The Gang of Five

Beyond the Mysterious Beyond => The Party Room => Ask Me => Topic started by: Ptyra on August 22, 2009, 02:28:23 PM

Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 22, 2009, 02:28:23 PM
...or Thisbe Bat-Snake or Apprentice Thisbe...

Ask away o_o
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on August 22, 2009, 07:51:03 PM
How have you been mostly? ^_^
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 22, 2009, 09:17:19 PM
I've been quite good. Took my first driving lesson on a golf cart and crashed it (without any damage) when we stopped for lunch.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on August 22, 2009, 10:05:06 PM
Neat. ^_^

If you were to get a car, what car would you want?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 22, 2009, 11:06:23 PM
Mazda B-series truck :) . I see myself in a truck, especially a little one like those. I could NEVER fit into one of those giant ones...or control one, at that. Nice and small truck will do me good.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Noname on August 27, 2009, 04:13:41 PM
Do you like computer-animated or traditionally-animated movies better?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on August 27, 2009, 10:31:38 PM
Besides Ptearno, who are your favorite LBT characters?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 28, 2009, 05:33:33 PM
Noname- Traditional Animation is an epic for-the win! Personally, I REALLY don't like CGI  :x . Don't know why, but I do . Except for Pixar. Pixar's okay.

Ratlady- Besides Pterano, my favorite character is Petrie =P .
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on September 08, 2009, 12:42:19 AM
^^

What other animated movies, shows, and comics do you like besides LBT, Bone, and Animals of Farthing Wood?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: landbeforetimelover on September 08, 2009, 12:49:16 AM
What is the most important thing you own?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Noname on September 08, 2009, 12:50:24 AM
Do you like any species of birds?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on September 08, 2009, 10:12:51 PM
Ratlady- Hmm. I'd have to say...*taps foot* Castle Waiting (even though I've read the first book. Judging by its flashbacks-within flashbacks, it seems to have ADD), Watership Down, and a variety of pre-90's movies.
LBTlover- My snake...although, I don't myself to "own" him. But I own my own knowledge and opinion. So that's what's most important to me
Noname - Owls, sparrows, and pigeons :D !
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Paradise Bird on September 08, 2009, 10:31:01 PM
What is more difficult to learn Tamil or Malay
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on September 10, 2009, 05:53:31 PM
Tamil? Malay? What's that  :blink: ?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on September 12, 2009, 12:01:16 AM
When did you start getting interested in LBT? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on September 12, 2009, 10:20:52 AM
Well, like most of us, it was back when I was a little tot. Then it came back around the seventh movie. Took a break, and then fell back in about fifth grade, then finally got invited here in seventh grade.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on September 19, 2009, 01:07:09 AM
:D Will you ever attempt to update your LBT story again?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on September 19, 2009, 03:59:55 PM
I'm not sure XD . I've got my hands full with an AoFW one at the moment. If anything, it would end up being a joint fanfiction.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on September 20, 2009, 12:29:44 AM
When do you usually have time to chat? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on September 28, 2009, 09:11:04 PM
It depends, but I'd say between 4:50 and 8:30, unless I'm getting help with my homework that involves math.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on November 27, 2009, 03:42:57 AM
How was your thanksgiving? ^^
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on January 21, 2010, 12:23:11 AM
And, what do you think makes a character a mary sue?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on January 25, 2010, 07:22:10 PM
1. Geeez, I don't remember :o

2. When a crazy fangirl attempts to make the PUUUURRRFECT girlfriend for a pre-existing character and tries to make her PURFECT as possible, perhaps including an angsty past and ridiculus talents. There are more ways, but I cannot list them all :lol
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Serris on January 25, 2010, 08:10:42 PM
What was the inspiration behind The Great Valley Rebellion?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on January 25, 2010, 08:56:32 PM
It was based on some fan episodes I wrote.
The first had the TV Gang (plus Guido and Tricia) finding Pterano in the Mysterious Beyond and learning that he is not (personally) afraid of Red Claw and that he is trying to find out what Red Claw's motives were.

The second was a random Fastbiter invasion that Pterano broke his banishment in to save Petrie's mother.

I eventually started to like an idea of putting an end to Red Claw's reign and I got a lot of ideas from the last Guardians of Ga'Hoole book, such as massive groups uniting against Red Claw.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on March 05, 2010, 10:25:48 PM
^ I read the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series myself last month. What were your opinions of it?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on March 06, 2010, 12:01:05 AM
I really enjoyed it up until after the eighth book. Once (Spoilers here) Nachtmagen came about and the possibility of Nyra being a hagsfiend, it started to get a little "blah". And Mrs. Plithiver appeared less and less and she was my favorite character (She only had one scene in the last book and it was VERY disappointing).

