Keith Taylor : Candidate : Male

CHARACTER PROFILE
Name: Loren Keith Taylor [goes by Keith Taylor, though on documents and such refers to himself as Loren Keith Taylor]
Age: 19, late summer

Gender: male

Distinguishing features: his sexuality, and his voice

Hair Color: Mousy brown

Eye Color: soft sky blue

Description: Keith has a rather feminine look about him; it isn't anything obvious - he isn't a girly boy or anything - but in subtle ways, like his overlarge eyes, heart-shaped face, and willowy figure. It doesn't make him look girly by any means - for the most part he's simply a cute boy - but it does make him stand out somewhat. He stands at 5'7, and while his figure is lean and slightly willowy, it has a soft look that makes it clear he isn't very athletic. It doesn't mean he's weak, but he does stand out among both the burly and muscular and the tall and strong. He just isn't built that way, nor does he make any particular attempts to improve his physique.

His mousy brown curls give the impression of controlled chaos; though he keeps himself impeccably groomed, in the end the effect is always one of perfectly ordered dishevelment; there may not be a hair out of place, but it still has the ability of looking like it was designed to look like he just got out of bed, even if that's not quite what he strives for. Still, nobody can deny it has an overall cute effect. Eyebrows of the same hue reside over very large, soft, sky-blue eyes that seem almost too big for his face; such looks coupled with a face that still retains a certain amount of what could be called 'baby fat' often makes others underestimate his age. Certainly at first sight nobody would think he was a day over sixteen or seventeen, though he recently turned 19. A small nose and heart-shaped face complete his features.

His voice also sets him apart; Keith's voice never really changed very much, and is still higher than most men's; it gives him an adept tenor voice.

Personality: Keith is somewhat withdrawn; the bad reception he received when he came out has diminished his self-confidence and he is rather shy at first. He doesn't try to hide his sexuality, because he feels there's something wrong with that ,as if he's pretending to be someone he isn't. But he's long-since learned that there are many that are prejudiced against him for that reason, and it puts him in something of a difficult situation. He won't hide who he is, but he's afraid of the reaction he'll get....in the end he figures it's just best to steer clear of such conflict. That basically means trying not to meet other people. But that isn't really something he can avoid, so he just has to grin and bear it....still he isn't about to go out and be a social butterfly.

Keith refuses to believe that there's something wrong with him, even though he has been told that, but at the same time his self-esteem isn't exactly the highest. He often has doubts about himself, and therefore is slow to make decisions, especially about his future. Keith isn't the best with decision-making; he doesn't like to have to choose between two things, especially if he wants both. At the same time he doesn't want to be forced down a path that he knows he shouldn't be on - he's had to deal with that before, and he doesn't like it. Therefore if he had to pick between being told what to do and making his own decisions, he chooses the latter; at least no matter what he picks, he'll know it's his own choice, not something made for him.

Keith is always one who strives to please, and sometimes too much; in his eagerness to fit in despite the difference in him that so many in his past were disgusted by, he could well seem clingy instead of eager, over-imposing rather than helpful. He realized early on in his desperate attempts to regain favor that that was the case, and so toned it down some so that such a negative impression was lessened. Still, it isn't an unusual thing to find him hovering by your side, ready to do anything and everything to help you. Especially if you are a teacher; if he were back on Earth he'd be called a teacher's pet.

Though he has self-esteem problems himself, Keith doesn't allow others to underestimate their own worth; he's very supportive and a soft shoulder to cry on. A gentle soul is he, and all he really wants is to be accepted for who he is rather than who he likes. In the same way he wants others to feel accepted, too; he understands only to well how it feels to be an outcast, and strives to make everyone feel welcome to matter who they are. He's a very good listener, and though he doesn't really think anyone could find what he has to say all that useful, he nevertheless doesn't hesitate to give out advice to those who ask for it.

History: Keith was born Loren Keith Taylor, to Andromeda Taylor and Richard Taylor, two upper-class, wealthy members of society. Richard was the son of an ambassador, and not only did he inherit his father's wealth, he created his own by becoming the owner of a large business franchise. They were a very well-known family, and Keith was guaranteed a high education and easy life. If only he wanted it; Keith, referred to by his middle name by everyone except his parents, who insisted on calling him Loren, would in all honesty rather have been born into a perfectly normal, middle-class family. Even in early years it became quite obvious that he had no ambition whatsoever, unlike his father who was always looking at how he could get more than what he already had.

From the start he was put with others of his high class - his somewhat arrogant parents didn't believe in him 'fraternizing' with the 'underprivileged'. Yes, it sounded stuck-up to Keith, too. So from preschool he attended only the highest private schools with only the wealthiest children. It was torture; he'd much rather be playing and hanging out and doing the fun, carefree things he saw other children doing than attending the strict, uptight private schools. But he had to contend.

