Nick Constantine

[RXK*]

Name: Nikos "Nick" Constantine
Gender: Male
Age: 18
School: Aurora High School
Hobbies and Interests: Photography, crafting, artistry, mixed martial arts

Appearance: Nick's Greek ancestry is readily apparent. At 5'9" and 149 lbs, he's a lean, olive-skinned boy with black hair styled in a sort of undercut. He doesn't necessarily have an athletic build (and the circles under his brown eyes show that he spends more time in the darkroom than in the gym) but generally keeps himself in good shape, if not a bit weedlike. Nick's birthmark- a nonagon-like blob- lies on the right side of his neck just above the collarbone, and he has a bit of a cleft chin.

Nick doesn't give too much thought to his daily wear, but has amassed a blend of skate fashion and "dark urban" wear from names along the lines of Hurley, Black Scale, Actual Pain, Etnies, etcetera. He'll prefer to wear just a t-shirt and jeans when it's summer or nice outside, along with him sporting bomber jackets and pullover sweaters when the Seattle weather is glum.

Biography: During the late 70s and early 80s, Greek boxer Sotiris Costantinos amassed a string of wins in Europe's Super Welterweight ranks, collecting several titles along the way. A fast, aggressive fighter with heavy hands, Sotiris soon garnered much interest by American boxing promoters due to his wild, caution-to-the-wind style of fighting and willingness to take fights with any opponent. In 1988, Sotiris agreed to immigrate to Seattle, Washington to further his career, Anglicizing his surname to Constantine at the behest of several promoters wishing for him to adapt to a more "American" persona. Regardless of his name, Sotiris did win the IBF Junior Middleweight title in 1990, becoming a sort of cult favorite for his outlandish, almost bar-room-esque brawls in the ring. That same year, Sotiris met his future wife Marilyn Davis; the two would marry in 1991.

Despite his marriage and growing popularity, Sotiris began to enter a career downturn that year, losing his championship belt. It had been seemingly overnight when the brutal, punishing contests he had fought had taken a toll on his body. His mind was still there, still wanted to box- but by August of that year his reputation had fallen after two knockouts that he had been on the wrong end of. The consensus among journalists was that while Constantine had the heart, his body simply couldn't hold up to the rigors of his style.

Nikos Constantine was born in 1994- in the midst of his father's third failed comeback attempt. At the behest of his wife, Sotiris retired from fighting permanently, but the competitive spark was still there- and the desire to remain in the sport's spotlight. In 1998, he took out a loan to start his own boxing gym. Even here, 4 year old Constantine was relatively ignored by his father for his gym, unless it was being trained at the gym by his dad in hopes of possibly his son becoming the champion boxer he had been. These training sessions were unsuccessful; Nikos was a fairly untalented boxer and reacted terribly to his father's harsh coaching style.

By 2003, he had declared bankruptcy. In response, he had launched several get-rich-quick schemes to fund the boxing facility- each backfiring miserably. The gym and subsequent projects would close leaving the Constantine family in debt.

Marilyn had seen enough. She could not support Sotiris further in his endeavors and filed for divorce in 2005 before separating with sole custody of their child. The judgement had been blunt; the ruling was that Sotiris' devil-may-care attitude and speculative business ventures caused a financially insecure home that was not in their child's best interests.

Nikos, already shellshocked from the financial difficulties he went through, developed a sort of loathing for his father. In his eyes, his impulsive style- the same thing he was revered for in his career- had bankrupted and split the family. Nick is still bitter. He did not, and does not take well to his father's occasional visits. Nick eschewed his dad's love for boxing for MMA- a sport he knew that his father hated. While he doesn't train in it, he does enjoy watching the sport. While Sotiris and Marilyn have somewhat buried the hatchet and keep a cordial relationship in current times, their son still harbors dislike for his dad. He visits his family bi-monthly, though Nick is often stilted and elliptic in conversations with his father.

Nick believed nothing he ever did was long term except for the repercussions- a belief that lead him into trying photography. It had been just a fleeting idea at first, having found a (now prized) Minolta XG-M camera at a yard-sale. After idly snapping photos of himself, his friends, and his family, he realized he enjoyed it immensely and loved the feeling of being able to capture moments; in his words, he liked the fact he could "make something that lasts." His interest in photography has made him a fixture on the school's newspaper group, taking photos of school events and the like.

His interest in crafting was born out of necessity, having needed to find a darkroom for developing his camera film. School classes in woodworking helped en route to building his own darkroom. He isn't much of an artist himself, but enjoys looking at works, appreciating that those works endured over the years, lasting decades and even centuries.

In school, Nick has always been a student who pulled B's with occasional A's, while excelling in extracurricular things and helping with anything involving photography. He wants to attend Washington State University for its Fine Arts department in hopes of achieving an Bachelors degree and possibly a MFA; His dream job is to be a journalistic photographer.

Socially, Nick has a laid-back, calm personality, and is generally friendly to people- although he may butt heads with some of the more impulsive students. He generally roams around town on his bike (his interest in cycling is born out of necessity; his bicycle is only mode of transportation) and camera, snapping pictures of things he finds 'memorable'.

Advantages: A naturally relaxed person, Nick rarely makes "impulse" decisions, preferring to weigh options beforehand. As he possesses some experience woodworking, he can craft together small objects that don't require too much assembly. Despite rejecting his father's interests, Nick has rudimentary boxing skills- just enough to hold his own in a fight against someone more inexperienced than him. As a result of primarily riding his bike across town, Constantine does have decent enough stamina and may be able to outlast some others.
Disadvantages: Nick will sometimes brood over decisions to the point of ruining any benefit he may have gotten from weighing the options beforehand, and often misses opportunities that more spontaneous people may get. Nick is not exceptionally strong and his boxing skills are limited at best, meaning that in a physical confrontation he can be easily overpowered.