IronPhinx

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

Gracie
The Warren
Interacting with @GreysonEA and @vertigh0st

Hearing August's friendly voice had initially made Gracie feel quite guilty for having her instinctual caution. However, it seems to Gracie that he may not have even noticed! Glad to have shaken hands she was delighted to see that the squirrel waitress had dropped off her water and her veggie lettuce boats. "Thank you!" She looked toward the waitress with a thankful grin.

"You are too kind, Taurus. I owe you one." Gracie smiled graciously, convinced from August that she shouldn't bother protesting his generosity. After experiencing the close panic attack at the library, she wouldn't of imagined herself sitting at The Warren with a familiar face and a new acquaintance and feel..natural about it! The thought of the ugly pamphlet in her bag has completely escaped her mind.

Taking a sip of water and catching Taurus complimenting her running, Gracie wanted to object but it turned to a slight cough. Embarrassed she cleared her throat, "Taurus you know that's not true!" Though it was her who would come at least third, the star of the track team was Clyde, the lean leopard. There was no way she'd ever catch up with him. "I swear there are times you slow down just so I can pass, truly the English gentleman." She smiled, taking a bite from her lettuce boat.

"Oh the carnival!" She beamed, "Yes my work has a kiosk at the carnival, so I'll be working through some of it, but my boss is really kind and is only having me prep food, then I have the rest of the time off. I was hoping to check out what festivities they'll have this year." The doe turned to August, "What about you, August?"

------------------------------
Seth
The Elite Hangout

A small yet upscale city center close to the University was a deluxe boutique 'ella'. From the outside, the windows dawned onyx black mannequins of different species dawning very elaborate dresses, suits, sweaters, and coats. From the size of a great white shark to a small hedgehog. The window display was massive and spotless, the boarders of the store were white pillars with the name of the store being of a simple text with a black font.

Opening the blemish-free window door the guest would be amazed with the elaborate selection. Being winter, there were many lush coats and sweaters on the racks. The floor was a shiny pinewood color and the walls mostly beige accented with black ornaments. Stepping to the dressing room which shared a similar decor, if one were to stumble to the fourth dressing room on the right they'd see that the door was shut, seeming as though someone were inside. However, if one were to trace the symbol of the Elite on the door, it would open without a sound. The symbol was simple, two curves that almost meet to form a circle, and one line going down.

As the door opens, there is a small room that still looks like a normal dressing room. But this dressing room has another door on the wall. Opening this door there will be ascending stairs. Walking up these stairs and to the left there will be a grizzly bear guard. Being allowed through this door one would then see a large mahogany room. This room would have couches, tables & chairs and various of card tables for poker, blackjack, Texas Hold Em, and Baccarat. There are also roulette stations and even a Pai gow station.

Toward the edge of this room is a bar that had nothing but top-shelf items. At this bar loomed a tall figure.

"Scotch on the rocks." A gruff yet charismatic voice demanded.

"On the way, Mr. Koda." Spoke the Elephant bar-tender, unafraid of the polar bear in front of her.

"You're a doll, Veronica. But please, call me Seth." The polar bear bared a toothy grin, grasping a delicate scotch glass with the amber liquid floating inside with a single large block of ice.

Taking the glass, Seth stepped toward the main couch in the center of the room. The tables and game stations were empty, but he was expecting his inclusive guests to gather soon after their normal workday has come to an end. Sitting down, he was offered a cigar from a capuchin monkey who wore the same garb as Veronica. Raising his intimidating paw as a decline, the monkey hopped away.

"Let's see how my group at the University is coming along.." He thought to himself, opening his laptop in front of him. He had sent some of his lackeys to the close University. Getting some youngblood in here may do him well. He got word of a Carnival approaching, it would be ashame if he couldn't get a kiosk up to attract new members of The Elite.

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

<Snipped quote by Crystal Amalgam>

Of course I didn't forget about my own character, yo. That's why I said ANOTHER non-mammal. Getting lonely here.

And I won the short contest!

@Zanavy

I don't know..I still haven't made an official character sheet for Theodore the bartender fieldmouse.

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

Seth Apkoda

Name: Seth Apkoda
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Age: 29
Species: Polar Bear
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 10'1"
Weight: 996lbs
Physique: Large, Muscular
Appearance:
Seth is about an average height for an adult male polar bear, he has very broad shoulders and a toned muscular torso. He hides his muscles by wearing tailor-made suits that are more slim fitting on him. He has a stout head with a long snout, short ears, vicious fangs, and small black eyes. On his snout he has a large tan scar which is the only blemish on his otherwise snowy fur.

