Dr. Mechano

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EDIT

Sorry for the triple post, but the project has updated again!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/749082525/nefarious/posts/958847

From now until the end of Saturday, you can get a copy of the game for only a $10 donation instead of the usual $15, so take advantage of this while it lasts! Additionally, a backer will donate an additional $1000 if the project reaches $15,000 by Saturday's end. Let's get those numbers rolling, and take advantage of this sweet deal! (And tell your friends, too!)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/749082525/nefarious

Be the villain! A traditionally animated side-scroller where you get to be the bad guy! Kidnap Princesses! Thwart heroes!

This game looks fantastic.

For the first time I can think of, you get to play as a world-conquering mad genius who thwarts superheroes, kidnaps princesses, commands an army of silly robot minions, and even battles his foes in giant boss mechs!

Indeed, one of the main draws of the game for me is a unique feature: reverse boss fights, where you control the imposing boss mech and attempt to crush your heroic nemesis, as seen here.

Nefarious stars the dastardly Crow, a magnificent supervillain with dreams of world conquest. Its music is composed by the creator of the beloved webcomic Brawl in the Family.

This is the game I've been waiting years to see, and someone's finally creating my dream-project. As a bonus, ol' Dr. Mechano (i.e. Me!) will be making a brief NPC cameo appearance in-game if it gets funded (and so can your character, if you snag one of the remaining "VIP Minion" slots)!

You can look at the game's Kickstarter HERE! I figured the forum deserved a discussion topic about the game's funding and - hopefully - its development and subsequent release! Let's talk about Nefarious here!

(Also, no, I don't personally know the creators, they aren't asking me to promote this, etc. I just think this looks like a really cool game, and wanted to share it with all of you! Let's get this game funded, guys!)

Double-posting for an update.

Nefarious has been submitted to be greenlit for Steam, but it needs your help!

Vote for it HERE if you have Steam! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=302864808

Even if you have no money to donate, your vote can help this project and make a difference.

 

Again? Sheesh, and they're having an arc together in the Main series as well(well with Fluttershy, Applebloom, and Trixie, so maybe that'll spice things up a bit), I was hoping for someone else with Rarity, since just about everyone else has gotten paired up unpredictably, and a FF comic with them too seems like overkill. It'll most likely be good since Katie Cook is writing it, but I'm honestly getting sick of this pair

I do eventually want to see Rarity paired off with a non-mane 6 character, like everyone else has been (except for Applejack, incidentally, who was paired off with Pinkie before). However, I could never be sick of seeing them together, and I think their friendship has tons of great potential for memorable lines and character growth. By the time this issue releases, it'll be Applejack's second FF (and we'll have seen Pinkie's second as well, with Luna), so there's always a chance to see Rarity co-star with someone else in the future!

Issue 5 is great and all, but when are we gonna see an issue with beloved Rarity in?

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/05/friends-firever-8-and-main-series-22.html#more

You were saying?

MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDS FOREVER #8

Date: 8/13/2014

(W) Katie Cook (A) Andy Price (CA) Amy Mebberson

It's road trip time with Applejack and Rarity! When the two friends discover they are headed to the same destination, they naturally decide to ride together. A seemingly easy trip turns disastrous when calamity upon calamity interrupts their journey! Will Applejack and Rarity's friendship... or sanity... survive the trip? 

We'll be seeing Rarity and Applejack costar in an issue this August! Hyped for it already!

Friends Forever #5, starring Fluttershy and Zecora, was released today!

When the animals start talking inexplicably, Fluttershy goes to see Zecora for help, and together the two run a series of tests to determine whether Fluttershy's hallucinating or the critters have actually gained speech. Hijinks ensue for a while, but then we get a plot twist by learning that....

The comic was really cute, and it was great to see Zecora finally get (or at least co-star in) a focus issue of her own. She definitely had some great lines here, and Fluttershy didn't disappoint either. The surprise appearance from the special guest (see spoilers) was also great.

She also says 'it's imprecise' right in the same post and then starts talking about how they need to be relatable to younger kids.  How can they be relatable to younger kids if they're fully grown adults?  Answer:  They can't.

My favorite character as a kid was Mario, so I wouldn't say adults are inherently uninteresting or unrelatable to children. Imprecise or not, though, she does call them adults, so I'm going with that.

Another Rarity (and Spike) episode!

I enjoyed this a lot. While it's nowhere near Rarity Takes Manehattan or even Simple Ways tier, it's still an episode of fun, hilarious Rarity antics. Always good to see my favorite pony hamming it up like she does best.

