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Dark Qiviut

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  2. Dark Qiviut
    When Discovery Family doesn't show a teaser at any point throughout the week, that proves a complete lack of confidence they had for it. Even Appleoosa's Most Wanted had a teaser.

    After torturing myself to finish Act 1, I can see why. Besides all of the unnecessary exposition, the annoyances Spike had to deal with were incredibly painful to sit through. Rather than have the conflict flow naturally, contrived cartoon logic creates a ton of nuisances just to make Spike's assignment more difficult. Every joke fails because Spike is just trying to do his job. Spike has been a stagnant butt of jokes for five seasons now! Jesus Christ, can we actually have another Spike episode that treats his character with some level of RESPECT?!

    I prefer to watch an episode and feel bored than watch an episode and cringe at so-called "humor." At least if I feel bored, I can watch the episode and catch some extra shuteye. I can't muster any strength to watch the next two acts because the stupidity grates my ears.


     
    Source: S05:E10 - Princess Spike
  4. Dark Qiviut
    Remember when Amethyst Star said this?
     

    A user named "gato" from the Sonic Stadium Message Board caught this reference and dug up the archives, so credit goes to him:
     

     
    See that vest and sleeve? Amethyst was the captain of the animal team, and it took place during the early half of season one, as Twilight was still getting accustomed into Ponyville. It's a little detail that only a few will catch, and even I didn't until he said it. To use that subtle reference in Slice of Life is extremely clever.
  6. Dark Qiviut
    A few days ago, I posted this blog showing off my revised ponysona with the preparation of making a layout for my video analysis.
     
    Inspired by some other analysts like Voice of Reason, Silver-Quill, and Fiery Joker, I have some new poses.
     
    First, the original, with one difference: the back leg is now behind all the fur.
     

     
    Now, various three-quarter poses, some standing up and sitting down, including various poses of the front leg.
     
     
     
     
    There are also variations of Wise Ox sitting down and turning toward the viewer. I have two versions of his face, one where it's a little wider, the other a little thinner. Let me know in the comments which face style you like the most.
     
     
     
     
    Also, here is early development of the analysis layout, which has the character posing, the burning campfire, and the screen (in gray) above the flames.
     

     
    (It's 720p HD, and the gray border is for vector presentation purposes.)
     
    In the future, I will add a glow in the background, possibly a dark, reddish violet background with a glow reflecting the fire color. If you have any more suggestions of the background and fore, including compositional ideas, please let me know in the comments below.
  7. Dark Qiviut
    When I wrote down the best and worst episodes of FIM (which should be updated), I called out One Bad Apple's wretched moral. Part of the problem was how it was treated as the solution to the whole child bullying problems in not just Ponyville, but also our own world. It's a dangerous false pretense because bullying is much more complicated than that, and there's no one right way to curb it.
     
    The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone's moral may not be as screwed up as OBA's, but it's still screwed up. How? By being a one-size false pretense.
     
    In this episode, Pinkie and Dash "realize" that Griffonstone is in complete disarray is because they're not helping each other and need to actually be friends to build their town back to former glory.
     
    Nononononononononono!
     
    Time-out!
     
    Griffonstone is a wasteland. There's nothing exciting or endearing about this place. The houses are rundown. There's no food or water. Chances are they don't get much rain by how dry the ground and sky look. Present-day griffons have every reason to be grumpy: While others such as Ponyville and Canterlot thrive, Griffonstone looks war-torn, reminding me personally of how Germany looked following World War I. Very few sources are available because their economy is beyond terrible. It's literally nonexistent.
     
    There's an implication of how greed led to very deep, rooted problems in Griffonstone. One way to heal itself for the future was through friendship and teamwork rather than societal seclusion. The problem is there's a deep disconnect between what the moral is trying to say and what it's saying. There's no reason to believe griffons here are greedy. Observe their terrible houses, stores, and food supplies; they're fighting for survival. They don't ask for money at any given turn for the fun of it. As comedic as many of the scenes are, the griffons are in very deep trouble. If they don't ask for money, they starve and will die.
     
    The episode treats the moral as a one-size-fit-all solution to Griffonstone's problems (and by association, others in real life). That doesn't work. In fact, that solution is inappropriate for an episode like this. Why? Because it's dangerous. Even if society is welcoming and friends with each other, that still won't solve Griffonstone's economic and agricultural turmoil. It's so rooted that it'll take beyond merely friendship to restore Griffonstone. Friendship can only build so much, and it's a false pretense to believe otherwise. Sure, it's a start to maybe build Griffonstone back up, but the griffons are in a life-or-death predicament. Unfortunately, they don't completely treat it as such by making Griffonstone a cornerstone for "humor."
  8. Dark Qiviut
    EDIT: The revision from last night was edited.
     
    Here is my original design of my ponysona.
     
    Below is my revision.
     

     
    Differences:
    Three-quarter view and standing up instead of sitting down. Will likely replicate the original pose later. New nose/muzzle. Bigger eyes/highlight. More saturated color for the fur. Simplified the fur edges.

