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NavelColt

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Everything posted by NavelColt

  1. The world lost a fantastic person, today. Jeric was the reason I came back from my initial leave in 2015 to help behind the scenes and with writing events, the reason many people stayed as long as they did. He had an energy to him that no one could match, and it was contagious. His interest at the time in helping run events and growing social bonding on this site was inspiring. You were even luckier if you, like me and some of the others in this thread, were able to spend time with him in person. He had the charisma of a leader, the wisdom of a seasoned elder, and a wide-eyed love for the world that I usually only see in children. He was also extremely patient and wise, so much so that I saw him as a father figure for much of the past few years. He was so, so good at poking flaws in my thinking when and how it would most help me grow as a person and I've never had something quite like that with someone that close to me. I don't think I was ever able to out-argue him in anything, and not once did they ever start or end from a place of negativity. I will miss it terribly. This guts me, but I do hope that in light of this tragedy some old connections may find rekindling. All of us felt Jeric's presence to some degree, and it was a warm, tireless presence for years. I'm already seeing faces in here I've not seen in ages, and that touches my heart a lot. My friend loved Star Wars, so here's my best attempt at providing something of theme for this modest digital memorial.
  2. Joe...we need to talk about your formatting setup for picture placement Glad you're having fun!
  3. Alas we knew him well, once Creamy but now gone with the wind. Such is the nature of Virgos on the internet. May he abide irl and find many friendchips there 

     

     

     

  4. Sonic has always gone hard with his music, but there is a beautiful progression from gentle rock to hard rock, to rap rock, and now to metal rock. And not only metal rock. Oh no. We get scene celebrities to boot. They got Kellin Quinn, the lead vocalist from Sleeping with Sirens, to do all the major boss themes. That one above is just the first boss. Here are the other two boss themes he worked on:
  5. :Thorax::Pharynx:Boogs for your profile

