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| What do you think? |
| Pretty good |
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47% |
[ 10 ] |
| Needs some work (post suggestions) |
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4% |
[ 1 ] |
| Some major flaws (please discuss) |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Leave as is! Good luck questing! |
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47% |
[ 10 ] |
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| Total Votes : 21 |
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 Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:11 pm
Questor Information Username: SkieBorne Mule SN's: Alcyone Sinagra (Not yet created) IoDM Newbie? (Y/N): Y Serum: Serum 54 (Sunbeam Snake – FS?) & Serum 114 (extra set of human-shaped arms – 250k) CODE for your quest banner(s): [url=http://tinyurl.com/pjlv7][img]http://tinyurl.com/lghcp[/img][/url] Looking for reviews/comments/tips etc.Updates: Because I've gone a little nuts on Christmas Gift stuff, I'm now poor so this quest is on hold until I build up my reserves again. xDSept. 14 2006 - Revised the arrival portion a little bit Sept. 12 2006 - Added a possessions list Sept. 3 2006 - Did some proof reading, made thread more spiff, & open to critique! Sept. 2 2006 - Started quest thread, text is up, images pending
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:20 pm
About Name: Alcyone Sinagra
Age: 23
Birthday: June 13
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 173 lbs
Eyes: Hazel
Hair Color: Mahogany (natural)
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Marital Status: Single
Place of Birth: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Education: Graduated from the University of Alberta with a Degree in Paleontology
Language spoken: Fluent English, Spoken French
Residence: Near Drumhellar
Occupation: Field Researcher for the Royal Tyrrell Museum / Day Camp Supervisor
Family: An older sister (deceased), parents (not on good terms)
Vehicle: None – she’s a firm believer in public transport
Favorite Song: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favorite Color: Green
Known Likes: Camping in the bush, exotic locales, extinct flora and fauna, comic books
Known Dislikes: High strung people, perfumes, mushrooms, people who disregard global warming
Phobias: Terrified of caves, or more specifically afraid that the earth above will come crashing down and crush her. Also claustrophobic.
Special Talents: Flexible, adept at fencing, survival training, plenty of experience camping in the bush, bits of various languages picked up during her travels, is able to identify rocks types, fossils, etc., certified in industrial (and emergency) first aid, and has an active imagination
Possessions:
-hiking backpack (containing below items)
-dig tools ( picks and brushes of various sizes, plaster mix, multitude of canvas strips, collapsable shovel, sift)
-first aid kit
-3 x t-shirts
-1 x hoodie
-3 x pants with many pockets and made of tough material
-2 x knee-length shorts
-1 pair of ankle high steel-toe leather boots
-signature travel hat
-camping neccesities (pot, cup, spork/knife utensil, bar of soap, length of rope, compass)
-Swiss-army knife
-2 x (6'x8') tarps tightly packed into a case
-bedroll
-writing instruments (pencil & pen that can write underwater, sketchbook)
-GPS unit
-two-person tent
-personal items / toiletries
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:23 pm
Personality and Appearance Character Appearance:
She’s usually dressed in casual, comfortable, and practical clothing. In the summer that consists of knee-length camouflage shorts with cargo pockets, a tank top, leather boots in case of rattle snakes, and a hat most would imagine coming from an Indiana Jones movie. Her clothing isn’t meant to be revealing, just useful, but her self-confidence and body shape give her a hard to place allure. It’s obvious she’s a world traveler by her hat, however, as she has bought patches, stamps, stickers etc. from every place she’s been to and stuck them to her beloved hat. Sun glasses are a constant companion, as is sunscreen. In the winter (provided she’s in Drumhellar) its thick synthetic furs that protect against the harsh prairie winters, knee-high boots, dark sweaters, and thick but elegant trousers. Ear muffs and scarves are the most common accessories. Overall, her winter wardrobe is meant to ward against the freezing temperatures but still look professional.
As far as body build goes, she’s tall, leggy, and well toned from all of the work she does whether it be hiking, hauling rock around, or lugging camping supplies to a new site. Her hands are slender but calloused from all the travel, and she has a scar that arcs around the corner of her right eye (which she obtained during a dig where the lift of a large boulder failed and the resulting explosion of rock nearly gouged her eye out). Muscles are lean like a gymnast’s, not bulky like a body builder’s. Her mahogany hair is naturally wavy with curls towards the bottom but she often wears it back to keep it out of her eyes. She also distains make-up and wears none, it takes up valuable space in a travel pack that could be used for other things. She’s well proportioned but not overly hour-glass figured, more of an athletic build than that of the ideal supermodel but she does have her curves. Her face isn’t particular beautiful, she’s been called pretty more often than beautiful, but holds a glow of its own that results from the intensity of her hazel eyes. They appear as though they can pierce one’s soul, a disconcerting thing when she’s thoroughly angry. They can also appear rather distant, giving her a whimsical look that’s accompanied by a slight smile. It depends entirely on her mood.
