Luka Moretti
Oct 30, 2013 12:54:52 GMT -5
Post by Luka Moretti on Oct 30, 2013 12:54:52 GMT -5
LUKA MORETTI
26 - HUMAN - MALE - BISEXUAL - LEGENDARY WORSHIPPER - UNEMPLOYED
[/u] [/b]They've been firm friends for almost twenty years. They grew up together in a high-stress environment, leaning on one another for support and companionship. It's not exactly a surprise that they wound up being so close. Luka literally trusts Nelio with his life on a daily basis, and the other man's loyalty is one of the only things in this world that he's never been given causeto doubt. They are certainly devoted to one another, but their easy camaraderie has been slowly altered over time by added layers of mental conditioning and power dynamics. Luka considers Nel more of a friend than a servant, but the other man has expressed a firm belief in the system set in place.[/div][/font]
ABOUT THE PLAYER:OOC Account: exeWhat do you wish to be called?: Exe is fine, thank you!Other Characters: He's the first one approved.Link to your previous character: Nope!
BASIC INFORMATION:
Full Name: LukaNerio Gaspare StefanoMoretti
Nickname(s): Prince, Royal Brat,Bubble Wrap Child
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Allegiance: GiratinaOccupation (Position) : Is there such a thing as a professional heir and scion? No? Then he's very much unemployed. Luka has never had to work a day in his life, as the family largely provides for his needs, and Leonardo seems to be actively working to keep him as dependent on the church as possible.Species: Human
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:
Face Claim: Gilgamesh, Fate/Zero
Hair Color: Golden blond
Eye Color: Red
Height: Five feet, seven inches.
Build: Not much to speak of.
Skintone: Pale white.Other Appearance Information: Luka just looks immature. Soft golden hair and oddly youthful features give him a bit of a timeless look, and he could easily be mistaken for a good few years younger than his current age. He certainly isn't often taken as being much older. There's a twist of something slightly regal to him, in the way he stands straight-backed and tall with his head held high, but he doesn't quite pull it off and the effect is something more like a pauper putting on airs. One thing that you'd never be able to say about Luka Moretti, however, is that he doesn't seem confident in his own skin. He moves with assurance if not always with grace, occasionally stumbling or tripping over himself in his eagerness to be here or there. Height-wise, he tops off at five feet and seven inches, not particularly tall nor especially short.
His eyes are probably his best feature. Even in a universe where crimson eyes are a mildly interesting detail rather than something impossible to achieve without the use of contacts, his are quite striking in the unusual sharpness and clarity of their colour. Comparisons to gemstones are a bit of a dull cliché , but it's difficult to avoid the "ruby" comparisons with how brightly they shine. His stare can be as steady and confident as his stance, and though his gaze couldn't be described as piercing, there is almost a challenging element to it. Not looking through someone but certainly looking at them, expectant and possibly a tad judging.
In terms of build... Luka's honestly nothing special. There's not a lot of bulk to him; he's an average guy but can often wind up looking kind of weedy next to the company he keeps, seeing as Nelio is built like a brick wall and even Helena probably has more muscle on her than he does. His body type tends towards a more lithe and slender look naturally, but because of his somewhat variable attitude to exercise, his fondness for his room-mate's cooking and the occasional taste of drink, he's gone somewhat soft around the sides and at the belly. He's prone to fluctuations in his weight depending on his health and how active he's been, obviously, but it usually never swings too far in either direction. Luka's relatively happy with himself either way, and doesn't seem to have a lot of problems with body-image. He'd be more concerned about it if it was causing him problems, but most of his issues with regards to his health stem more from the anaemia and a weak immune system.
Moving on to skin tone, Luka's on the paler side of Caucasian. He can manage a slight tan during the warmer months of the year but he's honestly more likely to burn, and in the event that he comes down with some kind of bug or his iron deficiency sinks to a level that's particularly dire, he goes an unhealthy shade of milk bottle white that makes it pretty obvious there's something wrong him. With how pale he is, old scars don't usually stick out against the skin much, although other blemishes and marks often stand out all the more for it. Luka isn't exactly marked up though, with the exception of a smattering of freckles across his shoulders, a small number of little scrapes gained from childhood exploits, and the raised scar on the palm of his left hand gained due to an "accident" during the move into the apartment complex. That scar still pulls taut and causes discomfort sometimes, and that hand still isn't quite as mobile as the other.
Luka can be a bit of an unpredictable person with regards to how he dresses. There doesn't seem to be a particular preference when it comes to cut or colour; just about the only requirement is that is should be comfortable to wear. Other than that he's kind of all over the place with his wardrobe. He might just throw on a simple shirt and a pair of jeans one day, go smart-casual the next, and then there are the days when you catch him looking like he's just tumbled out of the bargain bin at a local charity shop. He's not completely devoid of fashion-sense and usually manages to match up quite well, but then there are days when he feels like experimenting a little bit with his look and doesn't really succeed at what he set out to do. Let's not even get into all the jewellery he tends to throw on, usually in shades of gold but not always guaranteed to match whatever else he's wearing at the time.
PERSONALITY:
Likes
Selina. She's his little sister, and the last living family member that remains to him. He can sometimes butt heads with her, seeing as they're both rather stubborn souls who would each prefer to be calling the shots, but they understand each other well due to their similiarities. Luka is aware of Nelio and Helena's feelings towards the girl, and to be honest, it's awkward and somewhat frustrating for him. He knows that she can be a pain sometimes, he'll be the first to admit to it, but he doesn't see what makes her such a menace. The blond really does love his sister, despite their occasional disagreements, and he can be quite fierce in defence of her.
Helena. She's one of the closest friends he has, and his feelings for her are comparable to that of an older brother for a younger sibling, encompassing the protective urges without the combative element that's present in his relationship with Selina. He used to believe that Helena was more in need of protection than he was, because she was younger than him and because she was half-blind and struggling to adjust at first, but he grew out of that attitude over time, eventually realising that the young woman was probably more capable of looking after herself than he was. He still worries about her and gets concerned for her sometimes, but no more than he'd worry for any of the others.
Mario and Concetta. Luka's father died when he was a toddler, and his mother wasn't much of one initially, despite being the woman who gave birth to him. After Leonardo found them and took them in, the ghosts of the church became like an extended family to the boy. Concetta took on quite a motherly role in his life, as she did with most of the children who found their way to the church, and he's grateful for that. Mario was (is) too awkward with emotions and closeness to really be a "dad" to him, but he makes an amusing uncle figure, and he's one of the most prominent role models in Luka's life, which explains a lot when you think about it.
Physical contact. If he counts you as a good friend of his, you will almost certainly be subjected to this at some point. He's quite affectionate in this sense, and he's not particularly shy about it. It's an anchoring feeling, something that reminds him that he's still here and able to interact with the world in a way that most spirits cannot. There's a definite element of comfort-seeking to the behaviour, that has been influenced by his upbringing, but he would probably be much the same if his life had been ideal up to this point. He's just that kind of person.
His own way. He's a bit of a brat, to be honest. He doesn't like taking orders, although he'll often go along with Father Leonardo and a handful of high ranking cultists to make life easier. In the event that he's denied something he wants, he does have a bit of a tendency to dig in his heels and keep pestering until he gets more favourable results. He doesn't throw tantrums if displeased, the way his little sister does, but he can and often will act out in smaller and more subtle ways. Or less subtle... as long as he's relatively certain that he won't be caught.
Autonomy. Luka often becomes frustrated with the limitations placed upon him, and certain people's over-protectiveness of him. A frequent complaint of his is that no-one will let him do anything on his own, but at the same time, it's true that Luka has become too accustomed to being waited on. He desires the perks of independence, but the responsibilities that come with it would come as a nasty shock to him, if he woke up tomorrow and had to do everything for himself. That's not to say that he couldn't do it, if there was pressing need, but he's never been thrown into that kind of sink or swim situation before.
