(no subject)

[madebelieve]

GENERAL

Name: Lucas Pokorny
Nickname(s): Luke
Gender/Pronouns: Male, he/him/his
Birthdate/Age: February 16, 15.
Grade: Sophomore
Sexuality: Homosexual. He hasn't pursued any relationships since coming to Finchwood so this isn't well-known.

Major Arcana: The Hanged Man
Minor Arcana: Swords

Concept: Hermit crab breaking out of his shell in the name of FRIENDSHIP!

APPEARANCE

Height:	5'10"	Hair Color:	Black
Build:	A ramen noodle. Just one.	Eye Color:	Brown

Imagine Mr. Rogers is choosing his outfit one morning while he also reminisces about that time he dropped acid, and you'll get pretty close to Luke's sense of style. Prints and colours clash without quite reaching Weird Al levels of loud; instead, they evoke the fond memories of a loudness that once was.

He likes to think his wardrobe is a quirky play on #menswear, but he probably looks more like a teenager with access to the Internet who's still trying to figure this whole "style" thing out. Outfits usually include t-shirts and button-up shirts that feature clashing colours, prints, and patterns; cardigans or varsity sweaters (elbow patches an asset); and a knit tie once in awhile.

INSPO.
[1], [2], [3], [4], [5].
(Yes, they're all Donald Glover or Mr. Rogers.)

PB: Dante Scott

PERSONALITY

Likes: video games, fantasy books, improv, jigsaw puzzles, murder mysteries, mysteries in general, colourful things, HIS MOOG!!!, music, going for walks, urban exploration, thrift stores, big fish stories, his sock-of-the-month club, junk food for breakfast, ring pops, bubble baths, his brother, bartering

Dislikes: snowboots, being rushed, invasive questions, icebreaker activities, truth or dare/shot, drinking, bitter food, people who act like he can't make his own Big Decisions even though he can't make his own Big Decisions, when your pillow separates in the middle and you can't make it fluffy again no matter what you do, confrontation, hamburgers
---
FIRST IMPRESSION: OBSERVANT & NON-CONFRONTATIONAL. Your first impression of Luke is probably that he's getting a joke you're oblivious to—his resting expression is a small smile that borders on a smirk, whether or not there's actually something amusing going on. Is there a joke? Probably not, but if there is it's unlikely that he'll let on. He guards his emotions relentlessly and rarely, if ever, grins or guffaws in public. He's put so much effort into guarding against tells to his actual emotions and opinions that he often seems to have no opinions at all, and to a certain extent this is true: he doesn't like to get caught up in drama or two-sided arguments, preferring to step back and let it play out without having to engage in the conflict. 'Neutral party' doesn't even cover it because he doesn't want to be involved enough to be considered a party in the first place. He's not the type to walk away but you'll probably forget he was there at all until the dust as settled and you notice him on the sidelines, listening the whole time while you were too caught up in the moment to notice.

SELECTIVELY LOYAL, FOLLOWER. Deep down, Luke is bitter. Deep down, Luke is paranoid. Deep down, Luke wants to rebel against his parents and their wishes, and do whatever he wants... but he doesn't think he's brave enough. His attempts to fight 'the man' are reserved for smaller indiscretions — ones that are usually a result of his friendships. Despite claiming neutrality in most situations, Luke is also a follower.

He doesn't dole his devotion out easily: only a select few have his trust and loyalty, but those few will have his unquestionable trust. He'll always join his friends' endeavours when asked without questioning their intentions or actual gameplan, which has led to some trouble in the past. ("A midnight walk in the woods? Sure, you know probably what you're doing.") Does he know that being so blindly amenable to others' ideas is an unwise strategy? Yes. He claims otherwise, but he takes advantage of the willful ignorance.

PRIVATE. Since he values his privacy he doesn't ask many questions of other people, either — and if he doesn't ask questions he can't claim to have been a crucial component in whatever the trouble-making of the week has been, whether it's out after curfew or sneaking an R-rated movie onto the common room DVD player. 'Willful ignorance' is the name of the game, and he's an Olympic-level competitor. (Warning: Clichés Ahead.) This self-awareness means that, while he will go with the flow, he always seems to have an undertow of 'I've got my own thing going on.'

LIKES COMPANY. Luke's laissez-faire attitude has seen him accused more than once of not giving a situation the solemn gravity it deserves. He's difficult to faze and delivers jokes with a deadpan quality, rarely 'letting loose' except in small, controlled situations (and even then he's not very animated or loud). Although quiet, he prefers to be in the company of people he'd rather be alone in a crowd than completely alone. He often studies in the common areas just to have the comforting hustle and bustle of other people around him.

BIG FISH. Luke finds it hard to be earnest and prefers to deflect any real conversations with 'big fish' stories. These aren't the result of a compulsive liar or a need to be somebody else, rather, an overactive and imaginative mind: as a child moving from place to place, the usual story to feed other children became too boring to recount and he turned to more exciting stories and introductions, more to keep himself entertained than anybody else. There's a high chance that any fact shared about himself in class, over journals, or merely casually, is completely false — and Luke assumes other people know this, too. Usually they're outlandish enough not to expect belief, but once in a while his fake facts got him in a bit of trouble.

