Ask the ELIT agents

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

You've probably seen the characters depicted in this thread (the only thing I do in that board after centuries of ignoring it and all of its topics)

 

Thing is, I'm trying to practice personalities, and also looking for ideas to make their backstories.

And what's the best way to do that? To make my agents answer questions, of course!

 

Your questions may be directed at one or more agents, and even the whole team. Whoever is the most qualified in a certain field, will tend to answer inquiries about it first.

 

 

 

Bust drawings of the agents, in the same order as they were listed in the quote below (from left to right and from top down). I tried to make everyone the same scale, so the dragon's head and the donkey's ear couldn't fit into the panels.

 

 

Reminder:

ELIT - Equestria Lunar Investigative Team

 

AGENTS

 

FIELD - Elements of Exploration, personalities

-Lead: Figurehead (f dee) - Discovery

hardy, commanding, humorless

-Intel: Goggle Search (f ter) - Curiosity

methodical, adaptable, nosey

-Mscl: Drakehart (m grf) - Boldness

straightforward, tough, gullible

-Scien: Echo Logic (f uni) - Knowledge

clever, quick-witted, inflexible

-Medic: Rubber Duck (m mul) - Observation

peaceful, experienced, talkative

-Psych: Feather Spiral (m peg) - Creativity

sensitive, imaginative, jumpy

 

ASSISTING - traits, pastimes

-Secret: Sundown (f peg) - diplomacy, poetry

-Secur: Bailey Rubb (m zor) - planning, painting

-Tech: Pro-Tech Shaun (f don) - order, gaming

-Transp: Anna Tholia (f dra) - navigation, travelling

-Entert: Viscra Maelstrom (h uni) - insanity, DJing

-Archiv: Oldscroll (m bsn) - awkwardness, epic prose

 

 

RELATIONSHIPS

 

INTERNAL - type, characters (component)

-<3 Rubber Duck - Sundown (peace)

-<3 Feather Spiral - Viscra Maelstrom (art)

-(+) Figurehead - Drakehart (humorlessness)

-(+) Goggle Search - Bailey Rubb (method)

-(+) Feather Spiral - Sundown (creation)

-(+) Rubber Duck - Anna Tholia (travelling)

-(+) Echo Logic - Oldscroll (knowledge)

-(+) Goggle Search - Pro-Tech Shaun (neatness)

-(X) Figurehead - Rubber Duck (tough vs peaceful)

-(X) Goggle Search - Feather Spiral (nosey vs sensitive)

-(X) Echo Logic - Feather Spiral (inflexible vs creative)

-(X) Drakehart - Echo Logic (blunt vs cynical)

 

FAMILY - character, relatives (relations)

- Goggle - Quik (sis)

- Echo - Astro (sis), N'Tommo (bro), Simple (moth)

- Duck - Bent (fath), Coatin (moth)

- Feather - Seaside (sis), Moony (fath), Hartsia (moth)

-Sundown - Sunrise (bro), Sunlite (moth)

- Bailey - Chiix (sis), Tommy (bro), Bach (fath)

- Pro-Tech - Reed-Imp (sis), Atrack (moth)

- Viscra - Color (bro), Reinbau (fath)

 

There, that's all I have on them for now. Ask away!

Edited June 15, 2012 by Feather Spiral

[Viscra Maelstrom 3,718]

do you ever have Secret Organization Orgies

anyway, might as well ask something here: do you have secret orgi- i mean, how exactly do you work with cases at the ELIT agency, roughly speaking?

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

Yes, we are extremely sexual, due to our own creator being an ultra-pervy extra-gay faggot.

((This is gonna be a long one, heh.))

 

 

Sundown: Oh, it usually starts with me getting a letter from princess Luna. Or sometimes one of our field agents, usually Echo or Goggle (pointing in their direction), opens an investigation if there's data adding up.

