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 Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 9:59 am
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Name: G'len
Age: 23
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Weyr: High Reaches Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingrider
Previous Rank/Craft: Harper, Archivist
Physical Description: G'len is tall, and built like herdbeast. With wide shoulders and large arms, he looks he looks like he could be a guard or a mercenary, though his easy smile and relaxed posture tend to suggest otherwise. He has Harper's hands, with rough and callused fingers from playing for long hours. He has dark blonde hair that he's always pushing back from his face, clear blue eyes, and handsome features.
Personality: Contrary to his appearance, G'len is surprisingly un-physical in nature, preferring to talk things out instead of fighting. No one would ever call him intimidating. He's a big, friendly, always-found-laughing pushover, who's much better at making friends than enemies. He has a generally calm and unassuming demeanor. He can be the center of attention at times, but usually makes his friends among smaller, quieter circles. That said, he does have his moments. While rarely, if ever, resorting to violence, G'len can get quite impassioned about things and argues vehemently in discussions. He's the first to stand up for new ideas and open discussion, but unlike his dragon, G'len knows how and when to hold his tongue. As a harper, he learned very early on how to read the atmosphere of a room, and play it off to his advantage. He is a skilled study of humans and behavior, is sensitive to people's mood, and usually know the right or wrong thing to say around them.
While G'len can seem quarrelsome and combative at times, he is also patient and hospitable. He never gets angry because of an argument, though it can seem that way because of how much he gets into it. Anyone is welcome to challenge him as well, and he will take any amount of criticism without complaint. If anything he wants people to argue with him, as he sees open dialogue as the best avenue for positive change. He loves to learn, anything and everything, and is always curious to hear about experiences and perspectives that are different from his own.
G'len is down to earth for a Harper, but that still means he's got half a head in the clouds. He has a go-where-the-wind-blows nature. He takes difficult or disappointing situations in his stride. It's all part of the journey! He loves life's adventure, and believes that too much planning just ruins the surprise. Consequently (and not surprisingly) he has poor fore-thought and struggles with long term goals. He has always lived in the moment, and has little to no personal ambition, nor any clear idea of where he wants to go or what he wants to do more than a few turns in the future. He enjoys applying his creativity and cunning to solve an immediate problem, but does not have the same grand vision of things as his dragon.
While he attacks his new job with the same enthusiasm as everything else in his life, G'len is not exactly the model of a perfect soldier. He never actively disobeys or tries to undermine his superiors, but he does have a bad habit of taking orders as kind of more like suggestions. He believes things (which aren't!) are open to debate and will try to persuade the other party to his idea. When it comes down to it, he does respect the chain of command. He may not agree with every policy, and will fight like hell to change them, but he believes that while you are living within a system you should abide by its rules. But while he will eventually obey, G'len will never pretend to agree with things he doesn't, or refrain from criticizing a plan or policy that he thinks is wrong. He has a strong moral code that makes it hard for him to lie for personal gain or ignore injustice when he sees it. Always the champion of the underdog, he will forever play the devil's advocate on issues that are not even directly important to him, all in the interest of fairness.
History: Since he was a young boy, there was only one thing G'len ever wanted to be, and that was a harper. As long as he could remember, he was humming tunes and learning to play on anything he could get a note out of. Their small, poor cothold had lost its harper turns before and never bothered replacing him. G'len picked up the instruments he left behind, taking to the guitar like a fish to water. He played it like a toy, for his own amusement. With no reference to go by, he made up his own rules of rhythm and harmony, taking inspiration from anything around. From the lullabies sung by mothers, to bawdy drinking tunes, to the songs of wherries in the forest. He might be a little rough around the edges with his chaotic and sometimes discordant style, but everyone agreed; this boy had talent.
He was not the oldest in his family, so there was little objection to his chosen career choice. His parents even managed to put together a little money from people in the hold to help get him to the Eastern continent to be trained as a Harper. On the journey over he became obsessed with the sea shanties sailors would sing, learning to accompany them on guitar. When he first arrived at the Hall, he was certain he had found his calling in life; he learned every instrument he could and never ceased experimenting with music. But he soon grew weary of the same old themes; history and teaching songs and tired old ballads that all sounded the same. He thought he Harper hall would be an oasis of creativity and innovative thought. There was music outside the rigid constraints of tradition, but no one seemed willing to look for it. And it wasn't long before he became disillusioned with the profession as a whole.
His outlook changed dramatically when he was assigned to work in the archives as part of his chores. They were mostly just trying to get him out of the way, but he found the work surprisingly enjoyable. It appealed to a different part of his nature; the part that enjoyed having his own little space that was nice and neat, and wanted everything in its place. It appealed to the adventurous part of him too, strangely enough, the part that loved to learn about everything from all over Pern and soaked up information like a sponge. He still desperately wanted to play music, and so remained with his current master and continued to train as a singer and instrumentalist, but he soon found that all his rest days were spent down in the Archives, and he had acquired quite a skill for mending and preserving damaged papers.
Though G'len walked the tables shortly after turning 20, his lack of enthusiasm in the traditional learning ballads had given his other masters a lukewarm impression of him. When he tried to find work, he found he did not come highly recommended. Only his allies in the archives were willing to hlep him out. Though it hadn't been the sole focus of his studies, he'd made friends with one of the journeymen that worked there, who turned him on to an opportunity at High Reaches Weyr. Some badly damaged records had been saved from an abandoned Weyr and needed to be restored. She had recommended him, and the one-time job soon transitioned into a full time position.
