Application
User Name/Nick: Kaia
User LJ: azure_blau
AIM/IM: boringsecrets
E-mail: kaia_secrets@yahoo.de
Other Characters: N/A
Character Name: Rassilon
Series: Doctor Who
Age: Somewhere between a million and a billion years; canon can’t decide on one number. And he was physically dead with his conscience lurking in the Matrix - a sort of virtual reality where the minds of dead Time Lords are stored - for quite a while. He also spent millennia in a universe lacking linear time.
From When?: When the tenth Doctor sent him and the other Time Lords back into the Time Lock, shortly before Gallifrey’s destruction through the eighth Doctor.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate. Rassilon is a tyrant who has no qualms about killing those who speak up against him and his methods. He’s also quite willing to destroy time itself - and with that the universe - if it means the Time Lords survive the Time War. He actually seems quite fond of the idea.
Abilities/Powers: The usual powers of a Time Lord: he’s physically stronger and tougher than a human - he can survive falls that would kill a human and is more resistant against cold, heat and electricity. He can also survive in a vacuum for a few minutes. Low levels of radiation don’t hurt him (he can simply expel it from his body), high amounts can still be lethal though. He also doesn’t need as much sleep as a human. He has two hearts and a respiratory bypass - making choking incredibly difficult - and possesses time senses.
He’s also very intelligent, knowledgeable and a good scientist and engineer - he invented and genetically engineered the Time Lords’ ability to regenerate, is rather good at inventing weapons and knows human literature well enough to quote it. He also understands people well enough to manipulate them into doing his bidding, but can get in over his head and accidentally turn them against him as well.
As a Time Lord he’s also telepathic - though his psychic powers should be greatly reduced, since he’s able to completely control some people otherwise. His gauntlet - or at least its powers - should also be taken away, as it has the ability to vaporize people and reverse the effects of machines with just a wave of his hand.
Personality: Rassilon is ruthless, brutal, arrogant, manipulative, cruel and not just a little mad. Despite that he’s also very fond of his people; as the Founder of Time Lord society they are, in a way, his children and he’ll go to great lengths to make sure Gallifrey comes out on top, even if he has to change the whole time line and course of the universe - or completely destroy it - to do so. His philosophy is that Gallifrey’s needs outweigh anyone else’s.
He has no qualms about killing and will do so without warning if it suits his purposes - or just because someone annoys him. He’s also not above torture - he resorts to it rather quickly and is also not above mocking his victim.
Violence is generally seen as a solution by him and he started the revolution by having the Capitol burned down and the revolution’s enemies rounded up, despite his best friends - Omega’s - protests.
He frequently resorts to lying and manipulating. Unfortunately for him, he sometimes misjudges the situation and chooses the wrong words, turning whoever he was trying to use as his pawn against him - one such mistakes was the cause for him being thrown into the Divergent universe.
Another flaw of his is his incredible arrogance. He’s far too full of himself to believe anyone could get into his way (even if they have proven their ability to do so before), something that has frequently led to the failure of his plans. If he does notice something going wrong, it’s usually too late. His arrogance also leads him into underestimating what people are capable of doing to each other (like him giving Charley a dagger when the Doctor begged her to kill him in order to stop Zagreus, believing she would never do it and freaking out when she actually did). He is also fond of mocking others, even though it gets him into trouble rather often.
He’s also shown signs of xenophobia - it was once suggested that he waged his war against the vampires solely because they were different, although that is contradicted by practically every other account of those events. When he and a few chosen Time Lords appeared before the Doctor and the Master after the Master opened up a way through the Time Lock for them, he was rather quick to order any humans around to kneel before him. He’s also more than happy to sacrifice any other life form in the universe to save the Time Lords. Furthermore his solution to a future where the Divergents would surpass his people and enslave the universe was to engineer a biogenic molecule which would ensure that most dominant life forms in the galaxy would evolve to be humanoid, like the Gallifreyans. He also showed contempt for C’Rizz’ race when talking about it to the Doctor and Charley. Then there’s also him laying the foundation for Time Lord society which is rather xenophobic as a whole.
