BIRTHNAME  elijah hargrave

OTHER NAME(S)

lian ( 莲 ) | is his birth name, but after his adoption at the age of two his parents changed his given name to elijah and had lian as his middle name. since moving to korea he has began to use lian as his stage and asian name.

NICKNAMES

eli | a shortened version of his english name that most people used in america because it was easier.

BIRTHDATE  july 30, 1993 (age 26)

BIRTHPLACE  hong kong china

HOMETOWN  seattle washington

ETHNICITY  chinese

NATIONALITY  chinese american

SUBGENDER  alpha

SCENT

he smells of ylang ylang and vanilla.

LANGAUGES

ENG | he grew up in the states with parents that could only speak english. 100%.

KOR | after being in korea for the last eight years, he has learned how to speak the language well. he still messes up with how to pronounce some words at times. 90%.

CHI | he took chinese in high school in an effort to get in touch with his culture. he passed all of the classes and continued to study, but with no one to practice with he still hasn't mastered the language. 60%.

FACECLAIM  tao formerly of exo

BACKUP  kris formerly of exo

HEIGHT  187 cm!

WEIGHT  90 kg!

APPEARANCE

tao actually fits eli perfectly. eli has the same piercings and tattoos, he has the same cat eyes and pink lips. the difference would be that eli smiles wide and unashamed instead of nervous. he laughs loud and without a care when he laughs.

STYLE

eli dresses in skinny jeans, jackets, and dark colors. he likes his accessories such as bracelets and necklaces. he has been called a punk in the past by his parents and his parents friends, but he never cared. he just enjoyed how he looked. x x x

PERSONALITY

                        [ enfp ] [ gryffindor ] [ leo ]
[ + ] loyal, courageous, selfless, protective, hard-working, easy-going, humorous, playful.
[ - ] aloof, reckless, self sacrificing, mischievous, cunning, ruthless, childish, sly.

eli seems cold or angry upon first glance. he has what one would call 'a resting face' most of the time and he doesn't smile all of the time, making it worse. however, should someone actually talk to him they would realize that he is nothing more than a big goof ball or dork.

he is playful and humourous, acting as the one to try and make others laugh when he can. he is mischievous however and sly, so don't start a prank war with him. he will win. he is loyal and selfless, giving his all to those he cares for, but he is ruthless and childish at times and isn't above using questionable methods when needed. he is incredibly protective, often keeping an eye on those he holds dear even when they don't expect him to or realize he is.

eli is very reckless and self sacrificing. he has been taken advantage of in the past and stuggles letting others in due to this. he is courageous and easy going though and refuses to let his fears hold him back. he is overall a very warm individual, he just wouldn't seem like it if you didn't know him.

BACKGROUND

eli was born in hong kong to an underage mother and absent father. his mother passed away giving birth to him and her family wanted nothing to do with him. he ended up in an orphange until he was two years old, when an american couple traveled to china looking to adopt a child in need. eli happened to be lucky enough to be chosen, and with paperwork signed moved to seattle washington to live with his new parents.

he had a rather normal life. his parents couldn't have children of their own so doted on eli. he was their angel, they said. they didn't spoil him and weren't the most rich of families, but they did their best and raised a happy, respectful child.

eli got his love of music from his mother. she was a piano instructor to children and would help skilled children get to high positions in competitions. she would always sing different songs, the genre never mattered so long as she liked the beat, and would urge eli to join her. they would play the piano together and create their own silly songs. eli loved her for showing him the joys and emotions of music, and never lost his interest in it.

when he was nine eli was at a korean friend's house. the brother was listening to some hiphop he had picked up while visiting their grandparents in daegu, and eli found that he really liked the sound of it. it reminded him of american hiphop, but they groups dynamics were dying out and he enjoyed the way it sounded in korean. he didn't know at the time that he could end up becoming a trainee, not even thinking of his future much.

when he entered middle school, eli joined choir and band. he used what his mother had taught him about music to become the band's and choir's pianist, but he also began to learn how to sing properly. choir is where he learned how much he truly loved to sing, and continued to learn and do so until he gratuated high school.

by 2008, eli was a fan of kpop. his best friend, leeroy, and leeroy's family visited korea every summer and brought back different trinkets every time. he began bringing back albums from groups like big bang and tvxq and sharing them with eli, making eli fall in love with the sound once more. they would both sing together all the time, and eventually dreamed of joining or forming their own kpop group. his parents didn't like the idea of him leaving them much, but they always tried to be supportive of his dreams.

he started to send out audition tapes when he was seventeen, hoping that he could get lucky enough to get accepted. it wasn't until three months after he graduated that he finally got lucky. sm entertainment accepted his audition and wanted him to go the next step. 