Shiny things. Whether it's gadgets or jewellery, or some knick-knack found in a corner store, Luka has an aesthetic preference for the flashy stuff. It doesn't matter if it's a knock-off without any actual value to it - all it has to do is look the part. He tends to hoard anything he likes the look of, but some of the pieces in his collection have real sentimental value. For example, rather than being store-bought or inherited, most of his jewellery was made by his bodyguard. When they were growing up and Nelio was attempting to master his powers, the older boy would often make him trinkets and such. Luka has physically outgrown most of these, but he's still very fond of them and keeps them in a safe place.
Popsicles. As well as ice cream, sorbets, and that sort of thing. Luka can take or leave sweet things most of the time, depending on his mood, but he's always been fond of these. There's even a practical application for them! With his haemophilia, not every bleed requires immediate hospitalisation and a massive panic. Sometimes they can be safely treated at home, and as it turns out, frozen deserts are actually very hand for stemming bleeding into the gums and such. Luka has been using this method for years now, and it just gives him another reason to indulge. He also keeps a ready supply of ice cubes in the apartment freezer for similar reasons.
Tea and blankets. Besides the haemophilia, Luka also suffers from iron deficiency anaemia. It results in a variety of symptoms, one of which is very cold hands and feet. He complains frequently about the cold, and anything that provides a source of warmth is usually well-received. He doesn't care about the health benefits of tea but, he does enjoy curling up with a hot drink and letting that warmth suffuse him. More than just the physical comfort, the practice has become almost become a ritual for him and Nelio through constant repetition, and having that routine is quite soothing in and of itself.
Giratina. Despite disagreeing with a number of the church's traditions and one tradition especially, Luka remains a devoted follower of the antimatter god. He wholeheartedly believes in the scriptures he's read, and the words that Giratina imparted on the ancient ancestor who started it all. He does want to do his part to help the cause, he just doesn't see why he has to die in order to be useful. It helps that he was inducted into the cult lifestyle at a young age and never shown any others paths or systems of belief as legitimate options.
Restrictions in a more general sense. He doesn't like being held back or kept down, or told that he can't do something because of reasons x, y and z. He's prone to weaselling his way out of, or straight-up ignoring, measures that he feels are unnecessary or just plain stupid, and sometimes this practice can get him into trouble.
Father Leonardo. The old ghost was the one who took Luka and his mother in, but the priest is still batshit insane, even by the standards of the church inhabitants. Father Leonardo initially presented himself as a fatherly, comforting presence, but over time his true nature became more obvious. By the time that Luka was fully aware of what his ancestor was like, he was already deeply entrenched in the cult philosophy. He was warned from a young age about his eventual fate and conditioned to accept that horror, but as times wears on and Luka begins to doubt his convictions, it's the promise of retribution from Leonardo should he disobey that keeps him in place.
Horror films. It might strike people as odd, considering that Luka has spent most of his life surrounded by ghosts and worshipping a dual-typed ghost dragon god, but he really can't stand them. He's not the only one in the apartment with that hang-up either. Nelio, Helena and even the normally blustering Selina all share his dislike of the genre, especially films concerning ghosts and malevolent spirits. This mostly seems to stem from a shared irrational (okay, maybe a bit more rational) fear that Leonardo might possess the same abilities that all the ghosts seem to have in the movies.
Coffee. It's not a really strong hatred of the stuff, he just thinks it tastes terrible and doesn't see what the fuss is about. The irregular heartbeat and jitteriness that he experiences with a caffeine rush, followed by the sudden crash and loss of energy, is really unpleasant as well. Yes, there's still caffeine in tea, but there's much less of it and he's used to that smaller dosage. He might still drink it, on rare occasions where there's nothing else in the house, but he prefers to avoid it when he can unless it's drowned in enough milk that he doesn't get the taste.
Yellow skittles. They're the worst flavour in the bag, as far as he's concerned. Yes, even worse than Nel's thing with the green skittles. Luka doesn't know what it is, but he just really hates the flavour of artificial lemons. This goes beyond skittles and encompasses most lemon-flavoured sweets, actually, they just don't appeal to him at all.
Cold weather. Luka is used to a slight chill, he can take it like a man (pffft), but when his extremities start to feel like ice blocks, and his back goes all taut and just setting his feet on a stone floor starts to hurt because of the temperature... no. No thank you. He'll just stay in bed until someone else puts the heating on. Of course, being too hot isn't much fun either, but he would rather deal with a heatwave than a bout of extreme cold.
Dialga and Palkia. Luka has no reason to disbelieve the god's tales about his imprisonment. Giratina believes that it was his siblings rather than Arceus who trapped him in the Distortion World. This is the story he gave the man who founded the cult, and this is the story that the modern cultists have taken as gospel truth. Luka believes the antimatter god was wronged by the Creation Duo, and that justice should be served. The blond is no physicist, of course, and he clearly hasn't thought through the consequences of destroying the gods of time and space, but it's what he believes regardless.
Birthdays. They're just another reminder that his time is limited. The ritual looms larger and more ominous in his mind with each passing year, and he is still nowhere near ready to make the sacrifice that the church is demanding of him. Naturally, he gets very sulky and morose whenever these days roll around, and he generally doesn't appreciate any congratulations or well-wishes during this time-frame.
Being reminded of his own mortality. Yes, he knows that he's in a dire situation, thank you. He just doesn't know how to get out of it. He is by no means happy about his situation, but escape often seems impossible or even undesirable due to the cult's brainwashing and the overhanging threat of divine punishment. Beyond that, he has no money, no marketable skills... where would he even go if he did get away? His coping mechanism for cult-related happenings seems to be pushing them to the back of his mind and very pointedly ignoring them, but this method has become increasingly ineffective in recent months, as unpleasant and intrusive thoughts about the ritual become more frequent and more difficult to ignore.
Blood and decay. It's not exactly a novel concept, but Luka feels like blood should be kept inside your body, generally speaking. He's used to dealing with injuries and has witnessed a few animal sacrifices in the past, so he's not going to faint over one little cut or even a more serious wound, but the sight and particularly the smell of blood make him uneasy. Fresh blood is worse than the old stuff for his anxiety, but old blood smells worse and tends to get more of a disgusted reaction. As an aside, anything to do with dead bodies tend to freak him out. For obvious reasons. He doesn't like to watch forensic shows, either.
[/font][/ul]Father Leonardo. The old ghost was the one who took Luka and his mother in, but the priest is still batshit insane, even by the standards of the church inhabitants. Father Leonardo initially presented himself as a fatherly, comforting presence, but over time his true nature became more obvious. By the time that Luka was fully aware of what his ancestor was like, he was already deeply entrenched in the cult philosophy. He was warned from a young age about his eventual fate and conditioned to accept that horror, but as times wears on and Luka begins to doubt his convictions, it's the promise of retribution from Leonardo should he disobey that keeps him in place.
Horror films. It might strike people as odd, considering that Luka has spent most of his life surrounded by ghosts and worshipping a dual-typed ghost dragon god, but he really can't stand them. He's not the only one in the apartment with that hang-up either. Nelio, Helena and even the normally blustering Selina all share his dislike of the genre, especially films concerning ghosts and malevolent spirits. This mostly seems to stem from a shared irrational (okay, maybe a bit more rational) fear that Leonardo might possess the same abilities that all the ghosts seem to have in the movies.
Coffee. It's not a really strong hatred of the stuff, he just thinks it tastes terrible and doesn't see what the fuss is about. The irregular heartbeat and jitteriness that he experiences with a caffeine rush, followed by the sudden crash and loss of energy, is really unpleasant as well. Yes, there's still caffeine in tea, but there's much less of it and he's used to that smaller dosage. He might still drink it, on rare occasions where there's nothing else in the house, but he prefers to avoid it when he can unless it's drowned in enough milk that he doesn't get the taste.
