Yates, Ryland

[Ryland Yates]

RYLAND MICHAEL YATES

....the mask

Your Name: Brandi
Where did you find us?: Proboards Advertising Board
How long have you been roleplaying?: A long time! At least 5 years, with plenty of breaks, though.
Password: [admin edit!][/i]

...basic character information

Birth Name: Ryland Michael Yates
Nickname: Ry, Michael
Gender: Male
Age: 15.5
Grade: 9
Birth date: May 4
Program: Bachelor of Arts
Major: Instrumental Music
Animal Identity: Eagle

...personality

Likes:(at least 10)

• Freedom: Obviously. He likes doing what he wants to do.
  
• Adventure: Who wouldn’t like to discover new things?
  
• Music: He isn’t drawn to just one instrument. There are many instruments he likes to try out. At this point there are only a few he can play some music on, but he hasn’t mastered any of them just yet. There’s something about the rhythms and beats that gets to him. Currently he’s mainly worked with guitar and flute and a little here and there stuff on other instruments, but he can hardly play them.
  
• The Outdoors: Ryland has nothing against being inside at all; as long as he has the OPTION to go outside.
  
• Singing: Ry honestly admits that he isn’t the best singer. He doesn’t even know that much about how to control it properly. He just knows that when he sings, it doesn’t destroy anybody’s hearing. It okay enough that people might listen if they had interest in what he was singing.
  
• Painting: Not to confuse this with picking up a brush, dipping it in paint and hoping to paint something good. No. More like filling balloons up with paint and throwing them at something. It’s a real stress reliever.
  
• Flying: Flying was probably his most favorite thing to do. Maybe hand-in-hand with music or more.
  
• Fish: This is Ry’s favorite food. It always has been, but he figured that was the bird in him coming out.
  
• Water: In his human form, he likes water just to swim in. However, in his bird form he really only likes it because that’s where the fish are usually.
  
• Wind: He isn’t sure if he’s always liked it, but when flying in the air it feels great. Also on really hot days, it can help cool people off.
  
• Eagle Vision: It’s great being able to see the small stuff. Not that it has as much of an effect in human form, but he can still catch some smaller stuff that some other people may not be able to see.
  
• Sour Patch Kids: This is his favorite candy, and he usually keeps a bag around him somewhere.
  

Dislikes: (at least 10)

• Vegetables: He doesn't hate them, but has to eat something other than veggies by themselves.
  
• Not being able to go outside when he wants. He doesn’t have a problem with being inside. But he can’t really fly inside.
  
• Stress: Nobody probably likes stress. He doesn’t get too stressed over much, but sometimes he gets a feeling like he has to stretch his wings, especially if he actually goes too long without transforming.
  
• Loss of appetite: Well, this is what Ryland prefers to call it. But it really isn’t that at all. Since a regular bald eagle doesn’t have to eat every single day, he doesn’t always feel like eating. It’s not really abnormal, since he, as a human, has to eat every day. But sometimes he only eats one meal a day and then lots of sweets. Other humans sometimes skip one or two meals a day as well.
  
• Ignorance
  
• Lightning: Sure it’s pretty…at a far distance. But when it’s lightning, he can’t really chance flying.
  
• Really strong wind: Another thing that could affect his flying.
  
• Poachers/Hunters: He doesn’t like anybody who wants to hurt/kill animals. As for poachers…well, they’re stealing all of the fish!
  
• Complicated things: He loves a challenge, sure. But sometimes it’s just too much. Take homework for instance. He would much rather have something he knew how to do that would take awhile, than to have something he could finish in maybe an hour that he has no clue what to do. In the long run, he would spend way too much time on it.
  
• Sticky stuff: If it’s sticky enough to stick to him and then it won’t come off, he doesn’t like it. Especially when he isn’t anywhere to wash it off.
  

Fears: (At least 3)

• Not being able to transform: He’s never heard of it happening before, but there’s always a possibility, right? He’s not sure what he would do without it.
  
