The Reference Desk: La [Biography, Character/Player Updates]

AlisonRobin's picture
     Most Recently: Back, briefly. Discord is Alison number zero three seven one if anyone wants to chatter. I'm trying to get pages working again after dropbox's policy change. I'm just hosting the files now where I host some other stuff.
     Being that I am trash, there is now a La tumblr.


     Spoken Name: La (human uses); Archaeologist, Librarian, Researcher
     Age: Five; arrived in The Forest on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010.
     Sex, Gender: Female/Doe/Hind, moderately feminine. Irrelevant to character.
     Real Name: La's Pictograph can be seen in my avatar, with reduplicating circles and isosceles triangles, plus a strange little fifth mark on the side I can't explain.
     Click for most complete set of visual references, though still a WIP.

     Physical Traits and Mannerisms of the Body

     Personality, Emotions, and Philosophies

     Story and Plot Elements, Pathways Forward

     Skills, Talents, and Accomplishments of Note

     Haunts, Roaming Habits, and Places of Comfort

     Reasons to Not be Alone, Reasons to Smile

     Artifacts for Museums and Other Acquisitions

     The Book: Sapient Window to Other Worlds

     How I Play La in The Endless Forest

     Alison
Site Pages


 Page Info     Look at me, I learned CSS and am on my way with Javascript! If you use noscript and it asks you to allow a script for this page it will be from my "rackcdn"--that's me. It is harmless and contains only a few simple functions to help with page navigation.
     If you ever made a guide on this site about CSS, I probably read it five times. I also read just about everything W3Schools had on CSS and Javascript. There are lots of people like Unplugged, Mahj, Aivilo, and especially GMSuerte who have all been super helpful, plus tons of other websites like W3Schools and StackOverflow.
     Page textures in backgrounds are from CGtextures, my use of them is in careful accordance with their ToS. All the art in the layout is mine EXCEPT the 140x72 gift art previews, which have the name of the original artist written on them to avoid all confusion.
     I'm assuming with this page that your computer is at least 1024x600 pixels in size. That's the smallest I can go.


 Contact     Discord is the most useful one currently! Skype is broken as all getout.
     Discord: alison # zero three seven one
      Tumblr: lasreferencedesk for la and kaprosuchussaharicus for me
     Colourlovers: AlisonRobin
     (There are multiple AlisonRobins out there so actually I'm only about 10% of us online, though it may look like I'm ubiquitous at times. We constantly fight for our logins.)
     My main email is tied to my identity and my backup email is tied to my writing work that I really don't want overlapping with other stuff, so I'll email you from my main email if I need contact. Forgive me my paranoia.
     I'm not reliable on any communication channel, even with people who live with me. But it's worth trying if you wanna chatter a lot, and I do like having people to talk at.


 Inspirations     La is based on my overexposure to books and love of reading and writing. Some of her fixations are inspired by my own, which in turn are usually inspired by people around me--art historians, librarians, teachers, mathematicians, and the like. She represents the people and qualities that I admired in adults who took care of me when I was young and that I generally strive for. I think that her good-naturedness is also fitting for the feel of The Endless Forest and I strive to make her fit the setting.
     Stylistically, I designed her with spells from TEF in mind and then incorporated hands into the design. The placement of her antlers is partly inspired by Hellboy's horns.
     La's book is inspired very loosely by a combination of things. It draws most from the concept of wizards/witches and their familiars in various media (but especially in Dungeons and Dragons), and the "A Really Useful Book"'s vague awareness and ability to advise on the spot in the film MirrorMask. Neither of those were conscious inspirations, but I noticed them more clearly after the fact.


 Gift Art     These are all lovely things made for me/La. Artist name is written on the little snippet so that no one will mistake these for my art or think I'm claiming them as my art. Click each for the whole gorgeous thing. These are in reverse chronological order of receiving them, so oldest at the bottom and newest at the top.
     Images of La are also known as laart because I said so.
































