Radley, Grayson 'Gray' Skylar

[gray radley]

GRAYSON SKYLAR RADLEY

let's start with the basics

[style=color:#6d4350; text-transform:uppercase;]name ::

grayson skylar radley.

nicknames ::

gray, only ever gray or captain

age ::

thirty

birthday ::

may 8th.

hometown ::

one of the outer planets, whenever they are named

address ::

on the nyx

occupation ::

captain of the nyx
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don't dare try to judge me

[style=color:#6d4350; text-transform:uppercase;]but let me tell you what i look like ::

Gray's a handsome man and he knows it, though he tends to go for the more rugged look. Being raised on a poorer planet and being a pirate for a living means that his dress isn't always quality. He wears what he is comfortable in, even if it has holes. Gray's eyes are a greenish color. His hair is brown and usually kept short.
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that's just the way it is

[style=color:#6d4350; text-transform:uppercase;]i really like ::

weapons of any kind, leading, liquor, women, sex, sarcasm, dry humor, going fast, swordfights, bar fights, being a pirate

but i don't like ::

his absent father, being stuck in one place for too long, rats, his name, restrictions, strict rules, directions, navigation, injuries, feeling tired, being overly stressed

i rock at ::

determined, brawling, a good shot

but i can't seem to ::

give directions, keeping his mouth shut, impatient

i am afraid of ::

losing everything. That is probably his biggest fear. He might also be terrified of rats, but good luck getting him to admit that.

you know i'm not normal ::

has a habit of drumming his fingers on everything. moves his leg when he is sitting constantly.

i think i like ::

girls

so if you want me ::

A tough chick, one that can hold her ground. She should have great eyes, a nice body.

but never ever ::

If she's too easy. If she tries too hard. Twirls her hair too much.

everyone has secrets ::

While Gray acts like he doesn't care, he really does care about everyone and sees them as family.

someday i'm gonna ::

Gray would like to settle down some day, but he doubts that would ever happen.

if i had to sum it all up ::

At first glance, people might laugh at the thought of Gray Radley being the leader of anything. On the outside, he seems arrogant, a smart ass, and sometimes downright unpleasant. This, however, is his defense mechanism. It is put up to stop people from getting close to him and it works pretty well. He doesn't want to let just anyone one in because he doesn't trust them. He doesn't want to let them just waltz onto his ship and then, something to go terribly wrong because it would be all his fault.

Gray does happen to be very protective of people once he gets to know him, though he has a hard time letting them in. If they have been there for a while on the ship, he probably sees them as family and anyone who is new as someone trying to weasel their way into the only true family he has. Deep down, Gray does have a heart outside of that tough exterior. It may be hard to believe, but he can care for people. He just likes to pretend that he does. Gray also has commitment issues. He sees a new girl each time when they hit the town. He doesn't want to settle down. He likes living it up, but really, he just has trouble thinking about a long term relationship. He's always been on the move and never had one. It's a problem, but Gray doesn't care too much.
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where i'm comin' from

[style=color:#6d4350; text-transform:uppercase;]my mother is ::

October Radley, 55, barmaid

my father is ::

Unknown to Gray, except for the fact that he was a pirate

i was born in ::

one of the outer planets

and i grew up with ::

None

i'll always remember when ::

Probably his first visit to Moai. He had actually gone with the pirate friend of his when he was a kid. He was perplexed at the things around him and almost missed getting back on the ship to go back home. It's something he'll never forget.

if i had to write an essay ::

No one knew where October Radley came from. She showed up on ---- heavily pregnant and in quite a bitchy mood. She was stumbling through the streets, clutching her stomach with one hand, a heavy looking bag in the other. Not one paid attention to the poor woman as she collapsed against the side of a building. It was the middle of the night, why would they when there were places to be and alcohol that needed to be consumed and people who were waiting to be bedded down. October felt like she was going to die, she thought she was going to pass out. Thankfully, she was saved by a woman who happened to be passing by. She helped October up and brought into a nearby building where the woman gave birth to a baby boy three weeks early. The first forty-eight hours were an absolute nightmare. They had to monitor the baby and make sure everything was working properly. They weren't in a medical facility of any kind. No, they were in a brothel. The woman who helped her ran a brothel. So first stressful two days, October was offered a room for a month so that she could get on her feet. With little money and her newborn son, she reluctantly accepted the offer. They did offer her a job there, but she told them that she was not going to do that for her son, so once the month was up, October left the brothel and bought a small rundown apartment with the money she made from her job as her bar maid. It was not her ideal job, especially since she wanted to raise her son right, but at least she was not selling out her body in front of her son. That was all that she cared about.

