Earth Pony Tinny Anaheim [Final]

[TenthSpeedWriter]

Yeah... Skippy is finally buckling down and writing an RP app.

I'll be honest: I haven't done much active para-style roleplaying since I was in high school, but I do look forward to getting back into it, if only casually. My schedule doesn't leave a lot of room save for in the evenings to sit down and write, but I do pride myself on the quality of my short prose and I hope to contribute meaningfully to the movement of plot and overall character development.

I have it marked as WIP until I can get some thoughts on it. If everything looks up to par with y'all, I'll go ahead and mark it as finished.

Name: "Tinny" Tinsworth Anaheim

Sex: Male

Age: Young adult

Species: Earth Pony

Pelt Color: Tan

Mane, Tail: Brown; mane trimmed short. Tends to wear a straw hat and a saddle blanket.

Eye color: Bluish gray (Even though the pony-maker app I used was being heinously uncooperative in that regard)

Physique: Lanky-legged, with a slight pot belly.

Cutie Mark: A banjo with a snapped string, burning like a fuse.

Origin: Tinny's family was one of those that went west with the Apple clan to help found the town of Appleloosa. The youngest of his brothers, he was only a colt when they made the move. The lush orchards and fields of the the fresh territory, not to mention the Apple family's hospitality, made it a fine place to come of age; but, sharing a single homestead with all his brothers could not last forever.

Poblano, the eldest of the Anaheim brothers, had married and was ready to bring his new bride back home; but, the homestead could hardly hold the both of them -and- a growing family, and there were only so many mouths that the family's fields could feed. What's more, with the new lines in the dirt drawn by the deals with the buffalo, good farming land was hard to come by; there was, however, another option: the land near Ponyville that the family had once tended was quite unoccupied. Despite seeing a few tenants over the seasons, it had never been sold.

It would only be a matter of time before the other brothers chose to plant roots as well; so, although it would mean a few years out on his own, Tinny offered to travel back himself and build onto the place. It was the Anaheim way to stick together, and making that space ready for his brothers to join him seemed like a fine thing to do. It would also mean a chance to get to know the folks of Ponyville; surely they'd not heard a good banjo pickin' since Grandpa Jalapa's day, he thought, and maybe he'd even take a few of Pa's potent ol' pepper seeds back with him.

RP Type: Mane RP

Occupation: Following up on family tradition, Tinny tills a few acres of his family's land about an hour or so from Ponyville, growing peppers of various sorts. Among them are the cayennes that he is known for drying and chewing on, as well as an old family breed of habanero from which he makes and sells his own "Anaheim Fire" hot sauce. He is also known to pass his time in Ponyville park, writing short rhymes and playing songs for tips.

While it isn't necessarily a money-making venture, he also works to clean up his fields and to build onto the old farmhouse where he lives, expecting that his siblings might not be too long from returning there as well.

Motivation: Tinny spends most of his free time playing folk songs and writing new ones to share. He enjoys playing with others, and seems to have a tune for most any occasion; while spice is his trade, his passion is in "makin' music that'll speak to folks."

Tinny generally makes a point of avoiding others' business when possible; he will not often invest himself in arguments, even those he may have a stake in, unless there is a specific reason' of course; however, on the rare incident when his temper is provoked, it burns hotter than any pepper his family has ever grown.

Hit: Writing rhymes and folk tunes; his banjo; hoedowns; peppers; cool spring showers.

Miss: Trouble makers; humid heat; working in the morning; being rushed; bell peppers.

Background:

Once, when Tinny was still barely more than a schoolcolt, he found himself in a bitter fight with his next oldest brother, Ancho. He had scolded Tinny cruelly for taking off early from plowing, and running out of sight yet again. The spat culimated when Ancho threatened to take the banjo that Tinny wasted so much time on, the one Grandpa Jalapa gave him, then smash it on the ground and use it for a shovel.

Instead of stepping down from his brother's frustration as he so often did, Tinny laid back his ears and bull-rushed past him, knocking Ancho off his feet and pushing his way into the house. With the elder colt still stunned, Tinny grabbed his instrument and took off into the planes past the apple orchards. He was gone for a full day and a half, longer than ever before, when Ancho gathered the nerve to explain to Pa what really happened.

A party took off from Appleloosa soon after to try and find him, and Ancho was at the front of it. He searched high and low through the heat of the day, but with no luck. The afternoon came, and he found himself sitting on the crest of a little hill, seeing neither hide nor hair of his little brother. The weight of what he had done started to settle with him, and he fought back a tear as he slumped his head.

As he sat there, though, something caught his ear: something on the wind, something plucking and twanging; something sharp and… tinny. Ancho shook his head - imagining things, he thought - but the sound was still there. Music, rolling through the gentle hills.

He took off to find the source of it. Eventually, that sound led to the edge of a little ravine, dug out by a long-dry creek. Down at the bottom sat Tinny himself, propped on a tree stump with a couple of pebbles for picks tied to his hoof, rattling out a hoedown tune; around him, there were a half dozen buffalo calves dancing along and grinning from ear to ear, none of them more than half his age. Ancho sat for a time before the edge of the slope, watching from behind until at last the song finished and the calves ran off towards their own village.

