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NAME Kelsey, commonly shortened to Kel or Kellie by his closest friends. Yes, he does allow the feminine nicknames. No, he doesn't mind them. Actually, he finds them quite amusing and endearing.
AGE 17
SEXUALITY Considering it's a joke to call Kel straight, it would probably be accurate to label him gay or mostly gay; however, he insists that he would be with a girl if he met one he wanted to be with (to which his friends would probably respond that he won't ever find one).
TYPE Normal human, although he still thinks he's fabulous and should have a special nickname as well. Like Gifted or Fantastic or Wonderful, catch his drift?
RANK Candidate, although he has also been bullied into training as an apprentice Harper, despite his ardent (and often long-winded) exclamations that he will be a dragonrider, and nothing extra is needed.
LOCATION Kahrain Weyr.
APPEARANCE From a distance, Kelsey actually looks like a relatively normal teenage boy -- that is, if you can't hear his dramaticised remarks and don't pay attention to the exuberant silliness radiating off him in waves. Even though there are certain qualities belonging to Kel that are admirable, overall he is a very average-looking guy. The feature that most quickly captures the attention of any who glance at him is the full, untamed head of soft dark brown curls that fall gracefully to his shoulders, usually because he's spent several agonising moments labouring over every strand to make sure they all fall into the right place. In fact, the one thing he is most vain about is his hair, which he is, not surprisingly, very protective of. Although he does like people playing with his hair, unless he really likes the person doing the playing, he quickly pulls away -- and that's when they just attempt to ruffling his carefully constructed curls. As far as he's concerned, the vanity isn't a bad thing when it's worth it to be vain over something, and his hair is definitely worth it. The rest of him is what is...well, average. His blue-grey eyes are usually hidden under the mop of fluffy hair that he puts all his pride and joy in, his dark, heavy eyebrows are too thick and patchy, his eyelashes dark. In no way could Kel ever be considered clean-shaven, because his jaw is nearly constantly covered in dense, dark scruffles that he has decided look good on him. Under his big hair and scruffy facial hair, the basic shape of Kel's face is almost forgotten and easily goes unnoticed. Although attractive and well-formed, there is nothing shockingly gorgeous about Kel's face that warrants a need for it to be easily observed; his ears, constantly hidden by his hair, are normal, the right a little higher than the left, mimicking the rest of his body in that they aren't perfect or symmetrical.

Kel's skin is normal for a teenage boy -- there isn't a day when he doesn't have at least a couple of pimples dotting his face (and some on his back too, which he has been trying to get rid of for years), and his face isn't as smooth as a baby's bottom or anything like that. He does think he has nice skin, though; he takes care of it and tries (usually successfully) to keep his skin as soft and pimple-free as possible. He's usually tan from spending a lot of time out in the sun, although that tan usually isn't as even as Kel would prefer for it to be. Often, he is seen sporting a big, happy grin, flashing clean teeth, so everyone knows he's as happy and radiant as the sun, but even when he isn't smiling, the dramatics of his vocal pitches and patterns are clear enough that anyone could tell when he's happy and that when he slips into a calm, even vocal tone, he's not. He has a few scattered freckles, but they're hardly noticeable from a distance. And although Kel insists that scars are sexy on a man, he frets about the few he has, the most obvious of which is located right above his right hip. Although he has more glamorous tales to tell of it than the truth, he actually got it after roughhousing with some of his friends and running into a sharp object that left a big scrape that he whined and moped about for weeks after it had healed and stopped hurting. The other two are very small and usually go unnoticed until Kel points them out; they're small and insignificant, and Kel can't actually remember where he got them. However, he has to make everything a big deal, even the small and insignificant, and he has invented ever-changing stories for both of them.