While Rassilon is said to be rather splendid by Charley (despite being one of her enemies) he isn’t too proud to beg when the situation calls for it and has no problem with showing his emotions in front of others - be it despair, fear or anger. He’s cried in front of others and freaks out as easily as he starts to rage. He’s also been shown to act almost naïve - when he and Kro’ka landed in the same experiment as the Doctor and Charley, Kro’ka took the Doctor’s place and Rassilon was as clueless as Charley had been (down to some of his lines being the same as hers). He also has a penchant for being dramatic and has been called pretentious, prompting a rather dry reply from him.
His sense of humour is seems to consist mostly of making fun of others with a side note of sarcasm and he’s not very fond of bad puns.
Despite being well-read and knowing Shakespeare he also gets easily bored and doesn’t like ancient philosophers - he thinks they were pretentious, obsequious fools and aren’t relevant anymore.
Path to Redemption: Despite everything, there has been a time when Rassilon had been rather idealistic - before the Revolution and his ascend to power afterwards. Reminding him of that might prove effective - as long as it’s done subtly. Rassilon is a manipulator himself and if he notices someone tries to do so to himself, he’ll be anything but pleased about it.
Gaining his trust is also worth a try, though not very easy - his only real friend these days is Omega and he isn’t the type to truly trust someone easily. One must also make sure that he’s not just acting in order to gain something - he’s rather fond of that tactic. He also appreciates intelligence and efficiency, so having those traits can be helpful if he doesn’t think they’re used against him. Making him feel threatened is a really bad idea. As is annoying him.
While showing him there are other places besides Gallifrey that are worth protecting and encouraging friendly interactions with others is probably a good thing, one must also remember to what lengths he’s willing to go to in order to save his people - just suggesting that Gallifrey’s destruction may be an option (the better one, even) is enough to make him murder whoever said that.
History:Rassilon is the Founder of Time Lord society and as that one of he most important and revered figures in their history. He was born a noble of the Prydonian Chapter (an important one at that) and sometime during his time at the Academy he befriended Omega - it was him who encouraged his friend to adopt the name Omega over Peylix. They both resented Gallifrey’s leadership - a woman called the Pythia, the leader of her sisterhood and matriarch of Gallifrey.
The Pythia, as both Gallifrey’s religious and political leader, smothered any attempts of scientific advancement, while her religion was grounded on magic that was in truth nothing but science under another name mixed with her and her followers superstition. Rassilon resented both that and the barbaric traditions and rituals resulting from this religion. He and Omega aspired to lead Gallifrey into an age of reason and science.
One day, he led Omega up a mountain - without telling him the true reason why - and then pointed at the burning Capitol, promising his friend that he could have the stars when they had taken control of Gallifrey. Despite Omega’s dislike of his methods and brutality, Rassilon continued - and eventually paid the price for it when the Pythia, before throwing herself into an abyss, cursed the Gallifreyans with infertility. The curse also led to the death of Rassilon’s daughter and every other unborn, gallifreyan child.
Despite this Rassilon decided to push on - he rose to the rank of Cardinal and was responsible for outlawing the Pythia’s religion, whose sisterhood had fled to the planet Karn after her death. He also made sure that Omega got all the funding he needed for his time experiments. Yet they were seen as rivals; at that time, Rassilon wasn’t too popular and there were many who resented his methods and preferred Omega. It was this that would later give birth to the rumours and accusations that Rassilon was behind the sabotage of Omega’s mission to cause a supernova and harness the energy of the resulting black hole - and therefore Omega’s supposed death. In truth, Rassilon had had nothing to do with it - Omega had been his best friend and he had truly cared about him.
