Post by Mei-Long on Feb 6, 2018 21:04:08 GMT -6
MEI-LONG
NAME — Mei-Long Freeman.
AGE — 38
GENDER — Female
SEXUALITY — Heterosexual, Happily Married.
TRAINER CLASSES —
- Martial Artist
- Aura Guardian
- Type Expert [Fighting]
OCCUPATION — Martial Arts Master
APPEARANCE
HEIGHT — 191 cm [6' 3"]
WEIGHT — 82.1 kg [181 lbs]
HAIR COLOR — Brown.
EYE COLOR — Brown.
SKIN COLOR — Caucasian.
ABNORMALITIES — Extremely Hard Bone Structure. Some scars etched in her body.
PERSONALITY
Mei-Long is more of a woman of action than words. Never one to say much, she's been known since her early childhood to say little, if anything, to the point some may have suggested she was anti-social. She was, in fact, however just awkward and insecure. Nowadays, she's a more confident, bold woman, though still not one to say much.
Though she appears aloof and stoic, she's a very warm woman with a tendency towards physicality rather than words. She's very nurturing, patient and protective, which shows prominently on her calling and profession; that is, as a teacher of self-Defense. However, she's also a very stern teacher.
Her softness most prominently shows in her interactions with her son, husband and father, her son specially. During the days shortly after her son's birth, her students got to see a side they had never seen before, with the woman's smile never once leaving her features so long as she held her child in her arms.
Though stern, she does not have much of a temper, usually being the kind to calmly, yet firmly reprimand wayward students. However, she's swift to fly into rage were her family's safety is concerned.
It is in her nature to worry, and overthink. Her son's departure has been the cause of many sleepless nights, and many long, introspective meditations.
BACKGROUND
She was born on Blackthorn City, in the Johto Region, and was the last member in a family of five.
Her father was a war veteran and a beloved member of the community; a tamer of dragons that inspired respect and admiration wherever he went, and to whoever he spoke to.
The people expected his progeny to follow in his steps: Perhaps become well respected, memorable leaders of the community. Perhaps become dragon tamers whose memory would forever live within the archives of the Dragon's Den.
Her brothers were following in his steps, both charismatic in their own right and capable of drawing people towards them; to follow them.
Her eldest brother looked to be a born leader, a man of the people, charismatic in a way that may one day match, perhaps even surpass his father.
The younger of her older brothers looked to be a dragon tamer on the rise, never once backing down from a challenge, always willing to do what it took to reel the dragon in and bring it to his side.
She? Well. Her failures to meet these expectations would be the root of her self-esteem issues throughout most of her early childhood.
Her brothers could entertain a multitude of children on their own; she could scarcely keep anyone's attention on her long enough to even impress upon them.
Some would have called her a wallflower, but she didn't feel pretty enough to be a flower.
Maybe a blank canvas on the wall. That felt plain enough.
She was kind of an outlier in her family. A bit too large, a bit too silent, a bit too awkward. She had none of her father's charisma and social grace, and was too tall and gangly among her peers to be considered beautiful like her mother.
The most impressive thing she could say about herself was her amazing ability to blend with the background when standing next to her other family members.
She was not a particularly talented Dragon tamer. She did not lack grit, or stubbornness. That, she had plenty, meek as she may have appeared. But something was... off for her.
She just could not appreciate dragon pokemon as her father and brothers appeared to; she felt like a pretender, trying to tame these pokemon she didn't really care for just on the off chance that it may impress her father and help meet everyone else's expectations.
Day after day, she frequented the Dragon's Den, following in the steps of her father and brothers, heeding her father's encouragement to continue trying. Nothing good was ever easy, but with enough time and grit, she would gain the dragons' respect soon enough.
'Soon enough' never came. Months passed and no discernible progress was made. By her, that is. Her brothers were making considerably more headway, with the eldest leaving the city on a journey, dragons in tow.
She and the second eldest were left home, one progressing in leaps and bounds, the other unable to advance an inch.
A few days after this, she had enough. On that day, she walked out of the Dragon's Den, and never again went back. She apologized to her father for being a failure, and settled home, not even 10 years old but ready to live out the rest of her days a disappointment.
Children were dramatic like that, but it was clear to her parents that her self-esteem was at an time low and that they were walking around egg shells.
But her father was not quite yet out of skills that he could pass on to his children. And when he offered Mei-Long to teach her, she looked up at him, weary and yet hopeful, and took the chance. The sting of failure was still fresh in her mind, and she was not eager to jump into any other ventures, but at the end of the day, her father was offering to teach and spend time with her.
