Macam Character Thread

[macam]

EDIT: Comments and such are not minded. Just mainly a thread like a few others made to keep track of characters easier.

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Name: Mgambo ("Ranger")
Species: African Forest Giant Squirrel
Age: Young Adult
Gender: Male

Description: Mgambo's fur is separated into distinct colors to form a pallet, though it is a common one in the species. The area around his head down to about the base of his neck is a tailored gray-ish, black mix. His back and sides a rusty red in appearance, not too dissimilar to a red sun in the late day. Coursing out towards a silver-black tail mix, like the rock formation against an icy mountain. His chest a vibrant beige like color, mirroring the Grasses of the Savannah . The appearance and texture of his fur is grizzled or rough, at least in appearance. The feeling itself is quite the opposite, indeed bearing a somewhat silky feeling. His eyes a brownish-yellow color. Mgambo's body can be best described as average for a squirrel. He is lean enough to dart and climb quickly, but with enough fat to keep himself healthy should the need arise.

Behaviour: Mgambo's behavior is almost strictly but not exclusively determined by who he interacts with. He is no stranger to the Circle of life and the creatures who have dedicated roles within it. To most similarly sized or smaller herbivores, he will remain friendly and generally try to be helpful if he can. Despite naturally competing for similar housing and water, Mgambo easily prefers diplomacy to conflict in an already harsh world. To the larger herbivores he too will remain generally friendly. Unlike his smaller companions however in his eyes, those of the larger variety live too different a lifestyle for him to truly comprehend. Some tower over the fields, virtually safe from predation, while others often have speed or strength to aid them. They can roam all of the grasslands, while he lays still confined to his life in the trees and high canopy for safety. It's a jealousy that sometimes tends to be made manifest in his talks or mannerisms. It is nothing personal and it should not be taken as such.

To those falling on the predatory role in the Circle of life however shall find friendship to be a difficult endeavor. Similar to larger herbivores, he holds no grudges or anger or hate towards lions, hyenas, serpents or such. His curiosity only extends so far beyond his natural reasoning and several previous close calls have left him weary and reserved. It doesn't mean that such a creature cannot befriend him or vice versa, however Rome was simply not built in a day. Thus such a friendship calls for a necessarily deep understanding of each other on multiple levels, a trust that is difficult to form and easy to destroy. He will be skeptical. He will be less than kind. He will even look for reasons to distrust or break such an encounter. Needless to say, any such creature that should manage to pass these tests will indeed find underneath such a hardened exterior and heart, to be simply a creature attempting to survive as all others do under the circle of life.


History: Mgambo and whom he identifies as today stretches far back into his childhood. He was not the victim of predation, nor did freak accident of nature orphan him, nor was he separated from his parents forcefully or by choice. His father, Mzizi(Root) and his mother, Hifadhi(Reserve) were both loving and supportive. There was but one factor that separated them from most others. Their age. The season was dry. The Season was too wet, there were too many dangers, so on and so forth. The pair shared a great love for one another but could not allow themselves to bear a child in such times of uncertainty. They waited, season after season, year after year until they at last saw a chance to start a family they had wanted. So did they bear but a single kit between the two. The kit who even from the first day never seemed to be satisfied with laying still. He would mimic, listen, taste, and generally explore his surroundings at an early age. He was attentive, and listened when needed but always seemed to try and break the mold, to the occasional scare of his parents. It was such tenacity that earned him his name, "Ranger" for the seemingly inquisitive approach he took to his new world.

Yet soon, even for him it became evident that all was not right. His mother had tried to hide it, always maintaining a strong posture. His father always determined to see his family succeed alongside her. Yet it all felt so...forced. With every month, his mother seemed...lessening. The colors of her fur no longer vibrant, he voice soft in tone. Her movements would slow until she simply could no longer leave the family drey. A young Mgambo only seemed confused. At first he simply thought it illness. Perhaps from a  bad meal, but as time went on she only became worse. None of his father's explanations were making any sense to him. The young could get sick of course, but the elder? They had the bodies to whether such illness did they not? Even then in his father's eyes he saw...something. It wasn't too long until Hifadhi simply could no more and passed peacefully into the night. Mgambo was both devastated and afraid. His father still with him, but a similar fate soon become all to evident to ignore as the colors slowly grew dimmer and dimmer. Instruction after instruction he followed in desperation to save what lay left of his family, to the same feeling of naught. So did Mgambo lay alone in the world with his father's passing. Peaceful and without pain.