Yellow skittles. They're the worst flavour in the bag, as far as he's concerned. Yes, even worse than Nel's thing with the green skittles. Luka doesn't know what it is, but he just really hates the flavour of artificial lemons. This goes beyond skittles and encompasses most lemon-flavoured sweets, actually, they just don't appeal to him at all.
Cold weather. Luka is used to a slight chill, he can take it like a man (pffft), but when his extremities start to feel like ice blocks, and his back goes all taut and just setting his feet on a stone floor starts to hurt because of the temperature... no. No thank you. He'll just stay in bed until someone else puts the heating on. Of course, being too hot isn't much fun either, but he would rather deal with a heatwave than a bout of extreme cold.
Dialga and Palkia. Luka has no reason to disbelieve the god's tales about his imprisonment. Giratina believes that it was his siblings rather than Arceus who trapped him in the Distortion World. This is the story he gave the man who founded the cult, and this is the story that the modern cultists have taken as gospel truth. Luka believes the antimatter god was wronged by the Creation Duo, and that justice should be served. The blond is no physicist, of course, and he clearly hasn't thought through the consequences of destroying the gods of time and space, but it's what he believes regardless.
Birthdays. They're just another reminder that his time is limited. The ritual looms larger and more ominous in his mind with each passing year, and he is still nowhere near ready to make the sacrifice that the church is demanding of him. Naturally, he gets very sulky and morose whenever these days roll around, and he generally doesn't appreciate any congratulations or well-wishes during this time-frame.
Being reminded of his own mortality. Yes, he knows that he's in a dire situation, thank you. He just doesn't know how to get out of it. He is by no means happy about his situation, but escape often seems impossible or even undesirable due to the cult's brainwashing and the overhanging threat of divine punishment. Beyond that, he has no money, no marketable skills... where would he even go if he did get away? His coping mechanism for cult-related happenings seems to be pushing them to the back of his mind and very pointedly ignoring them, but this method has become increasingly ineffective in recent months, as unpleasant and intrusive thoughts about the ritual become more frequent and more difficult to ignore.
Blood and decay. It's not exactly a novel concept, but Luka feels like blood should be kept inside your body, generally speaking. He's used to dealing with injuries and has witnessed a few animal sacrifices in the past, so he's not going to faint over one little cut or even a more serious wound, but the sight and particularly the smell of blood make him uneasy. Fresh blood is worse than the old stuff for his anxiety, but old blood smells worse and tends to get more of a disgusted reaction. As an aside, anything to do with dead bodies tend to freak him out. For obvious reasons. He doesn't like to watch forensic shows, either.
Intelligent. Luka is more intelligent than most people will give him credit for, although that's not a very difficult feat to accomplish. Thanks to his occasional childishness and impulsive tendencies, it's easy for people to underestimate him or dismiss him as having little to no common sense. To be honest though, Luka isn't that dense. His problem is more that he's immature and kind of lazy at times, although if you can grab his attention, you'd find him to be quite a fast learner when he's interested in a subject and willing to apply himself.
Observant. Luka is not nearly as eagle-eyed as his bodyguard, but he does pay quite close attention to what's going on around him. This has come about out of curiosity for the most part, but also due to a developing streak of mild paranoia, which isn't being helped much by Nelio's periods of instability. Despite outward appearances, he's quite good at picking up on little things; whether that's new information, changes in the immediate environment or changes in the behaviour of others.
Enthusiastic. Luka can be lazy at times, and there's no point in attempting to deny that, but this isn't to say that nothing can stir him at all. When he gets hyped about something, when he gets really invested, he can show a great amount of passion and dedication in pursuit of the best possible results. He's somewhat selective with his motivation, sure, but as far as he's concerned, applying himself to just a few tasks and seeing them through is better than dividing his energy and attention between a hundred projects that are never completed.
Leader(?) To a certain extent. He's a bossy and rather entitled young man among somewhat meek personalities, and as a natural result he kind of took over the place. He has become the de facto leader of his own little group of friends, and he tends to pull them around on a metaphorical leash somewhat. He can get overbearing and his sometimes hasty decisions can get others in trouble, but he has a lot of genuine concern and regard for those that are close to him, and he's good at listening and picking up on things despite appearances. He tries, anyway, and no-one has attempted to stage a coup yet, so he feels like he must be doing something right in this regard.
Moderate haemophilia (type A). His body is deficient in Factor VIII, a protein that is essential for the formation of blood clots. His blood contains less than 5% of the factor that most people produce naturally. He doesn't bleed any harder or faster than someone without the disorder, but he does bleed for an extended period of time following an injury, and may rarely experience "spontaneous" bleeding with no apparent cause. Although small nicks don't normally require hospitalisation, even injuries that non-haemophiliacs deem minor could become life-threatening if they're not seen to properly. For example, some simple bruising could be a sign of deeper internal trauma.
Sheltered to the extreme. Once he was accepted into the church, he had to abide by a number of strange rules and restrictions, and his contact with outside sources was extremely limited. He was education was decent, but somewhat narrow in focus, and once his haemophilia was diagnosed it only seemed to make things worse. Father Leonardo in particular saw that if he could keep the boy dependent on the church, then it would greatly reduce the chances that the boy would go AWOL and rob him of his next gift to Giratina. The results speak for themselves; the blond barely knows how to do anything for himself these days.
Lack of emotional self-awareness. He's kind of stunted in this regard. There's really no other way to put it. Luka is just bad at emotions, or at least his own. He's decent at picking up on cues from other people - that person is happy, this person is probably one firm push away from swinging a punch, etcetera - but he has real trouble sorting out his own emotions, and finding the right words to express them to other people. He'll get there eventually, more often than not, but it can still take him a while. Luka prefers to express himself more through actions than words for a reason. The inadequacy he feels over being unable to properly articulate his own thoughts results in a certain amount of frustration, and even anxiety, for the young man.
Poor physical condition. Luka's not in great shape. His haemophilia makes him physically vulnerable and limits what he can do, while the iron deficiency anaemia makes him lethargic and can result in shortness of breath after even relatively mild periods of exertion. He also has the unfortunate habit of catching almost every virus, bug and case of the sniffles that goes around each season. It's not like he doesn't try, though. Low-impact exercise is often encouraged for people with haemophilia because it strengthens muscles and joints, thus reducing the likelihood of severe bleeding into these tissues. He stays somewhat lean due to doctors orders, and because his occasionally restless nature demands some kind of release now and then, but that doesn't equal being healthy.
Changeable. It's a bit of a strange thing. Although Luka is undoubtedly stubborn when challenged, he seems to switch moods and viewpoints multiple times over the course of one day, entirely of his own free will. He can make the leap from lively to lazy, bouyant and bullish to gloomy and fatalistic, left to right and black to white quickly enough that it could make your head spin. He's not completely unpredictable and doesn't seem to qualify for a mood disorder (not that he or most of the other Morettis have ever visited a psychologist), but it is present and noticeable. Sometimes it just gets on other people's nerves, but this trait can also have deeper ramifications as it leads others to view him as capricious or unreliable.
Predisposition to addictive behaviour. Addictive behaviour here defined as "the excessive and repetitive use of pleasurable activities to cope with internal conflict, pressure and stress." The child of an alcoholic parent, Luka should know better than most that he has to be cautious about what he does and what he takes into his body, but he doesn't always stick to the program. He does enjoys a drink every now and again, for example, although it's not in his best interests to do so due to his condition and his background. Luka's not actually an alcoholic himself, in that he's not psychologically dependent on the substance, but it's not just drink he has to watch out for. There are plenty of other vices out there, and his increasing desire to escape the pressures and unpleasant truths of the life he's found himself in could seriously damage him if he's not careful.
Mistrustful. Luka doesn't have a lot of confidence in other people. His father's death at a critical stage in his development, his mother's perceived rejection of him, and the extremist religious upbringing he's had coupled with the consistent abuse of authority, have all resulted in a severe lack of trust where other human beings have concerned. Luka is more afraid than he'd admit of being abandoned or damaged by other people (again), and so he holds most of them at arm's length, emotionally speaking. He is not particularly frosty, however, at least not for the most part. He knows how to make small-talk and be social, even enjoys it sometimes, but he's difficult to get close to. That's not to say that it's impossible, but you do need patience to get there.
