Lulu Luck Chapter Expansion · 5:36am Feb 2nd, 2023
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/165139
When originally writing Lulu Luck's chapter, this was the longest chapter I'd yet posted. That trend has continued and her chapter was eventually short compared to those that came later. Oddly enough, I had written an additional 2,000+ words at the time and decided that they'd be better served in Act II. So I've included that (and more!) in this expansion, which can be found below the page break. I'm just going to ramble a bit first.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/164899
As noted previously, I'm still working on expanding the earlier chapters (as well as the next chapter, of course), but the good news is I've embiggened seven of the earlier chapters of 16. You have the option of going back and rereading each of the chapters individually, but I'm posting the newly added scenes in separate blog posts for each of the characters. There's too much to do a single blog post. Way too much. Several of these ponies have had more than 5,000 words added to their respective chapters.
This is completely optional reading. No major plot points are revealed in any of these scenes. No retcons!
Much like when I was posting the character interviews, I'll space these out so as not to overwhelm everyone at once.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/1315787
Chapter status:
Cherry Pie: Currently in progress
Daisy Dreams: No recent changes; will be expanded
Dewdrop Dazzle: No recent changes; will be expanded
Diamond Rose: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/990898/diamond-rose-chapter-expansion
Feathermay: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/993541/feathermay-chapter-expansion
Flitterheart: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/996030/flitterheart-chapter-expansion
Honeybuzz: No recent changes; will be expanded
Lily Blossom: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/999575/lily-blossom-chapter-expansion
Lulu Luck: You're here.
Ploomette: No expansions planned
Plumsweet: Expanded, blog post coming soon
Rainbow Flash: Expanded, blog post coming soon
Snowcatcher: No expansions planned
Starbeam Twinkle: No expansions planned
Sunny Rays: No expansions planned
Sweetie Swirl: Sweetie Swirl's next chapter is done, pre-read, and edited. This should be released soon. For those who are impatient, there's a sneak preview of what's coming after Lulu Luck's new scenes.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/344886
Without further ado, more Lulu Luck!
Siami Beach: sixteen days ago
It felt nice to be home again, even if it was only temporary. My parents were happy to see me after more than three years spent in Abyssinia. They were less enthused to hear that once I left it would be another five years before they’d see me again.
I’d stopped in New Horseleans on the way home to catch up with Thousand Words, and to finally see the statue of me in person. She insisted on getting photos of me with the statue.
It was one of those photos that was on the front page of the latest paper that she’d mailed to me. The headline read, Local Hero’s Newest Adventure!
This should be good. There was no doubt that Thousand Words was a master of the written word. She’d built her career on my adventure, and her periodic articles about my life in the years since had always proven to be popular with her paper’s readers. But this was the first time I’d been on the front page since that first article about me taking down the Storm King’s airship.
As always, there was a letter enclosed, and I skipped the article praising my exploits in favor of seeing what my friend had to say about it. The article would be hyperbole; friend or not, Thousand Words was a journalist first and foremost.
Dear Lulu Luck,
It was great seeing you again! I hate that you had to leave so soon. There will always be a place for you in New Horseleans. If you ever get tired of traveling the world, New Horseleans would welcome you with open hooves. Seriously, if you announced a candidacy for mayor you’d win. You wouldn’t even need to campaign. You’re our hometown hero, even if you don’t actually live here. Maybe that’s for the best, you know what they say about never meeting your heroes. By staying away you’ll always stay a beloved legend here.
I know this has always seemed strange to you, but that’s because you don’t live here. Party Gras is serious business to the natives. As a town we work hard for fifty-one weeks of the year, and we take our collective weeklong break just as seriously as our respective jobs. We were powerless to do anything about the Storm King’s invasion. New Horseleans wasn’t even on his agenda, we know that now, but we couldn’t have known it then. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway; we couldn’t have kept partying while our fellow Equestrians were wearing chains in a burning city.
You took one of our darkest days as a country and gave us hope. You gave us the payback on the Storm King that we so desperately wanted. Most importantly, you gave us something to be proud of. …And a new tourist attraction.
The downed flagship is now a museum. Dedicated to you, of course. Your parents should still have the copies of the paper I sent when it opened. Many apologies, but at the time I didn’t have your temporary address in Panthera. Besides, we both know that your parents appreciate these articles far more than you do.
