Post by buggygardener on Sept 18, 2020 14:25:07 GMT -7
Name: Grae Taiji
Nicknames: Gray & Grey (false spellings), The Silver Eyed One, Two
Gender: Non-Binary (prefers they/them, but is not bothered by the pronouns others use for them, female by birth)
Height: 5’5"
Weight: 120 lbs
Age: 14
Birthday: 5/22
Home Town: Opelucid City
Orientation: Pan
Likes:
Mythology/Theology
The relation between people’s ideals and the reality they strive for
The relation between reality and the ideals people strive for
Philosophy
Grae does not have a favorite type, but does like normal types greatly
Those with multifaceted perspectives that can see the grey between the black and white
Dislikes:
[/li]Narrow/close-minded people
People that shrug off what Grae says due to their age
Fears:
[/li]Losing sight of their own goals
Straying too far from the middle in viewpoint
Being a hypocrite
Goals/Dreams:
[/li]To meet the ‘Original Dragon’ of the Unova region (bring together Kyurem, Zekrom, and Reshiram)
To widen the perspectives of others and, in doing so, alleviate conflict where they travel (be a peacemaker)
Enhance their understanding of others and gain knowledge
Skills:
[/li]Grae is wise beyond their years, but older people often dismiss their advice on serious matters due to their age
Bringing together people of differing viewpoints and helping them understand each other better
Knowing at least a little bit about many subjects; something of a jack-of-all-trades
Keeping their emotions out of disputes (keeping a level head)
Status:
[/li]Trainer
Monk
[Future] Researcher
Theme Song: Oración (Between Time and Space)
[/li][li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"]Favorite Types: None, but arguably normal types
[/li][li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"]Least Favorite Types: None, but arguably fighting types
[/li][li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"]Personality:
[/li]Open and accepting, Grae seeks to make those they meet feel unjudged in their presence
Grae is calm and speaks with an oddly soothing voice, one that gives the impression they are quite wise despite their age
Grae never lets their emotions get the better of them, at worst, they will simply ignore and remove themself from the situation should they find it increasingly difficult to hide their emotions
Despite remaining calm most of the time, this often comes off as a stoic demeanor to others that can be interpreted as cold-hearted until they explain their expression
Appearance/Physical Description:
[/li]Grae is relatively small and slim with neutral facial features that make it difficult to discern their gender at a glance. Their haircut also does not sway more towards one gender or the other either, as it is what some may consider a pixie cut (what would be medium for a guy, but short for a gal). Their hair appears to change colors based on the lighting but is actually a mix of black and white hair that overall appears gray/grey in color. Their eyes shine silver in bright light.
If it weren’t for their preferred clothing, they would fade easily into the background. They most often wear their traditional monk clothing, a grey/gray-colored standard uniform with black and white shoes and socks that blend together
For special events, Grae does wear a grey, plaid suit with black and white accessories (top hat, bowtie, gloves, and shoes)
Casual wear of Grae includes grey khaki shorts, black and white button-up shirts, black and white sneakers, and black and white t-shirts (basically, their entire wardrobe consists of the colors grey/gray, black, and white)
History:
[/li][/ul]Grae was born to a couple of devout Team Plasma followers. The two of them believed whole-heartedly in the mission of Team Plasma, to liberate Pokemon from people. Their devotion to the cause was only surmounted by their love for each other. The two were inseparable. Unfortunately for Grae, the two did not share such a strong love for their child. They tried their best to raise Grae to be as devoted to the cause as they were, but Grae always questioned if there was a different path than the one their parents and Team Plasma were following. This questioning of their ideals led Grae’s parents to mostly ignore them since they were 5.
It wasn’t until years later when Grae was 10 that they called Grae a disappointment and disgrace to Team Plasma’s cause and them upon asking if they could help their parents in any way. Grae was hurt by these words greatly, running away from the base they all called home at the time. Unbeknownst to Grae, that base was scheduled to be raided by local authorities later that day. After reaching the nearby city of Opelucid City, Grae saw on the news in a Pokemon Center how the infiltration of the base was going on. The screen then changed to show live footage of the raid. The footage soon showed Grae’s parents standing with hands held together in front of a mysterious yet dangerous-looking machine. Grae recognized it as the central power core for the facility. Several of the officers approached the couple, commanding them to stand down and surrender. “Team Plasma never surrenders!” They said in unison.
