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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kpenguin
I don't suppose either of you enjoy reading/listening to developer commentary then?
Just like, when somepony here posts a fanfiction they wrote and explains why they wrote something the way they did or characterized a pony the way they're characterized? How about, if we're taking a step back to OotS, when Rich explains things in the pages of commentary before each chapter of the OotS print books? Or his very rare explanatory posts over in the OotS book?
Or, hey, just discussions in ponythread about what worked in an episode and what didn't? What you would change about an episode and why? What the episode made you feel emotionally and what you think the episode was going for?
Is there no satisfaction to be gained from trying to understand how a piece comes together? Or what it was intended to do? Or what it actually did?
Narrative Law is a misnomer, I think. Things don't happen because they follow a strict set of predestined guidelines. Things happen because of a series of choices made by the creators of a piece. And I think the reasons behind those choices are quite fascinating to speculate about. Just as fascinating as, say, discovering the purpose behind character designs or how the animation works or choices in composing songs.
Mostly, I think, I take umbrage at the implication that this sort of thing is just handwaving and going "because the author says so", that it cuts off conversation, dialogue, and discussion. To me, it offers a different angle of observation and opens up new avenues of understanding and discussing a piece.
And, well, I bristle at the idea that its somehow a less acceptable or valid way of answering why something happens in a work of fiction.
TVTropes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Tvtyrant
The whole concept of "guards" comes from a time when there wasn't a difference between military and police. The elite units of most armies into the 17th century were household guards for kings, including in Prussia, Russia, and Sweden (the big three along the Baltic). Professional soldiers are far too expensive to just have lying around chilling between fights, so it was typical to deploy them as police or palace guards until they were needed for the next big push.
I know. Those who created the guards might not. You would be surprise at the things which exist in media simply due to traction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Alabenson
The thing is, based on what we've seen, the Equestrian Royal Guards duties basically boil down to a) look good on parade, b) taxi Celestia and other important ponies around, and c) defend Canterlot from supernatural threats.
Between changlings, hydras, manticores, and Uras, which do you think would be the biggest threat? If the Equestrian Guards can't handle the changlings, then its unlikely they'd be able to do much against anything else that could attack Canterlot.
Again, I already answered this.
Hydra: it exists. You can plan for it.
Manticore: it exists. Toucan plan for it.
Ursa: it exists. You can plan for it.
Changelings: don't exist, and why am I glued to the floor?
Changelings are by their nature an unknowns quantity. NO ONE can deal appropriately with an unknown quantity. That's why so much importance is put on knowing things.
You've also got your scale backwards. Changelings are the biggest threat, not the least. They are sentient, malicious, organized, perfect ambush predators, invisible parasites, and alicorns. An Ursa is a really big bear. A hides is a really big group of snakes, with feet. A manticore is a lion with vestigial wings.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kpenguin
I don't suppose either of you enjoy reading/listening to developer commentary then?
Just like, when somepony here posts a fanfiction they wrote and explains why they wrote something the way they did or characterized a pony the way they're characterized? How about, if we're taking a step back to OotS, when Rich explains things in the pages of commentary before each chapter of the OotS print books? Or his very rare explanatory posts over in the OotS book?
Or, hey, just discussions in ponythread about what worked in an episode and what didn't? What you would change about an episode and why? What the episode made you feel emotionally and what you think the episode was going for?
Is there no satisfaction to be gained from trying to understand how a piece comes together? Or what it was intended to do? Or what it actually did?
Narrative Law is a misnomer, I think. Things don't happen because they follow a strict set of predestined guidelines. Things happen because of a series of choices made by the creators of a piece. And I think the reasons behind those choices are quite fascinating to speculate about. Just as fascinating as, say, discovering the purpose behind character designs or how the animation works or choices in composing songs.
Mostly, I think, I take umbrage at the implication that this sort of thing is just handwaving and going "because the author says so", that it cuts off conversation, dialogue, and discussion. To me, it offers a different angle of observation and opens up new avenues of understanding and discussing a piece.
And, well, I bristle at the idea that its somehow a less acceptable or valid way of answering why something happens in a work of fiction.
