Beastly Roses Application
Dec. 5th, 2013 12:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ruthlessheroicsPlayer Information
Name: Julia
Personal Journal: NA
IM Service: AIM: Tentenchan3172
Plurk Name:
Current Characters: None
Character Information
Character Name: Rachel Berenson
Canon: Animorphs
Canon-Point: Post Canon/book 54
Age: 16
History: link to biography
Personality: At first glance Rachel is a stereotypical blonde beauty who enjoys shopping and looking at cute boys, and spends most of her free time at the mall. However, even before any of the events of the book series take place, Rachel defies that stereotype. Rachel is not only a pretty face, but intelligent as well, doing very well in her classes and spending a good amount of time staying on top of her grades. Aside from her shopping hobby and studies, Rachel is a gymnast and a relatively good one at that. It’s my opinion that her love of gymnastics is one hint that the readers get about her love of danger and pushing herself to her physical and mental limits before the war even starts.
To say that the war changed Rachel would only be partially correct and it would be much more accurate to say that the war brought out side of her that already existed, though without the war, would likely have remained buried in her psyche. Throughout the series she becomes more and more aggressive, often in the later books making rash decisions that put she and her friends in danger. Rachel is a kill first, ask questions later type.
That isn’t to say that Rachel is a mindless killer. She is in fact a relatively kind and friendly person. She cares deeply for her friends and loved ones, and even the war never strips her of that aspect of her personality.
As the war grows so does her temper, and Rachel is the most likely to violently lash out of the six main characters. She often grows angry with the other five for making mistakes or for choosing a pacifist solution rather than one that could be more beneficial to their cause. She is the polar opposite of her pacifist best friend, Cassie, and at the beginning of the books the two balance each other out well, but by the end their friendship is barely intact. While they continue to care for each other, their different natures are only emphasized through the war. Cassie’s non-violent and often very risky solutions enrage Rachel, and Rachel’s seeming lack of any thread of compassion for the enemy horrifies and disgusts Cassie.
Rachel is highly aware of the way she begins to slowly compromise and redefine her morality, and she fears the changes, on rare occasions expressing that fear to Jake (her cousin and fellow animorph) or Tobias (her boyfriend and another animorph.) There is a deep tragedy to the decimation of her morality when the reader begins to see that some part of her, however small a part, does not want to continue down the path she has chosen. Ironically, it's for two reasons Rachel does continue down that path, the first being that she enjoys losing herself to the thrill of battle and the power she can command, and the second is for love of her friends.
Of the six members of their team, Rachel’s confidence, aggression, and questionable moral compass often make her the only candidate for a job that needs to be done. If something dirty needs to be done, something that each of the characters find reprehensible, they will outwardly voice objections to committing the deed, but inwardly, (specifically Jake will) manipulate the situation so that Rachel has the freedom to take care of it. Jake allows and at times even coerces Rachel into being the monster they need to win the war, but at the same time, he's disturbed by that same monster. In turn, Rachel resents Jake for using her and keeping his own hands clean (only to judge her for the acts that they both knew needed to be done.) However, eventually Rachel comes to understand that she allows herself to be manipulated for the sake of the team and the sake of the war. If she gets her hands dirty, no one else has to. Her morality, and to an extent her humanity are sacrificial lambs necessary not only to win the war, but also to help her protect what little is left of her friends' innocence. Though she resents them for placing the burden on her, Rachel is unwilling to shift that burden.
She is a fighter through and through, but that's not the only side to her, even if by the end of the series it is her most dominant side. The truth is that her aggression and recklessness are at their worst when she fears for the life of her friends. She is vengeful by nature, and prideful. It is vengeance that drives her to be willing to threaten the preteen David (a traitor), an act that makes the rest of the team almost fear her and definitely fear for her, even if in the end she doesn’t go through with it. It's her pride that keeps her from voicing her insecurities and vulnerabilities even when she's terrified of what she’s becoming.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Rachel’s more "normal" side. Before the war this was her default mode, but during the war it slowly becomes seen less and less. She likes to tease her friends, can take a joke well, and is confident and strong. Much of her recklessness originates from an incredibly brave and courageous nature. She stands up for what she believes is right, and does not back down from a challenge.
She also doesn't love half-heartedly. This is seen often in her relationship with her best friend, despite their differences, and in the relationship she has with her eventual boyfriend. This brings us to another of Rachel’s more complementary qualities and that is her loyalty. Her boyfriend is a red tailed hawk, that is a boy named Tobias who became a hawk permanently after overstaying the two hour time limit and become a Nothlit. It’s important to note that they developed feelings for each other after Tobias became a hawk as they barely knew each other before. Despite the ridiculous obstacles of dating a hawk, Rachel decides to stay with him, even when presented with the opportunity to begin a normal relationship with someone else. She is unflinchingly loyal on a personal level, and fearsomely loyal to a cause she believes in.