I know that you hate the limelight. That’s why I didn’t mention it when you were here last week. I suppose that’s probably why you stay away. If you lived here, you’d never be able to trot down the street here without attracting attention.
So when you told me you were going to Earth, I had to write about it. It’s the latest in a series of adventures – the brave filly who battled the Storm King is off to brave a new world entirely. I’ve enclosed a photo of the dozen ponies from New Horseleans planning on going to Earth. As you can imagine that was a big story itself, and maybe you’ll run into some of these young mares in your travels.
So many ponies have told me I live an interesting life, yet I’d say yours is far more intriguing. We’re the same age and you’ve already seen and done so much more than I ever will. We both know that without you, I’d probably still be a lowly intern, struggling to get a decent scoop. I owe you so much, and it’s infuriating sometimes that you’re so humble. I write these articles about you knowing that you’d really prefer I not do so. It makes me feel like such a bad friend, but somepony needs to toot your horn for you. I’ll continue to do so as long as there’s still a single pony left who’ll listen.
I know it’ll be years until we see each other again, but please stay in touch. If I can use my journalist credentials to take vacation on Earth, you better believe I’ll come visit you!
Your friend,
Thousand Words
P.S. This time our staff photographer made sure to get some pictures of your hindquarters. I’ve already started a fundraising campaign to fix your statue.
I blushed as I read the postscript. For the first time, I was actually glad I’d be gone for five years. I’m not sure I can show my face around New Horseleans again after this. Or my rump, for that matter.
Little Falls, New Jersey: Today
I awoke to Bifröst snuggled against me. “You are being awake! I shall be going to make you the breakfast.”
“Thank you.”
While Bifröst cooked, I sat at the room’s desk and started making a list of the essentials I’d need for my travels:
recreational vehicle
computer laptop computer
cellphone
atlas/maps
bedding
cooking supplies
non-perishable food
I tapped the pen idly against my snout as I pondered what else to purchase. Bifröst interrupted my planning with a breakfast of hay bacon, bagels, and croissants. It smelled delicious – I’d been living amongst felines for so long I’d forgotten just how good properly prepared Equestrian food could taste.
After breakfast, Bifröst took me on the tour of the hotel. It was still very much a work-in-progress. They hadn’t even officially opened yet, and like me, the scant few other guests were also ponies recently arrived on Earth. Half the rooms were ready, while the rest of the staff was busy renovating the second floor of the converted mansion.
A rainbow-maned unicorn poked her head out of room #9. Her paint-splattered coat did an unintentionally good job of matching her hair. “Flitterheart, darling, could you come in and check to see if this looks okay?”
A pegasus with pair of intertwined hearts on her flank stopped what she was doing and trotted past us. A glance in room #10 showed a blue unicorn installing a bathroom in the corner closest to the door, while a yellow pegasus was busy painting the ceiling in another room.
We reached the end of the hall, and the thus far untouched room #16. Inside, an earth pony was tweaking the finer details on the blueprints a unicorn was revising accordingly.
“Snowy?”
“Yes, Bifröst?”
“We are having guest who would like to be going to the mall.”
“I’d like to get a cellphone and a computer.”
“I can drive you over a little later. I hate to ask this since you’re a guest, but can you wait until noon? That’s when we break for lunch.” She sighed. “I’m sorry for the state the hotel’s in. If I’d had my way, we wouldn’t have opened until we had all the rooms ready, but Ploomette insisted. I really couldn’t turn down her request since she floated us a loan to cover the cost of the renovations.”
“I understand entirely, and maybe I can help you out. I like to tear things down and rebuild them, and I’ve been wanting to get my hooves on some Earth tech since I found out about it. Do you have anything that doesn’t work?”
“Diamond Rose.” The others all cracked up at that, but I just blinked. Seeing my confusion, she explained. “Sorry, she’s one of our coworkers. With very little emphasis on the ‘work’. Can you fix laziness and/or incompetence?”
I shook my head. “I was thinking more along the lines television sets or radios…”
Snowcatcher shrugged. “We don’t have anything like that. The place was pretty much gutted before we moved in.”
“But that worked out great for us. Since it wasn’t habitable, we got the place cheap, and as an added bonus, we could start renovations immediately. Hi, I’m Daisy Dreams, apparently lead architect on this project, despite having never so much as looked at a blueprint until two months ago.”
“Lulu Luck, bewildered guest of this hotel.”