 

Goggle: Yep! We're constantly gathering reports of such events - well, mostly me. Doesn't matter what kind, as long as it has the potential to disrupt harmony in Equestria. Oldscroll, tell 'em about the Archives! =D

 

Oldscroll: Oh, um... (blush) yeah... We uh... have a lot of documents in there. (looking sideways) From "weird" stuff, like... ghost reports... to suspicions of, let's say, "evil plottings". And what I do is, uh... note their similarities and differences... especially locations and times.

 

Sundown: (pats his shoulder) Yep! Anyway, as soon as I receive a message from the princess or a field agent, all field agents are sent to investigate. If the place is very far away, or hard to access like a mountain top, Anna (points towards the dragon) takes them there. (nods at Figurehead while Anna waves)

 

Figurehead: We just go and... do our thing! (rolls eyes) Nothing complicated. Goggle Search snoops around questioning the locals and browsing documents for clues, Feather Spiral watches the witnesses to determine their credibility, Echo Logic tries to find more trivial explanations to be tested, Rubber Duck checks out possible victims to determine how they were affected, Drakehart inspects the surroundings in a more strategic manner just in case there's action. (shrugs) Meanwhile, I speak to local figures of authority; and make sure they all do their jobs, instead of bitching about whether a witness is genuine or just seeking attention. (glaring at Echo and Feather)

 

Feather: (offended) She ignored the filly's description!

 

Echo: I told you, she was exaggerating the size of her so-called attacker! She was simply scared by her stepm-

 

Feather: And I told you, the stepmother's "aggressiveness" came after the attack, not before! It was fear and not anger, as a result of seeing something she couldn't under-

 

Sundown: (cough COUGH) Anyway... (smiling) If they gather enough evidence, Echo returns to the agency with it. She analyzes everything in the laboratory, helped by Pro-Tech Shaun with the instruments, while Oldscroll compares the documents with those he has in his archives. The others, well, they can follow her back, or occasionally stay to dig deeper. I don't know what they do exactly though.

 

Duck: Well, we just play it "by ear", so to speak. Our boss friend here has something she calls "gut feelings", as well as our own professional instincts. You know... this reminds me of a report we have received about a certain... Pinkie Pie... although her-

 

Drakehart: Duck.

 

Duck: Hm? (looks at everyone staring at him) Oh... Sorry. (chuckle)

 

Drakehart: (smiling to ease his rudeness) Depending on the nature of the threat, we can call for backup, just jump into action if we're short on time, request assistance from local experts... We can be infiltrating a suspicious building, looking for a criminal mastermind... anything we deem necessary.

 

Feather: Speaking of minds, don't we have a few reports about an entity that could enter them and appear in dreams? Intangible but capable of physical-

 

Echo: (groans and shakes head) That's nonsense. Those are just superstitious ponies who mistook coincidences for some sort of "weird" supernatural phenomenon!

 

Goggle: (raises eyebrow) Pardon me, Echo... but there's just too many similar reports, some of them very detailed. It can't be just coincidence and superstition.

 

Echo: (laugh) Oh, you're right, it's not just coincidence and superstition... It's a BUNCH of coincidences and superstition!

 

Feather: Oh, for Luna's sake... I watched them all as they spoke, even questioned some. And believe m-

 

Figurehead: Hey! (bangs hoof) Will I have to send you three to the little filly's room again?

 

Echo: (frowns and points at Feather) He followed us in there!

 

Feather: (blush) I had to, because you w- (Figurehead bangs the other hoof) ...shutting up, boss.

 

Sundown: Well, anyway... that's all we can say in general. The rest depends on the case. But here's the cool part: ELIT agents are licensed to arrest any suspects, and field agents can even do it in the name of the Princesses!

 

((I didn't feature Viscra and Bailey, not because they're unimportant, but because they're always active and not doing anything different during a case.))

Edited June 12, 2012 by Feather Spiral

[Viscra Maelstrom 3,718]

tell me more about the little filly's room

while we're on the subject of cases here, any particular one that stands out? something you've never been able to solve? etc.