    As for the edits from last night:
    The red has been dulled a bit to make him a bit rustic. Darkened the stroke color, too. The steel gray color for his hooves has been changed to a saturated sand. As a result, there is now a dark brown stroke. The back front leg is also moved down a bit. The secondary sandy mane (behind WO's head) now has a stroke closely matching the color. Fattened the bottoms of the front hooves.

    I also divided the front legs into three pieces so I can move them up and down.
     

    The layout will be next. If you have any comments, please do below. ^^
  9. Dark Qiviut
    Prior to TakeOver: Unstoppable, NXT's Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch have had a fierce rivalry. At the contract signing, they had a brawl that ended in Lynch twisting Banks's arm backwards, making her tap. If any of you are unfamiliar with the NXT Division, it competes with Ring of Honor as the tops of professional wrestling despite being a "developmental league." This is no exception for the women's division, whose athletic "divas" developed into holding matches as great as the men. At least two women matches from NXT last year were Match of the Year candidates.
     
    At this point, Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch last Wednesday at TakeOver: Unstoppable may be one of 2015's best matches in not just NXT, but the entire WWE.
     
    Check it out below:
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9ogeAg2WLY
  10. Dark Qiviut
    Thank this thread's topic for giving me the muster to be angry.
     
    For a while, Just for Sidekicks was my most hated S3 episode. Two reasons: Spike Torture Porn (and a bastardization to boot) and royal disappointment. I could barely think about JfS without feeling bitter despite Spike at Your Service being much worse.
     
    Today, the bitterness is gone, and I only dislike it. Now I have one S3 that I now truly hate(and this is more recent): The Crystal Empire.
     
    My friends know why, but I'll again explain it: It's the test. With the Empire revived and hanging in the balance, Celestia assigns Twilight to a test to protect and save the Empire.
     
    Think about it. A test to save the Empire from Sombra. Why? To prove to Celestia that Twilight is ready to ascend to princesshood.
     
    …
     
    WHY THE FUCK SHOULD PROVING THE ABILITY TO LEAD HAVE TO REVOLVE AROUND PLAYING GAMES WITH INNOCENT LIVES?!!
     
    An entire empire was revived, and thousands of lives are at stake. Twilight, her friends, SA, Cadance, and the kingdom's inhabitants. Sombra is pure evil; he will kill just to achieve his goals. Rather than immediately flying to protect it, Celestia puts Twilight, who has no knowledge about leading a kingdom, in charge of something that could've gotten her and everyone else killed.
     
    Rather than pointing it out, the entire two-parter puts little emphasis on everyone's safety. Instead, Twilight passing the test is the primary goal. Surely, Twilight would care more about sving the kingdom. No, she doesn't. Her entire focus was on passing the test. When she couldn't do it on her own, she gave up passing it and told Spike to return the Crystal Heart.
     
    But once it was over? Twilight sulked about not being able to do it herself.
     
    …
     
    Seriously?! Spike helped save thousands of lives, and you're more disappointed about not passing your test?!
     
    Rather than tell the audience about how innocent lives shouldn't be treated as a means to an end, the narrative tells the audience the test is more important. Lives aren't supposed to be treated as a means to an end! To make it worse, TCE treats this game as okay even AFTER this episode: In Keep Calm, Celestia nonsensically assigned Fluttershy to "reform" Discord, and she later put Twilight under another test to complete Star Swirl's incomplete, canonically contradictory spell. Like Rainbow Falls with the Games, TCE caused the Twilicorn evolution arc to jump the shark. However, unlike the Games, her ascension's expectations were ruined before it even began.
     
    The test was evil.
     
    The moral was evil.
     
    The whole episode was evil.
     
    Celestia was evil.
     
    A lot of bronies really dislike Tyrantlestia. Unfortunately for them, The Crystal Empire paints her as a tyrant thanks to this garbage. Until this series ever addresses this and actually stops excusing her actions (FF #3, I'm looking at you!), it will continue.
     
    If I knew about these implications back when they aired, I would've blown such a gigantic gasket. My anger towards the Holiday Special comic here would've paled in comparison. It may not be the worst FIM episode of all-time, but it violates my morale so much, I can't look at it without my blood boiling.
     
    I — HATE — this episode!
  13. Dark Qiviut
    On the forums, there's been a really bothering trend when it comes to the characters' actions. Whether they were in character, out of character, or whatever, one of the more common excuses for explaining their actions is "they're flawed." Sometimes, this logic is used fallaciously.
     
    To an extent, it's understandable why it's used. A key reason we became so attached to these characters is how relatable they are. We can connect to these characters because they have challenges, goals to attain, and missions to accomplish. All of us have challenges to overcome, and we as bronies want to see them overcome these challenges. This means making mistakes, sometimes really big ones, in order for them to learn, develop, and mature. Almost all of the characters are very likeable.
     
