Grady Mitchellson

[Grady Mitchellson]

The Basics

Name: Grady James Mitchellson (Gwen Marie is still his legal name) 
Nicknames: Gee (when they were younger their parents and some of the older siblings used to call him and his twin sister Bella the “Bee Gees”)
Age: 17
Orientation: Asexual / Homoromantic
Desired Rank/Job: Student
Powers: Shapeshifting - Owl
Grady has the ability to transform into any species of owl. Once in owl form, he can fly, though he cannot do this well now over time he will get better at controlling his wings. Grady cannot communicate with owls or other birds while in his owl form. He can see very well at night while in owl form. He is very good at shifting into an owl and it causes him little pain. Shifting back into human form is harder for him and very painful, especially in his back, shoulders, neck, and around his eyes. He also tends to shed feathers when he changes back into owl form or have some of them still clinging to his skin that he has to pull out. In addition, the shifting process tends to trigger his body dysphoria.
Play By: Ryan Cassata

The Details

Hair Color: brown
Eye Color: brown
Any Piercings? ears and lip
Any Tattoos? none...yet, he’d love a few when he gets older though
Any Scars? none worth mentioning

General Appearance: Though it may not always look like it, Grady cares a great deal about his appearance and spends a lot of time putting it together. Of course a lot of the energy is devoted towards passing as a dude rather than trying to win any hearts or fit into a certain clique at school. As a pre-testosterone transguy, putting together his look consumes a lot of his time.

Grady is a big fan of button down shirts, vests, and dark jeans. Though he used to wear mostly dark/earth tones, he’s been trying to add a little color into his wardrobe. On days when he’s feeling more dysphoric, he tends to hid under a baggy hoodie. Grady has a bad habit of slouching his shoulders forward left over from the days before he started wearing a binder when he held his body that way to hide his chest. This only make his five foot frame look even shorter. Some days when he’s feeling a bit adventurous, he’ll wear a tie and/or suspenders. He’s also a fan of hats.

Grady has a habit of constantly cleaning and/or adjusting his glasses. Though he’s had them for years (he’s pretty much blind without them) and is used to them being there by now, he likes having something to do with his hands. He also messed with his hair a lot, but tries to cut down on this because he worries it borders on “feminine primping”. So when he’s not messing his with glasses, he tends to shove his hands down in his pockets.

Though he’s been told that cutting his hair might help him pass more, Grady loves his dreads. He enjoys putting beads and charms in them. But maybe one day he’ll cut it all off.

He listens to music constantly and pretty much always has his headphones on his ears or around his neck.


Personality: Grady spent most of his early years hiding a secret he was sure would get him labeled as a freak forever and upset his family. Even though he tries to be more open now, that way of dealing with everyone is still there and usually his go to mode of operating. Now that he’s out, he’s trying a much as possible to live stealthy as male. Although his family, the staff as school, and friends who knew him before already know, to new people he just wants to be Grady, a 17 year old guy. Of course this means he has a whole knew secret to hide now.

He would always rather be the observer than actually participate. Grady doesn’t talk much partially because of his introverted shyness and partially because he worries his voice will come out too high. He is a loner and doesn’t see anything wrong with that. Though he will join in if it's for a grade or because someone pester/forces him too, he doesn't enjoy it and it shows.

Grady gets down a lot of the time because of issues with his body/dysphoria. His parents(mostly his dad) are making him wait until 18 to take hormones or get top surgery, though he keeps trying to change that. A year might not seem like a long time to wait, but for Grady it couldn’t be longer. He is also very sensitive about being misgendered or perceived in any way as feminine. In order to combat this his often acts over masculine to try to compensate. He also hides certain things about himself (most of his emotions and some of his hobbies) because he’s afraid people will think those parts of himself are “girly”.

Though it doesn’t happen often, Grady does speak up for others who are getting bullied or otherwise treated unfairly. He’d love to one day be able to make a difference in the world and other people’s lives, he just doesn’t know how to get there.

Grady will hold a grudge for eternity, but he’s not always conscious about that fact that he is doing so. He’s hesitant to trust in the first place, so when someone breaks that trust it’s almost impossible for them to repair it.

Your Vices

Likes:
- folk music
- the TV show Glee (he doesn’t share this around)
- hugs (he craves physical connection)
- brownie batter ice cream
- hot water (not tea, not lemon water, just water heated up)
- cauliflower
- heights

Dislikes:
- childhood pictures of himself
- hugs (he’s too shy for physical connection)
- crustaceans (he thinks they're just too freaky)
- pink, dresses, make-up (anything overtly/stereo-typically feminine)
- tomatoes (though he loves ketchup)
- his own anger (sometimes it scares him, but mostly he just hates the feeling, which doesn't help)
- dogs (he's more of a cat person)

Strengths:
- climbing (trees, walls, buildings, basically anything taller than him)
- googling/research (may seem like an odd talent, but Grady is awesome at finding information on the web fast)
- recognizing sadness in others (though he doesn't always know how to handle/fix it)
- English class (he's better with the written word)


Weaknesses:
- expressing emotions in a positive way
- using his words (he's not very good at getting his point across verbally)
- forgiveness
- any physical activity/sport besides climbing (he's a bit of a klutz on solid ground)
- over-thinking (particularly over-analyzing people's actions)


Fears:
- never being able to transition medically as much as he would like
- never finding someone to be with who will see him the way he wants to be seen
- that he'll never be "man enough"

Secret:
- Grady picked his name from the book Parrotfish (which is about a transgender teen) even though he’s never actually read the book, only the blurbs.
- He's never been in a relationship or even kissed someone "as a guy".