She was not charismatic, though her father assured her she was beautiful. She was not suited for dragon taming, though her father assured her it would come with time. What came next was a little out there, and could backfire horribly if she once again found herself lacking. But if it didn't...
Well, there was little too worry, her father would discover soon after. It would look like his individual talents had been distributed between his children; where his eldest was a natural leader, and his middle child a natural dragon tamer, his daughter was, against all odds or appearances, a natural born Warrior.
And it would be upon this single success, this single moment in which she felt that she had finally found something she could make her father proud with, that set her on course to the rest of her life.
She never left on a Pokemon Journey.
An entire decade came and went, and Mei-Long, taller and stronger than she had ever been, was no longer was she an awkward, gangly canvas on the wall. And no longer the lesser of three siblings.
At 16 years old, she was covering ground faster than anyone else would have dared dream. She had blown men older, taller, heavier than her away and accomplished many a herculean tasks. Martial Glory served as her reward.
Or so she believed.
In the span of 10 years, she had learned every technique that her father could teach her. Yet, she could still not match the man. Experience proved a solid barrier that would stand firm for a long time. She was okay with that. He was her father, and her master. Just as Invincible and venerable now as he had been years prior.
Yet, as the days passed, and her training fell into what she felt was stagnation, she began to consider. Perhaps... just perhaps, it was time for her try and broaden her horizons. At sixteen, she was six years; two thousand, one hundred and ninety days, late, by comparison to her siblings.
She hardly cared about that these days.
But where should she travel to? Without a... 'gym challenge', she had no routes. 'Become stronger' was as good a goal as any, but travelling mindlessly would be a waste of time.
And here was were her father's knowledge, wisdom and experience would help her once again. He pointed her towards masters; Masters of different styles, of different philosophies, and of even different species.
With her new course set, Mei-Long made the preparations she needed, she said her farewells to her parents, thanking them for everything they had done for her, and set off.
For the next 3 years, she would travel to specific points along the regions of Johto and Kanto. When she travelled, she moved at swift, brisk pace, using any mode of transport available that would shorten the journey time.
She lived at different Dojos and Temples, first as a young martial Artist looking to broaden her horizons, later on as a Young Master. There was something she noticed every single place she had gone to had in common.
Pokemon. Fighting Type Pokemon.
Just as often students and masters themselves, learning from and teaching to humans both. Just as, if not even more, dedicated towards self-betterment than even humans, it was the first time that Mei-Long had ever felt connected to and identified with pokemon.
Nearing the end of the 3 period, Mei-Long, now a master of multiple styles of Johto's Martial Arts, suddenly found herself in a familiar, yet new situation. She found herself with a group of Martial Artists asking her to be their Master.
So much had changed in only three years. And the catch? Every single one of her new students was a pokemon.
She was a Master and a Pokemon Trainer now. And she realizes, as she trains these young pokemon as she would students:
She loves to teach. The realization is soft, and she doesn't realize it quite yet, but she's just found her calling. She wondered what her father would have said. She then promptly decided she would find out. She hadn't returned home once in the past three years, opting instead to keep her parents informed through letters. For the first time in 3 years, she would return home.
At least, that was the plan, until she found herself sweeped off her feet by a chubby, maroon headed Chef from a far off, foreign region called 'Unova'. He was a journeying Chef, traveling across different Regions to learn all he could about the cooking around the world.
The parallels didn't escape her.
With sun kissed skin, amber eyes and maroon hair that shone magenta when the sunlight hit it just right, the youth's exotic features... were a nice bonus. The man could have been as plain as a Canvas on the wall, and her interest in him wouldn't have wavered.
After only a few minutes of conversation, the man had her interest. By the end of the hour, he had her crushing.
Her return home was delayed by a month, about the time it took for the young man to do everything he would be doing at the city before he had to depart. Before she could gather the guts to say anything, he was gone, off to continue his training somewhere in Kanto, leaving Mei-Long behind... with contact info, mind you.
She was going to fill the man's mailbox.
She finally returned home, having drilled her new students the entire journey back, eager to show her father not only the fruits of her training, but her new team.
The happy family reunion however, was cut short. About a month after she returned home, ominous news and reports began spreading across Johto, with rumors of a stream of failed diplomatic negotiations making the rounds. Dark clouds could be seen gathering in the distance, and though Mei-Long tried to keep her thoughts positive, the worry etched in her father's aging features did little to put her mind at ease.
