Post by arin on Jul 17, 2009 14:25:40 GMT -5
<<Yes, I know this is a fairly blatant violation of rule #4. I let the app speak for itself regarding whether it's exception-worthy. 
>>
Name: Darwin Tozier (aka Darwin Gervais)
Location: Arbella, California
Gender: Male
Age: 13
Appearance: A small boy, standing 4'9" tall, with furly reddish-brown hair that likes to stick up in the back. A light dusting of freckles is smattered across his nose and cheeks. Currently, he wears a short-sleeved black t-shirt, emblazoned with the witty remark, 'I didn't do my homework, so why would I get in trouble for something I DIDN'T do?'. Blue shorts with a small Nike logo on the left leg rest tightly against his frame. Remarkably, despite several small holes and rips on his clothing, his knees are unblemished by the stereotypical cuts and scrapes one expects to see on an active youth. Usually, he is barefoot, but he may occasionally be seen with a pair of worn sandals and a red iNGear backpack.
How he was recruited: As of this writing, he hasn't been. He is living as a homeless street kid, using his morphing abilities to get by.
Biography: Darwin and his twin sister, Madra, are the children of the now-deceased Visser One, through her former human host Allison Kim, and Hildy "Spacey" Gervais. Darwin was seperated from this family at the age of two, when what was supposed to be a brief hospital stay for a fever turned into a case of child abandonment. Little Darwin spent the next six years blissfully unaware of his past, raised by a foster family that, while not without fault, was certainly loving and nurturing enough. During this period, Darwin developed a particular aptitude for three activities: chess, swimming and writing. These hobbies, particularly the latter, were strongly encouraged, as his foster father was an English teacher and regularly enjoyed working various essays back and forth with his young son. His swimming exploits were the result of his association with his older foster brother, also adopted, who was a member of the Middle School and then High School swim team. Essentially, Darwin was a happy, well-adjusted kid with no idea that he was adopted, although his parents certainly intended to tell him "when the time was right".
But far before such a revelation could be made, a much more sinister problem from Darwin's past came to strike down the happy life that was not meant to be. Whilst he was away at school, the Yeerks came for his family. Aware of his importance to Visser One, Visser Three had successfully tracked down his adoption records. In the cages, he would later find out from his foster mother that four Controller policemen kicked down the door in an apparent raid of the house, removing them to the Yeerk pool. But when Darwin came home from school that day, all he saw (apart from a broken front door) was a loving family that was eager to take him to his dentist appointment so that he could be done in time to come home and play with his friends.
Instead of losing a tooth, he gained Orkath Seven-Twenty-Nine of the Hett Simplatt pool.
Now a human-Controller, young Darwin spent most of his time angrily wallowing in the back of his own head, watching his body used to gather recruits for the Sharing in his local area. His relationship with his Yeerk was something of a love-hate one, as Orkath was usually quite civil in conversation with the child and did occasionally placate him by watching favorite TV shows, or playing chess together (during which Orkath swore that he never 'cheated' by reading Darwin's strategic thoughts, and yet only lost once during their tenure together). However, Orkath was well-aware that he had been chosen for Darwin because of his expendability, and the feud between the Vissers, and there were times when that fact made him bitter and resentful towards his host.
Worse, his brother and mother were less than understanding with him, and frequently stared at him with disdain when they were in the cages together. They saw him as the reason for their enslavement, and though part of them certainly knew that Darwin hadn't meant to do this to them, it was hard to be understanding of the boy when they had lost their freedom in a more profound way than any way humans had to take freedom from one another.
Then came the trial, and the somewhat educational revelation that his father was still alive, albeit a homeless lunatic, and he had a twin sister somewhere in the world. Darwin was sure, even as his own hand unwittingly reached out and pointed the revolver at his own heart, that the end had come for him. Miraculously, he was spared, and afterward, it seemed as though Visser Three had all but forgotten about him. Life became fairly typical (for a Controller) until a battle with the Animorphs allowed a morphing cube to fall into Yeerk hands.
At that point, Darwin was subjected to the morphing cube and assigned to a morph-capable squadron in order to help hunt down the Animorphs. His squadron saw combat twice (once at a battle with National Guard troops, and once against a small team of Auxiliary Animorphs in the days prior to the destruction of the Yeerk pool) before war's end.