Standing at a little more than 5'11", Kel has never thought of himself as either exceptionally tall or noticeably short -- just lolling somewhere in the middle with all the other average-heighted guys. His body, while not being overly lumpy or bony, is attractive and just toned enough to speak of days spent roaming and a healthy diet. He isn't as pec-tastic or ab-glorious as some of the boys he has spent afternoons drooling over, but he doesn't think that means he is unattractive at all. Maybe he wouldn't go strutting around without his shirt on like some guys can, but in the right shirt, he thinks he looks basically fantastic, thanks. And don't get him wrong, he doesn't mind beautiful men walking around shirtless at all -- he's all for banning shirts on gorgeous guys. On himself, Kel prefers to wear blues and greens (they compliment his eyes), but he will wear any colour as long as the outfit looks good and compliments his body. He is almost as picky about the clothes he wears as the way he styles his hair and believes that clothing is an essential part of a person's appearance and makes a big impact on first and subsequent impressions. In Kel's case, that is most often used as an excuse to spend a lot of time moaning over what shirt will look best with the pants he chose and then fixing his hair after pulling said shirt over his head.
PERSONALITY Outgoing and extravagant, Kel is the kind of person that people either love or they love to hate -- mainly because of how exuberant and loud and social and...well, loud he is. He's extremely friendly, though, and only dislikes people when they have done something to wrong him or one of his friends. Kel is the kind of person who has to fight to hold things back, so if he doesn't like a person, chances are they will know, and most likely, they'll know why, because he also has a problem with tact and finesse, and more often than not lets his mouth do all the talking. He likes to think that he is a "you get what you see" kind of guy, and he's usually very blunt and outspoken about what he wants -- the problem is that he doesn't always know what he wants. Kel is the kind of person who is constantly wavering between several different options, because they are all so different, how could he possibly choose? This is the attitude he wears concerning just about everything in his life, from the clothes he's wearing to the guys he's interested in, and even to the life-altering decisions he has to make. Kel always wants to know everyone's opinion on everything, and chances are, he'll go from one friend to the next, gathering all their opinions and weighing them against each other before making his own.

However, Kel does have a decently keen mind, and despite his inability to make snap judgements (or perhaps because of it), he is a person that is good to go to for advice, because he looks at all angles of a problem. And he likes when his friends go to him for help, because it helps establish his worth in their lives -- after all, they have to need him for something for him to really mean something to them, right? Because he's been working as an apprentice Harper, Kel has honed his mind to be good at memorising things, which is one of his mental strengths -- other than his imagination, which takes the gold as far as his talents are concerned. Without an active, healthy (although some might protest that) imagination, he wouldn't be able to invent elaborate tales to entertain his friends when they have nothing better to do, and he wouldn't have anything to distract his mind with when it starts brooding on things that would make him less than happy. In fact, if there is one thing that Kel desperately hates to be, it's sad, which is why he likes to think about fictional stories more often than himself. Maybe that keeps him from being able to understand and flesh out his own problems, but it also keeps him from being depressive, and also gives him new and interesting things to talk about, and Kel loves talking almost as much as he loves dreaming. Social bird would be a good description for Kel, as would motormouth and other he-talks-way-too-sharding-much words. And he would agree and laugh if he was told he talked a lot, because he thinks that's better than not talking enough. In fact, Kel is uncomfortable around people who don't talk a lot, even though he could do it enough for two (or more) people, because when someone doesn't react verbally to what he's saying, his imagination takes control and he finds himself wondering what the person is thinking that he or she can't say. Even though it's a paranoid way of looking at the situation, Kel doesn't think of himself as a paranoid person, and in general he likes everyone. Just certain quirks make him edgie, although generally, he tries to ignore them. Most of the time, though, he thinks about it, if not actually coming out and saying it.

Although there are a couple of things that Kel likes to do a lot, there are a lot of things he doesn't like at all. For instance, nearly every craft occupation -- he doesn't mind them in general, but the thought of himself doing them is enough to make him wrinkle his nose and squirm. He doesn't like rough fabrics, and although he likes children, he can't keep up with their often hyper-activism. He can't stand the texture of meat, which leads him to tend to eat vegetables and fruits more than anything else (and he doesn't mind other people eating meat, or even smelling it -- it's the eating part and feeling it in his mouth and squishing between his teeth that causes the ick factor), and screaming and fighting makes him cringe. Of course, he could be in the middle of it -- the fact that he cringes doesn't stop him from starting or continuing fights; in fact, he cringes more when overhearing fights between other people than when he's in one, although the feelings after are undoubtedly stronger when he was involved than when he wasn't. That is when his daydreaming usually comes into play, and he usually has to be shaken out of it and forced to face the problem...not that he has much experience with problems. The most yelling he's had to deal with has come from his mom on a stressful day. When he's mad, Kel doesn't tend to be much of a yeller himself, although he only pulls back into silence when he's really upset -- which hasn't ever happened before, and he hopes it never will. Angry is kind of like sad.

