New Simi Reference Sheet

With a mock-up ref-template that I highly doubt I'll have the energy to do for my other characters at UV but whatever |D Have a Simi.

Unicorn's Visions and its logo are (c) to ~VGiselleH

NO, this is not for a deviantArt group. It's for a forum roleplay site outside of dA that I have been part of for years, and the character references there are all written the old-fashioned way where you describe your character's appearance with words instead of a picture.

Curious? Why don't you try it out? No "waiting lists", no "open or closed" periods, no "Activity checks" (interested yet?) and as long as you notify the site for your inactive/hiatus periods, your character won't be killed off. In fact, even if you fail to be active your character's profile will just be moved to the archives and guess what! You can still have them join back after this (though you'll still have to go through the same acceptance process again.) As far as creating a bio goes, your character WON'T be rejected for any reason as long as you're open to constructive critique. Oh, and your character can be literally anything you want it to be whether you're part of regular zoology or a mythical creature or an original species of your own, as long as it's not human. And yes, that means you can still roleplay zombies, elves, etc. Yes, Zombies.

Literate roleplay, but highly welcoming and kind to newcomers and beginners.

Iiiin case you're interested... --> unicornsvisions.com/forum/inde…
__________________________________________________________________________

[Name] Simi (see-mee)

[Species] Simi is a unicorn subspecies known as "Shifters."

[Gender] Female

[Alliance] Good

[Age] 10 years

[Human Age Equivalency] 21

[Age of Maturity] 10 years

[Expected Lifespan] A Shifter's bond to their forest is very strong, and if they wish it, they may also bond their very life-force to that of their forest's to gain immortality, absorbing it back should they ever be forced to leave, and re-depositing that life force into their new home; repeated as necessary. Without this, a shifter unicorn's lifespan is about 700 years. Simi has bonded to Deep Forest, but has yet to bond her actual life-force to it as well. Her immortality remains undecided for now.


[Appearance]

Simi’s shape doesn't quite resemble that of a horse's as much as it does the body of a sight hound; she is tall and slender, graceful and delicate. Her coat is the color of a cloudless afternoon sky, with a patch of darker blue-violet on her back. Her mane and tail hold various shades of light blues and turquoises, and the visible colors differ depending on the angle that you see her. Her hooves are a simple gray-silver, her spiraled horn seeming to have been carved from ice. Simi’s eyes are dark indigo so deep that it could be mistaken for black at a distance. Her coat glows in moonlight.

As a Phoenix, Simi has the appearance of a large, graceful swan, only she wears dark blue talons in place of webbed feet. All her feathers are a shade of icy blue, and her tail is long and wavy. The back of her head is decorated with longer feathers, like that of a cockatoo.

In her unicorn form, Simi stands at about 6 feet 4 inches from head to toe. As a phoenix, no taller than 4 feet.

*Two Years Later: To be frank, not much has changed about her. Her legs are still long, but a little less gangly than before. She still has the ability to morph into a Phoenix, but now some of her feathers have grown brighter highlights within her blue shades. Simi’s heights in both forms have not changed.



[Personality]

Simi is a gentle, soft-spoken soul with a shyly considerate and thoughtful nature. She's quite timid around new faces, especially when a large crowd is involved, but a kind word or a friendly joke could do wonders to bring her out of her shell. She usually prefers to hang back in the crowd; not out of antisocial hang-ups, but out of a low self esteem. Simi just believes that anything that comes out of her mouth will sound stupid, and as a result, her integration into main conversations will be quite slow.

However, while meeting new people can be an incredibly daunting challenge for her, Simi would disregard her timidity if someone she didn't know needed immediate help (be that protection or a simple favor). She is a good Samaritan in all senses of the word, and would step in between an attacker and their victim, no matter how fierce they may be.

Around her well-known friends, Simi is much more relaxed. Her ears are often pricked forward, willing to listen to their problems and give her support, and in the right mood she could even be playful. Simi’s favorite games are tag, racing, and anything to do with flying, though this particular game can only be done in the winter for reasons that will be said later on.