• Paralyzed: Who would like that anyways? Not being able to move, no matter how much you want to?
  
• Falling: Flying is definitely fun and he doesn’t mind taking it to his maximum speed and height. But he’s also smart enough to know that if for some reason he started falling and couldn’t pull himself out of it (hurt or some other reason)…well the ending result wouldn’t be pretty.
  

Strengths: (At least 3)

• Birds Eye
  
• Flying
  
• Courage
  
• Strength
  
• Determination
  
• Observating
  

Weaknesses: (At least 3)

• Temptation: I feel this one needs an explanation. If someone were, for some odd reason, to make Ry go for several days without eating and then asked him to do something he normally wouldn’t do. Well…there’s your answer. Throw some fish his way and you’re likely to get it done. If it were something that would cause him to do something really bad, throwing him food would not help. Ryland isn’t afraid of dying, but fish he’s tempted by. This could apply to other situations as well that would make him tempted to listen.
  
• Stubbornness
  
• Freedom: Yes, definitely. Threaten to take away his freedom and you would be surprised at what you could get him to do.
  

Overall: [400 words minimum]
Ryland’s personality usually go hand-in-hand with that of a bald eagle, although he has a few of his own that he developed as well. First off, he likes to climb and run. He’s pretty energetic. Soccer is his favorite sport, but he likes others as well. But it isn’t his favorite hobby at all. He’s found that it’s a good way to kill boredom, though. Before you know it time has passed by…and you’re also hot and sweaty and in serious need of a shower. But that doesn’t bother him; that is, it doesn’t bother him if he doesn’t smell horribly bad.

He can be a people person at times, but like a bald eagle, in the end he’s a travel alone type of guy. He believes in strength in numbers, but generally doesn’t like to travel in groups. One reason for that is probably because the more people there are, the more people there are to protest. He likes making his own decisions half of the time. If anything, he’s usually more of a follower than a leader, but still…in the end, he’s just an neutral individual. He likes going places and seeing things. It doesn’t have to be something nobody has ever discovered before. Ry also likes the “juicy” information. This sometimes may include spying. It isn’t his favorite hobby, especially if he won’t find out anything interesting. However, his small advantage of really good eyesight really makes this helpful to him.

Even with that as a small hobby, he’s dependable and responsible. He’s dedicated and loyal to his friends (most of the time) and a very hard worker. He has very good concentration skills too. If he’s interested in something, good luck getting his attention. He’s pretty creative when it comes to music and likes to think of himself as open minded. During bad situations, he tries to be positive for others sake, but sometimes has his small, delirious outbursts. At times he can also be stubborn. It’s a habit he’s trying to break, but it’s kind of hard not to be once you’re used to it. The problem isn’t hearing what someone has to say, but having to do it. It isn’t always bad, but sometimes people can come up with some really stupid stuff. And he doesn’t always want to be the mean one that says “Seriously? THAT was your idea?” Sure, telling people what he thinks isn’t all that hard, but he wants to at least look like he tries.

All-in-all, sometimes his personality can be contradicting. He’s a nice guy and helpful, but doesn’t mind speaking his mind when he wants to. Is it because he doesn’t realize it’s bad or he’s doing it? Oh, he knows he’s doing it alright. When he does it, you can be sure it’s intentional. Why? Well, he knows it can sometimes hurt people’s feelings and he usually can tell when he’s gone too far. So when he really feels the need to tell someone a piece of his mind, he’s likely to do it.

...appearance

x x

Celebrity Play By: Logan Lerman
Appearance: [400 words minimum]
Ryland’s hair is short and dark brown. It’s usually mistaken for black at times. His eyes are blue, but again most people can’t tell from far away. He’s 16 years old and 5’7”. Ryland wears all types of clothes, from t-shirts and jeans, shorts, jogging pants, hoodies, v-necks, tuxes, etc. He’s not obsessed with the type of clothes he wears, but he does have his preferred types. He’s usually partial to sneakers as well. Only problem is that he really doesn’t care for shopping all that much unless he really has to. Then again, if he doesn’t do it, who else is? He reminds himself all the time that he doesn’t have a maid around to do all of his bidding. Ry also has his left ear pierced, but doesn’t usually wear his earring. Only every now and then, when he actually remembers to put it in.

