[ candidate ] nikal [Approved]

[medigel]

Name: Nikal
Age: 19
Nameday: 3556.13.10
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: ******** you
Craft: N/A (Has dabbled in several trades but not enough to really be considered an apprentice in either)
Rank: Candidate
Location: Western
Physical Description: Though the youngest, Nikal is middling in height between the siblings, with close cropped and curly dark hair that has an undercut on one side, making it asymmetrical. He has a slight gauntness to his face that, coupled with his dark eyes, makes it almost like one is watching a skull peek through. There is a mole at his chin and faint scars on his shoulder and ribs from a dragonet attack, though after expert care they haven't bothered him since healing.
Personality: If Veikel is the fretting perfectionist and Taiena the small and unshakable, Nikal is the bitter black sheep stuck in their shadow. Having always struggled to measure up to his parents would be something to note if, well, all three of them didn't do it at some point of another, so it's not a real excuse as to why he's been at the back of this apparent race. Bad luck seems to lurk about the youngest, but he doesn't fool himself; he knows it's mostly due to his own impulsive decision making and not from anything supernatural and out to get him, even though he may act like he thinks so.

There seems to be a permanent chip on Nikal's shoulder, and with the way he carries his stream of inner anger, one might assume he was more comfortable that way than being at peace. He's no sure hand at medicinal crafts, and he has the business acumen of a toddler, but shard it if you won't see Nikal try to be either anyway, because his siblings are successful at one of these so he should be too. He's intelligent and won't deny it, but he doesn't have the means or the will to shape it into anything more than being a smart a**.

Rather than grow into his own, he has embraced the concept of "Young Talentless Third Wheel" and decided it's his cross to bear. Loudly, if need be. It's easier to lean on the crutch of a stereotype than come to grips with himself, and certainly easier to lash out at anyone who says otherwise. Nikal is stuck in the rebellious teenage phase, and it doesn't help to be at a hold where pirates and other undesirables congregate.

There's a softness inside him that he can't stand--the romantic dreamer who has random flights of fancy, like thinking he'll find his destiny in a cosmically aligned fashion, go on an adventure, find love and lovers, and return a figure of legend--and he stuffs it down and bares his teeth at anything that comes close. He hates that he wants at all, when what he should do isn't simple. After all, as his mother taught, he had to be realistic about things, and there was no way he would ever get a starring role in anything other than a How Not To-styled Manual.

It isn't that he hates his family, abrasive as he can be towards them. On the contrary, Nikal is deeply ashamed that he hasn't risen to the task like his brother and sister and had forced himself into both healer and merchant crafts to be more like his parents. His believes that his identity is tied to the career he leads, and as basically a drudge, well, what else can he be but a piece of s**t? In his worst moments, he leans on whatever comfort he can get: food, sex, even drugs before he was caught and sent home by his father. Being forced to stay at West now is like being in a cell for his wanderlusting self, so he makes do with visiting little troubles here and there instead.

For all of his faults, however, Nikal is an honorable young man: if he promises something, he will do his utmost to keep it. And while not particularly against going unnoticed, as being by himself lets him relax his contrary act, he doesn't mind taking charge if it means finishing a task. The need to see things through runs through him like it does the majority of the family. The problem appears when it becomes personal goals, rather than an objective from someone else.

Friends might find his dark humor and general interest towards, well, anything less than morally upright a bit off putting. Nikal likes to collect such information without any supposed intent of using it, such as knowing how much dosage of this or that can paralyze, kill, and so on. It's great for parties.
Positive Trait List bright, honorable, diligent
Negative Trait List jaded, envious, addictive personality
History: There was once a time when younger Nikal had the same nose to the grindstone obsession with working as his older siblings, back when he found himself falling just short of being able to walk the tables at the Healer hall. Even in the face of the first few denials, he had taken solace in the fact that his mother had also taken extra time to earn her title and thought it significant that he was following the same arduous but eventually rewarding path. Only, the payoff never came: there was always something missing in his testing, which when corrected for the next time would be replaced by some new problem that vexed him. One could say that it eventually became a self-fulfilling prophecy, but Nikal told himself it was just the harsh reality of his mediocre skill slapping him in the face.

A little older and a little less hopeful, he joined his father Taikal instead for the next few ventures, attempting to learn how to be a merchant as a sort of intern for several turns. While socializing with others and learning tricks of the trade went okay, the best part of it to Nikal was the ability to travel and see the different societies of Pern. He was even Searched while on the job, which he found exciting as well as a sign that maybe he had finally found the right path. In shadowing his father, however, he found himself inevitably drawn by curiosity into seedier parts, eventually tricked into trying a street drug sold to him as an herbal remedy for "clouded minds"; he thought this might be the way to both clear his head and consequently unlock whatever potential had been hidden in that mental fog, which he was sure was what was holding him back. Instead, it made him manic and impulsive, with a high that was just enough to want to seek again and again. Eventually Taikal outed the truth from him when he was caught trying to increase his dosage with a local vendor using their own hard earned marks. He was immediately sent home, shamed and back at square one.

Nikal kept a low profile for several turns, content to be malcontent as he became a full fledged candidate at his parents' behest. It was the final kick in the teeth that told him he had abused his father's trust and would not be getting out any time soon, and that he best make himself useful at Western until forgiveness came. His latest incident involved the Hatching that his sister Taiean Impressed at on top of that, having to be saved from a pair of angry dragonets by both her and her blue. Since then, he's kept to himself, brooding and waiting out his sentence with little hope that it will turn out anything other than more disappointment.
Other: Youngest son of Veena (Pach), siblings with Veikel (houllow) and Taiena (Pach)
- On nights he feels particularly wired, Nikal will open his window, pull out his journal, and chart the stars, making up stories for constellations he sees. He has a few books of star charts written by sea captains who have traversed Pern over the turns.
- Enjoys the Pernese equivalent of chess and other games that are puzzle-like
- Has a surprisingly good memory, though not eidetic; it's used more to needle others with reminders of their more embarrassing moments

Candidate Specific Questions
Do you want them to have an official Search RP? Nah
Do you understand they will age every passing year regardless if you're there to RP the or not? Yeah
Do you want them to have a possible Stands Impression? Sure why not