Family Ties

Father: Harold Mitchellson
Mother: Ingrid Mitchellson
Siblings: Peter (27), August (23), Caelum (22), Jenny (19), Bella “Tink”(17 - his twin), and Christina (13)
Any Other Important People:

History

Grady was born Gwen, the sixth child and third daughter of Harold and Ingird, just eight minutes behind his twin sister Bella. By the time he and his sister had arrived on the scene, the Mitchellson’s had things down. Of course most of the child rearing duties fell to the family nanny, but Harold and Ingrid did do things with their children. And after three boys in a row, Ingrid was happy to have three girls she could relate to and dress up. Jenny and Bella were always happy to participate, particularly Bella. But Grady never really wanted to play dress up or bake or wear his mother’s make-up. Instead he would watch his father and older brothers. When he was younger he never understood why his brothers got to run around shirtless in the summer while he and his sisters had to sweat in their shirts. Or why it was okay for Peter and August to rough house in the yard, but not for him to wrestle with his sister. Still, he wanted to please his mom. And he wanted to be like his sister, so he never protested.

It was during elementary school that Grady started to pay more attention to his older brother Caelum. His older brother always seemed one step removed from the rest of the family. He always seemed to be thinking alone by himself. And suddenly Grady worried if whatever was wrong with Caelum was wrong with him too. This fear became even more prominent when Caelum was diagnosed with depression. Grady didn’t understand entirely why their father was so upset. But he knew he didn’t want their father to be upset because of him too.

So Grady started to watch his sister more. Bella was always happy. She lit up the room and made everyone else happy too. He tried his best to act just like she did, to become more than a twin. He wanted to be a copy of her that his parents would love and be proud of too. So if Bella wore pink, so did Grady. When Bella started wearing make-up, so did Grady. He joined cheerleading. He asked for dolls on his birthday. He stopped wrestling and smiled so much he thought his checks were going to grow huge muscles. The two played dress up constantly, sometimes Grady would be the prince or more often Peter Pan to Bella’s Tinkerbell, but that was only in the safety of their room.

And then Grady got older. His body started changing. And it all just felt so wrong. Added to how he had always felt about being a girl, it was almost too much. Still he hid it. Though Caelum was living away at Hammel by this point, Grady remembered how his father had reacted to Caelum being different. So he hid his feelings. From everyone that is, but his twin. Finally he couldn’t take it and confessed to her late one night in their room that he’d always wished he was a boy. That in fact, he felt like a boy all the time. His twin had only laughed at his nervousness. Bella had known for years how Grady had felt. She joked that’s why she had always let him be the dashing prince or her Peter Pan. Because she knew that’s who he was, who he needed to be. Still Grady wasn’t ready for the whole family to know. So he and Bella made it their secret.

It wasn’t long after that night, just after their 13th birthday, that Bella and Grady developed abilities. It had been something they’d wondered about since Caelum had left for Hammel, spending nights lying awake debating which ability would be perfect. The day after Bella manifested there was a Hammel recruiter coming to pick her up. Grady was sitting out behind the house, upset that his sister, his closest friend, and the only person who knew how he really felt was leaving him. He was staring into the sky, trying to stay strong and think about anything else but his sister leaving. And then suddenly, he was in the sky, flying. Of course he only made it a few feet in the air before freaking out and falling back to the earth. It was then he noticed that he was no longer human as he held out his hand, he saw a wing instead. The shock, along with the pain of changing back into human form made him scream/screech. His parents and the Hammel recruiter came running. He was standing in a pile of feathers pulling back on his torn clothing when they walked out the door. Needless to say the recruiter was willing to stay for dinner while Grady also packed his things for Hammel.

Grady continued to hide his true feelings about his gender during his first year at Hammel. His parents were going through a divorce and he was just trying to fit in. Even though he worried less about upsetting his father, he was already feeling a little freakish with his new ability. But his grades were slipping. And it was getting harder to smile. His parents and teachers started to worry. So he finally decided it was time. He got Bella to join him when he sat down and told his parents that he was transgender. His mother was very supportive and his father seemed more confused than anything. For the past two years he has also been out at Hammel. Though his records still say Gwen(his legal name), all of his teachers and classmates know him as Grady with he/him pronouns.

Roleplay Example

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Age: 28
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Thank you so much for your patience.  You know what to do! Have fun, Abe