Current status, random thoughts, and more... · 12:19am May 18th, 2014
Hey, everyone. If you're reading this, it's probably because you decided to "Follow" me, in which case, I seriously question your taste and judgement. 
Nevertheless, thank you!
I've been rather absent since the start of this year, and I feel I owe everyone some kind of explanation at least. And hey, I got this blog thing right here, which I've never used, cause, like, who'd want to read some random dude's opinions? Am I right?
What's that? Web 2.0? I'm not sure what that is, but I tell you what, back in my day, you wanted to make your opinions heard on th' Internet, ya had to make yer own page, writin' the HTML yerself in Notepad on the school computers runnin' Windows 95, uphill both ways, an' that's the way we liked it!
(This was in the early 2000's. We used Windows 95 cause my school sucked.)
Since this is my first, and possibly last, blog post, let's make this baby count.
What I've been up to.
Not much. Really. I've been doing very little writing (though more on that later) and very little reading, hence my Favourites list here growing very, very slowly recently. The cause is a profound lack of motivation and a general malaise bordering on low-grade depression.
It's not as if I have anything to complain about. I have a stable middle-class job, a nice home, and no major health issues. And yet, life is incredibly tiring, and the little things (like the prick on the bus who listens to his crappy music too loudly on his headphones, or my credit card not working at the checkout) irritate me so very much. They're stupid, tiny, first-world problems, and I feel like a jerk for getting upset at them, which only perpetuates the cycle.
(Just in case I'm epic-failing at expressing myself and giving the wrong impression: Don't worry, I'm not a suicide risk here. I feel like crap but I know I'll get over it.)
I come home from work mentally exhausted, and maintain a baseline level happiness by exposing myself to online inanity and generally avoiding contact with those filthy, disgusting humans that seem to walk around everywhere as much as possible.
But even the computer gods have no mercy for me, because recently my main computer decided to derp itself into unusability. 
I said before I'm old-school, and when it comes to computers, I need a solid, reliable desktop machine to work with. (Laptops are shit, and mentioning a tablet is liable to make me physically harm you.) So, of course, the SATA controller on my motherboard decided to have a fit, resulting in random crashes, general slowness, and eventually data corruption on my main machine. At least I keep good backups.
So while waiting for a replacement SATA card I dusted off an older, venerable desktop, vintage ca. 2004 that I built myself, but still works pretty damn well. I had it all set up and ready to go, when my monitor decided to die. 
Fuckin' hell.
Out comes my credit card, an order on NewEgg, and meanwhile, I'm stuck on my backup-backup system, a microscopic Acer netbook thingy where I had installed Linux Mint to fuck around with a bit. In all its 11.6 inch screen glory. That thing made me do unspeakable things, like go outside. When I didn't even have to. I took walks. Around my neighbourhood.
It was horrible. 
I wish I could use that as an excuse for failing to make any progress on my newest chapter story, but it was only a recent thing, so that leads directly to...
What's going on with Winter's Child.
For those who aren't following Winter's Child (I know you exist, and I haven't forgotten 
) just skip past this section.
Okay, I'll get right to it: I've made no real progress since the release of the last chapter.
That does not mean that I've abandoned Winter's Child, although the irony of a winter-long hiatus of a story so titled is downright painful. I do have quite a large part of myself invested in it, and thinking about Twilight's upcoming struggle is one of the few things that makes me happy. The story is planned out. I know what I want to have happen, I know how to end it. I know what will happen to Twilight's baby. I know that the Sad and Romance tags will be fully justified.
There is one snag: I just don't know what to do with Pinkie and Fluttershy. They're not key to the story; I have enough characters already to fill all the roles nicely. Fluttershy is incredibly passive and any role she might play can be distributed among the other characters. I'm terrified of writing Pinkie Pie, because she is my antithesis. I don't get Pinkie, and I fear that any attempts to give her a significant role will just result in out-of-place jokes that ruin the mood. I'm seriously considering having Twilight simply not tell them, and play the rest of the story out with RD, AJ, Rare, and Twi making up the Mane 4.
No final decision on this yet.
On completely different note, it's been months, and nobody seems to have gotten this reference in the latest chapter:
“That may be so, but I hardly think Cheerilee invites stallions to her classroom to give live demonstrations in front of her students!”