So, thus began the life of Grayson Skylar Radley. He grew up in a little rundown apartment with his mother who worked in a tavern. He was always a curious child and was getting into things that he was not even supposed to touch. Being a single mother with a mischievous boy was hard for October. She was not sure what to do with him, but young Grayson (or Gray as he later insisted on being called) thought he could handle himself. Besides being curious, he was an independent young boy and that frightened October. While she would go off to work, she would leave him with a trustworthy neighbor, but one day, Gray thought he could handle himself. Then five years old, he waited until his neighbor went to get something for him to eat and he left through the window. He could have left through the door, but Gray wanted to thrill of climbing out the window and landing in the patch of dirt underneath it. He was not sure where he was going to go, but the boy thought about going to visit his mother and he started to wander around the city. It was not long until he was lost, but he did not panic. No, he thought he knew where he was going after all. He continued walking until he heard someone shout his name and he saw his mother standing there with an incredulous look. He had seemed to drift onto her path home without realizing it and she scolded him the whole way home asking where he had been and why he was out. That was when October knew the boy could not be left out of sight. She started to bring him with her to the bar. It was not an ideal situation. He was just a kid and now she was subjecting him to this atmosphere. She knew he would have seen it anyway, they lived in --- after all and it was not like there was law on the whole planet. She just did not know what thoughts would enter the boy's mind.

At eight, Gray was sitting in the tavern at the bar where his mother or one of the others working there could watch him when a man sat down beside him. The man asked what a kid like him was doing in a bar. He told him that he had no other choice. He said he tried to have his freedom, but it was not a bad place to be. The guy laughed and told him that he liked him, he reminded him of when he was a kid. Of course, Gray made some sort of comment about age that had his mother apologizing to the man and he told her not to worry about it. Gray was interested in the man and he found out the next day when the man came back that he was a pirate. It amazed and interested him. Gray knew what he wanted to do with his life and when he told his mother that, she told him no. He would become a pirate like his good for nothing father. That had him questioning on the missing man in his life, but October shut up. She would not give him anymore, but she told him not to hang around with the pirate again. The next day, he was seated next to him again. He wanted to try what he was having and the man told him no, that he was too young and he should have juice instead. Gray said okay and downed his drink and the man started laughing, finding humor in this. Gray scowled, but he now had a reason to hang around the bar and try not to sneak out. He also found out about his love for swords there when his pirate friend gave him a sword and he instantly showed his mother. She told him to be careful, but he insisted he was okay and that he wanted to learn. She was reluctant. She did not want him learning how to sword fight, but after some pleading from the young boy, she managed to find someone who would give him lessons.

Between lessons and seeing the pirate, Gray's life could not have been any better in his eyes. That was until his pirate friend told him that they had been there too long and it was time to move on. Gray pleaded to come with and the man laughed. He was too young and wouldn't make it out there. He tried, but they told him no and he was left behind while his new found friends set off. His mother tried to calm him down, but the boy was devastated. So devastated that he ran off and ran into a group of thieves. He was just a boy, so he did not have much on him, but they didn't see why they couldn't rough him up a bit since he was talking back to them and being a smart ass. That night, Gray did not come. He was found at midnight, leaning against a building in a back alley, holding a wound on his side. After that night, Gray threw himself into his lessons, rarely talking to anyone. When his mother asked him what was wrong, he just shouted and told her that he wouldn't have lost if he was the best. The boy became obsessed with being the best. He nearly forgot about his dream of wanting to become a pirate.

So, Gray left home when he was nearly eighteen, joining up with the government's form of military and quickly found out that it was not for him. He endured a year in service before he left, not sure what he was going to do after that. He did a bunch of odd jobs, ending up employed on another pirate ship before he was twenty-three and decided that he had a hard time following other people. He saved every penny he had, leaving the ship he was on to make his own. It was hard work, but Gray was able to do it. He spent quite a while on the Drifter Colony, learning to call the place his home before he got the Nyx. He bought what he could on Moai and picked up a crew. Over the years, they changed, but they still do the same thing and Gray is living his life as a pirate, something that he wanted. (I figured we can work out time line and such with this part)
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the face behind the curtain

[style=color:#6d4350; text-transform:uppercase;]hi i am ::

rachel

and i am ::

twenty-two

you should contact me by ::

pm, I can give you my messenger

i also play ::

none.

