» PLAYER INFORMATION
Player NAME: Greer
Current AGE: 19
Personal JOURNAL: zhopa
IM & SERVICE: AIM: hurghleburlebutz
Player PLURK: zhopa
Current CHARACTERS: Martin Gallagher inanimates


» CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character NAME: Nihlus Kryik
Canon & MEDIUM: Mass Effect; video game
Canon PULL-POINT: Post-Death
Character AGE: Headcanon'd age is 36.
Character ABILITIES:

Nihlus is an extremely skilled soldier. Exact details on his strengths in battle are unknown but it's presumed that he was fairly well-rounded because of his Spectre status. Bioware states that perhaps his best ability in battle was the "uncanny ability to find an enemy's weakness and exploit it", suggesting that he's also fairly good at keeping track of information and at least a decent strategist.

In terms of weaknesses, he's got about just as much as the next person with the added bonus that, because he's an alien, he can't eat human food. Doing so would cause anything from an allergic reaction to death. Other than that, he'll die from bullets just as much as the next person.

Character HISTORY: If I need to write this in my own words, let me know

Character PERSONALITY: In terms of personality, Nihlus is pretty much the definition of "cool and calm". When talking with Shepard, he verbally displays years of experience in that nothing seems to really concern him. In fact the only thing that really throws this "cool and collected" front off is when he finds Saren on Eden Prime. At this point there is evident surprise and he begins to speak more casually, as is to be expected in a relationship such as theirs. Still, it becomes evident that Nihlus lets down his guard for those that he considers a friend. 

When considering his past, I think it is safe to say that Nihlus tends to prefer professional, discardable relationships as opposed to having many people he feels close to. While most would be lonely in relationships like these, it doesn't seem like Nihlus really minds having only one friend. It probably doesn't seem abnormal to him, considering his childhood.

When on a mission, Nihlus tends to follow his instincts rather than protocol or rules. This was called recklessness by his commanding officers, and in some cases it probably was. Still, according to Bioware's mini-bio on him it more often than not led to successful missions and smart decisions. 

Additionally, when in the field Nihlus seems to lean more towards the "lone ranger" type than the "team player". This is evidenced on Eden Prime when he goes ahead of Shepard saying things like "I move faster on my own". While it also shows that he is confident in his own abilities, it also suggests at least a small amount of overconfidence generated from long-term experience. And also the lone ranger thing. 

The run-in with Samara shows Nihlus' willingness to do anything he feels necessary in order to achieve his goals. He's not against killing or sacrificing people in order to accomplish his mission. Additionally, he does not regret the majority of his decisions after making them. Surely there were at least a couple which he regretted, but even then he didn't dwell on it. After all Turians are known for "owning" their decisions, so while he might (rarely) regret what he's done, he would still stand by it and accept responsibility.

One of the more notable aspects of Nihlus' personality is how he, unlike many other turians, doesn't hold prejudice. This is seen when talking to Shepard on the Normandy. Nihlus states "I don't care that you're human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job." While he is directly addressing humans, it's easy to assume that he would share this philosophy when it comes to other races as well. So long as they're capable and useful, he's willing to give them a fair chance. 

Lastly, based on all the traits presented I think it's safe to say that Nihlus likes to have control of his actions and his life. Part of the reason he struggled in the normal Turian military was probably due to the lack of control they gave him in the field, while his success with the Spectres was probably due to the freedom he had to do whatever he wanted. 

In conclusion, Nihlus is almost all about business with little room for personal life. He takes his work very seriously and won't let anything get in the way of it. 


» EXSILIUM INFORMATION
Chosen WEAPON: If possible, I'd like Nihlus' weapon to actually be his armor, increasing with time until eventually it's entirely impenetrable by projectiles of any kind, though melee weapons would still be able to break through. If this isn't possible, I'll go with an assault rifle that, over time, gets a longer range of fire.
Chosen SKILLSET: Nihlus is a fighter and will likely be more heavily involved in the front lines, though he can do diplomacy when the time calls for it. Still, he'd prefer to be where the action is.
Character INVENTORY: His armor and that's about it.

