[URGE TO WRITE INTENSIFIES] · 9:15pm Dec 6th, 2013
Hello, all. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season, and I am certainly getting into the holiday swing of things. No snow here yet, but if you're in the continental USA, odds are good you either have it or are freezing your ass off. Especially you, Texas. Sit there and freeze and think about what you did wrong. Shame on you.
I've really been feeling the urge to write lately, and I have everything in place so when I start, things will flow pretty smoothly. However, I think I'd like to involve you all in my process a little bit more. Those of you who were around for the beginning of Dusk will remember how I held "auditions" for the character of Night Light, and asked you all to help me come up with the relevant details for this character. Well, I'm here to tell you that the time has once more come to put your best foot forward and show me what you've got!
I need a Captain of the Guard character for Twilight. The rest I leave up to you. Male, female, earth pony, pegasus, unicorn, give me whatever you can come up with. Backstory, personality, physical description, whatever you'd like. Send me an outline, and if I like what I see from you, you'll see them in the story! Not only that, but this character has a guaranteed lifespan of one and one half books, with possible options for extension. So, if you'd like to see your character in print, type up a brief "dossier", and may the best character win! Characters can be sent via PM or left in the comments section below, the cut off date being 25 December.
Lastly, for those interested in the shipping fic, I'd like to make something clear, as I apparently misspoke in the post regarding that. This story will be non-explicit. I'm keeping it strictly in PG-13 to R territory, and will not be taking it further than that. I have recieved a few PMs questioning me about that, so I figured I'd clear that up here. I'm sorry if this disappoints you, but I know where to draw this particular line. Who knows? Maybe something a bit more "mature" will be posted in another account to keep myself separate. Because as we all know, on the Internet, no one can tell you're an evil genius.
Au revoir!
PS: first snow of the year just fell here in Gothenburg ^^
[READING INTENSIFIES]
I gotta say I love your new avatar...don't know why but I do!
Also TEH GURD CHARCTR SHULD BE A 1337 AL1CRONZ NAMED GERY STU! UND HE KAN FLAI AND HAS TEH GOOD MAJJYKS! AND EVEYBODY LOVES HIM! ALSO HIS FUR IS BLAK AND RED KTHNXBAI
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I was the one who festified his avatar. Glad you like it c:
Shall have to think of a cool character for the Captain of the Guard. Looking forward to that shipfic, too.
Dunno what the Northwest was like for you, but down here in Socal, I can no longer feel my toes. Feels bad man.
I love how when opening auditions for the character you make a guarantee on their lifespan.
dat lifespan.
Hmmm... A Guard Captain OC?
I'm sure there will be a flood of unicorn and pegasus entries, so how about an earth pony?
Race/Tribe: Earth Pony
Character name: Stone Pillar
Appearance: Blonde short cropped mane. Light dappled gray coat, very close to white. Close enough that it's often confused with a white coat and dirt (hey you've got a little... Oh, that's your coat... Sorry). Very heavy, muscular build. Picture if Blueblood decided to become a Marine (minus the horn of course). Cutie mark appears to be a rock.
History: Stone Pillar grew up in a small nameless town (or you can pick a random name if you prefer) well away from any major city. Hitting his full growth early in a town with a high ratio of unicorns forced him to be very methodical in his actions, lest he break everything he touched. His unusual coat (courtesy of his foreign grandmother), large size, and slow ways earned him an unusual amount of bullying when he was young. Not that an average bully could do anything to a mountain like Stone, but he long ago grew used to being called names ("mud pony" being a crowd favorite). He earned his cutie mark by taking the hit from an accident that would have crippled one of his classmates. His mark represents that he is the strong rock that others can lean on, as well as shelter behind. As soon as he came of age he left home to find his place in the world, feeling that he was not truly living up to his purpose. He eventually came to Canterlot and enlisted in the guard, where he slowly rose through the ranks. Although he has never failed in any significant way, he also never stood out. Often beat out for promotion by flashier, more outgoing ponies.
