player name: Adi
player livejournal: rainblessed
playing here: N/A, all new, but I apped another character – Morgana.
where did you find us? lots of my fellow friends play here :3
are you 16 years of age or older?: Yes, I am 23.


character name: Rachel Barbra Berry.
Fandom: Glee
Timeline: 2x18 – Born this Way.
character's age: Rachel is 16 years old.

powers, skills, pets and equipment:

Powers: Rachel has no special powers, unless you count her magnificent singing voice, which she of course, does count as a special ability which no one else has. Due to the mist, over the time and very slowly, Rachel will find out that her singing voice can do more than simply wow people, it can affect their feelings, making them really feel what she's singing: happiness, sadness or excitement for example. Of course, Rachel will think that for a talent as big as hers such progress is entirely natural, but her voice will be able to be more than just beautiful, it could be soothing and helping to the people around her. Connecting them to her own emotions through the songs she will sing.

Being a high schooler, Rachel has no skills other than singing and dancing, she is also capable of delivering strong slaps when annoyed. She can defend herself to a very minimum extent as any normal high school teenage girl.
She'll be bringing with her a few books of sheet music and an ipod, both almost always in her bag, together with a few changes of clothes she takes with her just in case she'll get slushied.

canon history: Right here

personality:
You may laugh because every time I sign my name I put a gold star after it. But it's a metaphor, and metaphors are important. My gold stars are a metaphor for me being a star.

Rachel, first and foremost, is a diva. Ever since a very young age (three months, according to her, was the first time she won a dance competition) she knew she had a calling, a destiny. Rachel Berry believes herself not to be just anyone, rather, she's someone special. The name Rachel Berry will one day be in lights in Broadway, and Rachel Berry will be a star. Nothing will stop her on her way to stardom, not the fact that she's currently on the bottom of the high school food chain, not the fact that very few people like her or the fact that she thinks no one in the glee club understands the importance of winning their competitions. She will rise above all of those difficulties just like a true star does, and she will win. It's not an option, it's not a possibility, it will just happen.

This determination and the obsession with being perfect all the time, not to mention to be always in the spotlight makes Rachel into a somewhat self centered person, not to mention obnoxious. Many people, including some of the people in the Glee Club resent her, since she can sometimes ignore their emotions in order to get her way. A good example would be her going against Mr. Schuester's decision to give the solo of West Side Story's song "Tonight" to Tina, resulting in Rachel publicly saying she knows Tina will understand she will be better than her in performing the song.

But Rachel isn't a bad person, not at all. She can be sweet, kind and helping. She really can be a good friend, and even put aside her ambitions in order to be a better person. An example to that can be seen when Rachel leaves the school play in which she had a main lead and returns to the Glee Club saying "I realized being the star isn't as important as being your friend". She went as far as giving up her solo at Sectionals for Mercedes, and called it 'taking one for the team'. She's not all black and white. Together with the glee club, she grows and learns to think of the glee club as a family, more than just the group that gives her background voices. She matures, and she learns to love the glee club so much that when it's about to break, it crushes her down. At the beginning, she was willing to quit the club two times because it didn't serve her purposes of always being in the spotlight, while at the end of the first school year she says glee club will always be with her, since it changed her. She made friends, and Rachel never had any friends before.

That leads me to the next point, Rachel may appear to be very confident and head strong, and she usually is - she will give you her honest opinion no matter if you like it or not. But Rachel is also truly sensitive. Her lack of friends made her into a person who really wants appreciation from the people around her. She tells Finn, "I'm like Tinkerbell, I need applause to live!" and she's not kidding. She tells Mr. Schuester "I'm tired of being laughed at," and tries to join the glee club because she truly believes that being a part of something special makes you special, and it will make her liked by her peers. When Finn kisses her but returns to Quinn's side, or when he tells her he doesn't want to be with her, she breaks down into tears. She's sensitive and can be easily brought down, even if she will never show it: she will get a slushie or an insult in her face, raise her chin, and cry alone at night. She's mostly lonely at first, but the process she goes through during the show with the rest of the glee club makes her much stronger. And though she told Jesse St. James she would die if he ever stabs her in the back; when he does and the glee club stands up to defend her, she doesn't. She really, truly, lifts her chin, because she's Rachel Berry, and one day she'll be better than him.

