Unicorn Rue

[Dessa]

Name: Rue

Sex: Female

Age: Filly

Species: Unicorn

Pelt Color: Periwinkle

Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Wavy grape, with a bold lilac streak

Eye Color: Blue

Cutie Mark: A Rue Flower

Physique: Soft

Origin: Canterlot

Roleplay Type: Main RP

Occupation: Part-timer seeking work.

Motivation: Surface: To have fun and be free. Srs Bsns: To seek redemption and to help others do the same.

Dear Diary fodder: Her path to improvement as a friend includes learning to let other ponies in, sacrifice for the sake

of friendship, "you can't tell a book by its cover," learning to accept help from others.

Likes: She loves foals, outcasts, experiencing new things

Dislikes: Snobs. Stiffs. Ponies who frontin'. Ponies who can't acknowledge their mistakes.

Character Summary:

The Hoofington Elementary Equinerer:

Local Pony Profiles: Rue

By News Flash

Hello Everypony! This is your school reporter News Flash with this weeks Local Pony Profile! We're looking at Hoofington's

mysterious newcomer: Rue! With rumors and speculation swirling here at Hoofington Elementary, we're digging up thez

TRUTH and delivering it to YOUR FRONT DOOR!

Rue, at first glance, is an intimidating figure. Small, but with a carefully cultivated "edge" maintainted to send a message: Dark eyeshadow, Red hoofpolish, and a carefully sloppy beheaded mane. When at peace, her movements are calm, her expressions detached, but when excited, I noticed she would become more animated in expression, and move with more deliberation. She has a disarming directness that sometimes borders on intrusive or rude, but I never felt that she was paticularly agressive without provocation.

Interview below the fold.

* * *

News Flash: Rue, it looks like you attended the prestigious Hoofvard academy in Canterlot. Tell us about that.

Rue: It sucked.

NF: Ah. Well... Okay then. Reports say that you were admitted on an academic scholarship? You must have shown some

aptitude then.

Rue: Yeah. But to the other kids, it just meant I wasn't admitted by the usual means: money or contacts.

NF: So you were an outsider?

Rue: Yeah. I was too cool for those spoiled rich brats.

NF: Huh, that's funny, because various accounts suggest otherwise. Your first grade teacher's meeting notes read "Rue seems eager, but unable to form friendships with her peers."

Rue: Hey! How did you get a hold of my records? What sort of school paper is this?

NF: Here at the Hoofington Equinerer, we believe in journalistic diligence. You just keep your answers honest, and we'll keep these records to ourselves, capiche?

Rue: Why you little! [Rue Sighs] Whatever. Yeah, I wasn't a popular kid, and I caught heck those first couple years. But it wasn't long before I found some friends. We had eachothers backs, and they taught me how to be tough. Still wouldn't call us popular, but at least the bullies had to think twice before they tangled with the Dark Horses.

NF: So you formed a gang?

Rue: A gang? That makes us sound like monsters. We called it a "social trust." We didn't need violence. We had a bad reputation, and that was usually enough.

NF: Usually enough?

Rue: Usually. Sometimes, somepony wouldn't get the message. We did what we had to do. Our pranks were legendary.

NF: Oh? I'd like to hear about that.

Rue: Yeah? Well, you'll get to experience one first hand if you get too cocky with those records.

NF: Well! Let's move on then! Uh, tell me about your family life.

Rue: What family life? Once dad got his break in Canterlot High Society, he was too busy for anypony, and mom was constantly involved in planning parties, managing the household, and schmoozing big wigs. I wasn't the sort of child that impressed those fancy types, and they were the sort of ponies that impressed me, so I kept to my bedroom a lot. I didn't really have any friends until I met the Dark Horses.

NF: You got into a lot of trouble, it would seem.

Rue: It was summer. We were bored.

NF: You got your cutie mark that summer.

Rue: Look, I'm warning you, kid.

NF: D-don't worry! We couldnt dig up any facts about 'the Incident at the Castle!