Which brings us to the last aspect of her personality that acts as a driving force in her decsions. It’s hardly the first word people would think of when discussing Rachel, but she's self-sacrificing. Her motives for self sacrifice aren't all selflessness by any means, but selflessness is part of it. As mentioned before, despite all of her anger and resentment for her friends Rachel sacrifices her morality and innocence to allow her friends to preserve their own.
Abilities/Powers: Rachel can turn into any animal (or person) whom she acquires the DNA of by touching them. She is able to evade most injuries received in her human form by morphing into something else and then morphing back to human since the morph is DNA based and thus any injuries are not copied over. She is also able to evade injuries received in morph through the same process, however if she is unable to or does not morph in either form, the injuries remain.
Her morphing is limited to two hours, after which she will become a Nothlit and remains stuck in that morph for the rest of her life. While in morph, she can use “mindspeak” that is, telepathic communication with anyone. Mindspeak is in no way reading minds, and she can only send her own thoughts out, privately or publicly) unless she is speaking to someone else also using mind speak (while in morph.)
The morphs she already has are the following:
-African elephant
-bald eagle
-shrew
-cat
-wolf
-trout
-dolphin
-seagull
-ant
-cockroach
-housefly
-great horned owl
-grizzly bear
-rat
-termite
-skunk
-bat
-hork bajir (note: The hork bajir are a peaceful alien race of herbivores that appear very menacing in appearance due to their extremely tall seven foot height, along with the blades that protrude from their wrists, arms, knees, and forehead. In actuality these blades are used on their home world to cut into and feed on trees, however, both the yeerks and Rachel are able to use the blades as weapons while in hork bajir bodies.)
-horse
-parrot
-hammerhead shark
-mole
-mosquito
-flea
-anteater
-seal
-polar bear
-sperm whale
-giant squid
-chimpanzee
-eel
starfish
-squirrel
-cockatiel
-killer whale
-cheetah
-honey bee
-a human woman
-beaver
-German Shepard
-dragon fly
-nameless human
Samples
http://a-facility.dreamwidth.org/4545857.html?thread=295409473#cmt295409473
http://a-facility-log.dreamwidth.org/896349.html?thread=38214493#cmt38214493
Name: Julia
Personal Journal: NA
IM Service: AIM: Tentenchan3172
Plurk Name:
Current Characters: None
Character Information
Character Name: Rachel Berenson
Canon: Animorphs
Canon-Point: Post Canon/book 54
Age: 16
History: link to biography
Personality: At first glance Rachel is a stereotypical blonde beauty who enjoys shopping and looking at cute boys, and spends most of her free time at the mall. However, even before any of the events of the book series take place, Rachel defies that stereotype. Rachel is not only a pretty face, but intelligent as well, doing very well in her classes and spending a good amount of time staying on top of her grades. Aside from her shopping hobby and studies, Rachel is a gymnast and a relatively good one at that. It’s my opinion that her love of gymnastics is one hint that the readers get about her love of danger and pushing herself to her physical and mental limits before the war even starts.
To say that the war changed Rachel would only be partially correct and it would be much more accurate to say that the war brought out side of her that already existed, though without the war, would likely have remained buried in her psyche. Throughout the series she becomes more and more aggressive, often in the later books making rash decisions that put she and her friends in danger. Rachel is a kill first, ask questions later type.
That isn’t to say that Rachel is a mindless killer. She is in fact a relatively kind and friendly person. She cares deeply for her friends and loved ones, and even the war never strips her of that aspect of her personality.
As the war grows so does her temper, and Rachel is the most likely to violently lash out of the six main characters. She often grows angry with the other five for making mistakes or for choosing a pacifist solution rather than one that could be more beneficial to their cause. She is the polar opposite of her pacifist best friend, Cassie, and at the beginning of the books the two balance each other out well, but by the end their friendship is barely intact. While they continue to care for each other, their different natures are only emphasized through the war. Cassie’s non-violent and often very risky solutions enrage Rachel, and Rachel’s seeming lack of any thread of compassion for the enemy horrifies and disgusts Cassie.
Rachel is highly aware of the way she begins to slowly compromise and redefine her morality, and she fears the changes, on rare occasions expressing that fear to Jake (her cousin and fellow animorph) or Tobias (her boyfriend and another animorph.) There is a deep tragedy to the decimation of her morality when the reader begins to see that some part of her, however small a part, does not want to continue down the path she has chosen. Ironically, it's for two reasons Rachel does continue down that path, the first being that she enjoys losing herself to the thrill of battle and the power she can command, and the second is for love of her friends.
