moonshineTheleocat

The mare made a small nod in understanding to the stallion. Her eyes flitted over his form once more, inspecting him one final time before taking a step back and leaving it to the Prince to continue the conversation. The orientation will have to take place on another time. More specifically when the stallion looks more like a soldier after a visit to the quartermaster. "When we are finished here, I'll give you directions to the quartermaster with a requisition form. He will outfit you with a proper uniform and set of armor. Be that a simple gambeson barding, a breastplate and more. You will also be given your choice of one weapon of your preference, certain exotic weapons requires a certification for use. Of course if you have your own weapon, which my understanding is you do, you are allowed to use that."

Her attention turned to the Sphinx now. She... did not quite have the ability to speak her language. And she doubted she would do much better if she could. "Do not worry yourself about how well you can speak. I can piece things together as we talk. And perhaps I in turn will learn a thing or two about your native tongue."

The mare slowly raised a brow at the name of 'Tiger Blood'. That certainly did not sound like a typical pony name - most certainly not one belonging to an earth pony. The name sounded grim if anything. It was the sort of name that gives the impression to any sensible pony to grab a crossbow before they hear the damning phrase of 'Stand and Deliver'. And that would offer the mare some measure of both doubt and concern. However, if Blueblood had personally vouched for the stallions conduct by giving him an honored position, she will have to simply trust the stallion for now.

The mare turned around and gave the large sphinx a slow bow. "Greetings, Niilavin. My appologies that we had not time to meet before. Perhaps when business is taken care of, we shall find time to speak?" With that she turned that almost perpetually impassive gaze onto Tiger once more. This time, her eyes shifted over the males appearance to take him in as a whole.

There wasn't a lot she could tell that points to experience in the military. The male was far too relaxed. The posture lacked that stiff practiced regimen. And the details of the muscles she could see did not give her any clues to whether or not he had done the long march trainings that were standard. And so nothing could be immediately noted of endurance.

But she will give him credit.  The pony walked with enough grace to be said that he knows some sort of weapon, and likely had enough experience to back what ever training he had for such a confidence. 

Before speaking with the new recruit, she turned to her second and gave a nod, along with a very faint - hardly perceptible smile. "It is good to see you as well Dunder. I do agree that some changes are surprising... but perhaps not the same ones you are observing."

She turned her attention back onto Tiger Blood and gave him one finall look over. Then finally said. "Very well... If you were offered a position by my charge, then I will respect his decision and assume that you have managed to prove your capabilities. The job details being a member of the Prince's honor guard. You are expected to act with dignity, and protect him from the standard harms. Jostlers most likely. Occasionally a pie turned missile. And occasionally that also includes the need to take a knife to the face to protect your lord. The pay is meager - but always ontime. You will naturally have a roof over your head, and will not need to worry about a forced march outside of required PTs. Your uniform will be a standard issue chainmaile, padded barding, with plate. You may wear this uniform in any configuration as long as the plate is in the proper location, and the uniform is undamaged and modified. It can get hotter than tartarus, and colder than a night in Stygia - and you are expected to wear it while on duty."

"If this sounds fine to you, then we will go ahead and get to the paper work and necessary security clearances."

The harsh sounds of hooves signaled the presence of a new arrival long before the doors opened. And when they did open, they revealed a pegasus mare of cream coat, and a sunset mane. A thing more handsome, than she was delicate. And that would still be an understatement. In fact, there would be little doubt in truth to say that she was more amazonian or literal-mountain, than she was pony. She was several hooves broader than most stallions across the chest, and still-yet many hooves taller than the average pony placing her at a colossal height to keep her in proportions that describes a mare on first glance. As if nature realized that they must make some sense of the mare's structure. She was gifted with a skeleton work of solid muscle that rippled under the coat of fur with a casual lift of a leg, and faded when it rested. One might be wondering how a mare so massive could fly with comically tiny wings? Nature saw to that as well. She bore proportionally sized, but comparatively massive and muscled pinions. She would not be flying gracefully or quietly like most pegasus. Oh no, she'd beat the very air into submission and glide with the efficiency of an eagle.

Indeed, she certainly looked she was made of harder things than bone, meat, stone, and steel.