Speaking of fur, Seth prefers to trim his fur religiously as he does not want to appear 'fluffy'. He takes great pride in his neat appearance. He keeps his claws relatively trimmed, though they are still quite sharp. His paws and feet are large along with his body.

Personality:
Seth has two personalities. He has his real personality and his performance personality which is what he shows the majority of the time.

His real personality is stoic, cold, and manipulative. Seth rarely shows his emotions nor shares his feelings even with those closest to him. He has learned from an early age to never show vulnerability lest he will be taken advantage of. He is very quick tempered which can be shown in his performacne personality, his triggers are mammals questioning his authority/tactics and humans talking down on him.

His performance personality is charismatic, friendly, and a good listener. He purposefully will hunch himself to make him appear smaller and more approachable to those he wishes to follow him. He can be extremely thoughtful and has a great memory of those he encounters.

History:
Seth grew up in poverty. As did his parents, his grand-parents, his great-grandparents, and so on and so forth. He lived in an area in which the cycle of poverty is damn near impossible to break out of. The area in which he lived was also mostly owned by humans and mostly humanoid mammals who would always leave animals indebted to them. As the young polar bear grew up, he began to use his strength to impose fear. However, that landed him a juvie sentence when he was a teenager, giving Seth a life lesson that using brute strength will get him nowhere and keep him in a cage.

Whilst in juvie, he had inmates who had a very similar background and constantly vented their venom and hatred against humans. He would latch onto this hatred and build a very toxic notion that all humans are the scum of the Earth and that all of his family's hardships are because of humans. Other animals in juvie seemed to admire the polar bear's growing body and others were very envious at the same time. A grizzly bear inmate was especially jealous of Seth. Before Seth, this bear was the largest inmate and the most feared/admired.

One afternoon during break, Seth found himself leaning against the chained fence at the basketball court with a semi-circle of other animals listening to him in awe. Seth was talking about how humans had ruined all of their lives and he had a plan to get revenge. Out of nowhere, the grizzly bear marched over and whacked Seth with a powerful punch on the nose which is the bear's most vulnerable area. Unbeknownst to Seth and the guards, this grizzly bear got away with not trimming his claws which was a mandatory rule. The grizzly was tackled by four guards, muzzled, and tranquilized. Seth's snout was bleeding profusely as the claws got skin-deep. Seth has since always been very wary and observant of his surroundings.

Getting out of juvie, Seth began purposefully noticing humans and animals who had mostly human traits. He has noted that the majority of leaderships in businesses and the government are human or mostly humanoid creatures and if they aren't, the humans had some sort of involvement. He went to University to study law and dropped in his second year due to lack of funds and refusing to be in debt to anyone, especially if it were a human.

Just like in juvie, he still saw that the majority of animals had either looked up to him or feared him. That's when it clicked, he came up with an idea to form an 'elite' club in which celebrates animalistic traits and heritage. But a deeper underlying message that teaches a hatred of humanity and looking down on 'breeding' with humans or taking on so much human traits. If he can't use his brute force, he can use an army of followers to deliver the message that humans are evil creatures that need to be eradicated.

He took donations from followers as well as setting up a non-profit organization called The Elite Foundation, which attracted more followers. The Foundation gave back to impoverished (animal) communities, those who received a donation would also be more attracted to joining his new 'club' called The Elite.

Class:
Rags to Riches

Occupation:
Leader of the Elite

Relationships:
Harvey-A buck who had once been on the receiving end of The Elite Foundation was one of Seth's first followers. Harvey will do almost anything to please Seth and wants nothing more than to be on a similar pedestal as he was always in his twin sister's shadows and dismissed from his parents.

Speech Color Code: NA

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

[The Warren]
[Interactions:
@GreysonEA
@vertigh0st
Understanding 8:00am classes completely, she laughed in response especially after coming back from her Aquatic Anatomy class. "I hear ya'..I have Professor Burr in the morning, even with a jog and a coffee in the morning it's really hard to stay up for it." She finished her own drink, enjoying the company she flipped over her phone to check the time. She still had an hour before class, though, she really did not feel up for it and was tempted to stay..flipping her phone back over she did nod toward Taurus' hoof comment, "I suppose you're right..I'm lucky enough to enjoy a full year's worth of it," She was lucky enough to have fine and thin fur, "This is when our track record can be at it's lowest though..It would explain why Coach Velos has been constantly on us for practice lately." Thinking of their jaguar coach, he always seemed to expect all mammals to try their hardest throughout the year, herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, pawed foot or hoof, short fur or long. It was tough meeting his expectations.