and i know the code ::

rainbow sprinkles

let me show you my skills ::

Venetia. How long had it been? Even Nike was not sure as he set off from the Fancy Granger into the the hustle and bustle of the city. They did not have long there, but that did not matter to him. He did not have any business here. They were just docked here for a short time and given leave, he was free to visit where ever he wanted. He was not quite sure where he would want to go. Certainly, his father's house was out of the question. He was not sure if the man was even alive and he was smart enough to never go back there. That man did not deserve to see him again. He did not care enough about any of his family members. Even if Rowan Heap was on his death bed, Nike would not ask special permission to come back to see him. The man was a good for nothing drunk and Nike did not need him.

Thinking through the rest of his friends and acquaintances that he could see, his mind drifted to Angel. He could go visit her, but he would never be allowed anywhere close to her home. Sure, she would probably let him in without any problems, but one of the guards? He was not going to risk it. He was a pirate. Who would let one of them anywhere close to a duchess? It was not like he would hurt her. He'd never do that to her. She was one of Dodge's best friends and so was he, so the two of them had became friends through that. But trying to explain that to a guard? Like they would even believe him.

He dispelled the foolish thought, but there was no one else that Nike even had the interest in visiting since his best friend was no longer living, so the first mate made his way to the market place. It was busy. People were everywhere and he had to push his way through to even find a booth that he wanted to go to. He had to be careful. There were beggars in here, but even worse, there had to be pickpockets. He knew it well. He had been one of those kids, bumping into a stranger, apologizing and making off with whatever was in the contents of their pocket. He wasn't proud of it, but when you lived in the slums, you needed to find some way to eat. He had moved his money to his front pocket earlier to hopefully stop any stealing, but there was still a chance. It was not like he put his whole life savings in his pocket, but as a pirate, well money could either come in abundance or there could be a dry spell. He needed to make sure he at least had a little at all times.

He continued on, looking over at a few booths now and then. He was not stopping. Just make it through the crowd and everything would be okay. Perhaps there would be a shop at the end that was not crowded. Crowds weren't exactly his taste. He was trying to make his way, to get out of the noise. He could feel a presence behind him, but in such a tight crowd, that was not uncommon. Almost everyone was following someone else. He shook off the feeling until he felt a hand grab the sleeve of his jacket at the same time they said his name. He spun quickly, grabbing the person by the wrist, not sure what they were doing.

He frowned. "What do you want..." the last part of his question trailed off as he gazed at the person in front of him. It was clearly a girl, a little dirty, and looking like she came from the streets. His eyes traveled to her face, again dirty, but familiar and one he had seen before. She was a little older than the last time and then it clicked in his head. "Angel?" Confusion passed over his face. "What are you doing out here?" He was not sure the last time the two had seen each other. It had probably been short after Dodge's death. Nike had left Venetia soon after that. He continued to stare at her. He could tell that beneath the dirt and old clothes, she was a beautiful young woman. It made him wonder why he just took off.
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[gray radley]

abilities

sometimes we do things right

[style=color:#6d4350; text-transform:uppercase;]leadership :: 6 ::

Being Captain, this is something that Gray has learned over the years. He had never been the follower, always the leader. However, he had to find a good way to express this and he was able to hone his natural leadership abilities. This comes in handy when in tough circumstances or having to make decisions that no one wants to make.

direction sense :: 2 ::

Gray could get lost walking from his room to the cockpit. He has never been great at finding his way at all and it is a good thing that he has navigators or they would be circling the blackness of space for a while until they run out of gas.

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sometimes, we do them wrong

[style=color:#6d4350; text-transform:uppercase;]swordplay :: 6 ::

Gray started learning this when he was kid and given his first sword. He threw himself into learning everything he could because he thought it was a dying art and something that was interesting to him. While he has been using guns more, he always has at least one sword, his first one, in his room.

guns :: 5 ::

Gray had studied swordplay first, but he knew that guns were better to know, so he dedicated himself after that, especially in his one year of military training. He is a good shot and knows how to handle himself and the weapon in a gunfight.

grenades:: 2 ::

As good as he is with other weaponry, he had tried his hand at grenades a few years back. It was disastrous. He can aim with anything else, but for some reason, he can’t seem to master a simple grenade.

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[Nic!]

accepted!

good job!

please proceed to the claims!
Gray looks great. I'm so glad you decided to come play with us!