Kel would like to think that he is the type of friend people like to have -- he doesn't brood on bad things, is always trying to make other people happy through whatever means necessary, and is extremely loyal. He knows that sometimes his other traits (loudness, socialness, diarrhea of the mouth, etc.) get in the way, but he tries to listen to people when they tell him that something about him annoys them. That won't mean he won't take offense to it, especially if it isn't said the right way, or even that he'll know what is annoying people if they don't spell it out for him. Although Kel is often good at guessing emotions, he isn't always right; he only occasionally guesses accurately because he pays attention to people, not because he has an empathic gift for knowing other people's feelings. And he wouldn't want to have that type of power either, because he thinks it would make him sad always, because when is there not at least one sad person? And in the weyr, at least one sad person close enough to constantly feel their sadness? Although he would like to say that not knowing what made a person sad would make it less sad for him, he thinks that not knowing would be worse, because then his mind would come up with the worst possible scenario it could...for him. Which may not be what the person was really experiencing, but he would feel it strongly. Nope, he'll keep his romance and happy endings.
HISTORY Born to two dragonriders, Kelsey was quickly handed off to foster parents, and although his parents had a normal relationship for two dragonriders (he was consummated after a green dragon's flight), he likes to create stories for their relationship that are much more romantic than what truly happened. After all, who wants to hear the same story over and over, right? So if you ask Kel, he would say that his mother was a beautiful, blonde haired green rider who stole his father's heart with one glance of her big, gorgeous blue eyes, and that they had a passionate love affair that culminated the night his dragon flew hers. Naturally, their love didn't end there, taking them through a soaring couple of months where all they knew was one another, they lived for each other, and they breathed for each other (corny, yes, but that's the sort of thing Kel likes). And they fought for each other, but it was the fighting that made them so passionate -- and it was the fighting that broke them up (at which point Kel will always sigh softly, dramatically, like it is the greatest tragedy in the world). When they chose to give him away to be raised by another, it wasn't because they just didn't want to raise a kid, but because they couldn't stand to look at him and see each other in his eyes. Very dramaticised and different from what really happened, but making up romantic stories has always been a fun pastime of Kel's, and likely, every time he tells the story of his parents, it will change. As far as his foster parents, Kel loves them like they were his real parents -- that's what they always have been and always will be. When he thinks of mother he envisions Maayana, the woman who taught him how to walk and chew his food right, and father, Daryin, the man who patiently tried to teach him woodworking that only ever amounted to cut fingers and frustration. But it was all good, because at the end of the day, they were a family.

Well, not just them, because Kel's little sister Daryana came along when he was five turns old, but rather than being annoyed at her stealing the limelight, he adored her. And dressed her up in pretty clothes -- essentially, she became his doll. His mother never minded, though, because he wasn't the type to rough-house, and when she was busy working or doing something else, she could count on him to keep an eye on the little girl and make sure she didn't get into trouble. And, of course, Dary seemed more prone to falling and bruising her knees than Kel ever had been, and she was more adventurous and troublesome, too. Not that Kel wasn't troublesome, but he wasn't in the active, 'let's go find trouble and roll around in it' kind of way. Nope, he was more busy daydreaming and coming up with random romantic notions while she led him by the hand. As long as he got to choose her pretty dresses and style her hair, he was happy enough. Until he started getting to the point where he wanted to hang out with his friends his own age more than chase his little sister and keep her out of trouble. Not that he didn't like her still, he did, just only when she was sitting around, being pretty and still and letting him play with her hair.

About that same time, Kel's parents decided that he needed to do something with his life other than just sitting around and waiting for something to fall into his lap, and since he liked telling stories so much, why not become an apprentice harper, right? Kel didn't exactly see it the same way; he didn't mind Harpers. Actually, he liked them all quite a bit. They were entertaining and funny and great to chat with because they had been places other than just Kahrain Weyr, and they had a lot of interesting stories to tell, but he didn't want to be one. Even if he fit in like a missing puzzle piece. Nope, he was saving himself for dragonriding, which he was certain he would be doing soon (he was standing as soon as possible, yeah?). Somehow, his mother convinced him that it wasn't a bad idea to apprentice to a Harper at the weyr, even if he wasn't intending on being in it for the long run -- she said something about experience and how it would probably help him out in the end, and after a couple of days as an apprentice, he decided it wasn't as bad as he had made it out to be. Sure, it took up a lot of his time, he didn't get to see his friends as often, and he had to study things he didn't think he would really need in the future, but at the same time, he didn't have to always run after his mischievous little sister or face the wrath of his mother. No, that was someone else's job now, and he pitied whoever it was. He loved Daryana, but she really was a troublesome little brat sometimes.

