User Profile

Sexuality: Undecided, although probably more gay than not, considering he's only ever been with boys.

Attachments: To Matt and Mello, whom he has known since childhood and is currently romantically involved with. His relationship with Mello is intense and slightly adversarial but very loving, as Near has had feelings for him for years. They bicker, banter and compete constantly, but wouldn't know what to do without each other. His feelings for Matt are both newer and gentler, born out of mutual affection and slow-burning attraction, but Near has fallen hard for him. Together they are silly and relaxed with one another, generally jokey and affectionate. Mello was the first person Near ever felt anything resembling a romantic attraction to, and Matt was the first person he ever did anything romantic with. Mello was the first person to ever make him really feel anything, and Matt was the first to make him have fun. As a result, they both occupy slightly different, but equally important, places in his life, and his heart.

Appearance: Short. Very short. 5'1", to be precise, and is of extremely slim build. Hair is naturally snow white (although may well be dyed some ridiculous colour; red, black, purple or blue are good bets), eyes are brown. Often found in white pyjamas especially when in his room, although is equally likely to be wearing jeans and a t-shirt, particularly if out of his apartment. Usually has something in his hands to fiddle with-- his hair, a toy of some sort, cards, the hem of whatever shirt he's wearing, something. Tends to appear generally disinterested, or occasionally grumpy, unless either Matt or Mello are around, in which case he can be quite animated.

Personality: Near is naturally introverted; he doesn't seek out interaction, as a rule, and it takes quite a lot to get him out of his shell. He's extremely intelligent, and as a result can be quite condescending-- often unintentionally. While he prefers to be as honest and straightforward as possible, he has a gift for manipulating people and situations, and isn't above using it when he thinks it is required. He usually thinks he knows what's best for everyone, and can sometimes be a right pain about enforcing it, although his heart is always in the right place.

He is unfailingly logical, extremely analytical and objective to the point of irritating everyone around him. Although he may seem cold and unfeeling, he has plenty of feelings and warmth, he just doesn't see why they should get in the way of rationality and common sense. His version of "common sense", however, may differ slightly from the norm, having no relation to age-appropriateness, group norms or any sort of social reasoning whatsoever. His morals and beliefs are his own, and no one else's really come into it.

While he hates lying outright, most of what Near says has more than one meaning, and he often means all of them simultaneously. He also loves finding loopholes and crafty ways to weasel out of things, although once he makes a promise, he always makes every effort to hold to it. He has some minor problems with anger management-- he has a lot of resentment and anger about what happened at the Wammys House, as he feels he was conned into giving up eight years of his life in the pursuit of a goal he earned, but wasn't allowed to claim. Consequently, he can sometimes be sensitive, snappish and moody, although he is getting better.

His sense of humour can range from the childish and silly (HTML hearts, anyone?) to the dark and perverse, and despite appearances, Near amused a lot more often than not. While distant and disinterested almost to the point of rudeness and frigidity with everyone else, he is affectionate, both emotionally and physically, with those he cares about. Near doesn't see the sense in forming emotional attachments on the basis of any other reason than objective merit, and his standards are extremely high, so the only people who actually qualify for that position are Mello and Matt. Consequently, he is fiercely protective of them both, as they are more important to him than anything else. Although physically slight, he will instantly come to their defense (psychologically if nothing else) when the situation calls for it.

Near believes in himself, above all else-- his ego is enormous, but not (he feels) undeserved. While he is quite happy to let others take charge and make decisions, that only lasts so long as they are making the right ones and leading efficiently. As a result, when others fail to direct effectively, Near is quite prepared to step up and take charge, and is as happy leading as he is to follow a competent leader. Academically, he only applies himself to subjects he finds of particular interest, but his exceptional intelligence means he's able to obtain top scores with little effort anyway, although since he resents being forced to study things he has no interest in, he will occasionally intentionally lower his marks so that no one will attempt to pressure him to pursue those areas further.

In short, he's a basically a decent guy with an enormous brain and a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, and as he is neither friendly nor rude, most people will simply ignore him as easily as he ignores them.

Background: An only child born to wealthy parents in London, England, Near was orhpaned at the age of three when their airplane crashed, and was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. Childless, and intentionally so, they were none too pleased about the disruption to their lives and, much like Near's own parents, generally left Near in the care of various nannies. This didn't bother Near particularly as he usually preferred his own company over that of others, making deals with his caretakers from a very young age to allow him to be left to his own devices with the assurance that he wouldn't get himself (and them, by extension) into trouble.