Character Personality:
Alcyone is a quirky character who quite enjoys a good sense of humor but cannot stand any form of slander. She has a quick temper that often results in her making fists and gritting her teeth in order to keep herself from attacking the offending individual – which definitely doesn’t always work. Her anger fades quickly though, but anyone who has done something she considers grievous is forever more in her black book. She’s not one to forgive very easily, it’s simply not in her nature nor does she often apologize. People who know her well, however, know that she makes amends in different ways – usually subtle things like fresh flowers. Always ready to defend, she can be a little over protective at times – especially towards family and close friends. However, she isn’t very quick to make friends. Sure, she’ll chat and participate in all the niceties of society but she always holds a bit of herself back until she’s sure she can trust someone; at which point she becomes one of those incredibly reliable friends who pushes their friends upwards and remains in the background as support. She takes joy in seeing others succeed and usually refrains from drawing too much attention to herself. That’s not to say she’s a quiet one though. She can be quite lively and expressive when she wants to. She’s incredibly open minded and often has her head in the clouds daydreaming about what could be. Her failed attempt at publishing a novel hasn’t deterred her from making up universes at all. At heart, she secretly hopes that at least of few of the more popular myths and legends are true – like dragons or merpeople for example. When determined, she can come off headstrong and bossy but it’s only because she’s passionate about that particular thing. She’s also a health nut. She refuses to eat anything that’s deep fried, non-organic, or otherwise junk foodish. She’s a strict vegetarian and finds the idea of farming livestock for the sole purpose of food terrible. She’s also the first to say that activity will help any ailments someone might have, with either fencing or yoga highly recommended.
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:25 pm
Background Alcyone was born in Victoria, the daughter of two happily married parents, Morgan and Bridget, and sister of a very academically inclined older sister, Arwen. Hers was a good childhood despite the hard times that every growing person experiences. However, the apparent suicide of her older sister threw a life-wrenching knot into her close knit family. It was investigated but dropped after the evidence led to a too convenient close: that Arwen had committed suicide due to stress from working and attending business school. Only 11 at the time, she was incredibly traumatized as she adored her older sister and simply couldn’t understand why she had gone away. The death of Arwen proved to be a blow that the family could not overcome and her parents pursued a bitter divorce about 5 years later. Around about her 16th birthday, they began a strange gift-giving contest to prove to their only remaining daughter that they were the better parent. She suspected it was their way of coping with the loss of a loved one by ensuring she never had a moment to herself.
For a while, she played their game and enjoyed the weekend trips to resorts or ski-lodges and the various gadgets they’d buy her. They weren’t a wealthy family to start with but old habits die hard and vacations to escape life were the one thing that they would not compromise on. However, the constant weekend trips grew tiresome and the incessant bickering between the once deeply in love adults became too much for her. In the summer after her graduation from high school, Alcyone moved out and found her own place.
High school had been a blessing that she used as a daily escape from her turbulent home life. Friends became her safety net more so then family but the fear of one of her treasured friends dying was ever present at the back of her mind. Would she come to school one day only to find that her best friend had died? It scared her quite a bit and resulted in an ever fluctuating circle of friends with only one or two close friends whom she shared everything with. She acquired a strange reputation as well, a loner who’s smart but physical. It probably came from the few times she’d gotten into fist fights over something slanderous being said about her family or friends. She doesn’t exactly have the best temper in the world, after all.
She also threw herself into her studies as a means to escape home life while at home. It created friction between her and her parents which resulted in the move at the end of her senior year. This decision effectively estranged her from her mother, whom she rarely spoke to after that. Her father however, remained faintly hopeful and kept in touch, even offering help with paying for post-secondary school. She’d found a job to earn some spending money during school but now she was working full time in the summer to save enough for university – what she saw as her key to a new slate and a chance to start over without the baggage her teen years had developed. Thankfully her immersion in her studies paid off and Alcyone was granted a fair sum by the university of her choice – the University of Alberta. She found she enjoyed subjects such as Geography and Biology and so pursued a career in those fields. She graduated at 22 with a degree in Paleontology.
A few months later, she was hired by the Royal Tyrrell Museum, famous for it’s collection of dinosaur fossils and its proximity to the Alberta Badlands – incredibly rich fossil beds. She started as a Day Camp supervisor, running workshops and excursions in the badlands and then was offered an opportunity to join a research team headed abroad. She jumped at the chance and found herself spending two or three weeks in various exotic locales on the trail of some new ground-breaking discovery that would rock the world. At least that’s the dream she held. Her experiences taught her much about camping in the bush and the cultures of other countries, opening up her eyes to the multitude of ways that people went about things.