“Nice to meet you.” She bumped my hoof. “In addition to completing the hotel, we’re also still working on our customer service skills. Snowy, we can survive for an hour or two without you. Go take Lulu to the mall.”
Snowcatcher led the way to a garage and we all climbed into a van that was the same color yellow as all the taxicabs I’d seen in the city yesterday. ‘Mareiott’ was stenciled over the door, almost as an afterthought.
The interior was nowhere near as nice as the SUV I’d ridden in the day before. “What kind of car is this?”
“It’s a Ford Econoline. This one was used as an airport shuttle for many years. It’s been used and abused, and it barely runs. But it was cheap, fits all of the Mareiott’s employees, and has plenty of cargo capacity. I’ve filled this thing on trips to Home Depot or At Home. I’m hoping to upgrade to something better by the time we open. Our vehicle will be one of the first things guests see when we arrive to pick them up at the airport or train station, so I want something that’ll make a good first impression.”
“Of course. The SUV the consul has is really nice.”
“Those are well out of our budget. I looked into them, because I also thought they were nice. We can’t afford one of them, let alone several. We’re going to need more than one car. Eventually, the rest of the staff will get their licenses too. Ideally, each of us would have our own car. Realistically, we’ve got enough room in the garage for about five or six cars we can share. It would be nice if they all matched. Something that sticks out as part of our brand identity.”
“I’m doing some research into vintage vehicles. It was recommended to me to get an older car, because they’re easier to fix. If you want, I can see if I can find anything that fits the hotel’s needs while I’m doing research on my own car of choice?”
“I’d appreciate that. Though I’m not sure we have anypony on staff who’s mechanically inclined.”
“It is not being me,” Bifröst added from the backseat.
“Nor I,” Snowcatcher conceded. “Though I’m sure I can learn. I’ve been learning a lot about central air conditioning the past few weeks. Before that it was electrical wiring. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and we can’t afford to hire experts.”
We drove longer than I’d expected for something that was supposedly ‘close’ to the hotel, but with long distances speedily traversed by cars, it made sense that close would be subjective. That didn’t bother me, it gave me more time to observe how she drove and learn more rules of the road.
Much to my surprise, it wasn’t a mall that we eventually stopped at.
“I hope you don’t mind, but if you want to learn how to drive I thought this might be a good place to start.” Snowcatcher opened the door and Bifröst and I got out.
I looked around at broken vehicles as we entered a salvage yard.
“Driving is a huge responsibility. Many of Earth’s natives take it as a right, not a privilege.” She patted the hood of a car that had the entire side of the vehicle caved in. “Doing that can have dire consequences. This car was struck in the passenger compartment by another vehicle.” She brushed some debris off a big pickup truck with a crumpled front. “This truck might’ve punched a hole in a house.”
We continued walking around the salvage yard looking at destroyed and/or derelict vehicles, with Snowcatcher quick to point out anything she thought was important to go over. An SUV with the roof smashed in was the next example. “Cars can be rolled if turned too quickly. This is especially an issue with vehicles with higher centers of gravity, like our hotel’s van, or the RV you’re interested in buying.”
Eventually we reached the part of the yard reserved for older cars. These were primarily less damaged, but more dilapidated from age. “I get the feeling I don’t need to explain this part to you, but cars need to be maintained. Vehicles end up looking like this because of neglect.”
I nodded. “Like any machine.”
“Exactly. For the record, I’m not trying to discourage you from driving. You seem ready for the road, but sometimes it helps to see the consequences of actions in advance. Nopony has yet had an accident while controlling a vehicle and I want to keep it that way.”
“How many ponies are able to drive?”
“Counting you? Half a dozen.”
“That’s a pretty small sample size.”
“It is, and eventually the law of averages is going to catch up with somepony, but for now ponies have a 100% safe driving record and I’m eager to maintain it. Don’t drive distracted – a lot of these accidents were caused by people texting, or eating, or doing any number of other things behind the wheel that they shouldn’t.”
It was food for thought as we left the junkyard and headed to our primary destination. I continued observing, this time paying closer attention to the signs. Most seemed straightforward – the red octagonal sign that said ‘stop’ meant bring the vehicle to a halt, the yellow diamond-shaped signs warned of upcoming curves, intersections, or hazards, while white rectangular signs with numbers limited the speed of the vehicle. All of them seemed pretty straightforward. Whenever I had questions I asked, and Snowcatcher answered to the best of her abilities.