There is a spin-off series about the Dire Wolves now and...no. Just no. There are enough stories about dogs as the heroes as it is! I'd much rather see a spin-off story about Soren's parents...and a young Mrs. Plithiver.
(When she addresses herself as "Mrs. Horace Plithiver", I think that she's using her full married name)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on March 06, 2010, 01:06:47 AM
^ Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought, too (though for me the series began to go "blah" even earlier, after the focus shifted off of the Band and Nyroc/Coryn became the central character).

Weird question, but I can’t help but be curious: why do you color your post text orange, and is there any reason for that color in particular? :p
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on March 06, 2010, 11:11:19 AM
On another message board, I color in green For reasons I don't completely remember, but it became my 'special color' (there's another member who colors in purple). Green looked really strange with the background when I first came, so I used orange.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: The Chronicler on March 20, 2010, 01:42:34 PM
A couple days ago, you posted in the "favorite character pairings" topic. When I read it, I noticed that you had four for Bionicle (that was more than anything else you had in that post, even LBT, which you had three).

Edit: here's the post I'm referring to:http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/i...dpost&p=9174998 (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=6340&view=findpost&p=9174998)

That inspired me to ask you a few questions. When did you first hear about Bionicle? How closely do you follow the story? Have you ever bought any of the sets and if yes, which ones (that you can recall)?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on March 20, 2010, 02:21:33 PM
I was first introduced when it first came out. My brothers got the original toa canisters for Christmas. Now, for the longest time, I wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with the series until Mask of Light came out. That changed my mind and I got Gali Nuva for Christmas. I stuck around until after the Visorak storyline and then I got bored.

For 06 Christmas, my brothers and I got the big ol' boxed set containing Roodaka, Sidorak, and Keetongu.

I wrote some incredibly strange fanfictions revolving around Makuta and Roodaka's daughter (as well as everyone else's), Gali as an octomom, and me and my boyfriend and best friend in the Universe.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Serris on March 21, 2010, 07:25:05 PM
Why exactly do you hate dirty/unfair fights in movies?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on March 21, 2010, 07:40:18 PM
Most of the time, it's because they get quite annoying, especially when they bad guy does it. It's like cheating on a video game/board game. Annoying as heck. That, and would any SMART villain do that? It could easily be a stupid move.

That and unfair fights keep them from getting tired. Once you get tired, then unfair moves can technically be fair, such as D'Artagnan stabbing Rouchfort in their climatic battle at the end of the Four Musketeers. They were both exhausted...enough that D'Artagnan fainted after defeating Rouchfort.

*sigh* I miss the good 'ol days of sword fighting when you could actually see what was going on and when folks would get wiped out.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Serris on March 21, 2010, 09:02:44 PM
Quote from: Ptyra,Mar 21 2010 on  07:40 PM
Most of the time, it's because they get quite annoying, especially when they bad guy does it. It's like cheating on a video game/board game. Annoying as heck. That, and would any SMART villain do that? It could easily be a stupid move.

 
Better question is why a villian who shoots/stabs the hero midspeech (classic cheap shot) is not smart? To me, that sounds like a good decision: attack when the enemy is occupied.

And one other movie dirty fighting question: do you prefer heroes who fight fair or heroes who resort to any means to defeat the villian including unfair/cheap fighting tactics
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on March 21, 2010, 09:12:02 PM
Things like that are an excellent point, though. I knew there were definitely some exceptions, but then again, either of them could be stabbed/shot while the villain is making a monologue.

It really would depend on the hero, but in REALLY dire times, the second may be better. I'm going to use Musketeers as my example again XD . D'Artagnan took the advantage of his enemy being totally exhausted when he "killed" him (Graagh...why Return of the Musketeers?! WHY!? To make Villain Sue an even bigger Villain Sue?!). Usually, I would prefer the first, but the second could save his life.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on April 11, 2010, 01:51:16 PM
Hope you don’t mind a couple more questions regarding Mary Sues. :oops

In your art thread, you mentioned that you were beginning to see hints of Mary Sue in Ada and Ptyra. Perhaps I do not fully understand the concept of a Mary Sue, but I was wondering how so.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on April 11, 2010, 03:09:10 PM
I'm not really sure how I think they are "Mary Sues", but Ptyra certainly DID start off that way when I was eight years old (I made a joke about her first version on my art thread).

At the moment, I am really tired so I can't put my thoughts straight. I guess the best way to put it is that in some ways, they seem very...difficult...to make a GOOD story for WITHOUT making them clique characters. Things happen when you think you've created a really good character, but then they seem to be part of the "OMG! THEES IZ MAH FAN CHAR!!!" group.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Saft on April 11, 2010, 03:11:55 PM
There is a link to help with marysues that I saw a while ago.  If you like I could search for it (if it's still there) and link it up to you, to help when you make a story for your characters to prevent them from becoming Marysues?

Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on April 11, 2010, 03:44:31 PM
You mean like the limitus test or something else? Either way, I'd sure like the help :) . You can send it
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on April 17, 2010, 01:14:17 AM
I noticed you asked me a similar question in my "ask me" thread, so I wanted to ask you:

Was it okay for me to put my LBT short stories in the Pterano Club? It had Pterano ALL in them, so I hope it is okay.  :unsure:
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on April 17, 2010, 10:47:02 AM
Coitenly :D !
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Jrd89 on April 17, 2010, 09:46:56 PM
Ptyra, do you have a follow-up picture to the one with Ada holding Pterano's beak shut?

And do you have any really cool drawings coming up soon?

-I also hope I haven't been bugging you too much, It's just that I really like to talk to you a lot.

I'm glad you're there to help me out on things that I don't fully understand about lbt (and your characters, too) I know i'll have more questions for you in the future on that.

And finally, an incredibly huge thank you on "Jared the flyer"

(btw, how have you been coming on that?)

you've been a great online friend since I met you a few weeks ago.  ;)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on April 17, 2010, 10:18:13 PM
One question at a time, please  :p !
I sort of do, but it's quite a while afterward. And yes I do, but I haven't loaded them yet.

I do have a Jared picture, but I'm not incredibly pleased with it. I'll load the sketch anyway.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on April 17, 2010, 10:50:55 PM
Quote from: Ptyra,Apr 17 2010 on  06:47 AM
Coitenly :D !
Sorry, but what do you mean by this word?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on April 17, 2010, 11:13:17 PM
It's just a funny way to say "certainly". I was technically quoting The Goonies (awesome movie XD !), but I'm pretty sure that Mouth pronounced it "Swoitenly"
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on April 17, 2010, 11:29:11 PM
Oh okay, I just never heard of that word used like that before. :p

Anyway, how was your Easter?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on April 17, 2010, 11:44:53 PM
It was lovely :) . I sang with the Church choir, held three babies at least three times (one of which had been baptized and was EXTREMELY "talkative" the entire time afterward), then I got to be with my mom's cousin's family, as always. It wasn't QUITE the same with Great Grandpa being gone, but we'll just have to deal with it :( . I do hope to have my family there for my seventeenth birthday, though.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on May 06, 2010, 10:58:03 PM
This might be an odd question, but do you believe in the term "guilty pleasure" as in having "LBT as a guilty pleasure" due to certain circumstances of what seems to be socially acceptable in society, or do you kick out the labels and just like what you like even if other people would call them guilty pleasures?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on May 06, 2010, 11:48:28 PM
I feel a SLIGHT "guilty pleasure" for LBT, but I have an even smaller one for The Brave Little Toaster (quite ironically). I really don't understand what you're trying to ask, but I have a tendency to like what I like and that's all that I like, no matter what folks say about it.

A little bit OOC, but I've had four boys see me drawing The Brave Little Toaster who said "I REMEMBER THAT SHOW!" One of them even sketched some of the characters with me a little bit this morning (from the third movie). I guess I'm a bringer of nostalgia for some people, as BLT seems to be a VERY forgotten classic by some.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on June 21, 2010, 12:59:04 AM
What specific animals are your hybrid OCs Thisbe and Dromio comprised of?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 02, 2010, 12:59:53 AM
Bump.

Also, have you heard of mantid lacewings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantispidae)? They're a family in the lacewing group that have convergently evolved some of the same characteristics as praying mantises. (Here's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mantispidae_fg1.jpg) another picture of one.) Somehow I had the impression that you liked both mantises and lacewings, so I thought you might find them interesting.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 02, 2010, 10:36:45 PM
Yes I have. It was actually one of the things that I was considering making Archimedes, but I made him a "regular" Lacewing instead :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 04, 2010, 04:54:14 AM
^ Wow, what a coincidence! Yet somehow I'm not hugely surprised, either. :!

Can you still answer my earlier question? :)
Quote from: Pangaea,Jun 20 2010 on  11:59 PM
What specific animals are your hybrid OCs Thisbe and Dromio comprised of?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 04, 2010, 11:15:59 AM
Thisbe is a fruit bat/python/sea snake mix and Dromio is a Lapine/python/(third here). He used to have some bird/hedgehog, but I decided to remove that so he could be simpler to draw. And I'm still trying to figure out which kind of python is mixed in.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Noname on July 04, 2010, 12:47:40 PM
In your continuity, does Pterano only have Ptyra as a daughter, or does he have other kids? (Hoping I got the names right).
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 04, 2010, 04:35:38 PM
Just Ptyra...
Although my discussion with you from a few nights ago miiiight change that  :p .
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Noname on July 04, 2010, 04:37:55 PM
That's why I asked. To see if it did. You have a great fan-setting, btw.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 04, 2010, 11:06:03 PM
You seem to be rather interested in insects. Did that interest start when you first watched A Bug’s Life, or did you have it before then?

