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BE READY TO TRANSFER THESE CHARACTERS YOU WANT TO KEEP SOON! JUST SAYING ... SOMETHING IS A HAPPENING.
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(Dr.) Duality Wave-Particle
By Duality
Age: ~55 (not that she'll admit it)
Gender: Female
Species: Pegasus
Appearance: <p> Duality is a venerable tan pegasus mare with a beige-and-aqua perpetually mussed mane and tail, faded with age. She is an inch or so taller and slightly heftier-built than most ponies, due to her earth pony lineage on her mother's side, and has a mild short-sighted squint - owing in no small part to the amount of close-quarters paperwork examination that her job entails - that persists, out of obstinate habit, even when she dons her corrective reading glasses. She wears a watch slung around her left front hoof constantly, unusual among ponies, which, although she keeps it as quiet as possible, is not primarily intended for the purpose of keeping her schedule running in good time. Rather, the strap of the watch is a subtly runewoven band, enchanted to deflect local magical fluctuations of middling-to-large-power that might otherwise affect her and bought early on in her lecturing career (at <em>ludicrous</em> expense) to protect herself from the random student-sourced bursts of uncontrolled unicorn magic and spagyric sorcery that prove such a common job hazard in her line of work - as she is not a unicorn, after all, she has no natural ability to protect herself against such arcane energies. </p> <p> This bracelet-like periapt was bought, at <em>great </em>expense, early on in Duality's lecturing career after a number of incidents involving out-of-control spells cast by several of the less disciplined students of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and, particularly, an incident involving a carefully controlled spell cast by one of the less savoury members of Celestia's faculty, who planned to acquire her prestigious position after she 'inexplicably' manifested an incredibly obscure disease, inflicted in the hopes that no-one would know enough about it to cure her to any employable extent. Fortunately for her in the latter case, an 'anonymous member of the student body' (although it was generally agreed among the school staff that Twilight Sparkle couldn't have been less subtle if she tried) 'couldn't help but notice' the characteristic symptoms of Mardi Grass Syndrome, especially those of pancake cravings and the reduction of Duality's working vocabulary to the word 'shrove', and, that same day, slipped a flawlessly referenced medical discussion of the apparent diagnosis and subsequent recommended treatment methods under the door of the infirmary, as well as a categorical legal description of the circumstantial evidence that eventually got the unsavoury faculty member in question - an unpleasant assistant professor of applied biology, specialising in physiological enhancement spells, it turned out - <em>very </em>much fired. </p>
Cutie Mark: <p> <strong>Description and Meaning:</strong> </p> <p> Duality's cutie mark is a visual representation of the concept of wave-particle duality, using the analogy of a water droplet plopping into a pool. The individual droplets rebounding from the surface of the water illustrate the 'particle' nature of matter, and the ripples spreading out from the point of impact are a metaphor for the simultaneous 'wave' nature of matter. Her talent, as symbolically implied by the mark, is that of academic proficiency in quantum physics, specifically as applied to mathematical metamagic (that is, the analytical treatment of magical concepts as merely exotic cases of common biophysical principles). </p> <p> <strong>Story of Obtainment:</strong> </p> <p> Ever since a very young age Duality Wave-Particle had wanted more than anything else to be a unicorn (as opposed to a slightly scrawny not-yet-grown-into-her-height pegasus), so as to pursue a star-studded career working with magic. She alternately moped around the house and feverishly plotted ways to gain a horn and its corresponding thaumaturgic powers. After one particularly unpleasant day, involving concerted mockery at school for her obsession with magic and a 'gentle' - but rather patronising, even her eight-year-old self thought - lecture by one of her peers' parents along the lines of 'your aspirations are unattainable, child, so give up on them before you're disappointed any further', she tearily sought refuge under the wing of her father, Photon Particle. He willingly provided her soothing sanctuary, but knew that his daughter needed more than just a shoulder to cry on; she needed a hoof on <em>her</em> shoulder guiding her away from the source of her pain. </p> <p> As she finished sniffling an explanation of what had upset her into his newly-starched work shirt, he began to describe what he was working on: a scientific paper on the subject of <em>wave-particle duality</em>. The physical concept that Duality's name was inspired by, he revealed, was a revolutionary scientific discovery in the last few decades, proving that particles could behave like waves under certain characteristic situations. This, her father went on in a softer voice, was why he named her