She began training her students more firmly, more efficiently. She didn't know what was coming, but she couldn't help but feel like they would need to be ready. She had sadly been right.
When the conflict between Johto and Kanto reignited once again, fear clutched at her chest. All around the region, the logistics of war were being made; and conscription began. There was no option on the matter. One family, one soldier.
Her brothers were not in Johto; over the years, they had returned to visit plenty of times, updating them on what was going on in their lives before leaving to continue said lives. With them still out there, this left their home with only three choices. Her father (unacceptable), her mother (Unacceptable), and herself.
She began making preparations for her enlistment, despite any protests from her parents.
War is a subject that Mei-Long prefers not to remember. It could be said it was during the war that she truly perfected her craft. Never before had she been forced to truly fight for her life as she did during the conflict.
It was during the war that she first came into contact with a strange new ability; to her absolute horror. Aura was not the kind of ability you wanted to develop on a warzone. With the emotions running high at all times, Mei Long found herself struggling to keep herself together between battles, unable to meditate without suddenly finding herself assaulted by the heaviness of the suffering around her.
The conflict lasted for nearly half a decade before it finally came to an abrupt end. A conference was held, treaties were made, Generals who never once saw the field received accolades and medals, and what few field soldiers still remained alive and in one piece returned home.
Returning home, she found herself surprised by a hero's welcome, as she and every son and daughter that had taken off (and returned) was received in grand fashion. The survivors were celebrated, the lost were mourned. Mei-Long felt closer to her father than ever before; as if she could glimpse into the events that had made him into the man who had raised her and her brothers.
Celebration, mourning and empathy were not the only thing that she found upon returning home, however. She also found letters. Mountainous amounts of letters, stacked upon her desk.
All from one young chef hailing from Unova, who had tried to contact her to make sure she was okay the moment he caught wind of the war.
The first letter dated back to the first week of the war, back when she had been conscripted; the last to only a few days prior to the war's conclusion. The stream had never wavered...
She began penning her belated response, eager to dissipate the his worries after keeping him waiting for so many years.
Correspondence between them continued after her first response, and all too suddenly he promised to visit, to her excitement. His studies on the cooking of the regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Kalos now concluded, the young man traveled to Johto, before coming to visit her at Blackthorn City.
To make a story that's even longer than everything you've read so far short, after nearly a year of courting, at age 24. Mei-Long married the father of her only child, and was pregnant with her son after a fruitful honeymoon.
Their honeymoon had taken them to a foreign region named Stellara. The beautiful landscape and their ignorance to the problems that plagued the region eventually led to a decision that would change their life forever.
Shaula Town was reminiscent of her own home in Blackthorn, down to the old traditions and the Dragon type gym. But the taint that came with industrialization was far less, and most importantly, it was far away from any dangerous borders with rival nations.
She loved Blackthorn, and would have loved for her child to be able to walk to their grandparents' home... but history repeated itself, she knew, and she did not want her future child to ever suffer a war as she and her father had.
She acquired an old, decaying property and renovated it into a small Dojo. Despite the old fashioned ways of Shaula, there did not appear to be a serious Martial Arts academy set. She would change that.
Her husband did what he did best, and set up shop.
The Renovations to the soon to be Dojo took time, for which she was glad, as her pregnancy didn't allow her to exert herself as much as she would have needed to teach anyone.
A month after the renovations are finished, and after her husband has successfully set a small restaurant in the town, she gives birth to her child. A boy named Jun-Fan, with his father adding 'Douglas' to the birth certificate later on.
Mei-Long is positively smitten with her child, and a full range of emotions that she had never before openly displayed come tumbling out in the wake of this maroon headed bundle of joy. She can scarcely keep the joy to herself, and she, her husband and her child soon begin taking trips back to Blackthorn, the woman unable to keep herself from showing off her pride and joy to her parents.
Her family is complete. She's come far since she was just a blank canvas in the wall. She's strong, proud, beloved by her family and absolutely loving towards them as well. Life couldn't be going better.
Over the years she comes to realize that Stellara is not as safe a place as she and her husband had thought, or hoped. They've made their life there however. Though she hates to see his small, unblemished hands tighten into fists, she begins to train her son in the Martial Ways at the tender age of 4. Her son, eager to mimic his mother, takes to the arts like a fish to water. She's beginning to think it may run in the family.
While teaching her son and her new batch of young students, she can't help but think: she still loves to teach.
Her dojo and her husband's restaurant are both successes. She slowly acquires further property's and buildings, expanding her school more and more. Her small dojo gradually becomes into a massive structure. Her small school, into a Grand Academy.
