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Character: Rachel Berenson
Series/Fandom: Animorphs
Original or Template version: Original
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Sexuality: Straight
Marked: Yes, a cross on her left breast, over her heart.
Appearance: With the build of a model and the looks of one too, Rachel is tall, slender, and blond with bright blue eyes. She's very toned from her years of gymnastics, and even though she loves it she knows she's too tall to make a career out of it, sticking with it primarily to keep herself fit and graceful. She's always wearing the latest fashions, and somehow manages to look immaculate despite any weather or situation she manages to get stuck in. (It was once joked by Marco that she's so perfect mud won't stick to her if you threw it at her, but never tried that to find out.)
Personality: Before the war, she was a normal girl dealing with normal life and the burdens one might face after their parents get separated. She loved shopping, and was obsessed with owning the newest and latest fashions. She loved hanging out with Cassie, her best friend, and always teased her about getting the farm girl a new wardrobe.
However, once the war began, Rachel started shifting toward more darker personality traits. At first, she was simply the aggressive one, the one who never backed down from a fight and simply charged into battle with no second thought. This ended up forcing her to never back down, as she felt like her friends relied on her to constantly be the "brave" one, earning nicknames like "Xena, Warrior Princess" and "the war goddess".
This ended up making her more and more reckless, and at times even sadistic, fully addicted to the adrenaline rush the act of war instilled in her. She could even be listed as sociopath, and wasn't above torturing or killing her enemies if she deemed it necessary. She sometimes dwelled on dark thoughts, such as what she'd do if she was in charge of the Animorphs, and not her cousin, Jake. Noticing this, Crayak, an evil entity, tried to recruit her, but she refused.
Despite her dark nature, Rachel isn't an evil person. She understands that war is two sided, and that if one side is willing to kill then they should be killed as well. A few sacrifices in the long run to win a war is nothing to her, if it saves the larger populous. Accepting this, she's willing to sacrifice herself if necessary.
Abilities/Strengths: Rachel, like the rest of the Animorphs, has the ability to morph into any animal she touches. The DNA of the animal has to be 'acquired' first, and then she can change the shape of her body to an exact duplicate of the animal she
touched. Since most animals cannot talk, she communicates via 'thought speak', and can filter it or broadcast it to whoever she directs her thoughts to at will.
Rachel's list of acquired morphs includes: African elephant, bald eagle (preferred morph for flying), shrew, cat, wolf, trout, dolphin (preferred morph for water), seagull, ant, cockroach, housefly, grizzly bear (preferred battle morph), rat, termite, skunk, great horned owl, bat, Hork-Bajir (an alien species from the series), flea, horse, parrot, hammerhead shark, mole, mosquito, anteater, seal, polar bear, sperm whale, chimpanzee, eel, squirrel, cockatiel, cheetah, honeybee, human (they don't like to morph "sentient" creatures, and definitely not humans, so this was a rare case), giant squid, orca, beaver, starfish.
She's also very agile, which comes from her years of being a gymnast, and she's also very knowledgeable in fashion.
Weaknesses: There are drawbacks to having the morphing ability. For one, there is the two hour time limit: if she stays in a morph for that long, then she is stuck in that morph forever. She also has to return to human form before she can morph again, and she can only wear skin tight clothing when she's morphing. Normal clothes won't transform with her.
She's reckless, claustrophobic, short-sighted, and inwardly deals with the conflict of trying to be a 'normal' girl and also satiating her 'adrenaline' need. If she was leader of a team, her entire team would either flee or end up getting killed.
History: (Due to the length of the series, I'm going
to try to focus on important points of the story.)
Up until she was 13 years old, her life had been pretty normal. She had her best friend, Cassie, and her cousin, Jake, and she loved shopping and gymnastics. Her parents divorced, and while that took a burden on her, it was nothing beyond the realms of normalcy.
However, one night, that all changed.
Rachel, Jake, Marco, one of Jake's friends, Cassie, and Tobias, a quiet kid at school that everyone made fun of, were walking home from the mall late one night. They decided to take a shortcut through an abandoned construction site when an alien spaceship came crashing down from the sky. An injured alien war prince, named Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul emerged from the ship and explains to them how earth is being invaded by a parasitic race of aliens called Yeerks. Yeerks resemble a slug and enter a species through the ear canal, going into the brain and taking complete control of the body.
He tells the kids that the good aliens, Andalites (his people) will not come to earth until it's too late. So it's up to them. In order to help them, he gives them the ability to morph into any living creature that they can touch and explains how it works and all that. Visser Three, leader of the Yeerk invasion of earth and the only Yeerk ever to infest an andalite, showed up and killed Prince Elfangor.
The next day they realize it all wasn't some freakish dream and start trying out their new ability. They find out that Jake's brother (Rachel's cousin) is a Controller (aka a human being controlled by a Yeerk) and try and rescue him. It doesn't work out, everything backfires and Tobias gets trapped in a red-tailed hawk morph.