    But when it gets very problematic is when "they're flawed" is used as the be-all-and-end-all defense for every single mistake they commit, even if these mistakes would cost them their friendship when going by societal morale, either theirs or ours. Even though these characters live in a fantasy world, they're always a response to our culture, either embracing it or critiquing it. Their actions can have a lasting impact on their audience, whether it's one person or thousands of kids.
     
    The characters in Friendship Is Magic are great if they're flawed, but it's much more than that. Even when the characters make a mistake, it's also very important to keep them in character and likeable while they're making these mistakes, even when they're at their worst.
     
    And this is what makes the "they're flawed" excuse so broken. Quite often, the excuse either explains their actions or accepts them willy-nilly. But what makes their actions excusable? What's the proper justification for these actions? Is there actual subtext that makes sense? Does the writer criticize their actions in the story, and is the criticism merited? When they make these huge mistakes, do they stay in character and likeable while they're making them?
     
    There's a very huge difference between explaining their actions and justifying their actions. Explaining the actions is just that, explaining. You can explain why they're acting terrible, but that doesn't make what they're doing okay, period. If they make such a big mistake or are behaving very poorly, then the writer needs to critique their actions and make them suffer the consequences. Plus, make sure they stay in character and make these mistakes believable.
     
    Some cases of explaining the actions without solidly justifying them:
    Look Before You Sleep: Applejack's and Rarity's constant arguing is nothing but stupid bantering that only children will say. AJ and Rarity are adults who help run and own important businesses. It makes absolutely no sense for either of them to stop cleaning up and argue like two-year-olds. It destroys their credibility as reliable executives. Their approach to mutual maturity was completely contrived.
    Bridle Gossip: The ReMane Five all become out of character and unlikeable once they see Zecora. The characterizations are shallow at best and stereotypical at worst. (Rarity, you were such a racist bitch here.) The writer punished the M6, but they never genuinely learned their lesson, having to be explained the moral because they were too dumb to figure it out. The explanation for their racist actions is how Zecora looked very scary to them. One problem: this excuses racism as "whites are racist to blacks because they look scary." This false conclusion marginalizes the evils of racism.
    The Show Stoppers: The very common explanation of the CMCs being so oblivious to their natural talent is how it's so first nature that they don't notice it. How? "Because they're kids." There's a very big difference between being very oblivious and very stupid. Their innate talents are exposed within the first five minutes, and they're so unaware of it, they don't see it even after the episode ends. TSS constantly shoves this fact into the audience's face, making their journey to find their cutie marks pointless, destructive, and shark-jumping before it even started.
    Mare Do Well: The infamous Sugarcube Corner scene. As Dash sulks, the ReMane Five brag about MDW right in front of her and laugh at her. Then they proceed to tell Dash that she shouldn't brag about her talents. The common explanation was to show Dash how bad it was to gloat so much. That still doesn't justify not only how out of character, but also how they treated the peril in Ponyville and lives at risk as a game to teach Dash a lesson. The setting is inappropriate at best and vile at worst.
    Putting Your Hoof Down: An episode that can destroy a character's reputation thanks to terrible handling of a character, and this is no exception. Fluttershy had no objectively good reason to buck manure on top of two background characters (it would've been better if she flew around and berated them), assault a tourist, and especially insult two of her closest friends' reasons for living as meaningless. Even worse, this episode puts all the blame on Iron Will. Even though IW's advice sucked, Fluttershy acted on her own volition. The minotaur had nothing to do with it.
    Ponyville Confidential: The episode that killed Ponyville's reputation. When Ponyville first read the gossip, they were interested and wanted more. Only when they got gossiped did they cruelly punish the CMCs. The treatment the CMCs got is easily some of the harshest in the entire show. Now, what the Crusaders did were bad? Definitely. Gossip hurts. But it doesn't entitle them to scapegoat three kids for all of the blame when they helped perpetuate the gossip to begin with.
    Bats!: Even though Twilight mastered the magic of friendship, she still made a really stupid decision in affecting the Vampire Fruit Bats's livelihoods. Not only was she the one responsible for creating the magic that affected their lives to begin with, she shifted the blame when it all went awry. She was forcibly changing the ecosystem with magic; in turn, she accentuated the conflict. Nice going.
    Filli Vanilli: *ugh* Anyone remember Pinkie admonishing Dash for wanting to prank Fluttershy? Apparently, that lesson went missing because Pinkie crazily ranted at Fluttershy, and the same can be said for anyone who tries to defend Pinkie here. In the first rant, she kept going and going even though Fluttershy's fears and anguish was becoming way too obvious. Rather than stopping, she mocked Big Mac while he was in distress and then drove Fluttershy into tears twice more. Once is a mistake. Upsetting 'Shy three times is evil! Pinkie may be oblivious, but there's no provocation, and she's not an idiot!
    Trade Ya!: Rainbow Dash decided to trade Fluttershy for the one-of-a-kind DD book without giving as much as a single thought of the consequences. Rainbow has grown so much over the last four seasons, but this episode really flanderized her by exaggerating her sense of self-importance and indulgence. Rather than calling out the DD collector for even thinking of trading FS in, Dash went along with it without even considering the ramifications until it was too late. If this was the actual, in-character Dash we grew to know and love, she would NEVER agree to thrust a flanderized Fluttershy into indentured servitude. Her actions are well below Dash from Season 1 or even Rainbow Rocks.