Her talents as a martial artist have not gone unnoticed, and neither has the massive amount of fighting type pokemon within her walls. Officials from the Stellara League arrive with a curious offer, and she accepts it.
Overnight, she becomes the Leader of the Jade Palace Gym, in charge of testing the trainers of Stellara for the right to posses the Champion's Badge.
She's now a renown master, a gym leader, and a wife and mother. Life is not going well. It is going perfect.
So naturally, something had to go wrong.
An unexpected tragedy occurs. Her mother suddenly dies. She cannot believe it when she hears. Her mother hadn't been sick- She hadn't been that old-
She flies to Blackthorn City immediately, her family in tow, still unsure of how to process the event as she arrives to the home of her childhood. Her father is distraught; barely there. The man sinks into his work in the oncoming months, no stopping in sight. She's never seen her father like this. Between her mother's death and her father's depression, she's at a lost for the first time in decades.
They return home, but sleep eludes her for the next few days. Mortality is now fresh in her mind, and as she watches both her husband and son sleep, the fear grips at her chest.
Her husband joins their morning exercise routine soon after, no ifs, no buts. She's afraid of anything that may cut his life short, and the fatty on his stomach is not promising.
The next five years are a messy blur. Between handling the dojo and the hundreds of students she suddenly found herself with, keeping tabs on the situation back home through her siblings and constant travelling, keeping her marriage stable and raising her son, she slowly begins to feel burnt out.
Then, her son informs her and her husband of his plans to travel around Stellara, a region practically ruled by the murderous Team Crux, on his own, as soon as he becomes 13.
She tells her burnout where it can shove itself and refocuses her efforts on her son and the rest of her family. She leaves the Dojo in the hands of her pokemon, now masters in their own right, and makes sure to prepare her son for the journey that is to come.
When the news from her brothers that her father was retiring arrive, it's almost like a weight is dropped from her shoulders. She travels back to Blackthrorn with her family once again, reuniting with her father, her brothers and their families in what is almost celebration. For the first time in years, the entire family is gathered in one place. Her worries, for once, are silent and pacified.
Upon returning home, she officially retires from the position of Fighting Type Gym Leader after five years of service, wishing to dedicate what little free time she has to her family.
Her father eventually moves to Shaula, the echoes of the past becoming too much in Blackthorn. Her feelings are mixed; happy to see him and have him close, sad to see him forced to leave his home.
She makes sure to spend time with him, but as the day of her son's 13th birthday draws closer, her free time is slowly cut short, as she devotes more and more of her time to preparing him for the dangers that Stellara housed.
Her son has always been a tad strange, much like her, though in completely different ways. He is brash and confident, loud and open, with not a single mean bone in his body and far too much brass for it to be safe to leave him to his own devices. He's not quite like either of his parents, and she loves him very dearly. So much that she almost considers prohibiting him from leaving on his journey.
But she knows that would not work for long; so instead she bites her tongue and waves goodbye, watching his silhouette disappear in the horizon.
Her nest is now empty, but her Academy is still full, so she endeavors to turn her focus back to her students. Her PokeNav hangs from her sash, and tempts her to call her son every day.
Almost a week after her son's departure, a new student suddenly arrived at the door of gates of her dojo. A Meditite, younger and smaller than every other pokemon currently studying under her. It's the first pokemon in some time to seek her out.
STARTER
NAME — Meditite
LEVEL — 5.
SPECIES — Meditite.
TYPE — Fighting/Psychic
EGG GROUP — Human-like.
ABILITY — Pure Power.
HELD ITEM — None.
GENDER — Female
HEIGHT —2′0″ (0.61m)
WEIGHT — 24.7 lbs (11.2 kg)
MOVE LIST —
- Meditate
- Bide
- Ice Punch [Egg Move]
PERSONALITY — Mei-Long's newest, and most eager student. As with most fighting type Pokemon, she possesses an admirable work ethic and a desire for self-betterment that far eclipses what most humans could ever hope.
She's rather excitable and eager for a Meditite however, and as such, has an even harder time than most with one of the most fundamental parts of her training: Meditation. Because of this, Mei-Long has taken special steps towards training her, taking her along for her occasional journey outside of Shaula and often dropping serving as her 'trainer' in order to arrange for impromptu sparring sessions for her sake.
She's a nice, if a little self centered pokemon, having her own growth and advancement as priority over most anything else, and greatly respects Mei-Long.
PLAYED BY LegendaryBugCatcher