Domineering. Bossy and rather arrogant by times, Luka's attitude can and frequently does rub other people the wrong way. He also doesn't get checked on his bad behaviour as often as he should, seeing as his closest friends are both rather quiet and reserved, although that is not to say that they never do so. Both Nelio and Helena are quite capable of putting a foot down when necessary, and honestly, they are just about the only people that Luka would willingly step down for. With most people, he would be much more stubborn and argumentative. So overall, Luka doesn't often make a good first impression. At best, he comes across as a bit of a brat, and he can quite easily be viewed as aggressive or mean-spirited. He doesn't usually do it on purpose, but let's be real, intent doesn't excuse the way he acts a lot of the time.
Rebellious. To a extent. He doesn't enjoy taking orders, as you can imagine, but he does know how to pick his battles. Direct insubordination is not tolerated within the church, and it's almost certain to draw unwanted attention from Father Leonardo and the others, so he isn't going to be overt about it and go against them explicitly. He's not suicidal. He's not stupid. He pays lip-service to the church and follows direct orders from Leonardo out of an instinct for self-preservation; because he literally has no other choice in the matter. When the ghosts aren't looking, however, Luka is good at finding loopholes in vague orders, working his way around barriers or just outright ignoring various rules in favour of doing whatever else he wants. He behaves when he knows that he's being watched or that a failure to comply would be noticeable, but otherwise... what the church doesn't know won't hurt him.
Impulsive. He's learned to reign himself in slightly over the years, but at heart Luka is a creature ruled by his own whims and fancies, and he tends to do exactly what he pleases whenever it pleases him to do it. He's gotten better at holding himself back and reasoning through a situation before charging in, but at his core he's still a emotionally driven sort of person. It's not that he doesn't think about the consequences of his actions or care about them, it's just that his impulses can sometimes run away with the rest of him. Unfortunately, this sometimes causes a bit of a mess, and sometimes it's too late for anything to be done about it beyond damage control by the time that he's realised his mistake.
Self-indulgent. Might as well enjoy yourself before you shuffle off the mortal coil, right? Luka did the forbearance and restraint thing for years under the church roof. It did exactly nothing for him. He was given his own apartment and thrown into the big wide world at the age of sixteen, after living in an oppressive, extremist establishment for over ten years. He showed all the restraint and self-control you could expect in that situation, which is to say, damn little. Nine years down the line, and he has calmed down somewhat, but he doesn't see a point in denying himself the things that make him happy anymore. This attitude also has a lot to do with the fact that he's going to be dead in five years; even a fleeting moment of happiness is a welcome distraction from the knowledge that's constantly hanging over his head. So, if he wants to get out of bed at dawn and take a day-trip into the city, he'll do it. If he wants to sleep past noon, and then lounge in the house all day with a box set of DVDs, he'll do that. There's a bit of a split in his personality between the driven "active" Luka and the hedonistic "lazy" Luka, except it's not really a split at all. He's just doing whatever he wants at the time.
Affectionate. It's been established that Luka doesn't trust people easily, and that is at least partially because of the fact that he pours so much of himself into his close relationships. He used to be slightly more open and free with his affections as a child, but it eventually proved exhausting to devote so much energy to individuals who often let him down. He's selective, but capable of astounding warmth and loyalty once he's let someone into his confidence. He is wholly devoted to the few friends he has, although not exceptionally skilled at putting his feelings into words. The end result is that Luka tends to rely more on actions to get his point across. He's affectionate in the physical sense, predictably, and he watches out for the other young cultists when he can. He'll help to patch up Nelio after a scuffle or a ritual gone wrong, he'll sit up at night with Selina and be a sympathetic ear to her ranting, he'll treat Helena like a second sister and avoid mentioning the business with her left eye. Luka does care, and he's not particularly shy about it, he just goes about it in his own way.
Humorous(?) Luka does like to laugh, although his sense of humour is such that he's sometimes the only one laughing, either because he's been too harsh or he's veered off into slightly morbid territory. He's prone to teasing and poking fun at others, and sometimes he can take this too far. Rather predictably, he doesn't find it nearly as funny when that gets turned back on him, and he tends to get huffy when he's made into the butt of the joke. "Embarrass" him in public in this manner and it'll take him a while to forgive you, but in a complete 180, he doesn't care half as much about looking like a dummy in private. When he's hanging out with the usual suspects, for example, he's fine with acting silly and pulling stupid stunts in order to lighten the mood, because Giratina only knows that things can get depressing in that apartment sometimes.
Curious. Luka was always rather inquisitive. He absorbed information like a sponge when he was little, and this hasn't changed a whole lot across the years. He's still full of curiosity about a number of subjects, and he's prone to asking a lot of questions when faced with anything he doesn't quite understand. It's great that he wants to learn and improve himself and all - but this can also be an awkward trait to have in the context of the cult. He found as a youngster that his questioning was sometimes welcomed, and other times he was completely shut down. Whenever he tried to follow up in the case of the second scenario, it never went particularly well for him. He's also not the most open-minded person at times; constant searching for answers aside, he might not always accept the answers that he gets if they don't fit with what he already "knows" about the world.
Adventurous. Curiosity and a desire to experience more of the world for himself drives the blond to seek out new encounters whenever it's possible for him to do so. He's kind of iffy on other humans, but the world itself is a big open thing full of interesting sights and things that he's never gotten to experience from his little apartment in Nada. Travel in and out of the region is highly restricted, and even travelling in and out of the Citadel has become incredibly dangerous with the infected roaming beyond the walls, so he's mostly confined to the city these days. There's still some excitement to be found within the walls, however, and Luka is quite happy to go searching for it. He doesn't mind a few bumps and scrapes either, within reason, and if Nelio or anyone else were to show concern, he would merely insist that he knows his limits better than anyone.
Stubborn. Luka keeps a lot to himself, as we've established before, and because of that he might not always voice it, but just under the surface he is quite an opinionated person. This mixes a bit strangely with the more variable side of his character, in that while he can alter his own perceptions and world-views frequently without a lot of internal conflict, any outside attempts to sway him from the position that he's taken most recently will probably result in him refusing to cooperate out of principle. Luka is not the sort of person who will eagerly change himself or his viewpoints at the behest of other people; he has to be of half a mind to do it himself first.
Afraid. Well, who wouldn't be, in the same situation? In spite of the cult's mental conditioning and the assurance that his sacrifice would be the highest possible expression of faith, Luka is nevertheless terrified of his own impending demise. The idea of the ritual is disturbing enough by itself, but perhaps more than that, he is afraid of what might happen afterwards. Luka doesn't know what keeps the ghosts of the church tied to the earth. He doesn't know why some people come back as human ghosts and others as Pokemon, when still others never rise again. He doesn't know what will happen to him, if he isn't revived. The bare existence of a ghost does not appeal to him, but with no assurance of an afterlife, even that would be better than simply ceasing to exist altogether. So Luka is afraid of death, and he is afraid of Father Leonardo, for reasons that should be obvious. Somewhat paradoxically though, he is also afraid of leaving the church's influence; partially because he believes he would be hunted down and punished, partially because of the fear of divine retribution, and partially because the church has defined so much of his life thus far.
[/div][/font][/ul]
BACKGROUND:
History:
*A small handful of them eventually found their way back to Sinnoh, but times had changed since the departure, and the tomb that had housed their ancestors for centuries had been long since overtaken by nature. The catacombs were still there, deep within Turnback Cave. One old man, his name unknown to most in the modern day, continued to brave the caverns in order to pay his respects to the deceased. While visiting the grave site, he came across something he had never expected to find. He had stumbled upon the legendary Pokemon known as Giratina. The god of antimatter had been confined to the Distortion World for millennia and had only recently managed to escape his prison via a stable "pocket" located in the caverns. When the massive serpentine creature appeared before him, the old Moretti had every reason to be terrified, but when Giratina spoke he felt somehow obligated to listen.
