concerns about a stalker. Chu's interest in Sionna deepened as her trust in this young man became unquestionable. Before either knew it, they were experimenting with friendly dates and then breaking her streak of celibacy with passionate sex. Chu and Sionna stayed close, promising each other steady passion. Chu has no intention to abandon or hurt the Glass Walker. And that's a good decision: Sionna gave birth to his baby on November 16th, 2004. Their son, Kin, was named Jared Georges. Now the two having a binding responsibility together; is marriage on the horizon? Sionna learned to cope with her fears but her wild-spirited sister's arrival to town has made a mess of everything.
Sionna
Weakness Third Eye Blind
Chu is unlocking the powers of telepathy. But he doesn't quite understand them nor does he recognize the danger being able to perceive so well might do to his psyche and sanity. He only had a taste of that potential hazard at the asylum. There are far worse dangers than a madman's consciousness.
Likelihood of Corruption
Average.
Chu is a nice guy and to make things better, he's appreciated and taken care of by his shapeshifting brethren. That means while he's hardly immune to corrupting influences, he can be watched and (hopefully) purified and set back on track.