I'm sorry if I seemed dismissive. Let me put it this way.
If I ask, "why did Girard Draketooth die?" there are basically two answers. You can say "to change and perhaps intensify the challenges facing the protagonists," or you could say "because he's related to that black dragon," and you'd probably be right both ways. The follow-up questions for the first reveal stuff about the story, and Rich Burlew, and storytelling in general; the follow-up questions for the second reveal stuff about the world in which the story is set. And it's the world that interests me. There's a reason I groaned at the end of this comic.
If I ask why Jack Bauer shot a guy, I don't want to hear about the writers having given him a gun in the first act; I'd rather hear that the guy reminds Jack of someone from his childhood or whatever. (I don't know if that's actually a likely answer; I've never watched 24.) I want to know about the world, the setting, the physics, the history, the characters, these strangers like me. The other side can be interesting, but by and large it's not as interesting except where it delves over.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
otakuryoga
I think Bleakbane is on another of his unannounced away times
you may wanna ask the pony he left in charge of the thread....
Nope.
I have only, until basically this month, had one unanounced period where I was away, due to technical internet issues. Otherwise, I've pretty much posted at least once in every twenty four hour period for over a year. And aside from times where I have been physically incapable of connecting to the internet, I have followed the thread.
I'm just tired of spending all my time bickering with somepony or another, here, there and everywhere (by which, so as we're completely and unambiguously clear, and so no ponies go assuming (again) they are solely or even largely responsible for my ill-temper, Thanqol, I mean "everywhere, not just in ponythread or even just on the internet.")
Case in point, current debates on Shining/ narrative verses world-immersion; it would be completely pointless at this stage to stick my oar in; I've thought about it more than once (and in other topics earlier in the week), but every time I think I might, something akin to "numbers/world-consistency don't matter/are tertiary to narrative convention", crops up, in seriousness or even in jest and I'm just not finding it funny/worth the effort of arguing opinions with people anymore.
I've spent pretty much the last week playing Transport Tycoon, for frag's sake, because it's bland but requires enough concentration it stops me being able to think about other things and because it's removed and distant I don't even have to pretend to interact with people.
Yer only gettin' even the explanation since I was addressed directly and my sister's wedding is finally out of the way and the fact I'm marginally lifted by the fact it's now not hanging over my head1 and/or too knackered to resist my racial compulsion to monologue...
1Weddings are something to be endured because of familial responscibilty; they are not something I look foward to or enjoy particularly. Having to wear the monkey suit makes it approximately seventeen times worse. And without even the redeeming levity of an attack by some hostile force I could absolutely misplace my aggression onto, either.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Alabenson
The thing is, based on what we've seen, the Equestrian Royal Guards duties basically boil down to a) look good on parade, b) taxi Celestia and other important ponies around, and c) defend Canterlot from supernatural threats.
Between changlings, hydras, manticores, and Uras, which do you think would be the biggest threat? If the Equestrian Guards can't handle the changlings, then its unlikely they'd be able to do much against anything else that could attack Canterlot.
Well, there probably not trained to take on monsters, more like cracking threats like, say, a thief attempting to infltrate Canterlot and/or its Castle. Heck, even with the horrific doom beasts inside Everfree, the closest things to a monster attack on ponyville was the Ursa Minor (which was startled by two stupid colts) and Cerberus (which was not realy a threat at all, realy, considering that Twilight seemingly could lead the widdle guy back to Tartarus).
Notably, Chrisy had a nice plan going on that made the typical methods of dealing with the traditinal "typical" attack of a mobilized ground-based assault with perhapes a few flying threats unfeasable. To be fair, it's unlikely that the Great Big Royal Guard Handbook For Guarding The Royal Sisters Immortal Sun-Princess (And Sister) had a subsection to deal with a mythical shapeshifting threat that manages to break the defenses of the city, take out the princess, and have a large army of magicaly inclined fliers with shapeshifting abilites.