Eventually, the van came to a stop in front of a sprawling shopping complex. It was unlike anything I’d seen either in Equestria or Abyssinia. “Wow!”
“The Willowbrook Mall is the fifth largest mall in New Jersey.”
“There are bigger ones?”
“Oh yes, lots of them.”
“Humans go all out, don’t they?”
“‘Go big or go home’ is a saying here on Earth.”
“They went big, all right.”
She led the way into a store with an apple-shaped logo. My jaw had dropped a little upon seeing the size of the mall, but it hit the floor when I looked into the Apple Store. It was everything I’d ever wanted, and more.
Snowcatcher giggled. “Keep in mind Apple only sells a few products. There’s an At Home store we’ll stop at so you can check out more mundane appliances too.”
The saleshuman was happy to assist me, and started explaining all the variations on what they sold, asking me questions on what I planned to do, and what I was looking for. Snowcatcher added her thoughts periodically, but Bifröst remained quiet. Like most ponies, she was somewhat intimidated by technology. I hadn’t seen her use her phone even once, though Snowcatcher had mentioned that everypony at the Mareiott had one.
In the end I trotted out with a laptop. I very quickly determined that the level of technology was well beyond anything I could grasp. If I take this apart, I’m never going to get it back together again. I sighed. There were some things it was going to take me years to understand. But the fastest way to get started was to use it and figure out what it did. After I have a handle on that, maybe I can reverse engineer an old one that no one wants. Once I was out of the store, I teleported the laptop to my personal pocket dimension.
“Can you teach me that trick?”
“Maybe. It really depends on your field strength. It involves teleportation, so if you can’t do that, you can’t do this either.” I’d no sooner finished saying that then Bifröst, Snowcatcher, and myself found ourselves standing in front of the At Home store. I blinked, and looked across the parking lot at the mall we’d just vacated and calculated the distance – it was further than I could safely go. “Yeah, I think I can teach you.”
“Awesome! I’ve got a few interesting spells you might be interested in too.”
Shopping there wasn’t even close to being as mesmerizing as the Apple Store, but I purchased half a dozen appliances that I felt comfortable tearing into. I wouldn’t have use for any of them on the road, so if they were still usable when it was time for me to leave, I’d just let the hotel keep them.
Like the laptop, I moved them to my personal storage space, but this time I explained exactly how I’d performed the spell step-by-step for Snowcatcher’s benefit. “But be careful when you’re first learning this spell. If it’s not something you can afford to lose, don’t try storing it until you know you can perform the spell flawlessly. There’s a learning curve.”
She nodded, and we winked back into the mall, in front of a restaurant declaring itself as The Cheesecake Factory.
“You are remembering my favorite!” It was the first time I’d seen Bifröst smile since we’d arrived at the mall.
Snowcatcher smiled back. “We’re here, we may as well have lunch. Lulu, this is the best place we’ve found on Earth so far.”
I sat with my newfound friends, and we attracted quite a few stares from the restaurant’s other patrons. That wasn’t surprising. What shocked all of us was that we weren’t the only ponies in the restaurant. Neither Snowcatcher nor I recognized the pair of mares, but Bifröst immediately waved to them.
“Flitter! Cloudchaser! It is good to be seeing you again!”
“Bifröst! We haven’t seen you in ages!”
She wandered over to their table to catch up, while Snowcatcher described the restaurant to me. “You haven’t been on Earth long enough to notice it yet, but human cuisine is severely lacking in calories. Some of that is because humans consider vegetarian options to be ‘diet food’, while the rest is that ponies naturally consume more calories in any given day. The Cheesecake Factory is one of the few restaurants that comes close to Equestrian style food: specifically their desserts.”
I licked my lips as I read through the menu. Snowcatcher was right, their salad selections seemed mediocre at best. I opted for a pasta dish, as did Bifröst. Snowcatcher selected a double order of mozzarella sticks. My meal was good – nothing to write home about, but it certainly hit the spot. Dessert, on the other hoof, was outstanding.
We paid, Bifröst exchanged contact information with the twins, and then Snowcatcher winked us back to the van. “Did Searchlight issue you a permit?”
I nodded. “Last night. She said she’d try and work in some practice on evenings and weekends. Whenever she’s not on duty at the consulate.”
Snowcatcher floated the van’s keys over to me. “Feel comfortable driving it back to the hotel?”
I grinned. “Absolutely.”
