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Orion de Winter


Dust and Memories
  • , No, Not Cast Stallion

    Navy blue coat of fur; sky-blue eyes, earth-brown hooves, mane and tail a very dark grey shot through with black.

    Always poised and careful, it is unlikely you will see Orion trip up, physically or verbally. He has a very specific type of trot, measured and with each hoof precisely placed, that gives him a air of purpose and imperiousness. When he's talking to you, he continually keeps eye contact, sometimes as if he's staring you down, though if he's wearing a small smile, he's likely just teasing you about something. Can get pretty intense, and have a penchant for hoof gestures to illustrate every point.

    male Pegasus A swirling spiral-arm galaxy, with stylized astronomical objects. He aqcuired it the first time he looked through a telescope: his special talent relates to astronomy and the things beyond even the skies of Equestria. https://buffy.mlpforums.com/8ad58d305aec51d50fae6e3b06d9330c.jpg

    Dark, cold, calculating. Freezes up with a cross between anxiety and rage when spoken to rudely by someone with a brash and overconfident personality; this may or may not result in a backhoof to the face. Cannot tolerate ponies who disrespect him. Brilliant, but flawed in many ways.

     

    Slight tic in his left eye that causes it to blink rapidly when startled or under stress. Spends some time obsessing over small things, and has a compulsion for instinctive neatness and order. May arrange objects in a sequence of powers of two. However, due to his strength of will, he does not let this interfere with his work beyond a exceptional neatness to his work and notation. He has lingering trauma from the death of his sister, and the locket he wears is a picture of her.

     

    He's prone to mood swings, varying in intensity, from "Did you know how high this tower is? I don't, but I could use you to measure the distance..." to "I could kiss you right now, but..kissing? I'll be right back, I just need to grab a book on the subject..." Sometimes, he can be abrupt if he's working on something, and often doesn't want to speak when he's busy. If under pressure, he calms down rapidly and can often be the clearest head in the room. He possesses a sharp tongue and a very well-developed sense of sarcasm. Has a penchant for dry wit/black humor, too.

    Likes: Foals, idiots, ponies who don't respect authority, ponies who can't be quiet, ponies he's forced to interact with...actually, ponies in general.

    Born into a high-class family of socialites in Canterlot, he grew up without many friends, despite his parents' efforts. Young Orion, or Sky, as his parents (Soliloquy "Sol" de Winter and Andromeda Eclipse) and sister (Aria de Winter), called him, spent most of his time locked inside a library, rarely preferring to socialize. When he did, however, it inevitably ended in several caustic remarks about the colt or filly in question's intelligence and/or breeding, which put a end to further calls very quickly. Despite this, he enjoyed a very close relationship with his family, especially his sister. Aria and him shared roughly the same interests, although she tended to lean more towards music (eventually working as an opera singer before her death). When he was a young foal, he had spotted a telescope in the local toy store, and begged his parents to buy it. He obtained it for Hearths' Warming Eve, and ended up using it the next night. Carrying up a cup of hot cocoa, his notebook, and a pencil, little Orion opened up the telescope, which he had assembled with the help of his father, and turned it to look at the moon. He scribbled down a brief notation of the craters and a rough sketch, and when he went downstairs after several hours of viewing time, he realized only at the excited exclamations of his family that he had earned his cutie mark.

     

    By his mid-adolescence, he had already applied to Canterlot University, with an immaculate cover letter and accomplishments- though volunteer work was noticeably absent- and was accepted. At the university, Orion quickly became influential, joined a major fellowship, and became a fixture on campus and in the laboratories, where he gained a reputation as the one student with the perfect lab work. He greatly enjoyed his work over a four-year course (including graduate school), but as Orion was finishing up his studies, majoring in astronomy and minoring in magical theory, (a subject he had always enjoyed, although, being simply a Pegasus, he could not practice some of the things he was learning of) when his sister, died in a tragic flying accident; during a high-speed acrobatics run, she had apparently lost control in a heavy wind and was smashed into the ground, killing her instantly. He finished the last six months of his study (with a noticeable drop in quality) and then went home, Ph.D in hoof.

     

    This trauma would affect him for the remainder of his life, and although the deep unwillingness to fly ended relatively soon, and despite the calming efforts by his friends and family, he simply shut himself back into the repository of literature and mathematics he maintained in his flat, and wasted away. During this time, he stopped renting his apartment and went back home to his parents, where he planned to stay until he could get a job at the university or as an entrepreneur. He did become a businessstallion, selling telescopes and various curios and artifacts, but ended up losing his business in the Changeling Invasion. After that, he decided to truly go back into astronomy.

