earth pony Slick Noir [Ready]

[RarityDash]

Name: Slick Noir

Gender: male

Age: middle-aged stallion

Species: earth pony

Eye colour: dark brown

Character colour: coat is dull, dark red. Usually wears a stylish gray suit and necktie.

Mane/Tail/Other: Mane is jet black, kept fairly short and always slicked back. He is never seen not wearing a gray fedora.

Physique: tall and thin, though not overly so.

Residence: Operates mostly out of Stalliongrad, though retains some presence in Beakbreak City.

Occupation: Professional Criminal

Cutie Mark: His cutie mark is the silhouette of a single rose, representing both his charm and his shady nature.

As a young colt, Slick spent much of his time loitering down at the Beakbreak downtown with colts a few years older than he was. Together, they went about seeking whatever mischief and thrills they could find, often scamming and stealing from the locals just to prove they could. It was an environment of constant one-upmanship and within the group, Slick wasn't taken very seriously. Due to his younger age and eager attitude, the other colts treated him usually as their flunky and often had them act as their fall guy.

Throughout it all, Slick remained undeterred, and in fact more determined than ever to prove himself to the others. So when one day the group was out gambling at the shipyard and one of the other colts spied a pretty filly a couple years older than he was disembark an airship, young Slick couldn't help but take the bet that he would be able to successfully win a kiss from the filly.

Goaded by the others who were sure of his failure, Slick considered his approach. He ultimately decided he was going to need to act older than he was. Nicking a fedora from a random passerby, he approached the filly and tried his best to woo her with cool confidence. As it were, the act proved successful, as the filly found the younger colt's show absolutely adorable. Taken by his affecting charm, when Slick went so far as to request a kiss, the filly giggled, smiled, adjusted his hat and then kissed him on the cheek. Satisfied with his success, his cutie mark appeared.

Unique Traits: Slick is an excellent actor and also inherently charismatic, which allows him a certain ease in convincing others of pretty much anything. With his silver tongue, he is good at catching others off guard and forcing any given situation to sway back to where he has the advantage. He excels at staying acutely aware of whatever the situation is down to the details and coming up with working solutions at the drop of a hat. A master of the bluff with a talent for disguise, his perhaps greatest skill is somehow always managing to prove slippery whenever things get dicey.

Though not exceptional physically, he could hold his own in an average brawl and is a sure shot with the revolver he carries. He also generally has little trouble finding underlings to work for him when the need arises.

History: Slick Noir was born in Beakbreak City to mother Licorice Gloss, a school teacher and father Splinter Burst, a shipbreaker. While he was still young, Slick's father was unfortunately lost in a work related accident, which lead to aggressive behavior in the colt and a general tendency to act out and make trouble. Blaming the life of hard but honest labor for what happened to his father, Slick very early on decided to reject the system and cut his own path, even if it meant breaking the law.

The young Slick started hanging out with a group of average delinquent colts, acting at first as their tag along lackey. As his wits developed sharply, however, he soon emerged as the leader of the crew, which under his leadership would only grow in size and ambition, as the one time ordinary delinquents took to more serious brands of thievery. As an older colt leading a pack of young stallions, he was dubbed Beakbreak's crime prodigy. His plans usually worked, and those who stuck with him seemed to profit.

Most of the cash he got his own hooves on was spent on a certain young mare he fancied. She was Nightmist, and he had known her since she was a filly getting off the airship from Manehattan, after her father had to move the family to Beakbreak for a new job at one of the factories. Nightmist herself was a singer of some talent; not good enough to back home to Manehattan and find much fame, but more than good enough to fill a downtown Beakbreak lounge to capacity with her rich voice and pretty face. Slick had been in love with her from first site, and so he visited the lounge regularly, buying her gifts and drinks.

Nightmist had some reservations about the nature of what Slick was known to be involved in, but his charm wasn't something she could resist very long. They became close and, before long, the young couple were blessed with a foal they named Starless Shroud. In those moments, with Nightmist and Starless, Slick considered turning in his criminal hat and going straight, but ultimately couldn't resist the temptation. As it were, that ended up costing him dearly. A jealous member of his gang he thought he could trust started to make hard advances on Nightmist, which lead to friction within the group. Feeling threatened in multiple ways, one day upon witnessing this other party's questionable behavior toward Nightmist, Slick instigated a brawl, which ultimately got out of hand as weapons were pulled. In the aftermath, though he had successfully proven his dominance in the gang, he was shocked to discover Nightmist had gotten caught up in the crossfire and would not survive.

