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 Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:51 pm
 The Forbiden Quest
Name: Marlow (Slope by the pond in english)
Origin: Nixie
- Taken directly from pg. 65 of Arthur Spiderwicks Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You - Guardians of freshwater pools and streams, nixies (also called naiads and nixes) are bound to the body of water in which they dwell. They are most commonly spotten alone and can be identified by the liquid continuously streaming from their hair and clothes as well as the greenish sheen of their skin. Nizies are amphibious and, unlike mermaids, they have legs rather than a tail. Nizies love music and dancing. Look for instruments made from reeds, expically pipes, near the banks of streams. Unlike their merfolk cousins, they are veru curious about land dwellers. They are bound to their body of water and, much like treefolk may only venture a little way from their trees, can only venture a short distance from their pools. Therefore, they rely on other faeries to bring them informaion. Occasionally nizies will lure a human into thier pools, but they are usually more interested in the company than drowning their visitor.
Death: She was the guardian of a medium sized pond on the edges of an old forest somewhere in Ireland. Eventually, as happens sometimes, the pond dried up and without a home she was taken back by the Green Man and told to wait until she was able to be given another pond to be guardian of.
Rebirth: tba
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About Marlow
Name: Marlow
Meaning of Name: Slope by the pond (english)
Nicknames: Mar
Gender: female
Myth/Legend: Nixie
Sexuality: unknown
General Appearance: -being reworked-
Most Notable Features:
Hands/Feet: Her hands and feet are slightly longer than a 'normal' persons. Her feet are still mostly in general proportion (foot to toe wise) but longer than they should be. This makes her walk almost on tiptoe most of the time. Both her hands and feet are delicatly webbed. The webbing only comes to the middle nuckle on her hands so it dosent get in the way of everyday life
Likes: Being outside, frogs, turtles, salamanders, water flowers, light rainstorms, playing the flute
Dislikes: Thunderstorms, being cooped up inside, shoes
Favourites:
Colours: yellow
Food: grilled salmon
Literature: any of her fathers books
Abilities:
- climb vertical surfaces with her bare hands and feet (smooth surfaces are harder for her to climb than rough ones).
- minimal control over small bodies of fresh water (only her own pond which at this point she does not have).
- can 'hear' what frog songs mean. (communication with frogs but no other aquatic/amphibious species)
- plays reed pipe and violin
Personality: She is open and kind and very friendly. Instead of letting her strange looks get to her she decided to be outgoing and bulldoze over anyone's apprehension of her by being happy about it. She loves that her differences make her a good swimmer since she loves being in the water. Generally if someone makes a comment about her looks that isn't friendly she can just laugh it off and ignore it. Being different gets to her some days but instead of dwelling on it she thinks about all the friends she has and all that she has accomplished and she knows it cant be all that bad to be different.
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:39 pm
Personality
Sexuality and Relationships
Who knows. Really. Marlow likes people and she likes being around people and has never show anything other than that. Whether she wants a knight in shining armor to sweep her off her webbed feet or a princess to flutter around is up in the air.
Plays Well With Others? Check Yes Or No
Marlow is a people person. After getting teased as a little girl she eventually decided enough was enough and now she just acts like she's completely normal. If someone comments on her skin or her hair or her webbed feet she just giggles it off and makes up some silly excuse. Generally its enough to make other's laugh and ignore that she looks 'weird'. She likes being around other friendly people and enjoys making friends with intrests other than hers so she can learn about new stuff.
She generally avoids people who look like they'd be 'dangerous'. People who dont try to talk to others or people who think they are too good to talk to others get on her nerves and she generally avoids them like the plague.
So, Uh, Besides Looking Weird and Possibly Having Some Cool Powers, What Does Your Fa'e Do?
Her favorite hobby is to swim. She's been able to swim longer than she could walk so she will dive into pretty much any body of water that is large enough for her to play around in. She would like to be able to do things like synchronized swimming but since her legs are longer than they should be she gets kicked off teams for messing up the look of their performances. So she plays around with their moves on her own and tries not to drown herself while being upside down.
She also likes to sing, but she is horrible at it. Whatever you do don't ask her to sing for you. They say 'she croaks like a frog' for a reason you know. She can however play a mean reed pipe. She loves listening to music and dancing (even though she trips over her feet most the time).