Spike was cool here too; Definitely one of his better outings.

Before I start, I'll remind you that Lauren Faust herself stated that she deliberately left the ponies' ages out of the show so people can use their imaginations and the characters could be however old the fans want them to be.  So anything Meghan or any other writer says as 'official' is in reality their own personal interpretation of it, a theory at best.  Again, until they flat-out say it in the show, it can't be called 'official' no matter who says it.

 

Now for the 'adult' thing.  Age differences between the ponies aside, as I said before numerous times, it depends on what Equestria's definition of an 'adult' is though.  Now this is the key to the age debate here.  Is it the same as our modern definition of an adult, or is it similar to the definition of an adult in the middle ages?  Very different age groups there.

 

In modern times, legally a person is an adult at 17 or 18 in most places.  In the middle ages, a person was considered an adult at 13, and often becoming a provider with a job at that age as well or at least being apprenticed.  Sound familiar?  It should, because every one of the mane six either has a job, or is an apprentice.

 

What people never think about with the age thing is the fact that you constantly see mares who are clearly older than the mane six (such as the princesses, the cakes and even some of the stallions).  Coincidence?  If it was just the Princesses, maybe (after all, they're thousands of years old).  But so many of them looking like that?  I think not, unless you're going to tell me that ponies in Equestria have infinite lifespans.

 

On top of that, what is Equestria?  A fantasy setting with often very strong medieval themes.

Actually, Faust herself called them young adults who only act like and have the maturity level of teenagers.

If this isn't confirmation, I don't know what is.

The most exciting part for me was when McCarthy and Rogers both confirmed that Rarity is an adult, and explicitly not a teenager. I've been debating about the ponies' ages for a while (and I feel it's obvious that these ponies who live on their own and have jobs are adults), so this is good final confirmation.

Just another quick snapshot I took earlier today.

They're not really my style, but I think they can look good on some people with a matching suit.

I've always found the "fedora with a T-shirt and jeans" look to be incredibly goofy-looking.

"Filli Vanilli" was really enjoyable. But before I gush over it, I have a minor complaint to make:

For all this episode tries to maintain continuity by having a flashback to "Bridle Gossip," it still utterly falters when it comes to remembering Fluttershy's previous public performances. Fluttershy has sung in front of others multiple times, including on stage in front of a crowd of strangers in "Hearth's Warming Eve." For her to suddenly be so timid that even singing in front of her closest friends freaks her out strikes me as a major incongruity, especially in an episode that tries so hard to use previously-established episodes as a backdrop. It's a minor complaint overall, but it was pretty distracting for me personally.

Also, I normally don't agree with the complaints that Pinkie has been out of character this season, but I will concede to them for this episode. Pinkie is generally way more empathetic than this; Remember "Griffon the Brush-off," where Pinkie doesn't even want to play a small prank on Fluttershy due to how sensitive she is. Pinkie should, and usually does, understand when she upsets someone, and it feels really jarring to see her so clueless here. 

With that out of the way, man, this episode did a lot of things right. This is some of the best Rarity/Fluttershy interaction since "Green Isn't Your Color," and it's nice to see that Rarity did learn from that episode; She's really considerate toward Fluttershy here, and gives her multiple opportunities to back out of performing rather than pressuring her or insisting "she must." It's nice to see natural progression like this, and is one of the reasons I like this episode so much. While she wasn't the main character, Rarity definitely was in top form here.

Fluttershy herself really was interesting this time around. Ignoring my complaints about selective continuity, her disparity between a love of singing and a fear of attention really did feel natural, and her dilemma is easy to sympathize with. Her progression throughout the episode, as she goes from reluctant to enthusiastic about her role, was great to see too. I also like how the ending handled her development, going with "baby steps" toward larger performances, which honestly is a more realistic take on overcoming stage fright (whether it contradicts earlier episodes or not).

And of course, I was thrilled to see Big Mac finally sing. A man of few words, when he does say something (other than yeps and nopes, anyway), it's always memorable. I like the callback to "Hears and Hooves Day" too. I guess Cheerilee really might have some feelings for the big guy after all.

All in all, this one gets a solid "pretty good" from me. It wasn't without its problems, but the stuff it did right, it really did right.

"Simple Ways" is Rarity's second (and Applejack's third) focus episode of the season, and while it doesn't quite live up to "Rarity Takes Manehattan," it's still tons of fun.