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

((A lot of the lines are references to NCIS episodes, just so you know. The bathroom scene is one of them, and for info, they just talked. Sorry. X3))

 

 

Goggle: Oh, we haven't had that many, so they all feel different. I can't look back, figure out an overall pattern, and say "this one stands out because blah blah", they each stand out for me. For now.

 

Echo: (waves a hoof) Most of them turn out to be false alarms, anyway. Like that one time when a mind-invading pony turned out to be a magical projection. There was a magical field embedded in the ground, using EM waves to analyze brainwaves and recreate anypony's worst fears. (Oldscroll trots over to a desk and shuffles inside a cardboard box) Our non-pony colleague Drakehart wasn't affected by the phenomenon, he simply saw a big dark silhouette - which dissipated as soon as he tried to attack it, but didn't try to strike back.

 

Oldscroll: (pulls out a scroll and puts it out on the ground) This one, I think... is the one Echo is talking about... yep, that's it. (reading) It was protecting, uh... I quote, "a treasure rumored to be buried there". Yeah... (scratches ear) Basically it was diverting attention... from uh, the actual burial spot. (points at Figurehead) Which they found, by the way.

 

Echo: Yeah, the treasure was apparently real, but had been unearthed before we decided to come. The place, several hundred meters from the magical field, showed signs of recent digging from a couple of weeks earlier. It contained gem fragments and gold shavings as well, so it's safe to assume a treasure was indeed buried there.

 

Feather: Once a chest of a thousand sparks, now a dirty cave full of darks...

 

Sundown: (beaming) Oh yeah, agent Spiral wrote a poem about that, I liked it very much!

 

Viscra: (bounces) Ooh yeah, me too! The rhythm reminded me of a dubstep song I knew, so I decided to remix it to fit the poem! (leaning towards Figurehead and staring nose-to-nose) Hey Bossy, can I-

 

Figurehead: (pushing away) No.

 

Viscra: (bouncing more) Please please PLEASE PLEEEEEEEEEEASE I WON'T MAKE IT LOUD I PROMISE AND I WON'T DO THINGS WITH FISSY EITHER PLEASE D-

 

Figurehead: (puffs annoyedly) Miste- uh, Miss... oh bloody Tartarus... (facehoofs) Just not now, agent Maelstrom!

 

Viscra: (frowns and pouts) Meanie. (Feather nuzzles his neck) No faiw. I'm jwust a pwetty DJ pwincess. (buries face in Feather's mane)

 

Bailey: (smiles) Ooh, I also painted a picture based on it!

 

Feather: Oh... (blush) You.. did?

 

Bailey: Yeah! Sundown praised- (glared at by Figurehead) You know what, I'll show you later.

 

Sundown: (laughing) I wanna see it too! Well, anyway, as you can see, we deal with plenty of potential threats, some of them not necessarily real or new.

 

Oldscroll: (reading) Uh, yeah, um... about that. This one had been apparently scaring the locals for... nearly a century! And it still showed up when we... um, when you guys, checked it out... so those who dug out the treasure hadn't bothered undoing the spell afterwards.

 

Echo: (nods) Or didn't have the magic to do so.

 

Sundown: Aaaaand... I think that's it. Thanks for the question, young filly!

 

 

((Why's there only one person asking questions? Yes, it's my Vissy, but he's still one pony. I'm putting my heart and soul into these, dammit. T_T)

(I made the OP shorter thanks to spoilers, if that's what was scaring you. You know, you don't have to look at everything before you ask; something generic will do, like Viscra's questions. All that info, is just a reminder for me to make them in-character - to help me think up their vocabulary and attitudes and such.))

Edited June 15, 2012 by Feather Spiral

[Luriel Maelstrom 253]

Does your ELIT Agents have a play room? I wub wub WUB to play

Does it have mares in there that are attractive?

