Post by EssGee on Feb 23, 2014 0:42:04 GMT -6
ISAAC GRAYSON
Age: 87
Gender: Male
Orientation: Straight
Profession: Civilian
Occupation: Janitor
Appearance:
Isaac stands 5'8" with a rather thin, somewhat bony frame. He has a sandy complexion; hair once dark brown is now white with age. It is thin but not bald on top, to a shortish scruffy length in back, and forming a thick beard and mustache. He has kind, very dark brown eyes and deep wrinkles that testify a life spent with many smiles.
[Face Claim: Shiro Nishi - Whisper of the Heart]
Everyday Clothes: It is rare to see Isaac in anything other than a solid-color button-up shirt with his embroidered nametag and a matching pair of plain slacks. He has sets in light blue, dark blue, dull green, beige, and gray, but always wears matching colors. He may occasionally wear a bandana or a cap; these vary but are always inornate. When it is especially cold, he has a heavy olive-drab sweater-esque coat. He wears a wedding ring which has been converted into a Mega Ring.
Pack: Isaac wears a few belt bags that hold his PokeBalls, cleaning supplies, medication, and a good number of snacks.
Personality:
In a word, Isaac is 'devoted'. To be more elaborate, he is insurmountably stubborn, refusing to do anything unless he wants to. If someone attempts to physically force him to go somewhere, for instance, he has been known to go limp and force them to drag his dead weight, only to make a beeline back toward wherever he wants to be the moment he's released. That said, he is a very jovial fellow and pleasant conversation, though not prone to striking up anything beyond passing small talk. He loves his job and sees it as his solemn duty to do the best job that he possibly can.
Likes:
-- Outdoors
-- Cleaning
-- Being up and active
-- Small talk
-- Sweets and other junk food
Dislikes:
-- Being cooped up
-- Sitting still for too long
-- Being told what to do
-- Vegetables
Backstory:
Isaac was born into a world of freedom and abundance. Sixty-two years before the portal, it would still be some time before the world had even noticeably begun its descent into chaos. Certainly the trouble had already begun, but evidence was isolated, sporadic, brushed off as normal rise and fall of everyday life. All in all, it was a wonderful place.
It was such a time when most parents didn't have to worry about such things as food and shelter, and so were freer to worry about things like schooling and business. Isaac's mother was on the board of directors for a powerful company and his father was the head of its legal department. Both were very devoted to their jobs, and as such pushed their children toward success as well. Another business tycoon (perhaps a CEO?), another lawyer, a doctor would have been nice: these were the futures they desired. Eventually his brother Gilbert, the oldest child, would become a dentist, which they were pretty thrilled with; his younger sister Julia became a successful fashion designer, which was less than ideal but made them happy enough. His parents were terribly disappointed when his older sister Hayley dropped out of college, nearly disowning her. When she later became a firefighter they reluctantly accepted her back into the family, and when years later she lost her life on a job they exalted her (naturally acting as though they had always fully supported their hero child).
Isaac was never so ambitious as his siblings. He didn't even finish high school, finding it boring. He found he would much rather be up and active than sit still trying to absorb information he was certain he would never find himself wanting to use. His parents would have cut all ties with their stubborn failure of a child if not for his older sister; they kept hoping and hoping that he, too, would turn things around and find some honorable (if perhaps safer) line of work outside their expectations. Instead, he became a high school janitor.
They continued encouraging him for a time. He was just.. saving up money, right? Buying some time until he was more.. uh.. emotionally mature? Maybe? No.. No he actually enjoyed it. In time, he would marry a gym teacher by the name of Ila. Surely he would get a better job to help support her? ..Nope. For their five year anniversary, she got him an Abra. Maybe he'd take to Pokemon training?? Everyone and their uncle had Pokemon, sure; Julia's Gardevoir and Florges helped her model her fashions and Hayley'd had several water-types that helped her, while Gilbert just had a pet Lillipup at home. But maybe with nothing else to do Isaac would get really intense about it? Pokemon trainers weren't special but Pokemon MASTERS provided a little ray of hope? .......Still no.
When he was 29, he and his wife would have their first child, Kayley, named in part for his big sister. Maybe supporting a child-- of course it wouldn't. Over the next ten years, they'd add Lyall, Monica, Norbert, and Olivia to the family. The Abra eventually evolved, though most of its 'training' had been helping Isaac periodically and being mauled by children; at some point he found someone with whom to temporarily 'trade' it, seeing no reason not to evolve it again. Ila managed to scrape up enough time here and there to get certified as a history teacher (though she remained a coach on top of this) and found a better school both to put their kids through and to work for. Isaac followed her, but remained a janitor in the new school with pretty equal pay. At some point during this time, Isaac's family just sort of stopped talking to him altogether, excluding Julia who mostly just sent a card on holidays and asked about the family once in a blue moon.