    For a few examples of justifying the actions:
    Fall Weather Friends: Neither Applejack nor Rainbow Dash behaved very well. In fact, they were at their worst from an in-character point of view. Throughout the episode, you can tell that Amy Keating Rogers wasn't glorifying their immaturity. Their attitude was affecting not just their friendship, but the mood of the competition, too. And it all started by Dash using her wings to beat AJ. But when it got really terrible, AJ and Dash traded punches as they crossed the finish line, looking banged up while Twilight crossed the finish line ahead of them. The fight was meant to be educational and a critique of how you should never let competition get in the way of your friendship. To put it shortly, this is LBYS done right: They were childish, but were believable, in character, and had more natural dialogue.
    Sonic Rainboom: Two things.
     
    a. Flutter's line that sparked Dash's insecurity:
     Too many people here compared what she said here to what Pinkie said in Filli Vanilli. For all the guys who did or currently are, you're comparing apples and oranges.
     
    In S4, Fluttershy's constant shyness and fear have been established; Pinkie ranted and drove her to tears in front of her face, and she did it three times. Not only that, she didn't show an ounce of regret over what she said. Pinkie's obliviousness was amplified for idiotic comedy, and it made her out of character.
     
    In Sonic Rainboom, this is the first time Dash's insecurities were established. Fluttershy wasn't even saying anything mean-spirited. It was an accidental trigger, and she said it only once. When did Rainbow Dash freak out? Right at the end of the speech. And how did FS react? Out of worry. Hell, she even tried to encourage Dash after they met those three bullies once more. These subtleties make a huge difference. This is why FS's actions are excusable and why Pinkie's weren't.
     
    (I will explain more about the differences between FS's line to Dash in SR and PP to FS in FV at a later date.)
     
    b. Plus, Rarity was shown to be at her worst. Initially, she stayed true to her element by suggesting to be the experiment for Twilight's magical butterfly wings. Remember, she was the one who suggested heading over to Cloudesdale in the first place. But if there's one more thing about her, it's the want for attention. Her vanity is exposed and has a direct impact to both Dash's insecurities and her own already big ego.
     
    Simultaneously, Rarity's vanity is reinforced by continuity. Think about it; her inner conflict's always running. Her lust for the spotlight isn't plucked out of thin air. As a creative, she strives for attention because that's how she gets noticed. Twilight's responsible for her wings, but Cloudesdale doesn't know that. They were appreciating her, and this is quite foreign to her. Remember her source of aesthetics: herself. Her own visual beauty and high standards for herself makes her want to have attention and achieve goals she could possibly not attain.
     
    Lastly, this is where she deserves some slack here and not in Sweet & Elite. In S&E, each time Rarity lied, she got the best possible outcome. True, you can give some justification for her actions: This was her chance to actually be a part of society she desperately wanted. But where it falls apart comes once the M6 shows up. She lies to them and uses the moral Twilight learned from PoO as an out. When she was confronted for the first time, she chose her friends and got the best possible outcome. Her lies and secrets remain confidential, and she got rewarded rather than punished for her actions.
     
    In Sonic Rainboom, Larson actively criticizes Rarity's lust, and the compliments she received were superficial. She was going in over her head, and she ignored warnings of not being too close to the sun. When she ignored the warning, serious consequences smacked her across the muzzle. Once her life was saved, she felt very guilty and apologized to Dash. SR never gave Rarity the best possible outcome, and that's a really good thing.
    Lesson Zero: As Twilight went completely nuts over not being able to deliver her friendship report on time, the others don't take it seriously and laugh it off. And they have a reason to: They thought she was getting herself worked up over nothing. Unfortunately, Twilight's craziness only worsens, and the problem worsens. By extension, they perpetuated Twilight's lunacy; the narrative indicates this; and they regret not listening to her sooner. But it was executed in a manner that didn't degrade the RM5's characterizations.
    Toils: Easily one of the best examples. Sweetie Belle's decision to damage Rarity's headdress was actually really malicious. In a fit of rage, Sweetie decided to attack Rarity at the core of her work by manipulating with an important assignment, particularly one who is loyal to Rarity.
     
