Post by artmage on Apr 10, 2010 2:57:36 GMT 11
HALE SIOBAHN CALLAHAN
I'll never long for what might have been,
Regret won't waste my life again,
I won't look back; I'll fight to remain...
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BIRTH NAME: Haylene Siobahn Callahan
NICKNAME: Hale, Haylee (Please don't) or Coileán.
AGE: Eighteen
BIRTHDAY: November Fifth
GENDER: Female.
SEXUALITY: Straight.
CLASS: Trainer.
HOMETOWN: Alto Mare, Johto (Born in LaRousse City, Hoenn)
FACE CLAIM: Original art (credit to self)
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--APPEARANCE--
Standing at a stout 5'4, Hale is the sort of girl seemingly unremarkable at first glance in any given crowd. Asides her dimunitive height, her often-slouching hands-in-pockets posture as though wanting to keep herself hidden from prying eyes is quite successful, but if one were to look into her face, a different story waits to unfold itself.
Her eyes, clear and in an earthy shade of light brown are wary and curious of everything around her, the light that shines within it akin to a small cat on the prowl, ready to strike or flee at any given moment. Her usual mode of expression is a singular raised eyebrow and mouth quirked to a side when waylaid by stranger, as though skeptical of their reasons for approach.
Two curls of hair frame her face of an otherwise ordinary mane of brown cropped short and worn unkempt at the back.
Where her eyes speak, her teeth are rarely seen; The girl rarely smiles a full one, prefering to keep her approval to either a smirk or a thin upwards line. To get a full, sincere smile out of her, you would have to do quite a bit or be more than a mere aqquaintance.
Once her level of trust is met, her back is straightened and her hackles are let down; a glimmering of hidden confidence shows itself.Her hand will be extended in greeting, and here one will note quite starkly the absence of the smallest finger--the stump and wound are clean, not jagged and clearly not the work of any given animal, but a human instead. Despite this, her grip is firm as though used to wiedling something akin to a weapon--the callusses on her thumb and trigger finger and the scar on the webbing between both that certain officials will recognize as a 'slide bite' only solidifies this fact. Along with those physical flaws, one in luck to know more of her will bear witness to the multitude of ugly surgical scars which adorn both legs from knee-down that it is a wonder she can run at all.
Her body is for most part athletic and slightly curvy though looking her older pictures paint her as a bit of a later bloomer---generally she has never put much thought into this, preferring to be known for her skills more than anything else asides having a bit of an inferiority complex over her own femininity.
As her sense of fashion leaves much to be desired, her taste in clothes are decidedly boyish and at the very worst, completely unflattering to her body. A good day generally calls for hoodies (She favors a dark blue one with gold accents) or jackets (A red militaristic bomber variety) over a red tanktop or black, form-fitting short-sleeved shirt, her favorite Dragonite-fang pendant and a pair of khaki slacks or jeans. She prefers dark, 'professional' colors like blacks, blues, reds and purples, with a strong dislike for anything resembling pink. While she has no liking for feminine clothing, the rare occasions where she might beblackmailedbadgered into 'cleaning up' and forced into a dress has her giving off the air of simple, earthy prettiness.
Asides her normal backpack, she carries around an old leather slingbag with her essentials, that is to say comic books, a novel of the day, a notebook and writing utensils, an eight-inch Rambo knife and for reasons best unexplained, an empty gun holster. Hidden in a small pocket inside is her mother's old badge and the single dime her father took from when he left LaRousse and his 'bussiness'. She also owns a pair of reading glasses.
She speaks with a distinctive Irish brogue.
--PERSONALITY--
The first thing Hale might come across as is...well, that is rather hard to say, considering the fact that one tends to completely miss her on first go, which is a good indication of her main personality trait; Aloofness.
Very much a wallflower in female terms, she dislikes crowds and is perfectly content, smiling and walking alone down any given street without so much as a glance at the people around her while lost in her own thoughts. Highly reserved, intelligent and of dry wit, the people she calls friends can be counted on a single hand though this isn't due to some unlikability; It is a combination of her wariness of strangers and the fact that she quite simply enjoys being that way, believing in some part due to her independent streak that she doesn't need emotional support from outside. Her cool demeanor makes her seem distant at first glance, though the notion doesn't bother her at all as she believes she's better off being honest with how she feels rather than putting up a pretense. Nonetheless she is genuinely caring, agreeable and easy to get along with once you've broken the thin layer of ice. One might describe her as a Kuudere, or 'defrosting ice queen' for the lack of a better word.