» SAMPLES
First PERSON:
Post 1
Post 2
Third PERSON:
[Note: Used for gargleblasted]
It had been a long time since Nihlus had had a “world”. Palaven had never been his and neither had the colony he had been sent to. The closest “home” he had ever really had was the outpost, but even that felt more like a “training” place than an actual home. It didn’t hurt him to hear it was gone. He mourned the losses, of course, just in his own way. And his way called for him to move on, figure out his new setting, think of anything but what was lurking at the back of his mind.

It felt strange to grip his gun. The material felt new; unexplored, inexperienced despite all the times he had held it. He ran his hand over it, clutched the grip and let it go. Holstered it and clenched his fingers, working out the kinks.

When he had arrived his body felt sore and stiff, as if unused for a long period of time. He hadn’t had time to explore it then, too busy being shuffled to the next station for more paperwork, learning about his surroundings. It wasn’t hard to grasp that he was in a new setting, a place far removed from the universe he had known. The thought should have concerned him more than it did but it didn’t register.

He was too preoccupied, to be honest. His body didn’t feel like his own anymore. It felt borrowed and being in it was similar to being in a new suit of armor. He had to work out the kinks.

Which led him to his room, sitting on the bed provided for him, flexing his various limbs and trying to make himself familiar. It was odd, he thought, how he had to familiarize himself with his own body. It was clearly his, it should clearly respond to him. There was a disconnect that he had to overcome. As if his body knew the truth he didn’t want to admit quite yet. Yet something told him that he had to acknowledge it in order to overcome the bizarre sensation. No, not just to overcome, but to function as well.

He raised his hand to touch the back of his head, expecting to draw back his hand and see blue. It perturbed him to see his hands clean. It was as if his mistakes were erased, as if someone was telling him it was okay. “We’ll give you another chance”.

He moved to feel the back of his head once more but stopped himself. What he was doing was irrational. He was alive. That much was plain to see. He was letting the situation get to him in a new setting where he needed to be on his guard. He didn’t have time to afford to discomfort or irritation.

He was alive. That was it.

A pensive silence filled the room as he mulled over the thought. Minutes passed and he remained still until finally, he took the guide in hand.

“This is Nihlus Kryik of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance…”

» ADDITIONAL NOTES
Nope.

Items Held

Assault Rifle (ME1; no heat sinks, just overheating; unlimited ammo) 
Armor
4 self-help books that have survived hell and back
A shit ton of notes detailing the events of Abax and various theories

Weird Pollen (inherited from Fun Ghoul)
           >> 4 white (honesty), 2 orange (happiness), 0 black, 1 blue (paranoia), 0 red, 6 purple (high as balls), 1 pink (love), 1                  maroon (lust), 3 light green (greed), 1 dark green (jealousy/envy), 1 dark yellow (anxiety), 0 pale yellow, 0 lavender.  

 Nihlus' Personality/History and where I sourced it from: 

Professional. You can tell from the way he talks with Shepard in the Normandy. The only contractions he uses are the normal ones (I'll, I'm, etc. and can't, couldn't, etc.). There's no slang, no "you knows"? His tone of voice is even, though there are moments where he's clearly trying to bait Shepard, probably to see if they'll lose their cool–examining his future student. Manipulating them. He's secretive–it's only about halfway through the conversation and at Anderson's request that he actually tells Shepard what he's doing on the ship. At the same time, he's frank, wasting no time getting to the point with information he's okay with sharing.

outside of the game canon:

"He learned the hard way to fight for what he wanted".

Nihlus canonly grew up on a mercenary station outside of Hierarchy space. That statement should explain a lot about his character. To follow the tropes, mercenary stations are basically slums. Slums filled with pirates and mercies and a whole bunch of people considered unwieldily. "Fight for what he wanted" infers that his family didn't have much growing up, leaving him wanting enough for things he'd be willing to fight for. From this, I decided his family would be poor, that food was hard to find on the station and therefore a high and overpriced commodity. This later feeds (haha) into what I have his first Spectre mission being.

Also, the note that his dad died when he was 16 strikes a significant change, as his mother decides to send him to turian boot camp, which assumably isn't really required as they're not in Hierarchy space. This suggests 3 things.