SKILLS

★★★★★ MUSIC – BASSOON: Luke has a natural talent for music and learned the bassoon—which he thinks is tragically uncool—since he was small.
★★★★☆ MUSIC – BASS GUITAR: He began learning the bass guitar when we was 10 and enjoys it a lot more.
★★★☆☆ MUSIC – HIS MOOG: ... He's learning. He should never have been allowed to buy a synthesizer on eBay.
★★★★☆ WHITTLING: It's a good, portable hobby that keeps his hands busy.
★★★☆☆ EMBROIDERY: He learned this in one of those after-school programs and honestly he's... kind of super into it? He's still finding his way around a hoop, but he enjoys making dumb stuff for friends.
★★☆☆☆ "PARKOUR:" Really, he just has energy and likes to use it up by climbing trees and jumping over things with friends.

HISTORY

Family:

FATHER: Kirk Pokorny. Works sales for a national office furniture supplier. Luke isn't exactly sure what he does but he's pretty sure it's the most boring thing ever.
MOTHER: Reva Pokorny. Also works for the above company. Luke also has no tangible idea of what she does.

Luke's convinced his parents are trying to suck all the fun out of his life, however, he still lives in constant fear of disappointing them. His rebellions at home always begin small and inconsequential, but by the end of the summer he's sneaking out at night to see friends. They're automatons that care only about his success in the adult world, putting emphasis on grades and connections and plans. He has yet to understand that they're humans with their own lives, histories, and passions who are simply trying to guide their son into a life he would find comfortable and pleasant.

BROTHER: Dominic (23). Luke thinks he's the coolest but would never say it out loud.

Hometown: Born in Providence, RI. Currently lives in Chicago, IL. A lot of places in between.

CHILDHOOD.
Luke spent his childhood all over the midwest and the eastern seaboard. His parents both worked sales for a (tremendously boring) office fixtures company, which had them go from state to state to consult on work spaces and set them up for their needs. This saw the family move to a new town every year or two, depriving Luke of a centre of operations, a core group of friends, or a dependable home for his childhood.

EARLY SCHOOLING.
Luke was a quiet and clever kid who abided by his parents' wishes in all matters — studying should be forefront in his mind, because his childhood was really only intended to get him into a more prestigious school. He most enjoyed reading and exploring the cities his family moved to, which he initially accomplished within the bounds of his parents' directives by hopping from library to library.

He was a gifted, if not exceedingly exceptional, student. His parents constantly showered him in encouragement and told him he could 'do whatever he wanted!' because he was ever so capable, even though there were strong implications that 'whatever he wanted' should be something practical like also working for the EXCEEDINGLY BORING COMPANY his parents worked for because it was 'secure' and 'dependable' and 'people will always need desks!

STORIES. Every year seemed to start at a new school, which meant different cliques and expectations. This molded Luke into a child bored of his own life; he quickly tired of telling classes full of bored faces where he'd lived so far, or what his favourite hobbies were. By the fifth grade he was making up stories instead: his parents worked for the military, or they'd just moved from Austria, or they were palaeontologists. He didn't feel like he needed to be believed, and he never stood by the tales as truth, but he felt more interesting to his constantly new peers when he could weave a story, at least something that kept them interested in him for more than the standard thirty seconds.

EXPECTATIONS. The older Luke got, the more concerned his parents became with his eventual success as an adult. They insisted on enrolling him in after-school programs wherever they lived—that he honestly didn't think he needed—but kept him inside and working on academic and musical pursuits (he played the bassoon!) for long after the school bell rang. On some level he knew his parents were only doing what they thought would provide him with the best possible future, but he began to resent the activities — partly because they weren't his choice, and partly because they kept him from roaming the city like he enjoyed, separating him from most of the friends he'd made outside of school.

FINCHWOOD. Finchwood was an exciting yet daunting prospect. His parents weren't sure about it at first either, but they were won over by his many arguments that doing all of his high school years in one place couldn't possibly be a bad thing, and by reassurances that the school's administration were only of the highest standard.

To Luke, Finchwood is the first place where he feels like he can lay down some roots, where he can start to ~find himself~ independent from his parents' controlling eyes. He's never been one to stand up for... anybody, really, so the proposal that he could fight evil was first met by incredulity because he obviously wasn't the perfect fit. After some thought, though? And remembering how many books and stories he'd ingested about fantastical worlds? And realizing that he could actually do something?

He was thrilled to join.

COMBAT

Persona: Manakel.
Element: Air.

ACADEMICS

Core Classes: English*, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Training.

Elective Classes: Art, Computer Science, Music, Philosophy.

Clubs: Choir, Drama, Gaming, Print.

General Performance: Luke's a good student because that's how he was raised (and relentlessly, at that), but this whole "stay here for four years and be able to have a working relationship with your teachers" thing is... new. He's good on paper, but in class his attention tends to wander, mostly to daydreaming and doodling. He tries more when the people around him try, which also means that when they goof off, he's not going to get a lot done. He likes English, Art, Music, and Computer Science the most.

OOC

Player: kas
Email: hi.its.kas@gmail.com
CDJ: kasnotkas / raptor
Other Contact: carrier pigeon but only really cool ones
Time Zone: EST