Zebra Odumase Ikefuna [READY]

[Dio]

Odumase Ikefuna

Machines have a nature, much like our own. They respond to proper treatment and careful nurture, just like a foal would a parent.

RP Type: Canterlot Chronicles

Name: Odumase Ikefuna. Prefers “Odu.”

Gender: Male

Age: Stallion

Species: Zebra

Coat Color: Grey with auburn stripes. Generally covered with a fine layer of pulverized metal dust and grease. Often has goggle marks from where he wears his safety goggles.

Mane/Tail Color & Style: Mane is alternating bands of auburn and black.

Eye Color: Brown

Physique: Burly. Odu is well-built, being both strong and very tough. Most find his brawniness to be very intimidating.

Residence: Born in Unyasi, just outside Boma. Currently residing in Stalliongrad.

Occupation: Airship engineer.

Cutie Mark: Stylized planetary gear set with 3 planet gears and an annular gear.

Unique Traits: Odu is an engineering prodigy. Engine mechanics, aetherfluid plumbing, aether-reactive gas chamber tuning; if it has something to do with the function of a high-performance airship, Odu is keenly in tune with how it should work and when it’s not working the way it should be. It could be said that his special talent is “machine sense.”

Character History

Having inhabited the Boma area since before the great drought, the Ikefunas can best be described as stubborn. The family remained in the city throughout the dust storms, raising crops in shelters, clearing out sand and broken down buildings, and helping to maintain the structures that were still habitable. When the rest of the Zebras decided to disperse, the Ikefunas stayed. Thus the concept of tenacity was firmly etched into the Ikefunas’ family tradition.

Odu was born the son of a construction foreman, specifically one who was in charge of maintaining the citadel and completing additions that had been approved by the city council. His father was a stern, humorless zebra, instilling unshakable work ethic in his children and making him the shining example of hard work and dedication in the community. Knowing the attitude of his father, Odu followed the straight and narrow path and seemed destined to become a construction worker as well. He followed his father into the workforce and often worked with him on the citadel additions. Odu showed a knack for the use of tools, though at times he could be heard cursing the fact that he had hooves instead of unicorn magic or griffon claws.

This all came to a head one day when he was tasked with installing a set of reinforcement pylons on the windward side of the citadel. The reinforcement pylons were to be set in the ground and anchored into the earthworks by way of a metal plate bolted onto the pylon. While manhandling the pylons and plates into place was no big deal for a team of strong zebras, it was a nightmare to fix the bolts into place with only basic tools. An administrative oversight had resulted in replacements being several weeks out with the wet season on the horizon. If they did not finish the shoring up, the earthworks ran the risk of collapse!

Odu thought long and hard about how to approach the problem. The other workers on his team followed his father’s orders and began mounting the bolts one at a time, hoping their hard work would outpace the incoming storms. Some even dared to call Odu lazy for choosing to tinker with his tools instead of brute forcing the problem. However, Odu disregarded them and continued to experiment until finally, he came up with a solution. Using spare parts and the manual wrenches they were given, Odu built a crank-powered bolt driver that could install and tighten the bolts in record time with just proper positioning and a few cranks by the user. As he used the improved tool to drive bolts, he continuously tuned it and perfected its workings until he was completing his tasks at record speed. With a couple of these tools built, his crew was able to finish the reinforcements ahead of schedule.

When his father came to review their work, he was shocked to find the crew sitting around making idle chatter. The elder Ikefuna was angry at first, thinking his son’s crew to be lazy, but after they pointed out their accomplishment, his attitude softened. The work was actually done well and the workers were happy with their assignment. When he went to find his son, he found more than that; his son’s cutie mark, which represented Odu’s ability to build and tune machinery to perfection.

It was soon discovered that Odu’s mechanical aptitude extended to other devices as well: factory traction engines, lighting louvres over skylights, and finally griffon airship engines.

His discovery of the latter drove him to board an airship and depart for Clawifax. In Clawifax, he attended a trade school where he learned the inner workings of the ships he had come to love. Eventually, he made the decision to leave Unyasi altogether. Though his father disapproved of this at first, he soon remembered how his son had earned his cutie mark and reluctantly gave his blessing.

Odu made his way to Stalliongrad by airship, where he works as a professional engineer.

Character Summary

If nothing else, Odu inherited his father’s work ethic. Despite his size his is no musclehead. Odu is studious to a fault and is constantly tinkering with his tools or his engines. While he is more of a hooves-on learner, he is not above reading manuals or supplemental material to better understand his line of work.

One thing Odu did not inherit was his father’s temper. Unlike the elder Ikefuna, Odu is level-headed and calm. His work ethic is not the result of a burning desire to complete the given task, but a cool determination to come to an understanding of the inner workings of his given job. It could be said that he is a gentle giant.

Odu does not speak much, though he can be counted upon to emote appropriately. Most of his “talking” comes from his facial expressions and his body language. Many say that he is an excellent listener.

Though Odu’s father gave his blessing to leave, Odu still feels that it was done grudgingly and out of a sense of helplessness rather than genuine joy for his son’s talents. Someday, he hopes to return home to Boma, bringing something that will prove that he was not just a wayward son.

[Armony]

How's this one coming along?

[Dio]

You caught me just as I posted an update

It's coming along, albeit slowly due to exams and such.

[Dio]

Done.

[SteelEagle]

Looks great, Dio.