One more side to Rachel is how much she can change and grow.

Until mid season 2 Rachel is very dependent on Finn, seeing he's the first one who told her how good she is, how special she is. Even when he hurts her, she sticks by him since she really needs someone to approve and affirm her opinions of herself. When Finn breaks up with her in season 2 and starts dating Quinn she is broken, she tries to get him back to her in a way that could even be seen as groveling. But eventually, she becomes much more independent. When Finn tells her he had seen "fireworks" when kissing Quinn and implies he doesn't see them with Rachel she doesn't break down like before. Instead she accepts it, and at the end she sings Katy Perry's Firework and dedicates it to her own progress, reminding herself that there is more to her than Finn, that she is the firework. She rises above herself and becomes a very mature independent young woman. This also allows her to show her fun side more clearly to the rest of New Directions and finding friends in Kurt and Mercedes.

Rachel overall wants to prove her worth to the world and to be able to reach a stage in her life in which she will be happy with herself and won't need others' approval. A good example to that can be seen in the original song she had written, Get it Right. After Quinn tells Rachel she can't have both Finn and stardom, and that her schoolgirl dreams of happily ever after are the reason she never gets it right, Rachel crushes down but picks herself up again. That process can be seen in the lyrics she had written down:

"…'cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things, I just want to fix it somehow, but how many times will it take for me to get it right?....can I start again? With faith shaken?...I just have to stay and face my mistakes, but if I get stronger and wiser, I'll get through this."

This song, being very mature for a 16 years old girl, shows Rachel's mature nature; she understands she can't always win. As she sings '..and accept the truth that sometimes life isn't fair' - that's something that people older than her can't always see. From that moment on she shines on her own, able to stand on her own two feet.

One more thing to Rachel, she's compassionate. While some kids who got bullied become bullies themselves she shows great maturity and compassion by being kind to those cruel to her. When Quinn becomes pregnant Rachel tells her the glee club will stand by her, and when Quinn tells her 'if the situation was reversed I'd make your life into a nightmare' Rachel just nods and says 'I know'. She knows what it's like being an outcast and mocked, but she'll never do that to anyone else. Instead she'll reach a hand to those who were cruel to her and try and make them see that being popular isn't what matters in the end. She can be cruel and snap if aggravated, but usually she is able to show maturity and kindness even to those who hate her.

So while Rachel can be seen as bossy, perfectionist and somewhat self-centered, deep inside she is a mature young woman who really tries to find her place in life. She becomes even better at putting friends above competition as the time goes. An example to that can be seen in the fact she helps Kurt, encourages him, and even gives a standing ovation to the Warblers at Sectionals, even though they compete against each other. She is able of putting the competition aside and still helps Kurt with song choices and even befriends Blaine.

Rachel, to sum things up, may be a diva, but she is also a girl who has gone through a lot of progress over the show and grew a lot as a person. At the canon point I'm taking her from, she is able to embrace herself and the thing she hates most about her appearance – her nose, thanks to her friends. She decides to be proud of herself and how she looks like. Kurt sums up Rachel best manner during this episode. When told that even her idol Barbra Streisand didn't get a nose job, Rachel says 'but she's one in a million'.

To that Kurt answers, "so are you."

why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting?

While Rachel never had to survive on her own or deal with any supernatural elements (unless you count the horror that is Sue Sylvester), I believe she can pull through the environment of the game. Firstly, as I said, Rachel is one of the most mature glee kids. She can pull herself through and see situations in an rational, adult way, unlike Finn or even Quinn. She can be a self centered diva but at times of crisis she becomes a leader, calm and collected. At the show it's seen when New Directions have to come up with a new set list during a competition. Rachel is the one who pulls herself together and leads the rest.