But Rassilon was still not about to let the loss of his friend stop him - he harnessed the power Omega had given them and with his late friends plans and his own scientific genius made time travel reality. Still heady with power he ran into the Great Vampires and started, for unknown reasons, a war with them. Gallifrey won, but their King escaped, prompting Rassilon into making it the duty of every Time Lord to kill the King Vampire when they found him - or indeed, every other vampire they met.
Rassilon also investigated the future, stumbling upon a species only known as the Divergents, which would eradicate all life within ten thousand millennia. Horrified by this he created a biogenic molecule with which he seeded all habitable planets in Gallifrey’s galaxy, ensuring that their dominant life forms would evolve into a humanoid form, thus trapping the Divergents in their own, now separate universe which he sealed in a Time Loop to prevent their escape.
Not much later he began to research the possibility of regeneration and went on to incorporate this ability into the gallifreyan DNA. He also invented the Matrix, several weapons (it is stated that he had a rather imaginative mind when it came to these and his laboratory, the Foundry, was full with them) and the other ‘Artefacts of Rassilon’ - like the Ring of Rassilon, which is said to grant its wearer immortality or the Coronet of Rassilon, a mind control device.
He gained more popularity with time, aided by the technological progress he made for his people and eventually acquired the position of Lord President.
The nature of his first death (or lack thereof) is unknown - there are rumours that his fellow Time Lords rebelled against his cruelty and locked him into his tomb, the Dark Tower, others say he found the secret of true immortality. Whatever actually happened, his mind was copied into the Matrix where he dwelled in his own partition created from his neurons, while his body and Ring where indeed located in the Dark Tower, serving as a trap for those lusting after immortality.
It was this that led to his first meeting with the Doctor - Borusa, the Doctor’s former mentor and then-President of Gallifrey wanted immortality for himself and used the Doctor, his companions and even the Master to get access to the Tomb. Borusa paid the price for his actions - Rassilon gave him immortality by imprisoning Borusa in the stone of his embossment, condemned to spend eternity as a living statue. Afterwards he allowed the Doctor, his companions and the Master to leave.
While in the Matrix he still influenced Gallifrey and when the eighth Doctor was contaminated with anti-time, creating the monstrous Zagreus, he intended to use him to destroy the Divergents once and for all. Possessing Leela, one of the Doctor’s former companions, he took back his Ring, which apparently allowed him to once again take physical form and gave him access to the Foundry. Unfortunately for him his plan backfired as neither Zagreus nor the Doctor would let themselves become his puppet. Enraged, Zagreus opened the Foundry’s reality lock leading into the Divergent universe and, ignoring Rassilon’s pleas, threw him into it.
There he was found by the Divergents and dragged off, almost losing hope to ever return home again. Through means unknown he escaped and struck a bargain with Kro’ka, one of the Divergents’ servants who bitterly resented them; Kro’ka would help him to leave that universe and in turn Rassilon would take Kro’ka with him back into his own universe.
Together they made it to the end of the Divergents’ universe, at which point the Time Loop would force it to start over from the beginning, and back to the planet where Rassilon’s Foundry was located. But their plans where thwarted by the Divergents (and later Keep) and the two of them where thrown back to the start of this universe, with no recollection of what had happened.
By the time the Doctor, who had exiled himself into the Divergent universe because of the anti-time infection, had also made it to this point, the two had already gone through this cycle 84 times - and where yet again stopped by Keep and forced to start again, this time with their memory intact, while the Doctor and his friends escaped.
At some point before the start of the Last Great Time War Rassilon escaped and retreated into the Matrix to recover from his ordeal. But after the war started and the Time Lords eventually realized that they were on the losing side, they turned to their revered Founder for help. Rassilon took back his position as Lord President and while doing his best to win the war for his people, he also ruled as a despot, crushing anyone who spoke against him.
In his desperation he eventually turned to the only solution he could think of that could save his people: the Final Sanction. He intended to destroy time itself by ripping the Time Vortex apart, allowing the Time Lords to ascend and become creatures of consciousness, while the rest of creation would cease to be. The Doctor was horrified by this and as the whole Time War was time locked, effectively trapping Gallifrey for a while, he decided to destroy the planet, wiping out his own race.