She has a long, slightly sticky, and almost prehensile tongue. No this does not mean she can snatch a piece of candy from your hand a few feet away. It does mean though that if you stick a piece of candy/food/whatever in her face that yes she can and will snatch it from you and yes you will probably have sticky fingers from it.
Her leg muscles are also very strong, from all the swimming and just from being a frog, so she can jump long distances. This is also why she isn't in track and field because she feels that it would give her an unfair advantage, that and if she had to run she's trip over her own feet.
We Don't Need No Edjyoukayshun
Marlow was tutored from the time she was a child and continues to be tutored at home now. She did not attend school formally because of her strange appearance and her general habit of being wet. It would not have been safe for her to walk around leaving puddles for other children to step on.
Even though her family is only middle class the tutor they hired formerly worked for more of the upper crust and so Marlow was given more of a classical 'rich kid' education. Most of her studies she did not pay attention to as she thinks her tutor is a 'tight wad' and stuffy so she ignores him half the time.
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:40 pm
Powers
My Power Levels Are....
She can minimally control small bodies of fresh water. This means she could create waves, whirlpool, or disturbance in a pond/glass/fishbowl/ect. If the water is not fresh water she can not do anything with it (as salt/brachish water makes her sick) She can not do this at the moment. This will be a power that she develops after learning what she is and is able to regain a new pond
She can communicate with frogs. She can not completely make the noise range they can since she has humanoid vocal cords but she can understand their songs. This ONLY works with frogs not any other aquatic or amphibious species.
She has two musicial talents that melt into her magic.
- Reed pipe: This is her best instrument. If she plays in hearing distance of anyone they will stop where they are and forget whatever they were doing until she stops playing. It is more of a confusion draped over the person(s) while they can hear her and is in general not dangerous This can fail if the person is very set on concentrating on something or has a thought while listening that's strong enough to break the trance. It is not an absolute. It is the equivalent of a bardic talent People have a desire to listen, like if you're walking around and hear pretty msuic you just want to go look, but there isn't an uncontrollable desire to go look.
- Violin: This is very like her playing her pipe but this music will cause someone to actually walk toward her and the music in a trance like state. This means the listener will cross roads, walk into holes/ditches/ect, or whatever they have to do to get to her. This is dangerous since there are so many ways for someone to get hurt if they are not paying attention. This one is far more hard to be pulled out of unless Marlow stops playing. This is also why she does not play often when there is even a chance someone will hear her. This is how she captures her prey so this talent is meant to be almost impossible to get away from.
To sustain her self away from her pond Marlow has to take energy from other living creatures. This means that she must consume a living things (be it animal or in completely desperate situations a human) whole when her energy begins to wain. She does this by luring whatever it is to her and drowning them. Marlow does not like to admit to this and tries to keep it hidden from everyone, even her father.
Suggested by Kali -
Marlow can, if she tries hard enough, stick to walls and other vertial surfaces. The pads on her fingers and 'toes' are built for this (if you really want me to look up all that scientific stuff i will .. maybe) so if she tries she can walk up walls. Surface texture dosent make much of a difference but it is easier (since she weighs more than a tiny frog) for her to walk up 'rough' things rather than smooth (glass)
Weaknesses: Not Just For Wusses
Marlow is very sensitive to 'enviormental' changes. If you have incense burning she will probably sneeze, if you heat up a room she will probably faint, if you make a room too cold she will shiver and turn blue. She also does not like being tossed into salt water. The salt gets into her skin easily and makes her feel queezy, even just getting the stuff tossed on her can make her feel bad.
She is also very easily bruised and broken. She could probably bump into a pillow and end up with a bruise.
Marlow is horribly at running. Her feet are too elongated to give her much of a grip on the ground (even with the 'sticky' toes) so she is very adept to trip over her own feet if she runs. Usually this isn't a problem since she has a long stride but it sucks when playing tag.
If Marlow has not consumed another creature in whatever timespan she needs to have she will become very weak physically and mentally. To outwards appearances it will seem as if she has a nasty cold. The longer this goes on the worse she gets. Eventually this will cause her to find a victim without thinking. She gets sick like this a lot because she hates that she has to take anything's life to stay alive herself but since she will eventually kill something without knowing she usually feeds before she can accidentally hurt someone or something she knows/loves. As a child she accidentally killed a neighbor while unaware of what she was doing. The child was never found and Marlow destroyed his cloths when she realized she had them.
