Trignome
A Candle
“Blink before I do, and the world ends.”
“…you’re feeling depressed because of your shallow and meaningless relationship problems? That’s hilarious.”
“He borrowed my camera to take close-ups of a cheese burger. Fantastic.”
Full Name: Li Ling Chen
Nickname: Li, Lili, Lilili…etc…
Age: 21
Role: The Pessimist
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio (November 18)
Height: 5’7”
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Very Dark Brown
Outfit
Casual- hoodie, T-shirts, loose scarves, worn jeans, sneakers
Formal- trench coat, button-down T-shirt, darker jeans, sneakers
Pajamas- lounge sweats (cold nights), boxer shorts, excessively large T-shirt
Bringing:
camera
snacks
wallet
(driver’s license, debit card, wad of cash, paperclips)
pocket knife
duffel bag w/ clothes
hygiene stuff
RV maintenance manual
extra pair of sneakers
spare glasses
flip-top phone w/ charger
backpack
(bug spray, spf 70+ sun screen, reusable water bottle, notebook, pens)
manually rechargeable flashlight
laptop w/ charger
USB port cable (4 ports)
basic first-aid kit
(gauze, antiseptic, sterilized cotton swabs, bandaids, anti-burn dressing, tweezers, wipes)
inflatable air mattress
hand pump
Job(s)
Free-lance photographer; also provides risk analysis/financial consultations and marketing intel for special businesses.
Personality
Optimistic people often say that there is a silver lining to every bad situation. Li Ling will counter that philosophy with a detailed report on silver’s depreciation in value over the past decade. Despite what other people might say, he insists that he is a realist. To quote his words exactly: “Optimists laugh in the sunshine, pessimists cry in the dark, and realists don’t care about the day or night, because death is universal.” In short, Li Ling does not feel that pessimism is in any way similar to realism, contrary to popular belief. Pessimists focus on negative possibilities, while realists acknowledge both sides with as little bias as possible.
Bitingly cynical and never a fan of people in general, it’s a wonder that Li Ling has any friends. But he does have a few close relationships, though he won’t readily admit it, and his friends sometimes question where they stand with him. Whether it be a stranger, family member, enemy, or close acquaintance, Li Ling has a bad habit of acting like an asshole, which may or may not be a safety feature in his ‘social life program’. He understands that not everybody’s a self-centered, malicious user only out for themselves, but after constantly hearing about the drama and pointlessly emotional storms that must be weathered after every breach in trust, Li Ling has decided it’d be much safer to keep his heart under mental lock and key.
Biography
Born into an extremely wealthy family, Li Ling spent the majority of his early childhood in solitude, as his parents were often too preoccupied their jobs to really spend time with him. But he actually rather appreciated the privacy that his detached relationships offered and he understood that his parents did, in fact, love him. After all, his father was the sort of man that knew the name and face of every imaginary friend his son had, and his mother often took him out to the mall, making a guessing game out of the price, value, and marketing tactics of the goods in the window displays. Though he didn’t know it at the time, this little evaluation game of Li Ling’s would eventually lead to one of his future careers. For now, he was satisfied with learning the financially savvy ways of his parents, eventually co-signing for a savings account and debt account at the tender age of 5. But there was nothing really ‘tender’ about this intelligent and cynical boy; he was greatly distrusting of society and, in consequence, people.
As he attended school, Li Ling was constantly pressured to do well academically. This stress was not applied by his parents, but by his peers and teachers. Knowing that having only average grades would label him an idiot, due to the lofty intellectual standards that his race was known for, he studied hard for the first few years to live up to the expectation of an ‘academic Asian’. In truth, Li Ling despised attending his classes, for his teachers were always grading him on a more difficult scale than his peers. This discrimination was not intentional, he soon realized, but a subconscious preconception in his teachers’ minds that his academic performance was supposed to be higher than the other children, in light of his ethnicity. Trying to meet all these racial expectations, he was soon obsessing over his performance at school, which only made his peers and teachers even more convinced of their perception of Asian students. Thus, from elementary school onwards, Li Ling developed an extremely vehement hate for any stereotypes, especially the ‘good’ ones.
Eventually, with the stress of competing with the other high-honor students at his school compounded by the helpless feeling that he couldn’t free himself from this vicious cycle of self-applied prejudice, Li Ling withdrew half of his savings from the bank and planned out an escape in great detail. Of course, he called his parents prior to boarding the cross-country Greyhound bus he had booked in his father’s name. Once he had finished his voice message, reassuring his parents that he’d return home after a year, he covertly taped his phone to the underside of the vehicle, hoping that it would rain during the Greyhound’s subsequent travels. Luckily, the route the bus took ran through Louisiana, and the tape was thoroughly dampened by the time they exited New Orleans. With the adhesive weakened, gravity tugged the cellphone off the bus and into a gutter, later found by a group of kids. By the time his parents had begun searching New Orleans for their son, he was already well on his way to California.