The dragon spoke at length about his imprisonment in a land that did not obey the laws of reality, and how he believed that his siblings - Dialga and Palkia - were the ones who had shut him away from the world. The old man felt some stirring of sympathy, and began to search for a way to help the deity seek vengeance on the Creation Duo. He managed to gather a small group of supporters, which grew over time and gave rise to a cult following in a surprisingly short space of time. As their efforts continued, these followers of Giratina began to resort to less scrupulous tactics when recruiting others to their cause, and more questionable methods of worship. Among the most devoted of his followers was a boy named Leonardo, the son of the man who encountered Giratina. The boy had the religion beaten into him from a young age, and he would eventually take his father's place at the head of the cult after the man's passing.
Newly appointed, Father Leonardo took to it almost effortlessly, and proved to be tireless in his devotion to the god he served. He was willing to do whatever it took to ensure of the movement, and did not shy away from the less pleasant aspects of his father's work. It was Leonardo who instated the tradition of sacrifice at thirty, and developed the ritual that bound the spirits of the deceased to the physical plane in order to continue their worship of the antimatter god. In a time where disease was so rife and deadly conflict was so common, this draconian law must have seemed less severe to the flock, considering that the average life expectancy for a human was already so low. Leonardo was long past thirty himself at this point, ancient by the standards of his time and older by far than most of his followers, but he made an example of himself regardless. The ritual proved successful, and Father Leonardo was raised as a ghost some days later, but the priest's plans would hit a major stumbling block sometime after this occurrence.
The cultists were not aware of it, but Giratina had gone searching for other pockets leading into their dimension. While Giratina had been travelling through the Distortion World, some unknown spelunker stumbled upon the Griseous Orb and stole it for themselves. This severed the connection between worlds, and thus Giratina was trapped for a second time. His followers searched high and low for any sign of the absent dragon, but he was nowhere to be found. After many years of searching, morale was beginning to flag among his followers. Many of them had already abandoned the cause, convinced that Giratina would not return. Their numbers dwindled quickly after the initial pause, but Father Leonardo was a very persistent man. He managed to hang onto a small core of devoted followers, and continued to march forward in hopes of finding a way to free the dragon god.
Part 2: Luka
By the time that Luka was born in a small flat in Nada Citadel, the Morettis had all but died out. The passage of time and the dilution of the bloodline had accounted for most of the descendants that had not been bound to the church upon their deaths. A young woman named Cara was one exception, and her son was another. Cara had been raised far away from the cult's influence, and she had little knowledge of her family history or the god that they served. Her life hadn't been an easy one so far, growing up in a very unstable environment and developing problems with substance abuse (particularly alcohol) in her teenage years. She wasn't married to Luka's father, a man named Albin Sówka, and the boy took his mother's last name as a result. He seemed to take after his father in almost everything else though, from his looks to his more boisterous nature. This was a comfort to his mother, as the woman held a lot of guilt and self-loathing inside herself. She did not wish to pass any of her perceived "defects" along to her children. Albin took to fatherhood like a duck to water, something he attributed to coming from a large family and being regularly assigned as a babysitter to the younger ones. Cara had a more difficult time of it, and became increasingly frustrated and distressed with herself as she struggled to form an emotional bond with the child. Undiagnosed post-natal depression led to a feeling of detachment, and the feeling that she was a failure as a mother only grew stronger as the months passed with no sign of improvement. Concerned for his partner's well-being, Albin mostly took over the business of rearing their son, and suggested therapy to his partner. He was immediately shot down. Cara did not trust mental health professionals, having had unpleasant experiences with them in the past, and she did not trust herself enough to "bother" any doctors with her symptoms. Time wore on and while Cara didn't feel much better within herself, she became more skilled at hiding her emotions and putting on a brave face for the rest of the family. As a result of his mother's depression, Luka spent most of his early infancy in the company of his father.
He was around two and a half when his father was killed in a head-on collision, driving home in bad weather. Luka's mother was crushed by the news, plagued with grief herself and having no idea what to do with a toddler who clearly registered the loss, but didn't really understand the concept of death. Luka just wanted to see his father again, and when it eventually became apparent to him that the man wasn't coming home any time soon, he became quite moody and intractable. The next two years were a misery for all parties involved until the intervention of an outsider. Father Leonardo had stumbled across the last of his descendants, and what he found did not impress him overly much. Cara had gotten into her old vices again in the wake of her husband's death, and the ghost might have disregarded her completely if he had not been caught short at the time. The ghost had managed to recruit several living followers in Remoor and set up a base of operations, a small church building on the edge of the slums, but it wasn't enough.
He needed more followers, and even a drunk and child could be of use, as long as they were handled properly. Luka was young enough that he'd absorb anything he was taught, and his mother was desperate for some sort of succour. The church was a godsend for the woman; she had always been a spiritual person at heart, and her recent bereavement had only amplified these tendencies. She wanted the reassurance of the divine, a little direction in life, and Leonardo had the means to offer her these things. As distraught as Cara was, it was fairly easy to lure her in. Luka didn't offer much more of a challenge, being all of four years old at the time. He didn't really "get" the concept of religion as it was presented to him, and he'd never heard of Giratina outside of a few brief mentions on the history documentaries that his mother would watch sometimes. Regardless, there was a flicker of curiosity that Leonardo recognised and played upon for full affect. By the time that his impromptu sermon was over, Luka was absolutely enraptured. Thus, mother and son were brought into the church, where they would soon be introduced to the spirits who kept it.
Luka was slightly wary of them at first, but they seemed warm and pleasant, for all that they were supposed to be dead. A woman named Concetta was especially sweet to him, and he took to her a bit faster than the others, although he eventually became just as fond of awkward "Uncle" Mario and a handful of the others. He had no idea about the darker side of the church at this point, and as such he had little fear of them once he got past his initial doubt. Luka started to open up again, accepting the ghosts as mentors and family. In the meantime, his mother threw herself into her worship, becoming devoted to the cause in quite a short space of time. Life in the church was confusing by times, and there were a lot of rules and conditions that didn't always make sense, but they were both treated relatively well as long as they toed the line. They settled quickly after the initial culture shock, and Luka became increasingly confident as he familiarised himself with the church and its inhabitants. His proud and demanding nature, taken along with his bloodline, would eventually net him the joking title of "prince" among some of the spirits.
Luka's natural curiosity worked to Leonardo's advantage in the early years, although it had drawbacks on occasion. The boy rarely sat through an entire lecture without fidgeting or asking questions, but he was relatively easy to teach and a willing enough student. There were days when the sermons and scriptures could not hold his interest no matter what Leonardo did, and he made the decision to allow the boy some free time as a reward for sitting through this or that lecture. There were no other children in the cult at the time for him to play with, and as a result Luka would often resort to pestering the kinder spirits instead, but sometimes he had no option other than to entertain himself. He took to roaming the grounds often and, as children are prone to do, he got his fair share of bumps and scrapes this way. Eventually, it became obvious to the observers that something wasn't quite right. Luka bruised like a peach, and if he scraped his knees or cut his hand on a sharp stone, he could easily bleed for an hour at a time. The blood would always stop flowing eventually, though, and the bruises would fade with time.
It wasn't until Luka took a nasty tumble off a crumbling wall and knocked out a tooth that anyone took action. Luka bled for hours, but a few tests got the bottom of it quite quickly. He was diagnosed with type-A hemophilia, a blood disorder that resulted in prolonged bleeding and poor clotting. The five-year-old was shaken by the news, but it seemed to have a greater immediate effect on the adults around him. Father Leonardo found some amusement in the diagnosis, but he didn't want the child to die by his own stupidity before Giratina could benefit from it. Some of the ghosts shared his pragmatic views, while others were more genuinely concerned for the safety of the child, but the result was the same either way. Suddenly, Luka found himself being watched like a hawk in case of another emergency. He was actively restrained from a number of activities and "strongly discouraged" from half a hundred more, and Luka didn't distinguish much at the time between well-intentioned over-protectiveness and over-protectiveness with an ulterior motive. It was all just one big annoyance to him at the time.
