Character Name: Lea Traham
Sex: Male
Age: 18
Appearance:
Lea prefers a subtle appearance rather than a flashy or outstanding one, especially when it comes to his clothing choices. His clothes are all in black, making him very camouflage at night. He wears a tight, plain turtleneck shirt underneath a dark leather jacket. The jacket has a zipper running down the middle, with zipped pockets on either side of the chest, and an upright collar arching around his neck. He also sports simplistic black jeans and a pair of white sneakers that contrast oddly to the rest of his black attire.
Lea's natural hair color is actually black. For most of his life he had black hair, but during the preparation to fight Team Rocket, he opted to dye it white. Though this once again contrasts greatly with his clothing, the intent is to make him look as little as his original self as possible, so as to hide his identity should the need ever arise. The rest of him is entirely natural. He stands at around 6 feet tall, but is far too light for his age and height considering his skinny form. His facial features are both smooth and pointy. His nose is lean, curled up ever so slightly and ending in a point. Same goes for his chin, being pointed and curled slightly upwards. Finally, his irises are an intimidating shade of brown that almost make them appear red in sunlight.
Personality:
Outwardly, Lea seems like a fairly kind and friendly fellow. He is generally regarded as a patient, calm man with a lax outlook on the world by those who know him. He doesn't do anything to upset this impression either, mostly acting the part and keeping his cool about him. In addition, he is rather contemplative at times, often having a somewhat distant but gentle expression plastered on his face. He is naturally insightful, taking note of the nature of things and inquisitively wishing to discover a meaning behind them. In fact, his ideal profession would be that of a philosopher. He seems to be completely unaffected by insults and offensive remarks, often scoffing them away and not bothering to make any kind of comeback. If asked why, he would simply state that 'words are meaningless unless you give them meaning, so do yourself a favor and leave them meaningless.' This rather cold outlook on communication is the first sign one might see of the other side to Lea.
Deep down, he is cold, calculated, and orderly, making sure to mentally prioritize everything in his life. Kade is always the top priority. Once he prioritizes everything and everyone, he
never betrays his own judgement, unless his brother makes him. Everyone has a certain level of importance in his mind, and he will act and react towards different people and situations based on those levels of importance. He is so cold that if he was, for example, given the choice between two lives of equal value, he would choose the one ranking higher on his priority list without hesitation. Nothing is of equal value on the priority list either, because Lea makes a point to be absolute in his decisions no matter what.
Despite this borderline cruel way of mental organization, Lea really does care for people. Generally, human beings and Pokemon have a much higher priority rating by default, even the most lowly ones. The only exception to that rule would be the Rockets, whom he hates with a burning passion. However, throughout his entire life Lea has always held one human/Pokemon in the number one slot, and that is Kade. His brother holds the most special place in his heart, and has an even higher priority rating than Lea himself. In fact, Lea's own life is outmatched on the list by many people besides Kade, showing a certain degree of selflessness hidden behind the cold, calm exterior.
Lea finds it extremely important to plan ahead. Making plans for the future is of utmost priority to him since he despises uncertainty. He can easily find himself feeling insecure and unsafe, even afraid, when faced with unpredictability. When he does not know how to deal with a given situation, he will usually retreat and learn more about it, planning ahead in the process, rather than face it before having some degree of certainty on the matter. Of course, he does his best never to get into entirely unpredictable situations, taking the time to prepare himself mentally and even physically if need be. He will take every precaution he can rather than rushing straight into something. Planning is key with the younger Traham brother.
History:
Living in a somewhat secluded house at the end of Rawst Street in the suburbs of Fuchsia, there were two brothers. The brothers Traham, they were called; and they consisted of the eldest brother Kade and his younger sibling Lea. The two never knew their father, who left while Lea was still in the womb, never even staying behind to witness the birth of his second son. Kade, who was three at that time, remembered his father vaguely as a despicable man who took out whatever rage he got from work on his wife and child. No, he did not physically harm them, but instead employed the use of verbal abuse to demean the two. Upon Lea's birth, things had settled down considerably, though their mother was not so different from their father after all. Perhaps it was some sort of effect from the constant mental abuse she'd sustained, but she ended up being as cruel to her two sons as her ex-husband was to her.