Of the six members of their team, Rachel’s confidence, aggression, and questionable moral compass often make her the only candidate for a job that needs to be done. If something dirty needs to be done, something that each of the characters find reprehensible, they will outwardly voice objections to committing the deed, but inwardly, (specifically Jake will) manipulate the situation so that Rachel has the freedom to take care of it. Jake allows and at times even coerces Rachel into being the monster they need to win the war, but at the same time, he's disturbed by that same monster. In turn, Rachel resents Jake for using her and keeping his own hands clean (only to judge her for the acts that they both knew needed to be done.) However, eventually Rachel comes to understand that she allows herself to be manipulated for the sake of the team and the sake of the war. If she gets her hands dirty, no one else has to. Her morality, and to an extent her humanity are sacrificial lambs necessary not only to win the war, but also to help her protect what little is left of her friends' innocence. Though she resents them for placing the burden on her, Rachel is unwilling to shift that burden.
She is a fighter through and through, but that's not the only side to her, even if by the end of the series it is her most dominant side. The truth is that her aggression and recklessness are at their worst when she fears for the life of her friends. She is vengeful by nature, and prideful. It is vengeance that drives her to be willing to threaten the preteen David (a traitor), an act that makes the rest of the team almost fear her and definitely fear for her, even if in the end she doesn’t go through with it. It's her pride that keeps her from voicing her insecurities and vulnerabilities even when she's terrified of what she’s becoming.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Rachel’s more "normal" side. Before the war this was her default mode, but during the war it slowly becomes seen less and less. She likes to tease her friends, can take a joke well, and is confident and strong. Much of her recklessness originates from an incredibly brave and courageous nature. She stands up for what she believes is right, and does not back down from a challenge.
She also doesn't love half-heartedly. This is seen often in her relationship with her best friend, despite their differences, and in the relationship she has with her eventual boyfriend. This brings us to another of Rachel’s more complementary qualities and that is her loyalty. Her boyfriend is a red tailed hawk, that is a boy named Tobias who became a hawk permanently after overstaying the two hour time limit and become a Nothlit. It’s important to note that they developed feelings for each other after Tobias became a hawk as they barely knew each other before. Despite the ridiculous obstacles of dating a hawk, Rachel decides to stay with him, even when presented with the opportunity to begin a normal relationship with someone else. She is unflinchingly loyal on a personal level, and fearsomely loyal to a cause she believes in.
Which brings us to the last aspect of her personality that acts as a driving force in her decsions. It’s hardly the first word people would think of when discussing Rachel, but she's self-sacrificing. Her motives for self sacrifice aren't all selflessness by any means, but selflessness is part of it. As mentioned before, despite all of her anger and resentment for her friends Rachel sacrifices her morality and innocence to allow her friends to preserve their own.
Abilities/Powers: Rachel can turn into any animal (or person) whom she acquires the DNA of by touching them. She is able to evade most injuries received in her human form by morphing into something else and then morphing back to human since the morph is DNA based and thus any injuries are not copied over. She is also able to evade injuries received in morph through the same process, however if she is unable to or does not morph in either form, the injuries remain.
Her morphing is limited to two hours, after which she will become a Nothlit and remains stuck in that morph for the rest of her life. While in morph, she can use “mindspeak” that is, telepathic communication with anyone. Mindspeak is in no way reading minds, and she can only send her own thoughts out, privately or publicly) unless she is speaking to someone else also using mind speak (while in morph.)
The morphs she already has are the following:
-African elephant
-bald eagle
-shrew
-cat
-wolf
-trout
-dolphin
-seagull
-ant
-cockroach
-housefly
-great horned owl
-grizzly bear
-rat
-termite
-skunk
-bat
-hork bajir (note: The hork bajir are a peaceful alien race of herbivores that appear very menacing in appearance due to their extremely tall seven foot height, along with the blades that protrude from their wrists, arms, knees, and forehead. In actuality these blades are used on their home world to cut into and feed on trees, however, both the yeerks and Rachel are able to use the blades as weapons while in hork bajir bodies.)
-horse
-parrot
-hammerhead shark
-mole
-mosquito
-flea
-anteater
-seal
-polar bear
-sperm whale
-giant squid
-chimpanzee
-eel
starfish
-squirrel
-cockatiel
-killer whale
-cheetah
-honey bee
-a human woman
-beaver
-German Shepard
-dragon fly
-nameless human
Samples
http://a-facility.dreamwidth.org/4545857.html?thread=295409473#cmt295409473
http://a-facility-log.dreamwidth.org/896349.html?thread=38214493#cmt38214493
