Gigapony

I am embarrassed by almost every interest I have, to be honest. It seems like for some reason I always end up liking the stuff that will give me the worst reputation. I like cute things, which goes hand in hand with MLP, which I do also have a degree of embarrassment towards liking (despite the fact I wear merch in public). I am into anime, which also embarrasses me. Apart from that, I am very interested in Japan, and once entertained the idea of emigrating (until it became clear to me that it was infeasible), and this embarrasses me to a huge degree because of the stigma attached to it. I cringe whenever anyone brings it up and quickly change the subject. I am embarrassed by my drawings, and I only share them online (where nobody knows me personally) or with my very closest friends, and even then it's difficult for me. A lot of friends always try to see them and I do whatever I can to keep them away. Friends often try to tell me "you shouldn't be embarrassed of who you are" and whatnot, and yes they do have a point, and I'd love to not be ashamed of myself, but I can't, so I wish people'd just let me feel the way I feel.

Cheers, mate~ It's from "Call of the Cutie" when Apple Bloom is talking to Applejack about cutie marks and she gets it in her head that her talent must be apples, and starts bouncing around yelling "Apples!"

So I've been putting off vectoring for a while now, but I can't put it off forever, so I had a go at it today. It isn't my first go at vectoring things, mind you. I tried using the same method I'd always used to vector logos/text and also screens from anime, and it worked well for ponies and was quite painless (if a bit tedious), which I was happy about. Anyway, not much to talk about here. It's a picture of Apple Bloom being cute. I decided to go easy on myself and do a pic with her eyes closed. I'll tackle eyes when I have a bit more courage. Then it's on to vectoring my OC's. Also if anyone wants to use this Apple Bloom for anything, please go right ahead (although I'm not the first to vector this pose, surely). It's on my DeviantArt page with a download link.

I don't smoke habitually, but yes I will sometimes spark up a fag if I'm at the pub and the mood strikes me. But even then I'll usually just puff through one or two and then go weeks/months without smoking another. So I don't really consider myself a full-on smoker, per se. Yes, I know full well that it's detrimental to my health, and I do it because I chose to do it, just as when I drink or do anything else that's less than healthy. Now this is in reference to cigarettes. When it comes to other stuff, well that's a whole 'nother subject entirely...

I'll most likely be getting a PS4. I'm trying to get a 3DS as well, literally only for the new Pokémon game as there's nothing else that really interests me. I'd like to get an Xbox One at some point, but that depends on whether or not I can afford it. Not really planning on getting a Wii, although I'd really like to try the new Smash Bros, because three consoles is a little much for me. Not even bothering with anything PC-related as my PC isn't good for gaming.

Hmmm, I don't roleplay (though I've always wanted to try) but this has me rather excited. I'm very big on keeping things as close to canon as possible so this seems right up my alley. Seems like this might be the perfect time for me to have a go at roleplay.

I've just got done playing Forza Motorsport 4, and I've got one of the tunes from the main menu stuck in my head. Not an unpleasant little melody though, very relaxing.

In regards to Red, I must admit it was a poor choice of words on my part when I said "Stalin persona". He's not meant to be a homage to Stalin himself per se, but rather the generic Stalinesque Cold War era image of the "stereotypical communist dictator". I want to stress that he was only ever going to be presented as a traditional cartoon megalomaniac with this sort of "motif" applied to his design and nothing more. However, I do completely understand what you're saying and I'm going to be playing down the communist aspect and portraying him as a simpler caricature of a despotic military general. If its all right, can I pick your brain one more time? I'd like to know if you would have any ideas on a new name for him? One that would be less of a blatant reference to communism while still fitting his military theme. Regarding Fallout, and I don't want to seem as if I'm rejecting your input, but I must disagree on his suit. There's many instances of ponies on the show wearing very modern outfits, and even one scene where a pony wore a near identical hazmat suit. HOWEVER, I have to say that the design you proposed sounds incredibly cool and I'd LOVE to use that for a future OC. Cheers again for the input mate, I really do appreciate you helping me to improve my OC's even if we might disagree on some details.

Thank you to anyone that liked them, it means a lot to me. Here's a few more, some have seen these three before in my past drawing threads. They're to be the protagonists in the fanfic being written by @ and being developed by us both. It will also feature my evil OC's shown above as the story's villains.

A nation not unlike many other nations that do largely the same exact fun things (and more) to celebrate their own independence.