Personality: Normally reserved, Stone is the type to observe and think things through before committing to a path. Not being one to often make snap decisions, he is often thought of as slow, and surprises others when he decides to speak. While he's certainly smarter than the average pony, this is not to say he's a hidden genius, he's certainly not. Just a little wiser. Despite this, he is quite able to take definitive action when the situation calls for it. And once he makes a decision, he will follow through without hesitation. It can be difficult to change his course once he gets going though (both literally and figuratively... Remember, this is a big pony!)
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How did you come up with that super awesomeazing OC? Are you a time-traveling wizard?
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Big solid methodical earth pony?
Well that screws over my idea.
Back to the
drawing boardtyping computer.Hmmm... Considering Shining Armor and Silent Shield were both unicorns and quite the serious ponies, best to go with something different no?
Name: Adamant Stonewall
Race/Gender/Age: Earth pony / Mare / One or two years younger than Shining Armor
Physical Description: Beige fur with black hair, keeps her tail cut short and her mane slicked back with a hair or two loose over the forehead. Brown eyes. Typical looking pony, a bit scrawny for an Earth pony, but still very well built.
Cutie Mark: A white, curved wall jutting out from behind a silver kite shield
Background: Born into a prominent military family, Adamant worked her whole life for the goals her family expected of her. The Stonewalls had always been famous for breeding the best defensive commanders for Equestria's borders, and as a filly Adamant bought right into the heroic tales of her forebears. Heroism, however, was not as easy to obtain as Adamant thought. While she excelled in defensive strategy, she found herself criticized by her family at every turn for not being up to the Stonewall standard. Joining the guard was her proudest moment, but she never obtained a command 'worthy' of a Stonewall. The revolution with Twilight was her ticket to success she believed. Foolishly planning to infiltrate Ever Free and sabotage their defensive capabilities, Adamant's scheme and spirit were shattered once shown the truth of Celestia's machinations. She could not serve a ruler who had manipulated Equestria as Celestia had. Devoid of purpose, she found it again helping rebellion outposts strengthen their security against raids by the guard. With the formation of Twilight's new kingdom Adamant hopes to prove her worth as a competent defensive commander, petitioning for the position of Lady Everstar's Guard Captain.
Personality: Upbeat, positive and ecstatic, though Adamant can still bring herself back down to seriousness if the situation truly demands it. Not really one for paperwork, on the walls while the enemy advances towards the fort is where she is truly alive, and she loves to spread that feeling to the defenders around her. Never too busy to give encouragement, she often uses her own extravagant tall tales as reference (her favorite being where she fought off three dragons herself). She's extremely egotistical about her own abilities however, and shouting about herself can sometimes negate the encouragements she gives. Despite shouting that she knows everything, Adamant secretly understands that there are some things she just doesn't get and respects anyone who can help fill in the gaps in her knowledge (even if she'll never admit it). Despite her positive outlook, Adamant has festered a deep-seated hatred for the ponies of Equestria. Completely appalled and unable to comprehend that ponies would not flee in droves once they discovered what Celestia had been doing to them, the mare now despises all who chose to remain under Celestia's rule. She is often unable to control this hate, and has to be told to watch her tongue by her superiors.
Well, there's my character. Hoped you liked her Airstream.
Well we've had two earth ponies so I might as well throw in a unicorn and a pegasus to keep it even. I'm wondering about a Zebra or Gryphon guard captain, that would be interesting.
Foggy Days
Male Pegasus.
Appearance: Leaf green coat, light brown mane. Like most pegasi reasonably small and light weight.
Backstory: A Pegasus pony born in a village with a majority earth pony population, Foggy Days spent his early life with earth pony foals. He was a master of the games of hide and seek and tag. This mastery was mainly because the village was often covered in light fog, which he had a natural talent for manipulating.
Foggy Days came from a minor branch of the Day family and thus was not expect to come to anything by the family as a while , his parents thought differently. After the age of eight his days of playing were over and he was taught the ways of his Pegasus ancestors. His father trained him in the use of the spear and the ways of battle, while his mother taught the young colt history and the art of leadership. Tactics wise Foggy days favoured ambushes and guerrilla warfare, reading in to the various conflicts with the Diamond dogs and Gryphons.
After eight years learning these skills he was expected to put them to use, his father gave to him an enchanted obsidian spear and sent him off into the world.
