Odds, Ends, and Random Nonsense #1 · 4:44am Feb 18th, 2023
I've accumulated a fair bit of junk since I began working on M.L.G. Care to check it out? >^_^<
First up are some outtakes, along with some notes if appropriate. This is stuff that I considered at first, but never made the final cut in the story proper. There would've been a lot more, but these snippets I actually thought to save.
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CHAPTER 6
"I just don't know what to make of this. 'Gray Ghost'. 'Drama Heart'. 'Turkey Bowl'. Whatever happened to normal names? Am I crazy?"
Gray grins. "Well---"
I jab a finger at the pegasus. "Don't psychoanalyze me."
(Red Vs. Blue reference. Season 13, the "Sharkface" conversation between the mercs and the former Freelancer counselor. If memory serves, I eschewed this because the Locus and Felix expies were brewing in my mind at this point.)
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CHAPTER 11
The Reploid took a step back at Drama's raging fury. "Because 1), what did you do to my theater?! 2), why is there a journalist from the Manehattan Minutes at the door?! And 3), why is there a Royal Police officer at the door?!"
"Wow," Leviathan said, her effort at smiling falling flat. "That was some party..." Drama's fear-inspiring death whinny showed her what she thought of her joke. "Alright, alright! Don't lose your temper! Before you say anything else, you did see the hole in your window, correct?..."
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CHAPTER 22
That's not to say that everything about it is devoted to combat. There's a concealed compartment on my back right below where my neck would normally be that's large enough for a full-grown human (or two medium-sized ponies) and has its own dedicated life support system, so in an emergency it's useful for transportation. It's best if you aren't afraid of either enclosed spaces or the dark, though. Whole other problem there.
(I contemplated giving Leviathan's Armed Phenomenon this function for a time. I eventually got rid of it after I realized that even after looking at her sprites and the official artwork of the form, I couldn't figure out if it was large enough for the function to be feasible.)
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CHAPTER 24
Bossa points at one of those in the crowd with her free hand. The pony nods, taking the hint. "On the count of three," he calls. "Ready? One..."
Our grips tighten.
"Two..."
Our respective muscles, or what passes for them for me, tense.
"BEE!" somepony in the crowd shrieks, setting off everypony near her and making the two of us jerk in surprise. That entire section of the audience scatters around the street in a panic.
Bossa snorts, the air exiting her nostrils visible. "Wimps."
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CHAPTER 36
-"---EEEeechh--never figure th-chezzbt-pid things..."- I can just barely discern an unidentified voice muttering.
"Who is this?" I exclaim. "If this is somepony's idea of a practical joke...!"
-"CcczZZBEeee--lo? Hello? Who am I speaking to?"
I smirk and dial down my voice to something closer to 'normal'. "Yakov's Bar and Grill," I greet the caller. "Yakov speaking."
The transmission is silent for about seven seconds before the caller sighs. -"You must think I'm a complete idiot,"- he says, bemused.
"Yes, but I would have settled for at least 'partial'," I tell him. "Jokes aside, why are you on this call?..."
(One of my older siblings pranked a random stranger over a payphone when we were moving cross-country back in 2007. I didn't really think this style of practical joke was in character for Leviathan, however.)
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VICTORY LINES FOR COCOA MOCHA'S AGENTS
In the vein of Zero 4, these are 'what if?'-style lines used in the event of the agents actually succeeding in destroying Leviathan. I've got all nine of them here, not just the four we've actually seen fight since their arrival in Manehattan:
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Trifecta: "Just another monster to be put down. The world will rest easier now that you're gone."
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Glintlock: "You can't play the most dangerous game without knowing the rules. You were never going to win this one."
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Metallium: "Ooh~, nice flavor. I'm going to eat well today!"
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Statuette: "A fine performance by both parties. You would have made a fine figure skater, were you not our enemy."
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Illudere: "Come closer. Let us smile together!"
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Calico Driftwood: "You're pretty similar to my kind. You can't talk anymore."
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Bushwhacker: "I won?... I really won! I can't believe--- ...of... of course I won. I never had any doubts."
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Bastion: "You can have your peace..."
Gates: "...and rot in it."
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Illudere's quote is one of Withered Chica's lines from FNAF: Ultimate Custom Night. I imagine her voice is probably the same too, just without all the distortion.
Bushwhacker's quote is a dummied-out line from Lords of the Realm 2. Each noble would've had their own victory speeches recited in the game if they beat the player. Unfortunately, while the lines were recorded, they were never implemented.
Bastion and Gates' speech is, of course, Master Albert's last words from Megaman ZX Advent.
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MISCELLANEOUS
To wrap things up, I've got two Pony Creator-generated images here. The first is a close-up of Five-of-a-Kind and her Cutie Mark. Obvious pun is obvious.
...
The second is of the Mocha twins, sans their Cutie Marks because of my lackluster drawing ability. I knew when I created them that I wanted to have Hazelnut as an antagonist in some way, possibly even the story's "final boss". It wasn't until I finalized their grandfather's appearance that the pieces started to come together.
I find it a bit amusing that despite Caramel being the more refined of the two, it's her manestyle that's the messy one.
I have enclosed a link here. For reasons I don't understand, Fimfiction seems to think it's an invalid image. (shrug)
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And that's all I have. I have off of work on Monday, so I'll resume writing on Tuesday. Ciao mein, everyone, and stay safe and sane!
