[Phantom]

Griffith Minjoon Shin

Full Name: Griffith Minjoon Shin
Pronouns: He/Him
Nicknames: Griff, Min
Age: 25
Gender: Questioning (currently identifies as male)
Room #: -
Birthplace: Butte, Montana
Birthday: March 4th
Orientation: Queer (attracted to men & mascs)
Status: Single
Power: Bi-location, Teleportation (Limited)
Play-By: Taeyong Lee
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 160 lbs


Personality:
Griffith is a sensitive person, and he doesn't think that's a bad thing. He can pick up on the vibe in a room or social situation quickly, and adjust himself accordingly. Griffith is incredibly flexible. He won't necessarily go as far as to bend over backwards for someone, but his curiosity often puts him in situations where it pays not to be too rigid. When he does actually like, and form an attachment with another person- he is faithful. Griffith is often kind, and usually good-natured. Most of all, Griffith's factory default is cheerful. The world is dark right now- but he refuses to be brought down by it. Which is kind of funny, considering his... morbid interests.

And yet, Griffith is a very private person. He doesn't like having everyone know his business. He doesn't even like it when his brother can tell that something's going on with him before he decides to tell him! He prefers to keep things casual. Griffith is whimsical, and maybe not quite as attached to reality as he first appears. He's a big thinker who doesn't put much stock in conventions, or rules. Griff is high spirited, and whether he's aware of it or not, more than a little cute in his mannerisms.

So, it sounds like he has a big personality, right? But Griffith is a timid individual. And he wouldn't say he's quiet- he's just not as loud as his brother! He is naturally very cautious, and has more fears whirling around in his head than he'd probably ever admit. While his factory default is cheerful- Griff is very moody. He is often melancholic. When he acts- he's most often motivated by self-indulgence. He is fanciful, which while helpful in his career- in real life can be off-putting.

At this particular point in his life, Griffith is haunted by a big question. He is usually calm, but he finds himself feeling more moody than usual lately. Griff is a dignified person. He's incredibly clever, and while he's timid in most situations- at times can be unexpectedly daring (and crafty). Griffith is gentle in movement and speech. He's the type to become totally absorbed in something, to the point where someone standing next to him might as well not be there. For better or for worse, he views the world through his own lens.

History:
When they were born Griffith and Vincent were completely indistinguishable to anyone but their parents. They had no unique birthmarks, and were completely identical. The only difference between them was the day they were born. Vince, on the third- and Griffith, seven minutes later, on the fourth. Even when he looks at pictures now, Griffith wonders how his parents were able to tell the difference between them.

Their formative years were anything but normal. Their mother was working with a group of experimental archeologists. And when they were old enough, she often brought them to work with her. To be clear, they were usually just watching. If they were trying to recreate a cooking technique, sometimes they got to eat the food.

But if he'd spent a few less days making sacrifice and performing rites to various gods and goddesses, Griffith would probably be a little more grounded in reality. He'd also probably be more grounded in reality if his mother had read him normal bedtime stories- instead of whatever folklore she was studying at the time.

He and Vincent always had similar interests, especially when they were young. What they both loved was soccer.

Nobody ever suspected they were cheating.

When one of them was running with the ball, and started to get tired, they'd trade places. Sure, it probably looked off that the twin that wasn't anywhere near the ball was suddenly sweaty and panting, but they were kids- they were probably just overheated, or excited about the game. Thankfully they both seemed to be aware that teleporting in front of that many people was a no-go. Nobody else did it, so they shouldn't either.

At home they took up an equal amount of space. But when they started school, Griffith found himself hiding behind Vincent's bold personality. He wasn't particularly shy- but he wasn't the type to walk up to a table and ask if they wanted to be friends either. In school Griff made good grades, but he didn't feel motivated. The only thing he really liked was being on the soccer team- when they'd go to the lab, or when they'd do something hands-on in class.

While he had made some friends on his own, he relied on Vince to have a social circle. All of his brother's friends were his friends by association. One of the best parts about having a psychic connection with his twin was that he knew it didn't annoy him.

The other best thing about having a psychic connection with his identical twin, was that when someone was irritating him- or if he felt he was being bullied, he could swap places with his brother (he also had a bad habit of telling people that he didn't really want to see again that his name was Vincent). Vincent took no shit and took care of business. Not that Griffith wasn't perfectly capable of putting on a straight face, a dry tone of voice, and taking care of things himself- Vincent was just better at it. And no one was the wiser- they just assumed that something came over him- that he was in a dramatic mood.

The worst thing about having a perfectly identical twin was that people always assumed they had the same birthday. And since Vincent was more social and popular- they always assumed it was his. Griffith has gradually, over the course of his life, accepted the fact that people (besides his parents, who actually made an effort to give them separate parties,) will probably always think his birthday is the third. He'll still correct them, he just won't get very upset over it like he would as a child.