The officers began to move closer, receiving a grave response. “For Team Plasma!” They yelled in unison once again before pulling a lever.
The feed showed the camera being engulfed in the flames of an explosion before everything went black. The person on the news said they were trying to reconnect with the ground units, but was receiving no response. Grae sank to the ground in tears while the others around them were left in shock at what was just witnessed. After the shock began to pass, a nearby lady asked if Grae was okay. Unable to respond, Grae got up and ran out of the Pokemon Center.
With tears streaming down their face, Grae ran back to where the now smoldering Team Plasma base was. They attempted to get close to it, but was quickly stopped by police officers who had already blockaded the scene for investigation. The officers took Grae into custody, curious as to why a kid would try to get to the base. Once the tears stopped, Grae became stoic and unwilling to answer the officers’ questions beyond their name and age.
After many attempts from the officers to try to figure out anything about Grae, they were ready to give up and keep Grae until the next day as it was already evening. As they were about to stop the questions, a green-haired lad came into the police station. Grae was surprised to see that N had appeared at the station and even more surprised by what he did next. N talked to the police officers, explaining that the child was his sibling and that the two had recently lost their parents. He continued by explaining how Grae had gotten lost after playing while N was preparing lunch. N said he was looking for Grae all day before hearing that someone matching Grae’s description was taken in by the police.
The officers were skeptical at first, but seeing as they knew virtually nothing about Grae nor wanted to continue questioning the kid, they gave in and allowed Grae to leave with N. As the two walked away from the police station, Grae began asking N questions. “Why did you lie to the police? We are not siblings! Why are you here? They are searching for Team Plasma members! Where are we going? It is late and I don’t want to go back to Team Plasma! I can’t…”
N chuckled at the rapid assault of words from Grae and patted them on the head. “We are siblings, you and I, both born for the cause of Team Plasma but yet unable to fulfill those roles. I came to pay my respects to the needless loss of life and found a lucky soul Arceus has blessed. I am going where I am needed, you are going to start anew, someplace you can seek your own truth and ideals.”
Grae was perplexed by the riddle-like manner in which N spoke and put deep thought into it before saying, “I don’t understand! That doesn’t make any sense to me! Why would the great N have anything to do with me, the disgrace of Team Plasma and my parents…”
“You’ll understand one day. For now, we have arrived at your destination and I must leave to mine.” N responded, intentionally not answering Grae’s question directly.
Grae looked away from N towards the direction they had been walking and saw a monastery nestled in the woods. It looked serene in the moonlight and brought Grae a great sense of peace for some reason. Grae turned to say something to N only to realize he was gone, almost as if he was never there. Grae saw no other option but to walk into the monastery where they were greeted by a monk. “Welcome! We have been awaiting your arrival, young one,” the monk greeted Grae.
Since being delivered to the monk monastery by N at the age of 10, Grae has lived there and learned from the monks. They have raised her much like one of their own youth and they have shown great dedication to learning the ways of the monks. They stayed there for four years before the monks decided it would be best for Grae to leave and learn things about the outside world to expand their perspectives.
During Grae’s time at the monastery, they befriended a Mienfoo that resided there. She was one of the many Pokemon of the monastery that the monks cared for. When Grae first met this Mienfoo, they could tell the Pokemon was different. They would often see her meditating in one of the secluded gardens, but not with the monks of the monastery. Other times, Grae would see the Mienfoo training alone in a rather controlled manner that showed great self-restraint. To this Pokemon, it was clear to Grae she believed there was more to strength than physical strength.