Considered "gifted but delicate" by his aunt, Near was home-schooled, having only spent one week in a regular school, which did not go at all well. He had a succession of tutors, each only lasting a few months before declaring that they'd taught him all they could. Incredibly bright, Near absorbed information like a sponge, reading and assimilating complex textbooks in a matter of hours, but was difficult to engage, motivate or discipline if he did not have an interest in the work, and would often ignore assignments and requests in favour of playing with toys or puzzles. Traditional disciplinary methods failed to work, also; removal of his toys simply meant that he would play with anything else to hand: books, fruit, pots, lamps, whatever. When all objects were removed from the room, he would simply sit and twirl his hair until the punishment time had elapsed, at which point he would continue doing whatever he had been doing before. Eventually, most instructors gave up on trying to force him to do anything and simply settled for providing him with information and letting him deal with it at his own pace.

When Near was eight, his aunt died of aneurysm and his uncle, not knowing what to do with an extremely gifted but difficult and willful eight year old boy, turned him over to his friend Roger, who was, by coincidence, in charge of an orphanage which specialized in the care of gifted children. He was assigned the name of Near, which he quickly embraced, and although he remained in sporadic contact with his uncle (usually via Roger) his past was (like that of the other children), a closely guarded secret. While there, Near met the world renowned detective L, and was informed that the children at the orphanage (the Wammys House) were in competition to succeed L as the world's foremost detective. Near quickly found that he enjoyed detective work, and was extremely good at it. Coupled with his natural intelligence and the fact that he considered being L's heir excellent motivation, he quickly rose to the coveted position of #1 in the rankings, putting him first in line to succeed L. Naturally, this caused problems with some of the other children, particularly Mello, who was second in line.

Although Mello hated Near for beating him, Near did not return the sentiment; rather, he developed a bit of a fascination with the older boy, which eventually turned into serious infatuation by the time he was thirteen. However, aware of Mello's feelings towards him, and preoccupied by his goal of becoming the next L, Near did not do anything about it, appearing as disinterested and distant with Mello as everyone else. Ostensibly, Near did not pay attention to anyone, although he was fascinated by Mello, and also occasionally watched Matt, Mello's best friend, and #3 at the orphanage. Their close friendship was intriguing to him as both an interesting social phenomenon and a source of personal jealousy-- Near had never had a friend before, and was jealous as much of Matt's obvious devotion to Mello as he was his closeness to the other boy.

Still, marking both as things he was not in a position to experience, Near had put it all out of his mind as much as possible and focused on his studies. He excelled, and confident that no one could surpass him, he was sure he would be chosen to replace L some day-- if not individually, then at least as half of a team, paired with Mello. Consequently, when, not long before Near turned sixteen, Matt disappeared, and Mello followed, Near wasn't quite sure what to think. Although obviously pleased that he now had no competition for the position of L's successor, life was less interesting without Mello around, and there was little challenge in it. He worked on regardless, and when he was called into Roger's office three months before he turned sixteen, he was certain that his moment had come and he had finally been chosen as L's heir.

How very wrong he was.

Despite his devotion and success, Near was told that, at almost sixteen, he was simply too old to be L's successor, and that when one was needed in the future, he would be chosen from he younger children. He was given the option to stay at the Wammys House until his eighteenth birthday, but Near declined, not seeing the point if he wasn't going to succeed L. Feeling bitter, cheated, used, and incredibly angry, Near immediately threw himself into finding Mello and Matt. They hadn't hidden, and it wasn't hard, and he quickly determined their location at a school on the West coast of America. He petitioned his uncle to be removed from the Wammys House and sent there immediately. His uncle, not used to such strong requests from his nephew, and aware of his situation at Wammys, agreed, and Near left within two days of receiving the news that he would not be succeeding L from Roger.

Bitter about the system and angry at the world, pretty much, Near arrived at Wood Grove with the full intention of doing experiencing anything and everything he'd ever given up in pursuit of following L, including friendships, relationships, and every other kind of trouble a sixteen year old boy with an enormous trust fund and a wealth of knowledge could get into...

...Not that he had any idea how, but he figured that part would come later.

Currently: In a threeway relationship with Matt and Mello, and pretty damn happy about it. Slightly less introverted than before (although it still takes someone else to get him out of his shell, either Mello or Matt, as a rule) and a lot more open to experience. Doesn't have any friendships outside the trio, but he doesn't mind that, either. And his hair is purple.

Class Schedule: First Period: Junior English / Second Period: Trig&Calc / Third Period: Biology / Fourth Period: Chemistry / Fifth Period: Law I / LUNCH / Sixth Period: Japanese I / Seventh Period: Sex Ed

angryhamster