He never realized it when they were younger, when they went to all the same places, and were in all the same classes- that Griffith was basically living two lives at once. He had knowledge of subjects (and later, an entire field) he'd never studied. Sometimes, he had emotional reactions that didn't match what he was doing. He couldn't see what Vince was doing (which was for the best, because ew,), but he had very distinct memories of experiences he'd never had, and feelings about people he'd never met. He had extensive knowledge of hobbies that he'd only vaguely dipped his toes into, because his brother liked it. He knew things like his girlfriend's birthday, and favorite color.

There were some things that they didn't share between each other, things that were much better kept private. Maybe that was why.

Griff's first real foray into vulture culture was when he was thirteen. He'd been scavenging for years before then- and if it wasn't something illegal, his parents (mostly his mother, let's be honest,) supported him.

His father was the one who got him into collecting beetles. He brought some back with him from a trip to Costa Rica, and Griffith loved those cute little dead guys! To this day, they're his favorite bugs to collect.

Most of the specimens he worked with weren't in the best condition- but that was what made them special. Every part of an animal, from its pelt to its bones, told a story about its life- and its death. By preserving them, he could share that story with other people- and create something beautiful, and immortal. And, if that animal happened to die beside a road, taking it meant that other animals wouldn't try to scavenge it and risk also getting hit by a car.

Unfortunately, he didn't learn about the Vicks Vaporub trick until later in his career. He just had an incredibly strong stomach and an iron will.

(And no, he's never killed anything. Sometimes- later, when he actually knew what he was doing- he would do some prep work for hunters.)

The internet outside of kids websites was a revelation for Griffith- in more ways than one. For one, he was much more comfortable interacting with people online- where he could zone out, take a break, or work- and except for the extremely rude- it didn't bother anybody! He could socialize on his own terms. He could make friends through his interests. He could date on his own terms! It wasn't his fault that the only people he was interested in lived halfway across the country!

But, then, there was Big Fur. Of course he'd seen that blurry- iconic- footage of Bigfoot before. What he didn't know was that it was made by a taxidermist. He was obsessed with Ken Walker's work. He'd never even thought about using his taxidermy skills that way before- that he wasn't limited by the dimensions of what currently existed.

He learned new methods, skills, and techniques. He was also able to trade pieces with other taxidermists- law permitting. And when he messed something up, he could just... ask a friend about what might have gone wrong! Griffith could curate his own space, and chase his interests beyond what was available at the local library.

Griffith was a mostly uneventful nerd in high school.

He never had to worry about getting picked on, since he could still hide behind Vincent. Besides, did any of those kids really want to pick on the taxidermy kid? Probably not.

By then he did have his own (small) circle of friends to hang out with. Mostly, when he wasn't working on a piece, he was at home on the computer. There was a brief period of time when his brother's interests rubbed off on him, and he was part of a myth and folklore roleplaying forum.

Things got awkward there when one of the other writers developed a crush on him- he'd found out from another player. Griffith wasn't really sure how to politely tell this person that he was gay. Like- super gay. When he finally did, there was a subsequent blow-up, and the group was never quite the same after that. He might have picked it back up if he ever found a group that he liked enough, but he had many more interests. Besides, he never felt he was any good at it.

The nice thing about Griff almost always being home was that Vincent always made it home by curfew. And the few times that Griffith went out with his friends- even if they were all the way across town- he could just duck into a bathroom after they separated for the night, ask Vince if the coast was clear- and bam! He'd be right next to him. He just happened to run into him and his friends- could he get a ride home?

Griffith started high school as an uneventful nerd, and he ended it that way too. While Vince had to go to college, Griffith already had a clear path cut out for him. He'd been carving out his niche for the past five years- and he'd gotten good enough to not only work on his own projects, but also take commissions.

So they separated. Vincent was off to college in Florida, and Griffith stayed in Montana. He would have been very upset about it, if Vince wasn't a blink away.

Yes, they could teleport that far away. It took a lot out of them at first- it was a long distance- but they could go back and forth at will before they knew it. It certainly saved Vincent money when he wanted to come home for the holidays- he'd send whatever through UPS, and Griff let him borrow his clothes.

But he and Vincent had always been a team- and now that he was all the way across the country- Griffith had to focus on himself. Griffith, the individual.

Time apart let him start really thinking about things.

He did not like that.

He and Vincent looked exactly alike. Even as they got older- they were the same height, the same weight- neither of them had any identifying markings. Aside from a few personality traits- they were remarkably similar. To the point that, if they were having just a regular conversation, he could fool someone into thinking they were talking to Vincent instead.

It was almost like they were the same person. Bi-locating so quickly, that they seemed like two separate people.