    However, the episode doesn't give her a very shallow reason to rig her headdress. You had the play that she definitely worked hard on, Rarity's dresses (and not the script) that were praised, and then Sweetie feeling overshadowed. Rarity is generous with very high standards, but is also vain and egotistical; when a character works beyond the call of duty in another's main project, then Sweetie is given ample reason to believe her older sister's upstaging her. She's wrong for doing what she did, but you can understand her actions. However, Luna doesn't let her get away with them. She, along with SB conscience, actively punish the filly for her actions, forcing Sweetie to head over and try to fix the damage she caused.
    Testing Testing: In the beginning of Act 2, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle got frustrated with each other. Rainbow blamed her for not helping her better, while Twilight blamed Dash for being lazy. The argument worsened when they started insulting each other. Twilight insulted her by saying she's intelligent enough to qualify as a WB. Dash insulted her for being an inexperienced flier. All done right in front of Fluttershy. And Fluttershy stopped the fight and called them out for it! Immediately, they felt guilty and apologized to each other. This is a situation of PYHD done correctly; they insulted each other, and they were definitely wrong for doing it. However, they stayed in a certain bar where they toed the "likeability/in-character" line, but never crossed it. You can see where both came from, and FS kept them accountable.
    The Cutie Map: Two things.
     
    a. Fluttershyh's naivety upon arriving at the unnamed village. Pinkie Pie was one of the most vocal critics of how every villager behaved: She knew smiles, and they looked very forced. However, FS was immediately supportive of them. Although everyone else was focused on the approach, Fluttershy concentrated on the outcome. She looked for happiness and got it. Moreover, she hates conflict. Unless she has no choice, she won't get involved whatsoever. Not to mention it subtly references her crippling phobia that resulted in her being "shy" in the first place.
     
    b. Pinkie Pie's aggression is Filli Vanilli done right. She was one of the first to be completely against the town and kept a not-so-subtle glare on them. As Fluttershy bobbed to the creepy tune, Pinkie glared at her, making her cry. What makes this work is how Pinkie is very aware that something isn't right and doesn't want anyone she cares for to fall for Starlight Glimmer's tricks.
     
    What happened in the vault is the same approach. When she spilled the details about how they knew about the vault (some ponies missing their cutie marks, Twilight glared at her and told her to stop. Pinkie saw it, squeaked, "Oops!", and she hunkered down. Upon this happening, Starlight was able to strip them of their cutie marks and replace them with the =. It's very in character of Pinkie, but what makes it work is the fact that it's her flaw that resulted in the consequences, but without breaking the suspension of disbelief, characterization, or intelligence.

    The show does a good job explaining their actions, but does a mixed job at justifying those actions and keeping them accountable. The justification is part of what makes the characters relatable, likeable, and in character. By providing good justification for their actions, then you can understand them. Their actions don't feel forced. Simultaneously, when the characters do something wrong, they must be held accountable; if they don't or are rewarded, then you're just going to make bronies dislike or hate that character.
     
    Don't blame the bronies or fandom for disliking the character. That's scapegoating the fandom, and scapegoating them means you have absolutely no genuine interest in any part of the product. Blame the writers for doing a poor job at keeping them consistently likeable.
     
    In other words, if they act at their worst, by all means. But make sure you don't cross the line.
  14. Dark Qiviut
    The Rock's entrance music is extremely iconic, and you have to give thanks to composer Jim Johnston (a dude who should be elected to not just the WWE Hall of Fame, but some other music HOFs, too) for that. The style of the music regardless of genre is associated with The Great One. Anytime you hear it, you think of him.
     
    But if you have to tell me which is the best, it's when he played the Hollywood heel: Is Cookin'. Introduced at No Way Out and subsequently revised the following night in Toronto, it's a joy to listen.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzLrRpE6BtQ
     
    What makes that rock song so fantastic is the ability to tell a story in every second. The slow intro with the helicopter in the background helps build something epic and frustrated. Like The Rock went to Hollywood and felt angry at the people for booing him. Finally, when the drums and cymbals clash, energy exerts itself, and it makes you feel pumped up albeit the slow, confident tune. The guitar riffs change the flavor and add even more depth into The Rock's quest for respect.
  18. Dark Qiviut
    That was my immediate impression upon watching CSC via this status, but I'll comment a bit more.
     

    To be very honest, the fact that the feels are really subdued until the end is really one of the biggest strengths of this episode. It takes the concept of mourning and gives it a really refreshing twist without feeling too clichéd. Yes, we still see the characters feeling very sad about the Golden Oak Library, and it was great about how they didn't ignore it while not getting that sappy. Not just Twilight's feelings, but her friends', too. They're just as much a part of life as Twilight, making the Library a part of their home, too. It was also rather good how they noticed the problem without being humiliated before Twilight as a result. Having Spike comment about it and distract Twilight was all needed.
     
    But a few problems that I noticed.
    Applejack actually pouring soil in Twilight's castle. There's a certain proportion of suspension of disbelief in Western cartoons, and FIM is no exception. But the idea of her actually pouring soil on top of the cold floor feels way too stupid. It would've been better if there were flowerpots filled with flowers and plants instead. The intent is great, but it felt very out of place.
    The end "echo" joke at the end of Act 2 sucked. The co-writers went with a specific mood that Twilight would feel sad over having the house not be like home, and Fluttershy et al. had a reason to feel sad. But the second "echo" joke was very out of place and completely killed the mood.
    While the pacing at the end was fine, the middle felt pretty slow. It kept on going with the ReMane Five conflicting, and having them repeat "clutter" all the time hammers the point too much. Once is fine. Twice is pushing it. Saying the same word over and over again is being blunt and obnoxious. Kids aren't stupid; they know synonyms of the word.
    Continuity references also got heavy. Everyone here already knows how much the episode depends on continuity. Without it, the characters don't grow. But when they piled on all those references in Act 3, it starts getting weighty at best and relied on at worst. Continuity as a bit more than a cherry is better by keeping it more subtle. Having Twilight mourn in her own way is an excellent reinforcement of continuity without hammering it in.