Her loyalty to her friends is incredibly strong. The unicorn cannot bear to see anyone close to her heart in pain or suffering, and Simi will give her all to defend them, regardless of her own injuries or disadvantages. However, if on her own facing an intimidating being, Simi would turn tail and run out of there as fast as she could. In company, she's selfless. Alone, she's a coward.

Because of her traumatic past, Simi isn’t very friendly with human-like creatures. You will immediately have to prove to her that the other character isn’t human before she makes assumptions.

*Two Years Later: As an adult who has lived two years in Deep Forest, Simi isn’t as timid or easily frightened as she used to be. With the knowledge that the forest accepts no actual humans, she isn’t as wary of humanoid creatures. She is still shy around new faces, but makes more of an effort to be friendly.

The general inhabitants of Deep Forest have also clearly rubbed off on her when it comes to her demeanor and the way she interacts with others. Once striving to be formal and polite with her tone of voice, Simi's conduct has grown more loose over her two years here. She's more direct and less "regal," although she does slip back into old habits when the company around her calls for that sort of manners.

If there's one thing that hasn't changed, however, it's Simi's low confidence. She can be quite self-conscious, and half the time she's not very sure of herself or her actions. When under a lot of stress, she still tends to stammer.



[Abilities]

(I) Simi's horn has several useful qualities and abilities that allow it to:

a) penetrate armor as well as break through weaker spell barriers.
b) mend the scratches of broken diamonds, jewels, and other precious stones (though this ability has little value to her).
c) create layers of ice around non-living objects.
d) grow plantlife.
e) heal minor wounds and remove poison from wounds.*
_{(*Simi theoretically could heal any wound if someone else was there to wash/wipe the blood away for her as she works.)}
f) purify poisoned water.


(II) Simi's unicorn inheritance enables her to communicate with sentient creatures who don't know how to speak with words.


(III) Simi's most prized gift is the ability to shape shift into a phoenix, whose talons and beak are sharp enough to give even the thickest hide a good scratch. When under enough anxiety or adrenaline, her feathers can sprout a coat of icy-blue holy fire.
_{*Two Years Later: Now that she is an adult, her fire can actually harm those whom she feels threatened by. However, any close friend of Simi's could touch the fire and pull their hand away unscathed. Though she cannot bring the fire at will, she can now at least suppress it when her emotions get too strong.
*Even Later: (Simi will later be able to master the art of bringing her fire at will, and it will also develop warmth that could in theory be as useful as a campfire.)}


(IV) Simi can run for up to 40 miles an hour, and fly up to a speed of 120 miles an hour.
_{*Two Years Later: Her newly gained muscle allows her to now run at 60 miles an hour in her unicorn form, and fly at 180 hours in phoenix form.}


(V) In either form, if desperately out of options, she will tap into others' minds, making them hallucinate and see their deepest fear. However, this is rarely, rarely used. Simi is a traditional fighter and prefers either horn or beak & talons to such an energy draining tactic. (I will ask people's permission before I make their characters hallucinate.)



[Disadvantages]

(I) Horn Disadvantages:

a) When Simi uses her horn for battle, too much blood cannot cover it or else it will weaken her and she will lose focus, which is why most of the injuries she will give are quick, but painful slashes of the skin.
b) Her ice-layers are ever only half an inch thick at best, and again, cannot be used on living creatures.
c) Simi cannot grow plant-life in a barren place (such as the Wastelands).
d) Simi cannot heal severe wounds for the same reason she can't use her horn for too long in battle; too much blood, too difficult of a task. Even with someone present to wipe the blood away from her, severe wounds may exhaust her to the point of losing consciousness.
e) While she can purify poison, she cannot heal illnesses.


