Atticus Renshaw

[Atticus Renshaw]

NAME: Atticus Jeremy Renshaw
NICKNAME: Atti, A.J.
AGE: 17
GENDER: Male
ORIENTATION: Pansexual
POSITION: Student
FACE CLAIM: Ross O'Donovan

POWER:
Animal Posession
Any animal within eyesight is a possible victim of Atticus's possession, also called 'Warging' by some. He can fling his mind into the beast's and see through its own eyes. Based on his relationship with the animal and its own personality and willpower, he can gain some element of manipulation over the animals actions and emotions. He cannot maintain control of his own body whilst controlling the animal, so his human vessel sits where it was when he began his possession. His body in this state is much like a useless and soulless potato until his mind slings itself back into place.

Limitations
` If an animal cannot do it on its own, it cannot do it whilst being controlled. Atticus cannot make a cat walk bipedally, nor can he make a dog perform a card trick. The animal's limits become his own. This means if the animal is injured or crippled, he must work with that hindrance.

` Atticus cannot possess any animal out of eyesight. While he can manipulate the animal out of eyesight after the initial possession, he cannot return to his own body while out of eyesight either. He has to be especially careful with where he leaves his human self, else he could be stuck in the animal that he possessed.

` Especially willfull animals can immediately force Atticus out. As a general rule, the larger the animal, the harder to possess initially. he longer Atticus spends in the mind of an animal, the easier it becomes to control. It does, however, become increasingly difficult to get used to being in his human body again.

` Atticus's human body is incapacitated and completely useless when he is possessing an animal. He could be kidnapped without his ever knowing that anyone even touched him.

Side-Effects
` While controlling an animal, Atticus's rationality and human senses can be distorted. Sometimes he can lose track of whatever goal he may have had in possessing the animal. Sometimes he may altogether forget that he is human and has a body to return to.

` If injured or killed during a possession, Atticus will return to his body with that pain, or some remnant of the injury. This is mostly psychological, as no physical evidence of injury will appear on his body.

` Occasionally, Atticus will accidentally slip into the mind of an animal nearby that he may or may not be aware of. Often times, this occurs with rodents, small-brained animals, and animals that have a close relationship with Atticus.

` Migraines are common after a possession. Senses are strongly distorted and contribute to the headache. Speech is sometimes inhibited in this time and may be replaced with animal noises from whichever beast has just been possessed.

` Difficulty interacting with humans can come at any time for Atticus, but especially after a possession. Some animal-like behaviors may appear in his daily interactions, and this is only ever balanced out by preventing himself from possessing animals.

` Animal maulings are also quite common post-possession, especially because Atticus must leave an emotionally and mechanically violated beast within eyesight when returning to his body. Animals rarely take kindly to being possessed.



APPEARANCE SECTION:

Atticus is probably a little taller than a Hobbit, standing at a proud 5',4". He's built small, but his personality makes up for it. Though, that's something that we'll get to later on. His body is built for speed and hiding in small places, and certainly not for putting up a fight. He even appears to be fragile and paper-thin. Perhaps it's a ruse to make his enemies feel bad for him instead of beating up on him. He has the complexion of a polar bear, probably because of how little time he spends outside. He does, after all, have this love-hate relationship with animals.

Atticus passes for maybe a twelve year old girl -- just kidding, of course. He does have quite the baby face and looks a few years younger than he really is. That's not to say he still isn't attractive. He has relatively short brown hair and brown eyes. He has a smile that can be described as adorably awkward, and he wears it a lot of the time. He can sometimes be spotted with a pair of reading glasses that he seems embarrassed about wearing.

MUST HAVE APPAREL:
Atticus can wear a real range of clothing, and it all depends on how much effort he wants to put into his wardrobe that day. He has an entire closet full of graphic tee's and spends most of his days wearing those with a pair of jeans. On occasion, he'll surprise the general public by wearing a suit around to all of his classes. His fashion choices seem quite sporadic and spontaneous and entirely uninspired by any ongoing events in his life. He does favor bow-ties, though, as well as his blue pinstriped suit. Atti is notorious for wearing weather-inappropriate attire.

PERSONALITY SECTION:

On the forefront, Atticus is impressively outgoing. He spreads Christmas-in-July cheer like no tomorrow. He is certainly an unpredictable character, and is often times described as weird. It is the good weird, he will be sure to assure you. In fact, you'll be lucky if you can get past Atti without him striking up some sort of bizarre conversation. If he were to win an award, it would be for "most bizarre icebreakers".

Behind the mask, Atticus is a bit troubled in his identity. Despite the fact that he is sure that he wants to be nice, a lot of his polite mannerisms come from trying to adopt himself out of foster care as a child. The kindness isn't false, just natural. Although it is especially difficult for Atticus to step forward and tell anyone about any negative feelings. He's more likely to advertise himself as feeling "a bit under the weather" than admit that he's feeling a bit suicidal. Nobody could tell you the root of Atticus's depression, not even himself.
In his free time, Atticus spends most of his time indoors, whether it be reading or playing video games or socializing. He especially enjoys marathoning obscure shows that nobody has heard of off of Netflix. He is a bit of an anglophile and would admit to watching a season or twenty of Doctor Who. Yet, he refuses to identify as a nerd, but rather as a cultural taste-tester of British and Japanese media.