This did little to comfort a now desperate child, still so unknowledgeable about the world. Foraging he could do, some safety checks he could do, but is the value of such things without something to show for it. His small family had slipped from under him. He was afraid, he was weak, he was afraid of weakness. The same weakness that he saw drain the life of his parents before his very eyes. The same weakness, hesitation, doubt that could one day cost him his chance at happiness. His years into adulthood were spent in contemplation. Foraging for hours, days, months. His near capture by leopards and serpents after years of only knowing the trees to be his areas of safety. Birds from above who could swoop down and end him. If he was going to survive, he had to learn. He was to adapt, to explore and to acquire the skills he needed. In the process of such, in his heart he hoped he could find the answer to the longing questions haunting him: How strong did one need to be to keep a family safe? How could weakness be averted? When would he have his chance at creating the family his parents must've no doubt wanted? Would he ever get that chance after his near death's in the canopy he once called home? He vowed never to give in to weakness. To always push his mind and body to the limit. To prove to himself that he could not only survive in this world, but that he could live in it. That his efforts throughout his life would pass onto others who could help their families, and to his own desire for a future family.

Thus, he lives today in accordance to the principles of self determination. He travels from place to place. He observes, learns, speaks and listens. Treading lightly as the wind wherever he goes.

Eating Habits: Mgambo is an omnivore. He diets mainly on fruits, seeds, bark and similar other dishes. These do not always provide him with the energy or intake that he always needs for his lifestyle however. So many an insect, or small lizard may also find its way onto the menu. On occasion this may also include the eggs of birds. However, he takes to great length to ensure that such eggs are abandoned or deceased before consuming them. The destruction of such youth in the family would be devastating to him on a personal level, an unforgivable sin.

[macam]

Name: Kupanuliwa("Extended")
Nickname: Nuli
Species: Okapi
Age: Adolescent
Gender: Male
Description: Kupanuliwa bears the typical appearance and traits of an Okapi. His rear haunches are striped black and white like that of a zebra. His overcoat is darkened, with a mix of white along the facial area similar to an Oryx. His neck is elongated, with a bit of a chubby appearance to himself around the midsection. His tongue is also elongated to allow him to brush at low hanging trees and bushes for extra vegetation. The eyes overwhelmingly have a yellow tint with an additional core blue color around the Iris area.

Behavior: To say Kupanuliwa is shy would be putting it lightly. Anyone and everyone he meets should expect some difficult in conversation with him. Fellow herbivores are welcomed but often seen ultimately as distractions more than not. Carnivores for the most part are avoided completely if possible. Although strangely enough, he only seems to run away from Leopards in the immediacy. Lions, cheetahs, other predators bearing resemblance to leopards or even hyenas are met with a strange curiosity. Kupanuliwa makes exceptions, but generally dislikes attempting to label an individual by their species. This isn't perfect as again, with Leopards this rule tends to be broken quite frequently.

Despite his shyness, Kupanuliwa is quite warm and friendly to those who happen to be able to keep him around long enough to speak with him. His tone of voice is often soft, with little in the way of yelling or screaming outside of bleating. This is primarily due to the weak vocal chords of Okapi. He doesn't offer much in the way of skills or knowledge. His solitary lifestyle however is rather deceptive on it's own. His lack of a true attachment to much of anything previously allows him a sort of starting base of which to converse or provide support with. Though it should be noted that it does have the side effect of rendering some of his speech a bit awkward or for him to stutter or mix words. His oral abilities should not be mistaken for physical abilities however. He has some serious speed for his chubby appearance and a rather nasty headbutt and back kick if need be utilized. Needless of course to say, hiding would be the best of options.

History: Like most Okapi's, life for Kupanuliwa has been a fairly large game of hide and go seek. As Okapi's lived mainly solitary lives, only coming together to mate, he didn't really have any chance to bond with his father. His mother did rear him as well as she could. Feedings were infrequent and just as his father he didn't see her much. None of this lack of contact ever truly felt offputting or strange to him however. Getting lonely was just something he got used to and given enough time he was simply able to march off on his own without the need for parental guidance.

His life was dangerous surely, but his skills had kept him mostly safe. Fortunate enough at least to keep him away from the thankfully few leopards he encountered. One could say that he eventually did tire of such a routine, which eventually sent him on a journey to the pridelands. That and as a young Okapi buck, trying to claim any territory from the older males was simply not something he was up to the task for. Not only was it supposedly leopard free, but it was also supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas and rich in food. Dare it mean he might actually be able to make some friends? None of these things were necessary for an Okapi, though they were certainly welcome as relief.

