Post by The Beast on Feb 8, 2011 17:49:26 GMT -5
~~~Welcome to Dreaming of Utopia!~~~
~~~The Basics~~~
The Beast
Character's Origin Beauty and the Beast and two sequels that will not be mentioned again.
~~~About My Character~~~
What is your character's history? Are they a hero, or a villain, a sidekick or guardian? What has happened to them in their lives to make them the way they are today?
Born Prince Adam, the Beast was the only child of the rulers of a small principality within the country of France. His parents died when he was still very young, leaving him in the care of the household servants, particularly Mrs. Potts his nurse and eventually housekeeper. With no parents to properly discipline him, as the servants could not truly do so given his royal status, the young Prince grew up spoiled, selfish, and unkind. He was far too used to getting exactly what he wished when he wanted it, and such a lifestyle all but destroyed what kindness he had possessed as a small child.
Then, on Christmas Eve the year he turned eleven, the Prince found himself faced with an ugly old woman, who offered him a rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. The Prince, finding her appearance repulsive, turned her away. She warned him that appearances could be deceiving and true beauty was found within. Ignoring this lesson, the Prince turned her away again. Just as he was about to close the doors, the woman's hideous appearance melted away to reveal a beautiful Enchantress. She was so beautiful that it was almost painful to look at her. Instantly, the Prince fell to his feet before the Enchantress, begging her to forgive him for his foolishness, but it was too late. Even at such a young age, the Enchantress had seen that there was no love in his heart. She also saw that were he to continue living in such a state of self-indulgence and pettiness, that he would only become a cruel ruler to those who lived within his principality. In an attempt to punish him for the foolishness of throwing a poor old woman out into the cold, as well as a lesson in humility, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a spell on the castle and all who lived there that not a single human soul should remain.
Ashamed of his hideousness, the Beast concealed himself in his castle. Unfortunately, he was not completely cut off from the outside world, as he would wish, as the Enchantress left him a magic mirror that would serve as his only window to the outside world. The rose that she had offered in payment was also to remain with him. It turned out to be an enchanted rose, that would be allowed to bloom until his twenty-first year. The spell stated that if he could learn to love another and earn her love in return before the last petal fell, then he would be freed of the spell. If he could not do this, then he would be doomed to remain in his new form forever. Years passed and he began to despair that he would never be free of his curse, because who could ever learn to love a beast?
What the Beast did not know was that in a little village not too far from his castle, an old inventor and his lovely young daughter were soon to enter his life. At first, the Beast was simply enraged that his servants would allow a stranger into the castle. Then, after facing this old man, he was furious at the horror and fear the man obviously felt upon seeing the Beast's form. With this in mind, he took the man, named Maurice, and threw him into the tower. He had no intention to keep the man, simply to teach him a lesson about seeking hospitality where it was clearly not going to be given. What the Beast did not expect was for the man's daughter to come searching for him.
The girl, named Belle, was the most lovely woman that the Beast had seen since the time when his parents were still alive. Of course, the Beast only considered for a moment that Belle might be the one to break the spell. He was well aware of how hideous he was, and he wasn't about to get his hopes up for nothing. Still, the hope was there whether the Beast wanted it to be or not, and it would not go away.
Unfortunately, the Beast had no idea how to treat Belle at first, as he had spent nearly ten years hidden from the outside world. He shouted at her, and made an overall horrific impression on her. And then she was in the West Wing, the one place he had forbidden her to enter. His temper got the best of him, and he was bellowing for her to get out right then. It was only after Belle had actually run away that the Beast realized his folly, and he went after her, tracking her with his animal senses—the only good thing to come from his transformation—he found Belle being attacked by wolves. In an instant, the Beast began fighting off the wolves to protect Belle. He managed to scare the pack away, but was hurt in the process. He was more than a little surprised when Belle took him back to the castle rather than taking her opportunity to run away.
That was the start of a very strange friendship between the Beast and Belle. Not understanding the feelings of affection and even love that were starting to develop within him, the Beast simply did his best to always make Belle happy. He gave her his library, which had been suffering from neglect ever since his transformation given the fact that his paws were not meant for holding books. Also, and this was something that he was very ashamed of, after ten years of being unable to read, he had all but forgotten the very basics of it. When Belle discovered this, she insisted that she be allowed to once more teach him how to read. Such a show of kindness only served to deepen the growing love that the Beast felt for Belle. Finally, the Beast confided in Lumiere about his growing feelings for Belle and the candelabra was naturally ecstatic. Unfortunately for the Beast, this meant that Lumiere insisted on throwing a ball to give the Beast the opportune moment to tell Belle that he cared so deeply for her.
It had been years since the Beast had danced with anyone but a dance instructor, and even then he had never been very good at it. However, dancing with Belle, it was like the Beast could do no wrong, even though he felt sure he was constantly missing steps. What mattered was that Belle was happy, and nothing more. After their lovely dance together, the Beast was fully willing to tell Belle all that he felt for her, when he saw that she was sad about something. She confided in him that it was because she feared for her father, as he was all alone, and the Beast showed her the magic mirror. Sadly, it showed Maurice stumbling through the forest, ill and still searching for his daughter. Knowing that Belle would forever be heartbroken if she couldn't go to help her father, the Beast allowed her to leave and save Maurice, though it broke his own heart to do so.