Despite his relaxed and reserved nature, Kade took the initiative and quickly grew very protective of his younger brother, growing a sense of responsibility surprisingly fast for a young child. Kade grew to despise his mother just as much as he had his father, leaving him with only his younger brother. Lea automatically saw his brother as a role model and his only friend, but despite this he had a different outlook on the situation. Even as a young child, he was quite insightful, and took note of the chaotic state in which their mother always seemed to be. She was disorganized, her moods always fluctuated, and she never really seemed to have any idea what to do outside of her job, which was why she vented this confused rage on her children. Deciding that he would do anything to avoid becoming such a chaotic monster, Lea informed Kade, and the two made a promise to always stay orderly and straightforward, so as to never lose their way as their mother had.
Kade and Lea went to a very small, very strict school on the outskirts of town, and had a somewhat difficult time making friends. This was mainly due to Kade's disruptive behavior, though they were able to socialize with other people enough to keep themselves satisfied. They never made close friends though, so they always resolved to stay close to one another as best friends and never betray one another's trust. This wasn't to say they never squabbled, as all siblings are likely to disagree once in a while, but no matter what happened they always made up fairly quickly, helping one another see what they had done wrong in the situation and moving on. They soon grew to accept their differences and even use those to their advantage. Needless to say, while they still outwardly acted like their age, they matured faster than most mentally.
Then came the fateful day of Lea's ninth birthday. Kade had been out alone, shopping in a nearby Pokemart when a strange man came in with a knife and threatened the clerk. It was your typical store robbery, but things went horribly wrong. Kade, acting on impulse as he always as he so often did, heroically rushed to apprehend the robber. According to the clerk's statement to the police after the incident, the robber became frightened and reflexively stabbed Kade right through the left eye, killing the poor boy almost instantly. Horrified at the act he had just committed, the robber fled without the money he had come for.
Needless to say, Lea was devastated. His brother had been all he had; the top of the priority list, his best friend, his protector. For a long time, the nine year old boy was at a loss of what to do, so all he did was grieve at the loss of Kade. Meanwhile, his mother instead transformed what should have been sadness into anger, which she directed at her remaining son. Lea's treatment grew worse and worse, and with no big brother to defend him he quickly fell into depression and became a recluse of sorts. He stopped going to school and would spend hours in his room crying or staring at a wall blankly.
But everything changed when he met the Pokemon bearing Kade's face.
He wasn't entirely sure why he did it, but on his tenth birthday Lea threw aside all reason that he usually held so dear, and entered the Forest of Spirits to try and find a Soulbond partner. Later, Lea would come to realize that his loneliness and grief had compelled him to try and find some sort of replacement for Kade. However, what he ended up finding was the very last thing he expected.
After wandering about terrified for what seemed like hours, Lea stumbled across a lone Yamask standing by an old oak tree, staring at his mask. He froze, however, as he realized that the mask's markings were engraved to look exactly like Kade's facial features. And that's when he heard the voice in his mind; a voice he knew all too well.
The Yamask was indeed Kade, there was no doubt about it. Kade remembered all of his human life leading up to his death, though he was entirely unaware that a year had passed by since it. Lea had been unable to accept it at first, but after some research he discovered that Yamask were said to be created from the souls of dead humans, and so everything made sense. Furthermore, it was already quite apparent that they were Soulbonded, a fact which they were grateful for since they could once again speak to each other.
It took Kade the better part of a year to get used to his new Yamask body, though he grew unnerved of seeing his own human face plated in gold, and asked Lea to hold onto the mask instead. Kade began to discover the new powers he had as a Ghost Pokemon, but also the limitations and the fact that only his brother could hear him speak now. The fact was tough to come to terms with, but all throughout the transition in lifestyle, Kade remained thankful that he still had his brother to protect, and vice versa for Lea.
