My Little Pony XXVI: Applebloom to Zecora!

[SiuiS]

I have a quick question for everyone. *Where do you think the name "Pinkamena" from Pinkamena Diane Pie came from? *Is it an obvious reference that I'm just not getting?

I don't think it's a reference. I just think they wanted Pinkie Pie to have a more mundane name, so Pinkie could be her nickname.

It's by an artist who calls himself Crooked Trees, who also drew this:

Spoiler

Show

He has another blog (named after a Venetian Snares album, appropriately enough) which is about forty percent pornographic digital paintings of ponies, forty percent starkly realistic digital paintings of ponies, and twenty percent starkly realistic pornographic digital paintings of ponies. It's actually very hard for me to tell if he's trying to parody that style or if he's genuinely in love with it and he just happens to really like drawing technicolor ponies. Either way, he's a fantastic artist.

That's some crazy stuff.

Anyway, pics.

Saucy Twilight ahoy! Drawn and coloured by a couple of friends of mine from Canterlot.

Spoiler

Show

Badass Spike:

Spoiler

Show

I've really got to check Canterlot out...
Oh well. Quoted so I can force my phone to load the Spike image.

Okay, well, anyway, I think I have about reached the limitations of what I can think of to try on you blind, so now I'll do some explaining and see if the arty among you can make some suggestions. (I might even take this to the arts & crafts thread eventually).

Now, usually alien robots races are all "male" (e.g. Daleks, Cybermen, old Cylons, the Cybertanks - even the Borg sound male - etc etc etc - the Movellians of Doctor Who are about the only exception). Anyway, this crowd, are for novety, supposed to be "female". So what I was really trying to aim for - and utterly failing! - was to try a model that in a non-cartoonish way. (I realise that I could just do anything and just say it's nominally female, but I wanted to see if I could be cleverer than that. Apparently not!)

So, armed with some context, does anybody have a clue how I could improve to try and make it more "feminine" - at least nominally in suggestion, given the rather steep size limitations?*

(I know this is a sodding hard thing to try to do, but I want to at least give it a shot before admitting defeat!)

See, here's your trouble.
You can't crusade against humanocetricism and evoke thoughts in humanocentric minds at the same time. They are, in the short-term, mutually exclusive goals.

Feminie designs would nominally include;
Sharp acute triangles
Visible "waists"
Tapered "torso"
Smaller eyes, triangular face, no pronounced brows
Long "hair"

Without watching it move, or hearing it, these are your standard go-to ideas. Because sex concepts are a little more hard-wired than soft. Certain things trigger them through association, and certain things trigger them Just Because.

No idea what that has to do with this. But it made some sense at the time.

Ugh, this is going to sound sexist no matter how I write it... Try smoother curves and a less phallic weapon.

Edit: See the "female" robots from WALL-E for reference.

This wouldn't work so well. Although I can't help but think, look to Metroid. They pulled off feminine alien stuff.

@SiuiS: *My reaction was actually impassive to that, as I had failed to set that thread on fire earlier. *As a result, I was as bad a the heresies I punished and was forced to turn in my official Fluttermancer Flamethrower.

Oh, well. No fun. Now who's going to defrost the thread?

*Sigh*
I actually really like to RP, but I feel nervous about joining something already established, the same about starting something new, so I'm forced into my one fall-back which is to RP against myself. *How did you even escape anyway? *My one excuse for this is that I came up with it first.

I see.
That reminds me! Have you been able to find a ship, yet?

There's a joke here something like the Pony thread is an old girlfriend who I keep coming back to. I'm not going to make it, but there it is.

Fine, I'll stop. Way to put me in the awkward limelight

From all the ranges we go to, from debating, to NSFW pony blogs, everything and everywhere it's been.....All through a common link of liking ponies.

Thank you all, and good night.

Eyup. Quite the range, we have. Never a dull moment!
Unless you hit that lull where nopony says anything for what seems like hours... But I guess that's worrying, not dull XD

I warned you about them ponies, dog.

YOUR WARNING
SHE DID NOTHING

You could always have the gun barrels hidden under a protective dome, only the tip sticking out. It keeps those pesky, super strong enemies from bending the barrel.

what, seriously? Come on mate. We can do better than "add high caliber boobies" although now I want a tank which fires birds.

No comment on the contents possibly being gravy?

Ew.

I agree with you on the cheese, but most beer tastes terrible anyways, so making it taste bacony might be an improvement.

Making beer taste at least 20% better doesn't count?

Percentages can be deceiving. 20% of 5 is 1, and 20% of 500 is 100.

I do not think it is a worthwhile trade to take a food a like, and soak it in a drink I don't. It can't make the drink taste good enough to drink (and seriously mate, bacon doesn't make everything better... There are hard, physical limits) and it makes the food too gross to eat as well. It's a net loss, because both items remain below my palatability standards.