Unflappable, Hale isn't the sort to give into immediate panic though she attributes this more to the fact that she spends more time thinking and debating options rather than acting on impulse. This leads to a small quirk, where talking to her while she is reading or listening to music might requires about five minutes to gain any sort of response, physically or verbally. She tends to get lost in her interests (reading and music) far too easily, and a sore point with her is if anyone interrupts her reading sessions. Her humor generally leans towards intelligent or cynical sarcasm.
Her speech while generally polite isn't refined and she often peppers her dialogue with curses due to her tomboyishness.
She can be somewhat scatter-brained when it comes to planning a detailed course of action and it isn't all that strange to watch her drop her book-smarts and simply Indy her way out of a problem when push comes to shove. She isn't the best strategist around, preferring to rely on natural skills and manipulation of weaknesses. Her humor generally leans towards intelligent or cynical sarcasm. Her confidence level fluctuates with the situation; she is unsure of herself around people or when faced with something not within her power to solve, but can be arrogant when faced with a problem she knows how to handle.
While she tries her best to keep a cool head, emotions can still get the better of her. Her two years in her brother's squad had given her a taste of fire-forged friendships and with that an almost beastly viciousness when it comes to protecting those close to her. Her berserk button covers her family, team and closest friends---woe betide anyone who manages to somehow rile her up by threatening any of the above; she will remind them that she killed her first ***** at ten for hurting her father and she'd be more than willing to do so again without any compunctions, having gotten over her guilt issues a while time ago.
She works more on the scale of logic compared to emotions, of which she is somewhat stunted--this lead her to avoid relationships for most of her school period and she is unlikely to recognize subtle or clumsy attempts to court her (Not that she cares..) Once she does realize outside affection or if someone lays it on thick and heavy however, that calm demeanor gives way to an absolutely batshit bout of flustering and running around, as in her life, this is the one thing she has never had to deal with and never thought of dealing with.
Period.
Hale generally prefers the companionship of men to women simply because of her inherent disdain for drama and the fact that she identifies better with them, unless said women are of the somewhat tomboyish or militaristic variety. Her speech with friends outside her formal tone when speaking to strangers or officials is quite crude and peppered with expletives she doesn't bother to hide. She tends to just run with what is in her mind when talking, your feelings be damned.
The sort of people she gets along very well with are those with intelligence and a good head on their shoulders. Wit, humor and a strong moral compass add to the score while vaudevillian tendencies, angst and a controlling demeanor subtracts from it.
As an introvert, her mind is on a constant working basis where her mouth is not; She tends to be very dreamy and absent-minded where music is involved and completely shuts off from the world when reading.
Hale enjoys the simpler things in life; A good book, shady tree to read it under, watching the sun set, good music. She is very much grounded into reality and she likes living life on a day-to-day basis without a care in the world for what the future holds. When push comes to shove though, she will stand her ground by any means possible.
Her main weakness is her pride and stubbornness, which comes in the form of not accepting help from anyone even in times of need (the one time where she may show naivete or pig-headedness). She can also be a loose cannon and emotionally driven when it comes to making important decisions. Her mind is also focused mainly on here and now, and she finds it hard to see the 'big picture'.
She hates being seen as a 'load' or useless and as such, is constantly striving to keep herself out of a situation where rescue might be needed. She also has had issues with feelings of powerlessness ever since she was a child after the incident and often time, that is the easiest way to break her.
Physically speaking, she cannot run for too long a distance without experiencing what feels like a dozen hot pokers shoved up her knees though this barely stops her from trying.
While not looking to be the most intimidating specimen of individual, Hale makes up for her lack of height and her inability to run very far with a terrifying proficiency at wielding firearms and small, sharp objects that she tends to toy with absent-mindedly. Aiding her brother in his work, she is also reasonably skilled in self-defense and will nail a man in the balls when situation calls for it.