    To describe another strength to balance the brief negativity out, Spike was really on point here, easily his best role since Simple Ways. While Twilight wanted to come home, he did a great job acting as a foil, providing excuse after excuse to distract her and keep the ReMane Five busy. The comedy he was a part in worked, too, yet didn't have him suffer too much from Bulk Biceps*. Nice to see him be involved while keeping his childlike essence and not degrade him to comedic idiot that victimized him for most of last season. Kudos for the new co-writers for giving him a sense of dignity and not ignoring his crush on Rarity.
     
    Currently, a pretty nice start. Act 3 did a nice job resolving. There are flaws that hurt it somewhat, but not so much that kills CSC entirely. It's nowhere close to the high quality of The Cutie Map, but it does its job.
     
    *Having him be a masseuse really works for him, and it's good to not see him act like the idiot presented from Rainbow Falls. May his character never degrade that badly again!
     

     
    Source: S05:E03 - Castle Sweet Castle
  19. Dark Qiviut
    Source: S05:E01+02 - The Cutie Map
     

    This was from a little while ago. Now I'll get a little deeper into The Cutie Map.
     
    Even though I was a critic of various executions of Season 4, one of the bigger pluses is how much they approached maturer and grayer morals. Rarity Takes Manhattan talked about how you shouldn't quit your most positive qualities because someone took advantage of you. Pinkie Pride delved into the very mature theme of jealousy over an individual who can not only do the same talent you love and work on, but are also better at it. Everyone here knows how much I praise Testing Testing's excellently executed moral and approach to it.
     
    Season Five commenced it with one of the most mature conflicts of not just the entire show, but family TV altogether. It's an entire episode where the conflict between how two ponies approach what friendship is about. Is friendship supposed to be about agreeing with one another? Or is friendship about where despite having serious disagreements, you can still be friends? Can friendship work under the philosophy that conformity trumps all?
     
    Earlier today, I mentioned how The Cutie Map had a very eerie similarity of George Orwell's Animal Farm, a storybook criticizing the way the Soviet Union was governed and politicized. Starlight Glimmer's goals run through very similar propaganda. She continued to spread the idea that in order to be true friends, you must be equal. Give up what makes you you. The song, In Our Town, is revealed by Ingram himself to be heavily inspired by WWII propaganda music. This is a really bold direction that hones in the criticism of how strict communist countries had or currently run such as the USSR and especially North Korea. The fact that they explicitly describe the area it's located as "East Equestria" (an implied allegory of the old Eastern Bloc) confirms this powerful message further.
     
    One of the cleverest directions Sonneborn, Larson, et al. induced this skewed opinion of friendship equating conformity is how the show never told the audience the name of the town. If you give this town a name, you risk breaking apart the theme of conformity and how the only way to thrive is to be like everypony else in Equestria. The lack of name retains that mystery behind the history of the town. More importantly, it reinforces Starlight Glimmer's skewed opinions of how the only way to actually be friends is to not conform to the rest of society. Keeping it nameless makes this drab village very inviting by teasing about how despite its dinky appearances, it could be one of the best places you'll ever run across. It's a very tiny thing quantitatively, but it really established credibility in Glimmer's propaganda.
     
    Undoubtedly, Starlight Glimmer's a fraud. By not conforming to the very same messages she claims to celebrate (not sacrificing her cutie mark while forcing everyone else to do so), she becomes a major hypocrite. However, don't let that mean her beliefs lack any level of sincerity. As a character, she's incredibly sharp with a sense of how she can be one step ahead of the others. With the ReMane Five locked up, she manipulated FS into trying to out her accomplices. Even more, Starlight doesn't act like some magical being who reigned in terror æons ago. She's a unicorn with very strong magical powers, and we have no idea what her past is. There's no doubt that her lack of past is intentional; it makes her feel both relatable and real.
     
    Unlike the other villains, she does believe in the magic of friendship, but not the MoF that the others believe. Instead, she sees the concept of individuality as a hindrance of both growth and triumph. Her idea of the cutie mark doesn't translate to being someone of equal potential, but how you must conform to Equestrian matriarchy/patriarchy. By telling everyone to give it up, force them, and hammer it in, she's making them believe that her totalitarian opinions will lead to an eventual Equestrian revolution. Not "revolution" as in warfare, but "revolution" as in how a new ideal of Equestria can be legitimately established. Even after she was revealed to be a hypocrite, she never relented that belief. Consequently, this further legitimizes her gray opinions on Equestrian society.
     
