Leon Valera

[delicateMachine]

Name: Leon Valera
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Height: 6’1
Weight 140 lbs
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Black
Kills: Three
Weapon: Wooden baseball bat

Appearance: Leon is a tall, lanky boy of Hispanic descent; with muscle mostly concentrated in his legs. His face is long and angular, and his eyebrows are thick. He gels his short, black hair upward. His skin is a light brown. He wears thin, rectangular glasses to correct his nearsightedness.

On most days, Leon prefers to wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing that is easy to move in, typically shorts, t-shirts, and athletic hoodies. He doesn’t pay much attention to brands, and owns a wide selection of graphic and band tees that he’s picked up solely from liking their design.

On the day of his selection, Leon was wearing a black t-shirt depicting a giant American robot laying waste to an enemy base, a gray zippered hoodie, beige chinos, and white-and-blue sneakers.

Interests: As a child, Leon was boisterous and energetic; and was gently encouraged by his parents to channel his energy into sports. He dabbled in both soccer and baseball, and while he was fine with both; he soon came to realize that the running was actually his favorite part of both. In middle school, he joined the track team as soon as he was able. Leon loves the exhilarating rush he feels during a race; along with the tangible self-improvement of seeking to lower his times.

Leon is fiercely competitive, and while this helps fuel his passion for track he still sometimes feel the need to beat someone directly. For this he turns to video games, namely fighting games and first person shooters; as they allow for the most visceral beatdown of his opponents. While he may be physically stronger than his brother, Leon has always lagged behind his gaming skills; and the two have been bitter rivals in every game they have played together since they were children.

History: Leon is the oldest son of Maria and Christopher Valera, Denver natives that respectively work as an electrician and a mechanic. His parents met during their mandatory military service, both working in non-combat roles. They married shortly after they returned home. While neither are prone to exuberant patriotism, Leon grew up listening to their nostalgia-tinged stories of their time in the army; and has inherited their vague but fond feelings towards his country.

Leon is especially close to his two-year-younger brother, Sebastian. As a child, Sebastian was both nervous and smaller than average for his age, making him an ideal target for the crueler children in his school. Throughout their childhood, Leon often defended him from the jeers of his peers; but in the beginning of Leon’s freshman year - when Sebastian was in 7th grade - this escalated.

When Leon learned that a few kids in Sebastian’s grade had bullied him out of a few dollars of pocket change; he violently punched out the ringleader of his tormentors after school, against his brother’s wishes. While the fight was quickly broken up by a passing teacher; Leon was temporarily suspended from school and, with his parents fearing that this outburst was a symptom of deeper problems, was enrolled in anger management classes. While he initially viewed this as a great injustice, he soon realized that he had legitimately frightened his brother; and shamefacedly took the classes to heart. He has refrained from getting into fights ever since.

Leon is gay, but has only come out to his family and a select few close friends. He has been secretly dating Cooper Trig for a few months prior to the day he was abducted.

Personality: Leon is energetic and passionate, which often translates into him being easily riled up into arguments. While the anger management classes have reduced the violence of his outbursts; he still occasionally gets into shouting matches with people who particularly push his buttons.

However, he tries to refrain from holding grudges; and is by default friendly towards the classmates that haven’t consistently butted heads with him. Mocking -or perceived mocking- of his brother is essentially the only thing that will sour him on a person for life. He also has little patience for bullies or bigots; even if he isn’t a favored target of theirs due to being belligerent and fit.

He holds a legitimate respect for his country, but doesn’t think very hard about the implications of its warfare. He rationalizes away the prevalent racism as being a twisted version of his country’s ideals; not intrinsic to America itself.

Reputation: Beyond his track teammates; Leon doesn’t belong to any particular clique. He is turned off by shows of patriotism and is naturally angered by the more discriminatory members of the popular crowd; but he respects his country too much to really fit in with the anti-establishment kids. While his argumentative nature and history lead to some teachers and students to side-eye him; he doesn’t go out of his way to make trouble. He does not particularly slack or excel at his studies. All in all, except for his friends and for the people he yells at, Leon doesn’t stand out much from the crowd.