Discussion of "A sudden change of species"

[rhombus]

We could incorporate the fact that they're still getting used to their new bodies with how they're discovered sneaking out at night. Say, maybe to escape they need to sneak past a nest of sleeping dinosaurs and because they're still getting used to their new vision or method of walking, they accidentally alert the adults that way. Could be a nice way to introduce the difficulties they initially find in their new bodies. And it could be a better way of making the adults think the worst of Chomper - maybe one of the gang could stumble into a sleeping child, so the first thing the adults see when they wake up is a group of sharpteeth stumbling around their kids?

I think that this would be an excellent idea!  However, I think that if they do stumble upon a child then it should probably be one of a smaller species, because if the gang is having difficulty moving around then they could be easily chased down and trampled by an adult of a larger species.  If they alert a nest of smaller dinosaurs, on the other hand, then they could have time to make a hasty escape before the rest of the adults arrived.

[Ducky123]

Okay Sounds good!

[bushwacked]

I think that this would be an excellent idea! However, I think that if they do stumble upon a child then it should probably be one of a smaller species, because if the gang is having difficulty moving around then they could be easily chased down and trampled by an adult of a larger species.

Yeah, that's good, I hadn't thought about that. Plus, if the dinosaurs they disturb are smaller / younger, they could exaggerate and make the gang sound much more vicious and threatening than they actually are (or at least at that point in the story) when they're reporting it to the adults.

That brings up another point, how big would the gang be once they've turned into sharpteeth? I'm guessing they'd grow a little, but wouldn't be full size?

[rhombus]

I was under the impression (based upon Ducky's comments on this story having 'time jumps' into the future) that they would be roughly the same size and that the roleplay would follow their progress as they grew up.  The only difference initially would be that they would go from being young leafeaters to young sharpteeth.

I find your idea interesting, however, in that if some of the gang could grow somewhat in size (namely Ducky) it would open up some additional possibilities in terms of what species the gang could turn into.  If Ducky remains roughly the same size, for example, then she would have to become a rather small species of sharptooth in the roleplay, but if she could increase in size to match the rest of the gang then she could potentially become a larger species.

[bushwacked]

Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't see that there would be jumps in time. The only reason I said about them getting a little bigger was because that way they could start hunting bigger prey sooner - but it would be actually be pretty interesting to see them grow as sharpteeth against a longer timespan.

 I don't want to go against what Ducky had planned though, and it could still work either way, so I'm happy to go with however you guys want to play it  

[Ducky123]

I was under the impression (based upon Ducky's comments on this story having 'time jumps' into the future) that they would be roughly the same size and that the roleplay would follow their progress as they grew up. The only difference initially would be that they would go from being young leafeaters to young sharpteeth.

Yes, that's exactly what I meant plus I thought once the gang have found a kind of territory and being trained by Chomper's parents, we could just do one or more shifts in time in order to make progress with the plot and to avoid boring scenes

Ducky will indeed grow compared to her size as hadrosaur. Still I thought she should turn into a smaller kind of Sharptooth (some kind of Fastbiter species would be most accurate in my view).


Oh, and maybe they could stumple around either Mrs. Maia's young ones or Ducky's siblings?

[Belmont2500]

Count me in. If you guys are open to another member joining.  

[rhombus]

ount me in. If you guys are open to another member joining. smile.gif

Welcome.    I am currently assigned Spike and Mama Flyer in the roleplay.  I would offer you Mama Flyer as a character, but I imagine that she will only have a very minor role after the beginning of the roleplay.  Perhaps one of the others would be willing to lend you a character?

Oh, and maybe they could stumple around either Mrs. Maia's young ones or Ducky's siblings?

Sounds good to me.  Mrs. Maia and Ducky's mom are among the most maternal residents of the valley so their children being threatened by sharpteeth would definitely start quite the commotion!


Edit:  Just to clarify Belmont, you may have Mama flyer if you want her.  It is just that she may not have much of a role in the roleplay after the transformation occurs.

[Ducky123]

Well, welcome aboard

Many of us play plenty of characters so is there anybody willing to offer Belmont one of his/hers? I sure will do so if necessary

[bushwacked]

Count me in. If you guys are open to another member joining. smile.gif

First, you must howl at the moon three times and spin in a circle, as per the initiation ritual  

I think I said I'd play Chomper's dad - you could have him if you'd like?

EDIT: I could also hand you the reins for Guido if he'd interest you more

[rhombus]

I had an idea that I wanted to run by everyone.  It is a bit more specific than the general ideas that we have been working on thus far, but I thought that perhaps some elements of this idea might be useful even if we discard the general premise.  Assuming that the transformation happens at night (was that what we all agreed or did we never reach consensus?) could we possibly use a nightmare in order to signal the moment of transformation and to give the members of the gang pretext to wake up in the middle of the night?