     

    After publishing a study titled "On the Phenomena of the Equestrian Night Sky" in the prestigious journal known as the Journal of the Equestrian Scientific Academy, he became a full-time astronomer and scientist, based in a larger home than his old apartment in Canterlot. During this time, he also published one of the first studies ever in the burgeoning theoretical field of Unifying Harmony. After three years of work in both fields of specialty, he gained a professorship at his alma mater. Unfortunately for him, he's also responsible for tutoring foals, which he never finds fun, though he can take a liking to his students and even tutor them if he finds them good enough- but good luck passing his famously high standards. He's now an authority in his field, and has published several major studies in the realm of astronomy, his one large one and then two smaller ones in magical theory, and a short science fiction novel that gained acclaim in its niche.

    He treasures a tarnished silver and gold fob watch deeply, and takes it wherever he goes, tucked deep into the pocket of whatever he happens to be wearing at the time; and if not, he wears it around his neck on a braided leather cord. If you ever managed to look inside, you would be able to see a old-style paining of a mare in the dress of long ago, smiling at the painter; a miniature done in oils, who bears a great family resemblance to Orion. When asked about this picture and the cryptic saying engraved along the edges of the watch, he will either refuse to respond and ignore you, or reply with a long string of invectives.

     

    He lives in a five-floored tower, made of blue crystal, spruce wood, and cobblestone. On average, you can find him at his writing desk or at the massive telescope that takes up the two topmost floors. He attempted starting his own business once, but ended up selling it for a small profit after it was trashed by changelings.

     

    Quotes:

     

    "I find that you bear an uncanny resemblance to the common jungle orangutan."

     

    "Ideas are very important. If you deny the theoretical aspect of knowledge, you deny knowledge itself."

     

    "Shut up! Shut up! Shuttity up up! Are you physiologically incapable of shutting your muzzle?!"

     

    "Let me make something quite clear to you. I don't care if you're an archmage, I don't care if you're the bloody fastest pegasus in Equestria, I don't care if you can throw buildings. What I do care about is that you messed with my friends. I may not have many, but the ones I do have are my second family. And I can assure you, if you mess with my family, I will make explicitly sure that you will remember the day I hunt you down as the worst of your entire life. Are we clear?"

     

    "Oh, that's a nice book. But really, only approximately five hundred pages? Far too small for a subject of such importance. Here, hand me that red pen and the typewriter..."

     

    "Huh? No, I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up when the sun's..hm...how about when the sun sets? Good. Thanks."

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Hello Orion! You have an interesting little pony here, and I’ll be interested to see what you do with him here in EqE, but first some adjustments will have to be made to fit him into this section.

 

  • Ponies should not be given normal human names unless those names have a double meaning to them. While I understand that the names you chose were chosen to sound aristocratic, and I think having them share the “de Winter” portion of their names is fine and fitting for the characters, the first names of Wilhelm and his family should be changed to words that have meaning on their own.

  • When you describe how he would react to a “Dashie-type personality” in the personality section, it would be better to simply describe the personality traits that bother him in a pony.

  • Because we don’t know how the subject of mental disorder is handled in Equestria, actual names of disorders should be kept in the “other” section, and the symptoms of the disorder and how they affect the character should be all we see in the rest of the bio and in roleplays. In addition to making this section more lore-friendly, having people only use labels in the “other” section helps us make sure that no one is creating characters who would be portrayed as caricatures or stereotypes of the disorder they have.

  • The last paragraph of the personality section should be made to sound less aggressive. Given the extremely nonviolent nature of Equestrian society, I can’t imagine any pony would be saying “I’m going to snap your head off”, even in jest or with no actual intention of harm.

  • The Equestrian equivalent of our military is believed to be better described as a Guard, as that term fits much better with what we have seen of Equestria’s defenses. Mentions of military and the army should be removed, and your character should be said to have spent some time as part of the Canterlot Guard. Mentions of ranks should also be removed.

  • Pre-established connections to cast characters is not allowed, which means that Celestia and Luna cannot have done any of what you say they’ve done in the last paragraph. I’m afraid your pony will need to find a home and job with someone else, and as for the knighthood, Equestria is not thought to have any knights anyways.

  • The list of quotes in your “other” section is cute, but a bit long. I would suggest that you choose your favorite 4-6 quotes and just list those, however whatever you decide to do the quote involving Pinkie Pie must be removed, as it suggests a familiarity with Pinkie that one would only have if they’d met her (and as I said, pre-established cast connections aren’t allowed).
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Hello Orion! You have an interesting little pony here, and I’ll be interested to see what you do with him here in EqE, but first some adjustments will have to be made to fit him into this section.[/size]

 


  • Ponies should not be given normal human names unless those names have a double meaning to them. While I understand that the names you chose were chosen to sound aristocratic, and I think having them share the “de Winter” portion of their names is fine and fitting for the characters, the first names of Wilhelm and his family should be changed to words that have meaning on their own.
     

  • When you describe how he would react to a “Dashie-type personality” in the personality section, it would be better to simply describe the personality traits that bother him in a pony.
     

  • Because we don’t know how the subject of mental disorder is handled in Equestria, actual names of disorders should be kept in the “other” section, and the symptoms of the disorder and how they affect the character should be all we see in the rest of the bio and in roleplays. In addition to making this section more lore-friendly, having people only use labels in the “other” section helps us make sure that no one is creating characters who would be portrayed as caricatures or stereotypes of the disorder they have.
     