Despite the Master Harper he was studying under's urges to pay attention to his studies and dedicate himself because he would be a good Harper, Kel insisted on standing at the first Hatching he was allowed to (and he had been begging for many hatchings before that one, so when his parents finally allowed it, it was more like giving in than deciding he was truly ready for it). The experience is one he will never forget, even though he didn't Impress. It was mainly in watching the faces of his fellow candidates who Impressed, seeing the joy and elation and happiness that settled over them and wondering at how perfect and complete they must feel that Kel decided he would Impress one day, no matter how old he was or how long he had to wait. He wasn't going to be a Harper, he was going to be a Dragonrider. One day, his dragon would hatch, and he could wait for it -- in fact, he wanted to wait for it, because rushing things wouldn't bring his dragon to him -- it wouldn't bring anything except frustration and possibly even resignation to being a Harper. And of course, Kel has tons of stories for every single Hatching he's stood on the sands for, and a lot of them revolve around his fellow (ex-) candidates, and one of his favourite things to do is recount to them exactly what happened in glossy, brilliant terms and watch their faces light up. One day, he hopes that he won't be able to remember everyone else's story because he'll be too caught up in his own.

Early on in his life, Kel discovered puberty and everything that comes with it -- in fact, he knew from an age before even puberty that he was interested in the other boys who ran amuck in the weyr, but puberty solidified it. Not that he was involved with anyone, or experimented sexually too much. There was one boy he played around with sometime during his fourteenth turn, but that didn't go anywhere when the boy Impressed -- it really wasn't until Kel turned sixteen that his feelings started making him uncomfortable, especially when he found himself admiring all of his male friends, to which admittance his female friends suggested just having sex with one or two of them. Not that Kel would have minded, but he was too worried that when he did do it, it wouldn't be as amazing as he imagined it to be -- strong emotions and desperation and need and love all wound tightly together. Sure, sex was one thing, but an actual relationship (sex more than once) was completely different. He knew he wouldn't be disappointed when he finally Impressed, but human relationships were much more fickle, and he would rather be a dreamer than realise that things aren't as perfect and amazing as he would like them to be. Not even his foster parents or sister can talk him out of his decisions, but they all figure it's probably for the best since he wants to Impress, especially if he does, since it will help keep him from wanting a physical relationship when he couldn't have one. Not that he would, since dragons are more important to him than boys and he doesn't even have one yet.

When he turned seventeen, although the only thing Kel would say he wanted was to Impress, his foster parents gave him a feline kitten -- they thought that maybe having it would help take his mind off the ever-important need to Impress and hopefully give him something to do other than sit around and come up with all kinds of ridiculous stories all the time. And Ceallie (pronounced as if the 'c' were an 's', which Kel is quick to make sure everyone knows, although he isn't as quick to explain why he giggles every time someone says her name) was a good distraction, although she didn't really hinder his story-making tendencies. In fact, not even being around his friends kept Kel from inventing stories, but usually the wild conversations he always played a big part in helped to keep them to a minimum. His parents hope that when he Impresses, he'll lose some of the youthful idealism and focus on what's real; maybe settle down and find a weyrmate or at least have some kind of relationship that isn't based solely in friendships, because maybe that would help with the over-the-top romanticism. And maybe it will or maybe it won't, but that's all up in the air, as Kel is still only seventeen and still hasn't Impressed.
MUTATION Taking fantastic to a whole new level? Oops, that's not it. None!
IMPRESSED None yet, but he is hoping to Impress a lovely dragon at the next clutch.
SAMPLE POST Even though many people liked to think of Kel as completely frivolous and silly, he actually paid attention to things more than many people would suspect. Even though his tendency to make up fanciful stories put him in the category of a dreamer with his head in the clouds, Kel liked to think they didn't realise how much he had to pay attention to people to come up with the stories he did. After all, they weren't always based solely on fiction and flights of imaginative fancy. No, he could often be caught watching people, finding out what their stories were, and then, when they weren't interesting enough, he would bend them to make them more so. And even though he liked adding little details to peoples' lives to make them less...well, boring, he loved when he met someone with an inspiring life on his or her own. Usually Harpers, but sometimes Dragonriders as well, when they sat down and shared a story with him. He wasn't even really sure what he liked so much about stories, he mused as he picked a stray blade of grass from under his nose -- the one that had been itching his skin, he hoped, or else he'd have to pick out another in a few moments.