Post-war, humanity wasn't quite ready to deal with all of the immediate consequences of the fighting. Darwin's Yeerk, by this point, was somewhat amicable company for Darwin, not to mention the only known "family" the boy had, outside from his sister (he believed his father dead in the Animorph attack on the pool, and still thinks so to this day). Darwin didn't want to see the Yeerk leave his head. But the humans weren't giving any Yeerks the option of remaining as they were, and so Darwin surrendered his Yeerk to a makeshift facility that had been set up at what was supposed to be the site of the new Yeerk pool. The Yeerk chose a golden eagle for his permanent morph. After being supervised for the requisite two hours, he was tagged with a radio transmitter and released. As for Darwin, he was one of thousands of children displaced and seperated by the circumstances, the fate of his foster family unknown. Having been hurt by his old foster family, he found himself unwilling to face the possibility of being assigned a new set of parents who could later betray him. Instead, he decided to emulate his true father, and take to life on the streets. For the last four years, the boy has been wandering somewhat directionlessly, playing chess in the park, stealing food and surviving the way any urban street rat would. Orkath has come along for the ride, and mostly been Darwin's only real friend. But their relationship is strained as well, because the intimacy that they had - the literal sharing of mind and body - is irrevocably severed, and misunderstandings between them are comparatively far too easy now. Occasionally, he considers seeking out Madra, or his old foster family, always promising himself he'll get around to it someday. Someday...
Personality: Darwin is very much the proverbial wounded lion with a thorn in it's paw. To say he has a chip on his shoulder after all he's been through is to say that the Atlantic Ocean is 'a big body of water', and most of the time, it's this gruff, street smart urchin that takes front stage. Ethically speaking, he doesn't share the Animorphs' scrupulous qualms about leaving money whenever he needs to take a burger from someplace, but he has yet to use his morphing power to steal anything more than what he needs for basic survival and sanity, and he never hits the same place twice, ensuring that the loss to any particular business in the area is minimal (this also has the effect of allowing his crimes to go largely unnoticed, which works out for him as far as making sure no one's looking for him). He puts forth the tough guy act very well, and is very VERY slow to trust, usually. He knows his turf, knows who the other street kids are and does his best to look out for them on occasion, which is the closest he ever gets to showing compassion. But he's prideful and presumes most people are, so his "help" is always given in such a way that the kid he's helping is as unaware of it as possible. Despite all of this, he still does have something of a playful side, and will occasionally attempt to get into games or competitions (especially chess). Underneath it all, he's very, very lonely - desperately hoping to make long-lasting connections with others again.
Preferred Job: Darwin has not given any thought whatsoever to any kind of career. Such long term planning is, for the moment, an incredibly alien concept to him.
First Morph: Technically, his first morph was a wolf, acquired under orders while he was still a Controller to be used as a battle morph against the National Guard. The first morph he chose of his own volition was a ferret morph, which he found useful for most of his criminal activity.
OOC Notation: So essentially, what I've tried to create here is a character on the fence, someone who could go either way, a "bone" of sorts for the rival factions to attempt to sway. I'm hoping that roleplay eventually defines his options and pushes him down a path, and I will enjoy finding out what that path might be.
>>Name: Darwin Tozier (aka Darwin Gervais)
Location: Arbella, California
Gender: Male
Age: 13
Appearance: A small boy, standing 4'9" tall, with furly reddish-brown hair that likes to stick up in the back. A light dusting of freckles is smattered across his nose and cheeks. Currently, he wears a short-sleeved black t-shirt, emblazoned with the witty remark, 'I didn't do my homework, so why would I get in trouble for something I DIDN'T do?'. Blue shorts with a small Nike logo on the left leg rest tightly against his frame. Remarkably, despite several small holes and rips on his clothing, his knees are unblemished by the stereotypical cuts and scrapes one expects to see on an active youth. Usually, he is barefoot, but he may occasionally be seen with a pair of worn sandals and a red iNGear backpack.
How he was recruited: As of this writing, he hasn't been. He is living as a homeless street kid, using his morphing abilities to get by.
Biography: Darwin and his twin sister, Madra, are the children of the now-deceased Visser One, through her former human host Allison Kim, and Hildy "Spacey" Gervais. Darwin was seperated from this family at the age of two, when what was supposed to be a brief hospital stay for a fever turned into a case of child abandonment. Little Darwin spent the next six years blissfully unaware of his past, raised by a foster family that, while not without fault, was certainly loving and nurturing enough. During this period, Darwin developed a particular aptitude for three activities: chess, swimming and writing. These hobbies, particularly the latter, were strongly encouraged, as his foster father was an English teacher and regularly enjoyed working various essays back and forth with his young son. His swimming exploits were the result of his association with his older foster brother, also adopted, who was a member of the Middle School and then High School swim team. Essentially, Darwin was a happy, well-adjusted kid with no idea that he was adopted, although his parents certainly intended to tell him "when the time was right".
But far before such a revelation could be made, a much more sinister problem from Darwin's past came to strike down the happy life that was not meant to be. Whilst he was away at school, the Yeerks came for his family. Aware of his importance to Visser One, Visser Three had successfully tracked down his adoption records. In the cages, he would later find out from his foster mother that four Controller policemen kicked down the door in an apparent raid of the house, removing them to the Yeerk pool. But when Darwin came home from school that day, all he saw (apart from a broken front door) was a loving family that was eager to take him to his dentist appointment so that he could be done in time to come home and play with his friends.