Here is a rough synopsis of the idea that I had: Each of the characters would have a nightmare with similar themes or recurring symbols.  Perhaps they are being chased by the sharptooth species that they are turning into, for example.  In the process of the nightmare each will come across six blocked pathways and one open pathway with visible indications that the rest of the gang had already gone through the other six blocked-off pathways.  In the process of running through the one open pathway, a rockslide will occur preventing them from going back the way that they came.  In following the path they will eventually come across a large chamber with a dead body and a pool of water.  Upon inspecting the body they will discover that it is their own corpse (as a leafeater) and when they look at the pool of water they will see their reflection as a sharptooth.  I figure that by modifying the details of each nightmare, each roleplayer could elaborate upon the character traits of their respective characters and their unique set of fears and motivations.  

So what does everyone think?  Even if we decide not to use this idea on the gang in general, I am thinking about incorporating such a nightmare in the case of Spike in order to elaborate on his character traits a bit more (desirable, in my opinion, because he is functionally mute in the films.)  If anyone is interested in seeing what I had in mind in a particular example, I have written down a basic idea of what I had in mind for Spike's nightmare if anyone wants me to send them a copy via personal message.

[Belmont2500]

I guess I'll take Bron and if possible, Dil.

[bushwacked]

I had an idea that I wanted to run by everyone. It is a bit more specific than the general ideas that we have been working on thus far, but I thought that perhaps some elements of this idea might be useful even if we discard the general premise. Assuming that the transformation happens at night (was that what we all agreed or did we never reach consensus?) could we possibly use a nightmare in order to signal the moment of transformation and to give the members of the gang pretext to wake up in the middle of the night?

Here is a rough synopsis of the idea that I had: Each of the characters would have a nightmare with similar themes or recurring symbols. Perhaps they are being chased by the sharptooth species that they are turning into, for example. In the process of the nightmare each will come across six blocked pathways and one open pathway with visible indications that the rest of the gang had already gone through the other six blocked-off pathways. In the process of running through the one open pathway, a rockslide will occur preventing them from going back the way that they came. In following the path they will eventually come across a large chamber with a dead body and a pool of water. Upon inspecting the body they will discover that it is their own corpse (as a leafeater) and when they look at the pool of water they will see their reflection as a sharptooth. I figure that by modifying the details of each nightmare, each roleplayer could elaborate upon the character traits of their respective characters and their unique set of fears and motivations.

So what does everyone think? Even if we decide not to use this idea on the gang in general, I am thinking about incorporating such a nightmare in the case of Spike in order to elaborate on his character traits a bit more (desirable, in my opinion, because he is functionally mute in the films.) If anyone is interested in seeing what I had in mind in a particular example, I have written down a basic idea of what I had in mind for Spike's nightmare if anyone wants me to send them a copy via personal message.

I think that sounds awesome! I really like the symbolism, like the rockslide meaning there's no way back for them, and their body showing the 'death' of their old way of life. When you say the nightmare signals their transformation, I'm guessing you mean they wake up as sharpteeth? If that's the case, maybe we could have them wake up on their own as if they'd been sleepwalking, giving a reason as to why the change didn't alert their parents? Or maybe even all waking up together in a cave similar to the one in their dreams, which also happens to be in the Valley? If the others like the nightmare idea, that is.
 
I'd definitely like to read the idea you had for Spike's nightmare. I'm getting some ideas of my own, too.

[rhombus]

I think that sounds awesome! I really like the symbolism, like the rockslide meaning there's no way back for them, and their body showing the 'death' of their old way of life. When you say the nightmare signals their transformation, I'm guessing you mean they wake up as sharpteeth? If that's the case, maybe we could have them wake up on their own as if they'd been sleepwalking, giving a reason as to why the change didn't alert their parents? Or maybe even all waking up together in a cave similar to the one in their dreams, which also happens to be in the Valley? If the others like the nightmare idea, that is.

I like your proposed ideas.  In particular, by having them sleepwalk it would explain why their parents were not (immediately) alerted.  Although, I am unsure if they should actually wake up in a cave or not.  

'd definitely like to read the idea you had for Spike's nightmare. I'm getting some ideas of my own, too.

I have sent a copy of my idea to you via personal message.  Please let me know what you think.  I am new to writing fiction so I would appreciate any constructive criticism that you could offer.

