My Little Pony XCIX: Leakier Than A Changeling Bathtub!

[Aotrs Commander]

Catching up... (Because by the time the US finale rolls around, if I'm not careful, I'd either have to avoid fimfic or get spoiled anyway as the stuff starts to trickle in...)

Spoiler: s8e24

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From the title and the screenshot on Eqd, I was not sure I was going to like where this was going. But, I got accidently spoiled by a comment near the top as I looked for a link, and for rare occasion, I was pleased and it made the episode more enjoyable. (Mind you, I think I would have picked it up pretty fast the moment Sliudge started bovine-excrementing...)

I thought "why arne't they getting RD to teach Spike to fly?" And they not only answered that, they even went as far as bringing up flight differences between dragons and ponies. I think this was my favourite part of the episode. (And it was was the teaser... Ouch!)

"I wonder being raised as a pony had any other effects?"

Yeah, Spike isn't an asshat.

I mean, so far, we have Ember and Smoulder (who is slowly growing on me) and every other dragon we have met ranges from asshat to actively Evil.

Frankly, Spike, I think you're better off as you are than you ever would have been raised as a "proper" dragon; the best you could hope for was being like Smoulder...

So. This was a Spike episode, actually looking at his parentage. It was not a bad episode, but it was also kind of predictable where it was going to go (with the only concern being what if this deadbeat WAS Spike's actual father). Ye gods, I hope that's not what Spike looks like rown-up. (Mind you, every single times we've seen that, it's ben different, so...!))

I give Pinkie points for excellent manipulation via greed in getting Sludge to DO Stuff.

Smoulder, deserves a lot of credit for being an entirely reasonable individual and calling out Sludge's bovine excrement. Sure, she might be abrasive, but it's clear why SHE is attending the "school;" she's actually got people skills and is actively helpful to Spike, even without prompting. (You might have some options, Spikey, if it doesn't work out with Rarity...)

I winced hard when Spike said "now I have a real parent." Harsh, dude, so harsh.

I suspect they flat-out aren't allowed to say Twilight is his mother (because princesses can't be mums because reasons of marketing, I surmise), but this and the exchange at the end may be as damned close as they can ever get. I salute them for at least trying. (I hope, somewhere, I the unlikely hope the Descendant, wherever he is, sees that bit. But he seems to have just vanished, sadly. I dunno whether he just lost interest or if he's even alive, sadly...)

(Unrelated t this episode proper, but seems pretty evident at this point, Spike is clearly adult enough in all the ways that matter - he's younger than Smoulder, but is still able to be put in charge of a class.)

I swear, Spike's eagerness to wait on creatures claw/hoof and foot really matches up well with Rarity's high maintenance... Heck, it might even be too easy.

Also, one notes, he didn't mess everything up, like he did in Spike and Your Service...

Back through thread:

Spoiler: Ep 24 - Father Knows Best

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Aww, Spike and Smolder are fun together. I really did that Smolder can help Spike learn more about his dragon-self and in return Spike helps Smolder understand pony stuff. Great friendship right there.

As for Sludge... ugh... Like, I can understand him being a jerk and using Spike, because typical butt-head dragon, but the fact he's not even Spike's actual dad?! OMG, someone call Starlight to laser-blast him. That was just beyond jerk move. I'm glad Smolder helped set things right. And you go do you with that pillow embroidery, Spike. A pile of pillows is way better than sleeping on cold, hard metal. ;)

Spoiler: s8e24

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Yeah, and considering Sludge literally threw her our with the bathwater...

I'mma hope Starlight goes... (what's the Equestrian equivilent of ape-[excrement]... Horse probably horse, looking at the order grouping) horse-[excrement] on his arse.

(Actually, maybe Justice3442 can do a Sunset is MAD entry on it...)

Spoiler: Ep 24 - Father Knows Best

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Okay episode overall. Just wish we got an actual answer on Spike's parents.

Spoiler: s8e24

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I think we kind did, as much as the show can give us, and the answer is "Twilight."

I think we are in, to paraphase Guardians of the Galaxy 2, "she may be your mother, but she ain't your Mum" territory here.

[DigoDragon]

Spoiler: s8e24

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"I wonder being raised as a pony had any other effects?"

Spoiler: Ep 24, Father Knows Beast

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More exposure to being shipped in the fandom?

Spoiler: s8e24

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I think we kind did, as much as the show can give us, and the answer is "Twilight."

I think we are in, to paraphase Guardians of the Galaxy 2, "she may be your mother, but she ain't your Mum" territory here.