Even if they are equestrias finest, the fact that it's unlikely that they have to do even there offical duties in once in a blue moon, no pun intended. Asking them to defend from a inteligent, magical, flying (note that the only other living things that are known to exist that hit all three catagories are Alicorns) threat thats downright cunning would be like asking a roman century to deal with a air-to-ground squad armed with long-ranged rifles.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pokonic
Well, there probably not trained to take on monsters, more like cracking threats like, say, a thief attempting to infltrate Canterlot and/or its Castle. Heck, even with the horrific doom beasts inside, the closest things to a monster attack on ponyville was the Ursa Minor (which was startled by two stupid colts) and Cerberus (which was not realy a threat at all, realy, considering that Twilight seemingly could lead the widdle guy back to Tartarus).
Notably, Chrisy had a nice plan going on that made the typical methods of dealing with the traditinal "typical" attack of a mobilized ground-based assault with perhapes a few flying threats unfeasable. To be fair, it's unlikely that the Great Big Royal Guard Handbook For Guarding The Royal Sisters Immortal Sun-Princess (And Sister) had a subsection to deal with a mythical shapeshifting threat that manages to break the defenses of the city, take out the princess, and have a large army of magicaly inclined fliers with shapeshifting abilites.
Even if they are equestrias finest, the fact that it's unlikely that they have to do even there offical duties in once in a blue moon, no pun intended. Asking them to defend from a inteligent, magical, flying (note that the only other living things that are known to exist that hit all three catagories are Alicorns) threat thats downright cunning would be like asking a roman century to deal with a air-to-ground squad armed with long-ranged rifles.
You can say that again! :smallbiggrin:
also, oh, hey look; Remember that creepy alternate ending to the wedding?
Someone's doing a continuation fic. One of you all voracious readers should let those of us who are lazier know if it's any good.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Aotrs Commander
Nope.
I'm just tired of spending all my time bickering with somepony or another, here, there and everywhere (by which, so as we're completely and unambiguously clear, and so no ponies go assuming (again) they are solely or even largely responsible for my ill-temper, Thanqol, I mean "everywhere, not just in ponythread or even just on the internet.")
Case in point, current debates on Shining/ narrative verses world-immersion; it would be completely pointless at this stage to stick my oar in; I've thought about it more than once (and in other topics earlier in the week), but every time I think I might, something akin to "numbers/world-consistency don't matter/are tertiary to narrative convention", crops up, in seriousness or even in jest and I'm just not finding it funny/worth the effort of arguing opinions with people anymore.
I've spent pretty much the last week playing Transport Tycoon, for frag's sake, because it's bland but requires enough concentration it stops me being able to think about other things and because it's removed and distant I don't even have to pretend to interact with people.
[/SIZE]
...
*hugs the lich*
*CON-drained*
*collapses, twitching*
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gideon Falcon
So, the other day, I was watching The Mentalist, and I realized... Cho is so a brony.
Which got me thinking: what other beloved TV show characters are bronies? Off the top of my head, we've got Patrick Jane (also the Mentalist,) Lt. Disher (Monk), Shawn Spencer (Psych), Lassiter (Psych, I mean seriously, he likes horses, remember?), Gibbs, Abbs, and DiNozo (NCIS), Castle (Castle)...
Any others?
I don't know who any of those are except the NCIS people, who I'm quite familiar with. Gibbs: Not on your life. His daughter and his daughter's friend made a time capsule, and it was contained in something that had a pony on the front, from one of the older generations. But he himself would not be at all.
DiNozzo: No. Definitely not. He's a movie buff, not a TV buff, so he would not even watch it for the knowledge of the show.
Abby: Maybe. She seems like a good fit, but the problem I have with Abby is her personality is largely artificial. Literally. She gets all that energy from OD'ing on caffeine, and the few times we see her without it, she's totally different. I can see her watching the show, assuming she ever had time.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pendulous
I don't know who any of those are except the NCIS people, who I'm quite familiar with. Gibbs: Not on your life. His daughter and his daughter's friend made a time capsule, and it was contained in something that had a pony on the front, from one of the older generations. But he himself would not be at all.
DiNozzo: No. Definitely not. He's a movie buff, not a TV buff, so he would not even watch it for the knowledge of the show.
