Earth Pony Rappatat

[Frain Breeze]

Name: Dash Dot

Nickname: Rappatat (she usually goes by this)

Sex: Female

Age: Mare

Species: Earth Pony

Coat Color: White

Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Blond mane & tail. Her mane is braided, and she has a long tail that just touches the ground

Eye Color: Dark blue

Cutie Mark: The main portion of a signal lamp

Physique: Average build, but she has high stamina

Origin: Fillydelphia

Roleplay Type: Mane Roleplay

Occupation: Lighthouse attendant/signaler

Motivation: Wants to help others in need

Character Summary:

Born mute, Rappatat has had to make do with alternate means of communicating. She works at a lighthouse along the coast, and has become quite accustomed to sending messages in Horse Code, whether by the lighthouse lantern, or by tapping and scraping her hooves on the ground. Of course, not everypony understands Horse Code, so she tends to keep a pencil and paper with her. Rappatat is friendly and well-meaning, but her messages can occasionally seem rude. She doesn't intend to sound mean, but she has to keeps things short and to the point. Tapping things out in code can be tedious, even if it is your special talent. That said, if she does make an unmistakably hostile comment, she probably means it. However, Rappatat tends to be on the cautious side when in unfamiliar territory- You have to be, when you can't call for help.

An ordinary day at the lighthouse sees her simply maintaining the lamp. But when she spots a ship sinking, a lone swimmer in distress, or other dangers at sea, she will use the lamp to send messages to a local group of search & rescue pegasi and help to coordinate their efforts. During severe disasters, the pegasi rescue team may use the lighthouse as a makeshift home-base. Rappatat does what she can to help, and has become good friends with some of the team members. Rappatat has picked up a few pieces of medical know-how from the times the lighthouse served as base for the pegasi, but she can't be expected to do much beyond basic treatments.

Rappatat finds search & rescue jobs very rewarding, as she was on the opposite end of the situation as a filly. On a stormy day many years ago, Rappatat and her family found themselves on a damaged ship, unable to make it to shore and taking on water fast. Using just a mirror, the light of the setting sun, and her knowledge of horse code, Rappatat was able to signal to shore for help, gaining her cutie mark in the process.

Though she earned her cutie mark during a storm, she still finds them somewhat fearful. The rescue pegasi occasionally tell tales of what happens to the clouds that drift out to sea during the weather patrol's time off-duty, ending up well outside the patrol's flight range. Ship captain have reported seeing massive gatherings of clouds out at sea, far greater than anything heard of on land. Rappatat hopes that these are all just rumors, but it still makes her nervous. She has a few stashes of first aid supplies, weatherproofing materials, and repair items tucked away throughout the lighthouse, just in case.

Edited November 9, 2011 by Frain Breeze

[Pony_Sage]

Hay there Frian, I just wanted to stop by while this was still a WIP and give you a few pointers. I like where this pony is going, a mute pony that communicates via Morse Code is a pretty neat idea. As for her living arrangement if you take a look here and click on the map, it will give you a few good ideas of where she might be stationed, maybe Manehattan could fit her. I would like to point out that Dash Dot here shares some aspects in common with Rivet, a mute light-house keeper from Hoofington. While this isn't a bad thing, there might need to be a little divergence from one another, just so that there isn't a duplicate character. Great minds think alike I suppose! As for the Morse Code, I really wouldn't leave any of it untranslated, maybe stick the translation next to it in parenthesis, that way everyone knows what you are saying, but the other players will act as they don't know. I say this because while technically CW isn't another language, it is not readily understandable to multiple people. Or simply state that she taps something out on the floor but it is lost in translation. Unfortunately it would be very difficult for her to communicate reliably in this fashion, so keeping the pen and paper on her at all times would be a definite plus. Maybe Dash Dot here could even manage to purchase one of Rivet's older model portable type-writers off of her. I am sure that she has one laying around, and wouldn't mind parting with it too much! I hope these pointers help you out as you craft this character!

~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

[Frain Breeze]

Looking at Rivet's thread, I feel I can safely say they're going to be very different characters. Rappatat is going to be more into Coast Guard and search & rescue operations (with the aid of local pegasi). And yeah, the untranslated morse code thing was just a thought. If I ever feel the need to have characters' players be "in the dark", I could just stick the translations in spoilers or something.

Oh, and just a heads up: The picture in your thread for Rivet doesn't work.

[Pony_Sage]

Cool! As I said, I like the character and hope to see her in the RP soon! I wonder what would happen if Rivet and Dash Dot ever met. Thanks for the heads up by the by, but apparently other users can see it, maybe it is your browser blocking content or some such. Thank you again though for the help!!

~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

[RarityDash]

I'm honestly surprised that two different people would independently both have the idea for a mute lighthouse attendant pony... That just doesn't sound like a common character idea to me at all, so it's just really kind of amusing to see.

I'd also be interested to see what happened if the two ever met. They'd probably both be shocked...

[Frain Breeze]

^ Yeah, it's quite the coincidence. Until I clicked on the link, I was actually afraid somebody from Deviant Art might have stolen my character. Thankfully, that theory was disproven once I read the bio.

Back on topic, a small question: Does the origin have to be a location named in one of the maps here? There's nothing specifically wrong with any of those, I just worry about there being a dozen ponies all claiming the same lighthouse. I have an idea for a place called Coronet Point, if we're allowed to make up or suggest locations ("coronet" can refer to a crown or the top part of a hoof).