Another point is that Rachel broke down so many times during the show, true not because of horrors, but still, she learned how to pick herself up and how to grit her teeth and pull through. She learned to lean on others and ask for help, something she will definitely do in the game. She has gone through a hard process of being stabbed in the back, finding out who her mother is only to be rejected by her. Those are situations that had made Rachel strong in the emotional way. She has pulled through the rejection of Shelby and grew stronger. The same thing can be said about the humiliating process of being egged by Jesse and his friends, she took the eggs without saying a word, and to Jesse she said 'break it like you broke my heart' and accepted the humiliation. These are not trivial things for a girl her age.

One more thing, Rachel has her obsession and drive to succeed, and that can serve her as a mean to pull through the horrors of the game. Rachel knows she is destined to be a star, so she can look at the game setting as a big obstacle that she needs to pass if she wants to grow and be a person worthy of stardom. The show must go on. Her way of looking at challenges - as situations worthy of writing songs about or as situations that will one day make great additions to her personal biography, may seem obsessive, but they also help her to stay calm and focused even at situations most girls her age would panic at.

Sure, Rachel would be scared and hysteric at first, but I truly believe that she is mature enough emotionally to pull through and find friends in the City, and lean on those friends in times of need. She will borrow strength from them and also remind herself that if she's going to be a star she needs to be strong, pull through, grit her teeth and overcome even this great challenge. Because if she can prove herself at the city, she can prove herself just about anywhere.

To sum things up, Rachel's drive will make her able to face survival situations and even horrors, while her emotional maturity will help her stay strong and focused even within the situation of the game.



Network Post Sample:

I have two examples

Third Person Sample:

When Rachel Berry woke up, she jolted up in one swift move, knowing at once something was off. Firstly, she couldn't remember posting a MySpace video last night, or practicing ballad options for Nationals or going to sleep, for the matter.
For a moment, she figured she passed out because of her nose injury, but that couldn't be. Being her professional self, she didn't even pass out right after breaking her nose. The show must go on, broken nose or not.
So, if she didn't pass out, which she didn't then -

She looked around, becoming a bit more panicked as the room wasn't familiar to her at all. She found the small pink trolley she took with her to school at the foot of the bed and went through it – everything was at its place: sheet music, energy bars, a bottle of water, her ipod.
If this was a kidnapping, it was weird.

Carefully, Rachel crossed the room and looked out of the room. The view outside looked like anything but Lima, Ohio. It reminded her of Europe, if anything. But still, something was odd about the view. It looked like a film set rather than an actual place.

Oh no - the thought crossed her head before she could do anything else. What if Vocal Adrenaline sent her to a faraway location where they kept their sets which were, she had to admit, pretty impressive. How low, to take New Directions' best soloist, their one shining star, so close to Nationals! So low – she wasn't even surprised.

Yes, of course, Rachel was not a stranger to sending people away to avoid competition. But the unfortunate incident with Sunshine and crack house was supposedly behind her, and besides it wasn't even an active crack house! It was by far not as bad as drugging her and sending her to God knows where just before Nationals!

But she had to relax. She had to think quickly. New Directions will need her back for rehearsals. She needed to find that – that – detestable coach of Vocal Adrenaline, Dustin, and make sure he knew her dads were going to sue. Then, she'd get out of here and write a song about the trauma. Perhaps if she'll overcome this it'll be good stuff to talk about when VH1 will do a Behind the Music tribute to her when she becomes a star.

Taking her phone out of her pocket, she frowned when she found out there was no reception. Where did Vocal Adrenaline sent her to? Just how low will they go to get another National title?

Well, she thought to herself, on the bright side – at least this means Vocal Adrenaline are scared of New Directions. After all, if they were willing to go that far it means that they must be worried.
As they should be, since Rachel meant to see her – well New Directions' name all over that Nationals trophy! She'll find her way out of here and go against Vocal Adrenaline with a vengeances!

She went through her trolley one more time, and smiled at the picture of her dads and the picture of New Directions, both decorated with gold stars stickers. A few charts of stickers were still neatly packed beneath her clothes.
Gold stars – stardom – thinking about those things made her feel better.
She's Rachel Berry, she's destined for greatness, this is just another step, another journey, and though she was scared, really scared, probably going through a panic attack, it will be fine, just fine.

One last question remained – what would Barbara Streisand do?

Anything else? ah…no!