Welcome to Gaia! ::

Name: Tenemahuta
Race: Menehune
Gender: Male
3 Base Traits:
Grumpy
Tene is a sourpuss. His social skills are terrible – he misses social cues, he snaps and snarls for little to no reason, and he appears to have a temper or, at least, a very flat and unpleasant affect. This is not entirely true – he’s just acerbic and grumbly -- as if he’s perpetually woken up on the wrong side of the reeds.
Intense
Tene gets very intense when he’s with his plants, or when he focuses on a task. Although aware of his surroundings – very aware – he appears to ignore all else for his task, and (if you can get him to speak) he will speak at length about his interests.
Lenient
Despite his moodiness and his intensity, he is very quick to forgive sleights. His anger stems more from frustration than aggression, and his irritability comes more from the strangeness of people than from outright misanthropy (mis…merthropy?)
Personality: [
Tenemahuta finds people irritating and baffling, so he generally keeps his company with mud, reed, and tree.
He is a strange child – grumbly and flat – so his inclinations to be alone are usually granted, save when family forces him to their side. For all of their attempts to make him better, he only seems to act worse.
But not out. Despite his grumbling and, sometimes, temperamental outbursts, he never hurts anyone. He hates the very thought of hurting another person and, on the rare occasions where he has actually struck out at someone, he has apologized with surprising profuseness. He also does not bear grudges, forgiving people for upsetting him. The idea that someone might not do the same to him is very bizarre to him, like many things that people do.
Indeed, he appears to forgive the whole world. Every day, he approaches the universe as if all sleights were erased. His memory is fine – he just decides that this does not matter in his present-day life. The opinions of others also do not matter. He seems to follow his own rules, and do his own things, almost mysterious in his actions. Seems – in truth Tene listens to the rules of the Menehune. They make sense to him. He follows them – in his own way, in his own time.
As a strange child in a tight-knit rules-oriented community, Tene often finds himself getting strange looks. Although he doesn’t register that his parents are also getting such looks, he is hyperaware of the attention on him. So, he keeps to himself. He is very practiced at using his air organs, as he stays out of the water to play in the plant-rich marshes, and can already stay out for an extended period of time. This keeps him out of the way and has also given him a deep knowledge of the local flora. Which he adores.
He loves plants. All plants. Any plant he can look at, he wants to learn more about. He has some trouble finding the right person to ask, or the right way to ask about it, but he has accumulated some knowledge about plants and is looking to accumulate more. That they can be used for so many things is something he is still learning, and he is hungry for more information.
Description:
His skin is a very typical dark green color, and his hair is a coal black. Despite his parent's efforts, reeds and twigs are tangled into his hair.
His scales are subtle, a little browner in shade than his skin and just barely visible on his neck, chest, hips, and thighs. The spotting is slightly darker brown but still subtle -- you can see it, but you have to be really looking. His barbels are banded in similar colors.
Clothing:
His clothes are reeds and plants, CC, but he also accessorizes with extra plants because he likes them -- how they feel, how they smell. If he can put it on, he will. Accessories: A preserved flower.
History:
Tenemahuta’s world was very strict – it had to be. Growing up in the waterways between Loehana and Salicora, life needed to be regulated, and resources needed to be managed for survival. Weird children were not reviled, but were not exactly welcome, as potential strains on the resources and breakers of the rules.
Tenemahuta’s family was a good family but, when he began to act strangely in infancy, many older eyes were on him. His lack of proper eye contact made people wary, and his late speech provoked worries that he would not be able to contribute properly. Some whispered that the family must have a dark, secret transgression that warped the young child’s soul.
Fortunately for him, he did begin speaking. More fortunately still, he was able-bodied. Still strange, he incited wariness but, as his play habits drove him into some degree of seclusion (out of the way) and as his interest in plants manifested (suitable for his location and for the needs of the settlements) the community accepted him.
His family did, however, try to force some normalcy onto him. They tried to make him play with other children, interact with other family members, and play nearer to the settlement (where he would be safer.) But he resisted, snapping at playmates and wandering off from his family to return to his plants, to his solitude.
His family isn’t going to give up on him, and his community has some hope that he will grow out of his behavior, but he… He doesn’t care either way. Tenemahuta has his plants. He has his peace. He has the taste of air in his throat, and the quiet of loneliness. He is content. But is he happy?

Although it will depend on his rps and plots, I see him growing positively and opening up more in the future -- out of necessity, really, since playing a severely isolated character in a rp shop is near-impossible. As for specifics, I don't really know yet, but he will definitely grow and become a more complex character.

As for intense... upon a second reading, I do wonder if it is the right word for what he's doing. It might be a trait that changes as he grows, but I'm not sure.



Sure. He probably is very accustomed to it and knows his limits super well. He'll probably get better at this as he grows, going on the long end of this measurement, figuring out techniques to stay out longer, or at least knowing when he needs to head back to water. And, also, where that water is.



Cool smile



I see him wandering further into the lands, honestly, maybe get in over his head by wandering out too far or getting lost.

Other than that, I'd like him to become more comfortable interacting with his fellows, for sure.



Thank you -- you've given me some food for thought.

I think it's just plants to start? I really don't know about relationships, certainly not until I play him and make a few...