While she is rarely patient with people other than close friends, her relationship with Pokemon in decidedly warmer, as the only friend who did not abandon her in her childhood was her beloved Glameow, Desdemona. She has a soft spot for fathers, having lost hers violently when she was younger, as well as young children who have gone through the same experience; often time she finds herself being something of a 'big sister' to them, which is a social role she actual enjoys.
Her hatred for organized crime has two sides; Her father was murdered by a mob don, yet her father was a brother to the don and himself formerly the head of said mob. While she hates members of organized crime, she finds herself unable to stop giving them a second chance due to her love for her father and her stoic belief that a few of them are like him and can be redeemed. She had a bit of an Elektra Complex when she was younger. While this has fettered out, she still feels inexplicably drawn to men who are like her father whether in looks or demeanor.
--LIKES--
Books, Comics, Music (Rock, Jazz and Classical), Cats, Guns, walking the city at night-time, sleeping in.
--DISLIKES--
Needless drama, Fashion magazines, Sappy love songs, Bugs, Candy, Rain, Mornings, Stupidity in general.
--SKILLS--
Writing, Savate, Playing the bass, Handling small firearms
--Quotes--
“Cross yer fingers that this works and we don’t get our arses banjaxed for it!”
“Ach, this is one big clusterf--"
"I will gut you like the swine that ye are!"
"Wreck the *****!”
"Enough o' that guff!"
"You cafflers knock that off right now and dry your arses!"
"*****."
Books, Comics, Music (Rock, Jazz and Classical), Cats, Guns, walking the city at night-time, sleeping in.
--DISLIKES--
Needless drama, Fashion magazines, Sappy love songs, Bugs, Candy, Rain, Mornings, Stupidity in general.
--SKILLS--
Writing, Savate, Playing the bass, Handling small firearms
--Quotes--
“Cross yer fingers that this works and we don’t get our arses banjaxed for it!”
“Ach, this is one big clusterf--"
"I will gut you like the swine that ye are!"
"Wreck the *****!”
"Enough o' that guff!"
"You cafflers knock that off right now and dry your arses!"
"*****."
--OTHER INFO--
She has a strong liking for feline Pokemon of any sort and prefers mammalian-based Pokemon over the rest. Type-wise, she loves Fire, Water, Normal and Psychic, while being somewhat apathetic to Steel and Grass.
When it comes to training, she likes for her charges to make the most of their limited moveset and have four different attack types so all base weaknesses are covered. Lately however she has diversified her tactics to several evasive moves, mainly Smokescreen and Double Team take down opponents in Guerrilla-style battles. Tends to do extremely well in Double Battles where she works both her Pokemon tandem and may choose to handicap one opponent so only a single move can be slotted in the next turn.
After doing research on the gym leaders and Elite of Johto, she has a burning desire to meet both Morty and Lance one fine day.
--HISTORY--
Much of Hale's young life despite her calm facade was mired in violence one form or the other. For starters she was born smack dab in the middle of heavy rain and a gunfight gone bad; The family's car had fallen under attack of her father's old enemies en route to the hospital. In all the panic and confusion, paramedics struggled to make their way through the hail of fire only to find a woman near death curled over a puddle of afterbirth, tightly clutching a wailing bundle of newborn with the look of a maternal predator in her eyes, a smoking gun in her hand and several assailants shot dead scattered around her. Both mother and child survived the ordeal, and ever since then, it had been something of an inside joke to the Callahans to explain why their youngest daughter had an inherent dislike for crowds, loud noises and rain.
Her parents, Graydon and Maire Callahan were as different as night and day on first glance, so much that many people, knowing Graydon's unsavory past began to wonder if he had somehow blackmailed the pretty officer into pursuing a relationship with him, which couldn't have been any further from the truth if they tried.
Graydon Callahan, who was the sole scion to the shady Diarmaid mob which had connections to the Rockets and was a man of two faces; In the public facade, he excluded an air of classy uppercrustedness to woo his business compatriots, but in reality was a passionately fiery man who was as stubborn as he was temperamental and whose fists flew as fast as his words did. He had a magnetic personality which drew in trouble and women in that order exactly, and sometimes even those on the right side of the tracks weren't immune to his roguish, dog-in-the-mud like charms. That said, he had two weaknesses; Women and drink, and he met his match with the former in the form of a rising, hotshot officer by the name of Maire Gallagher.
Idealistic, optimistic and of a sharp mind, Maire was a single mother and a rookie to the law enforcement scene; Recently promoted from a lower county, she had just joined a task force in LaRousse City and upon rejecting the advances of a higher-up, was given an impossible task as her first assignment; Bring the Diarmaid, who had been racketeering illegally-made Master balls and smuggling Pokemon to justice.
Hard-headed and unwilling to back down, she moved her first piece across the board and targeted the head dog who always seemed one step ahead of her in nearly every situation.
Graydon enjoyed the game of mental cat-and-mouse this uptight dame with the cute ass brought forth and constantly teased her in a manner which hid the growing attraction he felt for the outspoken female; Conversely, despite her initial view of him as a pompous, impulsive lout of a casanova she too began to feel attracted to his wit and honesty.
Graydon's feelings began to mellow him out, to a mixed reaction within the Diarmaid; There were those who were merely good-hearted ruffians the same way that he was who were happy for a more scrupulous leader, and then there were those who wanted to run him to the ground, including his own brother who tried to kill him after he refused a sizable though callous trainer protection racket contract.
The attempted fratricide via a car bombing killed seven of his friends, costed him his perfect eyesight and left him with a permanent limp. It also drove a fissure right through Diarmaid's ranks which were now split between those loyal to Graydon and those wanting the more ruthless form of leadership his brother offered which formed the splinter Findlaech mob.
Livid at the familial betrayal and the needless deaths of his compatriots, he came clean and allowed himself to be caught by Maire and in return for helping him seek vengeance against his brother and retribution for his men, he agreed to serve a sentence, with a small catch; That Maire would stand as his parole officer when the time came. Together, the two of them hacked down the Findlaech mob, with Maire mobilizing the newly-formed Cuchulainn strike force and Graydon using his connections to allow them access into his world and turning those still loyal to him into valuable informants in returned for reduced sentences.
This resulted in a four year wave of mob violence which rocked the city. Hale was born in the final month of the conflict and the coalition of former Diarmaid members and the local squad earned a landmark victory.
Still, highly visible as the former head of the mob, Graydon was earmarked for assassination the moment he switched sides and under a supergrass program, his newfound family and he left behind the glamorous LaRousse lifestyle, opting for a simple existence in a peaceful, quiet little alcove of Alto Mare
Hale's early childhood years on Alto Mare were very much normal; As a young girl, she was far more gregarious and friendly, not knowing the circumstances behind which her parents met. At school, she was in the above average aggregate though she wasn't by any means a studious little bookworm. She was head of the school's music club contemporary division and played as an offensive left wing 'sniper' on the hockey team.
The first Pokemon she met were Glameows and Meowths on the streets she often took pity on and shared her lunch with. One Glameow in particular befriended her over a period of time and was nicknamed 'Desdemona' or 'Deedee' before she officially adopted it. When it came to Pokemon studies, she showed a natural flair in understanding and manipulating type advantages but fell short on strategic movesets. Her designated 'class team' of training Pokemon were a Meowth, a Skitty and her own Glameow, Desdemona.
Graydon, who was artistically-inclined compared to his wife and now worked as the town's head of music instilled a love for song in his little girl, teaching her how to recognize notes and rock the bass. Father and daughter were very close, and he often brought her out to concerts whenever and wherever they were playing, monetary concerns be damned. He prided over his little 'muse' and often had her run through his manuscripts with him. She in turn loved him immensely and often followed him everywhere he went.
Maire, as the grounding force of the family instilled a love of reading into her daughter, with their bonding moment being the two of them poring over books by the fireplace during rainy nights (as both couldn't sleep well during downpours).
She was as much of the Mother Bear she had been in delivering Hale and despite the years of blissed peace, was always worried in the back of her mind somehow that her husband's past might catch up to him. As such, she was more careful and warned Hale to be discreet and not too trusting; Something that the outgoing, friendly Graydon disagreed with.
He himself, when she was eight told her about their past to hopefully close the book on the matter.
