Selah Belle Madison

[Selah Belle Madison]

Selah Belle Madison

....the mask

Your Name: Elisabeth
Where did you find us?: A friend(Mysti/Skii)
How long have you been role playing?: first time
Password: admin edit!

...basic character information

Birth Name: Selah Belle Madison
Nickname: See
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Grade: 10
Birth date: October 28th, 1994
Program: Bachelor of Arts
Major: Photography
Major Explanation: Selah wanted to originally major in Martial Arts, but she had a bad accident at a competition (her last competition), when she was twelve, that could have paralyzed her or even killed her. Her back up major was Photography. She is majoring in Photography because, since she is a jaguar and therefore closer to nature, she captures things differently. She shows how beautiful the world really is, from creative perspectives. That is why Selah majored in Photography.
Animal Identity: Jaguar

...personality

Likes:

• Martial Arts- she's amazing at martial arts, but didn't think she could make a career of it (rest explained in history).
  
• Photography- she enjoys capturing beauty that no one else seems to see.
  
• Doodling- because who doesn't?
  
• Drawing- same as photography, she wants others to see how beautiful the world is.
  
• Academics- she likes to learn and be challenged.
  
• Shifting- it gives her a new perspective.
  
• Writing- it helps her express other feelings.
  
• Singing- in her animal form she can't really sing, so it's more precious to her.
  
• Dancing- It helps her with the discipline and grace of Martial Arts
  
• Cantaloupe- she has fetishes that she can't really explain.
  
• Talking- when she's comfortable she opens up
  
• Theatre- Made her unique in the orphanage
  
• Acting- so she can pretend for a while.
  
• Fire- another fetish .
  
• The number 4- It's even, easily divisible and not too small or too big.
  
• Physical excerise- she loves to feel her muscles working and getting in shape.
  
• Having fun- she likes to cut loose sometimes, have fun. But she isn't like that all the time.
  
• Friends- Though Selah likes solitude, she also likes having friends when she needs them, someone to care for her.
  
• Climbing trees- She can lay on a branch and just think and listen to silence.
  
• Musicals- They're usually funny and make her laugh, also they're relaxing.
  
• Fairy tales- they always had a happy ending.
  
• Poetry- she thinks it describes life in an amazing way.
  
• Heights- she can see her surroundings, and loves the thrill.
  
• Instruments- mainly the piano, but any kind will do. Selah loves to be able to make music and express herself that way also.
  

Dislikes:

• Ignorant people- self explanatory.
  
• Deep water- able to drown.
  
• When people mix up Jaguars and Panthers- she thinks since they're two different animals, people shouldn't mix them up.
  
• People forgetting about her- no one wants to be forgotten.
  
• Too much sunlight- being a mainly nocturnal animal, too much sunlight hurts her eyes and skin.
  
• Stereotypes- when people label others and think they go by that stereotype, she thinks it's ignorant.
  
• Rushing water- easier to drown in.
  
• Losing- she likes to think she can be invincible
  
• Not knowing- whether it's what's going on, or the answer. Selah doesn't like to be unaware of anything, it gives her a disadvantage.
  
• Too much noise- she likes solitude most of the time, like a jaguar, too much noise annoys her and hurts her ears.
  
• Too many people- She likes her breathing room, a crowd would not be her ideal place to be.
  
• No one caring about her- being an orphan no one ever really cared about her, she doesn't like that feeling.
  
• Over talkative people- She thinks it gets annoying and boring after too long if the person doesn't really have a point.
  
• Smoking- It's gross, and causes too many diseases.
  
• Cutting down rain forests- That's her habitat, her home, she doesn't want it destroyed.
  
• When people laugh at their own jokes- Sometimes it's okay, but, Selah thinks, most of the time it's annoying.
  

Fears:

• Being Beaten- she doesn't like losing, she's competitive.
  
• Drowning- Selah can't swim very well, and neither can Jaguars.
  
• Being fake- she doesn't want to become what she has seen other people resort to.
  
• Not having a writing utensil, paper, or a camera- She usually needs these things at a moments notice, and tries to have something on her at all times to capture what she wants to capture.
  

Strengths:

• Physical Activity- basically any sport (excluding swimming,etc.)
  
• Dancing- grace, strength, and discipline, three things Selah has.
  
• Academics- She can focus and get things memorized/done.
  
• Lying- Selah can lie extremely well to get herself out of problems or uncomfortable situations.
  

Weaknesses:

• Swimming- obvious reasons.
  
• Social Situations- she's not good around new people.
  