Also, what kinds of insects (and other creepy crawly invertebrates :p) do are your favorites?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 05, 2010, 01:43:45 AM
I am fascinated by bugs and I have an enormous amount of respect for the little critters, but I don't make a hobby out of them like I do with snakes. I do, however, get jittery if a program about them comes up on Nature/Nova/Animal Planet and want to watch it/bummed if I am unable to.

I'm not really sure when my interest began, but it was really about fifth grade when we watched it on a bus trip and I REALLY paid attention to the movie; it was mostly Manny and Gypsy that clicked with me; there was something about that inter-species relationship that I choose NOT to be squeamish over...probably because it is indeed canon and has already happened.

My favorite bugs are mantises and butterflies and moths (obviously); since a fun encounter last summer, stickbugs (wheee, let me tell you, there's a huge difference between the tickles from them and pill-bugs!); dragonflies; wasps/bees/ants (they're in the same Order); I really can't list them all. I've gotten over arachnophobia and I can say that I like spiders a bit now, although I do prefer to keep my distance from some of them.

Cockroaches, however...despite my enormous respect for their long-term durability (if that makes sense), for some reason, I can't STAND to be around them. I'd like to get used to them, but I can't. I created a cockroach character for my own story specifically to like them better (and to be clever, considering his position in the story :lol ) Even Wall-E's pet cockroach Hal should have helped with it, considering how A Bug's Life gave me a little push towards bug-love.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 07, 2010, 08:22:46 PM
Which of your OCs did you change to a Paluxysaurus, and why did you decide to do so? Also, can we expect to see an illustration of the character anytime soon? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 07, 2010, 09:18:30 PM
I was at the Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History and a saw the model they had. I thought "Wow. I'd LOVE to have a Land Before Time character like that." I thought they were wicked awesome to have in the LBT universe. I decided to change my Mussasaurus character Murel into one named Pala.

I've been trying to work out a picture of her, but her neck and tail are NEVER long enough.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 07, 2010, 11:19:31 PM
Is Pala going to be about the same size as Murel was (making her an adolescent), a full-sized adult, or closer to the age of the gang?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 08, 2010, 01:36:49 PM
She's full grown, and getting to that "frumpy old lady" stage
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 17, 2010, 11:30:13 PM
When I get around to reviewing your LBT story, do you want me to bother pointing out text errors like spelling, grammar, and punctuation in addition to the basic "what I thought was good and what I thought could be improved" feedback, or just stick to the latter?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 17, 2010, 11:33:41 PM
I would love to stick to the latter, but I would like some grammar checks, since the program I used does not tell me if I made an error in my sentence structure.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 19, 2010, 12:48:21 AM
Quote from: Ptyra,Jul 18 2010 on  03:19 PM
I hate having to come up with an "original" dinosaur story. I want to, but it's pretty darn hard. Considering how many Ceratopsians that were in Western America/Montana.
I was just curious: how is the number of ceratopsians a problem for your story? :confused

P.S. If you're looking to find out what kinds of dinosaurs and other organisms inhabited western North America at the end of the Cretaceous, you might find this site (http://www.scn.org/~bh162/hellcreek2.html) helpful. (Let me know if I can provide you with any direct information or help you find and/or translate more sources.)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 19, 2010, 01:16:00 AM
Nothing. It just surprised me greatly. I am actually quite amused now. One of the main "issues" was that there were too many interesting species to pick from for main characters.

I have decided that there will be just two lead characters, though. These are a Troodon and a lost baby Pteranodon. I'll have them bump into some Ceratopsians on the way to the sea, or maybe just have some herds in the landscape. But I won't have anyone stick around.

I'm trying to make it as simple a story as possible (which is one reason why I decided to make them slightly more animalistic and not have them speak in human dialogue. Think of "Spirit", but with no talking from anyone.)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 19, 2010, 01:24:58 AM
I've never seen Spirit, but I know what you're talking about as far as the style of the story is concerned. It sounds very interesting, and I'll be excited to read it if and when you write it. :yes

That reminds me: have you ever read Raptor Red? It's a novel following the life of a Utahraptor, also without dialogue.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 19, 2010, 01:38:34 AM
No I haven't. It might be a good source for some inspiration if I can find it. Maybe when I return the DVDs I rented to the library.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 22, 2010, 10:24:01 PM
Quote from: Ptyra,Jul 22 2010 on  08:32 PM
I planned on the story taking place a few thousand years before the KT extinction 65 million years ago; there's a list of dinosaurs from that time period that included Pteranodon.
The last thing I want to do is sound like I am disagreeing with your choice to use Pteranodon in your dinosaur story, or casting aspersions on your judgement of research material, but I was curious about where you found this list. If it can be viewed online, I'd like to take a look at it. I'm concerned that it might have some inaccuracies. :unsure:
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 23, 2010, 12:11:23 AM
From this list (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/mesozoic/cretaceous/lc.shtml)
I did take a peek at the Pteranodon and have my thought disproved, though :/ . I was off my about ten million years.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 23, 2010, 05:23:55 AM
^ It doesn’t particularly matter. Like I said in your art thread, there are no fossils of Pteranodon known from the Maastrichtian stage (the very end of the Cretaceous, spanning from roughly 70.6 to 65.5 million years ago), but pterosaur skeletons were very delicate, and it’s possible that Pteranodon DID exist at that time, but was simply not preserved.

Unless this counts as spoilers you’d rather not share, what other kinds of Late Cretaceous critters are you planning to use in this story? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 23, 2010, 01:17:44 PM
I would like the Troodon  to meet a Styracosaurus herd and some other Ceratopsians at some point along the way on his journey. There's plenty I could use, I just havn't selected absolutely for sure yet  :lol . Since I decided that he probably going to trek into completely unfamiliar territories going into the middle of the South US, I'd have to look at those too. 'Course, some of them would have to be oceanic at some point. It would be really cool for him to meet some early mammals. There's so many possibilities that would make for a good mini-plot.

But Styracosaurus is one I would LOVE to get in. I don't know how yet, though.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 24, 2010, 12:50:13 AM
If the Troodon were to meet any mammals, I would expect that he would view them as food. :p

Just out of curiosity, what made you decide to set your story so close to the time of the K-T extinction? (Personally I find it a little depressing that the characters’ descendants will be wiped out only a few hundred generations after the story.)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 24, 2010, 11:49:05 AM
Well, I wasn't going to have the story set at the very beginning of that time, nor was I going to have it IMMEDIATELY followed by the extinction, or the middle of that time. A time when the heyday was still pretty big, but was starting to see some new mammals on the rise, seemed plenty fine. On top of that, Troodons must have been a lot smarter than they first evolved that that point in time.

If I were to give an estimate, I'd say about five or six thousand years before...with still isn't very much.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 24, 2010, 10:30:31 PM
New mammals…what kinds of new mammals were you thinking of? (Though Mesozoic mammals didn't fossilize very well, their diversity isn't known to have increased much toward the end of the Cretaceous, or even for the first few million years after it. The largest mammal so far known from that time was an opossum relative called Didelphodon, about the size of a cat or badger.)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 25, 2010, 12:01:41 AM
On the website where I got my dinosaur list, there was an early primate that was only known by its teeth, which I might use. Early rodents would definitely come into play, though.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 26, 2010, 12:58:20 AM
Just so you know, there is some debate over whether Purgatorius is an actual primate, and even if it was, it probably resembled a modern tree shrew (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~nhi708/classify/animalia/chordata/mammalia/primates/treeshrew.jpg) more than a lemur or other familiar primate.

Also, true rodents may not have evolved until after the K-T extinction, although there was a group of chisel-toothed mammals called multituberculates, which probably filled the same ecological niches. There were also opossum relatives such as Alphadon, and shrews or shrew-like creatures, some of which may have had a venomous bite.

It is possible that there were bats in the late Cretaceous, though there is no more evidence for them being present than there is for rodents. Given that effectively modern bats existed 52 million years ago, they must have evolved much earlier. If the most primitive known bat, Onychonycteris, is anything to go by, then Mesozoic bats probably would have been unable to echolocate, had claws on all five fingers and relatively long tails, and generally flew only short distances. I also read one study (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/ibes/speakman/pdf_docs/145.pdf) that proposed that the first bats were diurnal and ate mainly fruit (as well as insects). However, it’s mostly informed speculation, so if you decided to feature bats in your story, you could portray them as nocturnal, bug-zapping echolocators if you wanted. ;)

Okay, better ask another question…Have you heard about Sanajeh indicus (http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2010/03/sanajeh_the_snake_the_ate_baby_dinosaurs.php)? It's a Mesozoic snake found fossilized with a sauropod nest; apparently it was preying on the eggs and/or hatchlings. :wow
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 26, 2010, 01:47:30 AM
I think I saw that article ages ago. With me being a pretty obvious snake-lover, it was a pretty interesting find, since I didn't think legless snakes coexisted with dinosaurs
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on July 26, 2010, 02:18:24 AM
What kinds of snakes interest you the most? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 29, 2010, 01:38:29 PM
Hm. That's a hard question. But it would probably be King Cobras, since they come off to me as a very unusual snake, considering how they're the only snake that makes something of a nest, guards it, keeps an eye out for the hatched babies at least for a little while, and some possibly mate for life. There's also the fact that they see farther than any others and is the only snake to see in a particular way (purple?), and has mistaken identity...A LOT.