Mjrn's picture

/scoots through

/scoots through
Account previously Mjrn, returned to Veedeer.
AlisonRobin's picture

This was what went through my


This was what went through my mind.
Mjrn's picture

I was thinking more like

I was thinking more like booty scoot but OMFGH HAHAHAHAHAAAAA.

Knowing me, the thing would probably break on me and I'd splat onto the pavement. )':
Account previously Mjrn, returned to Veedeer.
AlisonRobin's picture

It's always razor scooters in

It's always razor scooters in my imagination. Always.
Mjrn's picture

Razor scooters are the ones I

Razor scooters are the ones I was thinking of too - I don't mind riding the larger, more sturdy ones scooters, but I tried Razors before and wanted to cry.

I have no balance whatsoever, and I'm pretty sure I ate dirt when trying it. So jelly of those paid actors kids in the commercials. I want the skills.
Account previously Mjrn, returned to Veedeer.
AlisonRobin's picture

When they were hip I had a

When they were hip I had a brand x razor scooter. It was purple and I always felt very special riding it, but I never learned any tricks.

I also never skateboarded. I got a skateboard at a garage sale for free when I was ten because the person selling it thought I was a boy and felt guilty when he realized he was wrong. I ended up just removing the wheels and repainting it. The best part of skateboards is the art anyway.
Mjrn's picture

rofl omg that sounds so cute

rofl omg that sounds so cute though.

I agree. I could never ride a skateboard (Though I have gone snowboarding before, and though I don't do it anymore, my snowboard is my baby.), but I love a lot of the designs that are on them.
Account previously Mjrn, returned to Veedeer.
Personified's picture

We'd love to read with you in

We'd love to read with you in the forest one day.
AlisonRobin's picture

Most definitely. We're big

Most definitely. We're big book fans up in here as you may have noticed. Laughing out loud You're quite likely to find La reading somewhere or asleep with her face on the page. She'll be delighted to read aloud or pass you the book.
Personified's picture

We would enjoy that friend.

We would enjoy that friend.
Reading can do wonders.
AlisonRobin's picture

Yus. :3 I'm a child of two

Yus. :3 I'm a child of two librarians and books are very important to me and especially to my sense of imagination and creativity. Pretty much anything I can read, I like and can be inspired by.

“A good long novel is in many ways like having a long and satisfying affair.”
"A short story is like a kiss in the dark from a stranger.”
Stephen King said both. I'm a sucker for his non-fiction and commentary on writing and those quotes really affected my view of storytelling and story consumption to make the views of both more romantic.
Aquilo's picture

Tracking ♥ She is

Tracking ♥ She is quite interesting!
Player & Character Hub
Discord: Gulonine#4267
AlisonRobin's picture

Why thank you Aquilo.

Why thank you Aquilo. Hopefully she won't disappoint. Smiling
Toya's picture

*Flails* Las bio is looking

*Flails*

Las bio is looking -amazing-!!!! Look at you go! *higfives*

Seriously though, the little hand drawn icons for all the buttons make my heart melt. Well done. And look... your mouse over text is right on top of them! Its right where it should be!!
AlisonRobin's picture

Thank you. :3 I literally

Thank you. :3

I literally did not sleep last night staying up to leave at like 5AM to get a train and when the site is quiet at night is when I do all my CSS renovating so people aren't awake getting spammed with the little updates.

The little rollover text drove me insane. There are only so many guides you can read before it comes down to old Trial and Error, twins of terror, but I made it a thing. The little pictures are set as the background images of some divs, and then on hovering the background image itself changes to an alternate file that I put a word on top of. But jesus. At least progress is being made.

I've still got more little pictures I've scanned that I need to cut out to be transparent-backgrounded. But first, a nap.
FairyClock's picture

*Bumps for La fans*

*Bumps for La fans*
AlisonRobin's picture

La fans? Hmm. I see this

La fans? Hmm. I see this hypothetical group as the type of fandom that would have regular book group meetings and always be studying new languages together. La would be SO FLUSTERED if she thought that was a thing.
FairyClock's picture

Deer would probably ruin Book

Deer would probably ruin Book Clubs....