 The palace captain's uniform she wore still looked tight on her despite it being tailored to fit. And her mane was partly combed to the left. Partly worked into multiple ropes of braids with enough length to hang from her head, and those that were longer yet wrapped around her neck first once, the second twice, and the third - trice and left to hang down to her chest. Her face also seemed sculpted into stone. Not a permanent scowl like a hardened militant might have. But a strange mix of aloofness and attentiveness. And a buck to the face likely would leave it unchanged, and the poor sod who tried down two legs. And that would be assuming if she hadn't realized she has been kicked.
 
 There were also signs of recovering injuries. Medical tape that held wounds close together on her brow. Signs of shallow cuts on the cheek, snout, and neck visible only by the sight of uneven cuts in her otherwise carefully preened coat of fur. And bandage If rumors and descriptions were to be held true, and by the Star Burst cutie mark, this mare was no one else than the Captain of Bluebelle's Honor Guards. Star Crusader. A name befitting a mare who looked quite a lot like a fantasized-depiction of a paladin. And further rumors and speculation suggested that those wounds hadn't exactly slowed her down on her return from EPIC.
 
 Her gaze slowly drifted along the garden, taking in the sights before she got to moving. She moved with a catlike grace that belied her awareness of her size. She had no intentions of bulldozing and shoving her way through what ponies she came across. Though she could for some, she avoided stepping over ponies she past. Her eyes fell on the Sphinx with a hint of curiosity. This being the first time she had seen the creature, and fortunately she was informed about her ahead of time.
 
 Secondly her gaze fell on Tiger. She took in his appearance all together. Picking out details that might allude to his personality, and fitness for the Honor Guard.  but did not display a hint of an opinion. That was likely already handled by...
 
 ... the second. The mare paused and blinked when her eyes fell on the third pony. She recognized the outfit, sure enough. The mare would have been alien otherwise outside of the getup. Star Crusader blinked once, then twice, and continued on to Bluebelle.
 
 She paused and gave a bow to the mare, and did not speak till she rose. "I assume the stallion is the one you spoke of, my Prince?"

Sorry been blasting away at some code. Will look at it tonight.

Still have a reason then

1 hour ago, Kirby Krackle said:

So. That thread I'm making. I think I can squeeze in two more heroes. I know Pretzel is in and Bramble has no choice in the matter. Plus me is 3. 

 

So I can do 5, for those of you who don't mind the storyteller (me) jerking you around for the sake of drama and adventure. 

 

Bonus points if you can guess which JLA comic this will be based on. 

Given that Machina does owe quite a bit to his cousin, I wouldn't mind joining.

Sorry bout that, posted

Hey dusty, don't forget about your thread with heroes visiting Harbringer's home

Machina could do villain.

Nothing says villain like a good ole kick in the nads, and a concussion blaster to the face.

Would you like to start it? I'll be doing a mass posting when I get home.

@Dusty, did you still want to do the rp where Machina stops by HoT's house for a friendly visit?

Well, Machina is definitely involved. She voided his noninterference policy :3. He might have one of his drones follow her though, maybe she'll get a very literal friendly visit at her shop.

"Sooooo... This is where you cadoodled the pooch on your first night as a villain.... And uh.... Stay out of trouble! Oh... And how much to repair this helmet?"

I hope I played the blow well enough Dusty! For Machina's Canon... think of something like Samus's rounds from super metroid.

The stunlance was a less than lethal inspiration from Deus Ex, Human Revolutions. It's not sharp, but most of it's damage comes from the high voltage electricity. It can only cut if he purposely overloads it.

She's given enough tell for Machina to get out of the way... but she looks like she really needs that punch at this point :x.

That's then it'd be just three with that logic . Machina has a Non-interferance policy for the most part, unless he feels he needs to get involved. His primary concerned was platnum. Now he's being attacked  himself X3

Who's the half? Is there just a pair of legs running around?

Being called a Buck made Harbringer that mad? Dear lord, what sort of issues did she have in her childhood!? O.o

Depends on what his superiors think then XD. Just wait till you run into the same situation that Fable and Farcry 4 presented.

Two sides are at odds.

One wants freedom, and feels that he's enslaved by their superior.
The other is a dictator ruling with an iron fist, but does what he is doing because he knows full well that the other side will result to a fate much worse without him.

On first glance, you'd think the dictator is an evil jerk. But until you start hanging around the subjects, you start to realize where they'd be without him or with someone who was kinder.

You can't call either of them evil, and the karma is subjective :3.