You won't believe how annoyed I am that Nag and Nagaina are described as Monocled Cobras in Rikki-Tikki-Tavi...so in my "extended version", I take away the desriptions of anything that could set them of as a Monocled (like having Nag be fourteen feet long instead of five)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Campion1 on July 29, 2010, 02:20:44 PM
So what's the story behind your fondness of pterano?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 31, 2010, 10:39:24 PM
(Why am I always late to check these?)
I became interested in Pterano around the time VII came out. I really didn't have a reason to like him...I just did. Now, I can really see his charisma and can even make some associations with him (I have delusions of grandeur that will probably never come to be XD ). But he's also a fine example of an anti-villain, where the bad things he has done aren't intentional, and he regrets them.
And his actor is awesome. T'wern't for Pterano, I wouldn't have found Mr. York :DD
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on August 01, 2010, 06:44:40 AM
How did your hybrid animal OCs (Dromio and Thisbe) come to be? I’m curious about both what inspired you to create them, and what you imagined their origins to be in whatever fictional universe they inhabit.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 01, 2010, 01:33:55 PM
Thisbe started off as Bat-Snake, my internet alias on another forum. Dromio started off as my boyfriend's internet alias "Sonic" (after the "hedgehog"). I had a small storyline for the two, and then decided to create two completely different characters with similar designs.
Their story is that they and four others were part of an illegal experiment out in the middle of nowhere by scientists. The first four were attempted creations of new members for Canidae, Felidae, Aves, and Mustilidae (at one point, there was a rodent, but he didn't quite fit). Thisbe and Dromio came in as an attempt to create an entirely new animal. They were also tests of animal intelligence, and they got too smart to keep locked up, and eventually they escaped. They then try to find the "perfect" home for themselves. I like to put them in a Kingdom Hearts-like adventure where they bounce between places with some form of magic.  

The group still isn't as smart as their creators, and probably will never find out how exactly they were created. They do have some side-effects from their mix-and-matching, like that Thisbe and Dromio are extremely weak in their lower bodies and have to ride the dog and cat a lot. Thisbe is also extremely compulsive and annoying (Combine all three of the Warner Siblings with Freakazoid. Thar you go), at she usually gets worn out by it, but can never sleep quite right, thus talks a ton of nonsense in her sleep, keeping Dromio awake. Thisbe and Dromio are also completely and totally sterile, so even if they wanted to, they couldn't breed (the scientists had made them similar in hopes that possibilities of a new animal coming from the two of them, but obviously that was an enormous failure).

I don't think I can find their own plotline that involves them going into different universes, though. For a while, there was one where they had to find their own home AND were chased by former allies of theirs.
In the mixing into different worlds, they come upon a mystical Avalon-ish place that they call Spira Locus (Spiral Place...I hope the translation is right...). Spira Locus is an enormous tree that grew in a spiral shape, and the group (somehow manages to) build on it and it becomes their 'perfect home'. Lots and lots of little rooms on it XD . I like to think of Treetown from Dinotopia, and maybe even the Lost Boys' house in "Hook".

One of the things that made Bat-Snake different from Thisbe is that she had glasses, a different shade of brown, and had a great big floof of fur on the top of her head. Sonic is different from Dromio in that he has a hedgehog back, and blue-tipped "cartoon hedgehog" spikes on his neck. They were both a bit more snake-like in the face, where Dromio is more like a Lapine, and Thisbe is more like a fruit bat.

Some of the universes you've seen them in have been LBT (Thisbe interacting with Pterano) and The Brave Little Toaster (Dromio and Thisbe's date with Lampy and Radio present). I've also had them in The Animals of Farthing Wood, where Thisbe makes numerous distractions for the bad guy and attracts them away from the good guys...mostly by being extremely annoying. I might even put them in Star Wars for the fun of it. Mercy help Thisbe if she annoys a Wookie.