Her ears bounced very slightly at the sound of a new voice going toward their direction, she looked at the doberman first with a millisecond of dubiousness but just as quick changed her expression to be more friendly. She thought extremely annoyed to herself. "No, remember what Dr. Joyce has told you. These are problematic reactions."

Changing her expression to a warm smile, she raised her hand toward the canine, "Nice to meet you, August. I'm Grace-though you can call me Gracie." She said with a friendly manner.

With the busy lunch hour approaching, the barmouse was happy to have his afternoon staff stroll in. Having the squirrel to tend to customers and seeing the rhinoceros come in from the backdoor of the kitchen to replace Taurus, Theodore smiled in content, happy to have loyal staff members. "No worries, Taurus!" Theodore said jovily, "Thank you for your hard work as always!" The young squirrel waitress came from the kitchen and out with Gracie's lettuce veggie wraps much to Gracie's delight.

"Taurus, I have to say you don't have to do that--" The doe was caught off-guard by Taurus' offer.

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

[The Warren]
[Interacting with @GreysonEA

Swaying her feet idly below the barstool she felt at complete zen. She and her fellow companions who had shared her fanatic obsession with the soccer team 'West Hog United' were thinking of proclaiming this bar as the official 'West Hog' bar of the area. Their old spot got taken over by fanatics of another team. She always preferred The Warren anyway, after all, it was cozy, the food was always amazing for all diets, the patrons and staff were friendly, it was perfect!

She was pleased to see Taurus, he was on the track team as well and they had never really crossed paths otherwise, maybe that was another plus of coming to The Warren more often than she already does. "Hello there, Taurus." She returned the bright smile, "Guess I can't stay away from here! I'm having a great afternoon!" She lied, but didn't see why she would share her devilish encounter with the buck from earlier, "I hope you're having a great day too..oh, did you get the message about our meet tomorrow evening? The snow is making things really messy..we'll be meeting at the University's gym again." The gym had two floors, the first floor was dedicated to all sorts of different workouts with a diverse range of equipment for all mammals and even aquatic animals. The top floor was dedicated to aerobic exercise. Gracie wasn't very fond of the change, one thing about track that she loved was being able to feel the fresh air rush her face and be out in the open.

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

Blissfully unaware of the fiasco happening at the Cafeteria, Gracie put in her ear rose-red earbuds in the shape of pine trees and scrolled through her phone.

Now Playing:

What You Otter' Know
Artist: Finn Ottoman

Gracie was really fond of Podcasts, she acted as though she knew the hosts and pretended that they were having a conversation with her. The particular podcast she chose was more current event driven, but the reason why she liked it was because they never covered anything 'too' violent or serious. She got enough of that in the real world, she needed a good escape.

"Weeeelcome listeners, and welcome to What You Otter' Know! I'm your host, Finn Ottoman! I'm here with my wonderful guest Harper! Harper here is a fellow 'Podcaster'. Tell us about yourself, Harper!"

Gracie found her way along the road where The Warren is located, this road was HECTIC at night. It was known as the University's main bar-crawling places. Gracie had only been to some of these places at night with a friend, if she would choose where to go at night instead, she'd elect to stay in. It just seemed too dangerous and overwhelming, last time she felt herself over-alert at all the party-goers, smokers, and large crowds. It was especially bad for her by The Wolf Pack. Shuddering at the memories, Gracie turned off the podcast as she stood in front of The Warren.

Opening the door, it was dimly lit as usual-but light enough for a herbivores to see. The dark wooden bar counter with a colorful array of bottles and beer-handles behind the counter was the first thing that would come to a visitor's attention. The cozy atmosphere would be the second attention-getter. Close booths, an area in the back for pool and darts, and when stepping out back to the patio there were plenty of places to sit as well as an outside bar.

"Gracie! I didn't know a game was on! Let me get the remote!" A small voice spoke up from the bar counter. A field mouse of about 21-22 years old stood on the bar with a bright smile. When stepping closer to the bar, the visitor will notice pulley-systems in which the small bartender can pour beer and cocktails. There are other workers as well, but Gracie seemed to always catch Theodore.

