SharpWit

I'm trying to remember exactly, but I could've sworn on a news network within the last few years, I saw footage of a dronestrike, and they just had it playing on repeat in the background. This wasn't like normal footage however. You couldn't see faces clearly, but it was surprisingly close up, in color, and you could make out what individuals were wearing and whatnot. I dont know what their affiliation with anyone or anything was. I recall it hardly being connected to the overall topic at hand. They were just people as far as you could tell, going about their day to day lives. They didn't just dissappear in the explosion either. You could see them on the ground, unmoving. It was just people dying, over and over, without warning and so nonchalant. It made me understand why my mom didn't have the news playing in the background after 9/11 when I was younger. It went beyond informative to just being an exploitation of tragedy.

There's other things that come to mind, but they were more, "planned" and came with an advisory notice, or consisted of what I would consider, unhinged opinion pieces.

I've seen plenty worse, but those were instances in which I was seeking on the ground type coverage for certain events. I knew I'd be seeing things, and not simply happen upon them.

Self Righteousness

I didn't have any serious problems in middle school, but the amount of bs they put us through made freshmen year a vast improvement.

Honestly, had a great first two years. Despite drama with my first stepfather and my grandmother, my life felt well put together.

Then we moved, and that upturned everything. I went from seeing people I'd known for a decade almost daily, to not at all, and I've seen so few in the decade since. Daily bouts of laughter replaced by,,, nothing. Just the absence of joy.

Things began to look a little up my senior year. I'd adjusted a bit, made a few friends in intro to theatre, and then my dog, my best friend whom helped me get through every challenge up until then, was wrongfully put to sleep. That destroyed me. The latter friendships lasted until I graduated, and then it was back to a period of isolation, only as an adult. I still talked to friends from before and saw my closest ones a few times a year, but it wasn't quite the same, and that's kind of how it still is.

Only all of the hardship got me to being with my person, and I couldn't be happier to have her.

I grew up eating them relatively often. Problem is they're not that filling. Every now and then my girlfriend and I will grab a few for a picnic. Childish Charcuterie.

I was inspired years back by them and the esbit folding stoves that come in certain MREs, for an adults only version where you would boil a hotdog in beer amongst other options. Gourmet on the go type of thing. I also pictured simpler versions, and I did have the right idea on those, because shortly after there was an explosion of options with different types of fancy meats, cheeses and crackers.

Bad Habits

Cutie marks really are a fascinating concept. They're supposed to be fairly simple, visually appealing, on the surface represent a major aspect or passion of hours, while also holding meaning on a deeper level. A difficult task in its own right, but to top that all of, there's the crucial aspect that we can never be separated from, and that's that realistically, we're not supposed to have any say in the matter.

Equestria has its problems, but they're not nearly as nuanced as our day to day lives. What we love and what we do vary significantly, not just as we get older, but from year to year as we go through necessary changes to overcome regular roadblocks. How on earth are we meant to accurately pick something that stays true to who we are for all time?

An old friend of mine who was half the reason I got into this fandom, once made an OC design of what they thought I'd look like. Everything about it made sense, but it didn't feel like me. I believe the cutie mark was a pencil on a stack of books. I was the studious history buff after all, and that hasn't really changed.

The one I've always gone with however, was a personal symbol that I had originally placed on a flag design, completely unrelated to anything pony. A fleur de lis set inside an olive wreath. The idea was to convey diplomacy and a want for peace, with an image of power to back it all up. Aspects I'm only realizing now as well, is how both parts are actually plants whose appearances have been used with such frequency that we kind of forget that's the case. Their intent is made all the more clearer with the sharp points of the leaves and petals.

Honestly, this design barely fits into the technicolor world of equines, but I've made it mine. Whether that would hold true in a reality where destiny decides my tramp stamp is impossible to say.

On 2025-07-11 at 2:24 PM, Nook Cranny said:

As for her cutie mark maybe it can be soapy bubbles? I dunno... What do you guys think? What do you think would be a good cutie mark design for a sanitation engineer? 

Throw in a sponge and I think you're set!

I like the sound of Spotless, with "Spot" or "Liz" for short.

Not to steal from Digital Circus, but for the same pun, Ragatha, for cleaning with rags.

Bright Sparkle or Sparkle Bright.

Buffy Shine

Pristine

And for the less serious, we have Elbow Grease and Lemon Pledge.

Affair 

Magnets!

Some of my all time favorites are on the hardrive of my old broken laptop that I really need to to get moved over. One that comes to mind, I took when I was probably 14, and it was just a partial sunset, but the clouds looked like they were on fire.

Happy bUrSt dAy everyone! For my fellow Americans, this is the place to share how you're celebrating or lighting your money on fire! For our friends abroad, how do you celebrate your home countries independence/origin?

I for one like to put on a little show of my own.

Phone for day to day, laptop for anything I consider a project, like a response that requires research, or posts for the world cup.

I'm exhausted. My downstairs neighbor isn't all there, and she called the fire department three times last night, so loud engine noises and flashing lights coming into my bedroom.

Excited for my lovely to be back from her week long trip today though!

Welcome to the forums!

I feel like it's a miracle your username wasn't already taken given we have every variety of enthusiasts under the moon. (yeah I said it, sol followers, come at me!)