"So what did everyone think of last week's chapter?"

"Mine was a little salty. I dropped it in the lake."
AlisonRobin's picture

This is why The Book is so

This is why The Book is so picky about its deer company.

Pardon me while I stalk track

Pardon me while I stalk track most of your blogs.
AlisonRobin's picture

Oh by all means. I am not

Oh by all means. I am not ashamed to admit that I love the attention. I've been loving what you've been doing with Masego's bio as well, it looks great.

I will probably stalk all

I will probably stalk all your blogs soon.
I'm really flattered you like her biography so far. She makes me quite happy <3
Butterbrot's picture

ok, i want to read more of

ok, i want to read more of this, so track for later!
c:

I DID SAY THAT I'D HAVE IT

I DID SAY THAT I'D HAVE IT DONE
It was fuun. She was fun. Anyhows, I really did love working on her and I hope that you'll like it too.

Thank you, Tuo and Kohva!

AlisonRobin's picture

NIRIYA OH MY GOODNESS full

NIRIYA OH MY GOODNESS
full background and everything <3 I love all of these textures and colors and of course La and The Book. They would both be as flattered as I am. Thank yooou!

And Masego and Butter I'm sorry I missed your comments somehow. Forgive me, I can be a turd sometimes. By all means, read away and hopefully you will be entertained.

I don't think I can say much

I don't think I can say much except how much I enjoyed working on this, to say I'm proud of it, except for the building and had fun painting it except for the building

Thank you, Tuo and Kohva!

AlisonRobin's picture

It came out so well. Even the

It came out so well. Even the building. Looks like real brush strokes, I love it.
FairyClock's picture

OMG Niriya! That is awesome!

OMG Niriya! That is awesome! x] it looks like how I always imagine La when I run past the ruins.

Thank you, Fairyclock. Hehe,

Thank you, Fairyclock. Hehe, at least I got one interpretation pinned down okay.

Thank you, Tuo and Kohva!

Terraminator's picture

Hey Alison :3 I'd love to

Hey Alison :3 I'd love to have an rp between La and Akane
AlisonRobin's picture

Sure thing. If you'd like to

Sure thing. If you'd like to do it here that works great for me, or if you'd like you could make another thread, it's all up to you.
Terraminator's picture

Young Akane was nestled by a

Young Akane was nestled by a tree, watching the sun hit the nearby flower patch and glimmer off the dew of the petals. Her eyes had begun to lower just a bit, before the blur rinses jolted her awake again. It seemed to have just been a minute or two, but the sun had disappeared from her spot. Akane had let herself fall asleep again...why was she so tired all the time lately? The little deer lifted herself wobbly to her hooves, trotting slowly in whichever direction she was facing, with no apparent destination other than somewhere away from where she currently was. Eventually, she ended up at the Ruins, and paused a moment to focus in on what she though might be the figure of another deer. Akane hesitantly moved towards it. She felt a little safer when she realized who it was, nose in her book. "La?"
AlisonRobin's picture

La's ears flicked upright

La's ears flicked upright when she heard her name in the distance even before she picked her head off the book to look around. She gave a yawn and turned her head to crack her neck, thinking that she really needed to stop falling asleep while reading and losing her place. But there were more pressing matters.

Someone wanted her, and for La it was always a pleasure to be wanted. She shifted her weight and got to her feet (favoring one of her back legs a bit) and walked to the center of the ruins to look out and around for others. She saw Akane and grinned. "Hello!"
Terraminator's picture

Akane smiled faintly in

Akane smiled faintly in return and stepped closer to the doe, peering around her into the Ruins. "What're you doing?" The little one glanced back to La and blinked curiously, her ears pointed downwards as usually in their melancholy way.
AlisonRobin's picture

"Reading," La said, a default

"Reading," La said, a default answer that rarely required thought. After a beat of silence she amended, "And napping some between chapters."