G'len was quietly amused by the Weyr's insistence that thread would return, but he didn't look down on then for it. He knew they acted on what every human did; a mixture of habit and tradition, and he appreciated the work they did in preserving old records from that time (both as a lover of history, and because it kept him gainfully employed!). It was like stepping into something from the past. And there was something quaintly admirable about he way they went on training, like a kind of Sisyphean vanguard, endlessly preparing for a danger that would never come. Or so everyone thought.. In any case, he found the atmosphere enjoyable, and the work pleasant, so he had no complaints.
G'len had attended several hatching before, but his impression was quite a surprise. While everyone else saw a quiet man, placable and unassuming, Absinth looked at him and saw a true revolutionary, just waiting for the right person to bring it out. For G'len it was quite a different experience... You know that voice in your head? The one you hear when you've had too much to drink, telling you to do every stupid thing you'd never be brave enough to try sober? Well, for G'len, that voice is Absinth. If ever there was a bad idea, Absinth would be the first to suggest it. She's a playful little demon green of a dragon, but he loves her. At least life is never dull.
Always one to jump on an opportunity (not that he had much choice in this matter), G'len was more than happy to abandon his current position and throw himself full force into the task of learning how to be a rider. After that... Well, honestly, he hadn't thought that far ahead. But in the end, it didn't matter. G'len was still a weyrling when thread started falling, making the decision of whether or not to stay at the Weyr a moot point. It was no longer up to them. Absinth had no qualms about fighting thread, and neither did G'len, though he had no strong desire to either. However, there are aspects about the Weyr's culture that he's only now starting to see, which he greatly disagrees with. But instead of trying to transfer, Absinth seems set on tackling centuries of ingrained tradition by herself, Faranth help them both.
Though he still loves music, G'len has no plans on continuing his career as a harper (though he is still often found in the Weyr's archives on a restday or a quiet afternoon). He plays for his own pleasure, and others, if they ask him to, and enjoys experimenting, as he always, taking inspiration from musical styles all over Pern.
Other:
DRAGON
Name: Absinth
Age: Not quite 2
Color: Green
Size: 25'
Physical Description: Absinth is a nimble green, long and lithe. Her color is pale and acrid, growing brighter on her face, feet, and wing tips. She is always fidgeting, frequently moves from place to place and gives off an appearance of never being settled.
Personality: Absinth brings both clarity and chaos. Any idea you give her, she turns back with a dozen different suggestions of things you could change or try. This can be frustrating at times (especially when you are trying to get her to actually do something) but it also makes her a great person to bounce ideas off of. She is an innovator by nature. She doesn't get stuck in any one pattern of thinking, and loves to challenge the norm. Why can't we do things this way instead? Would that be a better idea? Absinth is constantly questioning the status quo. Fortunately for her superiors (and for G'len) she also gives up easily. When shut down, she shrugs it off as 'I was only asking' or 'it was just a suggestion', but it will never dissuade her from bringing up her next bright idea or complaining about another pet peeve. She wants to see things change for the better, and she loves the dissent it sows to stir the pot... but she'll never put too much on the line for it.
Absinth is a sneaky, snarky, playful little sprite, tending to cling close to Hers or others and egg them on rather than get into trouble herself. And the minute her interest is lost, or it seems like her plan won't pan out, she'll flutter away and leave the others (mostly G'len) to clean up her mess. Yet despite her occasional childishness, Absinth has the most bizarre kind of pixieish grace. Something between a rebellious teenager and a Lady Holder. But it cannot be denied that for all her joking around, there's a certain loftiness about her, a certain elegance and poise. Like somehow, she was more refined than your run-of-the-mill prankster. Though she claims to have no interest in such things, she will sometimes make a surprisingly insightful comment about some matter of politics or philosophy, showing that perhaps she isn't as air-headed as she seems sometimes.
Absinth is affectionate and loves attention. She is certainly a friendly little thing. Absinth is always delighted to meet you! Just don't hope to hold her attention for long. This lively little green is always looking for the next most interesting thing. She keeps everything light and breezy in both her romances and her friendships, and can struggle to form deeper bond with anyone other than Hers. She wants people to like her, but she hates to feel tied down and gets scared that such feelings might wind up shackling her.
Absinth is a rebellious soul, it's true. It's easy to write her off as a loose cannon, but there is a strange clarity in her, and her suggestions (though sometimes off the rails) are often good. She never causes more chaos then she can manage (or if she does, she doesn't mean to). All she wants to do is rock the boat a little. She doesn't have a problem with authority, she just wants them to be a little more flexible! Her standing in a wing will depend entirely on the personality of her superior. Many will consider her nothing more than a nuisance, but, if used the right way, Absinth could be a real commodity to someone in power. If her plans are ever taken seriously, she will throw her entire being into seeing them succeed, with no expectations of getting anything back for it. For all her scheming, Absinth has very little personal ambition. She has a grand vision of what she wants the Weyr to be like, what things she wants improve on, and what needs to change, but she has no desires to be the one leading it, or leading anything for that matter. She has no mind for status or reputation. As long as her opinions are being acted upon, she doesn't care if someone else gets credit for it. And, in fact, she would rather someone else take ownership of the plan, so that she gets less of the blame should it fail. She'll still be there, working behind the scenes, to help it though. And, just as soon as one scheme is finished, she'll be onto the next, starting again from square one if she has to.
Absinth does her own thing, with no thought to how it might affect those around. Fortunately, G'len is a little better at reading a room. He can be the one to help her with her schemes, pointing out how if she presented it like this instead of this, people might be more receptive to the idea. Or, when he knows a plan is doomed to failure, can skillfully guide it to the least worst outcome. The one thing he never does is try to stop her. Absinth is his beautiful little dreamer. He wants her to always go on thinking big. He will always encourage her to follow her heart, no matter where (or what trouble) it leads to.
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:12 am
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:15 am
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