(II) As a phoenix she can bite into an enemy as deeply as she can without being affected by blood-contact, but her strength as a phoenix, along with the ability to change into one without difficulty, depends on the season. In winter she is at her strongest. In summer, it’s incredibly painful for her to transform and it could actually prove near-fatal for her to stay in the form for very long at all. The holy fire on her feathers is virtually harmless, and can be quite the trouble-maker. Simi cannot summon it by will, for it only appears if she's in great distress or anger, and she cannot suppress the fire or will it to disappear if she wanted it to. Though her horn can scratch through armor and mild spells (with permission), her beak and talons as a phoenix are unable to penetrate through anything stronger than leather or hide protection, and spells are out of the question.
_{*Two Years Later: The new harmful effects of her phoenix fire are rendered useless if her feathers are wet. The fire can also be neutralized by stronger spells.}


(III) While Simi's speeds are impressive, it stands to reason that the faster one goes, the quicker one tires. Her casual speed is 30 miles an hour on land, 50 miles an hour in the air.


(IV) As for her ability to show enemies their own fear, a strong telepath can stop her from doing so, even harm her.


(V)Another characteristic of Simi serves as more of a disadvantage than an advantage. This isn’t out of her own will, but if anyone close to her heart is going through incredible emotional, mental, or physical pain, she will feel it as well and just as strongly. If that person happens to die, there's a chance that Simi could faint from the sudden severing of that bond, remaining unconscious for as short as a few minutes or as long as an hour. You could, in a way, say the same for her bond to Deep Forest. If, for some reason, a unicorn has not broken his or her bond with a forest before it was destroyed (whether they'd stored their life force or not), they will die along with it immediately. However, it is hard for a unicorn to abandon their home, as their kind are much happier and healthier when bonded to a forest.



[Family]

Alayla- Mother. Green Unicorn with a darker spot of green on her back and dark violet eyes. her mane is made of shades of cyan and white.

Rintan- Father. White Unicorn with dark blue mane and sharp blue eyes. Simi saw him only very rarely and as a result, knows little to nothing of her father.

Sibeta- Older Sister. White unicorn with blue mane and icy blue eyes (talked about more in Simi's History)



[History]

Simi was first born one wintry day in the sunlit glade of a modest and ordinary woods, dreams away from what would later be her final foresty abode. It may not have been as grand or magnificent as Deep Forest's, but it was beautiful, nonetheless, and full of just enough life for a small family of shape-shifting unicorns (appropriately titled "Shifters") to call home.

However, Simi's childhood wasn't quite what you'd expect for a unicorn. While raised solely by her mother, she actually lived within a small community of their kind who resided in these woods. Shifters are different from most other unicorns in that their lives aren't as strictly solitary. Individuals of this species are not known for claiming whole forests for themselves, instead content for an entire blessing (small herd) to share a forest as their home, not so much as a united tribe but a peaceful band of neighbors who may choose to live in different areas of the woods they share, much like deer. You would think that this would make Shifter children very sociable and pleasant in nature, but for little Simi, this wasn't the case. She was always a shy and timid soul, and no amount of company seemed to remedy this. However, she was still very happy in her forest and treasured her home just as much as any other of the unicorns who lived here.

From her very early days, Simi was taught by her mother, Alayla, that every life in the forest-- from all the animals to the little green sprouts in the earth-- were a Shifter's utmost responsibility. It was her duty to watch over them and care for them, for this was her forest, and she was its guardian as were all the unicorns who lived in these woods. However, for a Shifter, their first love is the forest they care for, and an adoration for all things that live and grow comes naturally. Simi may have been inclined to hide behind her mother's legs for every unicorn they came across; but when it came to squirrels and badgers and even deer,the little foal took delight in every new face she met.

Simi soon learned that her second-shape was that of an ice-phoenix, and that she could only become a phoenix when the weather was cold enough for snow. Like herself, all the other unicorns in this forest had the ability to shape-shift into some different creature or another, and they all had their own strongest seasons. Simi’s mother, for example, could become a green furred fox, a skill that could only be shown in the Spring.

She stayed close to her mother's side for the first four winters of her life, though as soon as she reached proper colt age, she was left by herself more often and for longer periods of time. Lonesome from her mother's growing absence, Simi eventually found company and friendship in her older sister, Sibeta. Sibeta was a headstrong, surefooted and very independent unicorn who was at least four season cycles older than Simi, but she didn't mind her younger sibling tagging along and even enjoyed the companionship.