Rue I can't imagine you could! But I can tell you this much: I have never regretted anything as much as that. Which is how I got it.

NF: Your Cutie Mark. A Rue Flower. You got it for your regret?

Rue I've regretting things before, but always for the wrong reasons. This time, I had made a deliberate decision to do better. I apologized to the Viceroy, as sorry as I'd ever been, and that's when it appeared.

Now some kids get easy cutie marks. They fix a table and get a hammer on their hip. They go on to be happy little carpenters. I screwed up and got a flower on my flank, and I'm still not sure what to make of it.

A cutie mark is a major event, and it doesn't happen without a reason. The Viceroy understood this, and forgave me. Hoofvard did not.

NF: They expelled you.

Rue: [Rue Nods] Mom and Dad were livid. They sent me away to live with someone who would give me some "tough love": Auntie Hemlock.

NF: Oh my.

Rue [Rue Shrugs] It's no fur off my flank. I never needed them anyway. And Hoofington isn't full of snobs. I'm better off here.

NF: Still, I can't imagine that it was that eas-- [Rue interrupts me here]

Rue: That's enough questions. You've got enough for an article, kid.

NF: But --

Rue: No more questions.

* * *

After a calm and reasonable discussion, we agreed to end the interview here.

Cutie Mark:

Character Sketch:

Original arts ^

Clockwise's Rendition, 20% cooler ^^

[Dessa]

Question: I have the most experience writing in nonfiction styles, where succinct phrasing is praised, but I've seen elsewhere on the site that wordier styles work better for this sort of thing. Coming back on day 2 and reading the above, it's a bit dry, but it runs counter to my instinct to "fluff" it with adjectives. Also, with as many apps as the staff here processes, I definitely want to avoid making this longer unless necessary.

On the plus side, the text is at least descriptive enough to get the point across cleanly. I guess I'm saying I'm not sure where to proceed from here. This is my first forum RP character ever, and although I have the general expertise to develop style that works here, I don't feel like I'm there yet. So, any thoughts are definitely

I'll try to finish the first draft by tonight.

[BlindJester]

Still shocked to see you put up an app Dessa.

Anywho how is this app coming along?

[Dessa]

I plan on finishing within the next 3 days. The app anyway. Just wrapped up a big Chat RP that was consuming me, and I'm taking a break so I can actually complete this.

Yeah, I held out for a long time, huh?

The art, who knows. I'm screwing with that finicky perspective/anatomy issue. It's just a tiny bit off and it's driving me nuts.

Something like this maybe: That's along the right lines, anyway.

[zombiepony]

I like the difference in style in which we learn about this pony, but feel it still lacks some details about what kind of interests, likes and dislikes this pony has. We learn a lot about Rue's past and her motivations, but what does she actually do for fun? Or to cool off? Are her pranks mean spirited or innocent? Just some thoughts. News Flashes sources must be good. ;3

[Mojo]

I'm really rooting for you to get Rue approved, Dessa!

I look forward to RPing the story of how she becomes like a daughter to Starflower!

They even LOOK alike!

YAY!!!!

[Dessa]

I like the difference in style in which we learn about this pony, but feel it still lacks some details about what kind of interests, likes and dislikes this pony has. We learn a lot about Rue's past and her motivations, but what does she actually do for fun? Or to cool off? Are her pranks mean spirited or innocent? Just some thoughts. News Flashes sources must be good. ;3

I'll try to work something in, but I want to keep this piece short. I'm settling on the idea that short pieces with punch are better than wordy ones, and that I'm better at telling a story than I am at the art of prose itself.

[Dessa]

Okay, I'll call this finished unless somepony official asks for more. I prefer to leave some of the "color" open-ended. So things she does for fun, etc, are malleable when I need to create an RP. I have a solid sense of what she would and would not enjoy doing, but like Lauren Faust, I don't like to tie myself down with too many details.

The Art's not done, but it's good enough to get the picture. I'll keep updating that as I add more polish/fix the problems.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

[Skye]