First, this is one of the funniest episodes since... well, the previous episode! Rarity's hackneyed attempts at "simple country livin'" made me laugh harder than I've laughed in a long time. Major props to Tabitha St. Germain's voice work here; The way Rarity slips in and out of her country accent was a nice touch as well. Applejack is no slouch when it comes to comedy either, though in her case it's simply dry wit in reaction to Rarity's and Trenderhoof's over-the-top antics. 

Ever since "Look Before You Sleep," I've really enjoyed Rarity's and Applejack's friendship, and this episode does not disappoint. The interaction between the two friends is both hilarious and heartwarming, as Applejack goes from irritated to aghast to genuinely concerned for Rarity's well-being. As Rarity said, Applejack knows Rarity, and as a close friend, may know her better than she knows herself. I love that, and I think of just how far the two of them have come since their first time co-starring in an episode together. 

The lesson is good, and one that applies to all kinds of relationships, not just romantic ones. If you have to fundamentally change who you are to get someone to like you, then it's not worth it. Be yourself, and accept that some people just won't be into you, and that's okay.

Trenderhoof himself is, interestingly, just as guilty of not being true to himself as Rarity. I found that to be a nice way to wrap up the episode, as Rarity not only learns a lesson, but helps another character learn it as well. Rarity accepting herself for who she is, and moving on from her crush on Trenderhoof, was a great moment of growth for her.

Minor note: I was very pleased at Pinkie's portrayal here as well. While she wanted to host the event, she took the results very well, showing that last week's lesson in "Pinkie Pride" really resonated with her!

Anyway, "Simple Ways" is every bit as great as I expected it to be. I'm still grinning from ear to ear as I type this, and as a Rarity fan, my day has been made. Go watch it if you haven't yet!

Racists are going to whine about people being decent non-bigoted human beings, because they realize their ideology is dying, and that multiculturalism is here to stay, and is only becoming more true of our nation, not less. And that realization makes bigots say and do stupid things.

When you push forward for progress, there will always be regressive people who push back. Just keep going forward, because you're on the right side of history, and you - not them - will be the one who gets to look back and smile at having won in the end.

To those who keep saying she already had one, Rarity was invited to parties, but she's never had her own yet.

So far, we've seen birthday parties for the following characters:

• Gummy (Party of One)
• Pinkie Pie (Party of One)
• Twilight Sparkle (Sweet and Elite)
• Spike (Secret of My Excess)
• Rainbow Dash (Pinkie Pride)

We haven't seen birthdays for Fluttershy, Rarity, or Applejack yet - so those could (and should) definitely happen at some point in the show!

"Pinkie Pride" takes a strong second place for me, right after "Rarity Takes Manehattan" as one of season 4's best. This episode was a joy to watch from start to finish, and much like Pinkie Apple Pie, gave Pinkie some much-needed depth beyond sight gags and comic relief. This is why we like Pinkie; Not just because she's funny, but because she's also a great character, with her own conflicts and insecurities to overcome, as well as a genuine love for her friends. "Pinkie Pride" absolutely exemplifies this, and might just replace "A Friend In Deed" as my favorite Pinkie Pie episode.

Cheese Sandwich himself was a ton of fun, and was used just enough to be an entertaining foil for Pinkie without overstaying his welcome. I enjoyed his backstory as an admirer of Pinkie's own party-planning expertise, and was glad to see him as a well-meaning rival rather than a truly malicious antagonist.

Songs were fantastic, and I really got a kick out of Pinkie's "Smile" getting the Weird Al treatment in particular. The visual gags were as over-the-top as you'd expect from a Pinkie episode, and all in all, the whole 22 minutes was extremely fun and brimming with high energy. I really appreciated all the continuity nods to earlier episodes too. A lot of love went into this episode, and it shows.

You just keep being awesome, season 4.

The problem with rarity being girly is that if someone new watches the show they might think the show is girly and not watch it anymore.

Why exactly is "girly" a bad thing, though?

In most other cartoons, an affluent fashionista like Rarity would be cast as little more than a flat, unsympathetic antagonist. You know this type; The snob, the bully, the mean girl. Indeed, a possession of wealth and love of fashion seem to go hand in hand with shallow elitism or outright villainy in most media. However, Rarity defies convention by going against her stereotype, proving to be one of the most (if not the most) complex, sympathetic characters on the show. For this reason alone, Rarity deserves respect, for turning tropes on their heads and standing out as a truly unique character.