Farcry 4's story was written knowing full well that the players wouldn't be paying too much attention to the story. And those that do would be like "Wait... hold on... WHAT!?" when they hear of either faction's plans closer to the end of the game. Even though ALL the clues were there ahead of time.

I suggest he carries around a looking glass to see how much his superiors want the guy punished, as they determine who gets what.

I'd love to get Machina involved. He'll mostly start off as an observer. Collecting data on both Villains and Heroes.

53 minutes ago, Pretzelpony said:

Approved

 

I'm working on the OP for the academy's opening as well as planning some lore for the AU. I'm hoping to get the academy opening thread before tomorrow or later during it.

 

Approved

Approved

Remember everyone that your own heroes' threads can be started anytime so long as they have this AU's tag on them! The academy opens threads will likely be open for any heroes willign to attend so long as they don't actively work against the institution. Associates for the academy are also allowed.

 

 

A bit of a powerhouse but like Leo said he seems a bit less likely to fine many plots on a low level. However, this isn't too much of a problem  I'm sure he'll be great against certain more powerful threats in the future! I also have a sneaking suspicion someone is excited for the World of warcraft expansion...

 

Approved.

I meant that it'll be incredibly difficult for his powers to be fully realized XD. In other words, he is literally the weakest hero so far... even against most villains, until he finds someone that meets his criteria. The only thing that he has going for him is super strength, and the stamina of an inkjet printer.

Collective karma means all of your actions that could be just things that varies greatly from view to view. If the person does something they genuinely believe is for the best, but it's at the inconvience of others, their karma would be negative, but they wouldn't be evil or wicked.

For someone to be evil or wicked, they'd pretty much need to be a psychopath, a sociopath, or knowingly do evil acts for the sake of evil, power, or some selfish gain.

So... Dr. Doom isn't really evil, he just has bad Karma. But Tirek, and Sombra are wicked to the core, because they do decisively evil things for personal gains with no one else in their best interest.

Ciraxis might have just created the most situational hero ever XD. In most cases he won't put out the hurting when you think about the difference between wickedness and collective karma. Even to villains:P

So... it looks like there are two entities that are looking to keep heroes and villains path of destruction in check.

Machina - Who mostly watches over fights and collateral damage in person. Operating mostly under the influence of the Academy and his own motivation.

And EPIC - Which is an unmanaged organization with some methods that are over the law.

Now we just need our own version of XCOM.

Also Dio; Machina will be keeping his eye on Morpheus.

So when do we kick this off?

18 hours ago, Dusty said:

 

(man, I hope I am not too late for this but dubstep told me you can use some Supervillains! So here's hoping I am not late to the party!)

 

 

 

Name: Ember Ashwing

 

Supervillain Name: Harbinger of Tartarus

 

I'm reminded of two face.

Super Hero/ Super Villain Name:  “Machina” And under certain circumstances “Deus ex Machina”

Alias: Java

Powers:

Machina does not have any sort of supernatural power, or at least one that he does not know of yet. Instead he employs the use of his wits, technology, and general earth pony advantages to make short work of the upcoming adversities.

Mechanized prosthetic legs: His primary set of gadgets, Machina’s bread and butter,  and the core of Java’s Machina persona. All four of his mechanical legs share similar functions. Each one equipped with a suitable version of a stun lance, a chargeable concussion canon, and talons.

Gadgets: Even hero’s with mechanical legs need some sort of back up plan. And Machina is quite capable of manufacturing them for the occasion or for other heroes.

Drones: Flying automated robots. Usually mimicking some sort of creature. When Machina is out in the field, he usually brings only three with him. These usually aid him in the supportive role that he often prefers to take. Often by creating barriers, acting as surveillance, medical protocols… etc etc.

Cyber suit: A powered body suit that acts as both the pony’s armor and his costume. The cyber suit only covers the barrel of the stallion’s body and his head, leaving the mechanized limps completely exposed. The suit features a helmet with integrated software, and a single thruster jetpack on the stallion’s back. Lining the back of the suit are also closed ports to allow him to interface correctly with his power armor.

The helmet’s software includes an AI assistant named AIDA, and a multi-functioned visor equipped with a targeting UI, and several information based protocols such as scanning, analytical enviorment lab, and database inquiries.