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

 

 

Figurehead: Playroom? (looks at the others)

 

Feather: Uh, I don't follow. Do you mean, as in nurseries or daycare centers, or an arcade room, or what?

 

Sundown: Well, our buffalo friend here (Oldscroll grins, uneasy about the attention) has a chessboard and other tabletop games in Archives. He and Echo sometimes play together, when there's nothing else to do. And Shaun, our tech support agent, has a couple of game consoles in her office, hidden inside the wall when she's busy.

 

Pro-Tech: Yeah, I like to play when there's nothing that needs fixing or tweaking. Sometimes Viscra joins me for PVP or co-op. I even played with princess Luna once!

 

Viscra: Ooooh, I remember! (bounces and bucks) Luna wanted to listen to my mixes during gameplay (trots in place) OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH THE PRINCESS WANTED MY MUSIC AND SHE ENJOYED THE SESSION AND GAME AND MUSIC YEEEEEEEE-

 

Duck: Ah, yes, one of the most memorable visits from the princess, that it was. Reminds me of that one time when I was a little colt, I was visiting San Flanksisco with my parents Rubber Bent and Rubber Coatin. Everypony was preparing for a big occasion even though there was no holiday...

 

Echo: Oh yeah, that's the time when princess Celestia came there, right?

 

Duck: Yes! Have I told y-

 

Echo: (smiling) A dozen times, Ducky.

 

Duck: ...oh. (chuckle)

 

 

 

((As for the mares... depends on what you find attractive LOL.)

(Goggle is too nosy and can't let a stallion have his secrets, and Echo is fine if you like clever mares. Figurehead if you prefer tough, but not for long-term cuz she's too serious and uptight - she was married and divorced five times. Pro-Tech if you're a gamer and wanna try dating a donkey, and Anna if you don't mind dragons. The remaining two, Sundown and Viscra, are already in a couple I'm afraid.))

Edited June 16, 2012 by Feather Spiral

[Luriel Maelstrom 253]

Daddy, if you and mommy would leave for a night and I would stay home alone...who of your agents would take care of me? *puppy eyes*

Just be gently when I get to bed

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

 

 

Feather: Oh, sonny... (everyone stares at him)

 

Viscra: Aww... Don't worry sweetheart, mommy only works during daytime! (everyone stares at him/her)

 

Feather: We don't work in the office at night. See, only field agents get to stay overnight, and only to wait for things expected to happen.

 

Goggle: (clears throat and frowns) Well, there are times when we return to the office at night. If there's evidence to be processed urgently, for example.

 

Echo: (duckface) Yeah... (nods) But that sort of thing usually doesn't take long, so there's no need for entertainment.

 

Sundown: (grinning) And even if there is... they can just listen to the previous days' mixes!

 

Oldscroll: Still... I'm a bit, um... saddened by this. Also I, ah... I never knew you had a son, Feathers! Or Vissy, for that matter...

 

Duck: He only told me, when the colt -Luriel, right?- was assaulted by the Gravemind. (gasps from Goggle, Echo, Drakehart, Sundown, and Bailey; Anna and Oldscroll's eyes widen)

 

Figurehead: (frowns) You have a son, Spiral and Maelstrom? And he was one of Gravemind's victims?

 

Feather: (looks down at the floor) Y-yeah, Boss. (sigh) He was. But you know, we hadn't yet opened a case on it, so...

 

Figurehead: Oldscroll... (looking at him, who winces because he knows what's coming) Did agent Spiral or Maelstrom ever request access to the Archives before we started work on the Gravemind? (no answer)

 

Viscra: (stands close to Feather) If you're gonna have a talk with Fissy, then I'm coming too!

 

Figurehead: Yeah, agent Maelstrom, that would be a clever idea. I'm gonna have a talk with both of you. (the three of them leave)

 

Sundown: Oh, um... (grins) Don't worry. Figurehead might be physically tough and bossy, but... when it comes to family, she's extremely understanding!