Dino person myself, though haven't watched the entirety of that franchise. Planning to binge the new Walking with Dinosaurs this weekend. Also I'm a veterinary assistant and avid enjoyer of animals, so it's awesome to see someone be in two of my corners!

I see you picked the infamous spino as your profile pic. Is that your favorite dinosaur, or do you have another?

Was there a moment when you realized that you were "the" dino person from everyone around you, or were you lucky enough to have found community around our beloved terrible lizards?

As a casual mlp enjoyer, how far into which of the series are you, and what's a favorite moment from the show?

What is the Okapi's name, and how'd she come to be at your Zoo?

And finally, as much fun as it is to work with animals, stuff happens. So tell me, what's the grossest thing one of them's done? I'll trade you in the spoiler.

I like strange words, what is dis one?

@fim y

How long has it been since you've had a tootsie roll?

Do you prefer folding or stackable chairs?

How many cats is too many?

How many rolls of toilet paper are there in your home?

Is there anywhere in your home that you can touch the ceiling without any assistance?

I'm going to say the Goonies. We get to piggy back off of pirates, and half the park could be dedicated to working your way through challenges, while the other half can be a free for all. It will bring back nostalgia, while also bringing something fresh.

Oh right, the other half of the planet exists. What I ought to have done is bought more Caprisun Moon Punch to celebrate! 

Today we are celebrating our local Strawberry Festival, where there will be a market, carnival and parade. Though these will be taking place during daylight hours, I will be thinking fondly of our recent strawberry moon.

Hail Luna!

Yikes! 88 orders of Mizithra Spaghetti with a side of garlic bread and small salad.

Funny thing, I ordered on doordash which didn't say you get those sides like you normally would in the restaurant. We've had issues with that before, so I added those and was then confused why I had two salads and garlic breads when it arrived.

Anyways, thanks for putting me in theoretical debt with this one Reece.

@ZiggWheelsManning We're losing her doctor! We must act now!

But in all seriousness to a non-serious discussion, this isn't like when a child sits in a bucket and has genuinely wedged themselves, only her limbs are trapped, though notably all the way up to her chest and abdomen. That may suggest a vacuum has managed to occur. If that is indeed a typical ceramic garden pot then that shouldn't be possible, as there'd be a drainage hole at the bottom releiving said pressure difference, not to mention the porous nature of terracotta. The density of the material would make an xray useless. An MRI may he necessary, although the drainage hole could permit an endoscopy.

Do the Apples have insurance?

I've thought about doing this for my kids one day, because I'm unsure how to go about it for myself.

When I was 7 or 8, I made one with a friend. I don't remember what all was in it, but we used a small wooden box that wasn't even remotely sealed. Dug until we saw clay, and called it good. I wanted to check on it a month later I think? The whole thing had fallen apart, and maybe half of whatever was in it was salvageable. A letter to our future selves had either disintegrated or glued bits of itself to the wood and all the writing washed away.

My first highschool has a whole bunch of time capsules, but they stopped putting them in after filling the row. I'm not aware of any plans to open them. I was disappointed that it wasn't set up so that we could say, make a new one and open one every 50 years. Give us a chance to connect with our past and set something up for those who come after and all that.

Part of the issue with what I'd like to put in one, is I want to include things that are already gone that I'm nostalgic for. A dumb example is those cheese and cracker handisnacks, but specifically the ones with the little red plastic spreader that were both wasteful and a choking hazard. But man do I miss them.

As such, I would like to make one for my future kids when they're about 5-10 years old. Reading material wont be as much of a thing as it was, but I'll do my best to include a mix of stories from that year, photos, media, snacks, and a few other things particular to the time. Then we can crack it open some point down the line, maybe when they have kids of their own.

@ahiquqbqi If we go with the Daybreaker theory, the real question is what would lead up to that, and is she still alive?

Before the announcement for Celestia and Luna's retirement, I kind of pictured this being the aftermath of a tidally locked Equestria, wherein the sun and moon have stopped moving and in the absence of magic, the extremes of thermal exchange have caught up to the World via global devastation and storms.

There's a few issues with this idea of course. One glaring one that I only just now realized, is that Starlight and Twilight were most likely traveling to the same point of time in the future, and it would take significantly longer for these affects to reach that level of,,, extinction. So something much worse must have taken place in a shorter period of time.

Also, I have no basis for this concept within any Canon 

Here's something bonkers

Yes, but I have 3 catches to this, two being personal and one theoretical.

The first is that I'm a very go with the flow kind of person, so even when I recognize that something is impossibly different or out of place within a dream, I tend to just go along with it.

The second is that even if I'm in full lucidity, the experience is often short because I tend to wake up. This is good for nightmares where I tend to be directly in harms way, because I can just nope out of there, but bad for enjoyable experiences.

And third, I don't think we're in control of whether we get to be in control within a lucid dream. I don't know the official terminology, but while I'm certain the ability to see things within our mind through recollection, imagination, and dreaming all share a connection, they're different processes.

Something I'd like to know from others, is,

Have you ever have dreams where you're someone else entirely?

Have you ever had dreams that last a significant amount of time within them, such as multiple days having passed in their entirety or longer?