Every now and then, Simi and her family would cross paths with Rintan, the stallion unicorn who was Alayla's mate and Simi and Sibeta's father. Neither of the two foals were well acquainted with him. Rintan would take some interest in Simi and Sibeta, but not enough for them to develop any relationship with him. All the two sisters knew was that Rintan was their sire. They didn't even know his second shape or his strongest season. However, Rintan and Alayla would often talk together when they were alone with each other.

As she grew and matured, Simi eventually found close friends among the little animals that scurried around her legs and in the treetops, and even a few in her own her own kind. Her early years were indeed treasured....

And then the humans found them.

At first they had come to hunt the animals that the unicorns so lovingly guarded, and the unicorns, appalled and angered, revealed themselves to frighten the humans away. However, this did more harm than good. The humans, though terrified of these animals, found their unnaturally beautiful coats and horns intriguing...... too intriguing.

And so began the slaughter of Simi’s people. The hunting dogs that had originally been trained to attack foxes and rodents were now also ordered to swarm around a lone Shifter and take him down brutally. However, this first attack strategy failed miserably. All beasts revered the beauty and grace of unicorns, and even dogs found themselves unable to do anything but stare at their targets in humbled awe. The enraged humans were forced to take things into their own hands.

Arrows whizzed past the leaves, striking the unprepared horned creature trying to escape. Fires were lit to drive the forest's keepers out of their hidden glades. Men themselves tried to rope a unicorn and take it back for breeding more tame young, but as a unicorn is too wild and graceful to be domesticated this couldn’t be done. The humans also eventually learned to distinguish a unicorn in disguise by looking at their coats- A blue fox was certainly not the same as a red one.

All around her, Simi’s world collapsed in a puddle of mingled blood and fallen grace. Some unicorns were frightened enough to break their bond with the forest and leave for a safer land. Some grew into many, and eventually that included Simi’s mother. Alayla desperately tried to convince Simi and Sibeta to come with her, but the two sisters refused. Simi was too bonded to this forest, this home of hers that had originally treated her so well, she refused to give it up forever. And Sibeta wasn't willing to leave her sister to a falling forest. Alayla and Simi both argued sides that were heard and shared by many of the other unicorns... but eventually Alayla was forced to realize that Simi, too, had come of age. She was eight years old, and ready to make decisions for her own life. Eventually Alayla left Simi and Sibeta behind, leaving them to their fate.

However, as the remaining unicorns were forced to realize, the forest was a lost cause. It was when only a mere few unicorns were left surviving and most of the animals had fled the woods that they finally left on their own terms. Simi and Sibeta were separated in a terrible incident with fire, and the spreading flames forced them far apart. Desperate to escape a burning death, Simi herself had shifted into her fastest shape as a phoenix, and sped away from her old home as quickly as she could.

That night, Simi felt a piercing pain in her heart that forced her to collapse under the safety of some far-away bushes. When she came to the next morning, the terrible ache was still felt in her chest, and though she had received no injuries, Simi knew exactly what that awful feeling was. When friends or family that a Shifter was particularly close to has died, they feel a jolt of pain through their chest and lose consciousness for some hours. Simi's mother must have died last night. The raw grief tore at her, and only encouraged the young unicorn to get as far away from this cruel place as possible. She once again shifted into an ice-phoenix, and this time, she didn't stop for anything. The only thing that dulled the sharpness of Simi's emotional pain was the knowledge that although she didn't know where Sibeta was, that her sister was at least alive... somewhere.

Up to this day, Simi still takes comfort knowing that Sibeta is alive and well, wherever she is, and does hope to see her again someday.

After many, many days and nights of off-and-on traveling, Simi came across a new forest.....

Deep Forest.


~~~Deep Forest History~~~

Over her time spent in Deep Forest, Simi has forged new friendships, enemies, and interesting stories to tell. Her adventures in Deep Forest have continued in:

Cyborg Companion Puffles
Of Forests, Flowers, and Fuzzballs
Hope or Doom (Voice of Deep Forest)
The River (Voice of Deep Forest)
It's a Loverly Spring, Charlie Brown! (Voice of Deep Forest)