I really hope that made sense...
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Mirumoto_Kenjiro on August 02, 2010, 04:04:27 AM
Stupid question:

What're your major pet peeves?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 02, 2010, 12:12:43 PM
People who don't take school seriously
Radicals of ANY group
Lazy politicians
Any of those types of people in general

Well, that was a boring answer 0_o
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on August 16, 2010, 01:26:59 AM
How are you doing?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 16, 2010, 12:46:21 PM
Just fine. I'm needing to clean up for the yard sale coming up on Friday, needing to get my sleep schedule fixed for next Monday (as school is starting), and I'm hyped for all the new Bone stuff coming out
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on August 16, 2010, 10:39:07 PM
Wow, kind of a sad backstory for Dromio and Thisbe. :(

I’m curious about the four other OCs you created: Were they also hybrids, but of different animals from their respective taxonomic groups? Basically, I’m wondering how they’re distinct from other dogs, cats, birds, and mustelids. :) And are they characters that you still draw and/or write about, or have you basically dropped them?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 16, 2010, 11:05:30 PM
I've had a lot of trouble creating them, since the story is mostly about Thisbe and Dromio. I have drawn them before, but it's incredibly difficult. In the "crossover stories", each of the characters has a chance of being the hero. But after working with Dromio and Thisbe for so long, their stories are a small challenge.

The Canid is named Claudio. He's the "old man" of the group (the kind that really gruff and will talk your ear off about how he fought in WWII Europe). I mostly aim for him to be a mix between herding dogs, African Wild Dog, and coyote.
The Feline is Portia. She sometimes acts "catty" but is usually a bit of a "Southern bell" (Or like Miss Kitty in An American Tale: Fivel Goes West). She's younger than Claudio, and sometimes seems a bit younger. I imagine Portia to be a mix between a Pallas Cat, Jaguar, Maine Coon, and Savannah Cat
The bird is Cressida. She's older than Thisbe and Dromio, but is still quite young. She has a mixed relationship with Portia, but they somehow manage to be friends. Of the entire group, she is perhaps the most laid-back and calm, and usually tries to be the voice of reason when disaster comes to a head, usually within the group. Crissida is a combination of most of the Heron family, and at the moment, I am trying to find some more birds that would fit with her.
The Mustilid is Peaseblossom. He's the baby of the group (but he used to be the same age as Dromio and Thisbe). He has the attitude of a six-year-old, and will truly "become one" depending on the situation at hand. Since he is the smallest of the group, he feels insignificant, despite the fact that he does do some very "big" heroic deeds for the group. He is a mix between a River Otter, Least Weasel, Black-Footed Ferret, and Badger. His Otter quarter will result in him bigger than he thought he would be as an adult.

I was going to have them be a mix of all sorts of animals, but it was much harder a task than it was with Dromio and Thisbe.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on August 17, 2010, 12:34:02 AM
What exactly is the new Bone merchandise you’re excited for? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 17, 2010, 12:57:09 PM
* Bone handbook
* Bone: Tall Tales
* 2011 calender (This is on my Christmas list)
* Bone LEGACY: QUEST FOR THE SPARK :wow !!!!

As for low-key ones:
* The Art of Bone
* Kingdok action figure (Mostly because of how amused I am that you can detach his right arm :DD )

But boy, would I also like to get some of the "smaller" Rat Creature figures...which includes Bartleby. I'm indifferent about one of the two Fone Bone plushes, but I'd probably flip my lid if I got one anyway....especially the life-sized one X3 .

Oh, and the Rat Creature chase flip book. It's out-of-print now, though. But I did catch it for buy it now on Ebay.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on August 17, 2010, 09:35:24 PM
Wow, I didn't realize they made so many Bone products! :!

Any new progress on your dinosaur story about the Troodon and the Pteranodon? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 17, 2010, 10:09:39 PM
(Oh yes, there have been tons of Bone merchandise over the past two decades)
There's still a ton of kinks I'm trying to work out, especially with the Pteranodon. I guess it would be one of those things that should intentionally be a mystery forever; never explain how it happened.
There's a lot that can be done, but I haven't figured it out yet.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on August 17, 2010, 10:38:52 PM
You mean about how the Pteranodon ended up so far from home? Did you plan on her being too young to fly? (If not, I still think that my suggestion that she was blown far inland while learning to fly could work, since it's possible that Pteranodon was capable of flight very soon after hatching.)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 18, 2010, 08:42:01 AM
Yes, that part :) . The story takes place from the Troodon's point of view, and all he knows about her is that she got to him from the river, so he assumes that she came from somewhere that he could follow the river from.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on October 01, 2010, 12:58:21 AM
Been a while since I've asked you anything.