Spoiler: Ep 24, Father Knows Beast

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Okay, I'll rephrase my statement:
I wish we had a definitive answer on who Spike's biological parents are.


Well, 'father' for Sludge's case, but I recognize Twi is female so the quote doesn't exactly fit. Similar, but not congruent, to borrow a statement from m daughter's homework assignment this past week. Anyway, I know what you meant, I'm rambling at this point due to the local heat melting my brain.

[Rater202]

Spoiler: Father Knows Beast

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I'm going to comment that pretending to be an orphan's father to fleece them out of the creature comforts given to them by their adopted family seems especially cruel.

Opinion? Should I feel guilty about editing the Tvtropes pages for my own fics? There's only one other regular editor and they only put in one or two entries per update and I want people fidnin g my stories fro m TVtropes to have an accurate idea of what they're getting into.

[zimmerwald1915]

Spoiler: Father Knows Beast

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I'm going to comment that pretending to be an orphan's father to fleece them out of the creature comforts given to them by their adopted family seems especially cruel.

Meh, they'll be back to not-family next episode.

[Adderbane]

Spoiler: Father Knows Beast

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I'm going to comment that pretending to be an orphan's father to fleece them out of the creature comforts given to them by their adopted family seems especially cruel.

Opinion? Should I feel guilty about editing the Tvtropes pages for my own fics? There's only one other regular editor and they only put in one or two entries per update and I want people fidnin g my stories fro m TVtropes to have an accurate idea of what they're getting into.

As long as you didn't create the page, I wouldn't feel guilty at all.

[keybounce]

For someone that has read almost no pony fan fic, what would you say are the best ones to read?

[Thanqol]

For someone that has read almost no pony fan fic, what would you say are the best ones to read?

MINE

I'll echo my earlier recommendations for The Moonstone Cup (magic tournament arc) and Equestria From Dust (Celestia mythos), but also for a first-ever I'd call out Best Night Ever which is Prince Blueblood Does Groundhog Day.

[Forum Explorer]

For someone that has read almost no pony fan fic, what would you say are the best ones to read?

I'd start off with something simple and heartwarming.

I suggest Melt a short sweet story about Twilight getting sick.

But if slice of life and that sort of thing aren't your style, then my question for you is what do you like in your stories?

Oh, and I think Sun Princess is basically required reading.

[Aotrs Commander]

MINE

This is accurate.

Especially Do Not Serve These Ponies.



Well, can't use the front room still, so let's do this:

Spoiler: s8e25

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Okay, this episode... Did not go where I expected it to go.

At all.


So, magic draining from Eqeustria. That is bad. I mean, like, REALLY bad. Active magic first, then apssive magic (so no more flight for pegasuses and catastrophic deaths when all the cloud cities populations fall to their deaths (we know this, we saw Tirek drain their magic before and simple physics says pegasus ponies can't fly with those wings). And of course, sun and moon become inaccessible. (Hell, it's a wonder Celestia and Luna can even still move them.)

Big stakes, then.

One imagines Discord may be having a very bad day, if his magic turned off like unicorn active magic...

Ahah. And clearly cosey simpled Starlight a mickey finn.

Smoulder, you are definitely growing on me, you have your head screwed on right.

Wow, they really have tiny cages in Tartarus, don't they?

Yeah, I'mma not have sympathy for things - some clearly eldrithc horrors, being locked up in tiny cages in the hell dimension. They earned this, whatever is was, else they'd have already been set free.

Speaking of Tirek, long time no see!

Chancellor Neighsay shos up to be extra bigoted and... He's not behind iit, nor working with Cosey Glow?

Okay. Well, got that one wrong.

Chryssy, then.

Sandbar, congraulations, you just made the cut. The face-heel to get out was obvious, but going to get the CMC? Stroke of genius. Well done, that pony, well done.

And it IS Tirek behind the magic draining, via Cosey Glow.

And there's Starlight, imprisoned in the draining field.

...

COSEY GLOW is the villain herself? She's NOT Chrysalis in disguise?

Really?

Ohhhhh...Kaaaaay.

Show, I tip my hat to you.

I mean, I called her being obviously Evil, but I did NOT see her as being the BBEG in and of herself.

"Empress of Friendship."

Well, I give her a 9/10 for Using The Good Stuff Against Them and 10/10 for the Evil Laughter.

I'm warming to her, actually, now she's showing her true colours. Kinda impressed, actually.

[Adderbane]

For someone that has read almost no pony fan fic, what would you say are the best ones to read?

There are so many good ones I'm too lazy to link individually.