She followed Akane's gaze around the ruins. "This is a good place to read. A lot of the stones block winds low to the ground, so you don't have to worry about the pages turning if you take a hoof off the corner. "What have you been up to?"
Pelicann's picture

Trackin all over the place

Trackin all over the place <3
AlisonRobin's picture

Welcome aboard

Welcome aboard Laughing out loud
LunarPriestess's picture

Track this nice doe. :3

Track this nice doe. :3

26-31-44-41,

26-31-44-41, 26-31-44-41
19-28-47-28-31-35-40-33 14-41-44-46-34
34-31-44-31 23-31 12-27-51
34-31-44-31 23-31 12-35-31

35-40 23-27-35-46
32-41-44 25-41-47

7-18-5-5-20-9-14-7-19
AlisonRobin's picture

/puts on code cracking

/puts on code cracking hat

EDIT:
/removes code cracking hat
Poetry is a puzzle I cannot solve.

:3 I can give you a Hint, if

:3
I can give you a Hint,
if you so Desire.~
AlisonRobin's picture

Please. I'm out of standard

Please.
I'm out of standard cryptogram ideas, unless you've filled it with sneaky proper nouns, but the frequencies DEFINITELY make this look like one. It's killing me.

xD; Well, I don't know any

xD; Well, I don't know any actual/standard cryptogram forms, so I made it up. :'D

The hint: it is using both majuscule and miniscules letters.
If you need a second hint, I have one that will probably give it away flat-out. XD

I'm going to re-post it here too -- fixed, because I made a couple accidents. ;;
(Hopefully there aren't any left, oop.)

26-31-44-41, 26-31-44-41
19-28-47-28-31-35-40-33 14-41-44-46-34
34-31-44-31 23-31 12-27-51
34-31-44-31 23-31 12-35-31

35-40 23-27-35-46
32-41-44 25-41-47.

7 18 5 5 20 9 14 7 19
AlisonRobin's picture

Still stuck. ;_; I'm gonna

Still stuck. ;_;
I'm gonna try again in the morning.
(nvm just realized I was up all night gonna sleep and try again in the evening when I wake up)

La

La <3 Such an awesome character. I hope Palila has the honor of meeting him again, soon!
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AlisonRobin's picture

I missed your comment before

I missed your comment before Faina! Whoops!

But thank you. Smiling I'm glad you like La, she likes everyone and it's nice for her to get lovin' back.
0baf0's picture

Hello! It looks so welcoming

Hello! It looks so welcoming and organized in here. I love the layout/coding! Definitely tracking this! Been admiring La from afar for some time now anyway. Smiling
Icon - ahimsa.Signature - Qanat. ♥
FallenPetal's picture

I love the way you created

I love the way you created your character! She is so cool!

P.s. I have never been a dm, but I very much enjoy DnD. New to the whole txt rp thing though. ^-^
AlisonRobin's picture

Thanks 0baf0! This page is

Thanks 0baf0! This page is always a work in progress. I kind of like it that way. Eventually I think I want a bunch of tiny pictures of La poking around between paragraphs doing different things like reading and chasing butterflies. I want to find some way to make them draggable elements too so people can move them around the page and maybe make them do silly things.

And Petal, Thank you! You should totally try being a GM someday. There are two main schools of thought, one being that you should plan most of it and the other being that you should fly by the seat of your pants. I recommend that you try running a silly adventure for your first attempt since they're much more light-hearted and it's less stressful

The text based roleplay is something that is still hard for me too. So much of my roleplaying is body language normally. I realized the other day, playing Shadowrun with friends, just how much fist shaking and pretend sword slashing there is that I'm used to, not to mention silly voices. I love silly voices.
Pelicann's picture

Ali!~ Would you like to do an

Ali!~ Would you like to do an RP? I can make a thread, if you'd like.