• Her Mood Changes- they aren't bad mood swings, but they happen, and she sees them as a weakness.
  
• Anger- Selah gets mad easily which is another reason why she likes physical exercise so much, she can take out her anger.
  

Overall: [400 words minimum]
Selah is a competitive person, she hates being wrong, or losing anything. If you haven't known her then you would never guess just how fierce and competitive she really is. To the average person Selah looks like a nerd, a bookworm, a "sporty chic" but really she is so much more. She likes cantaloupe, the number four, and fire; she has fetishes like those that make no sense. She loves to exercise, unlike most Americans. Selah can make an empty forest seem wonderful and beautiful and new. She captures things in a way that's hard to explain, she makes them seem so much better than they really are. She takes pictures, and draws to show people how she sees the world. She writes to let others know how she cares for everything and anything. She's compassionate, but distant at the same time. Selah is a long list of paradoxes, she makes absolutely no sense, but she works. She shouldn't enjoy all the things she does, but she just does. She tries to make everyone happy but at the same time doesn't really care what other people think. She hates being wrong, but also hates to show others their faults. She loves dancing, singing, acting, and theatre but isn't good at being girly. She loves to set things on fire even though that's how her family died. She is extremely quiet until you get to know her, then she will never shut up. She likes happy ending and fairy tales, even though she knows life will never be like that. Selah dreams of bigger and better things that she doubts will ever happen. She seems fine and perfectly happy, but she really doubts everything she does. She's a messed up kid who has no idea what's really going on, she just goes with the flow. Selah is like a small fish in a big pond, not ready for what lies ahead and already past the past. A long time ago she had hopes and dreams that exceeded her limits, and now she's being more realistic. Once upon a time, she wanted to become a national Martial Arts champion, and now she knows she can't. Selah is your average 15 year old girl, but not. She loves music, dance, theatre, fire, #4, physical exercise, and anything else. But inside she's broken; she lost a family when she was only three years old. Selah cares about everything, but she loves to be alone. Her solitude is her refuge, when she's alone is when she's happiest. But she can't be alone. She's been left her entire life and she just wants to be accepted. She doesn't want to be left, but she can't stand to be in a crowd.

...appearance

--

Celebrity Play By: Troian Bellisario
Appearance: [400 words minimum]
Selah has a darker complexion, since she spends most of her time outside (but in the winter she gets a pale tan). She has lean muscles from working out, dancing, and practicing her martial arts. Her eyes are usually a bright hazel/green color, but sometimes they change to a chocolate brown. They seem to sparkle when she gets an idea, or gets mad. Her eyes can look like they’re shimmering when she gets upset. They change from hazel/green to chocolate brown depending on her mood; if they’re hazel/green then she’s usually happy, excited, fierce, anxious, competitive, or mad; if they’re chocolate brown then she’s usually upset, depressed, sad, distant, or just heart broken. Selah’s eyes are one of the first things you notice about her. Selah's hair is black, with a hint of dark brown highlights, it goes down just past her collar bone; she usually wears her hair down unless she's dancing, working out, or practicing her martial arts, then it's up in a pony tail. Her hair is usually wavy or curly; she never really does anything special to it unless there’s an important reason. She has a burn mark on the inside of her left wrist that she got when she was 3 and escaping from her burning house. She usually tries to hide her burn mark so no one will ask her how she got it. Selah stands at five-foot six-inches tall and she weighs 130 pounds (most of it’s muscle). She had her ears pierced when she was little, but she only owns one pair of earrings, a pair of white gold heart earrings that were her mother's. She only has one necklace she wears, an opal necklace, it was also her mother's (and it's Selah's birthstone). The necklace and earrings weren’t meant to match, but on Selah they seem to fit. The opal necklace is a green-blue color that makes her eyes, whether they’re hazel/green or brown, stand out. She wears her jewelry on special occasions, or when she's nervous. Her jewelry reminds her of her mother, which gives her comfort. Selah is usually wearing whatever makes her comfortable. Some days she’ll wear sweats and an old t-shirt, the next day she’ll wear short shorts and a tank top. It all depends on her mood. Selah’s appearance generally depends on how she’s feeling.
When Selah shifts into a jaguar her burn on her left wrist becomes even more noticeable, because there’s no hair growing in that spot. Her fur is the same color as her hair, black with a hint of dark brown highlights. You can see her jaguar spots in her fur, because she is a jaguar and not a panther (there is no such thing as a black panther, it is only a black jaguar). Her eyes are the same despite whether she is a jaguar or a person. The only difference between her eyes is that when she’s a jaguar they have a wild gleam to them, something that tells you she won’t stop to get what she wants or needs. She is about average build for a jaguar. When Selah is a jaguar she stands at three-foot two-inches tall and she weighs 135 pounds. Her build as a jaguar is lean and muscular, more so than an average jaguar. Her tail is two and a half feet long, it’s fully black with no trace of spots or damage on it.
The main thing you notice about Selah, whether she is human or a jaguar, is her eyes. They immediately capture your attention and hold you there. The next thing you see, if she didn’t hide it well, is her burn mark. After that your eyes scan the rest of her, but come back to her eyes. Selah’s eyes seem to hold so many secrets and lost thoughts that you can’t look away.
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...history