Abby: Maybe. She seems like a good fit, but the problem I have with Abby is her personality is largely artificial. Literally. She gets all that energy from OD'ing on caffeine, and the few times we see her without it, she's totally different. I can see her watching the show, assuming she ever had time.
NCIS comes up in a nerdy conversation?
Somepony hold me the world is shaking.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soras Teva Gee
NCIS comes up in a nerdy conversation?
Somepony hold me the world is shaking.
It's been running a long time. And McGee would definitely be into ponies. Plus, he does online gaming, so you know he'd run into all the image macros and secretly think it was the best thing ever.
Now, check out this plushie, which is of Sonata from the Phoenix Wright: Turnabout Storm video series (which you all should watch if you haven't).
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Aotrs Commander
Yer only gettin' even the explanation since I was addressed directly and my sister's wedding is finally out of the way and the fact I'm marginally lifted by the fact it's now not hanging over my head[sup] and/or too knackered to resist my racial compulsion to monologue...
Weddings are something to be endured because of familial responscibilty; they are not something I look foward to or enjoy particularly. Having to wear the monkey suit makes it approximately seventeen times worse. And without even the redeeming levity of an attack by some hostile force I could absolutely misplace my aggression onto, either.
Congratulations!
I trust the relief Of the wedding being over finally is comparable to the joy
One is expected to feel? And that the lucky bloke hasn't done something to deserve a painful (or even painless) ending yet and hopefully never will?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BlasTech
...
*hugs the lich*
*CON-drained*
*collapses, twitching*
That's why we have hats, Blastech.
Hats for tipping.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soras Teva Gee
NCIS comes up in a nerdy conversation?
Somepony hold me the world is shaking.
huh?
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Anarion
It's been running a long time. And McGee would definitely be into ponies. Plus, he does online gaming, so you know he'd run into all the image macros and secretly think it was the best thing ever.
Yeah but its just... just... so... mundane.
Its like its predecessor in being, yeah you know its out there but talking about it?
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pendulous
I don't know who any of those are except the NCIS people, who I'm quite familiar with. Gibbs: Not on your life. His daughter and his daughter's friend made a time capsule, and it was contained in something that had a pony on the front, from one of the older generations. But he himself would not be at all.
DiNozzo: No. Definitely not. He's a movie buff, not a TV buff, so he would not even watch it for the knowledge of the show.
Abby: Maybe. She seems like a good fit, but the problem I have with Abby is her personality is largely artificial. Literally. She gets all that energy from OD'ing on caffeine, and the few times we see her without it, she's totally different. I can see her watching the show, assuming she ever had time.
The only thing I can think of is McGee would be mocked over the course of a episode for it until it becomes useful.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
I just had a mental image of the mane six playing 'He had it coming' from Chicago.
It is amazing O.O
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kpenguin
I don't suppose either of you enjoy reading/listening to developer commentary then?
Just like, when somepony here posts a fanfiction they wrote and explains why they wrote something the way they did or characterized a pony the way they're characterized? How about, if we're taking a step back to OotS, when Rich explains things in the pages of commentary before each chapter of the OotS print books? Or his very rare explanatory posts over in the OotS book?
Or, hey, just discussions in ponythread about what worked in an episode and what didn't? What you would change about an episode and why? What the episode made you feel emotionally and what you think the episode was going for?
Is there no satisfaction to be gained from trying to understand how a piece comes together? Or what it was intended to do? Or what it actually did?
Narrative Law is a misnomer, I think. Things don't happen because they follow a strict set of predestined guidelines. Things happen because of a series of choices made by the creators of a piece. And I think the reasons behind those choices are quite fascinating to speculate about. Just as fascinating as, say, discovering the purpose behind character designs or how the animation works or choices in composing songs.
Mostly, I think, I take umbrage at the implication that this sort of thing is just handwaving and going "because the author says so", that it cuts off conversation, dialogue, and discussion. To me, it offers a different angle of observation and opens up new avenues of understanding and discussing a piece.
And, well, I bristle at the idea that its somehow a less acceptable or valid way of answering why something happens in a work of fiction.