“We’ve got a nice, big parking lot here. It’s not very busy today, so there’s a lot of empty space. So take a few laps around the lot to get comfortable with the vehicle, and when you’re ready I’ll give you the directions back to the hotel.”
I put the van in gear and the tires squealed when I depressed the accelerator with my magic.
“Easier on the pedals.”
I nodded and coasted to a stop. Then I tried again, and managed a less jerky start. The third time was smoother yet. “This isn’t hard at all.”
“The car does most of the work for you. Your input is mostly steering, accelerating, and braking. The challenging part is when you’re out on the roads and there’s other traffic and pedestrians to watch out for.”
It took a few loops of the parking lot, but the finesse needed to operate the old van came to me quickly. The front wheels steered the vehicle, while the rear wheels propelled the van. The harder I pressed the accelerator, the faster the van went. The harder I pressed the brake pedal, the faster the van stopped, brakes squealing.
“Don’t forget to use your turn blinkers. This isn’t a BMW.”
“Do BMWs signal automatically?” From what I could tell, modern cars had enough technology to almost drive themselves.
Snowcatcher laughed. “No, it’s an Earth stereotype. BMW drivers are well-known for not using their signals.”
“I never was much a fan of stereotypes. Even though many of them exist for a reason, that’s no reason to perpetuate them.”
“You say that now, but I’m going to follow-up before you leave and see how many BMW drivers you’ve cussed out.”
I ignored her as I caught a glimpse of movement in the rearview mirror. I was surprised to see Bifröst on her phone. It was the first time I’d seen her use the device, and I’d been starting to think she didn’t even have one.
I turned my attention back to the road. Driving was a big responsibility, and I was in charge of a multi-ton van that could seriously injure someone if I hit them. I continued following Snowcatcher’s directions as we drove back to the Mareiott.
“You can go a little faster. The speed limit’s thirty-five through here.”
I looked down and the speedometer needle was hovering around twenty-seven miles per hour, so I pressed the gas pedal a little harder.
“Turn right here.”
I signaled my intention to do so, and a white sedan cut in front of me to make a left turn onto the same road I wanted to turn onto. I jammed the brake pedal to the floor and the van skidded to a stop. “Did I read the manual wrong? I thought that the vehicle making a right turn had the right of way unless the opposing left turn lane has a green arrow.”
“Nope, you’re correct.” Snowcatcher said between laughs.
“Am I missing something? Why are you laughing?”
“That was being a BMW,” Bifröst helpfully pointed out. “You can be telling by the black roundel emblem with the blue and the white checkers.”
I sighed and levitated my wallet out of my saddlebags and over to Bifröst. “Grab a dollar out of there. We had a swear jar growing up…”
“But you didn’t do the swearing of the words.”
“I thought it, and that’s close enough.” I shook off the near miss, taking my hoof off the brake. The van started moving again.
Snowcatcher patted my withers from the seat next to me. “Welcome to New Jersey.”
The rest of the drive was uneventful, and once we were back at the Mareiott, Bifröst disappeared. I found that highly unusual considering the hotel’s gimmick. But I really didn’t care if somepony was waiting on my every whim. If I wanted that, I’d just move to New Horseleans. I found the silence welcome after all the socializing. I stretched out on the bed and took a nap.
When I woke up, the room was empty. Not only was Bifröst not there, but neither were any of her belongings. The room had been stripped bare except for the furniture, my own possessions… and her cellphone, which was lying next to the TV. I did a quick inventory and wasn’t missing anything. I haven’t been robbed, but I appear to have been abandoned.
I headed upstairs looking for Snowcatcher. Aside from Bifröst, she was the staff member I knew the best. I found her still puzzling over the blueprints. “Um, hello?”
She looked up. “My apologies. Bifröst quit when we got back from our shopping excursion. The twins she ran into at lunch offered her a job and she accepted. I can’t blame her – they need pegasi and they offered her a competitive wage we couldn’t hope to match. There was also something to do with the climate, something Starlight Glimmer tasked her with doing. Her new job will allow her to interact with the weather and she’ll start getting a feel for it. Honeybuzz is in the same boat, but with bees. In case you were wondering about the apiary out back.”
“I hadn’t even noticed it.”
“Sorry, I’m rambling. I’m at my wit’s end. I came down to help her pack so she wouldn’t disturb you from your nap. I would’ve stuck around with you until you woke up, but as you can see we’ve got a lot to do at the moment. Anyway, we can move you to another room, or you can stay in room #7 solo for the duration of your stay. You don’t have to decide right now, and if you need anything, let any of the rest of us know.”