"No no--I'm not here for that today, Theodore." She laughed, "I just needed a place to clear my head..I know it's a little quiet around this time." She looked around, seeing a couple of Wildebeests playing pool in the background and a fox studying with a pint of light beer. Taking a seat at the bar, she knew having class soon she shouldn't partake. "I'm just going to go with a water and the vegetable lettuce-boats please." She tucked her feet on the bar-stool legs already feeling the most at ease since getting that weird brochure that haunted her bag.

"You got it! Be out in a jiffy!" As Theodore scurried to put the order in the register, Gracie grabbed her phone and started scrolling through any notifications.

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

I like the idea of the student council and the idea of an equalist/activist group. Do you guys like the idea of that Elite club that Gracie got invited to or should I scrap it? I can make a couple of NPCs for it and if you guys like we can make it a bit more three dimensional.

We were also talking in the discord about a timeskip soon to get things going, when would everyone be chill with that?

Thanks so much @LostButterfly92 for being so open with all these ideas. I look forward to this story developing. :)

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

[Outside the arts building]
[Interacting with @LostButterfly92

Her heartbeat slowly coming back to a normal pace, Gracie was very thankful to be in the presence of her new acquaintance. Tucking her hands in her coat pocket and shivering slightly from a wind breeze, "Well I'm glad that you're staying warm--I understand that you should get back though! My class starts soon as well." She lied, not really wanting to admit that she was going to The Warren at this time of the day.

She blinked down at the mammal in front of her, not expecting her question. "Oh!" She reacted in surprise, "I'm totally cool with that, I remember how scary it was for me when I first got here too.." She rummaged through her bag, avoiding the cult-like pamphlet in her bag. Reaching for a pocket journal that she was given as a gift from her parents. The paper was stylized with outlines of the forest and leaves. Getting her pink pen she jotted her number down along with her name and a quick sketch of a doe-smiley face, then tearing the paper out of the journal. "Here," She handed the paper down to her new friend, "I'd love to hang out again soon, Mel! Maybe we can make snowanimals again if the snow keeps up." She smiled, a snowflake touched her ear as soon as she mentioned the snow, causing her large ear to bounce in reaction.

:ὁ Animalia [OPEN!]

[Library]
[Outside the arts building interacting with @Lostbutterfly92]

Staring at the pamphlet in her hand, Gracie could no way focus on her studies for class that started in forty minutes. The pamphlet has the words "Welcome to the Elite" in bold gold colors. A majestic looking male lion and a bighorn ram was on the cover, wearing black suits with accented royal purple ties. Their look of snobbery and pretentiousness put a pit in her stomach, why this random stranger thought she'd be interested was beyond her.

Shoving the pamphlet in her bag, she sighed and logged off. After finally finding a place to sit, she couldn't be cooped up. Her heart was pounding, she needed fresh air. Collecting her bag and her now luke-warm green tea she strided out of the library, uncharacteristically in a fit of a hybrid of rage and anxiety.

If it weren't for the snow, Gracie would jog this off. But at this time the gym would be too busy for her.

"The Warren. That's where I'll go.." She thought to herself, a local sports bar in the area. She usually had a familiar face there, some food and the fresh air along the way should help.

Taking a large inhale through her nose, holding for 5 seconds, and a exhale through her mouth as she was walking started to help. She crossed through the arts building and saw some animals with cameras. Being camera shy herself she tried to stay out of any shots, it wasn't until she saw a familiar animal from the morning. What fortune that they seemed to be crossing paths, seeing a friendly face calmed her nerves greatly.

"Hey, Mel was it?" She said after making eye contact as they were walking toward each other, still a very slight panic in her voice. "They're having you guys take pictures outside, huh? Hope you're staying warm." She spoke with sincerity as she tightened her own fuschia scarf.

Tales from the Spider-Verse: Spidroin

I'm kind of unsure how to word the last part, if I could get advice that'd be lovely. Hope this is okay.

Dotty Shillstone

All right, let’s take it from the top, one more time…

What’s your name?
Dotty 'Dot' Shillstone

How old are you?
19

What do you look like?

I'm a lean mean many eyes machine..I think that's a joke.

5'11 because of course I couldn't be a nice even 6. Thanks Obama.

I'm slender with a dark brown pixie cut. I like to wear comfy yoga pants and colourful hoodies and knit hats from the fiendish New York weather. I also happen to have eight violet-lavender eyes, but don't worry! I wear these cool goggles that hide them, so please no need to hide the snot nosed b--lovely children.