 

 

Edited June 16, 2012 by Feather Spiral

[Lunatic 1,186]

is it common for criminals to hide in clouds?

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

 

 

Echo: I don't believe we've seen that yet, at least not during our own investigations. But it wouldn't be the strangest hiding spot for a suspect!

 

Duck: Ah, yes. I remember a case where... ah, this is relevant, right? (the others nod) ...we were seeking a metamorph during Nightmare Night. You'll never guess where we found him... in a pile of giant rocks from a recent avalanche, on the mountainside! (chuckle)

 

Goggle: We found him thanks to Echo's lifeform-locating spells, I think?

 

Echo: (raises head) Yep, Mental Radar. One of my personal combos!

 

Goggle: But I think a lot of winged beings tend to hide in the clouds, from pegasi to griffins and phoenixes. They're not necessarily criminals, either; they can just be running from annoying people!

 

 

((Heh, this was a short one.))

Edited June 17, 2012 by Feather Spiral

[Luriel Maelstrom 253]

So does it mean that Sundown could take care of me? *stretches out hooves* :3

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

((I have to make a choice here, for continuity reasons: either make it real-time (one day in reality = one day in the ask thread) or in RP style (time is suspended when nobody's posting). I'm arbitrarily choosing the latter, since you guys are responding to my posts as in a real conversation.))

 

 

 

Sundown: Oh, I'm unfortunately not allowed to leave the agency during an investigation, and must stay in my office to take any calls. There's a lot of communication going on, since Figurehead must stay in touch with all agents on duty - especially the secretary, aka me!

 

Drakehart: *facehoofs* I don't believe this. Does he even remember the Boss leaving with both his-

 

Sundown: Relax, Drake. *shakes head and smiles* I said she would understand, so it's okay. I mean, yeah, Figurehead had five ex-husbands one of which tried to kill her but... she has a family, too!

 

Echo: She's right, you know. Besides, it's not like Figurehead's gonna fire an Element of Exploration! *wink* We are just too unique to be kicked out over something like this.

 

Shaun: Modest as always, agent Logic?

 

Echo: *grins proudly* Just stating the facts, and staying true to my last name that you just mentioned.

 

*long silence*

 

Shaun: *ahem* Anyway, if you ever feel lonely, you could come over here and... maybe play a video game with me? Or if you prefer board games, you could ask Oldscroll!

 

Sundown: Yes. but as I've said, we have no reason to call Viscra for an overnighter, so you won't spend any nights alone! *raises a hoof* That being said, in case you wanna see or speak to your dad... you could always ask your mother to bring you here, and we'll see what we can do!

 

Goggle: Speaking of, it's been quite some time since Figurehead left with the two of them...

 

Duck: ...I'll check in on them. *trots away* Though I highly doubt my medical expertise will be needed. *stops at the door* Also... I'm wondering why she didn't invite me as well, knowing I was involved. *leaves*

 

Bailey: *mumbles inaudibly* Probably because she didn't wanna hear one of your endless anecdotes...

 

 

[Luriel Maelstrom 253]

VIDEO GAMES?!?!? Oh we'll do this on video, and get money. If ya know what I mean *wink wink* I love video games! Put I can't play them...I can't hold the controller with my hooves...it's too hard.

Also I just though I'd let you know something about me so you wouldn't ask later.

1. I was turned into a mare a lot of times

2. I can easily get to Canterlot castle because of Nr.3

3. I am friends with Princess Luna

3.5 I did things with her

4. If you're looking for me at night, you better give up, because I'm stealthly and hardly to get found *squee*

5. I can get out of controll for having sugar, which is silly don't you think? *drinks soda* ...

*flying around ELIT Agents Head-Quaters* I'LL NEVER STOP!!!

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

 

 

Sundown: Oh, that's okay. Agent Shaun, our gamer, is a donkey you know! She uses controllers that are perfectly useable with hooves.