With Belle now gone, the Beast had no will or reason to live, and he became withdrawn and depressed. Not even the threat of a mob attacking the castle could bring him out of the apathy that he had sank into. When Gaston came into the West Wing—a crime that months before would have sent the Beast into a rage—all the Beast could do was sit and stare at the hunter. It wasn't until he had been thrown out of the window and onto the roof, where he saw Belle below, that the Beast found the will to fight and live. Now he began to completely destroy Gaston in the fight. Then Gaston began taunting him about Belle.
"Were you in love with her, Beast?! Did you honestly think she'd want you when she had someone like me? It's over, Beast, Belle is mine!"
That did it. The Beast slammed Gaston into a wall, pulling the improvised weapon the man had made out of a stone gargoyle out of his hand. With his paw gripping Gaston around the throat, he held Gaston over the edge of the roof, ready to drop him. Then Gaston began pleading for his life, saying he'd do anything. The Beast was reminded of another night, not too long ago, when Belle had said the same thing to him. Pulling Gaston away from the roof's edge, he snarled "Get out" and dropped Gaston onto the roof. That was when Belle appeared on the balcony of the West Wing. Climbing up to her, the Beast was reunited with her. Gaston tried to kill the Beast again, but there was a short scuffle that ended in Gaston falling to his death, leaving the Beast and Belle alone with one another again. Sadly, they did not admit their love for one another until after the last petal fell, but neither the Beast nor Belle were willing to let this trouble them too much, as they had one another.
(Just as a note, I took some of the Beast's history straight from the Prologue of the film)
Describe your character's personality. What are their strengths and weaknesses, what are their passions? What qualities do they have that are good or bad?
The Beast was a selfish, unkind person with a horrible temper that was easily set off by even the smallest slight. That is, until he met Belle. With her help, he learned to curb his temper more easily, to behave more kindly to his servants, and to open his heart to love. His temper is still there, however, it is just easier for him to control, and his first instinct is no longer to scream and rip things to shreds. The desire to do so is still there, and sometimes he still gives in to it, particularly when someone threatens Belle.
He is too used to behaving like a beast rather than a human, which comes from so many years spent in his current form. This shows through in his lack of proper table manners and his tendency to crawl around on all fours. It is simply more comfortable for him to do so, as his body is not particularly made for walking upright like a man.
Thankfully, with Belle's influence, he has turned into a kind-hearted individual, even though he still has a temper and stubbornness that only Belle can compete with, and he does not intend to revert to what he once was ever again.
~~~Sample~~~
Give us a small sample of how you will play your character. Give us at least three paragraphs.
The West Wing was cold, but the Beast was used to that. His fur would protect him from the worst of the chill. Staring sadly at the rose hidden within the bell jar, he placed his heavy paw on top of the glass, his claws barely avoiding scratching it. Not that he cared if he did anymore. Belle had left the castle, so there was no hope left for him as it was. Yes, she had left because her father was ill and he had given her permission to go, but the pain was still present. Simply thinking of Belle made his heart ache in a way that it never had before, and the Beast didn't know if he was happy about that or if it simply made him wish that he had never seen her and never suffered this pain.
There was the sound of Mrs. Potts hopping through the hallways outside of his doors, but the Beast didn't look up. Unless the castle was burning down around his ears, he did not want to be disturbed. And even then, he might not care enough to move from his spot. Glancing up at the balcony of the West Wing, he wished that he had not given Belle the magic mirror, or that he at least had a second one so that he could know what she was doing and if she was safe. Nothing mattered beyond Belle anymore, he knew, and all he wanted was to know that somewhere she was in far less pain than he was.
Sadly, there was no second magic mirror, so the Beast had to content himself with simply imagining. She must have found her father by now. Judging by what little he had seen when the mirror showed Belle her father, the man had actually managed to stumble upon a patch of the woods that was not too far from the castle. Why had he not insisted that Belle bring her father to the castle to recover? Then she would not be gone from here, possibly forever, and Maurice could recover sufficiently. No doubt the objects, despite the handicaps they had without their usual human limbs, could tend to Maurice as well as any doctor. But there was no undoing what had been done. Sighing heavily, the Beast turned his gaze back to the rose and closed his eyes against the sight of so few petals left.
~~~Bonding~~~
Why this character? What draws you to them, what makes you want to play them? Do you have anything in common with them?
The Beast was one of the first Disney characters that I was really familiar with. The film came out a year after I was born, and we got it on VHS as soon as it was available, so I used to watch it every single day. I even named the rocking horse my grandfather made me Philippe after Belle's horse. I love the Beast as a character because he develops so well and so believably. My only hope is that I can do him justice.
What would you like your custom title to be? This can be anything you like in reference to your character and will appear under your name.
Beauty Is Found Within
Who else do you play here?
Roberta Moreland, Maleficent, and Eugene Fitzherbert