Strange dreams that Cassie and Tobias have one night lead them to exploring the ocean with aquatic morphs willing to take a risk on the possibility of a trap, and discover Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, the little brother of Prince Elfangor, trapped in a crashed dome
ship beneath the ocean. They rescue him, recruit him into the Animorphs, and he claimed residence in the woods near Cassie's barn.
Jake became a Controller for a while, but he was freed through an agonizing process which involved tying him to a chair and starving the Yeerk in his brain for three days.
They went through time on accident, and have been frequently visited by the 'Ellimist', a god-like entity. It tells them they will lose the war but they keep fighting, and eventually grants Tobias his ability to morph once more.
In an act of recklessness, Rachel jumped into a crocodile pit to save a boy that fell in, and ended up acquiring a morph of one of the reptiles. She ended up being allergic to it, and wound up 'expelling' the DNA through a process called 'hereth illint'.
Then David came into the picture. Someone who probably helped cement Rachel's sociopathic tendencies, he acquired the morphing ability as well, and ended up using it to his personal gain. Rachel almost electrocuted him when she thought he seriously killed Tobias, and that Jake was dying because of him. The team ended up leaving him stranded in rat morph on an island somewhere.
As Tobias and Rachel begin working together more, their relationship began to deepen. While he got jealous over another student asking her out, she turned him down, realizing she had feelings in return for Tobias.
The war was kicked up greatly when the Yeerks realized that the Animorphs were humans. Family members who weren't saved were most likely under Yeerk control, and the numbers in the Yeerk favor was rising. The Animorphs destroyed a Yeerk pool without the help of the Andalites: it turned out that Ax's species wanted the Yeerks to destroy Earth, but Ax stayed loyal to
the Animorphs.
The last mission Rachel was ever a part of ended badly. Jake ordered her to kill Tom, Jake's brother and a high ranking Controller, and Rachel agreed, despite knowing that she would not survive the mission. She didn't mention the mission to anyone, and became Jake's 'insurance' policy. Despite fully enjoying her final battle and her successful role in Tom's death, she hated the fact that the war was almost over, and that she'd have to die moments before victory.
The last thing she sees before she was killed was Tobias on screen, morphed into a human and crying over her. Her last thought was in regards to how she loved him, and she tried to smile for him.
However, death would not last for the Warrior Princess. Whether it be through Ellimist intervention or some other unexplainable act, Rachel would awaken in Template, where another chapter of her story will begin.
Series/Fandom: Animorphs
Original or Template version: Original
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Sexuality: Straight
Marked: Yes, a cross on her left breast, over her heart.
Appearance: With the build of a model and the looks of one too, Rachel is tall, slender, and blond with bright blue eyes. She's very toned from her years of gymnastics, and even though she loves it she knows she's too tall to make a career out of it, sticking with it primarily to keep herself fit and graceful. She's always wearing the latest fashions, and somehow manages to look immaculate despite any weather or situation she manages to get stuck in. (It was once joked by Marco that she's so perfect mud won't stick to her if you threw it at her, but never tried that to find out.)
Personality: Before the war, she was a normal girl dealing with normal life and the burdens one might face after their parents get separated. She loved shopping, and was obsessed with owning the newest and latest fashions. She loved hanging out with Cassie, her best friend, and always teased her about getting the farm girl a new wardrobe.
However, once the war began, Rachel started shifting toward more darker personality traits. At first, she was simply the aggressive one, the one who never backed down from a fight and simply charged into battle with no second thought. This ended up forcing her to never back down, as she felt like her friends relied on her to constantly be the "brave" one, earning nicknames like "Xena, Warrior Princess" and "the war goddess".
This ended up making her more and more reckless, and at times even sadistic, fully addicted to the adrenaline rush the act of war instilled in her. She could even be listed as sociopath, and wasn't above torturing or killing her enemies if she deemed it necessary. She sometimes dwelled on dark thoughts, such as what she'd do if she was in charge of the Animorphs, and not her cousin, Jake. Noticing this, Crayak, an evil entity, tried to recruit her, but she refused.
Despite her dark nature, Rachel isn't an evil person. She understands that war is two sided, and that if one side is willing to kill then they should be killed as well. A few sacrifices in the long run to win a war is nothing to her, if it saves the larger populous. Accepting this, she's willing to sacrifice herself if necessary.
Abilities/Strengths: Rachel, like the rest of the Animorphs, has the ability to morph into any animal she touches. The DNA of the animal has to be 'acquired' first, and then she can change the shape of her body to an exact duplicate of the animal she
touched. Since most animals cannot talk, she communicates via 'thought speak', and can filter it or broadcast it to whoever she directs her thoughts to at will.