Parents: Lisa Rose Madison*(deceased at 30)
Clarence James Madison* (Deceased at 31)
Siblings: Lily Jean Madison* (Deceased at 12)
James Lee Madison* (Deceased at 9)
Jenny Charlotte Madison (Deceased at 6)
---Selah*---
Celeste Belle Madison* (Selah's younger twin-deceased at 3)
Rose Anne Madison* (Deceased at 11 months)
Kevin Clarence Madison (Deceased at -2months)
Janine Lisa Madison* (Kevin's twin-deceased at -2months)
{ *=Shifting Gene}

[400 words minimum]
Selah and her family had a pretty normal life until the fire, they were an almost average American family. Her mother did housework, her father was a doctor. All of the children that were old enough went to school. They had hand-drawn pictures, school report cards, and awards on the fridge. They even had a pet fish named Alphabet.
Lisa and Clarence had met in highschool, Lisa was a junior and Clarence was a senior at the time. They fell in love before Clarence graduated, and were married shortly after Lisa graduated. It wasn't long until Lily was born. The newly weds had to find a bigger house to accomidate their new family. They moved into a dream house: five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a basement, a play room (which was the attic), a kitchen, and a living room. Lisa painted the walls to the playroom as a rainforest, the living room was a meadow, the bathrooms were ocean scenes, the basement a cave, and each bedroom was a different nature scene.
The family kept growing, three years after Lily was born James came along, three years after him was Jenny, three years after her was Selah and Celeste, then Rose was born a little over two years after them. Lisa was expecting another set of twins, Kevin and Janine, when the fire happened.
Lisa was on bedrest the day the fire happened, Clarence had just got home from the hospital, Lily was trying to cook dinner, James was practicing his guitar upstairs in his room, Jenny was up in her and Lily's room doing homework, Celeste was laying down with Lisa, Selah was in the kitchen with Lily, and Rose was asleep in her crib.
The fire started in the nursery, Rose's room. The door was open. Rose didn't wake up when the fire started, so no one noticed it. It was in the hallway and had almost completely engulfed Rose's room, the fire was slowly blocking their escape.
Clarence was now in the kitchen, watching Lily and Selah. The next room the fire hit was Selah's and Celeste's, no one was in their room, and then it went to James's room. When he screamed, Clarence heard him and ran to the steps. He saw the fire blocking his way up. He told Lily to take Selah and run to the other side of the street, he didn't tell them why, and he ran up the steps into the fire. Lily did what she was told and took Selah to the other side of the street. From there they could see what was happening to their family.
Inside the house, Clarence had already tried to get to Rose but was too late, and was then trying to get into James's room. Smoke was making it hard for him to see and breathe. The fire was spreading and making its way into Lisa and Clarence's room. James had passed out because of all the smoke, and Clarence was finally in James's room. He got James and set him in the hallway. The fire was now inside Lisa and Clarence's room and starting on Jenny's and Lilly's. Lisa screamed and Celeste started to cry when they saw flames starting to eat away the door, while Jenny opened her door to see what was wrong, but instead saw fire surrounding her. Clarence was trying to get to Lisa, Celeste, and his unborn children when Jenny screamed from down the hall.
At this time Rose, only 11 months old, was dead. The bottom half of the house was almost halfway gone, and the top half was almost completely gone. The playroom was begining to burn, and the ceiling was starting to collapse. Clarence had talked Jenny into running down to him, and she was sitting next to James trying to get him to wake up. Clarence was knocking down the door to his and Lisa's bedroom.
Outside Lily couldn't stand watching her home and family go up in flames, she told Selah to stay where she was and that she'd be back as soon as she could. Lily ran into the burning house and up the almost demolished steps. She saw James and Jenny in the hall, James was still unconcious. Clarence had the door almost off its hinges, Lily ran up to him and started to help him kick down the door. Jenny dragged James closer to where Lily and Clarence where. The door broke, and Clarence was able to get in the room. He told Lily to stay and watch Jenny and James.
As Lily went to her siblings and Clarence was getting Lisa and Celeste out of the bedroom, the ceiling collapsed on top of them.
Outside the firetruck, police, and ambulance had finally arrived. Selah was standing in the middle of the road, slowly moving toward her house. She saw the ceiling collapse on her family, thought she didn't understand that it meant they were all most likely dead.
A paramedic went up to Selah, and asked her where she lived. When she pointed to the burning house, she was taken to the ambulence and checked to see if she had been hurt. The paramedic that was checking her said she had come out unharmed, except for a burn mark on the inside of her left wrist.
Selah was fine, physically, but inside it was finally sinking in that Lily wasn't coming back, that her family might be gone forever. Selah was three years old, and had to accept the fact her family was dead and she was not.
The firemen put out the fire, but it was too late, no one was left. They started to head into the house, trying to find someone still alive. They checked the main floor and the basement-no one. Then they made their way carefully up the steps, the ceiling was on the floor and the rooms were gone. Then they saw the lumps under the ceiling, and found Selah's family, except Rose (she was found a little bit later when they were looking for any of Selah's belongings).