Kupanuliwa did migrate, though still hasn't quite found what he told himself he'd be looking for. He still hides much of the time, almost as if he lived back home, much to his personal frustration. Kupanuliwa, however remains content with his lot in life. He has a lot left to live and he shouldn't try to rush after all. His entire life had been built on the very foundation of patience. Kupanuliwa, despite his rather solitary lifestyle, even in such a social land, Kupanuliwa remains a happy Okapi with big dreams and high hopes for his future.

Eating habits: As an Okapi, Kupanuliwa is a herbivore. He prefers feeding on tree leaves and buds, grasses, ferns, fruits, and fungi between tree fall gaps.

[macam]

Name:Maslahiya("The Interest")
Species: Spotted Hyena
Age: Adult
Gender: Female
Description: Maslahiya has no discernable features as far as spotted hyenas go. Her fur bears a slight grey-ish tone as opposed to a more youthful dense shade of brown. She is not elderly, nor even middle aged, but certainly not the youth that she once was. Her ears are rounded off rather than pointed. Her eyes bear a closer resemblance to that lost dense brown formerly found in her fur. Despite the dull, grey tone approaching with increasing years, she has still managed to keep her trademark spots in place for the most part. Most of these spots don't appear to have aged as much as the rest of her body has.

Behavior: Maslahiya has few friends in her life. Most of them fellow clan-mates for which she leads and provides for. True to her name, her name, almost all developments or occurrences have meaning to her, positive or grim. Her ascent to Matriarchy and repeated defenses of her position, in addition to her life in the outlands has made her cunning and unapologetic. What may appear to be gestures of friendship initially are almost always simply a way for her to obtain something she wants. Anyone and everyone is oft not more a pawn in her schemes than they are friend or acquaintance. She'll lull prey into false sense of securities if in doubt, con predators out of meals and the like. She is not sadistic in her ways however. She will not prolong the suffering of prey longer than it needs to as an example.

This is, at least true while she hunters or hunts. Maslahiya does have a more maternal side to her however. It's not exactly a rare sight for her to even help out an injured or sick prey creature, other predators(with tasks other than hunting), and generally attempt to be sympathetic. She understands the harsh reality of living day to day like many creatures. Thus, she only hunts with her clan as they as a family require. Never overeating, never killing for sport. The only exception to the former may be when carrion is discovered.

History: Maslahiya is the current matriarch of the clan her mother, kuimarishwa("Strengthed") formed. Maslahiya never recognized her father, nor many other of the original clan. This was not deemed necessary by her mother. She was, after all entrusted with the future of the clan, not its past. She was born to a little of 3 brothers and one sister. There names were respectively, Bulkkichwa(Bulk Head), SkautiNje(Scout out), Kuamini(Trusting) and Maisha(Lifelong). The former 2 served more as utility for her leadership training to take the reigns, and the latter 2 reinforced her integrity and faith in the family. The small group went through much together, learning, loving, despairing and succeeding together.

It was such that her greatest tribulation in succession was forged. Maslahiya was not always ruling with a rather iron fist as her mother did. This was actually a trait in her personality not acquired until after her mother's eventual passing. Tough times slowly withered the clan down in number. Her leadership was in doubt. Though rather than bring her down directly, a growing opposition chose to attempt to destroy her family and with it, her spirit. The struggle for succession was violent, bloody and brutal, but she emerged a changed canid. No longer could she tolerate mistakes, and little could she tolerate dissent. Her brothers are still with her, and her sister has given birth to pups of her own. Maslahiya herself has been tempted, but has so far been resistant to motherhood, as the challenges awaiting the clan are still many and weakness cannot be tolerated in leadership. Not again.

While her clan isn't as large as it once was, formerly 53 strong it is healthy enough to sustain at a healthy 30, and she regularly tends to all members as if they were family. Their concerns are her concerns. Their suffering is hers. Through their success, she succeeds. Yet in this, she has never forgotten the pain of treachery, the breach of trust and the lessons for which they forged.

Eating habits: Carnivore, not much to say in this regard. While buffalo tend to provide far more meat and bone, Maslahiya has personal preferences for Zebras, Gazelles and Impalas.