LIKES

♦ cats
♦ sweets
♦ video games
♦ american football
♦ tattoos

DISLIKES

♦ bugs
♦ mornings
♦ beans
♦ dogs
♦ summer

HOBBIES

♦ video games
♦ exploring haunted houses
♦collecting pokemon cards

HABITS

♦ plays with earrings
♦ pulls on lips
♦ ​​​taps fingers
♦ twirls pens

FEARS

♦ dogs
♦ heights
♦ dying

TALENTS

♦ piano
♦ freestyling
♦ jumping high

TRIVIA

♦ owns a grey rescue cat he named mittens. it's missing an ear.
♦ has never been kissed or dated
♦ tried creating a youtube channel for singing and video games. his gaming took off more and he still tries to upload when he has a chance.
♦ he went to china when he was 19 in hopes of connecting with family and culture. he couldn't find any family.
♦ is allergic to bees
♦ misses tacos from the states.

NAME SAYS & DOES

♦ i don't understand.
♦ this is why we can't have nice things.
♦ i plead the fifth!
♦ no hoblo.
♦ he tends to walk away after staring at someone blankly for a bit, even if their talking to him, if he doesn't like it or understand what's being said.

RELATIONSHIPS

mother | laura hargrave | 54 | piano instructor | she is the main reason that eli ended up loving music as much as he does. they are very close with her being his best friend.

father | daniel hargrave | 56 | professor | his father was often busy, but was always there when eli had a show or needed support. he will always be eli's rock and biggest supporter.

best friend | leeroy kim | 21 | idol | he is the reason that eli ended up dreaming of becoming an idol. it seemed far fetched at the time, especially with their age difference, but it worked well for them. their families were close and introduced them.

  
PERSONAL INTRODUCTION HERE

STAGE NAME

lian ( 莲 ) | it's his middle name and original name. he thought it would be easiest to remeber and also likes the sound of it.

PERSONA

the ice prince | eli doesn't smile easily or all of the time. he more often than not has a blank face and doesn't really respond to others. it's mostly he doesn't understand or that he doesn't want to talk to the people and pretends he can't. people say he's cold or icy all the time.

POSITION(S)  vocal & dance

TALENT TWINS

z.tao will be eli's talent and voice twin. x x x

TRAINING YEARS  he trained with sm for 7 years and royce for 4 years.

TRAINEE LIFE

during his time with sm eli learned how to improve and do variety. he worked on his singing and dancing. he modeled and hoped. when he couldn't even debut with nct, he began looking for new companies until he found a match.

he joined royce in 2019. he was a friend of leeroy and had only heard good things about the company. with hopes os debut and confidence about his skills, he applied and was accepted. 

following the debut of abz in 2020, he was very disappointed. he was even thinking of finally giving up after 8 years of trying, but the ceo asked him to join the elite program. with the time he had put in up to that point and his looks, he was dubbed as great trainee and a great member for elite. eli, seeing it as his last try, accepted.

PREDEBUT

while wiht sm he modeled a bit and appeared as an extra in a few music videos. when he joined royce he focused more on getting even better at his skills.

HEADLINES

following eli's departure with sm and the removal of his image from their page, many fans and articles speculated that he would finally debut as a solo act or something else. when he didn't and instead was found to be with another company, many accused him of being a gross person. claims were made that he tried to claim an omega trainee as his own or that he cracked under the pressure of sm. it hurt his feelings and he denied the claims, but being between contracts didn't help him any. he was just signing with royce and had just dropped sm.

FUTURE EXPERIENCES

eli would continue modeling after debut. he isn't great with variety shows or acting unless he has someone he knows nearby. he would however join a subunit or like to try solo activities should the chance appear.

ELITE PROGRAM:
LIAN PROFILE

BIRTHNAME  elijah hargrave

BIRTHDATE  july 30, 1993

NATIONALITY  chinese american

HEIGHT  187 cm

SUBGENDER  alpha. sm outed him as alpha on their page so he couldn't hide even if he wanted to.