I've got a list: Longer stories and shorter ones also, these are pretty good (they get a separate shelf since there's so many of them.

A few highlights:

*The One Who Got Away: Canterlot noble gets his own barony; but it's not all it's cracked up to be. Nice peaceful story I go back and reread whenever I'm feeling stressed.

*Trixie and her Amazing Pet Changeling: Exactly what it says on the tin.

*The Changeling of the Guard: Set some time before the series, an exiled changeling accidentally enlists in the Royal Guards. Hilarity ensues. The story starts off a bit slow, but quickly becomes awesome once Topaz is introduced. There is a reason this is one of the highest rated stories on the site.

*The Blueblood Chronicles: I think this is the best Blueblood stories on the site. It involves a romance between Blueblood and one of the least likely characters imaginable.

*Contraptionology!: An older story in the fandom, one of the few that really handles Applejack well as the main character I think.

*Yule in a Donut Shop: Based on a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song. It is fantastic.

*The Writing on the Wall: The only horror story I've liked. Kudos if you figure out what the ponies have found before the reveal.

*Three Letters: What would Twilight think of our world?

*Shipping Sickness: One of the few times this kind of joke works.

*The Dresden Fillies: If you have read the Dresden Files this is a must read; this series is what convinced me to give MLP a chance.

[Aotrs Commander]

Spoiler: s8e26

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Yay! This is more like it. I think this is the best finale since season four.

Ensemble cast - EVERYPONY gets in on it, nd I'm a sucker for that.

Coesy is a great villain, utterly unrepentant. And, with no special powers other than a version of Diamond Tiara's talent - not an outside threat, just a straight pony-gone-mad and this time, without a cheap repentance at the end. (THANK YOU for that, show!)

Hell, they even chucked her into Tartarus at the end! Fitting punishment for what would have been unthinkable carnage and basically the end of pony civilisation as we know it. DAMN RIGHT she was confined to Tartarus! (And this definitely shows that she's young, but not a child - she's just friggin' short.) She was giving me Princess Morebucks vibes by the end.

Hey, Tree of Harmony, well done for getting off your arse and helping! I mean, maybe be you have done that sooner (mind you, I suppose active magic)...

The biggest plothole, I think, is that Coesy was able to set off a complex global magic feat that comparitively easily. (I guess the Tree of Harmony was focal to it, and it is entirely possible Cosey set it up USING the magic of friendship ITSELF to power it), but I am prepared to give that a by (and with the aforementioned, it's not as far fetched as I thought when I started typing anyway.)

Again, I tip my hat to them for using Neighsay as decoy - turns out he's just a bigot (which makes him even sadder...)

Pinkie's handling of Tirek was "pause the video because laughing" good. I love that she's self aware enough to know how to annoy someone... Forever...!

The fact that all the confined monsters are chimeric (in a literal sense, in that they are clearly inherntly magical and sustained by it) - not just the chimera - was a rather interesting piece of worod building. (Not convinced of their innocence, mind (chimera predate on sentient beings, for one).

Excellent pair of episodes; ensemble cast (as I say), world building, some twists even on the obvious twist and a good villain and serious stakes.

More like that, please!

Back through thread:

Spoiler: Ep 25/26 - School Raze

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We have at one last season to go, so maybe Chryssi will get the big finale of the series. Overall this two-parter was alright. Had some stakes, some good laughs. My one disappointment is watching Tirek chew on the idiot ball when we could of had the Queen of the Changelings doing something cool. I give it a B.

Spoiler: s8e25-26

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I know; was taken aback when Cosey Glow WASN'T Chryssy.

Of course, we are making the assumption... That wasn't their intention with that one episode. Red herring us, the older-guess-the-plot fanbase by sticking that in there - before Cosey shows up, of course - to get us to expect that (which we did) and the surprise us. (Added advantage, keeps her ticking over for future use.)

If they did, it was a stroke of genius because it worked.



Yeah, I was a bit surprised that flight was still around, but perhaps it uses sufficiently little that is (as does earth pony strength) was still ticking over. Notably, in their defence, no-one lost their cutie marks and desaturated, like when Tirek did it (I went and checked). So magic hadn't clearly drained away totallyj ust yet. (If the sun had set, then... Well, the other reason is, the show having literally just reminded the Target Audience that Cloudsdale was a thing this double-episode, avoiding the horror that would have come with that is probably for the best, because you can bet at that age I'D certainly have put two and two together...)

Spoiler

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Well, Princess Celestia just did that to a twelve year old.

To be fair, cozy glow didn't like bananas.