Of the things Atti does not like, dolphins are one of them. He won't tell anyone why, but he can barely stand to look at a picture of one. Other such dislikes include orange juice and Pokemon. He is also a little paranoid about going outside.
It is also of note to mention that Atticus is neither particularly enthusiastic about animals, nor does he hate them. He adores his cat and has a healthy relationship with him, but tends to avoid other animals. Just being near an animal tempts Atticus to possess it. Not to mention, the chance of forced possession, which is most inconvenient.

EXTRA QUIRK:
` Atticus loves milk, a lot. Be it 1%, 2%, skim, or almond, he will drink it. He will drink it all. Be sure to padlock your fridge if you don't want to have dry cereal in the morning.

` Atticus is left-handed.


FATHER: Jackson Renshaw
MOTHER: Agata Renshaw
SIBLINGS: Zosia Renshaw (sister, 13)
PET:  Ragtime (cat)
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: N/A
WORTHY MENTIONS: Guy Legrange


CHILDHOOD:

 Atticus was born with the name Eli Jeremy Halding Jr., after his birth father. Of his original family, that is all that Atti knows-- and that's from looking at birth records and court documents. For whatever reason, because Child Protective Services and the courts were especially careful not to expose Atticus to whatever his birth parents were guilty of, Atticus was handed from foster home to foster home as a child. Actually, he was almost officially adopted a grand total of five times, and had gone through the names Sawyer, Lee, and Freiser all before the age of 8. What kept him from these homes was his tendancy to tantrum.  Only occasionally, but quite badly so when he did. CPS-assigned therapists and doctors did little to sate his outlashes.

Finally, at the age of 10, he found his forever home with the Renshaw family. He became older brother to the family's other adopted child, Zosia, who was then 7 years of age. The family was, in many ways, the best he could have asked for. Loving, authoritative over authoritarian, never too permissive of poor behavior. Once in his forever home, with his forever name, Atticus was truly quite happy. The tantrums continued, but less and less over time. Thankfully, the Renshaw family could support Atti's long childhood years in therapy. Although they were never too terribly helpful, Atticus got on well with adults and enjoyed telling his therapist all about what he remembered of his childhood. Unfortunately so, he does not remember much other than bouncing between households and potential families. That, and breaking plenty of precious family heirlooms.

ADOLESCENCE:

 Puberty came late for Atticus, and was actually encouraged by doctor-administered hormones at the age of 16, because by then, Atticus hadn't even had so much as his first growth spurt. He'd missed many of the milestones leading up to puberty, which his pediatricians attributed to either his genetic history (which was a bit of a mystery), and his emotional history. With it, came a new and improved return of his childhood aggression. Only this time, turned towards himself. His forced years of puberty brought him several suicide attempts, and many instances of self-harm. It was in a stay at a psych ward that his power first peaked. You would think that a power like his would be safe, indoors and in a safe mental facility. Nonetheless, during a therapy dog visit in the psych ward's common room, Atti collapsed in what appeared to be a seizure. For just a few moments, Atticus found himself trapped in the quivering, yapping body of a Teacup Chihuahua. The sensory flood had been overwhelming for just long enough before Atticus's mind snapped back into his own body. He had been pinned to the ground by multiple people, trying to gain control over his supposed seizure.

The following week ensued at the hospital, and many medical tests and counselor visits were to be had. He'd been in control of that stupid Chihuahua, and he knew it. Even for just a second. He even admitted so to the hospital psychologist. In a mere two weeks, Atticus did not return home. In fact, the pyschologist he was visiting on the daily turned into a recruiter for the Bellefonte Academy, where Atticus would fit in, as the man had put it. His life had shifted so swiftly and so dramatically, Atti could only think to go with the flow in his volatile state of mind. For much of Atticus's first year at the university, he holed himself up in his room. Literally. He would curl up in a pile of blankets under his bed and hide. After multiple animal-related incidents around campus, Atticus wanted nothing to do with the outdoors. He was pleasant enough with the people around him, but often times skipped out on classes and tucked himself away in an animal-free zone.

It was a teacher named Guy Legrange, who came into Atticus's life and introduced the idea of embracing his power, rather than avoiding it entirely. That very same teacher introduced Atti to a stray kitten that happened to be roaming the campus, and encouraged him to form a relationship with it. The cat, later named Ragtime, became Atticus's new focus. Albeit, Atti still was not attending class as often as he ought have, but razor-marks on his wrists soon became cat scratches (actual cat scratches, not just excuses for his self harm!), and then nothing but scars.

ADULTHOOD:
This year, Atticus is repeating his first year at the Academy, due to poor grades and attendance from the year prior. While the few who ever saw him in his first year would notice a marked difference, others would see a jolly young man often accompanied by a black cat. It is certain that Atticus is trying much harder to adapt to his life as a gifted student, using his power for the good of others when possible, and grinding through the academic stuff. Anyone who hadn't known him from what he calls "before" would never guess that he had a troubled past. At least, unless their gift might offer them insight into what truly lies in the mind of Atticus Renshaw.


SAMPLE: "Whatever, really"

USERNAME: Tack

AGE GROUP: 18

EXPERIENCE: Probably since I was about eleven and roleplaying on Neopets.

WHERE DID YOU FIND US? Proboards Support forums

Template made by MEL, inspired by NU

[Mel *]

Welcome to the Bellefonte Academy, Tack!
Here's a link to the CLAIMS!