Gwangi Gold Rush App - Mona

I wanted to do this for two reasons: To practice my human anatomy a bit because I'm so bad at it XD and because I love dinosaurs.

This is my application for the Gwangi Gold Rush OCT Sadly, with how weird my schedule is this year, I don't think I'm going to have time to participate in the competition, so Mona here is going to be a NPC instead. I'll upload random artwork of her and her dinos when I have time

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

HUMAN/RIDER:

Name: Monique (prefers to go by "Mona")
Age: 20 years
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4" (1.6 meters)
Nationality: Maternal Grandmother was Native American. The other 75% is a mix of Caucasian heritage.

Personality: Mona is a pretty shy person, and prefers to live on her own rather than near other people. Because of this, she has made the border between Gwangi and the desert her permanent home, living only with her two dinosaur companions.

Despite her dislike of being around people, Mona is very caring and will not hesitate to help someone in need, even if they are a complete stranger.

History: Mona did not have an easy childhood. She spent most of her early childhood in Gwangi with her mother. In order to support the both of them, Mona's mother often resorted to prostitution to earn them enough money for food. One night, when Mona was 8 years old, her mother went out with a man who offered her a hefty sum of money, but she never returned after that. Mona never knew what happened to her. She is almost certain that the man she went out with that night murdered her, but because she never saw what the man looked like, she has no way of tracking him down to know for sure.

After her mother's disappearance, Mona was terrified that she would end up in an orphanage. She had heard horror stories from some of the other kids in the neighborhood that it was better to be alone in the middle of the desert than to end up there. Not knowing what to do, Mona took the first option and ran off into the desert, hoping that no one would ever find her. She got very lucky, and managed to stumble upon a small oasis where she took refuge for a few days.

Mona knew that she was going to die of starvation unless she found something to eat, so she often scavenged for food on the outskirts of town in the middle of the night. Over time, Mona picked up a few loose items that people had dropped during the day. Soon, she figured out how to make animal traps and was able to hunt for her own food. Over the next few years, she would meet two dinosaur companions who would make it easier for her to survive.

Fast forward a few years. Presently, the Gwangi Gold Rush is taking place in the city, much to Mona's chagrin. With the influx of people coming from all over the country, there are a lot of people that she encounters out in the desert who are dying of starvation and thirst trying to get to Gwangi. Mona's kind nature won't allow her to leave anyone to die in the blazing sun, so she somewhat-unwillingly ends up being a savior for them, using her dinosaur companions to provide people with food and water for a few days at a time until they are well enough to continue the rest of their journey into the city. Mona was sure she was going to spend the rest of her life without any human companions, but to her surprise, she did make a couple of friends over the course of the tournament. Even more to her surprise, when she runs into these people on her weekly trips into the city for supplies, she actually enjoys having conversations with them. (Ref sheets for Mona's few friends will be uploaded at a later date )

Misc: Mona's appearance and personality is based off of myself because I am not creative

BATTLE DINO/MOUNT:

Name: Rojo
Gender: Male
Species: Majungasaurus
Height: 2 meters

Misc: When Mona was about 12 years old,she encountered an adolescent Majungasaurus trying to steal a Hypsilophodon that was caught in one of her traps. Something about the young theropod intrigued Mona, so she would often share her meals with him when he was around. Mona decided to name the Majungasaurus Rojo, and the two slowly developed a strong bond. As Rojo became more comfortable around Mona, their roles slowly began to shift, and Rojo would sometimes hunt food for her instead of the other way around. (NOTE: Rojo was an adolescent when he and Mona first met, but he is an adult now. Just wanted to make it clear that I'm not breaking any rules! )

PET:

Name: Garra
Gender: Male
Species: Sinornithosaurus
Height: .3 meters

Misc: When Mona was 16, she encountered this Sinornithosaurus trying to approach her and Rojo while they were in the process of eating. The small dinosaur tried to steal a few bites from their meal. Mona, being the animal-lover she is, didn't mind sharing some of her food. Rojo, on the other hand, is very over protective of his meals and doesn't take kindly to strangers trying to steal from him. He tried to eat the small dinosaur, earning him some deep scratches over his left eye that would leave a few nasty scars. Despite Rojo's obvious dislike of the Sinornithosaurus, Mona decided to let him join their little group. She named the newcomer Garra. The two dinosaurs never completely got along. Garra seems to find great pleasure in annoying Rojo, and Rojo wants nothing more than to eat him, but under Mona's orders, he is forbidden from harming him. Over time, the two dinosaurs developed a truce, but to say they "like" each other is a bit of an overstatement.

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Random facts:

Mona's bag and the protective layer under Rojo's saddle are both made out of the same material; Iguanodon hide.

Mona hates guns with a passion, but ended up finding and keeping one in case of emergencies. So far, she has never had to fire it. Mona hopes to keep it that way.

Even though Mona is more than capable of hunting food for herself, especially with two carnivorous companions, she always carries a small pouch of emergency food (things like dried bananas, raisins, peanuts, etc.) just in case.

The blade of Mona's dagger is carved out of Tyrannosaurus teeth, so it's very strong and very sharp.

Mona makes weekly trips into the city to sell dinosaur meat to various restaurants. Mona sells her dinosaurs for about half the price of what it would cost at the butcher shop, making her rather popular amongst restaurant owners who don't have enough money to afford anything else. Mona's meat is always fresh as well, which only contributed to her popularity. Despite her low prices, she was quickly able to make enough money to afford nicer supplies, such as a saddle for Rojo (which made the travel into the city much easier) and a bag to help her carry more supplies.

Some of the ridges on Rojo's back and neck were filed down to make the saddle/collar more comfortable for him to wear. Luckily for him, the ridges are just elongated scales that don't have any nerve endings, so, like hair or fingernails, it doesn't hurt to have them filed down.

Mona was always thought that traditional bridles that go around a dinosaur's face made the animals uncomfortable, so she opted for a collar for Rojo to wear instead. He's usually pretty mellow as well, so she doesn't have to worry about him lashing out at random people unless seriously provoked (in which case, the jerk probably would have deserved it )

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Proof of existence:

Battle Dino/Mount: [link]
Pet: [link]

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HOLY CRAP I didn't realize I wrote that much Gah, that took me over an hour... If you read through this entire thing, you deserve a cookie because seriously... Wow... I apologize for any mistakes I made, because even I don't want to re-read that XD