When Grae inquired about the interesting Pokemon, the other monks often said she was a sort of a lone wolf that didn’t mingle with the others, both human and Pokemon, more than necessary. It was also said the Mienfoo was abandoned there by a trainer one day who didn’t feel worthy to train the Pokemon. Upon hearing this, Grae knew the Pokemon must have been quite lonely and decided to offer their friendship to her.
This proved to be a rather difficult task, as Grae was initially met with coldness. The Mienfoo would typically leave one it realized Grae was trying to interact with her. Eventually, though, Grae managed to get through to her and the Mienfoo soon began to tolerate Grae’s presence and did not leave immediately upon their appearance. At first, Grae decided to not bother the Mienfoo too much and would instead meditate alongside her or training next to her, but not speaking directly at her. They decided to start bringing food for the Mienfoo. The Pokemon wouldn’t eat the food in front of Grae at first but eventually would choose to sit near Grae to eat.
One day, to Grae’s surprise, the Mienfoo brought Grae food, a few berries for the two of them to enjoy. At this moment, Grae knew she had finally gotten through to the lonely Pokemon and began to speak to her. They often spent much of their time together after that.
One day at the monastery while Grae was sweeping the main patio, a lone boy appeared from the woods in somewhat tattered clothing. Grae wasn’t sure who this boy was but assumed that he must have been an orphan or runaway and immediately went to fetch one of the elder monks. Once retrieved, the other monk tried asking the boy simple questions about him, things like his name and where he came from, but the boy remained silent. The monk, unsure what else to do and, at this point, also unsure if he could even understand what was being said to him, told the boy he lives there at the monastery and led him inside.
The boy was given fresh clothes to wear and a place to sleep. He was fed daily, but never spoke to anyone, barely communicating occasionally through gestures like pointing. Grae found the boy odd but not particularly interesting till she saw him in one of the gardens of the monastery playing with several Pokemon. The boy seemed to be having fun, which was rather different from the stoic and cold gaze usually shown. They didn’t want to appear as having spied on the boy, so they left quietly upon seeing this sight.
A few days later, Grae heard a rather soothing voice singing from somewhere within the monastery. They followed the sound to find it was coming from the mysterious boy’s room. When they knocked on the door, the singing stopped immediately and the boy opened the door. When questioned about the singing voice, the boy simply shook his head, apparently claiming to not have heard it. The boy seemed to be a sort of enigma to Grae which they sought to unravel.
Grae decided that some meditation with Kazuno (the name they decided to give to the Mienfoo) would help her understand the situation better. As the two meditated in a secluded garden, they heard singing after a while that became steadily louder and closer. Not wishing to disturb whoever was singing, the two remained in their meditative state. It was not until Grae, despite their teachings, opened her eyes and broke from this state that she saw the boy on the far end of the garden, singing to some bird Pokemon. Grae got up immediately and walked calmly towards the boy. Although not their intent to sneak up on the boy, he was startled none-the-less when they spoke to him. They said that the singing was beautiful but questioned him as to why he didn’t talk to anyone.
Before answering, he shrugged and did a flip in the air before turning into a Zorua. Now, Grae themself was the one in shock. What was more surprising was that the now-Zorua began to speak to them, saying that it was shy and didn’t want it to be known that he was a Pokemon. He went on to explain that he had been abandoned by his mother in the nearby forest and that the monastery was the first human-structure he could find. Hearing this story, Grae felt an immediate connection to the Pokemon and his abandonment.
Grae promised not to tell anyone but suggested the two spend time together in the future. The Zorua was pleased to hear this and agree to spend time with them. Before returning to their meditation, Grae asked if the Zorua had a name, to which the Zorua responded that it did not. It did mention that it would like a human name that was different than ‘young one’ or ‘young boy’ as some of the other monks called him. Grae thought for a moment before thinking of a name for the Zorua. They suggested the name Cei, explaining how it meant ‘reality’ and that reality is an illusion that is true only because we believe it to be, referencing Zorua’s ability to make illusions.
The Zorua thought about this deeply before responding with a smile and saying that it loved the name and shall cherish it as a gift. Cei, Kazuno, and Grae often spent time together after that day.