Changes: Willow Streaks

Latest revision as of 18:56, 20 October 2018

Willow Streaks is a male pegasus pony. Although created for Personification Life ("PL"), his first usage was in the short lived "My Little Pony FIM Roleplay," which served as a practice run before he was eventually transferred to PL in IC Thread VIII. He was created and is played by Giovenith (the user).

A beatnik abstract artist from Equestria, Willow finds himself transported to the Building along with Sterling Venture via a botched teleportation spell. He becomes roommates with Giovenith (the character) and is initially solely focused on finding a way to return home, but soon comes to find a sense of belonging in the diverse community. Though he often comes across as cynical and pretentious, Willow demonstrates compassion for his friends and a strong moral compass that guides him through struggles and adventures.

Development

Willow Streaks' conception was prompted by a request to help introduce My Little Pony to Personification Life. His initial premise was to function as an artist whose approach and philosophy would contrast that of Giovenith's (the character). While Giovenith embodied the enthusiasm and quirkiness of the low art world, the new character would represent the rigor and exclusivity of the high art world. As such, he was initially written to be a considerably more two-dimensional character, an extremely pretentious pony whose main interactions with others would consist of being condescending them or becoming aggressive towards perceived disrespect toward or misunderstanding of his craft. After further reflection, more sympathetic traits such as loyalty to his friends and insecurity over his childhood were added in to balance out his stuck-up side.

While the term "beatnik" was unknown to his handler at the time, the basic concept of one (a dramatic, artistic person who wears black turtlenecks and berets) was still understood, and Willow was modeled on this stereotype. At the time, he took some inspiration from a minor character in D.J. MacHale's Morpheus Road trilogy:

"I turned quickly to see Tyler Frano, a student teacher in the art department. The guy was shorter than me by at least a foot... not quite Munchkin-like but in that ballpark. He always dressed in black because he said it hid the streaks of sketching charcoal that got in his clothes. I think it was more because he was an art poser and wearing black made him look the part. He had no personality that I could make sense of and always spoke in a dull monotone. He was creepy but harmless. I think."

Old willow streaks — Willow's original design

Willow's initial appearance, like many fan characters of My Little Pony, was constructed using the generalzoi Pony Creator Full Version. The length of his shirt was made by pasting two images, one with a jumpsuit and one without, together. His design has since been altered to be more cohesive and original.

Biography

Willow Streaks was born an only child in Cloudsdale, Equestria. His mother, Sapphire "Saphy" Striker, is a professional tennis athlete, and his father Winning Streaks II is a children's coach. The two of them named their son after the weeping willow trees that filled the park where they first met (Willoughby Heritage Park, a park near Winning's university.)

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 While the term "beatnik" was unknown to his handler at the time, the basic concept of one (a dramatic, artistic person who wears black turtlenecks and berets) was still understood, and Willow was modeled on this stereotype. At the time, he took some inspiration from a minor character in D.J. MacHale's ''Morpheus Road'' trilogy:
-''"I turned quickly to see Tyler Frano, a student teacher in the art department. The guy was shorter than me by at least a foot... not quite Munchkin-like but in that ballpark. He always dressed in black because he said it hid the streaks of sketching charcoal that got in his clothes. I think it was more because he was an art poser and wearing black made him look the part. He had no personality that I could make sense of and always spoke in a dull monotone. He was creepy but harmless. I think."''[[File:Old_willow_streaks.png|thumb|Willow's original design|left]]
+''"I turned quickly to see Tyler Frano, a student teacher in the art department. The guy was shorter than me by at least a foot... not quite Munchkin-like but in that ballpark. He always dressed in black because he said it hid the streaks of sketching charcoal that got in his clothes. I think it was more because he was an art poser and wearing black made him look the part. He had no personality that I could make sense of and always spoke in a dull monotone. He was creepy but harmless. I think."''[[File:Old_willow_streaks.png|thumb|Willow's original design]]
 Willow's initial appearance, like many fan characters of My Little Pony, was constructed using [https://www.deviantart.com/generalzoi/art/Pony-Creator-Full-Version-254295904 the generalzoi Pony Creator Full Version.] The length of his shirt was made by pasting two images, one with a jumpsuit and one without, together. His design has since been altered to be more cohesive and original.