“No worries. I won’t be a bother, I assure you.”
“I know you were planning on traveling but how’d you like to join us? Your stipend’s the buy-in. Any old or broken technology would become yours to do with as you please. It’s not much of an offer, but it’s the best that I can do.”
“So you want me to pay you to work here.”
“You’d be part owner along with the rest of us, of course.” Snowcatcher facehoofed. “Oh, who am I kidding? Yes, please invest your stipend into an unfinished hotel that’s barely staying afloat even with the duchess’ direct intervention. Join us in this money pit as we watch our futures sink further and further into the abyss. If you have even a shred of common sense you’ll gallop away now.”
“Sold. I’m in.”
She looked up. “That was quite literally the world’s worst sales pitch.”
“You believe in this hotel, or you’d be leaving along with Bifröst. That’s enough for me, and I’m not exactly hurting for bits. I won’t miss the stipend.”
“Would it change your mind if I told you I can’t leave? I’m technically in charge of this band of misfits.”
“Do you believe in this hotel?”
She nodded. “I think we can make it work. We just need a little luck.”
“I’m a little pony and I’m named Lulu Luck. Will that work?”
She smiled. “We can use all the luck we can get. Welcome aboard.”
I smiled back and levitated the blueprints away from her. “I was originally planning to be an architect. I’m not certified, but despite that I get the feeling I might be a bit more qualified than Daisy.”
“Can you actually read one of these things?” Snowcatcher motioned to the blueprints hovering in the air in front of me.
“Yes.”
“In that case, you’re definitely more qualified than us. We’ve been learning as we go. Have at it.”
“I need to see the building codes.” They’ve already finished half the rooms, including mine. They shouldn’t be struggling with the remaining ones. And if they are… I trotted back to my room, Snowcatcher trailing behind. I pulled my tape measure from my pocket dimension and started measuring, absentmindedly taking the building code book from Snowy. “I need to do some reading first, but I think we’re going to have to make some changes. Who drew up these blueprints?” There was no way either Daisy or Snowcatcher had come up with them.
“Frisco.”
I looked at the blueprints again. Yeah, that explains a lot. No wonder they were so lost. Amateurs trying to follow an expert’s design. “How did you manage to get one of Equestria’s most renowned architects to draw up your renovations?”
“Ploom had her under contract to do the consulate buildings, and she was still here on Earth.”
“Hmn.” This is way beyond what any of us could hope to do. “I’ll talk to Ploomette later. In the meantime, can you show me every single change you’ve made to these blueprints?”
Snowcatcher’s horn lit up and the tracing paper over the blueprints lifted. “All alterations were done on transparent paper. Just in case. We didn’t alter anything we didn’t have to, but there were a lot of things in there we just couldn’t figure out how to do.”
“So I see.”
“Did we mess up?”
“You’ve got inadequate resources and no experience. I’m impressed you followed these as well as you did. But that doesn’t change the fact that this is well beyond me, too. We need an experienced crew to finish this place.” Especially all these fortifications. “We need to get whoever worked on the consulate.”
“But we can’t afford…”
“No buts. I’ll take care of this.” Or rather Ploomette will, as soon as I explain what Frisco’s trying to do. Her safety is paramount, and by extension, that applies to our safety as well. If Equestria has enemies on Earth, the consulate would be one their first targets. If they find out that the duchess is in a poorly-guarded hotel…. it won’t end well for any of us. This isn’t a castle, but these reinforcements are probably the best that can be done with what we’ve got to work with. They’ll have to do. If Frisco’s satisfied with them, they’re good enough for me.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/213362
I promised a sneak peek. You're probably expecting a few lines or maybe a scene as a teaser.
How about the whole chapter?
That's right! You can see the entire chapter early. No tricks. No paywall. No changes between now and the release date.
The only reason this hasn't been posted already is I'm waiting for the new cover art to be finished.
https://www.fimfiction.net/chapter/1642813 password: planaparty
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/avarick/art/Sweetie-Swirl-327554214
Poor girl. If you want to learn how things work, Apple Store is the last place you want to go. Even with Biden pushing them to allow side-loading and right-to-repair, things are still completely obfuscated and idiot-proofed, with everything being remotely administrated for you.