[Ducky123]

I like rhombus' idea, I don't mind the sleepwalking idea. It'd make sense, we just need to decide on a place for them to meet then
@Belmont2500: I posted a list of characters on the first page, neither Bron nor Dil are going to be in this RP

[bushwacked]

I'm trying to think of somewhere which isn't too close to a way out of the Great Valley, and which would mean they'd have to sneak through the valley to get out. How about in the 'Secret Caverns' where Ruby and Chomper live (I'm going by the wiki here  ). That way, it could be a way for the gang, Chomper and Ruby to meet up and escape?

[rhombus]

I'm trying to think of somewhere which isn't too close to a way out of the Great Valley, and which would mean they'd have to sneak through the valley to get out. How about in the 'Secret Caverns' where Ruby and Chomper live (I'm going by the wiki here  ). That way, it could be a way for the gang, Chomper and Ruby to meet up and escape?

That sounds like a good idea.  That would allow them to meet up without being seen by the adults, but they would still have to mount a risky escape to leave the valley.  This would also open up the possibility of the gang beginning to confront the reality of their situation (new walking methods, being overwhelmed by their senses, and the emotional impact of becoming the 'enemy') and to at least become calm enough to attempt an escape.  I would imagine after immediately waking up (especially if we use the nightmare idea) the gang will be extremely overwhelmed and emotionally distraught.

I also would imagine that after finding out that they are speaking sharptooth, that the gang will want to track down the Rainbowfaces in the hope that they could reverse the process or at least explain the situation to their parents.  Should the Rainbowfaces still be in the valley on the night of the transformation, or should they leave the valley after granting the wish?

[Ducky123]

They'll be out of the Valley at that time, otherwise they might get chased down But what if they're still watching the Gang?

We finally need to actually start the RP itself soon because I know how slow it might be in the end  : We can continue the discussion of course but everything needed for the very first scene (the Rainbowfaces realizing the prophecy) doesn't need any more discussion, does it? Are you ready guys? The Anonymous Person?

So... four of us still need to pick their Sharptooth species (Nahla, The Anonymous Person, Dosu2Dinner & Me). As for me, I've talked to Dosu yesterday. However, we couldn't really agree on some species so far so here are my thoughts what kind of species Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky & Ruby could be... (I'm not aware of many species)
Littlefoot: I thought he could be a Tyrannosaurus rex since he and Chomper consider themselves as brothers, sort of.
Cera: Something big and strong! Are Allosaurus or Spinosaurus good choices?
Ducky: Well, she should be rather small. Maybe Utahraptor or Deinonychus? Or a species that likes to swim???
Ruby: Something medium-sized, probably a species that is pretty intelligent.

The secret caverns would work, another option would be a place deep in the woods but the SC's are fine

[rhombus]

They'll be out of the Valley at that time, otherwise they might get chased down But what if they're still watching the Gang?

Sounds good.  It might be interesting to have the Rainbowfaces watching them from afar.  Perhaps they could intervene indirectly at certain points later on in the roleplay?

We finally need to actually start the RP itself soon because I know how slow it might be in the end  :  We can continue the discussion of course but everything needed for the very first scene (the Rainbowfaces realizing the prophecy) doesn't need any more discussion, does it? Are you ready guys?    The Anonymous Person?

I am ready whenever everyone else is.  

Ducky: Well, she should be rather small. Maybe Utahraptor or Deinonychus? Or a species that likes to swim???

Utahraptor ostrommaysorum was one of the largest species of the family Dromaeosauridae, reaching 23 feet long and weighing about 1000 lbs.  So, although that would make Ducky small as a child, she would be rather large growing up.  Deinonychus antirrhopus, on the other hand, would be quite a bit smaller.  I have included a picture for comparisons sake.

Ruby: Something medium-sized, probably a species that is pretty intelligent.

I actually think that Utahraptor might be a good fit here.  The smartest dinosaurs, inferred by cranial size and structure, was probably the Troodontidae, but they were rather small compared to the other species we have been discussing.



I guess while I am at it, I might as well give everyone an idea of Spike's species looked like so that it is easier to describe in the roleplay.

[Ducky123]

Thanks rhombus, that's very useful!

Ducky: Unless TAP doesn't want Ducky to be a Deinonychus antirrhopus, I'd say yes
Ruby: Dosu suggested Troodon as well But it's too small to be of much use against the mighty Redclaw So Utahraptor (aka Fastbiter) then? Dosu?

Sounds good. It might be interesting to have the Rainbowfaces watching them from afar. Perhaps they could intervene indirectly at certain points later on in the roleplay?

Yeah, maybe we can do that at some point in the RP. They'll follow the Gang undoubtedly then