for it - particles, once held as set entities that could be entirely described with a few simple numbers, were now known to be intrinsically indescribable and transcendent of anything ever suspected of them. And if particles could do it, what possible reason was there for her not to do the same? <em>She</em> could defy the mathematical model that others attempted to constrain her to, <em>she</em> could reflect and refract around life's obstacles as if she was made of light itself, <em>she</em> could transcend anything she had ever dreamed of becoming, and, in so doing, become the pony she was truly intended to be all along. </p> <p> Being eight, Duality only understood about half of this, but she still absorbed enough to realise that trying to become something she wasn't was neither productive nor possible, and she should instead accept what she was and work from there. This sent her into something of a existential tailspin, however, as she had no idea how to work from being a skinny pegasus to being a brilliant mage renowned throughout Equestria. After some time (about three hours, since she wasn't a dumb <em>adult </em>who spends their whole <em>life </em>figuring out easy existential enquiries like that), she came to the realisation that she didn't have to <em>do</em> magic to be a mage, as a mage, strictly speaking, is one who <em>studies</em> magic. She could study magic and be a nerd like her dad! Of course! So simple! This must be her destiny! </p> <p> And, the week after, as she gave a highly-researched presentation to her class on the topic of the cutie mark she thought she might have in the future ("with detailed description of possible talent, justification of possible talent based on real-world evidence thereof, and demonstration of possible talent through a step-by-step explanation of the reasoning and experimental evidence behind Poni's Exclusion Principle", to quote the teacher's notes), her cutie mark materialised, so she was obviously right. Happily ever after. And an automatic A+ for getting her cutie mark while accurately predicting what it would be. <img alt=":yay:" data-emoticon="" src="<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/mlp_yay.png" title=":yay:" /></p>
Personality: <p> Duality is introverted in that she gains energy from time spent alone, but her carefully-cultivated social skills, honed by many years of teaching large university-level classes at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and interacting with colleagues in regular meetings, cause her to be at ease in highly-crowded environments and when forced to converse for many minutes with effective strangers for the sake of civility, although such interactions leave her drained after long work-days. She is agreeable in temperament almost to a fault, courtesy of her parents' strict insistence on constant practice of good manners and empathetic behaviour, but has a irreverent, wry sense of humour that she never fails to bring to bear on a situation that she finds amusing or ironic (although she has become quite skilled at restricting the more sardonic of these quips to her stream of thought when voicing them may prove malapropos). She finds it extremely difficult to deny ponies when they ask her for assistance, especially when her friends are the ponies in question; fortunately, she takes great enjoyment from helping ponies out and often actively looks for ways to benefit those who seem to be struggling, especially students (in her lectures or another's) who just can't seem to wrap their minds around a particular concept or how it may be applied to a given situation. </p> <p> Duality has an unusual affinity for liquid water, notably exhibited through her exclusive drinking of sparkling spring water - vehemently claiming it tastes far better than any other beverage and is more healthy for good measure - and the spending of much of her relaxation time gazing at scenic pools, rivers, or lakes. She needs a <em>lot </em>of relaxation time to stay on top of her more negative emotions, however, as her job demands much of her and several of the full-time faculty members regularly rile her up with their obsession with academic politicking. In private company, she often bemoans the intensity of the squabbles that professors engage in over perceived relative status, referencing the extreme intellect of some of the involved parties and the exquisite malice behind their elaborately plotted power plays, which, during the more dispute-ridden periods, take place on a near-weekly basis. </p> <p> Duality's favourite pastimes, when not occupied with teaching any of her various lectures or penning pertinent paperwork, include reading various novels - especially those utilising unusual and creative systems of magic or technology in their world-building -, keeping up with the latest scientific endeavours in relation to her work, sharing her vast stocks of knowledge of intriguingly unintuitive metamagical principles with anypony who cares to listen, the aforementioned calming contemplation of soothing bodies of water, perusing second-hand shops for dictionaries and thesauri to add to her already-prodigious collection thereof, playing a casual round or two of the ancient strategy game Go with her longsuffering