Today, he knew, he would walk back to the weyr with many stories that didn't involve him just laying down on the ground, poking his fingers at the dirt and every now and then pulling at the grass until it gave way and the ground relinquished its hold. He would probably have a story about the dragons in the sky practicing their maneuvers, some foolhardy young rider soaring dangerously close to the ground only to pull up in the nick of time (even if there wasn't really one doing that). And probably there would be drama. Maybe one of the wingriders would mouth off to the wingleader, maybe they would get into a fight, maybe the wingrider would get into trouble and have to go stand in a corner... Not literally, of course, but then Kel imagined that under the big, sprawling tree in the distance, two lovers would meet up and have a secret rendezvous that only he was privy to. Of course, if that really happened, the dragonriders in the sky would see it, so it wouldn't actually be only him to see it. He knew that outside wasn't the most practical place for lovers to meet when they wanted to be alone, but it was a romantic idea -- much more so than a boring room inside the weyr.

Turning onto his back, Kel stuffed his hands under his head and looked up into the sky, watching the clouds form into several different shapes before flirting with each other and quickly dispersing. The sky was bright and blue, the clouds sparse, and the wind sent his brown curls flying across his face, which he pushed behind his ear with an amused smile. He loved his hair, but sometimes it got in the way. Wondering what would happen when he Impressed, Kel ran his fingers through one of the soft locks. Cutting it was something he would never ever consider, but maybe he should think about letting it grow a little longer so that he could pull it back into a leather thong when he didn't want it to get in his way. Pausing, he tried to summon a mental image of what he might look like with his hair pulled back, but it didn't look good in his mind, so he wrinkled his nose and pushed the thought away. No, he liked how he looked with his hair framing his face and didn't think he would like having it pulled back. There was something comforting about being able to reach up and tug on it whenever he needed reassurance, and no, he didn't think it was weird that he got comfort and reassurance from his hair. Okay, maybe it was a little odd...but only a little.

A sudden purring noise pulled Kel's attention away from his hair and wondering at how easily and perfectly the curls twisted around his finger. Lifting his head up, he greeted Cea with a big smile and reached out to pet her soft head and scratch behind her ears. She was still a baby, and he loved her playfulness and excitability. There was nothing better than watching her run after a leaf being flung around by the wind or chase after someone's foot as they walked by (providing they didn't step on her or kick at her, both of which were great offenses), and when Kel's friends weren't around to entertain him, she could be counted on to be almost as good as they were. The only way she could be better was if she talked. That was the main thing he missed doing when he didn't have any human companions. Talking didn't get enough credit, Kel decided as he waggled his fingers in the air for Cea to bat her paws at clumsily. Silence was horrible, especially when he could be talking. That was a good thing about Impressing. He wouldn't ever be lonely.

"What is everyone up to today, huh?" he asked, tickling Cea's chest with his finger playfully before wondering how many of the candidates were going to Impress and, more importantly, if he was. He'd already watched enough hatchings come and go that he couldn't help but wonder when it was going to be his turn. He never wondered if he would have a turn, because he knew that he was going to Impress...or maybe he just wouldn't let himself think that maybe he wouldn't because he didn't know what he would do with the rest of his life if he didn't. Sure, he had prospects. He could be a Harper, and he probably wouldn't be bad at it, since he was social and loved talking to people and meeting new people and traveling and telling stories, but he wanted more. And he didn't want to sound like a brat, demanding to Impress at the next Hatching, when he might end up having to wait until the next one, but he refused to accept that maybe he wouldn't...ever, no matter how many times he stood on the Sands. Maybe it was foolish, but he would rather optimistically believe that he would impress one day than pessimistically decide he wouldn't. Being sour didn't do anything good, anyway. He always felt better when he looked at things with a smile -- and he couldn't make other people happy when he was sour, and that was also important.

Like Cea, for instance, who was having a fun time ripping his finger with her claws. She wouldn't be having as much fun if he were being sad and refusing to play with her than allowing her to turn his finger into a toything. And he wouldn't either, even though he wished she would learn to play without using her claws.

OOC NAME Karen
EMAIL monkeyscuffle@hotmail.com
AIM asher pwned you
NOTE It's been ages since I read Pern, and also ages since I was in a Pern rpg, so even though I've done some research before joining to attempt to reacquaint myself with it, I'm sure there are some things I'm missing. So just let me know if anything doesn't work! *grin*