  • The last paragraph of the personality section should be made to sound less aggressive. Given the extremely nonviolent nature of Equestrian society, I can’t imagine any pony would be saying “I’m going to snap your head off”, even in jest or with no actual intention of harm.
     

  • The Equestrian equivalent of our military is believed to be better described as a Guard, as that term fits much better with what we have seen of Equestria’s defenses. Mentions of military and the army should be removed, and your character should be said to have spent some time as part of the Canterlot Guard. Mentions of ranks should also be removed.
     

  • Pre-established connections to cast characters is not allowed, which means that Celestia and Luna cannot have done any of what you say they’ve done in the last paragraph. I’m afraid your pony will need to find a home and job with someone else, and as for the knighthood, Equestria is not thought to have any knights anyways.
     
  • The list of quotes in your “other” section is cute, but a bit long. I would suggest that you choose your favorite 4-6 quotes and just list those, however whatever you decide to do the quote involving Pinkie Pie must be removed, as it suggests a familiarity with Pinkie that one would only have if they’d met her (and as I said, pre-established cast connections aren’t allowed).

 

Oh, no worries. I apologize for any errors, and they'll be corrected promptly. I suppose I will change Wilhelm's name to Orion de Winter, and he'll just be a prominent astronomer instead of holding a position.

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Oh, no worries. I apologize for any errors, and they'll be corrected promptly. I suppose I will change Wilhelm's name to Orion de Winter, and he'll just be a prominent astronomer instead of holding a position.

 

These edits all look good to me, thank you for making them so quickly. There is one mention of the military left in the personality section that seems to have slipped through the cracks, once that is removed I will send Orion along to the next step of the approval process :)

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These edits all look good to me, thank you for making them so quickly. There is one mention of the military left in the personality section that seems to have slipped through the cracks, once that is removed I will send Orion along to the next step of the approval process :)

 

Done. Thanks for the help!

 

(Also, what is the next step?)

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Done. Thanks for the help! (Also, what is the next step?)

 

Thank you! The next step is for me to contact the staff and have them officially give this character first and second approval. If they agree that Orion is ready to roleplay, then you won't have to do anything else until he's approved :)

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Hello again. I'm sorry, but I actually noticed one more thing that needs to be fixed in your application. You added the detail of Orion joining a major fraternity into your backstory in one of your edits I believe. While I am alright with you using terms like "university" and "major" and "minor" in your application, as Maud's "Rocterate" seems to suggest that the higher education system in Equestria might share some similarities with ours, "fraternity" just seems to take too much from our culture that wouldn't necessarily cross over into pony culture. I would be fine with him joining a fellowship, but the word fraternity should be removed or replaced.

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Hello again. I'm sorry, but I actually noticed one more thing that needs to be fixed in your application. You added the detail of Orion joining a major fraternity into your backstory in one of your edits I believe. While I am alright with you using terms like "university" and "major" and "minor" in your application, as Maud's "Rocterate" seems to suggest that the higher education system in Equestria might share some similarities with ours, "fraternity" just seems to take too much from our culture that wouldn't necessarily cross over into pony culture. I would be fine with him joining a fellowship, but the word fraternity should be removed or replaced.

 

Apologies; it has been changed to fellowship on your suggestion.

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Hey Orion! I talked over your character with the other reviewers, and there's just one more thing we found that should be adjusted. Your character seems more like a regular adult stallion than a "youngish" one, given all he's accomplished and the fact that he appears to be rather set in his career. Orion's age should be changed to just "stallion", and then he should be all set for approval :)

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Hey Orion! I talked over your character with the other reviewers, and there's just one more thing we found that should be adjusted. Your character seems more like a regular adult stallion than a "youngish" one, given all he's accomplished and the fact that he appears to be rather set in his career. Orion's age should be changed to just "stallion", and then he should be all set for approval :)

 

Done! I was basing that off of his EvE age, but given the modified backstory, I agree that he should be slightly older.

 

Thank you for all your help and support during the approval process; I feel that I truly have a better character now.

 

-OC

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After reviewing your character, it seems he has an extreme amount of accomplishments. Considering his cutie mark, a short-lived career in the Royal Guard seems very much out of character. Additionally, being accepted into the Royal Guard requires the character roleplaying through the initiation, due to their assumed closeness with cast characters. I would suggest completely removing the part about being in the Royal Guard, and perhaps after his sister dying, have him throw himself completely into his astronomy work.

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After reviewing your character, it seems he has an extreme amount of accomplishments. Considering his cutie mark, a short-lived career in the Royal Guard seems very much out of character. Additionally, being accepted into the Royal Guard requires the character roleplaying through the initiation, due to their assumed closeness with cast characters. I would suggest completely removing the part about being in the Royal Guard, and perhaps after his sister dying, have him throw himself completely into his astronomy work.

 

Fixed. Thank you for the input.

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