She had her 23rd birthday in a region near Tibet, an experience she’ll never forget. It was a giant party, as her birthday coincided with a local festival and the villagers were kind enough to include her in their celebrations. Knowing where her dreams lay, the rest of the now close-knit research team gifted her with the rumor of an island in the Bermuda Triangle where unique, amazingly preserved fossil remains were located. Delighted and touched by their consideration, she took the information and set about getting there, dreams of fame and adventure chasing each other around in her mind.
Little did she know it was a rumor deliberately started by feral labs to lure in a fresh set of subjects. (Possibly even in the hopes of catching a couple individuals with the knowledge to assist the development of serums based on extinct creatures?)
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:26 pm
How does your Character get to/why was your character chosen for the Island? Why: Potential to be of use. She has the background for finding fossil deposits that could advance the extinct creature serum research at Feral Labs.
How: She set out on an oil tanker as a passenger and made an agreement with the Captain to stop over at the coordinates she gave him – she isn’t exactly rich after all. A few days into the trip, the navigation instruments and other electronic equipment start to malfunction in sporadic bursts after she accidentally opens a can of soup from the bottom. The crew – all male and all superstitious – blame it on her for carrying a double dose of bad luck; opening any can the wrong way is a bad portent depicting the capsizing of a ship and having a woman on board is bad luck for a sailor. The fact they're travelling through the Bermuda Triangle didn't help either. Eventually, the whole system shuts down and the engines stop. Word of ghost sightings spread quickly and ultimately come to be placed at her feet. One thing leads to another and they throw her over board. No one would notice her missing right? On the island, the ship is being monitored as it had been from the time it left port. The malfunctions were caused by subtle disruptions in the programming of the sophisticated equipment onboard that led to the complete shutdown (which originated from the Island). The crew had no idea they were being manipulated into delivering the next guinea pig to the Island of Doctor Moreau. Once she was thrown overboard, the ship’s coordinates were forwarded to a retrieval team that immediately set out to ‘save’ Alcyone. They claim to be wardens of the island, managing the land like many national parks. She’s grateful for the help and doesn’t question the convenient coincidence, as she has dealt with park wardens before and has no reason to doubt them. They arrive later that day and she begins her stay on the Island – presumably as a member of a dig team with exclusive access to the fabled bones her friends told her about in Tibet.
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:28 pm
Why a Sunbeam Snake?
I was lurking around IoDM and deviant art one day. I’d wanted to start a quest for a while but had been unable to decide on the animal I’d like to choose. I wanted one that was unique and really appealed to me. I came across Aureath’s deviant art and saw a picture of a black naga with rainbow highlights on his scales – Pipedream by name and he’s © Aureath. I was fascinated with the idea of a rainbow coloured snake as I love snakes and did a little bit of research. I flipped back to IoDM and the light bulb went on. I hadn’t seen anything like that and I love snakes, so presto! My quest animal is the Sunbeam Snake. The critter turned out to be pretty interesting, though online information is a little scarce.
As far as the character goes, Alcyone’s job revolves around reptiles, albeit extinct ones, but she absolutely hates depths. Caves and being underground just completely undo her and the Sunbeam Snake is a burrowing species so she’d have a variety of interesting reactions. Not to mention she’s claustrophobic. The extra set of arms would also throw her off somewhat, after all aren’t snakes supposed to have no arms, not extra ones?
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:30 pm
SUNBEAM SNAKE
(Xenopeltis unicolor) Sunbeam Snake
Reprinted from The Monitor, the newsletter of the Hoosier Herpetological Society, Vol.13, No.7, July 2002.
The Sunbeam snake (Xenopeltis unicolor) is arguably one of the world's most beautiful snakes. Unfortunately, very little husbandry, as well as breeding information, is currently available on this remarkable creature. The vast majority, to say the least, of Sunbeams are wild-caught and heavily parasitized. Furthermore, they don't acclimate well in captive conditions.
Belonging to the family "Xenopeltidae", originally described in 1827, there is some debate as to the taxonomy of this species, with little attention given to it over the past 175 years! Some taxonomists believe Sunbeams are related to the cylinder snakes (Aniliidae), while others believe they are more related to the Neotropical pythons (Loxocemidae). Whatever the rate, the Sunbeams are definitively unlike any of the other 2700 different snake species. A highly burrowing animal, it is believed the Sunbeam has adapted to this behavior of evolving with flattened heads and small eyes, which allow it to easily penetrate various substrates. Sunbeams also possess equal-sized teeth that are attached to ligaments within the skull's anatomy, instead of bone. This allows them to take prey faster than other snakes, and, also, not expose themselves any longer than needed above ground, where they are vulnerable prey themselves.