The Madison's were a family everyone in the community loved, and so the community paid for the funeral, since they had no other family left except Selah. It was a mass funeral, all seven caskets were displayed, all were closed. The two unborn children were in the casket with their mother, and their names were added to Lisa's and Clarence's gravestone.
Everyone who could attended the funeral did. Selah was three years old, and now knew her family was gone, and she wasn't with them. Within weeks after the funeral she was sent to an orphanage far away from her home.
Selah doesn't remember much of her family, the fire, or the funeral. She remembers bits and pieces of her life. She can't remember her mothers or fathers face. She remembers Lily's light blonde hair and the last thing Lily told her. She remembers James always being in his room and Jenny always laughing. She remembers her and Celeste always being together, it was rare for them to be seperated (which they were the night of the fire). She doesn't remember Rose, except for the little streak of red she had in her dark brown hair. Selah has been told she looks like her mom and has her dad's determination, but she can't remember who told her that.
After her memories of the funeral Selah can't recall anything until her ninth birthday, almost six years after the fire. She was celebrating at The Orphanage she was taken to after her family died (it was stated in her parents will that if they died their children be sent to that specific orphanage). The reason she remembers this birthday so well is that this wass the year Selah recieved the only possesions of her mother's that survived the fire. A pair of white gold heart earrings and an opal necklace. Selah treasures these things greatly and hardly ever wears them except on special occasions or when she's nervous, so she doesn't lose or damage them.
From her ninth birthday things were almost routine for Selah. She would wake up, do what she was told, go to "school" (The Orphanage had its own tutors), and sleep. When she had free time she would: work out, study, read, write, draw, take pictures (when she had a camera), dance, watch plays/musicals (if she was able to go), learn/play piano, listen to music, sing, and practice her martial arts.
All in all, Selah's life at The Orphanage wasn't horrible. Sure wished it was better when she was stuck with too many chores and had to stay up late to finish them or when someone else in the orphanage left to join their new family.
No, Selah's life wasn't bad, or broken; but Selah was. She longed for a family, for someone to care about her existence. She never had anyone supporting her or pushing her in any of her interests. Selah didn't want someone to "smother her with love" but she did want someone to tell her "goodnight" and "I love you". since she hadn't had a family for basically her entire life, she never really knew what it was like. Her idea of a family was what she got from her limited T.V. knowledge, books, and plays/musicals she'd read or seen. Her general knowledge of a family was that it was either broken or whole. She had never experienced the closeness of a family, or the hate between siblings when the quarrel. Selah was too young when she lost her family to remember any of it.
When Selah was ten and a half years old one of the volunteers at The Orphanage noticed her practicing her martial arts and asked her if she would like to enter a competition. She competed until she was twelve. She would have continued competing, but she got badly injured at her last competition, and was almost handicapped. Though she continued training, she never competed again.
After she stopped competing, Selah focused more on other things. Her piano playing got better, she could run faster, and she was attempting to learn Spanish. She read more books, knew more plays and musicals, and got a stronger singing voice. All of her hobbies and skills improved. There was hardly a moment when she wasn't doing something. Whether this was because of her need to be the best, or to keep her mind of off everything else, no one really knows.
Selah has had only a few friends but they all got adopted. She can't remember any of their names since she never knew them for long. In fact, the first time she shifted was right after her last friend at The Orphanage had been adopted. Selah was fourteen, her friend's new family had come to pick her up at night, to wait for everyone to be able to meet her. Selah helped carry out her friend's belongings so she could say goodbye.
After her friend was gone, Selah felt her mind set start to change, her instincts started to take control, her senses started to enhance. She could hear the happy chatter of the new family, who were now a block and a half away. She could smell dinner in the kitchen. She could see in the dark. Then Selah felt her bone structure start to change as she lost her arms and grew two extra legs. She felt her face changing form. She tried to scream for help, for some answers, but all that came out was a roar. Black fur grew all over her body as her clothes ripped, not able to adapt to the change of Selah's structure. A long, black tail grew as Selah finished shifting. Her instincts said to hide, to get out of sight. But it was too late, one of the older voluinteers had seen the entire thing from the door. But, before either one could think about running, Selah's instincts told her to make sure no one found out, and so she pounced on the volunteer. But, she wasn't afraid of Selah, no, the look in her eyes was knowning.
The following months Selah had to try to control when she would shift. The volunteer helped her. She told Selah about her mother, and how she had passed on the shifting gene to her. Selah was happy to know something about her own family. Once Selah was finished with the school year, the volunteer (whose name she found out was Martha) told her about Shifter Academy, and before she had time to decide against it Selah was on her way to the secret island and whatever she may find there.