laypony secretary and second cousin once removed - that is, her mother's cousin's granddaughter -, Dot Dash (no relation), and taking pithy prosaic potshots at any member of the Canterlot gentry with the nerve to query the <em>exact </em>reason that she, a mere <em>pegasus</em>, managed to gain a position teaching their <em>precious </em>children when there are <em>so </em>many powerful <em>unicorn </em>mages who would have applied for the <em>same </em>job. </p> <p> Duality despises disputes of any sort with a passion and avoids confrontations or conflicts as meticulously as possible unless she is specifically necessitated to become involved for the sake of neutral-party mediation or other such peacemaking interposition (this, along with the struggle she has refusing help to others, can lead to her being considered something of a pushover in certain circles). She also strongly dislikes humid environments, sustained loud noises, Mardi Grass and all associated festivities, magpies (due to an unfortunate incident in her fillyhood when she flew slightly too close to the nesting grounds of a particularly territorial colony), any interlocution that could possibly be construed as gossip, and flying in breezy weather, the latter of which is mostly attributable to her relatively weak flying abilities, and, in turn, her maternal earth pony heritage. </p>
Backstory: <p> Duality was born and raised in Canterlot, where she works to this day. She lives a few blocks away from her old family home, where her parents - although not her middle-aged younger brother, who works as a taxicab driver in Manehattan - still reside, in a medium-class neighbourhood in the lower South Quarter of Canterlot, although nowhere near the stunning vistas off the rim of the mountain city that aristocrats pay millions of bits to catch a glimpse of out their window. Her cosy urban cottage is uninhabited save for her and two large and affectionate male cats of rather dubious heritage, Spotspot and Britches, although Dot Dash, her much-removed cousin and closest friend, lives in an adjoining flat. She visits her parents regularly (every other Thursday and once or twice in between), and has a colourful and good-natured clique of friends from variegated walks of life who she visits the local coffee shop with on a biweekly basis - not that she drinks coffee herself, of course. </p> <p> </p> <p> Duality was educated in her local public school, and managed to pay her way through a doctorate in applied mathematics with the financial support of her parents and the help of several part-time tutoring jobs she picked up along the way. Her casual employment teaching academically challenged ponies caused her to realise how much she enjoyed facilitating the learning of others, and guided her into seeking a job as lecturer at Celestia's School. She began as an assistant professor of mathematical metamagic, working under the then-dean of the Department of Arcane Mathematics, but was soon promoted when the elderly dean retired and recommended her to fill his position as primary lecturer in his field, supposedly due to her intellectual ability, but mainly, the former dean confided to her in private, a result of the open and friendly disposition and readiness to learn and accept new things she had constantly displayed throughout her work, as he strongly felt that there was far too much ill-will between the oft-clashing strong personalities that held sway over the various departments of the School on Celestia's behalf. </p> <p> This rapid escalation in her status, approved without opposition by the pragmatic Board of Trustees (who held a deep-seated mistrust of many of the long-standing academic staff), caused significant controversy among those lower-ranked members of the faculty who had been waiting ravenously for <em>years </em>for an opportunity to snatch up that particular vacancy as well as among those of the senior faculty who felt that such a <em>puerile </em>colleague would diminish the respect their status afforded them among the elite of Canterlot, especially when taking into account that she was a <em>pegasus </em>and therefore couldn't actually practice any magic besides run-of-the-mill passive interaction with macroscopic collections of water vapour (not that she can even do <em>that </em>particularly well; although she is capable of the proximate manipulation of approximately a thimbleful of liquid water at a time, this is effectively limited in practical applicability to its use in the modestly-intriguing entertainment of informal house guests). However, any possibility of direct hostility towards her was preemptively and decisively nullified by a few well-placed conversational mentions made by the former dean of the fact that he'd told Duality to inform him of any major problems she might have settling into her new role, and, if he couldn't help her or give her advice himself, he intended to bring such matters to <em>Celestia's </em>attentions, whom, after all, he'd worked alongside for <em>decades</em>, and whom he was sure would <em>delightedly </em>acquiesce to helping her old colleague out with such a commendably selfless concern. </p>
(Dr.) Duality Wave-Particle
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