On the last day of the Time War, Rassilon tried to break out of the Time Lock by sending a signal - the heartbeat of a Time Lord - back in time and planting it in the head of the Master, then just eight years old, as he knew the Master would survive the war. It was this signal that drove the Master mad and after he managed to take over Earth and transform almost all of humanity into copies of himself, he used the chance to find out its origin. Realizing the true nature of the “drumbeat” in his head he used that and a gallifreyan diamond Rassilon had managed to get out of the lock and into the Master’s possession, to open a way out of the Time Lock.
The Doctor desperately tried to stop him and it came to a final confrontation between Rassilon, the Doctor and the Master. But once again Rassilon’s own arrogance got in his way - instead of indulging the Master and letting him ascend with the rest of the Time Lords, as well as destroying the Doctor when he had the chance, he mocked both of them and gave the Doctor enough time to sever the link between time locked Gallifrey and the rest of the universe, sending the Time Lords back into the Time War. As he tried to at least take the Doctor with him, the Master stepped in, determined to take revenge on the man who destroyed his life. Rassilon was severely hurt and he, the Master and the rest of Gallifrey were trapped in the Time Lock, once again awaiting destruction through the Doctor’s younger self.
Sample Journal Entry: [He looks around him with a mix of distaste and curiosity. What a peculiar place. Then he turns around, deciding it’s time to introduce himself.]
I am Lord Rassilon, the Founder of Time Lord society and Lord President of Gallifrey and all her dominions. [Which aren’t many, considering his planet is currently destroyed, but that is subject to change. Hopefully soon.]
None of you can hope to stand against me, so do not even try. I have work to do and I do not appreciate being interrupted by some deceased fool. [He isn’t quite comfortable, with so many violent Aliens around and neither his gauntlet nor any servants as protection. Better hope threats keep them away for a while - not that he doubts he’d win, but the Master’s attack hurt and he’s rather not start another fight too soon.]
And why is the Doctor trusted? He will betray you like he betrays everyone else. You should dispose of him as soon as possible. [Or let him do it.]
[He won’t comment on the other Wardens though. While he doesn’t believe he needs reforming and thinks the purpose of this ship is ridiculous, they are a necessary evil if he wants to stay. And as long as he’s on this… Barge, he’s alive and can find a way to save Gallifrey.]
Sample RP: He needed to find out more - about the Admiral, about this ship and even the Inmates and Wardens. The Barge was, admittedly, technologically quite advanced and for the Admiral to have such a ship… And while Rassilon didn’t appreciate the company, some of these Aliens might prove useful in his quest to save Gallifrey.
He carefully inspected his cabin - not that he hoped to find anything of use here, so readily available for any of the Inmates - but there was always the chance that one of them had put some sort of trap in here. Nothing he couldn’t deal with, naturally, but he’d rather not be interrupted when doing something important.
When he found nothing Rassilon sat down on the bed, absentmindedly rubbing his gauntlet. That it had stopped working he found rather displeasing - he would have loved to vaporize that ever meddling, traitorous Doctor and it would have made self protection so much easier.
Rassilon sighed, sounding more dramatic then there was any need. If he really wanted to gain anything from this situation - apart from prolonging his life for a little while longer, that was - he needed to plan carefully. There was no room for mistakes.
Gallifrey’s future depended on him.
Special Notes: I’m rather new to RP, so excuse my inexperience? I’m trying my best and am open to any and all criticism.
Rassilon’s history in canon is a jumbled, self-contradicting mess because Who canon just loves contradicting itself at almost every opportunity (especially the novels and audios), so a lot of it is up to interpretation. There’s also no explanation of how he escaped the Divergent universe and got involved in the Time War, so I tried to find one that would fit both the end of The Next Life and Russel T. Davies explanation on how Rassilon took back his position as Lord President.