Name: Q'dosh (formerly Quidosh) -- often called just Q
Age: 24 (Nameday 3550.04.21)
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Anything that moves, really
Weyr: Western Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingrider
Previous Rank/Craft: no craft training, but is a tattoo artist taught by his grandfather
Physical Description: Q'dosh is tall-ish, standing at 6'2", with a medium build, lean and athletic but not beefy. His golden caramel-brown skin is literally covered with tattoos, including his face and head. The tattoos on the rest of his body are so numerous they're practically layered on top of each other. He has an oval face with strong cheekbones, a strong broad nose, and full lips. His almond-shaped dark blue eyes are tilted up slightly at the edges, with thick lashes and slight epicanthic folds giving him a lazy, almost sleepy look. Apart from all the tattoos, he has several piercings too -- three in each ear, his right nostril, his tongue, and a labret piercing. His long thick straight hair extends down to the middle of his back, dark brown with broad dark honey blond streaks. He shaves the right side of his head to show the tattoos there but leaves the other side long; when fighting Thread, he plaits it all back and tucks it under the collar of his flight jacket.
Coming from the tropics of Ista as he does, Q tends to wear loose, lightweight clothing: baggy trousers, loose sleeveless tunics belted loosely at the waist, and sandals for the most part, in light or bright colors. He's constantly cold at Western, though, and will wear his flight jacket even in the summer at times.
Personality: If there was such a thing on Pern as the Myers-Briggs test, Q'dosh would come out as an ENFP. Friendly and social, he's excellent with people, be they tattoo client, wingmate, or just random person stopping him and asking him about his tats. He's a naturally curious man, and loves to learn about people, what motivates them, what they love and why; he will ask as many questions as he answers himself. He lives a lot of his life to the tune of the idealistic notion that people are generally how they present themselves -- this has gotten him in trouble in the past when some have taken advantage of his belief in the basic goodness of people. Yeah, maybe a little naive and trusting. This hasn't soured him against humanity, though. He's so easygoing that any betrayal of trust is quickly overlooked and forgotten.
Q lives on "Ista Time"; he is laid-back to the point of being constantly late for everything. You have to give him a time that's well in advance of when you actually want him to be someplace if you want him there on time. He's not quite what you could call a space cadet, but close. He tends to be lost in his own head much of the time, caught up in his own little world, especially when pondering what design to tattoo on someone.
He is one of those people who's very touch-friendly, which makes sense since he deals with skin so much. A huggy sort, he's always touching you; this touchy-feely-ness can put some people off, and he'll stop if it really bothers someone to be touched, but he's never obtrusive or creeper-y with his physical contact. It's part of his desire for "tribe" -- he's a very social person who thrives on interpersonal interaction, and he desperately needs that sense of tribe in his life, something his wing goes a long way to fill. He is lost when he's by himself and absolutely hates being alone. It hurts him a bit when people won't engage with him -- he looks somewhat intimidating with the facial tattoos, partially shaved head, and piercings, and it simply doesn't occur to him that people might be afraid of him. Who could possibly be afraid of him? He's the most harmless thing on two legs!
Except when he's pissed. Despite being so laid-back and easygoing, Q'dosh has a mighty and violent temper and while it may take a LOT to set him off, what can set him off is completely random and unpredictable. He's put his fist through tables on occasion, wrecked his weyr, etc., and he's big and strong enough he can do some serious damage. These outbursts of anger are EXTREMELY rare though; he has never hit another person since becoming a dragonrider. He'll fall all over himself apologizing to anyone he's hurt or frightened by his temper and will try desperately to make things right.
Positive Trait List Friendly, curious, easygoing, free-spirited, people person, artistic
Negative Trait List Lackadaisical, naive, too idealistic, a bit needy, prone to sudden violent mood swings
History:
Quidosh was born and raised on Big Island in a small hold that subsisted primarily on fishing and tourism. He lived in more of a tribal situation than a simple family cot, with a number of different families sharing the work and their homes and the raising of the children. Little Quidosh was a favorite of the aunties of the cot, always ready with a smile and a hand to help, and he was a hit with the tourists. But the thing that interested the boy more than anything was tattoos. Fascinated with his grandfather's numerous tattoos from an early age, he began learning how to tattoo from the old man at age 7, and developed his own style based on the designs his grandfather passed down to him. By the time he was a teenager, Quidosh was an accomplished tattooist -- and had collected a large number of tattoos on his own body.
Despite the proximity to Ista Weyr, he never thought of becoming a dragonrider; he was quite happy frolicing in the warm waters of Big Bay and tattooing Ista native and tourist alike. Then one day word reached the hold that a queen had laid her eggs on Ista Weyr's sands. Shortly after that a dragon from Ista came to the hold and Quidosh found himself Searched at age 18. He was reluctant to leave his family and kin behind, but he decided that this was a new adventure to embark on and went to the Weyr, where he Impressed blue Turanth from that clutch.
The pair did well in weyrling training, despite Q'dosh's chronic lateness to class. They never learned how to fight Thread, however, since of course Thread was never coming back and there was no need. When Q'dosh and Turanth graduated, instead of joining a wing, they provided ferry service between Ista and the Northern Continent for tourists, and Q'dosh continued his tattoo craft, doing tattoos for people for marks on the side.
Then Thread returned and caught everyone by surprise. Ista and the rest of Big Island suffered heavy losses between lives lost and crops taken by the silvery menace. Q'dosh's hold and family were practically wiped out, which devastated the young dragonrider. He stayed to help rebuild Ista Weyr, then was transferred to Western Weyr in 3573 along with his friend, clutchmate and sometimes lover Zi'aso (who rides Turanth's green twin Tiernoth) to help fortify the new Weyr's numbers and to learn how to fight Thread.
Other: Q'dosh's style of tattooing was handed down to him by his grandfather, who learned it from his father, and so on going back generations. His primary tool is a longish stick with three needles affixed to one end; he pushes the needles into the skin just below the surface to insert the ink. It's a time-consuming process, but well worth it in the end. He can do any design one may want, but when left to his own devices he'll do stylized "tribal" designs, tropical flowers, oceanic/seagoing themes, dragons, etc. He almost always has his tattooing gear with him, his various tattoo sticks and a selection of inks, in a rucksack slung over one shoulder.
DRAGON
Name: Turanth
Age: 5 (shelled 3569.02.14 from Banshidheth x Rokeenth's clutch at Ista Weyr)
Color: Blue
Size: 30'
Physical Description: Turanth is a big blue, thick and broad-winged, with a long neck and tail. A lovely cyan hue which is most visible on his wing sails, belly and muzzle, he has darker blue markings on his back, tail, neck and wings that are speckled with a lighter blue so that it almost looks like he's sparkling in the sunlight. Q'dosh keeps his hide well-oiled and glistening.
Personality: Turanth is nearly as laid-back as his rider is. A content, well-mannered creature, he is endlessly polite and friendly to non-riders, riders and other dragons alike. He chose Q'dosh based on this compatibility of character, although he does attempt to hurry his beloved along when they have to be a certain place at a certain time. He is fascinated by Q'dosh's side hack as a tattooist and will often poke his nose in during a session to watch.
Turanth is an agile flyer for his size, though he prefers to make wide sweeping turns in the air more like a small brown than a large blue. He couldn't really care less about mating flights and almost never chases, except when it comes to his green twin sister Tiernoth, whom he adores. Turanth is most put-out indeed if anyone else catches her, even showing flashes of temper! How dare!
Dragon Art or Proof of Obtainment:
