Unicorn Tabaret Twist

[Mutt]

[ Pony Related Character ]

Name: Tabaret Twist

Gender: Male

Age: Foal, just had a birthday! Going on colt.

Species: Unicorn Pony

Pelt Color: White Onyx, layered up his body in slightly varying tones.

Mane/Tail Color & Style: Full back mane, mane and tail both shaggy, but of excellent quality. Not splits, high volume, high sheen. A deep Star of Bombay blue, with occasional hints of darker tones. (Un-dyed)

Eye Color: Bluegreen. (On close inspection, seems like an opal. Green and blue with flecks of yellow and black, and small pockets of red fire. Gemstone terms! )

Cutie Mark: A pleat of satin doused with loose colorful gemstones.

Physique: Androgynous

Residence: Canterlot

Occupation: None Yet

Motivation: The pursuit of pretty things, beauty even. He loves them all. Fabrics, jewels, colorful drinks, rainbows, pretty ponies. Even a clear sky inspires him to a degree.

Likes: All things pretty, sports, ballroom dancing, a soft spring rain.

Dislikes: High winds, chipped hooves, and pickles.

Character Summary: This unicorn was born the son of a bartender with great skill in fruit drinks and blended shakes. (No salt, no alcohol here. Not all bartenders serve such things y'know!), Mr. Mixer and a seamstress very proficient in making clothing for the general market, Mrs. Godet. Neither could agree on a name for him. Each wanted him to follow in their hoof-prints, and wanted to give him a particular name in the hopes that it would spur him on into their profession. Eventually they came to a compromise, and name him Tabaret Twist.

A very outgoing and energetic child, he quickly made them proud. He showed intense interest in each of their professions, learning all he could as a young foal, in between classes and other activities at least. A vibrant and intelligent child, his tastes were wide and varying from the very beginning. His mother noticed he exhibited some very unorthodox plans for designs in fabrics and stitching, and while they weren't tried and true, they were nonetheless.. interesting. His father, noticed that his palate was excellent, though quirky. He was a fan of flavor combination no pony in their right mind would suggest, like avocado, pepper and mango. Even so, some of his ideas were downright BAD, and though he was quickly made aware of it, he still liked them.

As he grew older, his desires began to define themselves, and though he dearly loved his parent's professions, he found that this was not the driving force between his desire to learn about them, instead, his exploration into them was based almost on novelty, he held the idea of fanciness and beauty to a high regard, so much so it was much of the driving force in his life. Slowly, he began to distance himself from his male friends in favor of spending time with the girls. He knew why, of course, the boys were athletic, loud, and very fun, but the girls had something the boys didn't. Pretty things. Dolls, dresses, quiet parties. He loved pretty things, they enamored him, and he enjoyed nothing more than trotting bouncily over to a friend's to put on fancy hats and drink sweet dandelion tea.

He still participated in sports, bug hunting and other favored pastimes of the male demographic, but none were as fulfilling as the pursuit of beauty, refined or not. As he continued to study, and grew more in tune with his desires, he came to the realization that pretty is what he wanted to do with his life, he'd been doing it every day, pursuing the ideal, learning and expanding his tastes. Even in the bug hunts he wouldn't go for the biggest bugs, or the slimiest, he would collect butterflies and iridescent beetles. It didn't matter if it were fabrics, or drinks, or jewels! He just wanted to be part of it! He wanted beauty to be his life. The day he decided this, turned out to be stressful, one of his schoolmates had chastised him for showing too much interest in another pony's doll, causing him great embarrassment. It simmered in him all day long, making him furious. He probably shouldn't have argued that it was pretty enough to warrant his interest, but it was true! It just got him laughed at. Things turned a bit downhill after that, he would occasionally be teased about his interests, and he began to doubt himself. Really doubt himself. Maybe he should find something else in life to make him happy?

Time passed, and, on his way home from school on a quiet spring day, his mixed feelings twirling in his body, heart aching. A soft rain picked up. The sound, the glorious sound sent shivers down his spine. He looked up to the sky, listening to the music of nature and letting it fill his being. The water, sailing through the sky, bouncing against itself and twirling in some vast, incomprehensible dance. Light from the late day sun shifting and bouncing through them, more beautiful than any gemstone. Each splash unique, tiny indecipherable patterns scattering with each landing. The leaves dipping as the water rolled over the branches, in a hurry to reach the ground. Even the worms, rolling on the surface in a dance of joyful confusion!