But that was impossible.

Right?

But, so was teleporting...

Right?

It didn't help that, aside from one or two people, almost all of Griffith's friends had moved away. He had plenty of friends online, and plenty of people (he found out later that he wasn't solely attracted to men. Gay felt limiting, so he started identifying as queer instead,) that he was talking with. But he couldn't talk to anyone about this. Most people already thought he was a space cadet, even if they liked him- what would they think if he said he thought that he wasn't actually himself.

What if there wasn't a himself?

What was the self?

If we are all just the sum of our experiences- then he and Vincent are the same person. They shared almost everything!

It would have been easier if either of them had ever been seriously hurt- which was awful for him to think- but if one of them had a scar- anything! They'd know, right? But anytime one of them was in harm's way- they'd just teleport- sometimes just an inch or two to the side, sometimes even in plain sight to avoid it.

Griffith was twisting himself into knots. He kept working, but that thought was always lurking in the back of his mind. Then out of nowhere, he was working on a pelt when his breath seized.

His chest hurt. He was struggling just to take a full breath.

Then, he was in the ocean.

Vincent was just learning how to dive. Something was wrong with the tank.

He was back in his workshop again.

The ocean.

The workshop.

The ocean.

The workshop.

The- he was breathing better. Anytime he was in open air, he took as deep a breath as he could.

Then they switched, and Vincent took a deep breath. And they both swam- hard. He saw the light- his hand was about to break the barrier between water and air and then-

He was back in his workshop.

And he vomited.

He could breathe again after that. His brother was safe, and that was all that mattered. He also hadn't puked on his work- so- all was well. Griffith had to go lie down for the rest of the day.

The question never really went away. It was kind of audacious of him, actually, to assume that he was just a copy. A single blip at the end of another time point. If Vince had died that day- what would have happened to him?

He didn't want to know.

Griffith decided to differentiate himself after that. A tattoo might have... Unintended consequences. Especially if he and Vincent ever traded places like that again. Aside from the very tips of the follicles- the hair on his head was dead. The hair on Vincent's head was dead. They'd once gotten different haircuts and it had been fine, so he decided to bleach his hair. Just a couple of shades lighter. More brown.

They must have had the same idea, because Vincent's hair was bleached too. Vince, jokingly, teased him about copying him.

He wasn't laughing. He felt sick. He knew he was being sensitive- it was just hair. Even if their hair was completely different, it wouldn't matter- and it wouldn't prove anything (just like their nails didn't).

What would it mean to him- to not be his own person? If he really was just a different side of Vincent- one with different experiences, that had made a different choice?

There was never another incident like that. It had been a freak accident- a total coincidence. Vincent got a job in San Diego, and coincidentally, Griffith did too.

He had been getting more and more taxidermy jobs from museums lately. It was one thing to see an animal in a zoo- it was another to see one (especially a depiction of an extinct one,) interacting with its natural habitat. In his personal work, he finally took the plunge and began working on the fantastical creatures he'd always dreamed of making. He still did commissions- something to keep the money flowing- while he was figuring out how to make a project work.

The question didn't go away. But, maybe it never would. He just got better at not letting it dominate his waking thoughts.

Then, Vincent needed him. And he was there in the blink of an eye.

Someone else was too.

He'd never, ever teleported in front of someone before. Griffith panicked. She knows. He swallowed.

Knows what?

About them. She knew about them. It made sense that she approached Vincent first- Griffith was usually at home, at a restaurant by himself, or dinking around with another taxidermist. Vincent was actually out and about.

So, there was a place for people like them. He wanted to ask, but he couldn't- if she knew. If she could tell him.

Maybe he didn't want to know.

Maybe he did.

Existence- life- is nebulous. We can define it in seconds, and hours- molecules, and proteins.

What of the soul?

What about him?

Their hair colors were different now, and that didn't mean a thing. He was going to have plenty of time to think about this.

Maybe there was no conclusion.

Maybe Griffith just enjoyed tying himself into knots.

Other:
The Powers:
Bi-Location- Griffith and his twin, Vincent, are capable of bi-locating. They can trade positions rapidly, and there doesn't seem to be a limit to their ability to do so. When Griffith doesn't feel like dealing with a situation anymore, it's not uncommon for him to have Vincent deal with it.

Teleportation (Limited)- Griffith has a limited teleportation ability. He can teleport using Vincent as an anchor- and can teleport anywhere within roughly twenty feet of him. Beyond their own physical limitations (best not to teleport underground, or twenty feet up,) there is no limit to how often they can teleport in a day.

While not technically a "power", Griffith and Vincent have always had an almost supernatural connection. They can tell what the other is thinking, and also transfer strong feelings between each other. It's not quite on the level of telepathy though, and only between the two of them.

Love him, hate him, wanna date him?