By the time he was 45, though, the world had descended to a point that it could no longer be ignored. Wars were starting to break out over resources in some places. Fortunately, his little family was in a more abundant area, so fighting did not originate within it. In fact, when he was 47, Ila was able to get him a Mega Stone and Alakazite as a gift for their silver anniversary. However, things did start becoming tighter, their pays eventually cutting back to worse than they'd been even in a more rural area. Given some years more, and the wealth of resources brought the fighting to them, with invaders from harder-pressed regions coming to take what they had.
When Isaac was 53, Norbert was killed in the fighting, and two years later they lost Monica the same way. Another year later, Isaac and Ila lost their jobs-- which is to say the building was actually destroyed.
When Isaac was 62, the Legend Portal events occurred. By this time, he and his wife were very weak and ill. Kayley actually had to see to it they were carried through. They had long since lost touch with Lyall and Oliva, and Isaac still has no idea whether or not they ever made it through the portal or if they're still alive. Last he'd heard, Lyall had just gotten married and was expecting a little girl, and Olivia was seeing a nice girl; no word on them, either, nor does he know if Julia's still around.
Kayley would tend to her parents with the help of their Pokemon, including Isaac's Alakazam, for several years, but while Isaac would eventually recover, his wife would not. She had always been more fond of training than her husband, and when she passed, Isaac and Kayley split her Pokemon. (At the time, they had essentially no other assets.) He took her childhood Infernape (an old woman in her own right) and a Xatu which she'd picked up at random long ago, while Kayley took the others.
Isaac's own recovery was slowed by his grieving for his wife, but after a few years, he was back to fair physical condition and decided he needed to get back to work. He started out getting back to janitor-ing around the at-the-time-newly-built emissary, where he would stay for a few years. In this time, Kayley would head out to be an explorer, rarely coming back to town.
Eventually, Isaac would find himself both smothered and lonely. The emissary was busy, people constantly in and out for every purpose imaginable; much needed to be approved and organized with the rebuilding of an entire society, after all. Few if any had time to speak with him, however. He understood, but it did become a little disheartening at times. Not only was it socially frustrating, but the constant traffic meant he was all but working himself to death to keep up, and he refused to accept help. It took a while to get him to allow even his own Pokemon to work with him. When the Ambassador attempted to hire another worker, Isaac began intentionally making messes for his 'replacement' to clean. Because Anita didn't enough enough to worry about without a 5-yr-old senior citizen on her hands, of course.
Fortunately, a solution soon presented itself when one day Isaac's Xatu began behaving oddly. After several hours of trying to get it settled, eventually it would fly off to be chased by one of the secretaries to the Legend Portal, just in time to catch a group of twenty newcomers arriving. Isaac would catch up with them a few minutes later, and when he saw the portal pyramid again and realized his Xatu had foreseen this, he immediately came to a decision.
This would be his new place of work. The steps were becoming dusty and beat-up, and once-gleaming parts of the decor were starting to look tarnished- unsurprising with the damp salty breeze constantly blowing in on the coastal town. So Isaac would keep the steps and platform swept and the decorum polished, along with any other fixings-up that were needed. His Infernape and Alakazam would help to clean the parts too high for him to reach, though she could climb only a little better than he could, making it a slow process; by the time she'd finished the rounds, it would already be time to start again, which was just as well. It kept them busy. In the meantime, the proximity meant Xatu could get a much better read on the portal, predicting nearly every arrival with strong accuracy. Of course they'd miss an odd one here and there; Isaac had to sleep, and occasionally he was sick enough that his Pokemon forced him to take the day off. But for the most part, he would make a point to greet every person or group to pass through, at least by the time they made it down the steps if he happened to be at the bottom. He wanted to ensure every arrival was pleasant, that everyone knew where to go to receive aid for their sick or injured, to receive housing and rations, to sign up for work. He wanted to ensure that they knew this was a place of hope, that they truly had a new start here.
Over the next twenty years, in addition to all the people, occasionally unaccompanied Pokemon would come through. Most of these he would get to the lab or allow to run off into the wild (with a warning that the competition out there was rough; at least the environment was better than that they'd come from, though). However, in three cases spread out over the years, through various circumstances, Pokemon of this sort would end up staying with him.
An Ambipom took one look at Isaac doing his job and the monkey's heart visibly fluttered. He stole a mop with one hand, a broom with the other, and began 'working'. It took some time to get him calmed and trained to do things properly, but he became a big help, able to climb the pillars much easier than the Infernape on top of general versatility. Another Pokemon was a Shuppet, and he never understood why it wanted to hang around. ..But, well, it sort of used its body as a dust cloth, and that amused Isaac, so he never complained. Finally, there was a Nidorina. It was always the least useful Pokemon work-wise, but its upbeat attitude was infectious and reminded him of his daughter Monica.