    Starlight Glimmer is a very credible, three-dimensional villain. She has very legitimate motives that back up continuity from not just the whole series, but also Magical Mystery Cure. One big problem from that finale is how it conveniently changes the whole definition of the cutie mark from being something you innately like and look forward to for the rest of your life to how it's forced upon you. Starlight Glimmer — and the two-parter's theme itself — openly critiques the very structure and magic of the cutie mark. Surprisingly, SG's political assessments and critiques of the cutie mark system not only opens up further discussion and history of the cutie mark, but it also closes the continuity gap that Magical Mystery Cure opened. Her angst over the cutie mark isn't plucked out of thin air. It's an ongoing discussion in the fandom, including Pinkie Pride itself. There's legitimate backing to it, and she has very good reasons to tell passersby to abandon the practice. By being a very slick motivational speaker, Starlight Glimmer becomes both imposing and very threatening.
     
    A common problem in two-parters is the lack of naturality in the dialogue. Only Return of Harmony had much conviction in the dialogue. The Cutie Map's dialogue is incredibly believable. Sure, there's some repetition in Rarity's "divine" comments, but that's me being a little picky. Pinkie Pie was incredibly on point throughout; if you're a very big brony of her, you will like her here. She retains that same zaniness that we grew to know and love, but she's not a random idiot. Her comedy has purpose, and her obliviousness isn't exaggerated. She was acutely aware of how forced the ponies were acting, and it creeped her out. When she wasn't liking how Fluttershy bobbed to the propaganda, her glare snapped her out of it.
     
    Honestly, the disagreement the Mane Six had with their impressions over the town was awesome! Pinkie Pie was extremely apprehensive over the town, Starlight Glimmer, and the townsponies. However, Fluttershy had a completely opposite opinion of the town. Despite Glimmer's scary predisposition, FS wasn't willing to quit on the town and believe there were some good intentions behind everything here. In Bats!, FS's skewed opinions of how to handle the bats was completely wrong, yet treated as in the right despite Applejack having more justification to get rid of the vampire fruit bats. Here, both FS and PP had very solid opposing opinions of the village. This establishes not just the gray morale in this whole episode, but also Starlight Glimmer's politics. They were a driving force in the conflict, but neither side was one-hundred-percent right. Each of the Mane Six had strong, solid, differing convictions of the town. None of them were right nor wrong.
     
    There's one bugaboo that I must talk about: "The Staff of Sameness." Not the staff itself, but the naming. It's extremely blunt and very anticlimactic. It gives off that feeling of evil before SG confronted them. While the rest of the episode had extremely clever writing, the name of the staff comes off as extremely convenient. If there was more cleverness in the name, like "equalibrium," "The Gate to Freedom," or something else (if you can give me other names in the comments, feel free to), it would make SG's morale even greyer. Fortunately, Sonneborn and Larson were able to overcome this stilt and deliver a story that was extremely solid from top to bottom.
     
    @@LZRD WZRD mentioned this in his analysis, and I'll do it here. "In Our Town" is an accurate, yet creepy, tribute to WWII propaganda songs. There's a sick stench of utopian creepiness that will make you shiver down your spine. But one meter really hones in Glimmer's justified philosophies: "You can't have a nightmare if you never dream." What makes it scary is how there's truth into this line. The idea that dreams are describes as an inherent nightmare; in order to have a true good night's sleep, how about giving up the ability to dream? It's a scary question to ask, but how the song's written and delivered creates a mirage of how this may be one of the best ideas out there. The line offers serious implications over how you can tackle this internal conflict. (I'm thinking of breaking down the entire song in a future analysis.)
     
    I'll do more at a later date, but for now, it's safe to say that this episode ranks as one of the best at this point. There are very good reasons why The Cutie Map has so much intrigue in this fandom. The conflict concept is bold and fantastic. But what it did was tackle this dark theme, merge the concept of the cutie mark in both MMC and the rest of the show, and approach it very naturally. It's extremely believable, and its execution is utterly fantastic. A very bold direction like this is extremely needed, and to have it done and done well in TV-Y programming is revolutionary.
     

    Now, I want to talk about the idea of getting into video brony analysis. Like I said on here in public and PMs, one of the reasons I don't go into video analysis is how I don't have the wherewithal in the technology to get into it. I'm a huge novice into the video-making and audio-merging equipment. Plus, I'm a major perfectionist, and written reviews are much more forgiving than video analysis, especially since YouTube doesn't allow you to reupload and keep the URL. However, now with season five here, I'm starting to think of tackling this rich field, possibly during the summer break. What I want to do is create a video setting as well as create an actual screen where I can get people's attention. There are two ideas in mind:
    Inspired by Winnie the Pooh's "Thoughtful Spot" and the storytelling from Pocahontas, I'm thinking of creating a campfire scene. The background will be a dark, rich blue. With a simplified version of my ponysona on the left-hand side (while sitting down, BTW), there would be a campfire. The logs burn as I talk. Either above or in the campfire, a screen will periodically appear to show clips of the show, comic, or imagery. They will fade in an out as I narrate the analysis. Depending on the tone and character's face, the fire will change color, from yellow out of surprise to blue out of anger (blue fire is the hottest) to red out of coldness. The fire comes on when starting, ending, or transitioning in the analysis.
     