Come on, people! Some of you must have mature story view enabled and I've mentioned Flutterwhy4 several times! I was really hoping for someone to catch that.
So, with Winter's Child effectively on hiatus, my brain has been slowly losing its writer's edge. It's not like I wrote a new story in the meantime
I wrote a new story.
Wait, what?!
Well, somehow, through all that time I spent wallowing in... whatever it is fanficiton writers are supposed to wallow in... 
I actually did put nearly 9000 words to screen. The inspiration actually came from a small bit in Winter's Child, where I said Twilight would never have to worry about money. This, of course, led to a story about money.
It's not officially published on FiMFiction yet, as I hope to do a little light editing before taking that step, but for anyone who's interested in seeing it early, I already pulled the trigger and put it up on the PFA:
http://www.ponyfictionarchive.net/viewstory.php?sid=2023
If you do read, I would appreciate some feedback via PM. I haven't found reliable pre-readers aside from Journeyman, so if you want to take a crack, please do. Just beware my insufferable habit of vetoing pre-reader advice more often than not.
Note that this story has nothing whatsoever to do with Winter's Child, has no mentions of any kind of sex, so the only thing that should dissuade anyone from reading is the fact that it's nearly 9000 words of Slice Of Life featuring ponies talking about personal finances (and not much else), it's rather light in the humour department, and is my first solid attempt at writing Pinkie Pie.
And that is a major problem because...
I am the anti-Pinkie.
I took this quiz.
I swear, I did not attempt to game the results in any way.
I answered every question as honestly as I could, with no preconceived notions.
This is the result:
Moving right along...
Thoughts on Season 4.
Loved it.
Now, it does have the unfortunate distinction of containing the second-ever episode of the series that I truly disliked - It Ain't Easy Being Breezies. Usually, even episodes I'm not crazy about don't drop below "meh", but IAEBB actually makes me cringe. Breezies are worst fantasy creature. Seriously. If a falling leaf can doom a dozen of your kind, you don't deserve to exist.
I also wasn't as impressed as most everyone else seemed to be be with Maud Pie. I won't get into a drawn-out complain-fest here, but Maud just didn't really do it for me. She had potential to be Avatar's Mai or Teen Titans' Raven or even Star Trek's Spock, but to me she was none of those and was... just... dull. Dreadfully so. I also didn't buy the moral at the end. It wasn't a downright bad episode, but it sure wasn't a good one, either.
That said, I loved Princess Twilight Sparkle, Castle Mane-ia, Flight to the Finish, Rarity Takes Manehattan, Pinkie Pride, Filli Vanilli, Somepony to Watch Over Me, Testing, Testing 1, 2, 3, Trade Ya!, and Inspiration Manifestation.
(Rarity still seems to get the best episodes. 
)
The finale, on the other hoof, is in a league of its own. Holy fuck. 
Glossing over Princess Sunbutt being even more useless than usual, I adore what the writers did with Discord, making his friendship with the Mane 6 and his ultimate redemption and Good-alignmment truly believable. It just didn't feel very solid until now.
Twilight vs. Tirek? People have said it's like Dragonball Z. I fisagree; I think it's better; it's Dragonball Z without all the filler; just pure, concentrated doses of plot and terror and kickass. Tirek made for a great villain, manipulative when weak and no-hold-barred physical when powered-up. Cunning, vicious, and powerful. Fantastic character. Fantastic finale.
If you ask me, FiM not only hasn't jumped the shark yet; it took one look a the pair of water skis in the corner and chopped them into firewood.
Other random thoughts.
No, not Flash Sentry. That guy's cool.
I'm taking about the crystal pony. Who's somehow a pegasus.
Way to screw up my headcanon and a major plot point of one of my stories.
You know what? I'm just gonna say that guy's a changeling. 
He defected from the swarm and openly joined the Crystal Empire guard. He looks like a crystal pony because he'd stand out too much in his natural form, but he keeps a pair of wings because why the heck not?
I'd write a story about him, except I have this other project I somehow got myself involved in. A totally crazy tale about Twilight getting pregnant or something. Really stupid. Who even came up with that idea? I hate that guy. 
...
This bit from the finale:
I don't know how to travel
To a future that I can't see
Favorite line of the season right there.
well at least its good to hear from you.
We have judgement? Who knew?
