Note: I draw examples from U.S. politics more often than I’d like to because I assume it is a subject most of my readers are at least passingly familiar with. (If this assumption is incorrect, please let me know!)  For the record: I don’t associate with any political party.  I prefer to cast my vote based on a candidate’s character rather than policies or party affiliation.  That is why neither Trump nor Clinton earned mine last year.

Today, I present my Afterthoughts on “Honest Apple”.  For those who have followed me for a while, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’ve got a lot to say about this one. 

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Please forgive me a moment of hypocrisy.  I talk a lot about being civil even to those who you disagree strongly with, or whose behavior or attitude you find lacking in character.  And most times, I strive to live up to that myself.

Even, for example, in the many online conversations asking about whether gay and lesbian relationships should be depicted in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.  Inevitably, those who are intolerant of homosexuality insist that they are not being homophobic but rather just understand that romantic relationships have no place in the show.  Before I begin my Afterthoughts on “Hard to Say Anything”, please allow me to must uncivilly tell them: “Suck it!”

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In short, the game is amazing. It lived up to all of its potential. The gameplay is stellar and the story is excellent. I very heartily recommend the game to anyone who likes games in the genre of System Shock, Bioshock, Deus Ex and Dishonored. You'll be glad you played.

The only downside is that it has limited replay appeal for those not interested is achievements or gimmick playthroughs. I finished the game on Hard and now I'm playing through a second time on Nightmare; but have a play style that I enjoy, and I'm not deviating much from what I originally did... save that now I know where some special things are and I'm grabbing them earlier.

A few bits of advice to new players:

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Important Note: the site that I have used for hosting images (since Imjur blacklisted FIMfiction) is going to go down by the end of the month.  That means that once again the vast majority of my blog images will no longer work.  I will slowly upload them to a new site, but it may take considerable time before old blogs have pictures again.  If anyone has a recommendation for a good image-sharing site that can be used for FIMfiction blogs, please let me know in the comments!

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Wow, this was an episode!

Since starting these Afterthoughts, I have often praised My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for the writers’ willingness to allow the character’s personal arcs and stories to progress and develop. They allow the characters to succeed, to reach long-time goals, and then use that success not as an ending but as a point of transition. Changes, even the most positive ones, bring new challenges. Success opens a door to new life lessons.

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Today, I wanted to share my first impressions of the new game Prey.

As I mentioned in my previous “Where I Hang My Hat” blog, any more playing of Fallout 4 is going to have to wait until I’ve finished Prey. And that might take a while. Despite how obsessively I’ve been playing it this last week, I haven’t gotten very far into the game. This is due to a combination of being extremely thorough and extremely cautious. Prey rewards both.

The game starts with you waking up in a sunny apartment with a breathtaking view of a slightly futuristic San Francisco. As a phone call reminds you, this is your first day of your new job, and there are a few tests you have to run through before you can get started. So get up to the roof; a helicopter has been dispatched to pick you up.

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Season 7 has been amazing. “Fluttershy Leans In” is, in my opinion, the weakest episode so far, and it is by no means a bad one. “Fluttershy Leans In” is… nice. But beyond that, I really don’t have a lot to say about this episode.

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My next blog will again return to focusing on my Afterthoughts. Next up: “Fluttershy Leans In”. (I expect that blog will be unusually short for an Afterthoughts, so I intend to have it up sometime this weekend.)

In the meantime, while Fluttershy is building a dream animal sanctuary, my own Angel has been busy rebuilding her latest “settlement”: Fizztop Grille! Below the break, you will find my screenshot showcase of this new player home.

But first, some Fallout: Equestria news…

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I will admit that I have been slow in writing this Afterthoughts in large part because I don’t have a whole lot to say about this episode. However, what I have to say is good.

“Rock Solid Friendship” was another solid episode in what is clearly an excellently crafted season. And once again, while one of the Mane Six is the focus, we are getting a lot of attention paid to characters outside the normal focus of the cast. As I mentioned before, I welcome this. And I suspect they are setting up a “Starlight and friends” circle of characters that they could focus on for individual episodes much like they do the CMC. If that is the case, then who would be a more welcome addition to that circle than Maud Pie?

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Sometimes, a good episode (or even a great one) can be ruined for you by one little issue. Sometimes, this is a fault of the writing, or a misstep in characterization. Or it may not even be an issue with the episode, but with the person watching it. An episode may touch on a phobia, or may feature a character you have a negative opinion of which, warranted or not, causes you to view everything the character does in an unfairly critical light.

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