Thus we come to the present day, with the world's most dedicated janitor / door greeter and his Pokemon companions.
Appearance:
Isaac stands 5'8" with a rather thin, somewhat bony frame. He has a sandy complexion; hair once dark brown is now white with age. It is thin but not bald on top, to a shortish scruffy length in back, and forming a thick beard and mustache. He has kind, very dark brown eyes and deep wrinkles that testify a life spent with many smiles.
[Face Claim: Shiro Nishi - Whisper of the Heart]
Everyday Clothes: It is rare to see Isaac in anything other than a solid-color button-up shirt with his embroidered nametag and a matching pair of plain slacks. He has sets in light blue, dark blue, dull green, beige, and gray, but always wears matching colors. He may occasionally wear a bandana or a cap; these vary but are always inornate. When it is especially cold, he has a heavy olive-drab sweater-esque coat. He wears a wedding ring which has been converted into a Mega Ring.
Pack: Isaac wears a few belt bags that hold his PokeBalls, cleaning supplies, medication, and a good number of snacks.
Personality:
In a word, Isaac is 'devoted'. To be more elaborate, he is insurmountably stubborn, refusing to do anything unless he wants to. If someone attempts to physically force him to go somewhere, for instance, he has been known to go limp and force them to drag his dead weight, only to make a beeline back toward wherever he wants to be the moment he's released. That said, he is a very jovial fellow and pleasant conversation, though not prone to striking up anything beyond passing small talk. He loves his job and sees it as his solemn duty to do the best job that he possibly can.
Likes:
-- Outdoors
-- Cleaning
-- Being up and active
-- Small talk
-- Sweets and other junk food
Dislikes:
-- Being cooped up
-- Sitting still for too long
-- Being told what to do
-- Vegetables
Backstory:
Isaac was born into a world of freedom and abundance. Sixty-two years before the portal, it would still be some time before the world had even noticeably begun its descent into chaos. Certainly the trouble had already begun, but evidence was isolated, sporadic, brushed off as normal rise and fall of everyday life. All in all, it was a wonderful place.
It was such a time when most parents didn't have to worry about such things as food and shelter, and so were freer to worry about things like schooling and business. Isaac's mother was on the board of directors for a powerful company and his father was the head of its legal department. Both were very devoted to their jobs, and as such pushed their children toward success as well. Another business tycoon (perhaps a CEO?), another lawyer, a doctor would have been nice: these were the futures they desired. Eventually his brother Gilbert, the oldest child, would become a dentist, which they were pretty thrilled with; his younger sister Julia became a successful fashion designer, which was less than ideal but made them happy enough. His parents were terribly disappointed when his older sister Hayley dropped out of college, nearly disowning her. When she later became a firefighter they reluctantly accepted her back into the family, and when years later she lost her life on a job they exalted her (naturally acting as though they had always fully supported their hero child).
Isaac was never so ambitious as his siblings. He didn't even finish high school, finding it boring. He found he would much rather be up and active than sit still trying to absorb information he was certain he would never find himself wanting to use. His parents would have cut all ties with their stubborn failure of a child if not for his older sister; they kept hoping and hoping that he, too, would turn things around and find some honorable (if perhaps safer) line of work outside their expectations. Instead, he became a high school janitor.
They continued encouraging him for a time. He was just.. saving up money, right? Buying some time until he was more.. uh.. emotionally mature? Maybe? No.. No he actually enjoyed it. In time, he would marry a gym teacher by the name of Ila. Surely he would get a better job to help support her? ..Nope. For their five year anniversary, she got him an Abra. Maybe he'd take to Pokemon training?? Everyone and their uncle had Pokemon, sure; Julia's Gardevoir and Florges helped her model her fashions and Hayley'd had several water-types that helped her, while Gilbert just had a pet Lillipup at home. But maybe with nothing else to do Isaac would get really intense about it? Pokemon trainers weren't special but Pokemon MASTERS provided a little ray of hope? .......Still no.
When he was 29, he and his wife would have their first child, Kayley, named in part for his big sister. Maybe supporting a child-- of course it wouldn't. Over the next ten years, they'd add Lyall, Monica, Norbert, and Olivia to the family. The Abra eventually evolved, though most of its 'training' had been helping Isaac periodically and being mauled by children; at some point he found someone with whom to temporarily 'trade' it, seeing no reason not to evolve it again. Ila managed to scrape up enough time here and there to get certified as a history teacher (though she remained a coach on top of this) and found a better school both to put their kids through and to work for. Isaac followed her, but remained a janitor in the new school with pretty equal pay. At some point during this time, Isaac's family just sort of stopped talking to him altogether, excluding Julia who mostly just sent a card on holidays and asked about the family once in a blue moon.