When Hale was ten however, Maire's worst fears were confirmed.
Back in LaRousse City, someone had hacked into the Supergrass program files and a band of Graydon's old enemies began to silently slip into Alto Mare to wrap up loose ends.
When she tried to rescue her Glameow which they had captured, Hale was abducted and held hostage in an attempt to lure Graydon out and have him play their little 'game'. To drive the point home, they smashed her legs with a steel bar to ensure she couldn't run off and mailed her parents one of her fingers they had severed to serve as a calling card before threatening to do things to her far worse than death if they were too slow in responding. Maire who still had contacts in LaRousse and adhered to her cop training took matters with a calm facade and worried that the situation might spin out of control, wanted to carefully plan their next move.
Graydon however was livid and didn't have the patience or subtlety his wife did; Knowing plainly that they wanted him, he left without her knowledge to track them down and face them. While he was alone, as a former Diarmaid he certainly wasn't unarmed and in the ensuing skirmish, he managed to rip through their ranks and rescue his daughter. Upon trying to escape however, he was mortally wounded by his brother who was leading the group and Hale out of a newfound rage discharged several rounds from his handgun into their assailant, killing the man instantly. Despite her best efforts, Graydon bled to death on her lap; Due to her love for him, this nearly drove Hale mad with anguish and made her as a child, contemplated using the gun on herself so she could 'follow him' where he went. In the end she decided against it and stayed curled up with his body until they were found by Maire's squad ten minutes later, having been lead to the den by Desdemona the Glameow who had escaped earlier.
Torn up both physically and mentally, Hale spent the next few month recuperating and undergoing psychiatric evaluation for post-traumatic depression. Confined to a wheelchair, she grew bitter, sullen and withdrawn, blaming her own naivete for what happened. Her mind began to retreat into its own world and her grades began to fail. Old friends also abandoned her after being put off by her change in personality. Her only human contact was with her family who were at a loss of how to deal with the once gregarious girl, until her brother dragged her out her shell and the center periodically so she could follow him around at work. Archery provided a good outlet for her deep-seated anger while she was rehabilitating, and Desdemona too would coax her owner to the outside world by refusing to come back inside unless Hale went out to retrieve the feline herself.
It was only after a year was Hale, still in crutches was allowed to leave clinical care and attempt to rejoin normal society; something easier said than done. Her experience had left her distrusting and wary of people, as she feared that there would be a repeat of the incident if she wasn't careful.
The burning desire to get stronger and prove wrong those who spoke of her behind her back was overpowering and she found herself suddenly obsessed with the idea to go on a walkabout.
Hale forced herself to walk further without her crutches every day and a year later, ditched them completely and told her mother of her plan to go on her own journey. Maire however, scarred from the loss of her father was adamant that she stay. Her mother didn't want to entertain the idea of losing her as well, as she was the living link to the man's memory. Hale on the other hand was stubborn in her desire to get stronger so she wouldn't have to be in such a position ever again. This caused friction between both parties, until her brother who worked in a sub-splinter of the region's paramilitary stepped in with a novel suggestion;
She could hold off her training alone, but he would guide her by having her as an honorary member or a trainee of his squad.
Hale agreed and was non-formally taken into the the squad of twenty-odd men who often worked together with rangers to quell mob and Rocket-based problems.
She got along with the men very well, earning the nickname Coileán ('Puppy') due to her constantly tagging along with her brother and her eagerness to aid them with their work.
During this time, she was given hands-on lessons on self-defense and on training Pokemon for use by the squad and often-time acted as their main handler, learning their quirks and settling behavioral problems between a team member and their assigned 'partner' Pokemon. She grew to love the job, but began to yearn even more to start her own journey after having experienced handling these critters.
After two years acting as a service 'mon trainer and messenger girl and scout for the squad, she came forth to her brother with her original wish of wanting to strike out on her own, believing that having been sheltered under his wing since now, she would benefit from her own journey before she would join him once more, no longer a Coileán but a Faol (Wolf).
With his blessings, she was finally dropped off at the shores of Cherrygrove to make her way through this region with her own comrades.