Spoiler: s8e25-26

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No, I don't think so. It's become fairly obvious that Cosey is just mostly short, and not actually any younger than any of the others - friendship university, not school, despite what Twilight called it. (Flim and flam literally did call it that when they were in direct competition, remember?)

The students are clearly college-university age.

Actually assuming she's a cute little kid is part of what gives her her power, so...

I do still hold the position I've held since, what, season 3 that they should Transformers The Movie the main cast and go all in on one of the two separate replacement groups they've come up with. It seems so weird that they keep designing totally alternate main casts and then not actually taking that to it's logical conclusion - but otoh I guess they're a toy company and they need to move them playsets.

I totally disagree - one of the very fastest ways to get me to not care about something is to say "we're going to kill everyone off and replace them with new ones" at which point I say "then I don't care what you're doing anymore, then."

Transformers the movie did a TERRIBLE job with killing the characters off, with the only notable thing - and it was a brave and notable thing to do, though the comics had already done before and would do it ALL THE TIME - being that they did it at ALL.

(And Action force the Movie suffered for it, because they couldn't repeat it with that, since Hasbro had already traumatised children (or, more correctly, exposed them to grief and loss which you should NEVER shield people from, because it can happen to anyone, even a child - my sister died when I was seven, I know) so they weren't allowed to kill Duke, even though they clearly did...)

So, while on the one hand, I applaud them for having the stones to not sanitise warfare, they could have cut down on the "look these guys are dead" scenes and made the deaths matter more (like they did with Prime, the only death they handled properly) and not lost any impact.

[Tange-rant](It's like a tangent, but rantier.)

Especially since in the replacements, Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime was the worst character in the entire of Transformers and the least competant leader.

Hell, even the COMICS couldn't make him not suck - in one future, the Autobots won the war against the Decepticons only to IMMEDIATELY start a new one with each other and Rodimus' reaction (this being caused by him stepping down) was to fall on his knees and cover his face.

Grimlock was a better leader than Rodimus EVER was.

Even the thick-as-a-plank cartoon version.[Tange-rant]

So, coming back from the character death tangent, screw that noise. Make the cast bigger, sure, and split them off into more unique pairings (do and episode with Sweetie and Dash, or AJ and Scoots or Smoulder and Rarity or Spike and Cadance), but putting 'em on a bus slash getting rid of them?

[Expletive] that noise, as hard as possible.



Final word: for all the grief I give Naruto for stuff, the one thing it has ALWAYS gotten right is how to do character death. They die, it's meaningful, and most importantly, it's NEVER forgotten (and you see the character in flashbacks and all sorts (e.g. necromancy)). THAT is how you do character death, not "they dead (probably to show how badass some bad guy is because some new writer that doesn't give a flying frag about the character comes along), sad mourning scene and we shall never mention them ever again."

[DigoDragon]

Spoiler: s8e25-26

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I know; was taken aback when Cosey Glow WASN'T Chryssy.

Of course, we are making the assumption... That wasn't their intention with that one episode. Red herring us, the older-guess-the-plot fanbase by sticking that in there - before Cosey shows up, of course - to get us to expect that (which we did) and the surprise us. (Added advantage, keeps her ticking over for future use.)

Spoiler: Ep 25-26 School Raze

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I was even willing to go with Chrysalis and Cozy Glow being partners in this scheme. Tirek I suppose was okay instead, but it still bugs me that his plan for the Mane6 was to trap them in Tartarus. With himself. And he didn't think about how that wasn't what he wanted.

I totally disagree - one of the very fastest ways to get me to not care about something is to say "we're going to kill everyone off and replace them with new ones" at which point I say "then I don't care what you're doing anymore, then."

Yeah, I do agree with this. A character's death should be an important and focused thing. Not the *bang bag bang* and then foreget the dead business TF the Movie had done. Instead, putting the older cast in Celestia's position of being mentors and just showing up less while new characters get the spotlight seems to better work out. I love all the Trixie/Starlight episodes. The Student6 episodes aren't bad (except for Non Compete Clause because Dash/AJ get way too annoying).

[Thanqol]

I totally disagree - one of the very fastest ways to get me to not care about something is to say "we're going to kill everyone off and replace them with new ones" at which point I say "then I don't care what you're doing anymore, then."

I am flippantly using that phrase as shorthand for 'remove those characters as protagonists', not necessarily standing atop a mountain of bodies. Practically in this context it would just be retiring everyone to background pony duty. I think that the original six are pretty tapped out as far as story ideas go and they have set up and developed two totally independent backup Mane 6's - Team Social Dysfunction (Glimmer, Trixie, Maud, etc) and Team Variety (The friendship students).

