Date of birth/Age: 2003.02.21 / Age:23
Sex/Gender: Cis Woman
Preferred pronouns: She/Her
Race: Homo sapiens (human) - Asian
Nationality/Origin: 1st Generation American [Japanese/Chinese parents]
Height: 5’4” / 162.5cm
Weight: 152 lbs / 68.9kg
Electi ability: “Let the flowers bloom”
Ability description: Any time Mei sneezes she causes surrounding plants to grow at a momentarily increased rate. She has a severe tree pollen allergy. She has no other way of triggering her power other than sneezing and the amount each plant grows is random for each sneeze.
Visual description: Mei is relatively skinny and wears Her black hair in a simple style at just past shoulder length. Typically she wears a flower in her hair, usually a spider lily however she does like to try and change it for any special occasions that may be happening. When she isn’t in her school uniform she tends to wear cardigans and capri pants with a simple patterned blouse or tee underneath.
Background: Growing up, Mei didn’t know much about what Electi themselves were as the way her parents described them, she perceived they were simply things of fairytale. You had to be your very best and work to build up a strong arsenal of skills. That’s what her father had taught her and her brother at least. She grew up in Olympia Washington, and still cherished her family’s cultural heritage. Heritage was very important to their family as they originally lived in mainland China until 2002 when they had to move to the US due to China’s one child policy. Mei’s family wasn’t spared from anti-Asian rhetoric even after moving to Washington, due to arriving in the US during the SARS outbreak of the early 2000s. Her abilities would awaken around when she was 5 years old around the time her family would have finally finished settling in, however the ‘08 recession would hit causing more hardship for her and family during day to day life. As she grew older, her family began doing their best to describe and even deny the random coincidences that would occur every time she sneezed. Flowers blooming, gardens growing, and moss spreading across water soaked rocks as they went on walks in the park. The Anti-Electi hate along with the prejudice their family faced for other reasons all lead to fear and resentment building up surrounding Mei. Her family had slowly begun to view her as the cursed second child, and in an attempt to prevent more of these strange occurrences from growing out of hand, her family began taking extreme measures to keep her locked within the house during times when her allergies would cause her to be more likely to sneeze.
Around the present day, after she turned 23, the police and fire departments were called to the student’s address with reports of a house fire. When first responders arrived on the scene, however, the outside of the building was completely covered in an overgrowth of supersized plant foliage, not previously there the morning of the incident, according to neighbors and eyewitnesses. The family was taken into questioning, where they were able to single out Mei as the most probable cause of the anomalous activity. After extensive negotiations, Mei was taken to ERA for further questioning.
[Interview Transcript]:
Merriweather: Alright. Please state your full name once again for the record, please.
Mei: My name is Mei Nakayama.. And, if you need to write it out in Hanzi then my surname would be the characters for Center and Mountain, and my given name is the character for Beauty.
Merriweather: That won’t be necessary, thank you. How would you describe your Electi ability? Or at least, what happened that day at your residence?
Mei: Honestly.. I'm not really sure how it works sir. I just remember the smoke and soot filling up the room around me as I began to cough and sneeze. Before I knew it the plants outside had.. taken over the walls of my house. But, if I were to guess, I suppose I've always had weird things happen to plants around me whenever I sneeze. Like when all of the trees would suddenly bloom when my spring allergies acted up!
Merriweather: How long ago would you say you’ve been noticing these ‘weird things?’ Do they happen with every plant?
Mei: As far as I'm aware, yes it does affect every plant. I’m not really sure how long I've been able to do this though, my family has always been extremely anti-Electi. They told me they didn't exist! That it was just some ploy the government would try to teach me to make me follow their agendas.
Merriweather: Electi had become common knowledge internationally by the late 70s–some theorize the first ones born were on American soil in Vegas. I can understand your family’s anti-Electi sentiments, however; even today, many of our students were seen as too dangerous for society simply for being born, and faced discrimination and public scrutiny their whole lives before enrolling here. They must have kept you sheltered pretty well. Did you have any friends growing up? Attend public schools, travel outdoors, catch up on the news?
Mei: I went to a private School Sir, and as far as having friends it wasn't something I had much time for given how many extra things I tried to study to make my father proud. My family also tended to have chinese news playing, it was the only thing my Lao Lao wanted to watch. They also strictly forbade me from going outside for the spring months so.. Often I would miss the end of school year activities. I never really thought of it as a happy life but, i was happy to be alive i suppose? Despite the hell my older brother would put me through when my parents weren't around. It’s not like Mama had any high opinions about me though either…
Merriweather: I’m so sorry to hear about all of that. So many of you walk through these doors, and yet so few remain on good terms with relatives. Forgive my prying, but do you suppose they’ve suspected you of being an Electi long before your incident? Have you considered any possible… supernatural reason as to why they would treat you like they did?
Mei: Aside from being born a girl? Being the fourth member of the already perfect model family from China? The cursed child who brought nothing but ruin..? Believe me i’ve heard them say it all when they thought i was asleep. Not to mention that Gege would remind me any chance he’d get that I ruined everything when they had to move to the US. SO.. I can only imagine that they have known for a while and just used it as further reason to treat me like a bad omen.
Merriweather: …I’m not quite sure what to say. It sounds to me you’ve had it rough for longer than you deserved. But that’s what we at ERA are hoping to fix for all of our students. We want every Electi enrolled here to succeed where society has counted them out. Not everyone like you gets this opportunity, either–you’re at least lucky to have had someone vouch for your being here at all, otherwise I fear you’d have been sent somewhere far worse. Surely you must have had someone in your life you could count on, someone who could see you as less of a threat and more as their loved one?
Mei: The only person it could have been was.. My Father.. He wasn't the most outspoken man, especially with how Gege and my mom treated me but.. Whenever he had the chance he would be there to comfort me. It was usually when he would get home early from diplomatic trips and the rest of the family was out of the house.
Merriweather: I see. He must have cared a lot for you despite everything, and it looks like his diplomacy skills paid off.
ERA is offering you full-time enrollment and lodging. You’ll get to continue your education, and more importantly rehabilitate yourself into the outside world at your own pace. Visitation with your family will be limited, of course, but I’m inclined to believe that may be for the better. In exchange, your mother and brother will be granted extended visas, and we’ll keep in touch with your father to continue negotiations and make sure everything else goes smoothly. Your acceptance paperwork is ready to be signed, but if you need more time to think—
Mei: What kind of school is this that they have the power to extend an international Visa..? Are you all somehow in bed with the government at a fundamental level?
Merriweather: Technically, we are the government.
Mei: You certainly aren't subtle, nor do you seem to have the ability to approach something like this with poise. Nevertheless I suppose it wouldn't be good to question those who are doing so much to help me find a safe way back into society…
Merriweather: It’d certainly do us no service to not be transparent to the people we are trying to help. Federally backed or not, this place is still an academy. Are you still interested in accepting our offer?
Mei: Who am i to decline an offer as gracious as this, What else would you need from me to finish my enrollment?
Merriweather: I’m thinking of some antihistamines, for starters.
[End Transcript]