I think it was more the fact that choosing to act differently can make it so those actions become genuine. Basically the actual scientific explanation for "going native" I guess?

I know. It just hit a button that final time for me to snap. Nothing personal

Are you saying you like seeing ponies cry?

Are you implying an emotional and conditional judgement will be made off a reference to prior experience spoken tongue-in-cheek and then taken out of context?



Yes, I like seeing crying ponies. I enjoy my full range of emotions, including being sad. Which allows me to indulge in media which evokes these emotions.

But yeah, I know how you feel. Every post I make, I get a "I bet I just crammed my foot so far in my mouth I can kick myself" feel.

Not me! Not until far, far too late

I think it's a matter of going with the good and ignoring what doesn't appeal to you.

I concur.

The cupcakes thing was a reference to the cupcakes story.

Aye, I know. Can't recall why I made the joke I did, actually.

Any taxpayers present will probably be pleased to hear that I wasn't actually on unemployment though. I just lived off my savings. Which was probably a bad idea, but oh well.

Small quibble, if I may; the money you get from UI is the money you've been forced to put into it (actually, that your employer has been forced to put into it). Doesn't cost tax pagers a cent. Except the money used to "run the program", which would still be given to gov't employees in any case.

Spoiler

Show

Well, are you really surprised? My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic isn't that special. People will do whatever they want with whatever they want, and they'll show it to everyone else. It's like that for pokemon and kirby and sesame street and dora the freakin' explora.

I suppose I'm ok with this due to me being a christian, and coming into the fandom with the basic belief that humanity is basically screwed up. But still, I don't think there's any reason to think deep, dark thoughts about it.*

Of course, you can if you want to, which you might, and.....

Oh crap, I haven't offended you, have I? Sorry, sorry. I think your pretty cool, if that means anything.

Hm. I want to address this, start a dialogue maybe, without brushing up against forum rules. But common sense says if I'm worried about it, don't do it.

I shall have to ponder this for a spell.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I'd like to chime in on the "cupcakes vs. muffins" issue.

Muffins and cupcakes are different. There's a fuzzy wuzzy line between them, to be sure, and suffice to say that there are things that could fall into either category. However, to characterize cupcakes as frosted muffins, or muffins as unfrosted cupcakes, is to disservice to both baked goods.

Muffins are denser and more breadlike. Cupcakes are lighter and more cakelike. They're cooked at different temperatures, have different degrees of flour used in them, and are generally different in texture.

I recall an interesting experiment conducted in which similar muffin and cupcake recipes were used to bake a batch of both. They were then given to testers, unlabeled, and the testers were then asked to decide which was a muffin and which was a cupcake.

In one group, both the muffins and the cupcakes were frosted and while the testers were able to determine a difference between the two baked goods, they were unable to determine which was a muffin and which was a cupcake.

In another, both muffins and cupcakes were unfrosted and the testers were able to tell right away which was a muffin and which a cupcake. The difference in textures gave it away right away.

Exactly! *brohoof*

Oh, I know there are, I like Guinness alright, but I live in America, so 95% of all available beers are crud. I don't really drink though.

aye, americans measure beer by price, not taste. It's a sad thing. I also suspect that I just dislike some of the prime ingredients and will thus never actually be able to enjoy a beer.

But! Dropped a quote, I'll ask anyway. Which beer did you say was so good? The one with a bit of sweetness?

Random thought brought on by that comic: when/why did the fandom decide that filly Celestia's hair was just plain pink instead of the four-color version she has now? Seems a strange thing to do, but it's very consistent across fan art from what I've seen.

Zevox

In the opening of episode 1, celestial and Luna are shown as exactly the same, only with different colors. Celestial has pink hair.

There are all sorts of hypotheses one could come up with, but the consensus is Celestial had pink hair until she used the Elements on Nightmare Moon.

SideNote: *Am I the only one who does not like Crullershy Cruelershy? *On the one hand, this may be the same as with Twilight Sparkle, where a lot of others like her but aren't very vocal about it. *On the other hand, I'm only hearing about how people liked her meaner version. *Yes, it was certainly fitting for discorded Fluttershy, but the reason I liked it in the episode is the same reason I dislike the personality.

SideSideNote: *I'll keep using the cruller pun until I see a Cruelershy image with her hair done up like crullers. *It will happen someday!

Aye, I am rather sad at the propagation thereof. Mean Fluttershy is worst Fluttershy.

Thanks for the concern. To say things have been a bit stressful is a bit of an understatement. :\ *And in five weeks, the fun *really* starts.

That's a good point! I keep forgetting what you've gotten yourself into

As you are obviously well aware. But cross-species transmission is entirely plausible - the recent N1H1 swine flu outbreak virus was traced backwards from humans -> pigs -> birds -> pigs -> humans.*

I guess that it's possible that Equestria is operating on Cartoon Virology, as much as it appears to be operating on Cartoon Physics.