@, fair enough, mate. You apologised and I respect that. I apologise as well. No harm done and no hard feelings. And just to clarify to anyone else, I never thought (and never will think) that all Americans are idiots. I personally have always had an issue with people who think that way, and I HATE when people use a massive brush to paint a group of people as being a certain way. If I thought anyone was an idiot, I thought those people were (NOT all Americans) before I realised it was a joke. I don't have my finger on the pulse of internet memes, and I've met enough stupid people in my life to not be surprised if they were actually serious. I apologise to them, and I apologise to any Americans who felt I was insulting them, even though that was NEVER my intention.

Oi, I was never on the "Americans are stupid" bandwagon, and kindly don't put words in my mouth or call me an idiot, if you don't mind. Note that I suspected it might be an intentional joke thing (though I will concede that I doubted it). I will be the first to admit that I was wrong and I have no problem admitting that. What I do have a problem with however, is being called an idiot. Don't get uppity just because not everybody found the meme as super-duper hilarious as they did. I apologise that my sense of humour is not as well-developed as yours. And for the record, I don't care how Americans, or Canadians, or the British, or Scotsmen, or Namibians, or whoever spells their words, and if you paid attention, you'll notice that I defended Americans' use of aluminum over aluminium. Don't you be so dense yourself, mate. Don't just assume that I hate a country because you got your jimmies rustled. And considering that I've emigrated to, and currently live in, the USA, I'd say I'm pretty well pleased with it.

To be fair, you haven't spelled aluminium correctly either. As for the original topic, yeah... that's alarming. One or two people I can forgive, but that's WAY too many people thinking the USA is 2,013 years old. I knew that history isn't a lot of people's strong suit, and I'm fine with that, but I'd figure something like this'd be common sense. I hope to all the gods there ever were that this is all some elaborate troll. But I doubt it.

Your post really got me thinking. I agree with your view that there shouldn't be too much real-life politics in MLP, though I do think there is room for parody or homage (as the show itself has done before), which these characters were intended to do. Though in retrospect I probably should further file down the more controversial parts of them. Admittedly their pre-pony incarnations were more appropriate for such themes than MLP would be, and it's very important to me that they fit into the spirit of the show. Ironcross' armband will be changed to something a little more neutral, but I'm most curious to hear your advice on Red. I want to keep his military look and persona, but how can I improve him and his story (while also keeping him interesting)? I'd be interested in getting your insight on him, though if you'd prefer not to I completely understand. And of course, everyone else is also welcomed to give their honest opinions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW POST! I APOLOGISE IN ADVANCE FOR THE DOUBLE POSTING! I've done a LOT of brainstorming and made a few small but important changes to my OC's, in hopes of bringing them more in line with MLP and its style. Red October: I've changed his story somewhat. He's going to keep his Stalin-esque look and mannerisms, but he's not longer a blatant communist dictator. He is, however still a megalomaniac, but more in the style of Sombra (and other traditional villains, really). He still wants to take over Equestria, but not to establish a "workers' paradise" but because he just plain wants to rule. He sees the monarchy of Celestia and Luna as weak and undisciplined and he believes it's obsolete. Red October wants to be the new emperor of Equestria, and establish a regime where he is in control of everything. I've also changed his cutie mark from a hammer-and-sickle to a star with a laurel wreath around it, to reflect his Caesar-like despotism. His characterisation will be VERY reminiscent of villains like G1 Megatron and the SatAM version of Robotnik. That is, a very over the top and evil villain who is also very very silly. Fallout: He's no longer the victim of a nuclear accident, per se. He's still a former scientist, but seeing as in MLP science is synonymous with magic, he was an alchemist. Or at least, he tried to be. His last attempt at alchemy had him mixing dangerous potions and it went wrong, blowing up in his face and leaving him (literally) glowing with energy (that looks conveniently like green radiation). He can't contain it very well on his own, and he burns everything he touches, so he has to wear his suit. This makes him potentially the most powerful member of the team, which is completely negated by his laziness and his lack of motivation. That's the best I could come up with for him, so I'm open to any ideas. Nurse Ironcross: She's going to remain unchanged but her armband now reads simply "MEDIC". Note also that while their personalities or stories might come off as slightly dark for MLP, keep in mind that these guys will be played for laughs in every way. Though they do pose a threat, they are very much slapstick villains who are every bit as silly as one would expect from a cartoon. If anyone has any thoughts or opinions, please feel free to voice them! My OC's are yours for the judging. Cheers again!