Difference between revisions of "Yeling Mah"

Revision as of 08:19, 18 January 2022

"The opportunity to eliminate them from the world. Yeling Mah. Join me, and you will become one to engulf this world in flames. Like a tsunami. Like an unstoppable torrent of vengeance. Like a tide."

- Taras Pax giving Yeling his Contingency Initiative Codename

Mah Ye Ling (Chinese Translation: 馬 易 玲) also known as Yeling "The Tidalflame" Mah, or just Yeling is a the thirteenth Dogma Holder for Hinokami, the God of Fire, a spectral entity that made up the flames of The Great Akuma. Originally a terrorist serving the Contingency Initiative under Matthew "The Mirage" Lam and Squad Four, Yeling left his life behind to become an adventurer with Shia Megumi, Inoko the Berserker, and Rain God Shenlong until he failed a test from Celestial Dragon Tianlong. This led to Yeling being tempted by the Dogma to do his bidding, and become The Champion of the Dogma. Challenging and testing other Level 1 Akuma Grade Dogma holders to see if they were fit for the ritual to revive The Great Akuma. After going against the Dogma's advice and challenging Aelienne, the First Hinokami Holder, Yeling became a Drifter. Eventually, Yeling reunited with Shia, Inoko, and Shen, and after adjusting, would return to adventuring with the party to acquire more strength and defeat Yuyan "Danny" Zheng, the Transplant, who was an old classmate of Yeling's he had slaughtered out of rage for their apparent neglect during his time in university.

Appearance

Part I

Yeling is a young man with a somewhat short stature (standing at 5 foot 7 inches). According to Marcela Greene, Yeling's face is average for a Chinese male, neither attractive nor unattractive, however he possesses unnaturally bright blue eyes, similar to topaz, which glow in the dark, and glow in the light whenever Yeling uses his powers. Yeling is bald, and does not have any hair on his head, but prior to initiating his Level 2 Dogma Bargain, Yeling had short black hair in the form of a fade.

One of the most defining features of Yeling's appearance, which has caused him to be extremely self conscious about, is his severe facial deformity on the right side of his face and head. In a flashback, it is revealed that this deformity was his exchange when he initiated his Level 2 Dogma Bargain for Intangibility, in which half of his face caught on fire, leaving behind scorched flesh in the process. Yeling describes his right side as "hideous", and consisting of scarred darkened cracked tissue. As with the rest of his right side, Yeling's right eye is constantly bloodshot. Yeling covers his right side with a black wig, giving him an angsty teenager appearance whenever he is in disguise. Yeling wore the wig during the first few weeks Marcela stayed with Squad Four, for fear that his appearance would frighten her. Eventually, Marcela discovered Yeling's right side, and Yeling stopped wearing the wig whenever she was around.

Running down the left side of his face, all the way to his left palm, are numerous angular navy blue tattoos denoting his Level 1 HInokami Dogma Bargain. In finer detail, these tattoos actually consist of runic demonic lettering representing the Dogma Bargain. After unlocking Hinokami Stage Two, the tattoos became even more complex, branching off and giving an appearance somewhat resembling that of circuitry.

During missions, Yeling dons the standard Contingency Initiative robes, which consists of a black and crimson trench coat, that covers his arms and most of his body. Underneath the coat, Yeling wears a black t-shirt and black cargo pants. On his neck, is a jade necklace. When in mission, Yeling also wears a black kevlar Contingency Initiative combat mask, which covers the right side of his face, and his mouth. The mask is decorated with grey contours of a skull, with the skull teeth lining the padding where his mouth would be. The mask also possesses some swirling contours near the back of his head, which transitions into flame patterns, which represents his codename.

When outside, Yeling wears more casual streetwear, consisting of trousers and a light coloured hoodie. Yeling's necklace is concealed within his shirt, but the strings that attach the jade are visible around his neck. In addition to the wig that covers the right side of his face, Yeling also wears contact lenses that change the colour of his irises back to their original brown from before Yeling unlocked Hinokami. Yeling describes his casual outfit and disguise as "emo", but claims that the appearance is the way it is to prevent him from being recognized as Tidalflame when in public.

Part II and III

After Yeling's first battle against Danny, his right hand was severed, his power was reduced, and he lost his connection to the Dogma. This resulted in Yeling's right half to be healed, and his hair to grow out during the four year time skip. However, after failing a test from Tianlong, Yeling's original appearance returned. At this point, Yeling, now in his early twenties, showed signs of maturation, including a more chiseled face, and toned muscles.

Part IV

Following Yeling's second battle against Danny, Yeling's right eye was slashed out, and the ring finger on his left arm was crushed, forcing him to amputate it off.

When in his magical disguise after the time skip, Yeling is depicted to have long black hair reaching his shoulders and eyes similar to his mother, a chiseled face similar to his father. Yeling also donned a black leather jacket with a light coloured fur at the collar on top of a grey t-shirt, and dark grey jeans. A pair of fingerless gloves are fitted on his hands to allow him to wield his weapons. On his back is Tatsu, Aelienne's longsword, and around his right forearm is his Chainblade, which is a long chain with a blade attached at the end.

Personality

Before Time Skip

Yeling's personality has been described to be very self-victimizing by a number of people who knew him prior to becoming a Hinokami Vessel. A recurring theme behind Yeling's actions have been an act of vengeance from what he perceives as the world being against him. Yeling's belief stems from his inability to find a niche which welcomes him, due to being a foreigner in New Ulysses, Yeling constantly suffered racial discrimination, both to him and his loved ones, leaving him extremely bitter about the social system around him.

It is revealed that Yeling possessed some semblance of diligence, as shown when Yeling had spent his freshmen year enrolled in college, however, due to his depression, the heavy course load proved too much for him, causing his mental health to further deteriorate. Unable to meet deadlines, Yeling found himself constantly in conflict with his peers, who claimed his mental illness was not an excuse to get anything done. As a result, by the time Yeling had reached his final months of freshmen year, his thoughts of depression quickly spiralled into thoughts of self harm and self destruction.

When Yeling unlocked Hinokami, his powers went out of control, and unintentionally killed his entire family. The horrific accident left a long and painful impact on Yeling through the form of PTSD and a number of other psychological problems which would manifest in the form of mass killing and terrorist acts. In addition to his inability to forgive others, when Squad Four was assigned the Elimination Op of his old university, Yeling was the first to accept, and found joy in slaughtering his old classmates in cold blood.

Despite being a mass murderer, Yeling possessed some degree of sympathy and remorse, after realizing that while he had killed almost all of his old classmates, there were some students who were probably in the same place as he did, which was proof that Yeling still had some degree of humanity left behind. Additionally, Yeling has had lapses of second thoughts during his missions, something that his Squad Leader, Mirage would scold him for. Even so, Yeling has fully accepted his role as an operative to the Contingency Initiative, believing that to kill meant to advance the Second War, and all the blood on his hands are ultimately justified.

To Yeling, Squad Four acts as his surrogate family, seemingly replacing the original one he lost. However, it is noted that Yeling still holds fond memories of his time spent with his mother, father, and little sister.

Out of everybody in Squad Four, Yeling is ironically the most reluctant to take lives, with the exception of Marcela Greene.

Due to his inability to socialize, Yeling has multiple times been called out for being socially awkward, and is unable to speak to girls. Additionally, because of this inexperience, Yeling has admitted that he is attracted to practically every girl who is nice to him.

After Time Skip

"If I had gone back and time and knew that things would turn around... Would my reasons to bring back The Great Akuma still exist?"

After the four year time skip, Yeling's personality becomes noticeably more mature. Although he still harbours deep hatred for people, Yeling recognizes that this hatred was in fact out of envy and jealousy. Yeling retains his hot bloodedness, especially when he must deal with Shenlong's antics, however, he does keep a responsible mindset, especially when it comes to Shia, who he sees as a little kid.

Yeling is uncomfortable with children, rarely ever interacting with them, and frequently refers to them as "brats".

"Shia will never love you. Inoko loves Shen. And when this is all over, when this quest is over, it will be us to destroy Transplant. Not them. They will leave us, Yeling. They will leave you. And be happy. While you will continue to suffer alone." - Illusion Tidalflame to Yeling

Following his adventures with Shia, Inoko, and Shenlong, Yeling developed feelings for Inoko. However, after discovering that Inoko did not reciprocate these feelings, Yeling became very depressed. During this time, the words that Lewis had told him four years ago resurfaced, claiming that due to Yeling's horrific sins as a mass murderer, his burnt right side, and his personality would lead to him being unable to find love. Believing he would be alone forever, Yeling fell into despair, and was tempted by the Dogma to return to him and be his champion.

"Why me?! Why is always just me! I get it! I'm going to be alone! JUST LET ME BE ALONE! WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE YOU ALWAYS KEEP RUBBING THIS SHIT IN MY FACE?!" - Yeling to Aelienne in the Hinokami Plane

Even during the events of Part IV, Yeling's overwhelming feelings of loneliness takes a noticeable toll on his mental health, to the point where his jealousy and envy cause him to lash out whenever people speak about their soulmates and partners. As shown when Yeling and Aelienne spoke in the Hinokami Plane, Yeling angrily revealed to Aelienne that he hated it whenever she talked about her husband and children, believing that they were purposely looking down on him for being alone and unloved.

"I'll speak to you however I want! You... you stupid bitch, talking all that shit about audacity. When you yourself have the audacity to neglect your own baby sister like that. She loved you. She idolized you. You talk big game about being respected. How much you want your fans. But Inoko right here, she's your number one fan. Even if you sully your hands and be the total bitch you are now, Inoko still holds you in high regard. Even if you lose everybody, the one person who will always support you is your little sister. Yet you can't see that."

One of Yeling's most redeeming qualities is his loyalty to his friends. To the point where he would openly admit anything that he has hidden to make sure they would be okay. An example of this was during Inoko's test in Tianlong's Celestial Plane, where Inoko's older sister Inko berated her for being useless and an embarrassment to her. Seeing Inoko overwhelmed and in desperate need for support, Yeling gave her words of encouragement without hesitation.