The most notable of all traits of the Sunbeam snake is its highly iridescent scales, which cover its entire length. Sunbeams have microscopic structures that contribute to their iridescence, while most snakes' color results from pigment. Furthermore, some snakes experience "cryptic coloration" in which their color changes as they mature. The Sunbeam's overall appearance remains the same throughout its life, with the exception they are born with a pure white patch on their nape, which disappears as they mature.
Native to Southeast Asia and Southern China, they are found in a range of habitats, including forests, along waterways, marshes, damp rice fields, as well as inhabitant areas. The Sunbeam is mostly nocturnal, spending most of its day just below the ground's surface, hunting at night and feeding on small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, including other snakes. They thrive well in high humid conditions and enjoy a good soak.
Taken from the October 2002 issue of The Cold Blooded News, http://coloherp.org/cb-news/Vol-29/cbn-0210/Sunbeam.php
This harmless, non-venomous species stays largely hidden in burrows, but comes to the surface to feed on lizards, frogs, mice and other vertebrates. It is mainly nocturnal, and prefers secondary forest, agricultural areas, parks and gardens.
Under dull light its colour appears dark brown to black, but under strong sunlight it displays an attractive iridescence of red, blue, green and yellow. The ventral surface is white. The head is depressed (flattened) which allows for easy burrowing. The juvenile has a pale collar around the neck.
The species ranges throughout southern China and Southeast Asia.
Taken from http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/sunbeam_snake.htm
The Sunbeam or Iridescent Earth Snake is named for its smooth and glossy scales which dazzle with iridescence in sunlight. This harmless, gentle snake is secretive and nocturnal.
A semi-burrower in loose soil, under logs, usually near water, its burrowing adaptations include a flattened head, small eyes and no "neck". It eats a wide variety of prey from skinks, amphibians, lizards, other snakes to small mammals. Hatchlings have a white collar which fades within their first year.
Status and threats: They are heavily collected and exported for the pet trade. Which is sad because few survive beyond the first 6 months of capture. They are difficult to breed in captivity so wild populations will remain under pressure so long as there is a demand for them as pets.
VITAL STATISTICS
Size: 1m.
Lifespan: unknown.
Babies: 6-17 eggs are laid
Distribution: Indochina through Thailand down the peninsula. Fairly common in Singapore.
Habitat: Lowland rainforests and habitats near water, including paddy fields.
Classification: It seems to be distantly related to all other snakes so it has been put in a family of its own. It is the only species in the Family Xenopeltidae. Its jaws are similar to Aniliidae (Pipesnakes) but with folding teeth. Like the boas and pythons, it has "primitive" features: pelvic remains and vestigial hind limbs. It also has a functioning left lung which may be half as long as its right lung.
Taken from http://www.szgdocent.org/resource/rr/c-sunbim.htm
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:31 pm
What would you like to see for the completed stage?
I don’t have any specific hopes for the intermediate stages, those are entirely up to the artist. For the final form, however, I’d like to see her not lose her hands. I’m open to discussion on this but that’s one thing I’d really appreciate. I’d also really appreciate her colouration being closer to black then brown, the colour of dark chocolate is alright, but milk chocolate is too light. Her hair would have turned the black brown of her skin but shinier, creating a rainbow sheen; kind of like elongated scales. I would also like her head/face to remain fairly humanoid, with the changes along the lines of lidless eyes with only a nictitating membrane for protection, the teeth change into the pointy, inwards curving shape of a constrictor, and a forked tongue. For the nose, it would sink into her face so she only had nostrils with a minimal bump for the nose. She’d have no lips, and her jaws would change to become flexible like a snake’s – here’s a picture of what I’m thinking of (It’s not my art at all, I just really liked the concept. Art (c) Natalie79 ) The line that runs from the lips to the ears on that character is the result of skin folded into the mouth. This skin allows the jaw to stretch wide when open and appears as a scar when the mouth is closed. The jaws can be unhinged just like regular snakes. The skin of her head would match the rest of her body. And her upper body would remain humanoid, while her legs would have disappeared and been replaced by the coils of a snake (think naga if that helps). Other wise I’m pretty open minded, so it’s up to the artist. I can’t draw worth beans so I hope I’ve been clear in the couple of things I’d like to see.
{Wow, this got really long... XD I hope it's not too much to suggest.... >.>"" }
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:32 pm
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:35 pm
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:41 pm
one more reserved and I'm open to posts! ^_^
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:38 pm
*rolls around* I added some more snake pictures =)
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:17 pm
I'd like some reviews please! ^_^
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:21 pm
*rolls around* I feel so alone! crying
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:43 pm
Hmm, maybe I should expand on the back story a little? Any comments or tips? ^^
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