I want to see how those dynamics play out and there's not gonna be space for that until the original cast stops sucking up all the oxygen.

[Aotrs Commander]

Spoiler: Ep 25-26 School Raze

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I was even willing to go with Chrysalis and Cozy Glow being partners in this scheme. Tirek I suppose was okay instead, but it still bugs me that his plan for the Mane6 was to trap them in Tartarus. With himself. And he didn't think about how that wasn't what he wanted.

Yeah, I do agree with this. A character's death should be an important and focused thing. Not the *bang bag bang* and then foreget the dead business TF the Movie had done. Instead, putting the older cast in Celestia's position of being mentors and just showing up less while new characters get the spotlight seems to better work out. I love all the Trixie/Starlight episodes. The Student6 episodes aren't bad (except for Non Compete Clause because Dash/AJ get way too annoying).

The problem with the student six is that most of the time (Smoulder being more or less the only exception), they appear as a sort of gestault character. It is why I am still not wholey warmed to them, because they just aren't getting individual focus - I think six was too much, too sooner, personally. (Naruto did it better, but it had time to individually focus on all the new additions in the chunin exams - I started literally as the forest of death arc started, so i had NO IDEA who anyone was...!)

They could have killed two birds with one stone - ditch some of this season's early just-adequate episodes, and have an introductory episode for at least a couple of the new characters and do so via some of the existing cast - different character playing off each other. (That's what makes an ensemble cast work, after all).

[Thanqol]

A long time ago I read the ponyfic It's A Dangerous Business Going Out Your Door and I didn't like it. I remember commenting words along the line of 'a 100,000 word buildup to nothing happening' - I recall the story being walking from power-up to power-up and a totally anticlimactic finale where none of those accumulated power-ups really got used.

I'm just now reading the sequel, Besides the Will of Evil. And hoo boy. My previous criticism has been well and truly invalidated - this is what all that was building up to. Everything that I didn't like about the first part has been deftly dealt with in the second and I have been totally sucked into the story. I believe it was AotRS who originally made the recommend those years ago so I need to give him a belated apology - this is really good so thank you for recommending it to me.

[Thanqol]

Behold, my humble return to ponyficcin'! Starlight Glimmer Fixes Everything, Season Five, episode 109: Cutie Mark Chronicles.

The quality of the stories in this anthology is mixed, but for my money, the best ones are the ones where Starlight Glimmer profoundly misidentifies the source of the problems in the episodes. A lot of episodes have a B-Plot of some kind that tie into and inspire the A-plot, and the best Glimglam repairs are her heading off the A-plot by dealing decisively with the B-plot.

[zimmerwald1915]

The problem with the student six is that most of the time (Smoulder being more or less the only exception), they appear as a sort of gestault character. It is why I am still not wholey warmed to them, because they just aren't getting individual focus - I think six was too much, too sooner, personally. (Naruto did it better, but it had time to individually focus on all the new additions in the chunin exams - I started literally as the forest of death arc started, so i had NO IDEA who anyone was...!)

You'd think they'd learn after introducing the Equal Four and doing nothing with them, or the Shadowbolts and doing nothing with them, or the Pillars and doing nothing with them. . .

[Rogar Demonblud]

I am flippantly using that phrase as shorthand for 'remove those characters as protagonists', not necessarily standing atop a mountain of bodies. Practically in this context it would just be retiring everyone to background pony duty.

Agreed. One of the episodes I like (as in can remember it individually) was Slice of Life, just because it focused on everypony else.

[meto30]

For someone that has read almost no pony fan fic, what would you say are the best ones to read?

In no particular order, my recommendations are:
(Any series of fics is listed by the first fic in the series)

Hard Reset
Project Sunflower
Enchanted Library
Certain Advantages
Celestia Sleeps In
Best Night Ever
Exit Through Canterlot
Arrow 18 Mission Logs: Lone Ranger
Fractured Sunlight
A Little Chat
A Princess, a Magician, and an Exile walk into a Bar
A Draconequus' Guide to Immortality
The Mare who once lived on the Moon
The Diary of an Evil Pony
Whom the Princesses would Destroy
Sucker for a Cute Face


Honourable mentions (I like these as much as if not better than the above list but I do not recommend them for the most part)
Stardust
Mother of Invention
The Celestia Code
Anthropology
The Sword Coast

[Aotrs Commander]

I think that the original six are pretty tapped out as far as story ideas go

Cobblers, dude, cobblers.