Slick took it hard. He couldn't cope with what he had lost, the whole of Beakbreak City just reminding him of Nightmist and her voice. Despaired, the broken stallion left his Beakbreak gang and his young daughter behind and drifted from the city. Parting with Starless was not something he especially wanted to do, but he felt then she would be better without him and opted to leave her with his mother as he sought out a future elsewhere. The next few years were quiet for Slick, spent basically as a vagrant, not sure what to do with himself. It was only when he reached the city of Stalliongrad and found himself at the mercy of a random small time street gang that his previous passions were reignited. He realized then that he wanted control. He hadn't gone far enough in Beakbreak. He had been careless, not paid attention to the entire picture and it had cost him what was most important to him. He decided then and there that he would rise to the top in this new city, outdoing everything he had done before. Someday then, he'd be able to face his daughter again, proud of what he had accomplished.

He succeeded in convincing the street gang who had surrounded him to follow him, and rather than hassling a vagrant stallion that night, they ended up successfully picking off a department store. met with such success, Slick found his foothold in Stalliongrad quickly and soon became a player in the city's underground. His reputation as being an untouchable crime genius grew, until a failed attempt to grab the illustrious private gem collection hosted at Northern Storm Manor landed him in a Stalliongrad prison, where, according to the records at least, he remains to the day. However, being a master of the bluff and bribe who knows how to manipulate situations with ease, Slick Noir is a hard stallion to pin down and this is possibly not the full truth. His name isn't as widely known as other criminal bosses, but in the Stalliongrad underground those who are in the know are prone to whisper it.

Character Summary: Sick Noir is very intelligent, but not prone to show it. He tends to prefer playing the fool or the jokester. He has a tendency to act constantly like his guard is lowered even if it rarely truly is. He's acutely perceptive and adept at reading others when he needs. He is ultimately cunning, charismatic and shrewd, easily deducing what others want so he can manipulate them.

He's known to be rather cold and doesn't trust others very far; if he feels even remotely challenged by a subordinate, he will not hesitate to make an example of them or work them into the plan in such a way as they take the heat. Additionally, he's exceedingly gung-ho; confident in his ability to work any situation to his advantage, he often only plans so far and tends to rely on luck. He can also be described as arrogant, commanding and above all evasive, never choosing to answer questions with straight answers.

Slick is a stallion who enjoys a good time. He's a sucker for swinging music, gambling and nights spent drinking and being social. He has a certain fondness for attractive mares, of whom he has a tendency both to let his guard down around and get protective of, though because of his history refuses to get attached again. He also likes lounging about and taking long naps and is a stickler for stylish clothing, though he only ever chooses to dress in a worn gray suit and his lucky fedora. He enjoys riddles and secrets.

He dislikes authority and the overly morally upright. More than anything, he dislikes others prodding into his past. He's not overly fond of airships or traveling on them, preferring to move by train when he can instead. More than anything else, he dislikes being around people smarter than he is or who he can't predict easily.

When it comes to his daughter Starless, Slick can't help but keep watching from a distance, though they've only met a couple times since he left and neither was an especially positive exchange. He has more regret when it comes to her than practically anything, and regrets the path she's decided to follow. At the same time, he's at least partly proud of how far she's come and hopes someday he'll be able to face her openly.

[Pony_Sage]

Hello! I don't comment on much of anything really so this is rather rare. Honestly I just wanted to say, good job! I like this pony a whole heck of a lot. I think you accurately pinned down the feelings and the essence of what makes him who he is! Also I dig the 1930's gangster vibe to him. I can't wait to see him in action. Also, if you ever want a sort of moral cop to play against, as in a game of cat and mouse or some such, do not hesitate to give me a buzz! I think that Slick here would utterly loathe Captain Veracity and I think it would be fun to see them match wits! Anywho, good job I say, old chum!

~Sage

[RarityDash]

Hehe. That sounds like it could be a fun match! Thanks!

[Deadpool]

Soooo.....

If anyone needs me I'm gonna go whine that this app of a criminal was better than my App of a criminal

[SteelEagle]