To a degree I don't. Mostly because I generally don't care what the author has to say on the subject unless I'm trying to emulate their style. Or perhaps I didn't understand something in the story.
Otherwise most of the time I'm discussing world building which should hold up without additional commentary from the creator.
Overall I don't mind discussing it, but it's a separate conversation and shouldn't be used to derail a conversation about the world of the show itself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SlyGuyMcFly
Sheriff Silverstar from Appleloosa definitely counts as law enforcement. That said, the Guard generally seems to act like a military operation (what with saluting when the take orders and such), so they do seem to be what passes for the army in Equestria.
For example I could say that Sheriff Silverstar only exists to increase the western feel of that episode, which is pretty much true. However it doesn't really address Sly's point but instead raises an entirely new conversation about other things they did with that episode.
Now I think Sheriff Silverstar job is to protect a new settlement of ponies from whatever threats may arise in the wild around them. Not necessarily by himself, (he can recruit deputies) but he's in charge of dealing with it. Not as it were, actual law enforcement.
SiuS you do raise a good point about the Changelings being a really nasty threat. However what were they preparing for is a better question. A monster would have been easily detected and dealt with, so it couldn't be that. They were preparing for an unknown threat and Twilight seemed to know about Changelings so they weren't entirely unknown before hand. Likely mostly unknown but not entirely.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soras Teva Gee
Yeah but its just... just... so... mundane.
Its like its predecessor in being, yeah you know its out there but talking about it?
I feel like I should put on a football game and offer you some potato chips or something.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
My friend, who was part of the reason I wanted to even give My Little Pony more than a passing glance, came over today.
She showed me this.
I don't understand either part, so of course, the unity of them would make perfect sense to me.
Afterwards, I oversaw her playing the leaked version of Fighting is Magic. And I might have given in a bit to play with her... :smallfrown:
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Uh, for those reading Clockwork, it just updated.
Why am I telling you this?
Ehh, I had a bad day and I need to read happy comments and feast on your sweet nightmares of bloody lumps of meat and metal want to see peoples reaction, co-writer and all that jazz.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
INoKnowNames
My friend, who was part of the reason I wanted to even give My Little Pony more than a passing glance, came over today.
She showed me this.
I don't understand either part, so
of course, the unity of them would make perfect sense to me.
Afterwards, I oversaw her playing the leaked version of Fighting is Magic. And I might have given in a bit to play with her... :smallfrown:
You know clicking that got me a related video link to a pretty good encapsulation of the brony movement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Anarion
I feel like I should put on a football game and offer you some potato chips or something.
Oh I do that on occaison, but I don't come to this site and expect there to be any mention of it.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HalfTangible
I just had a mental image of the mane six playing 'He had it coming' from Chicago.
It is amazing O.O
Bada bing, bada bang.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kd7sov
The line "he had six wives" really gained new meaning here :P
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Forum Explorer
SiuS you do raise a good point about the Changelings being a really nasty threat. However what were they preparing for is a better question. A monster would have been easily detected and dealt with, so it couldn't be that. They were preparing for an unknown threat and Twilight seemed to know about Changelings so they weren't entirely unknown before hand. Likely mostly unknown but not entirely.
Teilight also knew about Zebras, Ursas, obscure marathon techniques and StarSwirl the Bearded. But I'll check that out.
Oh no. I have to watch MLp again. The horror. The horror. Weep.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Added to the List of Pony TRPGs:
Don't Hate Your Friends (Don't Rest Your Head hack, under discussion)
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
Teilight also knew about Zebras, Ursas, obscure marathon techniques and StarSwirl the Bearded. But I'll check that out.
Oh no. I have to watch MLp again. The horror. The horror. Weep.
That's not a obscure, that's a well tested method. (That said, she does read lots of 'basic tips for x' books to make up for no life experience.)
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fallen Angel
That's not a obscure, that's a well tested method. (That said, she does read lots of 'basic tips for x' books to make up for no life experience.)