Are there any Micro Centers in Joisey? Proper brick-and-mortar computer stores haven't completely died out, and Micro Center is a Mecca for computer nerds.
edit. Yep. https://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/north-jersey.aspx
Though laptops are kind of tricky. There have been attempts to standardize shell and parts form-factors, but in general, you can't really upgrade or customize a laptop very much, due to restrictive thermal profiles. Still, the friendly staff would surely show her around each of the aisles and explain what individual PC parts do.
I also quite like xoticpc. They do custom laptop builds with respectable options. Certainly costs a pretty penny, though. But that's the case with all middle-to-high-end laptops.
What's the difference between a BMW and porcupine?
5712012
On a porcupine, the prick is on the outside.
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman#Four_Freedoms
Fuck Apple (and Microsoft, who are going down the same path)
"Ponyville: Yesterday
Siami Beach: sixteen days ago"
...Both at once?
Thanks for writing!
5711856
"but in general, you can't really upgrade or customize a laptop very much, due to restrictive thermal profiles"
Well, I think Lulu Luck might like a Framework. More than most laptops, at least.
5713399
I have heard of them. Seems pretty niche.
5713406
Oh, howso? If you don't mind me asking.
5713399
5713473
They're underpowered, as far as laptops go. But certainly better than tablets.
But pissing off Lenovo is a plus in my book.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/lenovo-gets-litigious-makes-framework-redesign-its-3d-printable-motherboard-case/
Also, I'm an unapologetic AMD fanboy. A Framework lappy with a mobile Ryzen APU would be cool.
5713520
No problem, and thanks. :)
("Twilight? Have you been experimenting with time magic again?"
"Oh, uh, yes, but how did you know!"
"Well there seems to be some sort of portal in the town square...")
5713558
Oh, are they? [shrugs] Well, until I got a Framework, the most powerful computer I'd ever owned was a laptop from 2013, so I might not be in the best position to judge, yeah...
"But pissing off Lenovo is a plus in my book.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/lenovo-gets-litigious-makes-framework-redesign-its-3d-printable-motherboard-case/"
...Pft. Seriously? Over this, they are suing? Well, at least Framework could just completely invalidate it by having.. four little plastic prongs instead of three there. Though it sounds like they're looking to see if there are better ideas out there.
So, in other words, this results in Lenovo making themselves look petty, oversensitive, and overlitigious, and it gives their target free publicity. Nice move, there.
(Though I don't know enough about Lenovo to get why upsetting them is apparently a generally good thing?)
"Also, I'm an unapologetic AMD fanboy. A Framework lappy with a mobile Ryzen APU would be cool."
...Aaaand I don't understand none of those words! :D
Lenovo ruined the venerable Thinkpad.
Aside from the lousy quality control and useless customer service, where's the sense in shoehorning in a touchpad when the classic clitmouse is all that's needed?
Somepony gift that mare a Steam Deck. The top SKU is under $600 now.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/03/valves-year-old-steam-deck-is-on-sale-for-the-first-time/
Of course, you could always get a cheaper model, take it apart and add a larger NVMe drive yourself, if you don't care about the anti-glare screen. Valve quite nicely published an official disassembly video, demonstrating once again why they're one of the best tech companies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxnr2FAADAs
Even if you're not into gaming (and/or haven't mastered the controls with hooves and magical telekinesis), it's a very capable machine, and an excellent starting point to learning the finer points of Linux. Naturally, by default, it has restrictions on root space to keep people from accidentally bricking it, but finding ways around it to unlock the full potential is a great learning experience.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/xgslv9/howto_installing_pacman_packages_in_userspace/
And, Valve released 3D printer files for the shell, in case people want it in transparent Atomic Purple like the Game Boy Color and N64.
Being Linux-based, it's a powerful emulation system. Valve actually released a trailed that briefly showed it running Yuzu. Nintendo wasn't amused, and they quickly took it down.
The Mareiott ladies should set up a full Minecraft server on the hotel network to play with guests. A small micro-ATX cube HTPC or even a Raspberry Pi server can do it.
https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Tutorials/Setting_up_a_server#Linux_instructions
https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/raspberry-pi-minecraft-server
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/framework-gives-its-modular-laptops-13th-gen-intel-cpus-and-finally-an-amd-option/
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/03/frameworks-next-project-is-a-16-inch-modular-upgradeable-gaming-laptop/
Nice.
https://kotaku.com/linus-tech-tips-elon-musk-hardware-youtube-crypto-scam-1850257599
Not so nice.