[macam]

Name: Matumaini("Hopeful")
Nickname: Matu
Species: Gambian Pouched Rat/African Giant Pouched Rat
Age: Cub
Gender: Male
Description: Matumaini has 2 features immediately separating him from his family. The first is his fur color, which is more saturated that his family's base color. His browns are darker, and his whites tend to be more of a beige color. The second is his size. Matumaini has inherited a bit of Gigantism. Despite his young age, he is easily identifiable by his larger size for his age, looking more like a near young adolescent as opposed to the mere kit he actually is. His eyes are a rainforest green, though they matter little seeing as he has poor eyesight.

Behavior: Matumaini is a very optimistic creature despite his natural shortcomings. He constantly looks for the best in every creature, large or small against his better judgements sometimes. While he knows of the Circle of life in an incredibly basic manner, he tends to not be fond of much of the warnings given to him. Different creatures did have different needs yes, but that surely didn't mean they could never be friends? Or at least friendly to each other. Life is hard enough as it is for a rat without all the fun being taken out of it.

There is rarely a time Matumaini isn't smiling. Whether chittering joyously alongside family, or squeaking at a new face, one will be hard pressed to truly find this young rat in a state of anything less than joy. This is also, unintentionally a flawed trait for the young rat. Matumaini is very gullible. He can be swayed to do almost anything for almost any creature that vaguely appears to be friendly. He will under no circumstances reveal his home, or his family whereabouts to even the closest of friends but is an open book for anything and everything him. He enjoys listening as well, always valuing an experience of the world from a non-rat.

History: There isn't much of a history to this young tyke. He was born to his family's second litter out of 3. His name was given to him for his gentle demeanor towards his brothers and sisters amid chaos. He was always quiet. Always gentle and always waited his turn for feeding. His squeaks were low and gentle when pleased, and high and excited when joyed. He and hsi family live near some of the denser under brush along the edges of the plains and forest, where they spend much of their time playing and learning to use to world class scent and above average hearing skills to help them explore in usual relative safety.

Eating Habits: Matumaini is an omnivore. He and his family are commonly feeding on vegetables, insects, crabs, snails, palm fruits and palm kernels.

[macam]

Name: Mafisadi("Mischief")
Nickname: Mafi
Species: Jerboa
Age: Young Adult
Gender: Male
Description: Mafisadi's dominant color is his darkened brown fur pallet which runs over most of his head and back. His fingers are a very light pink as are his ears, also sporting a creamy-beige underbelly. His eyes are beady and black. His ears on another note are also comically large compared to his own body. Not that he minds it however, they simply allow him to hear better. His body shape is overall round and healthy plump with his legs poised in an almost universal spring like position on the ground. His tail is large, thin and very flexible, ending with a bit of tuff puff.

Behavior: Mafisadi is well aware of the dangers of the world he's in. He just generally cares little, or at least tries to push such thoughts aside. While he isn't a happy go lucky fellow he does tend to look at most issues on the brighter side of life, in effect throwing some caution to the wind with all of his decisions. He forages and explores but spends much of time attempting to find new ways to entertain himself. Of course what he finds entertaining is often not shared by others.

Mafisadi is a bit of a prankster. His cons are never malicious in intent, nor are they made to confer him and advantage against others. They;re simply a way for him to have fun. Getting someone wet, tricking someone into eating the wrong food, maybe scaring or misdirecting someone for a small period of time. Mocking joyfully but not cruelly, planting little traps, arranging for awkward encounters or meetings, he's got em all. He always makes these decisions in complete certainty. As mentioned earlier, he'd never for example awkwardly lead a predator to it's prey. He'd not want anyone suffering on his behalf. Similarly, he'd never scare someone simply to steal their food. He'd return it post haste with great glee. He's not a thief, not a con artist, not a manipulator at least not in the malevolent sense. He simply loves a good laugh.

History: Mafisadi grew up in a very sheltered household. His parents were in many ways over protective. They warned him about everything that could even remotely possibly present a threat. He wasn't allowed to explore, none of his attempts to make life fun for them were met with a positive response. Try as he might, his brothers and sisters too grew to disregard much of his rather carpe diem outlook towards the world. They wanted to feel safe. They wanted to eat. They wanted to live. His antics were simply a relic of much of the childhood he'd never really had to chance to experience. Thus, mainly regarded as a waste of time.

He wouldn't change however. Life needed to be lived to the fullest and that is what he would do. His brothers and sisters may not have appreciated his antics during the highs of life, though they offered a small ray of sunshine in their lows. While Mafisadi doesn't truly have any friends so to speak, he;s friendly with most peers. Hunters and such aside, his sillyness does not preclude his manners from showing when he feels the need to. He's spend the majorify of his life thus not spent foraging and feeding, trying to make others laugh as well as himself. He became progressively more elaborate in his schemes depending on who he was targeting.