 

Echo: (dryly) Oh, so THAT'S what our aura-magic-IR-EM hybrid sensors have been picking up all these nights. (shakes head) Just some weirdo on a sugar high who thinks he's close friends with the Princess and can hide from anything and everything!

 

Goggle: (O.O) That is... interesting, to say the least. (turning to Shaun) Hey Pro, could you show me the AMIE anomalies in our nocturnal records, starting with last night's?

 

Shaun: ...Right. (trots away, followed by Goggle and Echo)

 

Bailey: (frowns) I'll join you. If this can pose a threat for us, I need to be ready... (follows Echo and Goggle out)

 

Oldscroll: W- WHAT? B- But-

 

Anna: Hold on... he's Feather's son! And Viscra's, too, for that matter...

 

Drakehart: Family or not, we still need to make sure. (looks sideways) Besides, he could be a Changeling, or worse.

 

Sundown: And our only agent capable of detecting a changeling's "odd" behavior-

 

Anna: (nods) ...is a first-degree family member, therefore susceptible to strong emotional bias. I know. (groans while Oldscroll makes a duckface) I hate it when this happens.

 

(awkward silence between Sundown, Shaun, Oldscroll, Drakehart, and Anna)

 

Anna: Oh, look!

 

(Figurehead returns with a serious but neutral face, Duck looking grave beside him, followed by Feather and Viscra without expression)

 

Duck: Well, it appears Sundown was correct about our team leader being understanding. (Figurehead doesn't react to this)

 

Feather: (inhales deeply and sighs, then realizes four agents are gone) What'd we miss? (the others exchange stares, he squints)

 

Drakehart: Something... big.

 

 

 

((My son doing things with the agency founder... THAT'S interesting alright.))

 

(I see you guys are bored... commercial break, mayhaps?)

 

(field agents except Drakehart are gathered in a warehouse, when gunshots are heard)

(they rush outside to see Drake sprawled on the ground, next to a mean-looking unicorn also wounded and down with a rifle next to her)

Drakehart: (trying to get up, claws pressed against his chest) I managed (grunt) to neutralize the (groan) the suspect, but...

(he takes his claws off his bleeding chest, the other agents gasp while Duck rushes to treat him)

Goggle: (shocked) Drakehart... your beautiful, shiny plumage is ruined! Whatever shall we do?

Figurehead: He should try... (takes out a blue bottle and shows it to the screen) ...the new Mane&Shoulders!

(everyone looks amazed; next scene shows Drakehard in the shower, pouring shampoo into his bird foot then stroking his chest with it)

Figurehead (off): With its revised formula, Mane&Shoulders: Special Agent is effective even in cold water, and can remove any stain, even blood! Furthermore, it does not harm the most sensitive skins, feathers and coats!

Duck: (admires while Drake proudly parades around the agency) Side effects include dizziness, "accidental" reopening of scars, tingling sensation around the nether parts, occasionally suicidal throughts from the depressing fumes. But listen at how detached and confident I am while enouncing them!

Goggle: (looking at the chest plumage) Wow, Drake... your new girlfriend sure looks fabulous!

Drakehart: Hah, you wish! You just saw your reflection in my shiny plumage... (pulls out a red bottle) You, too, can have a mirror for a coat! (Goggle grins in amazement and grabs the bottle in her hoof to read the label)

(with an empty background, two shampoo bottles are put down in front of the camera, one red and the other blue, each held between Goggle's hoof and Drake's bird foot)

Figurehead (off): Mane&Shoulders Special Agent, for mares and stallions who understand quality.

Figurehead, Drakehart and Goggle: (leaning towards the camera together with their shiny manes, coats and plumage) Because we're worth it!

 

 

Request lockage because lack of interest.

Thank you all so much for knowing the difference between "asking questions for fun" and "asking questions to inspire a writer in need of motivation". I now understand what Viscra meant when he was talking about belonging to a community or not. gg

Edited July 7, 2012 by Feather Spiral