Truly? I thought "swine flu" was as accurate as "cold".
Though an animal can be a transmitter without itself getting sick, so I guess I'll have to investigate.

Am I that predictable?
Anyway, thanks!

I actually jut figured, coming into it as late as I did, somepony else would have already asked you
That you volunteered the name just cuts out the middle man.

Spoiler

Show

Well, I'm not a fan of the pornographic and sexualised side of it. They're freaking ponies, you know? But the thing is, you get it with almost every cartoon that has a strong fanbase, so it really doesn't surprise me. For me, it was more of a "Oh, for **** sake, this one too? Can I enjoy one cartoon without thinking about this stuff?" I want to watch this show and feel like a kid again for 20 minutes.

You can still enjoy it without thinking about it. I do all the time! Just don't let it get to you, mate.

Yes.
*strokes your cheek*

Oh! Um...

Hm.

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting an affirmative. Or any real response at all, really. I was just trying to set up a Zoidberg impression. Uh...

I'm flattered and all, but my girlfriend is like, Right. There. so...

Man, this is awkward. XD

I thought my hands were turning into hooves.
I've lost track of this conversation now.
Who do you think I am? Hendrix Hooves?

EXACTLY!

You want a pic of me... not playing a cello?

Rass'n frass'n making me check my work...
Yes. I want conclusive photographic proof that shows that playing a cello with hooves is not possible.

Errr... I can do a butterfly not!

Neat! But... I think you may have more fun over there, with the kaiser falcon and his knife wielding friends.

So what kind of fic would have the title "In-laws and Outlaws"?

Ol' south family feud story.
Alternately, cop pony is going to meet the folks of his fiancé pony and finds out grandpa has been eluding the law comically for years.

Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, since when I think of horns, I think of a Rhino's horns, which is more or less a giant fingernail growing off of its face. Unless, there's probably some nerves going through the middle of it, which would make breaking your horn off a VERY painful experience.

I always associated it with magic resonance. Though being a direct phallus is kinda tacky, methinks.

*sneezes on amish**

I'm helping

eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww

No no, she's fine! She's in a stone dungeon, so she has plenty of air, and I even left her some food and water!

Well, apples and apple juice, but it's the same thing, right?

OH GODS I JUST GOT THIS
You left her with apple products, she probably started starving faster.

I have a harem forum. Who needs parties?

Hmm. Fair, I suppose.

Indeed.

Are you... Upset that I wrote something you like? XD

It's not the best option, but it's not terribad

Aye. Nowadays, it's not so bad. In my youth, all I could see was rotting flesh, and I had to think "gracious, even vampirism is better than that."

As punishment, have some candy and a videogame! MWAHAHA!

Nooooooo now I'll lose my teeth and never get a good education D:

Why are you disqualified?

Because he said humans don't have said feelings. I can't point to myself as an example human with said feelings, when I can't point to myself as an example human :P

It's really not. Both Kismesis and Auspistices are based on hatred, and I try to avoid that. Even my kismesis is only a joke.

I suppose I'm thinking of one of the others, then. I'm rather new at this homestuck thing.

You're looking at this from the wrong angle.

Enough Luna's that all of the theories and all of the ships are simultaneously true.

Hm...

Spontaneous RP

Spoiler

Show

So, you think a bunker is enough to hide you away safely, hmmm? Surely you know NOTHING is a proof against ponies.

QUICK THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO ESCAPE
HIRE A SHIP AND SET SAIL WITH ME
WE MAY BE ABLE TO CONVINCE HER NOT TO FOLLOW THOUGH I WOULDN'T HOLD MY BREATH

Dragonborn are justified, actually, cause they're basically just recolored from their original mammalian bodies.
In 3.5e, anyway.

I wasn't going to say it, but yeah. You can't get mad at dragonborn for having breasts when they are functionally humanoids with a holy skin condition.

But Lix,*

...*

... Lix, I thought you were all about sharing...*

I didn't have you pegged for the jealous type...

!!!!

Playing a dangerous game, Commodore. Good speed.

Hmm, speaking of said threesome...

*I've been wondering ever since Reaching Midnight what exactly Luna's relationship with Twilight and Trixie is now. They obviously accept her as Midnight's third mother but I wonder how they feel about her themselves. Was that night they spent together a just this once and never again thing or are they still more than just friends? I got the implication that it was just that once but I'm not sure so I wanted to clear it up.

Dang I'm trying to ask this without sounding weird or too interested in the love lives of fictional ponies (although being interested in the love lives of real ponies would likely be worse) but I really am curious. I like the Out in the Cold continuity and I like to learn more about it.

Don't feel weird about it. It's a valid consideration; hypothetical couple has child with third party; how do they themselves bond?

I'm interested in hearing theories.

I can't believe that I haven't even posted in this thread yet!

... Really?