Let’s take a moment now to remember that this is a work of fiction, and what Li Ling does in this biography should not be attempted in real life. Now, this second half of Li Ling’s life is going to be abridged, because I just realized I’ve gotten carried away with his background story.
Okay, so…he gets involved in some interesting organizations, which is okay, because he uses his smarticle Asian powers (stereotype) to teach them mathematical probability (stereotype) so they don’t kill him. It doesn’t take Li Ling very long to master the art of living on one’s own, and he grows accustomed to his solitary life in California. After exactly one, financially successful year, he returns home healthy, happy, and even more independent-minded than before. Though he went back to his school to finish his education, Li Ling failed all of his classes, no longer feeling motivation to strive for something as pointless as a grade when he could learn much more applicable knowledge on his own. He entered into a community college, and eventually dropped out in his 2nd year to pursue an entrepreneurial career in freelance photography. His parents, bless their incredibly patient and understanding nature, were supportive of his actions, believing that their son was capable of great things. But for now, he’s taking it easy, traveling with a group of acquaintances and building a portfolio of artwork. In other words, he’s unemployed and not at all concerned about it.
The End
Future Goals
No goals, just lots of situations he wants to avoid: dying by bullet wound, dying by cancer, dying by car wreck, dying by falling anvil…etc. If there’s one thing he wants, it’s to have the people at his funeral complain about how he was such a “filthy rich, old bastard.” But see, that can only happen after he dies, so there’s nothing to work towards now.
Likes
black and white photos
doodling/sketching
sweet/spicy foods (esp. meat)
tomatoes (not ketchup)
glasses
collecting information
writing (prose & music scores)
thinking
music without lyrics
Dislikes
societal categorizations
school (or any other strictly regimented establishment)
obnoxiously friendly people
contacts
alcohol (he's a light-weight)
getting a haircut
sour foods
sheep (4-legged animal)
sheep (societal version)
the sound of snoring
Pet Peeves (top five)
1. Commentary about the effeminate sound of his name.
2. Being assigned a task based on his racial role, not his actual capabilities.
3. Being approached by hyperactive friendlies/desperate flirts/even sincerely interested people.
4. The itchy material of actual formal-wear.
5. People singing off key to any of his favorite songs.
Extras
Li Ling Chen had the same sarcastic, cynical persona when he was younger.
Some things just never change.
“Oh, you want me to smile for a camera? Sucks, I already have one of my own.”
Sleeping
Anywhere comfortable and private; The Driver's Seat
“He borrowed my camera to take close-ups of a cheese burger. Fantastic.”
Full Name: Li Ling Chen
Nickname: Li, Lili, Lilili…etc…
Age: 21
Role: The Pessimist
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio (November 18)
Height: 5’7”
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Very Dark Brown
Outfit
Casual- hoodie, T-shirts, loose scarves, worn jeans, sneakers
Formal- trench coat, button-down T-shirt, darker jeans, sneakers
Pajamas- lounge sweats (cold nights), boxer shorts, excessively large T-shirt
Bringing:
camera
snacks
wallet
(driver’s license, debit card, wad of cash, paperclips)
pocket knife
duffel bag w/ clothes
hygiene stuff
RV maintenance manual
extra pair of sneakers
spare glasses
flip-top phone w/ charger
backpack
(bug spray, spf 70+ sun screen, reusable water bottle, notebook, pens)
manually rechargeable flashlight
laptop w/ charger
USB port cable (4 ports)
basic first-aid kit
(gauze, antiseptic, sterilized cotton swabs, bandaids, anti-burn dressing, tweezers, wipes)
inflatable air mattress
hand pump
Job(s)
Free-lance photographer; also provides risk analysis/financial consultations and marketing intel for special businesses.
Personality
Optimistic people often say that there is a silver lining to every bad situation. Li Ling will counter that philosophy with a detailed report on silver’s depreciation in value over the past decade. Despite what other people might say, he insists that he is a realist. To quote his words exactly: “Optimists laugh in the sunshine, pessimists cry in the dark, and realists don’t care about the day or night, because death is universal.” In short, Li Ling does not feel that pessimism is in any way similar to realism, contrary to popular belief. Pessimists focus on negative possibilities, while realists acknowledge both sides with as little bias as possible.
Bitingly cynical and never a fan of people in general, it’s a wonder that Li Ling has any friends. But he does have a few close relationships, though he won’t readily admit it, and his friends sometimes question where they stand with him. Whether it be a stranger, family member, enemy, or close acquaintance, Li Ling has a bad habit of acting like an asshole, which may or may not be a safety feature in his ‘social life program’. He understands that not everybody’s a self-centered, malicious user only out for themselves, but after constantly hearing about the drama and pointlessly emotional storms that must be weathered after every breach in trust, Li Ling has decided it’d be much safer to keep his heart under mental lock and key.