Instead of losing a tooth, he gained Orkath Seven-Twenty-Nine of the Hett Simplatt pool.
Now a human-Controller, young Darwin spent most of his time angrily wallowing in the back of his own head, watching his body used to gather recruits for the Sharing in his local area. His relationship with his Yeerk was something of a love-hate one, as Orkath was usually quite civil in conversation with the child and did occasionally placate him by watching favorite TV shows, or playing chess together (during which Orkath swore that he never 'cheated' by reading Darwin's strategic thoughts, and yet only lost once during their tenure together). However, Orkath was well-aware that he had been chosen for Darwin because of his expendability, and the feud between the Vissers, and there were times when that fact made him bitter and resentful towards his host.
Worse, his brother and mother were less than understanding with him, and frequently stared at him with disdain when they were in the cages together. They saw him as the reason for their enslavement, and though part of them certainly knew that Darwin hadn't meant to do this to them, it was hard to be understanding of the boy when they had lost their freedom in a more profound way than any way humans had to take freedom from one another.
Then came the trial, and the somewhat educational revelation that his father was still alive, albeit a homeless lunatic, and he had a twin sister somewhere in the world. Darwin was sure, even as his own hand unwittingly reached out and pointed the revolver at his own heart, that the end had come for him. Miraculously, he was spared, and afterward, it seemed as though Visser Three had all but forgotten about him. Life became fairly typical (for a Controller) until a battle with the Animorphs allowed a morphing cube to fall into Yeerk hands.
At that point, Darwin was subjected to the morphing cube and assigned to a morph-capable squadron in order to help hunt down the Animorphs. His squadron saw combat twice (once at a battle with National Guard troops, and once against a small team of Auxiliary Animorphs in the days prior to the destruction of the Yeerk pool) before war's end.
Post-war, humanity wasn't quite ready to deal with all of the immediate consequences of the fighting. Darwin's Yeerk, by this point, was somewhat amicable company for Darwin, not to mention the only known "family" the boy had, outside from his sister (he believed his father dead in the Animorph attack on the pool, and still thinks so to this day). Darwin didn't want to see the Yeerk leave his head. But the humans weren't giving any Yeerks the option of remaining as they were, and so Darwin surrendered his Yeerk to a makeshift facility that had been set up at what was supposed to be the site of the new Yeerk pool. The Yeerk chose a golden eagle for his permanent morph. After being supervised for the requisite two hours, he was tagged with a radio transmitter and released. As for Darwin, he was one of thousands of children displaced and seperated by the circumstances, the fate of his foster family unknown. Having been hurt by his old foster family, he found himself unwilling to face the possibility of being assigned a new set of parents who could later betray him. Instead, he decided to emulate his true father, and take to life on the streets. For the last four years, the boy has been wandering somewhat directionlessly, playing chess in the park, stealing food and surviving the way any urban street rat would. Orkath has come along for the ride, and mostly been Darwin's only real friend. But their relationship is strained as well, because the intimacy that they had - the literal sharing of mind and body - is irrevocably severed, and misunderstandings between them are comparatively far too easy now. Occasionally, he considers seeking out Madra, or his old foster family, always promising himself he'll get around to it someday. Someday...
Personality: Darwin is very much the proverbial wounded lion with a thorn in it's paw. To say he has a chip on his shoulder after all he's been through is to say that the Atlantic Ocean is 'a big body of water', and most of the time, it's this gruff, street smart urchin that takes front stage. Ethically speaking, he doesn't share the Animorphs' scrupulous qualms about leaving money whenever he needs to take a burger from someplace, but he has yet to use his morphing power to steal anything more than what he needs for basic survival and sanity, and he never hits the same place twice, ensuring that the loss to any particular business in the area is minimal (this also has the effect of allowing his crimes to go largely unnoticed, which works out for him as far as making sure no one's looking for him). He puts forth the tough guy act very well, and is very VERY slow to trust, usually. He knows his turf, knows who the other street kids are and does his best to look out for them on occasion, which is the closest he ever gets to showing compassion. But he's prideful and presumes most people are, so his "help" is always given in such a way that the kid he's helping is as unaware of it as possible. Despite all of this, he still does have something of a playful side, and will occasionally attempt to get into games or competitions (especially chess). Underneath it all, he's very, very lonely - desperately hoping to make long-lasting connections with others again.
Preferred Job: Darwin has not given any thought whatsoever to any kind of career. Such long term planning is, for the moment, an incredibly alien concept to him.
First Morph: Technically, his first morph was a wolf, acquired under orders while he was still a Controller to be used as a battle morph against the National Guard. The first morph he chose of his own volition was a ferret morph, which he found useful for most of his criminal activity.
OOC Notation: So essentially, what I've tried to create here is a character on the fence, someone who could go either way, a "bone" of sorts for the rival factions to attempt to sway. I'm hoping that roleplay eventually defines his options and pushes him down a path, and I will enjoy finding out what that path might be.