Are you seriously telling me, SERIOUSLY, that you can't honestly, genuinely cannot think of any stories to tell with the existant set of characters?

Come on, man, you of all people are better creatively than that.

Here's one I came up with off the top of my head in like, the time it took to walk out the room and back: Rarity, Pinkie and Spike go to Crystal Empire; Pinkie get caught up in the whole Brave and Glorious thing, throwing him hero parties, and Rarity sees a chance to use him as marketing for her new Crystal Empire clothing... And something somethin, it goes horribly wrong, the dangers of fame etc.

That's something I came up with on the fly with no proper thought, even, and I'm CRAP at personal dynamic stuff (seriously, the vast majority of my stories and quests are about events and stuff, not people). I'm sure ponythread could come up with a dozen different better ideas without even really trying. (Even while not dipping in the well of stuff fanfic handles.)

Let ALONE the potential in using disparate membets of said groups and mixing and matching.

Also that tacit aspersion that character growth... Stops. Ever. That people reach a point and never learn anything again; hell, you know this better than probably the rest of us!

On top of even that, characters don't need to change continuously, its okay to have them be same for a bit and just enjoy where they are...



Let us remember that all the new character introduced in Transformers following the movie (or in the comic) were, at best caricatures, if not simply outright crap. Kup was just "old man", Blurr... Can anyone tell me anything about Blurr's personality, other than he is fast? Arcee was marginally better, but she was essentially The Girl One, Hot Rod we've mentioned already...

Heck, despite the efforts of the comic writers, you know what stories were the best one that they gravitated to (in the UK-exlcusive stuff)? The ones where they were about all the old and established characters. There is a reason Simon Furman always went back to Starscream or Grimlock, Wheeljack and Soundwave and Prowl and Ratchet and Ironhide and Jazz and Bumblebee... Because aside from a small handful (like Nightbeat, who Was A Detective), none of the new characters had anything but mostly one character feature to define them from the masses.

TFTM is not a good example of changing the cast, it really isn't. I love TFTM, don't get me wrong, but what resulted from it was by far the weakest season of Transformers (and the future stories of the distant future of over a decade ago were not the comic's best either, aside Target:2006 and that one double-page spread of the biggest battle scene they ever did in the one where Unicron's head landed on Junk).



(Oh, changing the subject entirely, and I'm around now for whatever it was you wanted on Steam chat earlier - no session tonight, campaign ended and thre guy who is running next of away for a couple of weeks, so I'm in Spell Force III for the next while... You confused the hell out of Dad, actually, since I wasn't up yet and he has no idea what Steam chat even was, let alone how to do anything...! Especially as Steam apparently fires up the chat system on boot-up when the Steam client isn't even running at the time, that's just weird.)

[Rogar Demonblud]

Heck, a Pinkie story involving one of her sisters besides Maud would be innovating.

[zimmerwald1915]

Cobblers, dude, cobblers.

Are you seriously telling me, SERIOUSLY, that you can't honestly, genuinely cannot think of any stories to tell with the existant set of characters?

Come on, man, you of all people are better creatively than that.

Thanqol is not working on Friendship is Magic, and it is abundantly clear that the people who are have no idea what to do with their cast. Or with any of the putative replacements, really.

[Thanqol]

Cobblers, dude, cobblers.

Are you seriously telling me, SERIOUSLY, that you can't honestly, genuinely cannot think of any stories to tell with the existant set of characters?

Come on, man, you of all people are better creatively than that.

I can, but there's a but. The reason I pick S3 as my 'these characters have completed their arcs' is because the season was written that way - everypony achieved the things they were building up to, be that becoming a Wonderbolt or a Princess or opening a boutique etc. They've done things since then but they haven't reeeeeaalllly grown that much as people. They've done the things they wanted to do.

This of course is a personal taste thing. My favourite taste in stories is seeing people in moments of change. Glimmer and Trixie are always hits for me because they're currently undergoing the biggest transitions in the show. They're figuring out how relationships work and how to manage their respective egos; they want things and have no idea how to get them, they want to be different people but don't know who those people are.

You could keep episodes going with the original cast going for another six seasons but unless they get onto a new character arc my opinion that they're done as characters isn't really going to shift.

Also that tacit aspersion that character growth... Stops. Ever. That people reach a point and never learn anything again; hell, you know this better than probably the rest of us!