Time passed slowly, with a heavy focus on the teachings of the church, to the exclusion of much else. It was a frightfully dull period for Luka, with the exception of the rare times he happened across an odd yamask who called himself Vito. The ghost pokemon was very reluctant to share details about himself, but he was nice enough, and a distraction from the otherwise quite boring routine that life had fallen into. Shortly after Luka's seventh birthday, however, things started to liven up a little. One day, Luka was gathered together with the others, as Concetta told them about a strange discovery she had made outside the church. The ghost had stumbled across a little boy, of all things. He had strange abilities and supposedly come from an orphanage somewhere in the city, to which he was in no hurry to return. The church had provided Luka with some much needed company and a more stable environment than the one he'd been in before, but this was the first time in years he'd really been allowed to socialise with another child. Nelio was a quiet boy, used to being bullied by other children and reviled for his status as a mutant. He was initially wary, but Luka was immediately fascinated, more interested in asking questions and watching him make use of his abilities than taunting him.
Nelio was accepted into the cult almost immediately, although there was never any real danger that he would be rejected. The church was still in desperate need of more followers, and they took what they could get, when they could get it. Something else that the others picked up on was the developing friendship between Luka and Nelio, as well as the fact that Luka was growing visibly agitated with the constant watchful eye his elders were keeping on him. More than that, the other cultists had more important things to do than babysitting duty. Even the spirits that were fond of the boy had other business to be getting on with, such as performing more rituals or focusing on recruitment. It was eventually decided that Nelio would make a good potential guardian himself -- once the boys were older and slightly less dependent. Who better to watch out for Luka, after all, than one of his own companions? It provided some extra freedom for the boy, or at least the illusion of such, and it would also free up time for the other cultists to devote to more important things.
Things didn't seem to change much between the two, at least at first. Nelio was naturally a guarding sort of person, as it turned out, cautious and concerned when it came to the well-being of his friends. Luka didn't get into half as much trouble with the older boy around, thanks to that calming influence, but occasionally Luka's more reckless attitude would win out and cause problems. Nelio practised frequently with his powers in the meantime, learning to manipulate metal more effectively. He started with small trinkets at first and slowly worked his way up to more impressive creations, some of which he gave to Luka as tokens, which the blond wore proudly. The pair were given their "starter" Pokemon around this time, Luka more out of ceremony than anything else as no-one really expected him to make much of a trainer. Nelio obtained an Amaura, and Luka received a Tyrunt, who would be named Luna and Ciro respectively. This was also the point in his life where Luka's religious education took a darker turn, as Father Leonardo began to teach him about the less savoury rituals and ceremonies, including the concept of human and animal sacrifices.
In the meantime, the numbers of the cultists were beginning to increase, this time mostly made of living men and women of a slightly older demographic. Between sermons and introductions, the blond would run circles around Nelio, ask endless questions of the ghosts that frequented the church, and on rare occasions he spoke to his mother. Luka and his mother had never been close, but Cara had managed to curb her habit for a second time after joining the faith. Much more recently, she had entered into a relationship with one of the more newly recruited cultists. Cara wanted to try and patch things up between them, but Luka was rather awkward and obstinate about the whole situation. He was closer to most of the ghosts than his own mother, and to a certain extent he felt bad about it, but for the most part he was still hurt by his mother's initial "rejection" of him and coolness towards him. He was even somewhat angry that she apparently thought she could approach him now and fix things when they hadn't ever been stellar to begin with. It was a confusing tumult of emotions for a ten-year-old boy, and he didn't know how to deal with it at all. It resulted in a lot of stand-offishness, bursts of temper and a few bouts of tears. Not a lot of progress was made.
A few months after that initial awkward conversation and shortly before Luka had his eleventh birthday, he met Helena. Luka and Nelio stumbled upon the girl while roaming outside the church grounds, and she was obviously in incredibly poor shape. They brought her back to the church, where the girl was tended to until she was in better shape. The boys hovered close by out of curiosity, but the girl could not remember a thing about how she had wound up there, or what her life had been like before. Helena was half-blind and the injury was clearly a recent one, but she couldn't remember anything about that either. She was accepted into the family in no time at all, although Father Leonardo seemed to take the same pragmatic view of her as he did the rest of the children. Still, Helena managed to make herself at home eventually, and she grew quite close to Luka and Nelio as the three of them were brought up together under the church roof.
When Luka was around eleven, almost twelve, when his mother told him that she was pregnant. This time around, the woman felt more at ease and better prepared to be a parent. She was also quite determined to be a better parent to her second child than she felt she'd been to the first. Luka and his mother were still not on great terms, but things did seem to cool down between the two of them during this time-frame. The boy might have felt some residual jealousy at first, but the idea of becoming an older brother was appealing to him, not in the least because it meant having more young people (living people) around the church. He spent more time with his mother in the space of nine months than he had in a number of years, and those moments are probably some of the fondest memories he has of her to date. The so-called miracle of life seemed less miraculous up close, but Cara endured, and eventually delivered a healthy baby girl. The child took strongly after her mother's side of the family, and her mother named her Selina.
Luka was thirteen years old and Selina was one, when their mother became very ill in a very short space of times. Medical attention was sought but arrived too late to make any meaningful difference. Cara had survived slightly longer than many of the cultists, she was thirty-three at the time of her death. Whether this was due to her joining the cult slightly later in life, the fact that the church had been so short on members until very recently, was unclear at the time. There was initially some suspicion surrounding her death, but nothing could be proved and her death was chalked up to natural causes. Luka didn't quite believe the news of her death at first. Death did not seem permanent within the church, populated by ghosts as it was, and he kept expecting her to reappear like Father Leonardo and the rest of the spirits. She never did, of course, and this might Luka frightfully uneasy. He would eventually push those thoughts to the back of his head, where they would fester for years before he acknowledged them again.
Luka began to spend more time with the toddler after that, and gained another new companion. His mother had been raising a braixen named Felice, and since the woman's death the fox had chosen to watch over his mistress' "kits" instead. Meanwhile, Luka saw very little of the girl's father until his sacrifice a year later. He did come back as a ghost. Luka spotted the new spirit roaming the halls just over twenty-four hours after his death, seeping wounds quite visible. The blond was more disturbed than he'd expected by this, despite his continuing lessons and having it drilled into his head repeatedly that it was something he should aspire to. As Selina entered the terrible twos, she developed a loud and demanding personality that nearly rivalled her brother's. Luka was almost proud - in the moments where he wasn't nursing a splitting headache. Despite that, the toddler and the teenager grew quite fond of one another.
Luka was also learning to avoid Father Leonardo whenever it was possible. The old ghost initially presented himself as a reasonable if stern sort of guy, but he had always been harsh if displeased, and he seemed to find a lot of reasons to be displeased lately. His interactions with Luka were becoming increasingly short and unpleasant. Father Leonardo was the ultimate authority figure that he had always been taught to answer to, almost a direct link to Giratina himself, but as adolescence approached Luka was beginning to develop more of a wilful streak. This led him to try and argue back once or twice... and he didn't attempt it much after that. As it turned out, Leonardo was fucking terrifying when crossed, in just about any capacity. Luka's relationship with the priest was pretty much wrecked as a result, but by the age of fifteen, he was well aware of what the church expected of him.