--THEME SONG--
Magika
Magika
--RELATIONS--
Graydon Callahan (Father, deceased at 42)
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Graydon | Maire | Nolan | Rae |
Graydon Callahan (Father, deceased at 42)
The former head of LaRousse's Diarmaid mob, he became Alto Mare's head of music in wake of the supergrass program. A charming, easy-going rogue, he was less serious than his wife when it came to work and had a wolf-like intuition when it came to his family's well-being. Even though his 'accident' left him with bad eyesight and forced him to walk with a cane, he wasn't daunted and enjoyed the chance to live like a normal man without the political baggage he procured from his past life. The only thing he took from those years was his surname and a single dime he took from the mob's coffers after giving everything else away. He has had no contact with his family since moving away from LaRousse and reserves a special hatred for his brother, Reagan who attempted to kill him. He was overly doting of Hale, almost to the extent of spoiling her and often had to be reigned in by his wife.
He used to own Pokemon in LaRousse; A Zangoose (Stryker)and Pidgeotto (Sorelle) which he released after he disbanded Diarmaid so they could return to the wild and live happy for all the years they had been under his service. He was a reasonably skilled trainer and taught Hale part of what she knew about type advantages.
Maire Callahan nee Gallagher (Mother) 45
A former police officer, she now works as a private investigator and store owner (Gallagher Sundries) which doubles as a covert weapons trade for the Cuchulainns. Fiercely devoted to anything she does, she has had foul luck with relationships in the past due to her zealousness towards her job though that had been tempered out slightly over the years. An emotionally strong woman, she swore not remarry after Graydon's death and instead focused on helping to quell the growing mob problems in Alto Mare. Her skill with Pokemon is lower than average due to her using mainly the precinct's service Pokemon instead of her own, and though she isn't thrilled about Hale deciding to leave, she realizes the power the little beasts hold, more so in the best cases than anything a gun or canon can offer, and realizes that they could be the key to winning the war and avenging her husband./
Nolan Callahan (Step-Brother) 27
The eldest, he was born out of wedlock when Maire was only 18 and follows steadfastly in her footsteps as a captain working in the local paramilitary. He blames himself partially for what happened to her, as she was travelling with him during the day of the incident when he decided to hang out with several friends, trusting her to find her own way home. It was he who recognized her in the ICU chambers and identified Graydon's body in the morgue. After Graydon's death, he decided to join the military to gain some measure of discipline and steer his life back on track.
His partner Pokemon is a Mightyena named Boudicca which he uses sporadically as an attack dog during covert missions. He also owns Fusillade a Sharpedo and Strafe, a Swellow both whom he received from the military. He has an old-fashioned notion of chivalry and is among the few officers to carry both a standard issue rifle and a saber, both which he is adept at using.
Hale often jokes about the impossibly high standards he seems to set for them, as well as his childish fascination for the comic books which he hoards and shares with her.
He was wary of Graydon at first but accepted him as a father figure and respected him the one man who didn't abandon his mother after years passed. As such, he tends to be very overprotective of Hale, who after Graydon's death is his only link to the man's memory.
Rae Callahan (Step-Sister) 23
Unlike her elder brother and little sister, Rae was born a rebel. A loud, fiery extrovert proud of her looks to the extent of occasional vanity, she wasn't too focused on academics and would flunk any subject unrelated to language. She preferred music, setting up her own band, the Crimson Acolytes when she was ten. She did not get along with Graydon at first and often verbally abused him; The fact that they later showed to share the same interests however mellowed her out considerably and she accepted him as a close confidante though she would never call him her father. In contrast to Nolan's warm relationship with Hale, she is cool and a little distant towards her younger sister; Her affection is very much of the hands-off variety. She aspires to be a star co-ordinator one day and instead of pursuing the normal route of a Pokemon trainer decided to procure an Abra, Satriani during a roadtrip to Goldenrod from the local Game Corner, much to her parents' chagrin and learn on her job and experience as a musician. Upon Graydon's death, she found it difficult to mourn for him but found solace when Hale helped her write a song dedicated to the only father she knew, which is a song she now preforms first in tribute whenever onstage.
--HOW DID YOU FIND US--
Well, I came from another site named Yusoh, which had a list of Top PPN sites at the bottom, of which one had your name on it. So yeah, in short? Wiki Walk.