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:46 pm
Refrences and Resources
- Taken directly from pg. 65 of Arthur Spiderwicks Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You - Guardians of freshwater pools and streams, nixies (also called naiads and nixes) are bound to the body of water in which they dwell. They are most commonly spotten alone and can be identified by the liquid continuously streaming from their hair and clothes as well as the greenish sheen of their skin. Nizies are amphibious and, unlike mermaids, they have legs rather than a tail. Nizies love music and dancing. Look for instruments made from reeds, expically pipes, near the banks of streams. Unlike their merfolk cousins, they are veru curious about land dwellers. They are bound to their body of water and, much like treefolk may only venture a little way from their trees, can only venture a short distance from their pools. Therefore, they rely on other faeries to bring them informaion. Occasionally nizies will lure a human into thier pools, but they are usually more interested in the company than drowning their visitor
-Gareth Long's encylopedia of ... Nixies are Germanic sprites, beings of the water. Although the male doesn't often show himself to humans. The female however, is often seen sitting in the sun on the banks of their watery homes. Nixie maidens are beautiful with long hair and blue eyes. If a man tries to spy on their beauty, the song of the maiden can cause them to lose their wits.
Wiki link about Nixies
- Used as a general refrence for the cultural variances of the Nixie
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:47 pm
Death/Rebirth
-Re-accruing dream she has (It is of the moment she died)
Father ... I do not want to die
The gentle softness of her Father's hands scooped the sprite up from the small puddle that was left of her pond. She had been suffering for weeks as Mother began to take back her water slowly. All ammounts of begging and pleading had only gained her silence from Mother and now Father was unable to help her. All he could do was watch his daughter slowly dissapear.
At first she had though it nothing more than the rains being slow and the summer hot. She had gone about her day playing music for her friends but slowly she began to notice that her life was shrinking along with her pond. She had began to pray then, pray to her Mother to make it stop and to save her daughter. As the pond shrink her pleas had gotten more desprate as her strength disapeared. Eventually her voice failed her and she could do nothing more than hear the gentle words of her Father as he tried to comfort her.
Do not fear my daughter. You have been strong for me and faithful in your love for your pond. I will not let you fade completely. You are precious to me and i will see that you are given another chance.
Her head lolled to the side and rested on her Father's arm. She could hear his words but she could no longer answer him. She had almost lost the feeling of his hands against her as if she was beginning to loose her form.
I will protect you my daughter. You will live again when the time comes
She knew her Father's words could not be empty promises but how could she live again without her home? She was the pond and with Mother taking the pond away she was being told she was no longer wanted, no longer needed. Only Father wished for her to say. He had only watched over her because she made sure that his form that rested in the bank of her pond got all the water it could take. Did Father really love her that much? Would he protect her somehow?
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Baby:
She was found in a forest in Norway while her adopted father was researching local fairytales. Her father, Geoffrey, and his close friend Nathaniel found the baby lying beside a pond and since neither man could bring themselves to leave a baby alone they took it with them. Knowing the baby was strange they decided against telling anyone and just took the baby home with them, Geoffrey agreeing to adopt the little girl. She will occasionally made strange noises if she hears frogs croaking
Appearance: Short slick mossy green hair which even at this point seemed to be wet all the time. A small pink water lilly seemed to always be tucked behind her left ear. Her skin was a soft green, two tones, and the olive spots were just beginning to creep over her shoulders and cheeks. Her legs were long as were her fingers though no webbing had appeared yet.
