IMPORTANT: INFO ABOUT MY PORTRAYAL OF NICK
IMPORTANT: INFO ABOUT MY PORTRAYAL OF NICK
tw: drug addiction, death, mental health issues
I feel like I should point out how I write Nick (not only for those who may not have seen the show, but in general). So here it goes:
Overview:
Nick has a problem with addiction, more precisely substances (including heroin). He was actively using in the show prior to the zombie outbreak and it shows on several occasions that he has an addictive personality. The outbreak has in fact helped him become clean and ultimately to stay clean (for the most part) as he has found other ways to get his fix.
Also he has a very complicated relationship to his mother. He lost his father to whom he could never get as close to as he wanted to (he had his own mental health problems). If he needed someone he always seeked out his step-father. His relationship to his sister and step-brother are okay, even though he's much closer to his sister than his step-brother. He loves kids and animals. He's a good soul, calm, sensitive, people tend to like and trust him (what he has exploit in the past, due to his addiction). He uses sarcasm also as a defensive reaction.
Following characteristics apply to him:
adventurous and thrill-seeking
comfort with secrets and lying
ease with risk-taking behaviors
mental health conditions like depression and low self-esteem
high levels of sensitivity
obsessive and compulsive behaviors
sensation seeking
acts on impulses
believes he does not fit into societal norms
deviate from conformity to rebel
sensitive to emotional stress
has trouble to handle situations that he deems frustrating
self-destructive
What does this mean?
Drug addiction and the term addict/junkie will be mentioned in threads, but I won't actively tag it as it's part of who he is. Nick is not ashamed of admitting to it or talk about it either. (Failed) rehab and therapies have made that possible. He will lie, keep secrets and steal. He's out to seek thrills or sensations which come close to it. He tends to self-destruct.
I'll never erase his addiction, as I mentioned, it's part of who he is, but I won't write him as actively using (unless it's discussed beforehand and even then it'll not be descriptive; example he seeks someone out to get money for drugs or shows up after disappearing for days and then disappears again). Nor write out scenes where he would be in the middle of getting his fix.
What I will write: My Nick is clean by default, the addiction will be mentioned and the muses may talk about it in threads (if it comes up as a topic), again nothing too descriptive. He will lie, have secrets, occasionally steal something, sneak into places he shouldn't be. He will have his moments where he'll feel the temptation, but I'll have him know how to keep himself from giving in. He does smoke cigarettes though. In apocalyptic settings he will get in the middle of the danger zone, he will be out there, on supply runs or just walk among the dead.