Rachel's list of acquired morphs includes: African elephant, bald eagle (preferred morph for flying), shrew, cat, wolf, trout, dolphin (preferred morph for water), seagull, ant, cockroach, housefly, grizzly bear (preferred battle morph), rat, termite, skunk, great horned owl, bat, Hork-Bajir (an alien species from the series), flea, horse, parrot, hammerhead shark, mole, mosquito, anteater, seal, polar bear, sperm whale, chimpanzee, eel, squirrel, cockatiel, cheetah, honeybee, human (they don't like to morph "sentient" creatures, and definitely not humans, so this was a rare case), giant squid, orca, beaver, starfish.
She's also very agile, which comes from her years of being a gymnast, and she's also very knowledgeable in fashion.
Weaknesses: There are drawbacks to having the morphing ability. For one, there is the two hour time limit: if she stays in a morph for that long, then she is stuck in that morph forever. She also has to return to human form before she can morph again, and she can only wear skin tight clothing when she's morphing. Normal clothes won't transform with her.
She's reckless, claustrophobic, short-sighted, and inwardly deals with the conflict of trying to be a 'normal' girl and also satiating her 'adrenaline' need. If she was leader of a team, her entire team would either flee or end up getting killed.
History: (Due to the length of the series, I'm going
to try to focus on important points of the story.)
Up until she was 13 years old, her life had been pretty normal. She had her best friend, Cassie, and her cousin, Jake, and she loved shopping and gymnastics. Her parents divorced, and while that took a burden on her, it was nothing beyond the realms of normalcy.
However, one night, that all changed.
Rachel, Jake, Marco, one of Jake's friends, Cassie, and Tobias, a quiet kid at school that everyone made fun of, were walking home from the mall late one night. They decided to take a shortcut through an abandoned construction site when an alien spaceship came crashing down from the sky. An injured alien war prince, named Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul emerged from the ship and explains to them how earth is being invaded by a parasitic race of aliens called Yeerks. Yeerks resemble a slug and enter a species through the ear canal, going into the brain and taking complete control of the body.
He tells the kids that the good aliens, Andalites (his people) will not come to earth until it's too late. So it's up to them. In order to help them, he gives them the ability to morph into any living creature that they can touch and explains how it works and all that. Visser Three, leader of the Yeerk invasion of earth and the only Yeerk ever to infest an andalite, showed up and killed Prince Elfangor.
The next day they realize it all wasn't some freakish dream and start trying out their new ability. They find out that Jake's brother (Rachel's cousin) is a Controller (aka a human being controlled by a Yeerk) and try and rescue him. It doesn't work out, everything backfires and Tobias gets trapped in a red-tailed hawk morph.
Strange dreams that Cassie and Tobias have one night lead them to exploring the ocean with aquatic morphs willing to take a risk on the possibility of a trap, and discover Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, the little brother of Prince Elfangor, trapped in a crashed dome
ship beneath the ocean. They rescue him, recruit him into the Animorphs, and he claimed residence in the woods near Cassie's barn.
Jake became a Controller for a while, but he was freed through an agonizing process which involved tying him to a chair and starving the Yeerk in his brain for three days.
They went through time on accident, and have been frequently visited by the 'Ellimist', a god-like entity. It tells them they will lose the war but they keep fighting, and eventually grants Tobias his ability to morph once more.
In an act of recklessness, Rachel jumped into a crocodile pit to save a boy that fell in, and ended up acquiring a morph of one of the reptiles. She ended up being allergic to it, and wound up 'expelling' the DNA through a process called 'hereth illint'.
Then David came into the picture. Someone who probably helped cement Rachel's sociopathic tendencies, he acquired the morphing ability as well, and ended up using it to his personal gain. Rachel almost electrocuted him when she thought he seriously killed Tobias, and that Jake was dying because of him. The team ended up leaving him stranded in rat morph on an island somewhere.
As Tobias and Rachel begin working together more, their relationship began to deepen. While he got jealous over another student asking her out, she turned him down, realizing she had feelings in return for Tobias.
The war was kicked up greatly when the Yeerks realized that the Animorphs were humans. Family members who weren't saved were most likely under Yeerk control, and the numbers in the Yeerk favor was rising. The Animorphs destroyed a Yeerk pool without the help of the Andalites: it turned out that Ax's species wanted the Yeerks to destroy Earth, but Ax stayed loyal to
the Animorphs.
The last mission Rachel was ever a part of ended badly. Jake ordered her to kill Tom, Jake's brother and a high ranking Controller, and Rachel agreed, despite knowing that she would not survive the mission. She didn't mention the mission to anyone, and became Jake's 'insurance' policy. Despite fully enjoying her final battle and her successful role in Tom's death, she hated the fact that the war was almost over, and that she'd have to die moments before victory.
The last thing she sees before she was killed was Tobias on screen, morphed into a human and crying over her. Her last thought was in regards to how she loved him, and she tried to smile for him.
However, death would not last for the Warrior Princess. Whether it be through Ellimist intervention or some other unexplainable act, Rachel would awaken in Template, where another chapter of her story will begin.