To date, no one has been harmed by his schemes and he hopes to keep it that way. While he still keeps in touch with family, he's moved away from them since then and spends time by himself. They aren't a burden to him, but it is much easier to have fun without a joykill interrupting it. A fact that, he doesn't hide and pokes to them about.

Eating Habits: Mafisadi is strictly a vegetarian. He cannot eat hard seeds and does not store food.

[macam]

Name: Zabuni("Tender")
Nickname: Buni (Bun-Eee. More for giggles than accuracy at least when referring to nickname)
Species: African Savannah Hare
Age: Young Adult
Gender: Female
Description: Zabuni's fur is of a fine, very soft coat. It's primary color is a sandy grey that stretches near everywhere both above her and below her. Her flanks are a dialect of red and brown mix, with her underbelly sporting a white color. Her inner ear colors are skin pink and have black tips. Her tail is also black above, but a snow white below.

Behavior: Zabuni's disposition is best described as cautiously optimistic. Within that optimism however lies truly great compassion. She's skittish for the most part, preferring the time of night or low light times in general to forage and feed. Her optimism should not be mistaken for gullibility. While she is not afraid to help anyone, Zabuni is very very careful in her aid. Those who receive it however will find that she is willing to go to great lengths to help them. Parents who require extra food to feed their young? She will give some of hers. Injured Animal? She'll dress wounds and provide food to the best of her ability within reason. Lonely and a companion is needed? She might just stay around to talk. Zabuni considers it an imperative part of who she is to help others for as long as she can. Before jaws of a hunter or the jaws of time claim her.

History: Zabuni was born to a loving family in all aspects. She came from an older batch of kits and so spent much time with the younger ones. She'd tell them many stories she herself heard, teach them about foraging and generally tend to them when her parents were out doing the more difficult tasks. She never once complained about her lot, nor her tasks. Rather she came to see it as a true source of satisfaction. In a world so cruel at times, she felt safe and sound, tucked away where she just had to help those closest to her.

As she grew older, she became a sort of natural leader or caretaker. The growing responsibilities seemingly all melded within her character without fault. She needed to forage? It would be done. Keep watch? No problem. There was nothing she wouldn't accept. Every single new responsibility was a new perspective she could use. Not only to keep herself safe, but to help her family grow and prosper. All in all, it seemed like it was a bliss that seemed to last forever.

Yet it could not and would not. Sooner or later, she grew a little to big for her warren. The food available to feed all of them was simply dwindling. There were many talks on who would leave and who would go. None of them knew any other homes. It seemed like a death sentence to them all and threatened more than a few conflicts within the family. When the time came and her name was called, she felt pained. Not because she saw it as betrayal, but merely because she was afraid. She'd be alone with no family nearby as they needed the territory to feed newer generations.

Her departure was a rather solemn one for most of the family, but she knew that what she was doing was for the best of the family. Someday perhaps she'd continue with her own family in her own warren. In the meantime, she could serve to learn more and be ready for when that time comes. She could fully travel to new places and make a few friends along the way. Not any permanent ones mind you. Most of her homes eventually became unsafe. She was not perfect and made her fair share of mistakes. More than one of which nearly cost her the only life she had left to live, inflicting very emotional and very real physical pain. For now, she has found another place which she can call home along the grasslands and savannas closer to forests than not. Her eyes and ears always on the alert both for a chance to evade foe, and a chance to save friend whomever she may call as such. Everyone deserved at least one chance and she was going to make sure everyone did get that chance.

Eating Habits: Zabuni feeds mainly on grasses and herbs but also chew roots, shoots and bark and sometimes eat fallen fruit and occasionally fungi.

[balto]

A bunny and squirrel? Thats spectacular. And new

[macam]

Dec 16, 2016 5:36:19 GMT balto said:

A bunny and squirrel? Thats spectacular. And new

Aye. I mentioned elsewhere that I learned to grow more of the wildlife in general as opposed to lions specifically over time. Not that they're bad, they're just not my go to primarily as a player. Hopefully when done right they can add a bit of dynamism in terms of perspective, option or conflict if I play my cards right.

So it was mostly a matter of deciding what I wanted to go in representing. So far in this case it is a Squirrel, an Okapi, a Hyena, a Rat, a Jerboa(changed from Four striped grass mouse) and a bunny yes.