He isn’t usually mistaken for a muscular guy. His body is a fairly average build, although he does have to be a little cautious with what he eats as far as cake, pie, and things like that goes. That being said, he still eats a lot of sour patch kids and doesn’t think twice about it. With all of the exploring, running, and flying that he does, it usually works its way off of his body.

In short, Ryland transforms into a bald eagle. The binomial name for it is actually Haliaeetus leucocephalus, however. In eagle form, he has blackish-brown feathers on his back and breast and a white head, neck, and tail. His feet and beak are yellow. His eyes are golden and really stand out against the white feathers. His body length is 32 inches long and his wingspan at 74 inches. Typically an eagle has around 7,000 feathers. In bird form he only weighs 12 pounds. Although even when he says it out loud, it sounds weird, but it’s typical weight for a male eagle, give or take a few pounds. For a bald eagle, there really aren’t many “styles.” In the end, they’re all going to look about the same, with a slight size and wingspan difference, and small color change depending on the maturity of the bird. But that’s true for a lot of animals, and he would really hate to change into a fish. The only good thing he would think would come of that would be being able to breathe under water and hopefully having common sense not to eat every worm floating in water.[/size]

...history

Parents: John and Mary Yates
Siblings: None.
[400 words minimum]

Ryland lived with his parents, John Yates and Mary Yates in California. It was where he had been born and raised. The fact that he would eventually be able to transform into an eagle wasn’t secretive at all in his family. He knew all about it way before it was even time for his first transformation. They had told him that they thought it would be best if he knew ahead of time. They did wait until he was at least 10 years old before saying anything, but after that they were very honest and open to him about it. He could ask any questions he wanted, but he felt it was kind of weird to do that. Even if they were his parents.

Countless times they told him what their first times had been like; at least what they could remember of it. But no matter what they talked about and how many times they talked about it, he didn’t feel very prepared for it. Not scared completely, but nervous, and much unprepared. It was a random day as they had told him it would be. Thankfully he had just gotten home from school about ten minutes before, and again, thankfully he had been inside. During his first transformation, the last place he wanted to be was free outside where he could go anywhere with possibly no control. The feathers were the first to show. Only a few appeared at first, but gradually more began to appear.

During this process, he noticed he was shrinking. That was probably the worst part. It felt like he was slowly shrinking and it would never end, which made him feel like panicking. During the shrinking his beak and talons had started to take shape. His whole body was conforming to the shape of an eagle. He first tried to yell out, but instead a screech came out instead. His eyes changed; not just physically, but his eyesight as well. He couldn’t believe how well he could see.

His wings began to stretch out, but he wasn’t sure whether he was doing it on purpose, or even doing it at all. He was still too dazed at what had just happened and the sounds his bones were making during the transformation were still ringing in his head. It had sounded horrible and for a second he thought his bones were deteriorating or something. But he knew deep down that he had actually known what was going on.

Nothing his parents had told him or could have told him ever would have fully prepared him for that. Nothing could have explained how he had felt when it first happened. He couldn’t say he was getting used to looking or feeling that way, especially so soon, but his mind was taken off of his appearance for a moment and replaced with worried about how he would get himself back to human form. How long was he going to stay that way? He was stuck in his bedroom, the door closed, and his parents wouldn’t even know until they came to look for him. Luckily while he was trying random, magical words in his head that made no sense, the transformation began to “wear off.” In reverse order, his body started to grow.