Although my new six eyes have been an unwanted addition to my otherwise perfect complexion, I am very particular with my skincare routine and try to look as perfect as possible.

What did you do before the Recluse incident?
Oh my days, before the incident I had it all! I was a famous Instagram Influencer, like places PAID for me to show up and take some selfies to promote their business. It was an amazing gig, and it really boosted my self-esteem! I sometimes find myself looking back on all those old pictures before the incident, remembering the better time. So many followers.

I'm originally from Croydon, London. I grew up with my single mother, I still actually don't even know what happened to my dad. Living in Croydon as a single parent my mum seemed to have always been working as many odd jobs as she could, she always said that I need to get my education sorted as she didn't get hers. My dad? Anytime I asked dear old mum about his whereabouts she would shut down and act really weird. I've tried looking up any leads on social media with no luck.

When I was growing up, I was actually bullied for being taller than the boys. They called me a monster, giant, ogre, you name it. It wasn't until Billy that I finally stood up to myself. Billy was my first crush, he was a little on the nerdy side and one of those quiet kids but he and I clicked and became a dynamic duo of sorts. Billy helped me see that I'm not a monster or an ogre, he helped me see that I'm actually a pretty cool person. My mum thought we were going to be married, the weirdo.

But Billy ended up dying. We were walking down main street gabbing away, I remember him saying I'd look cute with short hair. At the time, my hair was down to my lower back and I didn't really know how to take care of it at the time. That was the first time he ever used my name and said the word 'cute' in one sentence. I wasn't paying attention when we were crossing the road. There was a car, he pushed me away and he got hit. I'll never forget that day.

Shortly thereafter when I was 14, my mum passed away I don't like to talk about it. My grandmother from New York started working on immigration paperwork, the immigration system sucks but I finally got in! It was a huge culture shock to say the least, silly Americans with their inept public transportation services.

As I settled, I noticed that as I got older people hearted my pictures more, so taking more selfies made me confident and gain 550k followers, high school was a breeze and I was looking into college to get a basic business degree and..then it happened!

What happened after the incident?
Super Strength: 0
Agility: 20
Durability: 10
Regeneration: 0
Spider-Sense: 40
Mutation: 30

I always had a weird 'sixth' sense about me. Like I could always tell when something felt 'off' but I could never place my finger on it. Now I can, I have a heightened sense of my surroundings and am able to be quicker about avoiding catastrophes. I'm a lot quicker than I once was and I can take a fall better than I once did.

But I now have eight eyes, it's really hard to get by. My dreams of being a model are essentially over. I have to wear eight-lensed goggles to hide them but it doesn't help. Since the incident, I started sticking to the shadows and avoiding others..which is a really hard adjustment, it's almost like I'm back to where I was before I met Billy. With extra eyes.

Do you believe in aliens?
Weird question but yeah.

What are your goals for the future?
I want to live as normal as I did before the incident. But my freakshow of a face is getting in the way of that. People used to give me a hard time with being so tall and later it ended up being a good asset to me..with these eyes I'm not sure if it can ever be a good asset. I'm starting to resent others who are impacted by this incident and not be mutated. Why me?

You lived in New York for a while now, right? What do you think of the city?
The city is grand! It's no London in terms of efficiency in it's public transport, and London did have the best footie stadiums ever. (COYI) But New York has, I don't know, character! I do love a good people-watch and eavesdrop in this city, there's always something going on. I can always count on New York to escape my own demons and look into the lives of others.

How much technology do you use on a daily basis?
You'd think my phone was glued to my hands.

What do you like?
(Hobbies, talents, interests, things you like and are good at.)
Modeling, networking (Or is that called 'web'working for me now?), casual video games (nothing too violent, please), staying at a cafe for hours, talking to people.

What do you dislike?
(Fears, food you hate, things you consider not-good or bad.)
Being laughed at
Being feared
Peanut butter (not allergic, just can't stand it)
Cigarette smell
The Mets

Do you think true evil exists?
Short answer, I do. Have I experienced it? No, but I'd rather stay like that.

What’s your favorite color?
Although it curses me, purple.
Favorite song?
Kero Kero Bonito Picture This
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaVWvcuy3Cg

Anything else to add?
I have a heavy admiration for those who stand up for themselves and those who have confidence. I hope to come back to that one day.

I also have a chess set at my place that I frequently play with by myself, shh.
What are your thoughts on these people?
(((Will edit soon..Need to do more research)))