A world of wonderment opened before him, his perception had expanded No longer did he have to LOOK to find what was pretty, he could see it was all around him! He could see beauty in most everything, even the stone beneath his feet. He was once again assured, who cares what anyone else says, or thinks? He wanted this, this ideal to be his life. He wanted to embrace it and promote it. Share it with the world, he paused, momentarily, and looked back, seeing on his flank a peculiar marking that had never been there before. It took him a moment to focus on it.

Overjoyed, Tabaret raced home as quickly as he could, and proudly told his parent about his motivation, his talent for seeing and loving the beauty in things, his steadfast belief in it. They were overjoyed, but as time wore on, it became apparent that he was just a bit different than they had assumed. He began to ask his father how to make sweet, colorful drinks, and whenever his mother had a dress or a coat to make that was small enough, he would ask to model it for her instead of letting her use her dress dummy. More and more frequently, his interest began to skip wildly about a spectrum, from mud fighting to lace, back to climbing trees and again over to porcelain dolls. So many things, so strange. He didn't care, he knew what he wanted, it made him happy.

He was perfectly happy wearing suits as well as dresses, mixing strong drinks as well as soft drinks (fruit of course! no salt in these). Never a confusion, never a doubt. His parents tried their best to be supportive, but were at a loss as to how to encourage him. They were glad he had such interest in the family professions. With his Seventh birthday coming up, they could not decide what to get him. It was an incredibly difficult decision. Do they take him out to party with his friends and let him wear whatever he wants, or do they have a quiet party at home? Do they buy him a book on fashion, drinks, or jewelry? Torn, they decide to allow him to choose what to do on his birthday, whatever the consequences may be. They will be behind him to support his decisions.

[WillowWisp]

He seems to have a lot of adult interests for only being a foal. Granted one parent is a bartender, but I doubt they would teach such a young child to mix drinks. His history also seems way too... how do I say, not long, but a lot seems to have happened to him in just 8 years. Most likely until the age of five he wouldn't remember much, since you're using a human analog to age him. So that means that in three years he's gone through all this self discovery, it's a bit of a stretch. As for the Cutie Mark, I'm not sure I understand how he got it. Just because he realized he liked pretty things? As we've seen in the show, usually an action goes along with getting a Cutie Mark, not just liking something.

I think this app needs a bit of reworking before it'll be approval ready.

[Mutt]

Edited! Constructive Criticism (from multiple sources) was helpful. It turned out quite a bit better than it was before. Expounded upon his motivations, edited his physical details, redid his discovery, and added a disclaimer about the drinky mixy. Non-alcoholic drinks. No salt.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

I think he needs to be at least a Colt. You mention in the Character Summary, "As he grew older..." and "Time passed..." It seems that he's gained a lot of skills and interests. He's done so much in his life, it just feels like he should be older. I mean, human babies don't do a whole lot their first few years of their life, so I'd imagine neither do baby ponies. This doesn't leave a lot of time for him to have learned and practiced all that he knows.

I also don't think there's anything wrong with Taberet's father being a bartender and serving alcoholic drinks. That's just not something that a foal, or even a Colt, should be partaking in, since they can't even drink the drinks they mix. Getting inspiration from his father and mixing color/fruity/etc non-alcoholic is fine.

Again, about his Cutie Mark. Not sure what was in the application before Willow's comment, but I'm still not sure about the rain story. I'll wait for another opinion on that part.

[Mutt]

He's... close to being a colt, he's not like 'little little'. He's just young. Again. I'm going with the guidelines on the application structure, where foals are listed as to being up to 'ten'. He's not a baby, he's a child. Plenty of children have active lives. Everybody keeps pointing out that human children and human babies, but heck, horses can walk a few minutes after birth. In the show young ponies are shown to be very self sufficient.

The only real significant difference I've seen between the young ones and the standard cast is that the young ones always have someone looking after them. They have plenty of personality and plenty of interests. I'm just trying to a realistic portrayal of a person who's interest flit about under a wide canopy. I have not at any point stated proficiency in any of his interests, and I do not feel as though I have suggested he has a significant amount of knowledge in these areas. As for his father, it was never my intention for him to mix alcoholic drinks, as the only analogue to that I had seen in the show was salt.

On the subject on the cutie mark, devaluing experiences of self discovery by saying they can only come through actively doing something is, I feel, a bit limiting. Plenty of people can have insights into who they are through experiencing an environment or even sitting quietly and thinking? Why should looking for and pining over the beauty in things be treated as a less viable means for getting a cutie mark than, say, having a healthy appetite for sports?

[Skye]

Looking good. Approved!