When you get right down to it, there's nothing wrong with having a taste for the finer things, and it's perfectly reasonable that one can be both a good person and a socialite; The two need not contradict, and in Rarity's case, they definitely don't. Rarity is wealthy, but also generous. She lives a life of luxury, but also works hard for it. She prefers cleanliness, but isn't afraid to get dirty or fight monsters to save the day. I think what I'm saying here is that Rarity seems like a direct rebuttal to the assumption that wealth, fashion, etc. are wrong, or somehow lesser pursuits than anything else. Rarity's interests are never portrayed as fruitless or vain, but rather as her passion, her art, and even her livelihood.

On the subject of fashion, Rarity flies in the face of yet another trope, in that she is portrayed not as a shopaholic, but as an artist. Rarity is creative, inspired even. Her medium just happens to be clothes instead of a canvas, which has been her passion since childhood. This is what she loves, not as a trend-follower, but as a creator. And isn't creativity a great value to send to any audience of this show? Whether your creative passion is art, writing, music, or even clothes, pursue it!

Speaking of pursuits, let's talk a bit about money. Rarity is almost definitely the most well-to-do of the main six, financially speaking, but what I find interesting is that she didn't grow up rich. Rarity hails from an ordinary middle-class family in Ponyville; Her parents are anything but the high-society lady she presents herself as, and this backstory shows considerable ambition on Rarity's part. Rarity started her own business, by herself, with nothing but her own vision and skills, and managed to become a successful businesswoman all on her own. This, I dare say, is an incredibly feminist role-model; Rarity is a strong, independent woman who achieved financial and business success all by herself, and she's awesome for it. In a world where we're repeatedly told that ambition is a bad thing, I like that Rarity is an unapologetically positive portrayal of an ambitious entrepreneur.

Not that her wealth makes her miserly, of course. Rarity is, after all, the element of generosity. Rarity seems to take on the philosophy of noblesse oblige, the belief that with great prestige, wealth, and privilege comes great responsibility to use it to benefit others. Rarity is incredibly successful, but does she hoard her bits and gemstones in a huge vault, Scrooge McDuck-style? Nope, she freely shares her wealth, happy merely at the prospect of making others happy. Rarity's generosity doesn't only extend to material wealth, of course; Rarity has a generous spirit, and is willing to donate time and effort as well as bits. She's even willing to sacrifice her own appearance, as demonstrated with her tail, to help someone else's. I could gush all day about Rarity's generosity, but I won't. If you want to read more, see my Generosity Master List.

Of course, merely having a character who defies convention, sets a good example, and demonstrates generosity isn't quite enough. Rarity is, after all, a character - and her job is to entertain as much as it is to inspire. And entertain she does. Rarity is hilarious, and her voice actor Tabitha St. Germain delivers my absolute favorite vocal performance in the entire series. Never have I seen a character go from prim and poised to completely freaking out and back again with such tremendously funny results. Whenever Rarity's on-screen, magic happens, and I never get tired of watching her.

And of course, Kazumi Evans' beautiful singing voice is always a treat. Here's hoping we get another Rarity song soon.

Out of a cast of already-amazing characters, Rarity stands out above the pack, and is indisputably my favorite pony. Hopefully, that answers OP's question.

You may be entitled to express distaste for a joke, but that's as far as that entitlement extends. No one is entitled to claim for the person making the joke that their intentions behind making it are ill. In the same sense, no one with distaste for such jokes is entitled to make a sweeping claim that they are demeaning to all members of the group that is supposedly being "marginalized".

 

To state that the nature of a specific joke is always sexist/racist/homophobic/otherwise offensive is an absolute statement, but it is not always a factual one. By making such an absolute statement, you are necessarily declaring as fact that A.) the person making potentially insensitive jokes IS speaking them with mal intent, and that B.) any person who could be offended by such jokes SHOULD be offended by them. This is a highly counterproductive mode of thought which undermines the chief elements of humor (i.e., hyperbole and misfortune) and acts against the highly necessary human ability to cope with life's difficulties by seeing the humor in dark or otherwise unfortunate situations.

 

Case in point: I tell my sister to go make me a sandwich. She laughs and tells me to shut up. We go on about our day. (This has actually happened.) In this scenario, I have imparted no malice towards her by making the joke (as I have made no clear indication that I actually believe that women's place is in the kitchen), and in turn, she has detected no malice. The joke is rendered harmless; nobody has any ground to claim that I have offended my sister, for neither did I try to offend her, nor was she actually offended. No sexism actually happened, but any radical feminist can claim, on my sister's behalf, that it did, despite her objections to the contrary.

 

Disagree if you will, but anyone who tries to tell me what I mean when I make an off-color joke clearly has their head in their ass...and even further up there, if they think the would-be offendee is somehow a discredit to their race/gender/sexual preferences/whatever by finding it funny.