Was that a line in a song? I skipped the songs.
Best thing from Maude Pie was the poem. And the version Maple Pony had Dash do in his most recent YTP.
It's at the end. You should het a laugh out of it even if YTPs aren't your thing:
[youtube=YjUY4nbKlKk]
The only thing s that given Twi's closeness with her friends, it would make no sense at all to NOT tell them. Even if all Fluttershy does is say "Oh that's nice." Though, I now have this image of Fluttershy simply accepting everything, till she learns of Twilight's first time, at which point she is entirely on board with Rarity, and possibly more intimidating.
Pinkie on the other hand would probably really REALLY look forward to having another foal around to play with/babysit/be responsible with.
Incidentally, regarding your "First world problems." I really hate that term outside of joking, as it basically represents our cultural disdain for allowing anyone to feel bad, or depressed. Just because you don't feel great doesn't make you a bad person. It means you don't feel so good, and you should be able to vent that without feeling like you are doing something wrong. You're not wrong, and I think a lot of us here can sympathize as well. Don't feel bad if you want to use the blog as the occasional vent either. It's pretty much here for whatever you want to use it for.
Well, both Rainbow and Flutters were crystal pony pegasi for a while after being dosed with Crystal Love Radiation. Just pretend that guy is one of them. I know I do
because otherwise it renders a major thematic underpinning of an entire series of stories meaningless and also if crystal ponies can fly why was it a good security measure to put the Crystal Heart on top of a super tall tower and say "Eh, good enough!"I am pre-reading the heck out of that thing, but it might take an hour or two at the rate I'm going, so I thought I'd give you some heads-up.
Otherwise, you are a pretty amazing and great person. That pony personality chart is kinda hilarious. I remember doing that like two or three years ago and getting like 90% and suddenly going "Ohhh. That's why she's my least favorite pony." Not sure I have any advice in regards to the Winter's Child problem, especially not knowing where you're taking it.
You actually liked the season finale? That finale was so cheesey I now have a 55 gallon drum filled with cheeze whiz.
In the interest of encouraging good relations between the newly-installed regiment of the Royal Guard and the Empire's citizens, several Guard members volunteered to be transformed into Crystal Ponies.
Indeed, the spell is so safe and easy to cast that some plastic surgeons are lobbying to get it accepted as a legal cosmetic procedure.
See, I haven't read Hero (Yet) but I agree with you on the whole friggin' Crystal Pegasi thing. It stands to reason, after all; Sombra's just become a dictator, he just needs laborers, why would he keep A: a bunch of ponies that can sling magic around whenever they damn well please or B: Ponies that can just fly away?
(Like I said, I haven't read Hero yet, so if that's what you were hinting at, well...)
On another note, holy moly was that test result hilarious! And while I can't speak for Fluttershy, if you need any help writing Pinkie, I'd be glad to lend my services. I enjoy writing, and reading, a well-written Pinkie Pie, so even if it's just "Hey, wrote a scene with her that'll be a part of the next chapter" I can help look it over, see if you've done her justice.
wow, that's pretty impressive that you scored high on everyone but Pinkie. Also it's somewhat weird considering how close Rainbow and Applejack's personalities are to Pinkies'.
I rather liked Maud, though this was because in some ways she reminded me of me -- or rather, the me I thought I ought to be.
On my Big Web Site, your favorite line of the season got added to my rotating-quotes widget the day it was uttered. It may be a while before it gets shuffled to the top -- there are 2000 other quotes in the file -- but it had to be there.
And I grumble at nopony who isn't quite sure what to do with an existing story, since I've almost always been in the same circumstances myself.
More believable?
It appears we disagree. I found Discord's role in the finale to be the least believable to the point of plot hole. I never thought Discord as friends with anyone other than Fluttershy, and that was okay. Sometimes we hate the friends of our friends. After what Discord did, Twilight was so forgiving so quick? The one who distrusts him the least? Never bought it for a moment, especially since should have known better than to trust Tirek. They know each other, so Discord should know Tirek's past machinations.
No homo milk pudding for you tonight.