...connecting human to animal

[One Paragraph Minimum (Can be point form)]

• Martial Arts- She likes martial arts because jaguar means "He who kills in one leap."
  
• Solitude- jaguars are solitary animals and Selah likes to be by herself most of the time.
  
• Hair- Her hair is the same color as her fur, which is why she's a black jaguar.
  
• Eyes- Her eyes remain the same whether she is human or a jaguar, which is another physical content.
  
• Climbing/Heights- Jaguars love to climb, and so does Selah.
  
• Nighttime- Jaguars are nocturnal animals, and Selah enjoys the night better than the day.
  
• Dislikes Swimming- Jaguars can't swim, and Selah is afraid to drown which also ties into her jaguar-ness.
  
• Photography/Drawing- Jaguars are closer to nature than humans, and they understand the ecosystem better also. This helps Selah capture things beautifully when she takes pictures, or even draws. She is tied into nature and the entire planet because of her being a jaguar.
  
• Physical Excerise- Jaguars are muscular animals, and Selah enjoys running and feeling her muscles working.
  
• Dislikes Noise- Since jaguars are solitary animals, they dislike noise, which Selah dislikes noise also.
  
• Cutting Down Rainforests- Rainforests are a jaguars habitat and Selah never really liked people destroying any forest, but since she shifted she felt even more tied to it.
  

...literacy

RP Sample[/i]
Selah paced herself as she walked into the arena. She checked to make sure she had her mom's earrings on, something she always had when she was nervous. She knew that this competition would decide whether she went to the National Martial Arts Competition (only for kids ages 5-16). She checked her ponytail to make sure it wouldn't fall, which was more out of nerves than really caring if it fell.
She looked around her, it seemed like there were a million competitors. Selah didn't let the crowd get to her, this was her moment, she was going to do well and be proud. She checked the rest of her uniform, nothing was missing.
She stepped closer to the mat, she was next. The boy before her, was almost done. He landed perfectly. She had seen him perform before, and she knew he was good, really good. But thinking that wouldn't help her get ready.
Selah rolled her shoulders, stretching, warming up. Since she had no one there to give her any advice or a pep talk she repeated some advice she had heard two years ago Life is a challenge, So conquer it.
The competitor before her finally finished. She waited for her name to be called, and stepped onto the mat.
She kicked and punched on time, her flips were going okay. So far nothing was going wrong. But then her foot slipped, she lost her balance and she was already going into her flip. This was her most difficult flip, the one that she was counting on to get her into the National Martial Arts Competition.
She had made it half way through her flip and nothing was too wrong even though she had lost her balance. But the next part was the landing.
Since she had lost her balance when she was going into the flip, now was the landing was the hardest part.
And she messed it up. Selah was supposed to land on her feet, but instead she landed on her head. She was rushed to the emergency room, unable to move her neck.
She had to go through physical therapy, but she would be fine. If she would have landed just a little bit different she would have either died or been paralyzed.
Selah brushed her fingers through her hair, messed with her earrings, and cried at how close she was to death, how close she was to finally being with her family.
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