1. His mom couldn't really support him on the station and had to send him away, probably in hopes of him attaining a better life or something. His dad had just died, and being a single parent is strenuous. She likely couldn't do it. (I say this as if we'll ever know heheh)

2. He was being unruly. Likely getting into the wrong crowds. I have headcanon that ever since about age 8 he hung out with a particular Nihlus' Personality/History and where I sourced it from:

Professional. You can tell from the way he talks with Shepard in the Normandy. The only contractions he uses are the normal ones (I'll, I'm, etc. and can't, couldn't, etc.). There's no slang, no "you knows"? His tone of voice is even, though there are moments where he's clearly trying to bait Shepard, probably to see if they'll lose their cool–examining his future student. Manipulating them. He's secretive–it's only about halfway through the conversation and at Anderson's request that he actually tells Shepard what he's doing on the ship. At the same time, he's frank, wasting no time getting to the point with information he's okay with sharing.

outside of the game canon:

"He learned the hard way to fight for what he wanted".

Nihlus canonly grew up on a mercenary station outside of Hierarchy space. That statement should explain a lot about his character. To follow the tropes, mercenary stations are basically slums. Slums filled with pirates and mercies and a whole bunch of people considered unwieldily. "Fight for what he wanted" infers that his family didn't have much growing up, leaving him wanting enough for things he'd be willing to fight for. From this, I decided his family would be poor, that food was hard to find on the station and therefore a high and overpriced commodity. This later feeds (haha) into what I have his first Spectre mission being.

Also, the note that his dad died when he was 16 strikes a significant change, as his mother decides to send him to turian boot camp, which assumably isn't really required as they're not in Hierarchy space. This suggests 3 things.

1. His mom couldn't really support him on the station and had to send him away, probably in hopes of him attaining a better life or something. His dad had just died, and being a single parent is strenuous. She likely couldn't do it. (I say this as if we'll ever know heheh) 

2. He was being unruly. Likely getting into the wrong crowds. I have headcanon that ever since about age 8 he hung out with a particular group of mercenaries. Either freelance or Blue Suns ones. I also have it in headcanon that he learned to shoot (and also drink) from them and often went to visit/party with them whenever they stopped onto the station.  

I don't really like the trope that characters hate their parents so I've got a biased view that his parents actually cared for him and didn't really like him hanging out with "bad influences" so it was often a case of trouble between he and his parents.  

The fact that the death of his father is noted means that Nihlus knew his father, and was possibly close with him. I have him being extremely close with his father–despite the fact that they probably argued nonstop when he was alive. I also have the main point of conflict being his friendship with a group of mercenaries. Either freelance or Blue Suns ones. I also have it in headcanon that he learned to shoot (and also drink) from them and often went to visit/party with them whenever they stopped onto the station.

The headcanon'd lack of food and the trope of gang involvement on slum stations both help give reason to Nihlus' dad's unexplained death. While it's possible he could have died due to some disease, the Mass Effect universe at this point has no known turian diseases therefore I thought it safer to simply have him shot. The reason for his death, among other things, would be due to his repeated interference with a local gang that Nihlus had probably joined in order to help his family out. Obviously, this would have happened when Nihlus was 16 as that is what canon states, and since it's noted shortly after that his mother sent him to boot camp, so it's reflected in my headcanon: with Nihlus' mother sending him off after his father died. 

Luckily, his time in Boot Camp is slightly more detailed, meaning less headcanon is involved. I stick mainly to what they say with very little detailing involved. Canonly, Nihlus disobeyed orders and was therefore disliked by his superiors, transferred to other squads and kept in the same position for an extended amount of time. He was disliked or distanced by his peers due to his status as an "outsider" (having grown up outside of the Hierarchy). He was considered to be reckless–a fact that I play being partly true. With age, and his status as a Spectre I play it as balanced by the necessary precautions a figure like a Spectre would take. 

Canonly, after his third squad he met Saren Arterius who later offered to mentor him. A year later he was a Spectre. I have this happening around age 22, as that gives him two years in every squad. 

Following that is pretty much all headcanon, considering all canon gives me is "he was a really good and established Spectre". Considering I have him becoming a Spectre at age 22 and list him as 36 when he died, this gives him fourteen years of experience as a Spectre, giving him a fair amount of knowledge and obviously making him a bit wiser. Due to the nature of his job and the traits Shepard is shown to use in-game, I've made Nihlus wiser and slightly more cautious. Based on his behavior with Shepard, I've made him hard to read and in good control of his emotions, though certain signs will show up if one pays attention.