Powers

The Dogma of Equivalent Exchange: Yeling is a Dogma holder, in which the Dogma would present Yeling with power in exchange for a sacrifice the Dogma deems is equivalent. Yeling has thus far unlocked two Levels. After reconciling with Aelienne, the older Hinokami user decoupled Yeling from the Dogma, allowing him to access his powers to the fullest of his extent without any repercussions of sacrifice.

• Level 1 Hinokami: Yeling's Level 1 Dogma is an Akuma Grade Dogma, which is a special Dogma ability that is akin to The Great Akuma itself. In Yeling's case, he inherited The Devil's Flames, an overwhelming celestial fire in the form of a Fire God which far surpasses normal flame. When not controlled or suppressed, calling even just 10% of the Devil's Flames is enough to incinerate an entire area and deal significant damage. Yeling's sacrifice for the Hinokami was his family, in which the moment he unlocked the flames, blue tattoos appeared all over his left arm, racing up to his face, and the fire unintentionally incinerated his mother, father, and little sister. Initially blue, Yeling's flames evolved to become red with the help of Aelienne, signifying that he no longer sees his flames as a symbol of destruction.
  • Hinokami Stage Two - Cobalt Assimilation: Yeling is able to tap into more of Hinokami's power, allowing it to course through his body constantly and gaining even more demonic power. This power was able to contend with Urca the Slicer, who was widely known as CI's strongest operative, and the only person who had ever pressured Taras Pax, with the exception of Danny Zheng. Stage Two contains hints of purple flame mixed in with Yeling's blue fire. To unlock Stage Two, Yeling had to promise to the Dogma that upon his death, he would never reunite with his family in the afterlife.
  • Hinokami Stage Three - Grand Cobalt Assimilation: Yeling is able to access even more of the Hinokami's power, amplifying his abilities even further to the point where he became strong enough to seemingly kill Tianlong, the Celestial Dragon, and the God of Divinity. Stage Three was so powerful that it was enough for Yeling to be considered the Dogma's Champion, a tool that the Dogma would use to assess other Akuma Grade Dogma Holders to test their worth, seeing Yeling as his most powerful Dogma Holder.
  • Anarchy Form: Yeling brings out the maximum power of his corresponding stage, overloading his cells with the Hinokami's flames in the form of a gargantuan towering avatar of pure flame. The avatar possesses all of Yeling's weapons and arsenals, and all of his techniques, but the power is equivalent to a 4000% boost. The trade-off of this ability is that the flames will actually incinerate his nervous system and the neurons in his brain, causing him to become more and more feral as he calls upon this state. Yeling has used Anarchy Form in both Stage Two and Stage Three. This form was able to completely overwhelm a Stage Two Aelienne, who had previously easily outclassed a Stage Three Yeling.
  • Hinokami Stage Four - Cobalt Phoenix Ascendent: This state was only achieved by Yeling by fusing Aelienne's power into his after the two reconciled in the Hinokami Plane. Calling upon Aelienne's Stage Four Full Phoenix Ascendent flames, and adding that upon his Stage Three flames, Yeling is able to access a new state of power. In this state, Yeling is the only known being who has been able to fight toe to toe with Transplant, and at times, gain the upper hand. This is the highest level of power Yeling can achieve so far.
• Level 2 Intangibility: Yeling's Level 2 Dogma is a normal Dogma that allows him to become Intangible. In this state, Yeling becomes a wisp of pure blue or red flame, allowing him to phase through objects and pass through them, and is impervious to all damage. The cost is a high stamina drain. Additionally, the state has limits, as if Yeling's wisp body is encased in high pressure, he will actually take damage. Despite this, Yeling is able to use this Level and integrate it in fights, allowing him to chain his moves together by going Intangible. The exchange for this ability was half of his face, in which the Dogma set fire to his right side, scorching his flesh and leaving behind a hideous appearance. This had caused Yeling to be extremely self conscious about his face, believing girls would never love him for his appearance.

Rain God Shenlong (Formerly): Yeling struck up a contract with the God of Rain, Shenlong, after Shenlong provoked the Dogma. Yeling became able to call upon Shen's power in the form of his holy water, allowing him to heal his wounds, and even transform into pure rainwater, mimicking his Level 2 Dogma when it had been deactivated. Additionally, Yeling is able to create projections of rainwater in the form of glowing green constructs, which he used to create weapons, and tendrils mimicking Matt's techniques. One of the abilities that Yeling had called upon the most, that engrained themselves into Yeling's muscle memory, was Shen's Rain Style, which was the result of the numerous warriors who challenged Shen back when he was still at full power and failed. Shen remembered all of the styles, and these styles would pool together into one, the Rain Style. Using Rain Style, Yeling is able to wield numerous weapons, from knives, to swords, to katanas and polearms.

Even when Yeling's contract with Shen disappeared upon failing Tian's test, the Rain Style was still part of him, allowing him to call upon its techniques and integrating it into his fighting style with Hinokami.