 

My rebuttal is that your intentions are far less important than the results.

Most people who make jokes like that "didn't mean to offend anyone," and I don't doubt their sincerity most of the time. They probably truly didn't consider what they were saying to be offensive or bigoted, but it doesn't change the fact that trivializing prejudice normalizes that prejudice. It makes it seem like less of a big deal, which is troubling because it kind of is one, and it's kind of still happening. On an interpersonal level, you also have to understand that many people don't like having their race/sex/sexuality joked about, and you should respect that.

Let's say you accidentally stepped on my foot. If I asked you to get off of it, I'm pretty sure you would, not go on a huge spiel about how it was never your intention to hurt my foot, and how dare I complain about being hurt by it. No, you'd just remove it like a sensible human being. I think the same mentality should apply to verbal harm - If you say something that hurts someone, and they make a point of letting you know how the comment made them feel, the decent thing to do would be to stop doing the thing that hurt them; Even if it's just not doing it around/toward that person (In the case of someone like your sister, who understands and is also okay with it, that's fine - you two have an understanding and both agree that it's okay).

Yeah, though, I don't care if you mean to come across as prejudiced to someone or not, in the same way I don't care if you meant to step on my foot or not; It hurts regardless of whether it's malicious or accidental, and if someone is hurt by it, I think the proper thing to do is to step off and avoid doing it again rather than get defensive about your right to say whatever you want; I don't question that you can, I'm talking about whether or not you should.

Maybe you and I will never see eye-to-eye here, but I will always take an egalitarian approach to inequality. And as long as you practice feminism, dare I say, the right way, I will bear you no ire. Although I will forever refuse to take seriously self-righteous tumblr SJWs who crucify anyone who dares to make a sandwich joke, yet always write off actual female oppression going on in Middle Eastern countries on the bullshit excuse of "cultural differences must be respected." Perhaps that's just me, though.

I think it's just fine to speak out against a joke that you find sexist. Freedom of speech may allow them to make that joke, but it also allows me to voice my distaste for it. And voice my distaste I will, because if I stay quiet, then the only people left talking are the ones spewing unchallenged sexism.

I'm with you on your last point though: "cultural relativism" does not excuse bigotry of any kind. Not the unabashed misogyny in the middle-east, not the homophobia in Russia and Uganda, etc. On that point, you and I are in complete agreement.

Deny it as much as you will, but "privilege" is a buzzword for the very reason that it necessarily implies a sense of entitlement. Neither I nor any other sensible man in the world feel that I am entitled to the leg-up I have over women in some areas of life, ergo it is not privilege; it is advantage. I, too, feel that the advantages that some (again, not all) men have over women are unfair, as well as the advantages that some women have over men.

 

But the bottom line is that this is neither a feminist issue nor a masculinist issue; it is an egalitarian issue. Equality between the two sexes is something that can only be achieved through compromise and working together. Whatever the means, the ends must be mutually beneficial. Accusing each other of "privilege", or feeling entitled to one's advantages, only serves to polarize both sides and inhibit progress.

No, "privilege" simply means that certain classes of people are treated better in society. It does not mean they necessarily enjoy or even want this privilege. As a male and a feminist, I understand that society privileges me for my gender, but I don't like that, and believe that men and women absolutely must be treated equally if we're to truly consider our country an "egalitarian" society. "Privilege" and "advantage" are synonymous here.

Feminism isn't out to make women superior or hurt men. I fully believe that feminism - while it naturally prioritizes women's rights and issues - is undeniably beneficial to men as well. The reason I adopt the label "feminist" rather than "egalitarian" is because I believe feminism emphasizes the need to look at women's treatment in particular, and how skewed the gender power balance really is. Obviously, I care about men's issues as well, which I feel feminism also addresses.

Pure egalitarianism is a fine philosophy when followed properly and certainly can align with what feminists believe about gender equality; But I think all too often, self-described egalitarians treat gender inequality as something that is equally affecting both sexes, downplaying how badly women are disadvantaged in so doing.

The Wii U is the only current-gen console I own, actually. Gotta have my Mario and Zelda.

This adult (He is 19, remember) is acting like petulant, spoiled child. I kinda hope this experience scares him into being less catastrophically stupid, but considering his smug grinning mugshot, I feel like he's treating the experience like some kind of game.

I think "overrated" has come to mean "People are liking something that I don't like."

I drew a thing.

Rarity - Keeping Up Appearances by Dr. Mechano

I hope you all like it!