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Anatomy of a RP Character #2: Ingrid Marie


Bellosh

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[colour=#008080]INGRID MARIE: A COMMENTARY BY BELLOSH101[/colour]

As I said I would, I’m taking the week off from my RP spotlights to do another one of these personal introspective articles. Last month, I wrote a little something about my first original character, Spin Tale. This week, I’ll be yapping about my first ever Tier-3 character. So if you’re ready, climb on in and enjoy the ride!

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(Image vectored by ClairDeLaSoul)

Development Process: Before I begin, let me use this opportunity to brag about how awesome Tier-3s are. They’re basically like OCs in that they have no real pre-existing personality, but the RPer who apps them doesn’t have to go through the hard work of actually designing the character. Better yet, there’s usually no competition for these ponies. Lazy I know... but still. Like Grandfather Mojo, I’ve grown to enjoy apping Tier-3s throughout my time here.

Getting back to this article’s subject, the reason I wanted to app Ingrid Marie was simply because I wanted to portray one of those magic school examiners from "The Cutie Mark Chronicles". When it came time to decide which of the four proctors to app, I chose Ingrid because I liked her design and because of her cutie mark: a red apple. Normally, the explanation for a cutie mark like that would be how students always give apples to teachers... but what fun is there in making sense? Instead I opted for something bolder, envisioning her instead as a member of the far-strung Apple family. At first I feared the chance that the app would be rejected on the basis that Apple ponies are all supposed to be earth ponies; it was only after the fact when I discovered that an OC Apple unicorn already exists here..... go figure.

Because this was my first cast app and because of the high stakes I envisioned back then, I spent considerably more time writing Ingrid’s app than I did for Spin Tale. While I wrote a lot more as far as character history was concerned, the app was still wanting in the all-important personality fields. So once again, I ended up constructing most of her personality on the fly, as it were. How things played out, Ingrid is mostly a straightmare-character and mentor who every once in a while is prone to displays of bashful exhibitionism. In many respects, Counselor Marie acts as an amalgam of my grandmother and her sister, who while working in different occupations still fulfilled basic counseling and mentoring roles. As for Ingrid’s occasional “mmkay”, that’s a tribute to school counselor Mr. Mackey from South Park.

If there was one thing in my app for Ingrid Marie that I’d take back, it would be her conflict with her parents. I did my best to avoid the clichés surrounding jerk authority figures by giving Ingrid’s mum and dad a legitimate reason to have a disagreement with their daughter. However, the fact stands that unless someone can be bothered to app Ingrid’s parents, then this unpleasantness will never be resolved through RP. Lesson for everyone: the next time you think child-parent conflicts should play an important role in your next character app, keep this important thing in mind. In retrospect, it would have helped to place more thought into conjuring a long-term arc for Counselor Marie that could actually be played out through existing RP characters. The good news; there’s no time to dwell on such thoughts like the present!

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(Screencap from "The Cutie Mark Chronicles")

Apple Bloom’s Big Day: The first thread I inserted Ingrid Marie in, this was also my first time RPing with loads and loads of cast characters. I debuted Ingrid here instead of the Apple Family Reunion RP (may it rest in peace) kinda because I didn’t want my character to drown in a sea of other Apples right off the bat. At any rate, Abby’s Big Day has been a total blast so far; not a minute goes by where a calamity doesn’t happen. It was this thread where I learned that WoE RP is at its most memorable when you’re out inflicting comedic misery on both other characters and your own. A RP isn't as fun if it's only about calmly eating out, shopping, or et cetera. Seriously; the reason your RPs may be dying is because not enough hijinks are going on in it.

Nanny and the Professor: Another early thread for Ingrid, this RP was the point where I finally learned to stop caring about having my characters stick around just their home city. Additionally, we got to see Ingrid in a classroom environment for the first time teaching unicorn foals magic. Finally, this is the story where Ingrid meets Mojo’s clumsy Misty Magic for the first time; they’ll meet again in the thread below. This thread kinda stalled, but hopefully it'll become active once again.

The Magic Counselor Is In: The biggest reason I envisioned Ingrid Marie as a counselor and not a teacher is because simply put, I wanted to RP Ingrid on the job. Since there’s not a whole lot of apped magic student characters, I went with the counseling gig as she’ll always interact on a one-on-one basis with characters. Onto the RP itself; I believe this was the first RP thread I’ve ever created if I recall correctly. I have to thank both Lux and Mojo for really bringing this thread to life so far, and I sincerely hope other RPers will bring their gifted unicorn students here too to inflict magic-assisted disaster upon Ingrid’s office. Hopefully, Counselor Marie will do what she can to advise her pupils on how to manage their magic abilities.

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(Screencap from "The Cutie Mark Chronicles")

Fire Meets Fire: I’m not sure how much time Lux and Phil originally wanted to have their OCs Fire Heart and Spirit Flame (hence the RP's title) spend visiting Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but with their permission, this thread has really turned into a great worldbuilding RP with Ingrid as the tour guide. I really liked all the chances we got to envision all sorts of practical spells, magic tools, and enchantments. I'm particularly proud of how I described all the complicated processes behind magic teleportation (which unicorn OCs shouldn't do unless it's their special talent). Thanks to this thread, I can definitely see how Equestria could use unicorn magic in place of various modern-day tech like air conditioning and such.

Fun fact: I didn't learn until I started setting up the "dragon egg" scenario that magic student OCs in Mane RP are not supposed to take the egg hatching test. I had to put a lampshade on the whole thing so that I wouldn't look too silly.

The Magic Guild: Technically this RP hasn’t started yet, but Clair’s upcoming thread promises to be whole loads of fun for the entire (magic) family. As Ingrid’s getting on in years, she’ll take a back-seat in this thread to let younger guild members shine. Of course, she’ll play important roles both as a mentor and as an advocate for the guild. If you have anypony who’s interested in the magical arts (and not just unicorns), sign up your character for this RP today!

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That’s a wrap for today. Next week, I’ll be back with my usual spotlight article assuming everything goes to plan. If you’ve got a RP character here that you’d like for me to write about, give me a shout and we can arrange an interview. For now those, this is Bell signing off the rest of the year.

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