STAGE NAME  lian

POSITIONS  vocal, dance

TRAINING  13 years

ADDITIONAL INFO

♦ can play piano.
♦ has a youtube gaming channel under the name gaminglian.
♦ is a fan of changmin.
♦ is lee's unofficial brother, according to him.
♦ is elite's face, according to him.

WELCOME, LIAN! PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOUR FANS!

his blank expression lit up, a grin breaking out across his lips as he looked over the audience. "hey! i'm lian, the group's resident beauty! how is everybody?"

WHAT EXACTLY IS YOUR ROLE IN ELITE?

"you're looking at the king of pranks! my voice is good enough for vocals and i'm not to bad on the dance floor, but no one can match me in jokes or pranks!" he exclaimed with a loud laugh, ignoring any complaints that may have come his way.

AND WHAT'S YOUR SPECIALTY?

"i'd have to say that singing is my specialty for the fans. that's probably why i was made a vocalist!"

ALRIGHT. WHAT KIND OF CONCEPT OR CONCEPTS DO YOU THINK WILL FIT YOU THE BEST?

"with my persona and charms, i'd say a darker, more mature concept would fit me best. unless it's breaking hearts. i seem to do that well as well." he said with an innocent grin and a shrug.

DUE TO THE NATURE OF ELITE, DO YOU HAVE ANY WORRIES LIKE NOT GETTING ALONG WITH MEMBERS OR GETTING LESS SCREENTIME, ETC?

"i'm honestly just happy to be here with everyone. i feared never living my dream, and every year i got older that fear became bigger. but now that i'm here i no longer have that fear."

DO YOU HAVE ANY ROLE MODELS? ABZ OR HWANA PERHAPS...?

he snorts before smirking. "he'll never let me live it down i bet, but i look up to leero-- lee from abz. he's worked hard to get where he is today. i also look up to the members of shinee from sm."

AND LASTLY, DO YOU HAVE AN IDEAL TYPE? AND IF SO, WHO DO YOU THINK BEST SUITS THAT?

"my tyope is someone who can be my friend and understand me. if they can laugh and have fun it's even better. maybe someone like hyoji of hwana? or tinging of abz?"

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS, STAGENAME! ANY LAST WORDS?

"i hope that everyone will keep supporting elite going into the future. i can promise you will get quiet the show!"

LOVE INTEREST  zhu ting

BIRTHDATE  aug. 4th, 1998
FACECLAIM  kun of nct

NICKNAMES

he'll call him "tinks" like tinkerbell because he makes him feel like he's flying.

PERSONALITY

eli sees tinks as someone who cares more about others than himself. as a result he will try to get tink's focus on small things that don't stress him out or make him laugh. tinks is the one eli turns to for something solid and sure when he's feeling andything but. ting becomes eli's best friend over time, even if he likes to antagonize him.

LOVE STORY

they met through leeroy when eli joined the company as a trainee. they all trained together, but for some reason eli found himself harrassing ting more than the others. he'd prank him, talk to him, ask him for tips. he was hooked without realizing it at first. he thought ting hated him after everything.

when ting debuted eli would still text him and talk to him, but it became more serious than it was before. they became friends. eli even got ting to laugh and not worry about amz as much once. he was proud of himself. he enjoyed talking to ting and tried to see him when he could. he didn't even know he had a crush on the other until he was confronted.

it takes the two of them until 2024 to become a couple. eli never knew, he just knew that he cared about ting a lot. ting thought eli would confess at some point and tried to wait him out. eventually an arguement and jealousy is how they confess. they ended up laughing in the end over how stupid the two of them were.

STATUS  dating as of 2024

ENDING  after a long career and their own problems, they end up bonded. before then though there are definite bumps.

RELATIONSHIP TRIVIA

♦ eli would look for ting just so that he could talk to him, tell him jokes, or prank him.
♦ eli tries to distract ting so that he won't stress so much and instead focus on him. he likes being ting's focus.
♦ eli mother's ting even when it doesn't seem like it. he'll say "you look too thin!" if he knows ting hasn't eaten and will bring him food.

BBVIP21BLACKJACK  CHRIS  6/10

COMMENTS

i hope that i completed this correctly!

SCENE REQUESTS

i would like to see someone fall into eli's pranks or a fan or someone lash out at him for the allegations fans made during his scandal.

PASSWORD

i think bts black swan or on would be a cool concept to practice with. the dances look hard.