So is the Tabata method, but it's still novel whenever I bring it up. Racers on the leisure circuit tend not to care about cellular metabolism, aerobic and anaerobic exertion, and such. Most adults I know oils by tell you what Runner's Kick is, and think getting your second wind means not giving up. The best place to hide things like that is right where they should be, when nobody wants Togo through te effort of opening the book. A locked book excites, a plain one bores.
More to the point, that wa a joke~
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
otakuryoga
Awww ... that was a nice sweet story.
What do you think, #42?
If I weren't evil, that might have made me feel something ...
... I think that means he liked it!
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
I take it the creator of that first comic does not believe in the Big Pink ship :smalltongue:
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
Why? Rarity can find gems. She spends very little of her time perfecting gem finding. It's a tertiary concern. Shining armor wouldn't obsess about shield output versus energy in or anything, he would concern himself with defending the weak or something. Gallantry, valor, and justice. Shining Armor is his name for a reason.
Rarity's special talent and focus is not finding gems, it's fashion, of which finding gems is a bit of a distraction that apparently she hasn't found someone else to do for her. Rarity does spend most of her time thinking about fashion and working on fashion, from what we see. It rules her life.
And this seems to be where we disagree. I do not agree that Shining's big dream is to have a fancy title and to march around, parading as captain of the guard. Shining's dream, what his entire life orbits around, is defense, defense, defense! Protecting the innocent, shielding the nation!
Rarity does fashion, which is a broad talent involving many things, including getting enough gems somehow. Shining does defense, which is a broad talent involving many things, including developing and deploying shields of varying size, strength, purpose, flexibility ... etc. It might also involve advising captains, commanders, generals and other officers in the best ways to protect the nation and the innocents at any given time. And it may include teaching and training recruits in defensive tactics and skills. It may even involve being in the thick of battle, protecting his fellow soldiers and his fellow ponies where it matters, right on the field of battle. All of this is Shining's dream, all of this is what I want him to do.
I do not want to fire him, I want to promote him. I want to fulfill his dream!
Apparently you think all he ever dreamed is to be captain of the guard, even if captain might not be the best fit for him and his talents. What you're saying is effectively this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
That he's lazy and doesn't put much thought into anything, going with the flow. :smallwink:
Conformity, dude.
Because, you know, he just wants to be captain because being captain is cool and looks good and every foal wants to be a big, brave captain when they grow up (and you should totally, absolutely listen to your childhood self, that's why I'm personally everything right now, because as a kid I couldn't decide and wanted to be "everything", in my own actual words. Right? :smallbiggrin:) Never mind that there's a higher position where he could really apply his skills and passion for defense, but who wants that? That's work, dude :smalltongue:
And yes, I can imagine that he is sort of like that, in some ways :smallwink: I can also blatantly and entirely ignore that gut feeling, which is what I have tried to do for this discussion. I'm trying to assume that he is in fact a decent, hard working, talented stallion with bright ideas about defense, who has earned his way to where he is now but could go further still. And should go further, because he deserves it and because his talent is utterly invaluable to the nation.
But this is all just my opinion of him, and apparently we look at him differently, and I suppose that's it. It's not like we've seen a whole lot of him, so it's hard to tell what he's actually like *shrugs*
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Conformity is doing something because everyone else is doing it. We have never seen another pony spend their childhood practicing to be a guard.
Also, I think saying Rarity's special talent is fashion is enforce ignorance. Cutie mark of gems, introduces spell for finding gems, and is dragged on a pseudo spiritual journey to find gems. Her special talent is fashion in the same way Twilight Sparkle's is being a librarian.Its probably closer to findin beauty in the rough, but rhetoric.
Here is the thing. We see SA wanting to be a guard. We see him later as their captain. That doesn't just happen, that's something you aspire to. So unlike being given unambiguous shield duties, SA already is captain of the guard. And he is happy about it. He has a position he is happy with, that he would have to had worked for. That's pretty clear cut. That's not saying his life's ambition is to be a guard captain and he will messily drown his sorrows in salt while listening to My Chemical Romance if you take that away from him. But it has a lot more basis than saying he has a shield on his butt and would e happy to give up his current job because it's too stressful in order to shield things all the time.