By the time he was 45, though, the world had descended to a point that it could no longer be ignored. Wars were starting to break out over resources in some places. Fortunately, his little family was in a more abundant area, so fighting did not originate within it. In fact, when he was 47, Ila was able to get him a Mega Stone and Alakazite as a gift for their silver anniversary. However, things did start becoming tighter, their pays eventually cutting back to worse than they'd been even in a more rural area. Given some years more, and the wealth of resources brought the fighting to them, with invaders from harder-pressed regions coming to take what they had.
When Isaac was 53, Norbert was killed in the fighting, and two years later they lost Monica the same way. Another year later, Isaac and Ila lost their jobs-- which is to say the building was actually destroyed.
When Isaac was 62, the Legend Portal events occurred. By this time, he and his wife were very weak and ill. Kayley actually had to see to it they were carried through. They had long since lost touch with Lyall and Oliva, and Isaac still has no idea whether or not they ever made it through the portal or if they're still alive. Last he'd heard, Lyall had just gotten married and was expecting a little girl, and Olivia was seeing a nice girl; no word on them, either, nor does he know if Julia's still around.
Kayley would tend to her parents with the help of their Pokemon, including Isaac's Alakazam, for several years, but while Isaac would eventually recover, his wife would not. She had always been more fond of training than her husband, and when she passed, Isaac and Kayley split her Pokemon. (At the time, they had essentially no other assets.) He took her childhood Infernape (an old woman in her own right) and a Xatu which she'd picked up at random long ago, while Kayley took the others.
Isaac's own recovery was slowed by his grieving for his wife, but after a few years, he was back to fair physical condition and decided he needed to get back to work. He started out getting back to janitor-ing around the at-the-time-newly-built emissary, where he would stay for a few years. In this time, Kayley would head out to be an explorer, rarely coming back to town.
Eventually, Isaac would find himself both smothered and lonely. The emissary was busy, people constantly in and out for every purpose imaginable; much needed to be approved and organized with the rebuilding of an entire society, after all. Few if any had time to speak with him, however. He understood, but it did become a little disheartening at times. Not only was it socially frustrating, but the constant traffic meant he was all but working himself to death to keep up, and he refused to accept help. It took a while to get him to allow even his own Pokemon to work with him. When the Ambassador attempted to hire another worker, Isaac began intentionally making messes for his 'replacement' to clean. Because Anita didn't enough enough to worry about without a 5-yr-old senior citizen on her hands, of course.
Fortunately, a solution soon presented itself when one day Isaac's Xatu began behaving oddly. After several hours of trying to get it settled, eventually it would fly off to be chased by one of the secretaries to the Legend Portal, just in time to catch a group of twenty newcomers arriving. Isaac would catch up with them a few minutes later, and when he saw the portal pyramid again and realized his Xatu had foreseen this, he immediately came to a decision.
This would be his new place of work. The steps were becoming dusty and beat-up, and once-gleaming parts of the decor were starting to look tarnished- unsurprising with the damp salty breeze constantly blowing in on the coastal town. So Isaac would keep the steps and platform swept and the decorum polished, along with any other fixings-up that were needed. His Infernape and Alakazam would help to clean the parts too high for him to reach, though she could climb only a little better than he could, making it a slow process; by the time she'd finished the rounds, it would already be time to start again, which was just as well. It kept them busy. In the meantime, the proximity meant Xatu could get a much better read on the portal, predicting nearly every arrival with strong accuracy. Of course they'd miss an odd one here and there; Isaac had to sleep, and occasionally he was sick enough that his Pokemon forced him to take the day off. But for the most part, he would make a point to greet every person or group to pass through, at least by the time they made it down the steps if he happened to be at the bottom. He wanted to ensure every arrival was pleasant, that everyone knew where to go to receive aid for their sick or injured, to receive housing and rations, to sign up for work. He wanted to ensure that they knew this was a place of hope, that they truly had a new start here.
Over the next twenty years, in addition to all the people, occasionally unaccompanied Pokemon would come through. Most of these he would get to the lab or allow to run off into the wild (with a warning that the competition out there was rough; at least the environment was better than that they'd come from, though). However, in three cases spread out over the years, through various circumstances, Pokemon of this sort would end up staying with him.
An Ambipom took one look at Isaac doing his job and the monkey's heart visibly fluttered. He stole a mop with one hand, a broom with the other, and began 'working'. It took some time to get him calmed and trained to do things properly, but he became a big help, able to climb the pillars much easier than the Infernape on top of general versatility. Another Pokemon was a Shuppet, and he never understood why it wanted to hang around. ..But, well, it sort of used its body as a dust cloth, and that amused Isaac, so he never complained. Finally, there was a Nidorina. It was always the least useful Pokemon work-wise, but its upbeat attitude was infectious and reminded him of his daughter Monica.
Thus we come to the present day, with the world's most dedicated janitor / door greeter and his Pokemon companions.