Project Deus: Project Deus is a modular power armor that Machina had developed with the all intents and purposes of creating an incredibly destructive force to be reckon with. His reasoning was to provide a fall back plan in the case of a dire emergency. Standing at twice the size of a pony, the armor does have a few flaws behind it, namely that once activated it begins to quickly degrade and fall apart as long as it’s active. The suit also has a safety mechanic that locks some of its functions away until certain conditions are met. The stallion quite literally can never find a reason to justify using it, so it just collects dust in the academy’s hangar.

Backstory: There was a stallion who never thought he’d get involved with the super hero crowd. He was more interested in keeping to himself and competing with his cousin’s lab through feats of engineering. The two cousins always tried to one up each other. But there was always a few rules to their battles of the brain. The most important one was that these creations must solve a problem. And the last creation made by Java would lead to the start of Machina.

After watching ponies of amazing feats and powers constantly save civilians, destroy cities, cause havoc. Or restore the order, something did dawn upon the pony. What would happen when an incredibly powerful hero goes rogue? Or mighty villains cropped up, but nothing could stop them? The simple solution was to create something that could be used in such emergencies that it’d keep them in check. And thus Project [Redacted] was created.

The device was created with pure power in mind. Very few limiters were added to it, and no expense was spared in it’s creation. But when it came to testing, the device performed beautifully… but was in capable of correctly shielding it’s power, thus irreparably damaging it’s pilot, Java, and destroyed his legs.

His cousin was the one that created a new set of legs for Java. And even though his exploits had backfired on him, it never quite damaged his optimism. Instead of being dismayed at the addition of prosthetics and some implants to his body, he just saw it as a new chapter and took on the persona of Machina. After making some quick modifications, he joined the Academy as a contributor. Doing so by using his position as a head engineer of Eclipse Aerospace Laboratories to craft and donate equipment for use by the students and officials.

Apperance: Earthy brown fur, and a darker brown hair to boot. The stallion really doesn’t have much speaking for him about his natural color pallet. His metallic limbs are a shade of a cool bluish gray with a stone like finish. The limbs affix themselves to the sockets of the original limbs and have small plates that climb up and over the shoulder plates and hips and end at the spine.

His Cyber Suit, which has the same cool blue-gray finish looks nearly mechanical in design while flushly fitting to the pony’s body. The fabric ends just under his jaw line, and runs down the barrel of his body to his flanks. But does not cover up his legs. Metal plates were attached to the suit, and were carefully milled in a functional design. Both to allow for ease of movement while providing ample protection, and to allow for small emitters to poke out of the armoring.

The back piece is a single flush chassy of metal that only goes a few inches past his shoulder blades, and holds a single thruster.

His helmet covers the majority of his head, but leaves his lower jaw uncovered. His eyes are shielded by a blueish-green visor.

Notable Allies:

Royal Platinum : It’s hard to explain the relationship between these two. Friendship wouldn’t probably be the best word to describe it, though it’s close. And the two’s motives are too different from one another for them to be true allies.

Notable Enemies: [Unknown]

General Notability:

Machina might often be mistaken as a sidekick, as he often prefers to stay in the back and fill a supportive role. Also acting as surveillance and recording information on both heroes and villains. However, he’s fully capable of handling himself when it comes to it.

The pony also has a massive number of tricks up his sleeve with just his standard equipment alone. Such as firing the cannon’s in his hooves to “Rocket Jump” off of solid surfaces or to increase the impact of his punches. And overcharging his stun lance to create an ionized sword.

While in combat or giving chase, his preferred method of transportation is using the thruster on his back. While not a full jet pack, it’s primary use is to allow Machina to power slide or skate his way to the finish.

Something I learned in my engineering classes... it's a little more than practice to do a circle freehanded.

To draw a circle, you'll want to hold the pencil perpendicular to the surface, and lock your wrist. Use your shoulder for the motion. Just do these a lot and make adjustments. Start slow, and get used to the feeling. Then speed it up. Muscle memory will eventually take over and you will have near perfect circles in no time. And yeah... being fast does make a difference. Especially if you have unsteady  hands.

To draw an ellipse... a circle in perspective. Same method. but you are pivoting on your elbow. Keep doing these at varying angles and watch which way your ellipses lean, and which ones are more perfect. You will need to learn how to turn the paper to adjust for that tilt. That is just a mechanical uniqueness to everyone's arms, and coordination. Example... I tend to need a 40-45 degree adjustment

if... accuracy does matter... or you are drawing something that is machined... you might just want to pick up some circle templates. They aren't cheap though...