I also think this has gotten out of hoof.
The starting point was that he should be taken out of captain duties in order to keep the shield going. I disagree, because taking him out of captain duties is actively undoing his current lot. Common sense tells me that nobody enjoys that sort of thing. Takin him away for shield duty was spoken of as if being guard captain was a problem. If all you mean is he can delegate his other duties if he wants to so he can focus on his shield in a crisis, then he can already do that and nothing needs to change. Calling something a promotion doesn't make it satisfying. Especially when you are already happy.
If you think he can stay, which you seem to, then there's no argument.
If you think it's better that he do whatever matches his talent more than what he has chosen for himself, then I am positive, morale being what it is, that would bite you in the mark.
Sorry for bringing up your dislike of the bloke. I just saw what felt like a contradiction and wanted to point that out.
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Re: My Little Pony LIII: Stashing Ponythreads Around in Case of Ponymergency!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
Conformity is doing something because everyone else is doing it. We have never seen another pony spend their childhood practicing to be a guard.
Also, I think saying Rarity's special talent is fashion is enforce ignorance. Cutie mark of gems, introduces spell for finding gems, and is dragged on a pseudo spiritual journey to find gems. Her special talent is fashion in the same way Twilight Sparkle's is being a librarian.Its probably closer to findin beauty in the rough, but rhetoric.
Here is the thing. We see SA wanting to be a guard. We see him later as their captain. That doesn't just happen, that's something you aspire to. So unlike being given unambiguous shield duties, SA already is captain of the guard. And he is happy about it. He has a position he is happy with, that he would have to had worked for. That's pretty clear cut. That's not saying his life's ambition is to be a guard captain and he will messily drown his sorrows in salt while listening to My Chemical Romance if you take that away from him. But it has a lot more basis than saying he has a shield on his butt and would e happy to give up his current job because it's too stressful in order to shield things all the time.
I also think this has gotten out of hoof.
The starting point was that he should be taken out of captain duties in order to keep the shield going. I disagree, because taking him out of captain duties is actively undoing his current lot. Common sense tells me that nobody enjoys that sort of thing. Takin him away for shield duty was spoken of as if being guard captain was a problem. If all you mean is he can delegate his other duties if he wants to so he can focus on his shield in a crisis, then he can already do that and nothing needs to change. Calling something a promotion doesn't make it satisfying. Especially when you are already happy.
If you think he can stay, which you seem to, then there's no argument.
If you think it's better that he do whatever matches his talent more than what he has chosen for himself, then I am positive, morale being what it is, that would bite you in the mark.
Sorry for bringing up your dislike of the bloke. I just saw what felt like a contradiction and wanted to point that out.
It has probably gotten a little out of hoof, yes. These things tend to expand like that.
What it all boils down to, I think, is that we disagree about what Shining is like, and what his special talent and childhood dream is. And that's pretty much it. I suppose I can't convince you, and vice versa. Maybe time and more appearances of him will tell.
The original point is also based on my assumption that guard captain is not an empty title, not just a formality. That being captain carries a lot of expectations, responsibilities, lots of fluff and ceremony too, that would distract him from what I (and apparently not you) see as his big passion. And that he couldn't simply ignore all of it, or delegate all of it to someone else.
And I just can't see how you can see what I suggest as "unambiguous shield duties" (which I think was meant to be "unambitious"?). It is immensely ambitious, what I suggest. It's way above just being captain.
And I disagree about Rarity's talent too. Her talent is absolutely fashion, just like Twilight's is magic in a general sense. Finding gems? That's an awful limited talent. And we haven't seen her spending any significant time on other gem-related activities, like cutting (because apparently that's not necessary in Equestria?). She uses gems, like she uses fabrics, nothing more. Finding gems is to Rarity like being a librarian is to Twilight, exactly opposite of what you said. But that's an entirely different discussion, where the whole point is also that we disagree, and let's not get into that, please :smalltongue:
Edit: I just noticed your white text, and I suppose that's a good way to put her talent, actually. But that's still a very broad talent and not really anything to do with just finding gems.