Tinny didn't turn around, but he knew he'd had an audience. "I didn' wanna hurt you none, brother. I'm sorry." Ancho walked up to him, irked.

"This is where you've been goin', Tin? Playin' dances for buffalos?"

"I ain't just been piddlin' around, you know. Buffalo folk work even harder 'an we do. Them calves have to scratch in the corn fields soon as they can walk. I just… I wanted to share somethin' with 'em, is all."

"An' you just ran off without tellin' us not a word?" Ancho's temper began to come back to him. "Just thought you'd knock me down and disappear?"

"This mattered, Ancho!" Tinny turned about with a shine of fire in his eyes. "Ain't Pa always told us, when what matters matters, y' gotta stand up an' fight for it!?"

In all his life, Ancho had never seen him take on anything resembling an attitude; yet, now, his little brother stood up with his ears tensed back and stared him in the eye. "Well, this mattered to me. Them young'uns work harder an' we do all day long, an' what fun do they ever get t' have? Now, I'm sorry t' have left my piddly quarter acre for you an' Poblano t' till, but I want you to look at me. You see clear as day, I ain't got the shoulders for diggin' that y'all got, an' y'know I ain't near as good at pickin' as Pa or Cascabel, an' I ain't near as good in the kitchen as Ma or uncle Aji, but dadgummit, you know what? I can play."

Tinny held up the hoof with his makeshift picks still tied around it. Ancho was red in the face, but was lost for words.

"I can strum a banjo and I can sing a tune, and I can make a buncha kids that ain't got nothin' else to do but dig holes an' chase crows happier than they've ever been, and doggone it, if that's what I was put here to do, I'm gonna do it. Now I don't like fightin' brother, but you sure as as hay ain't keepin' me from it!"

The two locked eyes in silence for a long while after. Ancho searched desperately for something to lash out with, but couldn't find a thing. Eventually, when the fire between them seemed like it was about to roast them both, Tinny took a single step back.

"Like I said, brother. I didn' want t' hurt you, an' I didn' mean to."

Ancho shook his head, partly in resignation. He had nothing left to say. "You didn'... you didn't hurt me none. Just…" he sighed, and put a hoof on Tinny's shoulder. "Don't ever scare me like that again, or I'll run your bony flank down so hard..."

Pa gave the both of them a fierce tongue lashing the minute the search posse came back together, but he was every bit as happy to see that his youngest was safe and well, and that the two had made made amends. Tinny too, was pleasantly surprised that evening; when he finally shrugged off his harness and saddlebags back at the farm, there was a certain long-awaited mark on his flank: a banjo with a snapped string, the end of which burned like a fuse -- he had found his gift, and it turns out there was a dash of the old Anaheim Fire in him after all.

[TenthSpeedWriter]

AH-HA!

I figured out what it was missing: Just a dash more character flaw.

Should be more interesting now. : }

[BlindJester]

This is a great start but it seems you are missing a few things.

Such as the character summary most of the stuff under Motivation seems like it could be added to his character summary.

It would also be great if you could add a cutie-mark story and what happened to his brothers and parents.

And what made him move away from Appleloosa if it was such a great town.

Also I'm not completely sure about him being involved with the Apple clan since technically that would count as a prior relation to cast members and that isn't allowed. Why does he enjoy banjo? Are there any other hobbies he enjoys?

Just a little bit of brain candy for you. Also what is a tan green colour? o-O

[TenthSpeedWriter]

Also I'm not completely sure about him being involved with the Apple clan since technically that would count as a prior relation to cast members and that isn't allowed.

To what extent and in what context is this generally enforced?

The way I had envisioned it, the only prior relationships would be with characters specifically from that locale -- bar pre-planned roleplaying plots -- and would be at most casual acquaintanceship.

Just a little bit of brain candy for you. Also what is a tan green colour? o-O

No, really, I'm colorblind. Help me out here. .-.

[BlindJester]

It looks like your pony is just tan and has a green cape on him.

Everything else is fine.

[brianblackberry]

To what extent and in what context is this generally enforced?

The way I had envisioned it, the only prior relationships would be with characters specifically from that locale -- bar pre-planned roleplaying plots -- and would be at most casual acquaintanceship.

As long as it isn't the OC in the application having an established personal relationship with any specific cast character prior to the RP, it should be alright. I see nothing wrong with him and his family being part of the wave of settlers coming to establish Appleoosa as part of his back story.

No, really, I'm colorblind. Help me out here. .-.

His hat and cape are green, his tale is an olive green, almost brown. His pelt is light goldenrod and his fetlocks are brown.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

How is this application going?

[TenthSpeedWriter]

How is this application going?

I'm working on a longer background section at the minute. Hopefully it'll fill in the holes that exist now.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

How is this application coming along?

[MyLittlePonyTales]

If a comment is not made saying you would like to keep this application, it will be locked for deletion in 3 days.

[TenthSpeedWriter]

Updated: Now with 20% more background plot.

[TenthSpeedWriter]

Alrightey... there's a little more detail there.

I'm gonna leave it up as WIP for a bit and ask for some proofing from y'all, but if nobody has any issue, I'll likely make this a final draft.

[brianblackberry]

I am really enjoying your bango playing pepper farmer.

For Great Justice!

[Skye]