It only took the bizarre revelation of Kade's transformation into a Pokemon that caused their mother to snap. Having been on the verge of insanity for quite a while, their mother was soon declared mentally unfit to live in society and brought to a mental hospital for psychiatric treatment. Meanwhile, Lea and his Soulbonded brother were thrown into an orphanage, in which they spent the remainder of their childhood and teenage years. While the lifestyle they lived there could hardly be considered comfortable, it was an appreciated change from living under the chaotic rule of their mother.
At the age of eighteen, Lea picked up a newspaper. What he saw in it was most disturbing: a face he recognized all too well from the mugshots of the man who had killed Kade. Apparently, this man was named Hugh Jackson, and had joined a mysterious organization of criminals known as Team Rocket now. He had been spotted stealing another person's Soulbond the other day, and a notice had been put out. Lea and Kade remembered the hate they felt for Jackson, and after giving it some thought, decided it was finally time for some long-awaited retribution. They would not just target Jackson, but all of Team Rocket, for the atrocities they'd both committed. Filled with a strange new determination that neither were really used to, it didn't take them long to notice the flyer and seize the opportunity at some good old fashioned revenge.
Pokémon: Yamask
Name: Kade
Sex: Male
Appearance:
Though it is difficult to tell considering the mask is made of a gold-like metal, and that its features are rather roughly defined, one will find that the mask bears an uncanny resemblance to the original Kade's face and, as such, Lea's. The mask bears the same sharp, pointy facial features that Lea has, although what might be interpreted as a jawline will appear more rugged, and the nose somewhat larger. The eyes, although now colorless in the monotony of the gold color, have the same shape, and the stoic, somewhat malicious expression locked on the mask makes it intimidating to look at.
Kane the Yamask has one noticeable similarity to his original self: as if to remind him of how he died, his left eye is blind and shines grey instead of red. Other than that, there is nothing truly definable about him.
Personality:
As a human and even as a Yamask, Kade is a rather relaxed, reserved individual who cares little for the way the world works and would rather focus on personal and inter-personal matters. He doesn't care at all for rules and regulations set out by others that he did not agree to, instead opting for a more honorable approach by always keeping his word no matter what, as long as he agreed to that promise. He remembers the promise he made to Lea when they were children, always doing his best to stay orderly and put his brother above all else. However, although he does have a priority list of his own to follow, he rarely does. When he does act, he does so impulsively and based on what he feels is right, much to Lea's annoyance.
Kade's protectiveness of his brother has not gone away, not one bit. Unlike Lea, he is not impervious to insults and will often retaliate with force if those words cut too deep or are too personal. Being the older brother, he remembers much more clearly the words his parents once used to scathe him, and will not stand for it again, least of all when it's directed towards his brother. Naturally Kade is willing to put himself in harm's way for his brother, as Lea is willing to do for him, and the most common argument the two tend to get into is over who would protect who in a hypothetical dangerous scenario.
Although he is now a Pokemon, Kade is and always was quite sociable. With his relaxed nature he doesn't tend to judge people harshly and can easily make friends with most people when he isn't being inconsiderate or breaking their personal boundaries, which he tends to do often. As a Ghost, this is only made worse as he will often scare people he is trying to befriend. In addition, he doesn't seem to have completely come to terms with the fact that he is now a Pokemon, and no longer able to talk to anyone but his brother. He still attempts to make verbal contact with others to no avail, subsequently opting to ask his brother to translate his mental speech for him, making for a rather strange and awkward situation.
Kade's relationship with his brother has changed little from when they were both human. While they have a different way of communicating and working together now, the Traham brothers still operate in much the same way, which is naturally to stick close to one another and rely on one another. Over the course of their childhood, through their immense respect for one another, they have learned to use their differences to their advantage. Kade's sense of right can steer Lea in a better direction than his coldhearted calculations might be taking him, while Lea's attitude brings order and meaning to the impulsive and sometimes rash decisions of Kade. Though they tend to disagree with each others' actions often, their respect and love helps them to see when they are wrong and should listen to the other's advice.
Opening Post:
(Will be done soon)
Password: Soulsilver