Oh yeah, for sure. I just kicked off Thanqol's Adventures In Vegetarianism. People can get new arcs. The ponies in the show have, even - Twilight's learning to be a teacher is an arc, and probably the strongest of them. But my problem isn't that these ideas don't exist, it's that they're not committing to any of them. Set an entire season in the school with Twilight verses her students until we draw the thread of that out and examine it a bit - awesome. Instead that storyline is playing itself out once every 5-10 episodes. And not everyone's getting one. What're Applejack's feelings about becoming a teacher of all things?

That's my problem with these two backup casts. They made an entire season about assembling Team Social Awkwardness, setting up a bunch of interesting conflicts and problems, and then didn't do anything with it. Like I mentioned, I don't think that pony is currently bad - I think it's good! The animation, voice acting, and individual episodes are all individually better than any of the things that came in the past. But what I think the show is lacking is, like, what does Sandbar want out of life? Or Yuna? What happens when those two butt heads, what's their dynamic even? Why isn't the new season all about the new 36-point dynamic the schoolkids represent?

(Oh, changing the subject entirely, and I'm around now for whatever it was you wanted on Steam chat earlier - no session tonight, campaign ended and thre guy who is running next of away for a couple of weeks, so I'm in Spell Force III for the next while... You confused the hell out of Dad, actually, since I wasn't up yet and he has no idea what Steam chat even was, let alone how to do anything...! Especially as Steam apparently fires up the chat system on boot-up when the Steam client isn't even running at the time, that's just weird.)

Steam itself runs on start up by default, it just stays minimized until you first click the button. There's a toggle for that in options. I'm only online for a limited window a day, if I can't catch you after a few days I'll just toss my question via PM.

[Pi Pie]

Thanqol is not working on Friendship is Magic, and it is abundantly clear that the people who are have no idea what to do with their cast. Or with any of the putative replacements, really.

I think that there are plenty of options for each of the casts.

• An adventure to the zebra lands.
• Chrysalis and her revenge plot against the Mane 6.
• Mage Meadowbrook could give a class on healing.
• Have the friendship students interact with each other and learn their cultures with possible conflicts.

For other fanfics, I will recommend 3.

1. The Life and Times of a Winning Pony us a slice of life story that feels like a sitcom and is wonderfully done.
2. Five Hundred Little Murders involves Fluttershy and her true strength. Warning, this one can provide some emotional impact particularly if you have ever had a pet.
3. Fallout Equestria is the classic of pony fiction. I would not necessarily recommend as an introduction to pony fiction because some of its topics are tough to read. When reading, remember that it was based on season 1, so there are some things that conflict with canon.

[zimmerwald1915]

I think that there are plenty of options for each of the casts.

You would. The people who actually make those decisions would disagree, apparently.

Fanfic recommendations:
Daring Do and the Secret of the Sunken City, along with everything else by 8686, who I consider far and away the fanficcer most adept at writing Pony;

Firebird Dahlia;

Better than the Best;

Synthetic Bottled Sunlight;

For the Mare Who Has Everything;

The Other Side of the Horizon;

Nine Days Down;

Twilight Falls Sunset Dawns;

The Enchanted Library and its (incomplete) sequel; and

Teatime - a Novel of Twilight and Celestia.

I'll also second The Moonstone Cup.

[DigoDragon]

Agreed. One of the episodes I like (as in can remember it individually) was Slice of Life, just because it focused on everypony else.

I liked that one too. It was goofy and a lot of fun to watch.

I remember using pencils to rewind my old cassette tapes.

Spoiler: Using a unicorn though?

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[otakuryoga]

i'd like to see em do an episode where they show that if your friends are doing something wrong(say being mean to a pony for no reason) you can stand up and tell em off while remaining friends

you know..what boast busters could & should have been

[Aotrs Commander]

*sigh*

So, we got the prints back from the first shapeways alternative - fine.

Starting preparing a webshop there... And found you can only sell models that you have already had printed there.

*looks at catalogue of 300+ models - nevermind issues where you have to do corrections etc*

So, that's not happening.

Contenter two is already more expensive than shapeways. And one of the forum goers has reported that yes, Shapeways told they specifically don't want people to be selling small models, because they aren't making enough money on them. So the price changes are coming (though I will be fascinated to see how many of Shapeway's shops just vanish or lie open, using the storage space with no-one to visit), it seems.

The most hilarious thing? The files I was checking at the other places, where I sprued six tanks together as one part? Shapeways can't even accept that file, because it's too large.

Typical Shapeways. "We don't want the business for small models!" *fails to take into account larger models require larger files*

So even IF they were going to retain customers after fracking them all off, the major option to do so and retain sanity in costs means that we literally cannot make models for them to sell.

