Tyler Trucata

Physical Appearance

• Long slate/blue-ish gray colored worn in a messy ponytail that trails past shoulders
• Blue eyes
• Medium to somewhat tall in height
• Fair skinned on the somewhat pale side
• Relatively fit with a fairly muscled yet rather scrappy build

Clothing Style

Tyler tends to only dress casually and rarely has any sense of refinement or particular style with his clothing. He tends to stick to cool or neutral colored shirts and jeans with hoodies, either slip-on or zip-up. He rarely goes for anything with any flashy or distinctive logos or graphics and prefers to remain rather unassuming. He rarely looks well put together when judged by his clothing alone, since he tends to look rather disheveled along with his typical just-rolled-out-of-bed look he tends to have. He'll make sure to keep his clothing in order or out of the way when working on his projects though.

Personality

Tyler is a thoroughly pessimistic and cynical man that tends to be down about everything and rarely sees the bright side of things. He's not terribly fond of extensive socializing unless he's already close with the people interacting with him, and he's not the most friendly or polite seeming person to be around. He is brutally honest about his opinions and never seems to censor himself, and he doesn't care what anyone thinks of him or who he might offend with his behavior. He doesn't go out of his way to be nasty toward other people, but he won't hold back if someone approaches him first and doesn't have thick enough skin to take his blunt way of speaking. It's rather obvious he suffers from depression, which shows through his bleak outlook on life and his extensive periods of lacking motivation to do even simple tasks. He tends to be a recluse unless his friends/family regularly check up on him, and he would likely spend days doing nothing if not prodded into action. Tyler doesn't really care how he presents himself and rarely puts effort into making himself look in order, which is why his clothes and hair are frequently messy. He tends to swing between being sarcastically proud of how he doesn't let anyone's view of him affect his life and absolutely loathing the person he sees in the mirror and wishing he could be anyone else. He will sometimes forget to do basic things like eating regularly or showering unless one of his friends points it out to him, and he overall comes off as negative and disconnected from the world around him.

His engineering work is the only things that seems to keep him on track on a regular basis, and he uses it as a way to distract himself from how dissatisfied he is with his life. Tyler can be very meticulous and focused when working on such projects, and the primary hope he hangs onto during his studies/work is that he can actually make some difference for someone in need. Tyler's brother, Tommy, was born missing a leg, and he had the ambition to make a new leg for him to use instead. Although his brother is now deceased, Tyler decided to pursue prosthetic engineering anyway and tends to help himself get through each day by reminding himself how much Tommy would've appreciated his work. He tends to still be rather low energy and moody when working, but he seems to be at his most lively and friendly when around his cousin, Taylor, or his best friends, Abi and Zach. Taylor tends to make Tyler more mellow and less harsh with his words, since he considers Taylor to be a bit of a cinnamon roll and would feel worse about himself for being mean around him. Taylor also is the best listener and sympathizer with his problems, and he feels most comfortable opening up or venting to his cousin since he's so nonjudgmental. Abi and Zach are a bit better to go for lifting his spirits and slinging teasing quips at each other. The two tend to be more pushy about getting him to take care of himself, and he recognizes he probably needs them to act that way considering how stubborn he can be.

Abilities

• Steyl rifting - rank 2/5
• Watyr rifting - rank 1/5
• Although he doesn't swim often anymore, he's a rather strong and natural swimmer
• Capable of underwater breathing, although he hasn't swam since his childhood and doesn't remember it's possible
• Has the expected skillset of a biomedical engineering student/intern
• Shapeshifting - merman, although he has no idea he is capable of this

Strengths

• Inventive, meticulous, and focused when working on his engineering projects
• Intelligent, clever, and works well with critical thinking and puzzles
• Logical, observant, and tends to notice small details or when even small things change
• Honest, unaffected by others' view of him, and is assertive with his needs/boundaries

Weaknesses

• Suffers from depression that can get in the way of his daily activities or functioning in a healthy manner
• Harsh when speaking, not terribly friendly, and closed off from others
• Has a lot of issues with trusting others and is very slow to emotionally commit himself to anything new
• Low energy, somewhat irritable, cynical, and pessimistic

Backstory

Tyler was born in Onakaiya and was raised around Lake Osa with his mother, father, and his older brother, Tommy. He was still young when the family moved to Taliac, so to this day Tyler doesn't exactly recall the supernatural home world he came from or how his parents were not human. He has very vague memories of his mother being a mermaid, but he considers these to be dreams rather than memories now. They lived a relatively quiet and happy life together, and a random meeting with a person with a prosthetic in the park gave Tyler the ambition to one day make prosthetics. Tommy was born with only one leg, and after learning that replacement legs could be built, Tyler promised his big brother he'd make him a new leg one day.

However when Tyler was eight years old, a man broke into their home and shot Tommy dead before going after him as well. His mother got between the man and Tyler and was also shot to death, and shortly after his father returned home, causing the gunman to flee. Tyler was traumatized by the event, and after his mother and Tommy were laid to rest, his father took him to his aunt's home to stay while he searched for the killer. Although Tyler pleaded with his father to stay, he ended up living with his aunt, her husband, and their son, Taylor, to nearly the present day.

Tyler hasn't heard from his father ever since, and the abandonment has clearly taken a toll on his emotional state. He has since had trouble keeping himself motivated, but his promise to Tommy led him to pursuing higher education so he could work on making prosthetics regardless. He made two close friends, Abigail and Zach, during college, and after finishing his bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering he has since become roommates with them in their newly purchased house. Tyler continues his graduate studies toward a Master's Degree in prosthetics and orthotics, and the thought that Tommy would be proud of his work seems to be the only thing that keeps him going some days.

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