To deal with Pinkie, just have her Pinkie Promise not to talk about it. At that point, she won't have a word to say for the rest of the fic.
hope you get a better outlook. i can agree at least sympathize with feeling you got nothing fufilling in your life.
on pinkie pie, here is her thing. from what i can understand, she is often very aware of the situations she is in yet comprehendsd it in an off key sort of way. she is aware when a situation is serious, so tries to levi the stiuation. she would be quite aware of the fact that twilight having a baby is a veyr serious affair and would get onboard full the way in her own stilted sort of way.............
you could also work with her having a rather negative opinion about where the baby came from though. her upbringing was kinda from two ponies who would make the amish look risque.
THANK FUCKING GOD THERE IS SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T BITCH ABOUT HIM.
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I've never bitched about him, but Flash has always been a complete non-entity to me...
...until the season finale where he is again serving as the Empire's herald, and suddenly it's like, oh, my crap, I get it. He's not just a rocker pegasus with a guitar and stuff. He's actually a heraldry nerd.
Unfortunately (in the eyes of some) this actually would make him a better match for Twilight than he was before. Flash has become someone I need to slot instead of ignore. And I haven't yet slotted him.
2120656
I lack the part of the brain that allows me to see the humour in YTPs.
2120751
I truly did. What you call "cheesy" I call "fun".
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I expected to score low on Pinkie and Rarity. If you look carefully, I actually maxed out on Rarity, outscoring even Twilight and Fluttershy (the ones I expected to be most like.) But, yeah, the Pinkie thing was a shocker.
My sense of humour may be weird, but I swear, I do have one.
2121081
We disagree on a lot of things.
I saw the ending differently. To me, it wasn't a "Well, you betrayed us, but I forgive you, so we're friends again, just like yesterday." That's bunk, I agree. It was "Do you see, now, what friendship can give you, and how much you lose by rejecting it? I didn't believe you were truly committed before, but now that you understand, we can start again and build a friendship the right way."
It was basically Sunset Shimmer all over again. (Though if you didn't like that, either, then I guess this isn't any better.)
As for falling for Tirek's gambit; Discord may be ancient and powerful, but he is childlike in the same way Pinkie is, is often far too confident and trusting, and his views of things like "fun", "freedom", and even "friendship" are actually quite primitive. His plans are sometimes complex and long-running, but he doesn't effectively plan for things going wrong because, normally, he's able to simply magic his way out of any tough spot (see his brainwashing of Fluttershy). On the rare occasion when something doesn't go according to his plan, and he faces a magic more powerful than his own, he's helpless.
2122335
Flash was irrelevant during Equestria Girls. His role was completely unnecessary and meant nothing.
Which means he is like every other background pony in the show. And people love background ponies. I don't get the hate for Flash. He didn't do anything wrong. Twi just had a silly crush on him that seems to have vanished the instant the film was over. It's a non-issue.
I like pony Flash. He seems to be a high-ranking guard, he clearly is not a Crystal Empire native, and if his human counterpart is anything to go by, he's a Nice Guy™. The headcanon potential is great. I personally like to think that Shining Armor hoof-picked him as his 2IC, and Flash is pretty much in charge of the Crystal Empire Guard, seeing as Shiny spends a lot of time in his role as prince.
2122762
Most YTPs are very random and chaotic. Not to mention noisy and confusing.
I prefer ones that use editing and samples to actually make jokes and tell alternative stories and recharacterize ponies.
They will always be sloppy mashups, but some have more substance.
2122762
2122674 Now I'll respond calmly. You're both right about Flash, he was an inserted character to create predictable high school plot and drama and then be that whole "whoa, wait, he's here too!" minor revelation.
I haven't seen the finale yet (or like, 10 episodes before that either) but I look forward to it, and also seeing Flash there again just 'cause.
re: Winter's Child
I've never known writing characters into a story for the sake of having them in the story to end well. The show itself does it all the time, and it's a rare episode that manages to use the full six (bonus points for Spike) without some of them being the Greek chorus of the week. Don't sweat it.
re: New story
Tee hee. Actually some of the better Pinkie writing I've seen.
Hope you get to feeling better about life.
24.media.tumblr.com/84739260deb1359f0d25c8a133e8a788/tumblr_mubdphYMcm1qgsp6po1_400.gif
Oh well! Glad to have you back!
Wait...
This is real? An actual line? By who? I don't remember it.
If it is, the subtle implications are quite extraordinary...
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http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/You%27ll_Play_Your_Part