He didn't question it much at first: the church had been his entire life since he was very small, and he know how most of the ghosts had come to serve there in the first place. He had been somewhat desensitised to the idea early on, and repeatedly told over the years that there was no higher purpose or honour than to give your own life for a divine cause. Now that he was old enough to understand the implication of this, Luka was intimidated by the idea, but he hid it reasonably well at first. More than that, his thirtieth birthday still seemed far away at this point. He almost felt like he could get used to the idea, that fifteen years would be enough time to make peace with it and accept his fate. As a result, Luka forced down his anxieties and chose to focus on the more pleasant aspects of life instead. Over the course of the next year, he also began to notice a slackening in the metaphorical reigns. Father Leonardo had turned his attention away from the boys somewhat, and was taking more of an interest in Helena's education and training, as the girl did not seem to be as receptive to the teachings of the church as the male children had been.
While Leonardo's attention was elsewhere, Luka and Nelio were left to their own devices more often than not. Their jaunts outside become more frequent and long-ranging, and it was increasingly rare to see one of them without the other close behind. Few of the cultists really raised an eyebrow at this behaviour. It was Nelio's assignment to keep an eye on Luka, after all, and make sure that the haemophiliac stayed out of trouble. The others had reason to suspect their closeness as a sign of anything other than brotherly affection, but while it was true that there was nothing physical between them, the relationship went deeper than most of the church residents imagined. There was a level of emotional intimacy here that Luka had never experienced before in his short lifetime. He had absolute confidence in the older boy, never felt anything less than comfortable in his presence. He could trust Nelio with things that he'd never trust to anyone else, even his own life. Sometime during his late teens, the intense platonic affection he felt towards the other began to shift into something else entirely.
Luka took a while to recognise his feelings for what they were, and when he finally did, he wasn't sure how to tackle the situation at all. He wasn't ashamed or disgusted in himself at all, or at least he didn't think so, but he knew from casual conversation and listening to a couple of the cultists ranting about politics that it wasn't well-accepted. Beyond that, Luka had already convinced a part of himself that there was no way Nelio would return the sentiment. He didn't think his friend would push him away, or spill the beans to someone who might want to hurt him for it, but he was certain that he'd be turned down if he brought up the subject. He eventually decided to ignore it as best he could, push it down and keep up the appearance of a simple friendship instead, for the sake of everyone involved. Luka didn't know it at the time, but Nel had actually been harbouring similar feelings for him, although Nelio was not aware of the nature of his own affections at the time.
This would all change with a certain incident, when Leonardo announced his attentions to move the younger cultists into a temporary lodging outside the church, as the building itself would be mostly vacant while Leonardo dealt with other business abroad. Just before the boys were set to leave, there was a complication. During the process of packing and moving, Luka received an "accidental" injury that was anything but, and wound up with a small but deep laceration on the palm of his left hand. The blood welled up quickly and with force, which suggested that one of the more prominent arteries had been grazed with the cut. Luka panicked, unused to seeing so much blood in such great gouts, and having never dealt with anything more serious than a paper-cut or a lost tooth. If Luka was panicking, though, Nelio was visibly terrified as he scrambled to help. By the time that the situation was brought back under control, Luka was sporting several stitches in his left hand. The boy was quite stunned and he had been denied the use of that hand until such a time as it healed, but otherwise still alive and only slightly worse for wear.
Nelio seemed considerably more shaken by the experience, and Luka was dismayed to find that a change had come over him. The blond had always considered him more of a friend than a servant, but following the incident, Nelio began to take his work much more seriously. No amount of reassurances from Luka, no amount of insistence that it was just a freak accident and nothing to get worked up about, seemed to sooth his friend's worries. The move went ahead as planned, however, the promise that Father Leonardo would be checking in semi-regularly to make sure nothing was amiss. The apartment had a more reliable heating system than the church, and the privacy was a great plus, but the recent war with Mewtwo and his clones had decimated Remoor's economy and most of the region. An organisation known as Pravus eventually came to the rescue, but Luka had never paid much attention to politics. Leonardo occasionally stopped by at times, as promised, but much of the old ghost's time was devoted to other business. It wasn't until Luka reached twenty years of age that Father Leonardo's visits started to become more frequent.
With the recent chaos that rocked the region, the cult had been expanding even more, and the body count was rising with it. Nelio was asked to aid in preparing various rituals, many of which were sacrificial in nature. The old ghost didn't ask Luka to pitch in, aware that actually allowing him to actually witness the traumatic event ahead of time could be counter-productive. He did bring up the subject of marriage and procreation, however, in a conversation which all seemed very bizarre to the young man at the time. Leonardo had gone through a number of wives and produced many children in his lifetime; and he apparently expected Luka to contribute to the gene pool as well. The blond couldn't quite make sense of it. The fact remained, though, that he was almost completely uninterested in starting a family. He couldn't see himself as a father... not within the next ten years. Father Leonardo was persistent in that line of questioning, however, and it popped up semi-frequently in his visits across the years. It was comical at first, but Luka eventually grew rather irritated with it.
When Leonardo wasn't sticking his nose into business that didn't concern him, Luka took to rediscovering the Citadel as Pravus continued their restoration. He also attempted to train up his small team of pokemon, along with various other idle pursuits, although with the gym system toppled there wasn't much of an opportunity to exercises what he learned. The years ticked by surprisingly quickly, until the day that Selina and Helena showed up on their doorstep. It had been decided some time ago that the girls would be moving in when they came of age, mostly because the rent was becoming extortionate as the region experienced a dearth of housing, and it would be cheaper for all four of them to room together. There was a bit of an adjustment period for everyone involved. Relations between the three young adults settled into a familiar pattern quite quickly, but there was a certain amount of tension between Luka and Selina.
Now twelve years old and somewhat spoilt, Selina had grown in height but not really in terms of maturity. The siblings had kept in touch since Luka had moved out, but they had always been able to retreat and take a break from one another if things got too tense. Luka had free run of his apartment, and Selina had more or less taken over the church in his absence. Now that the two of them had to occupy the same space, a clash of egos was pretty much inevitable. It took a bit longer for the two of them to hammer out boundaries and for the arguing to die down to acceptable levels, but eventually things started to mellow out a little bit. The siblings would still butt heads every so often, but there was a level of fondness to it again, and the atmosphere in the house was not quite so charged. Remoor had witnessed another shift, with the instigation of the Bounty System and the introduction of the so-called Miracle Compound to the region's ailing landscape. The Infection began to spread quickly, and Nada was put under lock-down as the creatures proved to be highly aggressive and hostile.
Late last year, Luka's twenty-fifth birthday marked an unpleasant reality check for him. Five years. He has five years left on this earth at most, five years before he goes to meet his end. In the best possible scenario, he'll be able to cling to this world as a ghost, able to watch over his loved ones but unable to interact with them in the same way that he can now. At worst... well. What comes after death? Luka has a couple of theories, but no concrete answers, and there's no-one he feels he can really ask about it. Death is intimidating enough by itself, but he is more frightened of the idea of ceasing to exist altogether. The blond is experiencing some kind of crisis, and while he can confide in Nelio for the time being, his closest friend has no more concrete answers than he does. Neither of them want to face up to what's coming, and while Luka strives to find comfort and enjoyment in the time he has left, his growing fears are becoming almost overwhelming. The idea of escape has occurred to him more than once, but another sort of fear holds him in place. Something has to snap eventually.
[/div][/ul]
POKEMON:
Name: Ciro
Species: Tyrantrum
Level: 39
Gender: Male
Ability: Rock Head
Current Experience: 0/?
Origins: the other half of the so-called "Dino Duo" shared between Luka and Nelio, this pokemon was received as a gift several years ago. His counterpart is an Aurorus by the name of Luna, and having been raised together, the two pokemon are about as close as you'd expect. She does like to tease him about his height, though.
