Personality: Tobias used to be a shy boy, a dreamer, and an artist. He was bullied relentlessly in school, only occasionally saved by people like Jake. He felt unwanted by his aunt and uncle, and kept his head down as much as he could. He felt weak and powerless and didn't know how to change at all.
After he and the other Animorphs started fighting the war, though, he starts gaining self-confidence quickly. He learns - eventually - who his father is, though it's a pretty dramatic reveal. His uncle is revealed to be one of his fellow Animorphs, Ax, and he bonds with him quickly. Possibly most importantly, though, he develops an intense crush on Rachel. Though they don't go very far (for one the species difference, for another they're both young and also fighting a war), their relationship is one of the things that drives him.
He fights with himself, trying to moderate between human and hawk. He has trouble with the drive to survive matched with normal human desires for companionship and friendship. He comes off as aloof sometimes, even if he doesn't mean to. He has a fierce independent streak now, and doesn't want to show weakness - because in the wild if you're weak, you're killed, and his hawk brain knows it. He doesn't want to lose all his humanity, but it's a constant struggle to remember simple things like warmth and touch.
Tobias, even in human morph, possesses a strong 'predator' instinct, due to all his time in his hawk form. He also has a little trouble with human mannerisms like not staring intensely at people and using his fingers. He's still kept his human intelligence, though, and is good at practical problems and figuring out ways around things. Even if someone is 'prey', that doesn't mean he'll bully them - he still remembers what it's like to be harassed, bullied, and unwanted. However, letting go of his predatory instincts isn't easy. It's got to be life or death - nothing in between.
He jokes around a lot, and pretends that things are all right, but it's pretty obvious from his narration that things are never all right. Especially after he gets tortured by Taylor, a Sub-Visser in the Yeerk hierarchy, he has flashbacks and trouble dealing with the stress of what happened. It's difficult for him to deal with things like that, since not only isn't that something that he can really ask anyone about because teenage boy embarrassment, but it's also difficult because of the need to keep secrets.
He doesn't really care. He pushes through because of the predator mindset, because he doesn't really have any other options. Besides, he can't stop - everyone needs him. They're the only hope for humanity, after all. They're going to have to keep going, because letting humanity fall is entirely unacceptable. He used to miss being human, but not anymore other than in a vague sense since it would make things easier. He's accepted being a hawk and the fact that his life is going to be short and brutal, but he has to survive until the end of the war at at the very least.
It's just difficult when you don't know exactly where the end is. Strengths/Weaknesses:
+ Artist. Tobias can draw, and draw well enough to get into local art shows, at least. He's got good spatial reasoning, though it's thrown off a bit when he's stuck as a human. + Tactician. While not the 'main' tactical mind behind the Animorphs, he's very good at battling and good at coming up with new techniques on the fly. His battle experience just happens to be more… personal than Pokemon. + Empathetic. Tobias, even with his time as a hawk, has a pretty good grasp of emotions. Not his own, but he's kind and quiet and is generally good at being able to pick up on how other people are feeling. + Animal communication skills. While he can't exactly speak to animals and can't use thought-speech while human, he's spent enough time as a hawk and as other animals to know how to approach animals, especially birds and prey animals.
- Emotional vulnerability. Even with his years of fighting, Tobias is still a quiet, shy, easily bullied kid. If someone gets past his hawk instincts that still linger, he's easily hurt. - Poor vision. Tobias never had the best vision as a human, and spending time as a hawk only made him more likely to squint. - Poor human functionality. Look, thumbs are hard to deal with when you're not used to them, okay? This includes his difficulty with human facial expressions. - Flashbacks/nightmares. NOt only from just terrible things from the war in general, but Tobias had it worse than some of the others, considering he was tortured. He still struggles with the memory of being captured and mentally and emotionally and physically manipulated.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Trainer Starter: Rufflet Password: Swedish fish!
no subject
After he and the other Animorphs started fighting the war, though, he starts gaining self-confidence quickly. He learns - eventually - who his father is, though it's a pretty dramatic reveal. His uncle is revealed to be one of his fellow Animorphs, Ax, and he bonds with him quickly. Possibly most importantly, though, he develops an intense crush on Rachel. Though they don't go very far (for one the species difference, for another they're both young and also fighting a war), their relationship is one of the things that drives him.
He fights with himself, trying to moderate between human and hawk. He has trouble with the drive to survive matched with normal human desires for companionship and friendship. He comes off as aloof sometimes, even if he doesn't mean to. He has a fierce independent streak now, and doesn't want to show weakness - because in the wild if you're weak, you're killed, and his hawk brain knows it. He doesn't want to lose all his humanity, but it's a constant struggle to remember simple things like warmth and touch.
Tobias, even in human morph, possesses a strong 'predator' instinct, due to all his time in his hawk form. He also has a little trouble with human mannerisms like not staring intensely at people and using his fingers. He's still kept his human intelligence, though, and is good at practical problems and figuring out ways around things. Even if someone is 'prey', that doesn't mean he'll bully them - he still remembers what it's like to be harassed, bullied, and unwanted. However, letting go of his predatory instincts isn't easy. It's got to be life or death - nothing in between.
He jokes around a lot, and pretends that things are all right, but it's pretty obvious from his narration that things are never all right. Especially after he gets tortured by Taylor, a Sub-Visser in the Yeerk hierarchy, he has flashbacks and trouble dealing with the stress of what happened. It's difficult for him to deal with things like that, since not only isn't that something that he can really ask anyone about because teenage boy embarrassment, but it's also difficult because of the need to keep secrets.
He doesn't really care. He pushes through because of the predator mindset, because he doesn't really have any other options. Besides, he can't stop - everyone needs him. They're the only hope for humanity, after all. They're going to have to keep going, because letting humanity fall is entirely unacceptable. He used to miss being human, but not anymore other than in a vague sense since it would make things easier. He's accepted being a hawk and the fact that his life is going to be short and brutal, but he has to survive until the end of the war at at the very least.
It's just difficult when you don't know exactly where the end is.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
+ Artist. Tobias can draw, and draw well enough to get into local art shows, at least. He's got good spatial reasoning, though it's thrown off a bit when he's stuck as a human.
+ Tactician. While not the 'main' tactical mind behind the Animorphs, he's very good at battling and good at coming up with new techniques on the fly. His battle experience just happens to be more… personal than Pokemon.
+ Empathetic. Tobias, even with his time as a hawk, has a pretty good grasp of emotions. Not his own, but he's kind and quiet and is generally good at being able to pick up on how other people are feeling.
+ Animal communication skills. While he can't exactly speak to animals and can't use thought-speech while human, he's spent enough time as a hawk and as other animals to know how to approach animals, especially birds and prey animals.
- Emotional vulnerability. Even with his years of fighting, Tobias is still a quiet, shy, easily bullied kid. If someone gets past his hawk instincts that still linger, he's easily hurt.
- Poor vision. Tobias never had the best vision as a human, and spending time as a hawk only made him more likely to squint.
- Poor human functionality. Look, thumbs are hard to deal with when you're not used to them, okay? This includes his difficulty with human facial expressions.
- Flashbacks/nightmares. NOt only from just terrible things from the war in general, but Tobias had it worse than some of the others, considering he was tortured. He still struggles with the memory of being captured and mentally and emotionally and physically manipulated.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer
Starter: Rufflet
Password: Swedish fish!