Todler:
After being kept secluded in the house she is finally introduced to other people in the area. Geoffrey lived in a secluded village in Ireland so being cut off from most people Marlow didn't have to worry much about begin picked on. She was allowed to play with other small children in the area while Nathaniel began tutoring her. While she did not like studying Marlow seemed happier when Nathaniel was in the house. This is when Marlow begins learning she can climb up things. It becomes a common occurance for someone to find her on top of a table, bookcase, counter, or any other structure she should not have been able to get up. She also begins to 'sing' with frogs if she is out late enough to hear frogs croaking. She is handed her first reed pipe just for fun and while she can not play well she does begin to pick it up quickly
Appearance:Her hair has grow longer and now small blue flowers have joined water lilly in her hair. Having learned to walk she now leaves little wet footprints all over the house. Her legs have continued to stay longer than her body and the webbing has begun to appear between her fingers and her toes. The olive spots on her body have covered most of the space they will ever cover and the contrast between the different shades of green begins to grow. She lives in soft sun dresses and the occasional cute pair of jeans
Kid:
Her official schooling starts with Nathaniel being at her home daily to tutor her. She is also introduced to the violin at this point since Nathaniel believes it will teach her something (he never really explains to her what even though she asks constantly). Geoffrey and Nathaniel have discovered how it was that Marlow was able to get on top of things as a toddler since now her arm's are strong enough to pull her body up a wall. Marlow discovers at this point that the easiest way to escape lessons is to climb up to near the ceiling in the larger rooms where no one can reach her without a ladder. This is also were Marlow first begins to get sick from lack of energy. When it starts everyone around her thinks she just has the flu and tries to care for her the best they can. Geoffrey wants to call a doctor but Nathaniel stops him since Marlow isn't normal and there is a chance any medications could hurt her. Marlow is sick for just over a month before she gets better. Strangely her getting better coincides with a young boy from the area going missing.
Appearence Small changes in height as her body seems to stretch out more. A lilly pad appears on her head along with the pink waterlilly and she wears it around like a hat since she throws a fit if anyone tries to take it away from her. Her hair has grown almost down to her waist as she refuses to get it cut, though she will let it be styled, and she begins to keep it in a braid so that her hair doesn't stick to her body. Her hair is always damp and she still leaves wet hand/foot prints on whatever she touches. She develops a liking for halter top shirts or dresses since that way she does not walk around with wet clothing.
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:48 pm
The Guardian
About Nathaniel
Name: Nathaniel Downs
Nicknames: Nat, Teach
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight. Unmarried
Occupation: Writer/ tutor
General Appearance: He's your average looking middle aged man. Short shaggy blond hair and blue eyes mark him as your usual Anglo Saxon European man. Usually he wears sweaters to keep warm in the cold north air, he wont admit that its partially vanity to hide the fact that he's middle aged now. He keeps a pair of frameless glasses on since he spends far too much time staring at the white screen of a document program on his computer.
Likes: Shakespeare, teaching, reading, being left alone
Dislikes: 'brats', dust, dirty houses
Favorites:
colors: gray
Food: grilled salmon, lemon
Literature: Macbeth
Connection to Marlow: Nathaniel is not directly part of Marlow's family but he has been around her for her entire life. Geoffrey, the man who adopted Marlow, is Nathaniel's best friend and the two went to college together. While Geoffrey is a writer Nathaniel is a college professor and tutor to Marlow (as Geoffrey pleaded with him to do so).
Personality: He is very stern and strict. Having worked with bratty rich children for most of his adult life he's developed a grating personality. He can be a very kind man but you must get past the sharp points first.
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:49 pm
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:50 pm
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:51 pm
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:52 pm
Note from the Creater
Everything in here is subject to change as i think of things or as i find new information.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:38 pm
I like the concept you've used. Physically she might be getting a bit close to Nyoka and Arkie though... Her profile pic on the first post reminds me a lot of Nyoka and that rest sounds vaguely Arkie-ish...
For powers, I have to suggest an extendible tongue (Orochimaru style!) blaugh
Maybe also the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound jump very high/far. Stick to surfaces a bit, like climbing walls like most lizards can do?
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:44 pm
I think she will always touch on Arkie cause she's also 'aquatic' so that's kinda something you cant get around. Though i do need to scan the images of Nixies from my book so people can see full body what she would look like. And i cant get away from the green like Nyoka just cause Nixie's are green XD. Depending if i can find an intresting looking frog that isnt poisiones i might change her colors but i am partial to the green simply because all the color images of nixie's i have seen are green
I could make her have a longer tongue, though i wouldnt consider that really a power (oh god not Naruto *cringe*) and jumping/sticking to things is a neat idea
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:07 pm
Make her fingers like newts and have her stick to walls. That'd be badass.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:29 am
XD i've added the abality to stick to walls cause i know some frogs can walk up pretty vertical surfaces.
So Marlow now sticks to walls
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Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:40 pm
Design Note
MAJOR revision to Marlow's look. I decided to make her a kind of poision dart frog rather than a 'normal' frog. I am still deciding how/if i want to work in her 'poision'. Almost everything here will be revised and chanced to fit the new frog species.
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