(And call me crazy, I don't think there's all that much of a market for large, random shaped decorations with little to no detail.)



So, looks like I'm going to have to cludge for a bit when the price changes go south and print and dispatch stuff myself (something I did NOT want to do - it basically means getting a second printer, if we can) and I might, to possibly my greatest depression, have to make a Shipyards Facebook pae or something, just so I have somewhere to give out email addresses from.

(As I wouldn't know how to begin to create a proper webshop, much less afford for someone to create and maintain it (since you can't be taking chances when eveb my pitiful amount of pennies are involved, I suspect...))


And, to crown it all, my mate isn't coming when we go to the convention on Saturday - I already don't have a table (we only got one, which means it has to be moderns) so now I won;t even have im to natter to in quiet moments. (I mean, if all goes well, we should be chatting to punters all day, but I have no idea what this convention will be like, so...)

[Pi Pie]

*sigh*

So, we got the prints back from the first shapeways alternative - fine.

Starting preparing a webshop there... And found you can only sell models that you have already had printed there.

*looks at catalogue of 300+ models - nevermind issues where you have to do corrections etc*

So, that's not happening.

Contenter two is already more expensive than shapeways. And one of the forum goers has reported that yes, Shapeways told they specifically don't want people to be selling small models, because they aren't making enough money on them. So the price changes are coming (though I will be fascinated to see how many of Shapeway's shops just vanish or lie open, using the storage space with no-one to visit), it seems.

The most hilarious thing? The files I was checking at the other places, where I sprued six tanks together as one part? Shapeways can't even accept that file, because it's too large.

Typical Shapeways. "We don't want the business for small models!" *fails to take into account larger models require larger files*

So even IF they were going to retain customers after fracking them all off, the major option to do so and retain sanity in costs means that we literally cannot make models for them to sell.

(And call me crazy, I don't think there's all that much of a market for large, random shaped decorations with little to no detail.)



So, looks like I'm going to have to cludge for a bit when the price changes go south and print and dispatch stuff myself (something I did NOT want to do - it basically means getting a second printer, if we can) and I might, to possibly my greatest depression, have to make a Shipyards Facebook pae or something, just so I have somewhere to give out email addresses from.

(As I wouldn't know how to begin to create a proper webshop, much less afford for someone to create and maintain it (since you can't be taking chances when eveb my pitiful amount of pennies are involved, I suspect...))


And, to crown it all, my mate isn't coming when we go to the convention on Saturday - I already don't have a table (we only got one, which means it has to be moderns) so now I won;t even have im to natter to in quiet moments. (I mean, if all goes well, we should be chatting to punters all day, but I have no idea what this convention will be like, so...)

I'm disappointed to hear about your continued problem with Shapeways.

I thought that their business model of offering cheap 3D printing was an innovative business strategy. I am surprised that they are pushing back on the web stores since this seemed like a good method of making money for everyone.

As for alternate web stores, Etsy is one option. Deviantart might also allow you to sell the models as sculptures.

Good luck.

[Aotrs Commander]

I'm disappointed to hear about your continued problem with Shapeways.

I thought that their business model of offering cheap 3D printing was an innovative business strategy. I am surprised that they are pushing back on the web stores since this seemed like a good method of making money for everyone.

As for alternate web stores, Etsy is one option. Deviantart might also allow you to sell the models as sculptures.

Good luck.

I am in negotiations with i-materialise as a replacement, so we'll see how that goes.

The daft thing in I think Shapeways wants the shops, but it wants the shops to sell the things that are most profitable for it only.

Never heard of Etsy - had a quick look, but pretty much the first thing it said was the products get listed for four months or until they sell and thus is sort of opposite of what I need. (Imagine having to do a new listing every time someone bought an item, and it would be impossible to buy more than one).

Deviantart only appears to allow you to sell pictures of your model.

Thanks for trying, though!

...

I supose it might be possible to do it via ebay or maybe Amazon, if it really came down to it, I'd not really considered that as an option - might be worth asking about it, if it comes down to that...



In more positive mood, I Won A BattleTech Game this evening.

Yes, one of the players was new, but it's not like my mate (and me, when it came to that) wasn't helping him.

But considering that I missed shooting an assault mech in the rear armour FIVE TIMES in a row, I refuse to feel bad when I stopped rolling attack rolls on a metaphorical D6 and actually a D20.



Also:

Spoiler: Bolted down and ready!

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(Gotta do a bit of moderns between the Phystyulon Laser Troopers...)

And I pat myself on the back for at least two people recognising the vehicle make for exactly what it was. I dun A Good Job there.