Have you come up with anything new on your Troodon/Pteranodon story, or any of your other projects? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on November 19, 2010, 10:05:12 PM
What made you interested in Darkwing Duck? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Amaranthine on December 25, 2010, 11:40:09 AM
MERRYCHRISTMAS!!!
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on March 01, 2011, 12:45:30 AM
Hey, Ptyra, we haven't seen much of you lately. How have you been? :)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on April 11, 2011, 04:51:00 PM
(Oh dear, it seems I've been backed up. Thanks, Pangea!)

Sep 30 2010
Well, nothing on that story, but I've been working on some stuff with my brother.
One is sudeo-western where the main character is a child caught up in the war between a peculiar preacher and a frightening sheriff, and being unsure of who to trust.
The other is my brother's own story, a medical drama-comedy about a doctor and his 'life' (inspired by House and Grey's Anatomy). I'd rather not give a lot away, but one of my favorite aspects is that he has three cats, one of which he trains his interns to attend to a patient's needs with (or all three sometimes).

Nov 19 2010
Getting ideas for a superhero series for my Autism/Aspergers Social Group at school. I wanted to find 'superhero humor' and got something else XD

Dec 25 2010
Should I reply back in July?

Feb 28 2011
Exhausted and jittery for school to be OVER. Get my driving lessons, hopefully work at the same pre-school as my mom does, get some Senior Classes out of the way!
BUT I found four of the original issues of Bone yesterday. 19-friken-95! I could have bought all fifteen, but I limited myself :( . I told my boyfriend about it and... I swear he's planning on getting the rest for me XD
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Nick22 on June 20, 2011, 05:48:46 PM
Anything new with you?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 02, 2011, 11:26:20 PM
Besides missing my questions?
Well, my newest character obsession is Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda.
But can you blame me?
(http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o191/Bat-Snake/Ax.jpg)
What an awesome peacock.

And then, we'll be traveling overseas somewhere to see my dad on his next break. Either Germany, Paris, or Jamaica.
Since Germany seems quite unlikely, I'm hoping for Paris.
We'll figure it out two days before we have to leave.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Nick22 on July 05, 2011, 01:06:51 AM
theres also those magpies characters in toon worl;d you need to develop..
 and yes I agree Shen is a wonderful villian..
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 05, 2011, 08:48:52 PM
Oh, yes. It's kinda hard to keep up with.

I also like the Soothsayer. She's awesome too.
And I like her history with Shen.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Nick22 on July 05, 2011, 11:00:33 PM
well we can slow down there if you so desire..
 I think the soothsayer will have more of a role in Po's future..
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on July 06, 2011, 11:21:20 PM
Thanks

And I sure hope so! I would LOVE to see more of her and flashbacks of her with baby/child Shen
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Nick22 on July 09, 2011, 01:22:59 AM
same here.. if there was a Toy Story 4 , would you see it?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on August 10, 2011, 12:29:51 AM
Hm...probably.
It depends on how 'convincing' the plot is.

Though, with the third movie, I'd like for it to just 'lay down'.
Like Harry Potter, the series ending is just another "it's time to bid farewell to your childhood with a bang" movie.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Pangaea on September 21, 2011, 02:40:09 AM
First off, I wanted to thank you. I just looked at your new avatar and member title ("All hail the inside-out meowing umbrella!"), and promptly went into an uncontrollable laughing fit that must have lasted over a minute. :lol It was one of the best laughs I've had in a while, and it felt really good. So, thanks a lot for inadvertently providing it. :DD

Now, my question: Uhhh…I don't think I originally had one, actually. :oops Hmm…:idea…Well, somehow, I only noticed just now that you appear to be yet another member here with an affinity for characters presented as villains or antagonists (Discord, Pterano, Lord Shen, the Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures, etc.). Would you care to share a list of your favorites? :) (You can name a top ten, or just all the examples you can think of in no particular order.)
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: CreativePerson on October 02, 2011, 12:12:19 AM
I was wondering, since you seem to like the story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and apparently you didn't like the outcome of the story and wanted things to be changed and added. I do plan on writing a remake of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in the future and publishing it. Complete with new characters, scenarios, and a MUCH better ending for both Rikki and Nagainia. I wonder what would you like to see be changed or added into the story?
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on December 31, 2011, 03:12:04 AM
Okay, how the HECK to I keep missing these things?!

I guess it would have to depend. I'm a far different person than I was five years ago, and my ideas of what would happen have drastically changed. I would like to see what you have in mind, though, so long as it doesn't make me want to throw salt at myself for the resemblance to what I once did....uuugh!
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: LBTLover1 on January 03, 2012, 10:05:35 PM
Wow, I have an obsession with Shen as well...Well, I don't know if you still have it, but yeah, awesome peacock.
Title: Ask Ptyra
Post by: Ptyra on January 04, 2012, 06:38:07 PM
It's toned down, but he's definitely on my list of best villain-victims of circumstance. Grendel being the other.