Four years later, Foggy wandered into the city and joined up with the guard. When asked what he has done between the time of leaving his home and joining up he has a new story every time.
Personality: Foggy Days is the utterly typical young Pegasus, cocky and ambitious. The only advantage over other pegasi his age he has is the book learning his mother has taught him to appreciate, thus putting him on the track to promotion over his fellows.
His manner is that of a bee, buzzing around things coming up with ideas and quickly discarding them, impressing some, irritating others. He is still only when absolutely necessary, otherwise he could be anyway and most frequently is everywhere.
His downfall in most situations is his temper, he takes to angry quickly however not usually over himself. Insulting his family, ancestry, friends, cause, morals, or employer will soon earn you a black eye, insulting him will earn a laugh and possibly a shouted drink.
Solved Puzzle
Female Unicorn
Appearance: Light blue coat, light red mane. Cutie mark is a sphere in a cube.
Backstory: Puzzle was born and raised in a happy household on the outskirts of Canterlot, she had little to no relatives. To make up for this her parents dotted on her incessantly. Soon she discovered a love of puzzles. Due to this her skill in telekinesis developed early and her parents decided she was a prodigy, hiring a tutor for her at the first oppuroitity. This was how Puzzle met Measured Will. Measured Will was a middle age private magic tutor, who had a history teaching at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Puzzle soon discovered that although her telekinesis had developed early the rest of her magic lagged behind it
Her parents would not hear from Measured that their daughter was not the next magical genius and continued to pay him to teach her. It was then that Puzzle began to see the contradictions. She had been aware of the hypocritical nature of life before, but in a less direct sense, it had always merely been there before, unnoticed. For the next few months her magic refused to catch up with her telekinesis skill and Measured eventually stopped trying to teach her. Her parents finally realising her magic was not coming through instead hired Measured Will as a general tutor instead, Measured Will began to teach Puzzle the general primary and high school curriculum. In between lessons they sat and talked. Puzzle learned much from Measured, about interacting with ponies, about confidence, about life, about reasonability, about truth, and lies. Eventually she reached the age, sixteen, where she would normally end her education. (My own thoughts here as ponies would normally have their cutie marks by then and leave for their preferred field of work.)
Even by this point she was still magic less and without cutie mark. Nothing she had studied over the years had interested her, expect one thing. At her final lesson Puzzle brought up the idea of contradictions. As she and Measured Will discussed them there was a flash of light and her cutie mark, a sphere in a cube, appeared.
After her cutie mark appeared she eventually applied for and received a place in a school devoted to magic and found her talent in elemental manipulation, specifically fire and water, which she finds wonderfully contrary.
Personality: Solved Puzzle is a mare of oddity, not only is her talent contradictory but her nature as well. She loves books but hates the solitude of reading, she loves talking, but stumbles over her words more often than not. Above all she dislikes violence but serves as the captain of the guard to Lady Everstar. All pointing this out will achieve is a giggle and a twinkle of the eye.
Giggling is a thing she does often, usually at the world around her. Her laughter is catchy and causes many under her command to like her.
While her behaviour is mirthful most of the time when an issue or problem comes to the fore she is the model of efficiency. Solving things being a hobby of hers. Her ability to find the direct source of an issue and quickly take steps to eliminate it are one of the main things she has such a high position in the guard.
When forced into a fight she uses her twin affinity for fire and water to devastating effect. Favouring fire for offence and distractions and water for defensive actions and traps. To prevent against lack of supply of her favoured elements she carries around a flask of water and a pouch of gunpowder at all times. After fights she uses her fire to evaporate any water left over and her water to put out fires that have occurred. She also tends to apologise profusely to any sparring partners.
I think I might have put a bit too much on mannerisms as opposed to thought process style of things in the personality but meh.
Well freezing my Ass here in Texas pondering my folly. Maybe it was when we funded the police force too well . Now all they want to do is take more money from the civilians over anything. Even a little reefer,seriously how much can Willie nelson hide in his crotch when they come a knocking. Its so cold that when i drive I get speedcicles on my windshield wipers. Maybe my car is just that aerodynamic but it was a good 4 mm thick