"Sociability"

Hay Lin seems to be the friendliest member of the group. Well the truth is, it's more of needing friends for her to support, or friends to support her. Being alone is the worst situation Hay Lin would be found in. She would fall apart when no one else is around with her.

She (probably) believes that friendship is a mutual relationship; thus she can hardly tolerate leeches, and know-it-alls. Maybe she wouldn't be able to take Cornelia as well, if Corny spends less time dealing with Irma, that is.

Creativity

Hay Lin is very imaginative. With her skills in drawing, sewing, and cooking, you can't go wrong. In fact, she wrote and directed a play all by herself.

She will go out of her way to do something, and she will take any opportunity to show off and do it with style.

While she is not the proud type that would display her skills and talent at every opportunity, when presented with one, you can count on her to deliver.

A side effect, however, is her tendency to get disorganized in matters that she does not give thought to. Note, that we were talking in particular about Hay Lin's untidy room. Fortunately, her powers of air can function in almost the same way as Cornelia's telekinetic ability; unfortunately, she has not used it to tidy her room... yet.

Family

Hay Lin's Chinese household is a social structure which tends to be quite foreign to people who are used to the more liberal Western household. Hay Lin never challenges her parents. When they need a favor or give an order, she respectfully carries it out, even at the expense of her time with her friends. (This is in sharp contrast with Will's constant challenge of her mother's authority. Issue #8 shows both Will and Hay Lin's attitudes towards family...) Hay Lin also informs her parents of where she needs to go, or if she can't go home early.

Her powers tend to help around some of those restrictions though. The powers of air can help get things done quickly, or she can leave an astral drop when she needs to go on important missions.

Fortunately, even Hay Lin's family is rather liberal even for a Chinese type. The restrictions are worse for other similar families (inability to choose friends, arranged marriages, can't go out due to fears on safety, etc.). But like her grandmother said, "you... shall be free as the air". Hay Lin was free enough to become a dreamer and a social person. In fact, those restrictions aren't even restrictions for a girl who tends to do things quickly.

Finally, Hay Lin's family seems to be the most tightly knit, perhaps due to the respect and duties associated with being in a Chinese family. Hay Lin gets to visit her ailing grandmother, take care of her sick mother, and help out at the restaurant.

Boyfriend

(Coming soon, as I yet don't have the later issues #18+ where Hay Lin and Eric meet...)

Name

(I have yet to figure out the Chinese writing of her name. Till then, I cannot analyze it. As of now I suspect that it's a corruption of "Fei Ling"--the handwriting of which, would mean "flying wave". But as yet there is no conclusive proof about how her name is written. Any ideas? Send 'em to megan_and_percival at yahoo dot com.)

Characters outside of WITCH she can be related to:

Jam Kuradoberi (Guilty Gear series) - Jam's got her own Chinese restaurant, she's very noisy, she's a quick character, she's got martial arts moves... okay, maybe not the last one. Dancing around slower opponents with her graceful movements, acrobatic jumps, quick hits, and flying kicks which go all the way across the screen, sometimes I could swear Jam and Hay Lin were distant relatives.