Personality: he is essentially Luka in the body of a six hundred pound, eight foot tall dragon-dinosaur. God help us all. Well no, it's not quite as extreme as all that, but there a lot of similarities between pokemon and trainer in this particular relationship. He shares his trainer's appetite for various earthly pleasures, and he is a rather arrogant creature, although not particularly mean-hearted once you get to the root of things. The dragon's temper is substantially more severe than his trainer's when awakened, however, although he probably has a longer fuse. Ciro also has a nurturing side to him and can become rather protective of anyone he considers to be under his jurisdiction -- including his trainer, his prehistoric counterpart over on Nelio's team, and the baby Slugma named Treble. Especially Treble. That thing is his baby. Don't hurt the fire slug when he's around. Don't yell at the fire slug. Don't even breathe on the fire slug.
Attacks:
Name: Felice
Species: Delphox
Level: 37
Gender: Male
Ability: Blaze
Current Experience: 0/?
Origins: Felice was raised from an egg by Luka's mother. Although the woman passed on when he was still relatively young, Felice was quite attached to her by that time, and rather than strike out on his own after her death, the fox decided to stick close to the church and his mistresses children. He eventually came to regret this decision, depressed by the atmosphere and the dealings within the cult, and was glad to see the back of the place with the move to the apartment block.
Personality: Felice is as sly as a fox... fittingly enough. His best features have to be his mile-a-minute mind and his ability to think under pressure, while his worst traits are arguably his arrogance and his belief that he is set apart from other sentient creatures, if not above them. He has an outgoing and almost perky sort of personality, but can tend to the morbid. The fire-physic is not all there despite his intellect, and his removed nature re: the rest of society can sometimes result in quite disturbing conversations. Felice also despises cramped spaces. He's a little bit claustrophobic actually, and he especially loathes pokeballs, refusing to travel in them except in cases of extreme necessity.
Attacks:
- Scratch
- Psyshock
- Psybeam
- Fire Spin
- Lucky Chant
- Future Sight
- Shadow Ball
- Mystical Fire
Name: Vito
Species: Yamask
Level: 21
Gender: Male
Ability: Mummy
Current Experience: 0/?
Origins: This odd customer is the spirit of a cultist long deceased, revived as a Yamask for reasons unknown. He skulked about the church for decades before Luka came into the picture. Over a number of years he developed an interest in his descendant's well-being, and the two developed something like a friendship. The ghost started hanging around more often, and Luka never stopped him. One day, he just never left.
Personality: While he was still living, his brothers would often call him cowardly. Perhaps they weren't wrong, but really, can you blame him for being jumpy growing up in the environment he did? You don't live with the Morettis for any significant length of time and come away mentally unscathed. If Vito were still human, he'd have probably been diagnosed with some kind of disorder long ago. He has a nasty streak in him, well hidden, but he can show empathy from time to time as well. For whatever reason, he is invested in Luka's safety and tries to help his descendant where he can. Even in death, this ghost is still terrified of Father Leonardo, and is often nowhere to be found when the head of the church is present.
Attacks:
- Endure
- Astonish
- Protect
- Disable
- Haze
- Night Shade
- Hex
- Will-o-wisp
Name: Louis ("Louie")
Species: Luxray
Level: 33
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Current Experience: 0/?
Origins: Found in Memorial Park as a Luxio, having been turned loose by his old trainer. Louis had a much poorer grasp on human language at the time, but he knew his own name. All attempts by Luka and the others to rename the electric Pokemon were met with stubborn refusal. "Nope. M'name's Louie."
Personality: Louie is a bit of a stereotypical cat at first glance. He is lord of his own domain, slightly aloof and incredibly proud. He's not the best at socialising with others due to his attitude, and having only learnt how to communicate with humans fairly recently and quite late on in life, he sometimes has trouble understanding metaphor and other nuances of language. Somehow he can still manage a bit of sass on rare ocassions. Digging a little deeper, he is also a surprisingly playful creature. That is not always the best thing in a crowded apartment, especially when the "playful kitten" is actually a four-feet-tall, hundred-pound-heavy electric monster. Louie prefers to act as though he is completely independent with no need for a trainer, but he is secretly incredibly attached to Luka and to a lesser extent, the other humans that his trainer rooms with. He's quite a clingy thing if truth be told, prone to silently demanding pets and scratches behind the ears, and he can even be just a little bit jealous of other's affection from time to time.
Attacks:
- Tackle
- Charge
- Spark
- Crunch
- Swagger
- Thunder Fang
- Ice Fang
- Shock Wave
Sprites from PKParaiso and Pokecheck.
ROLE-PLAYING SAMPLE:
[This sample is old and bleugh but TAKE IT ANYWAY.]
Luka simply wasn't able to resist the siren call of the masquerade, in the end. The apartment he lived in with the others, while pleasant enough most of the time, was not always the most riveting place in Nada Citadel. Every so often the tedium would get to him, and then you wound up with situations like these, with the blond dragging everyone else halfway across the town in search of some much needed excitement. Thus how he’d ended up at the recreational centre in a rather uncomfortable pair of furry trousers and fox ears, complete with pinned on tail and little stick ‘wand.’
In all fairness, it hadn't disappointed him so far. The event had brought in a fascinating cross-section of Remoor’s citizens, the party was in full swing, and a handful of the guests were beginning to look mildly tipsy, which had the potential to be very amusing later on. Luka hadn't managed to locate the alcohol just yet, luckily for Nelio, but it was only a matter of time. They had to be getting it from somewhere, after all, but for now he contented himself with pouring a glass of some lurid orange concoction from one of the larger punch bowls.
Nelio was still there where he'd left him, of course, looming in the corner like some kind of ridiculous Halloween decoration. The bodyguard had been right about that much; the ears were not very intimidating at all (which in retrospect might have been exactly why Luka had asked him to put them on in the first place). The sight made the younger man grin to himself, but all the same, something clearly had to be done about it. Navigating his way back throw the crowd was a little easier said than done, but eventually he did reach the far side of the room, ridiculous ears slightly askew. “Are you going to stand here all night?” He sounded more amused than anything else as he joined the other man, leaning slightly against the wall.
Still grinning, he raised his glass and took a long draught... and pulled quite the face almost immediately after. Ugh. One arm rose to wipe at his mouth with a red sleeve, while the other extended to proffer his glass to the other man – want to try? Luka certainly wasn't going to be drinking any more of the stuff, if he could help it at all. Clearing his throat somewhat, the heir tried again. “I swear, it’s not that bad once you step out of the corner. No-one’s going to bite.” It might have been Luka’s idea to come along in the first place, but it would be nice to see his friend having a little fun as well, for once. Who was going to start shit at a costume party, anyway?
In all fairness, it hadn't disappointed him so far. The event had brought in a fascinating cross-section of Remoor’s citizens, the party was in full swing, and a handful of the guests were beginning to look mildly tipsy, which had the potential to be very amusing later on. Luka hadn't managed to locate the alcohol just yet, luckily for Nelio, but it was only a matter of time. They had to be getting it from somewhere, after all, but for now he contented himself with pouring a glass of some lurid orange concoction from one of the larger punch bowls.
Nelio was still there where he'd left him, of course, looming in the corner like some kind of ridiculous Halloween decoration. The bodyguard had been right about that much; the ears were not very intimidating at all (which in retrospect might have been exactly why Luka had asked him to put them on in the first place). The sight made the younger man grin to himself, but all the same, something clearly had to be done about it. Navigating his way back throw the crowd was a little easier said than done, but eventually he did reach the far side of the room, ridiculous ears slightly askew. “Are you going to stand here all night?” He sounded more amused than anything else as he joined the other man, leaning slightly against the wall.
Still grinning, he raised his glass and took a long draught... and pulled quite the face almost immediately after. Ugh. One arm rose to wipe at his mouth with a red sleeve, while the other extended to proffer his glass to the other man – want to try? Luka certainly wasn't going to be drinking any more of the stuff, if he could help it at all. Clearing his throat somewhat, the heir tried again. “I swear, it’s not that bad once you step out of the corner. No-one’s going to bite.” It might have been Luka’s idea to come along in the first place, but it would be nice to see his friend having a little fun as well, for once. Who was going to start shit at a costume party, anyway?
[/blockquote]