    Another spinoff idea from this is how the background stays dark, basically a very dark brown shade of my ponysona's stroke color. However, only his head, horns, and maybe legs will peak out as they're near the campfire. When the campfire lights up, his head's visible. Once it goes dark, he vanishes.
    I'm thinking of keeping my ponysoan as is. However, what I'm thinking is tinkering it to make my ponysona's head as the screen. As the screen plays, the background changes color depending on my tone and mood. This, however, feels really incomplete.

    If anyone has more ideas, feel free to give me a comment or two below.
  21. Dark Qiviut
    If there's one component from season four that I hate, it's the forced exposition. Rather than building up conflict subtly, too many episodes spill out the details to the audience long before it even started. This sucks out the tension and makes the ability to watch the episode a chore.
     
    The S4 episode to do it the worst was Trade Ya! The prologue had Pinkie Pie act as the vessel for exposition ten seconds in followed by Twilight spilling everything. But it only gets worse.
     
    The worst part comes from Rarity and Applejack. Like Look Before You Sleep, their arguing is nothing short of petty, stupid, and unfunny.
     
    But if you were to ask me where it was the worst, it was early on:
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G3qNvNhk7E
     
    I could understand why Rarity would want to trade for an older item in pristine condition, but it still feels rather petty of her. But Applejack… *ugh* AJ's supposed to be utilitarian. Why the hay does she want to trade for a superficial, rusty-lookin' pie tin?! Comedy doesn't mean the characters have to be stupid.
  22. Dark Qiviut

    NOT Okay!

    By Dark Qiviut,

    Earlier today, I watched a YT rant by a fellow brony analyst. In it was a very harsh, inflammatory rant about Cuddlepug, a brony reviewer found only on DeviantArt. In it was a bunch of crap that gave me a headache. The YouTuber used fallacies to support his own, dismissed valid criticisms of various episodes/direction of seasons three and four, shamed fellow bronies who criticized various aspects of the show (including releasing their 'Net handles), threw cheap shots at the brony fandom (including LethalAuroraMage, another analyst), and dished classless ad hominem attacks. It was so inflammatory, I skimmed the rest of the video after halfway through. I won't be linking it to you.
     
    Now, let me make it clear. I'm not a very big fan of Cuddlepug's reviews or analyses.
    They're all too abbreviated. I can't really get into them because they don't offer a lot of explanations. Personally, I rather spend the time reading a full-blown analysis, either through a ten-minute video or ten-page analysis, than a two- or two-and-a-half-page review.
    His Rainbow Rocks review was really bad. It's one thing to call it overrated or how it doesn't deserve the praise it gets. It's another to be extremely sarcastic about it and call the people who love it and support it "Hasdrones" without actually using the ad hominem.
    One of his most infamous documents was critiquing "prevalent" sexism in the fandom. One huge problem: There were very few sources to back up his claims, too many anecdotes, and generalizations. In what was supposed to be an academic essay, it massively failed, and it's very discouraging that a poor essay got so much support.

    However, it's one thing to critique or criticize a reviewer's opinions, logic, or attitude. It's another to go out and bash the guy. He doesn't have to like CP, but that doesn't entitle the YTer to bully him (or anyone else, for that matter). Regardless of what you think about him, you have no right to act like a bully and throw around ad hominem attacks. Cuddlepug may have thicker skin, but not everyone does. Too often, we've seen trash like this to victims who have really thin skin. Being shamed is hurtful, especially if he, she, or ze is depressed. A public shaming video can drive that person over the edge.
     
    Acting like a jerk and attacking him like that doesn't make you look any better. In fact, it makes him look worse than CP in two ways:
    By using fallacious logic, he destroys his own credibility and actually supports CP's. Fallacies don't make your opinion look better; you become extremely insincere and a drive that you can't debate or critique properly.
    I don't know if CP has seen it. But from what I saw, he hasn't made a response. If he saw it and won't answer back, good for him. This is actually one reason why I respect Byter's handling of his side of the drama with The Mysterious Mr. Enter. When MME called him out publicly on YT, Byter went to that video and posted replies.

    What the YT analyst did is plain cyberbullying, and it's not okay whatsoever. The fact that many fellow analysts support the video is downright sad.
  25. Dark Qiviut
    About 85-and-a-half years have passed since The Wizard of Oz debuted in theaters. Today, it's one of the all-time masterpieces of cinema for being well ahead of its time, great characters, and a fantastic cast.
     

     
    In the middle of the clip, The Lollipop Guild does its famous routine. Concentrate on the Munchkin in the green. That's Jerry Maren when he was somewhere between seventeen to eighteen years old.
     
    At 95 years old, he's the last living cast member from the movie. Everyone from the movie has passed away except him.
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