He never made very many friends among his classmates; the only true friend he had during his childhood was a normal girl he met walking home from school one day. She went to the local public school, had parents who sometimes struggled to pay the bills, and lived in a simple two-story house with a friendly dog and a goldfish. Anna had everything Keith wanted. And she was one of the only public school-goers he had met who didn't fantasize about being in Keith's own position. They had a firm friendship from the get-go, though it was never anything more than that despite whispers by those who knew of it. She was nothing more or less than his very best friend in the world.

That is, until his parents found out. Knowing they wouldn't approve, he'd never mentioned Anna to them, but they did manage to uncover it a few months after the friendship had formed. Naturally, they scolded Keith for being in such company, and forbade him to speak to her again. Keith, abashed at the sudden disapproval he'd fallen under in his parents' eyes, was torn - what did he do? But as it turned out he really didn't get a chance to try and salvage anything, for recently afterwards the family had been issued an invitation of sorts to be some of the colonists that traveled to Pern. They accepted, taking much pride in the prospect of being the very first generation of Pernese. And it would hopefully keep their son out of trouble.

So they agreed, and soon were on their way to the distant planet. Pern was an intriguing place for Keith, who was quietly interested in everything it had to offer. Five years passed without incident, though Keith very much missed his friend, back on Earth, and though became acquainted with many others he never made any very good friends. However around his thirteenth birthday he started developing more than just friendly feelings towards a boy who lived near him, and eventually realized what that meant. He knew immediately that his parents wouldn't approve - they were easily prejudiced, and homosexuality was one of those prejudices - but he knew it was wrong to hide how he felt. So a few months after developing such affections for the boy, he told both his parents and the boy how he felt. The reaction....wasn't the best.

The boy, Mark Vorenson, being straight as an arrow, was disgusted, unsettled by the idea, and quickly made sure he and Keith were never within talking distance again. And though that was bad, and tore the teenager's heart, his parents' reactions were worse. Horror from his mother, disgust and disappointment from his father, the latter of whom seemed to think that it was something Keith had done on purpose, as if he could control it! He was automatically labeled as a disappointment ("Oh, Loren, where did we go wrong?" from his mother; "You are simply determined to do everything you can to displease us, aren't you?" from his father), and forbidden to say such things again, go after any boys, or reveal his preference to anyone else (after all, the Taylors simply couldn't let their reputation be tarnished by having a homosexual for a child!).

Keeping his sexuality a secret was something Keith hated to do, but, desperate to regain favor in his parents' eyes, did as they said and tried hard to be the child they wanted him to be. But his desperate attempts to please only annoyed, as he was always under their feet and in their way with his offers of help. His attempts had the opposite of the desired effect, and the same thing happened when he tried to regain a place for himself with his friends. Eventually he realized how clingy he was becoming, and backed off, though extremely disappointed that his attempt to be the type of son Andromeda and Richard so wanted had failed.

He decided he couldn't keep how he felt a secret anymore, no matter what his parents wished; hiding who he was was something he felt was wrong with a bone-deep certainty. and he decided that as his parents obviously weren't going to accept him again no matter what he did, he stopped hiding it. He came out to everyone - it drove several people off, to his dismay, people he thought had been friends but who obviously weren't really friends if they abandoned him because of such a thing. However, because of it he met a boy with the same tastes as him, Timothy Hodges. They fell in love, and Keith was certain he'd found who he wanted to be with. However, terrified of his parents' rebukes, he hid the affair from them.

He was happy with Timothy, happier than he'd even been with Anna as an 8-year-old, for Timothy was more than just a good friend. But unfortunately it didn't last nearly long enough, and ended in absolute tragedy: the menace that came to be known as Thread. It came suddenly and unexpectedly, and killed many. One of the many it killed was Timothy. When Keith found out he thought his heart had been ripped in two; the boy he had thought to be his soulmate was dead and gone, never to return. His parents found him kneeling on the ground beside the horribly deformed body, weeping in earnest. They bore no sympathy for their son they were angry, that he had defied them and gotten into an affair with another boy, keeping it a secret from them.

It was the last straw for both sides. Keith's parents ordered him out of their house; Keith willingly complied. He did not want to live with people who rejected him so. Burdened by terrible pain bordering on despair, he went to live with the just-as-distraught parents of Timothy Hodges, who agreed to take him in when he appeared on their doorstep with nobody to go. They knew how much he had loved their son, and, being generous people, could not turn him away when they heard of his parents' cruelty.

The arrangement did not last long; it was probably for the best, considering the painful memories being in each other's presence gave both Keith and Timothy's parents. When people started relocating to the Caldera, Keith left the Hodgeses, and went to live on his own in the Caldera. Shortly after he was examined and asked to become a candidate for the mysterious dragons; he agreed, hoping for someone who would love him unconditionally. He did not Impress at the first two hatchings, however, and began having doubts on whether he was really worthy for such an honor. He decided to keep on Standing, but with each egg that cracks and each hatchling that Impresses to someone else, his hopes get a little slimmer.