At the same time, his feet and arms slowly returned to normal, as well as the beak disappearing. The last to disappear was all of the feathers that had covered his body. For a split second the feathers had made him start to itch as they disappeared. He could honestly say he felt like his eyes were being ruined when they returned back to normal, because in actual reality they were returning to a worse state than his eagle vision, even though they were always good vision. As soon as he could walk straight, he went straight to his closest parent to let them know what had happened. He was freaked out. It was like they had never even explained to him what was going to happen.

It was the next morning when they told him about Shifter Academy and had him sent there. Ryland had a very neutral opinion about the school before he even knew much about it, but figured he should take his chances. If there were other people who understood what he had felt when he transformed for the first time, then it had to be a good place, right?

...connecting human to animal

[One Paragraph Minimum (Can be point form)]

In all honesty, Ryland changes into an Eagle because it’s generic in his family. They all have some of the qualities of an eagle that were passed down to Ry. An eagle signifies Freedom and Strength. He’s all about freedom, whether it’s freedom of speech, or the freedom to do whatever he wants to do when he wants it. Not to say that he’s some wrestler or something, but he’s okay in a fight. In a fair fight that is. He’s courageous, and so is an eagle, which can be seen from the fact that an eagle doesn’t mind taking food from other birds if it wants. That could also be called bullying, but I prefer courageous. He has another trait as well: stubbornness. When an eagle is hungry, and it goes after a fish, some fish can pull them under the water. Eagles don’t always let go, even at the risk of drowning. Also Ryland never had a problem with heights or flying in airplanes before he even transformed. He’s always loved the open air.

...literacy

RP Sample[/i]
Oh yes. He had done it again. That Is, annoyed some people with his loud guitar playing. It wasn’t that they didn’t like it. They had assured him of that. The problem was that he played it too often and often much too loud for them. Usually he would take it outside and play, but there was only one problem. It was raining outside and he couldn’t very well go out there with his guitar, could he? But, now that he thought about it, it didn’t mean he couldn’t go outside. It had been raining a lot, on and off for the past several days. He liked the rain sometimes.

“You’re just going a little overboard right now,” he told the rain under his breath.

It was pouring down so hard, that anything less than a raincoat or an umbrella wouldn’t do him any good. He wasn’t sure he even knew where his raincoat was at, though. Ryland looked through his closet, pushing clothes aside as he did. “Not there,” he said as enthusiastically as he could manage. He turned around and looked around his room. It was a little messy, but nothing he couldn’t handle. His eyes roamed over the room until it landed on his room.

“Aha!” This he said a little louder than he had expected to.
He ran towards his bed and stopped beside it. Getting on hands and knees, he looked under the bed, but he didn’t see it there either. What was his problem with losing that jacket? Sighing, he got up and started toward the door. It was now that he noticed it, hanging on the door knob. Ry covered his hands with his face.

“Why me?”

Removing his hands from his face, he smirked slightly and pulled it from the door knob. “Just me and you to brave the rain,” he joked, knowing very well that the stuff he talked to didn’t understand a word he said.

It was only when he got to the front entrance that is he put the jacket on and then hurried out. He had a new theory, which had only come to him on his way down. It was pretty stupid, but he didn’t care. What he had been thinking was, the rain was still coming down, because nobody had enjoyed it while it was there. Everyone had gone inside, or briefly got in the rain to get from one place to another. Nobody had actually enjoyed it. So his idea was to stand out in the rain for a bit and hope he wouldn’t get sick. He had pulled the hood up and was now walking further into the yard. When he stopped, he stood there and waited. But it was only a minute before the thunder decided to join the rain. Ry took this as a sign it was complaining about his hood. Could he really be enjoying it if his hood was up?

“Fine!”

He knew it couldn’t understand him, but it made him feel better as he pulled off the hood. The rain fell softly onto his hair and ran down his face. He didn’t know how long he had stood out there, but he did know one thing: it was a bad idea. The result of his theory was him being sick for the next several days, although the rain did stop the next afternoon.

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