Biography
Born into an extremely wealthy family, Li Ling spent the majority of his early childhood in solitude, as his parents were often too preoccupied their jobs to really spend time with him. But he actually rather appreciated the privacy that his detached relationships offered and he understood that his parents did, in fact, love him. After all, his father was the sort of man that knew the name and face of every imaginary friend his son had, and his mother often took him out to the mall, making a guessing game out of the price, value, and marketing tactics of the goods in the window displays. Though he didn’t know it at the time, this little evaluation game of Li Ling’s would eventually lead to one of his future careers. For now, he was satisfied with learning the financially savvy ways of his parents, eventually co-signing for a savings account and debt account at the tender age of 5. But there was nothing really ‘tender’ about this intelligent and cynical boy; he was greatly distrusting of society and, in consequence, people.
As he attended school, Li Ling was constantly pressured to do well academically. This stress was not applied by his parents, but by his peers and teachers. Knowing that having only average grades would label him an idiot, due to the lofty intellectual standards that his race was known for, he studied hard for the first few years to live up to the expectation of an ‘academic Asian’. In truth, Li Ling despised attending his classes, for his teachers were always grading him on a more difficult scale than his peers. This discrimination was not intentional, he soon realized, but a subconscious preconception in his teachers’ minds that his academic performance was supposed to be higher than the other children, in light of his ethnicity. Trying to meet all these racial expectations, he was soon obsessing over his performance at school, which only made his peers and teachers even more convinced of their perception of Asian students. Thus, from elementary school onwards, Li Ling developed an extremely vehement hate for any stereotypes, especially the ‘good’ ones.
Eventually, with the stress of competing with the other high-honor students at his school compounded by the helpless feeling that he couldn’t free himself from this vicious cycle of self-applied prejudice, Li Ling withdrew half of his savings from the bank and planned out an escape in great detail. Of course, he called his parents prior to boarding the cross-country Greyhound bus he had booked in his father’s name. Once he had finished his voice message, reassuring his parents that he’d return home after a year, he covertly taped his phone to the underside of the vehicle, hoping that it would rain during the Greyhound’s subsequent travels. Luckily, the route the bus took ran through Louisiana, and the tape was thoroughly dampened by the time they exited New Orleans. With the adhesive weakened, gravity tugged the cellphone off the bus and into a gutter, later found by a group of kids. By the time his parents had begun searching New Orleans for their son, he was already well on his way to California.
Let’s take a moment now to remember that this is a work of fiction, and what Li Ling does in this biography should not be attempted in real life. Now, this second half of Li Ling’s life is going to be abridged, because I just realized I’ve gotten carried away with his background story.
Okay, so…he gets involved in some interesting organizations, which is okay, because he uses his smarticle Asian powers (stereotype) to teach them mathematical probability (stereotype) so they don’t kill him. It doesn’t take Li Ling very long to master the art of living on one’s own, and he grows accustomed to his solitary life in California. After exactly one, financially successful year, he returns home healthy, happy, and even more independent-minded than before. Though he went back to his school to finish his education, Li Ling failed all of his classes, no longer feeling motivation to strive for something as pointless as a grade when he could learn much more applicable knowledge on his own. He entered into a community college, and eventually dropped out in his 2nd year to pursue an entrepreneurial career in freelance photography. His parents, bless their incredibly patient and understanding nature, were supportive of his actions, believing that their son was capable of great things. But for now, he’s taking it easy, traveling with a group of acquaintances and building a portfolio of artwork. In other words, he’s unemployed and not at all concerned about it.
The End
Future Goals
No goals, just lots of situations he wants to avoid: dying by bullet wound, dying by cancer, dying by car wreck, dying by falling anvil…etc. If there’s one thing he wants, it’s to have the people at his funeral complain about how he was such a “filthy rich, old bastard.” But see, that can only happen after he dies, so there’s nothing to work towards now.
Likes
black and white photos
doodling/sketching
sweet/spicy foods (esp. meat)
tomatoes (not ketchup)
glasses
collecting information
writing (prose & music scores)
thinking
music without lyrics
Dislikes
societal categorizations
school (or any other strictly regimented establishment)
obnoxiously friendly people
contacts
alcohol (he's a light-weight)
getting a haircut
sour foods
sheep (4-legged animal)
sheep (societal version)
the sound of snoring
Pet Peeves (top five)
1. Commentary about the effeminate sound of his name.
2. Being assigned a task based on his racial role, not his actual capabilities.
3. Being approached by hyperactive friendlies/desperate flirts/even sincerely interested people.
4. The itchy material of actual formal-wear.
5. People singing off key to any of his favorite songs.
Extras
Li Ling Chen had the same sarcastic, cynical persona when he was younger.
Some things just never change.
“Oh, you want me to smile for a camera? Sucks, I already have one of my own.”
Sleeping
Anywhere comfortable and private; The Driver's Seat
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