  6. The Broodhood of Flying Skinny Jeans <-- (click meh) (Placeholder artwork by CitreneSkys...custom server banner by December. ) So not my personal Discord, but for a server I run that focuses on MLP discussion, roleplay, artwork, contests, and fun community events. I'm also working to make it a hub for artists who do commissions to link up with clients. We're themed after changelings but are basically a generalized MLP server that is focused on the creative aspects of the fandom, with a few channels for show discussion and non-fandom topics. If any of that sounds interesting to you, come give us a join! We've been up for about a month and are basically entirely set up, minus our server banner. The more the merrier!
  7. Portrait of a Princess was easily the highlight of Chapter 2 for me. Zipp and Pipp's relationship has had a stark contrast between Tell Your Tale and Make Your Mark up until this episode, with Zipp being overall more distant and unsympathetic towards her sister in MYM, while being a little more noticing and interactive in TYT. Seeing them positively interact in the 3D side of G5 media was really nice. I still think the theory holds true that, when magic is gone or in danger of vanishing, Zipp becomes laser focused on solving it, and it can make her seem cold and uncaring towards things that aren't a priority for her at that point in time. When magic isn't in danger, like in TYT and these parts of MYM, she acts a bit warmer. Zipp clearly sees flight as a form of self expression and freedom that means a great deal to her, so this fixation makes sense. Pipp confirmed that she loved spooky stories in this ep too, so I now have even more canon evidence for a story I've just finished. My major gripe with basically every facet of G5 is the bland setting, and C2 hasn't changed that. Maretime Bay is, quite frankly the most boring of the three primary cities/towns/villages, and it has been the sole setting for almost all of MYM. I can enjoy slice of life just fine, but if the setting doesn't change things teeter off to bland very quickly. I really hope we leave Maretime Bay soon, and for more than one scene in a batch of episodes.
  8. Because they're my bois. My favorite FiM character, his adopted buggo son, and his blue buggo boyfren.
  9. Add to this: TYT episodes are being numbered by release date like all other episode subforums, but just be mindful that unlike the other series', this order is not chronological. TYT releases its episodes with no concept of canonical flow of time and that's just how it's gonna be. Attempting to organize exact order is not only partially speculative but an unnecessary, ongoing maintenance task.
  10. Well it used to be memeing @Twilight Sparkle ✨ back when he was still the Azure Alicorn of Mount Feldlympus, or bugging @Zoop with irreverent tags, but @Jeric fills these roles, now. Though I am less chaotic than I used to be. Ah, getting older. I also make topics about horse literature when I write it, and engage in the occasional topic when it involves either buggos or mah girls.
  11. Monster Hunter. I don't touch anything else for swathes of time surrounding releases.
  12. I think it'd actually be really cool to go this route. Discord has never felt great loss before, ever. He's as old as time itself and yet Fluttershy passing is likely the only time in history where he's had to deal with feeling loss. That could really mess him up. I think it'd even be cool if he grew cold and spiteful towards the concept of friendship or opening himself up again, letting his grief twist his thinking. "What's the point of friendship for a being like me? I'll outlive my friends anyway, and before you know it, I'll even forget their faces over the millennia. Friendship isn't magic. Not anymore." You have anything to add, Mr. Jameson?
  13. Starter pack. Lots of variation of expressions and characters.
  14. I suspect TYT will translate far better, being 2D animated similar to G4. I believe @Lord Valtasaractually acknowledged this in a Discord group chat at some point. Some may not like TYT but if the choice is TYT or no G5 emotes, our path is clear.
  15. Forum Log MMXXII. It's been two-hundred and sixty days since Operation: Future Time Horses went into effect. As I scower these familiar trotting grounds, I can only look up into the sky and ask the universe one question. It's the question I've had ever since we'd entered this strange new age... Where are the G5 emotes, Commander @Jeric?
  16. Petty antagonists. I hated Trixie in Boast Busters, hated Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon too before each of them had character growth. If your entire shtick as an antagonist is just to stir the emotional pot a bit, chances are I won't like you. Thankfully Trixie's character went places with her friendship with Starlight, and DT becoming the source for how the CMC found their calling was good writing. Oi, so much Discord hate. People seem to forget that, while extremely clever, he has always had the emotional maturity and understanding of a child. Of course he makes bonehead decisions about relationships and improving a friend's state of mind using flawed logic. I thought the way the S9 finale was written could have been done way better (should have just actually been Grogar) but that's an episodic criticism more than a character flaw. Nothing Discord did himself was particularly out of character. It's certainly not worth branding Discord as a terrible character in my opinion.
  17. The modern changelings can share love magic in multiple ways, and each method yields different benefits. Emotional connections bring long-term satiation to hunger while physical acts of affection like hugs or cuddling can relieve stress and recharge physical energy in addition to providing limited sustenance. I wrote a book about it Artwork by Sockiepuppetry
  18. Great so far. But then I already expected it to be, because idw is reputable and has been doing great things with other fandoms like Sonic. Lots of cute moments so far. Definitely will be subscribing for physical issues.
  19. Frankly, it's a miracle that this fandom among thousands has its own fanfiction site that's active enough to be fully viable, and even after the show that spawned it ended. Everyone else has to contend with the dinosaur that is fanfiction.net, or AOE, which seems to be more active than it used to be but seems to be more active in likes than actual feedback, at least in my experience. FIMFiction is the best fanfiction site I've ever posted on, given all categories of discussion from accessibility to feedback, etc. I wish we had a general fanfiction site more like it. If your issue is with shitty or adult fanfiction, I'm afraid your problem is with fanfiction in general, not FIMFiction. Literally all fanfiction in every fandom is the same way. Largely poor quality writing with the occasional book-quality piece. Fanfiction (i.e, writing) has a lower skill floor than a lot of other art mediums, because all it takes is a keyboard and a word processor to start. However, writing has a skill ceiling just as high as the other art mediums, meaning starting is easy, but becoming really good at it is hard and takes years of practice just like everything else. Because it's so accessible, fanfiction populations are skewed noticably towards beginner authors. ~ Can confirm, am fanfiction author of fourteen years Also, moving to Sugarcube Corner. As much as I wish we had official Hasbro content about FIMFic, it's just not meant to be.
  20. Pipp is pretty cute, but do you what's even cuter? Her being cute with big sister Art by Haruhi-Art
  21. Artwork by Doodle-Mark Story Link In my recent rant topic about Zipp's character I cite this story, and how it exemplifies the dogmatic mindset that Zipp has when she's pursuing an interest. That mindset can seclude a person, or pony. So what happens when a character like that has an emotional sister who begins to miss them? Why, this story, fellow forumites.
  22. *slams hand on table* Alright boys we back on this sh— What is a Zipp? A Rainbow Dash clone? An unsympathetic pony and sister? A strawblueberry scoop of ice cream on a snow cone horse? Up until now, we've seen various sides to Zipp's character, but very little to build anything truly consistent with. With certain clips of the Make Your Mark special now out, I believe we have something tangible to work with. Sit back, my little ponies, and let me do what I do best...streams of consciousness. A rehash of what we know about Zipp. In the G5 movie, Zipp was steadfast in her pursuit of magic—more specifically, flight. She was so focused on this that she spent most of her time researching methods of unlocking flight with or without magic, and, when presented with a lead through the notes in Argyle's journal, opted to (granted, with some hesitation) abandon her sister and mother in the midst of a public ousting to chase it. When confronted about this by her sister, her only response was that, when magic was restored, nothing else would matter anymore. More on this later. Her entire character more or less revolved around wanting to fly and there was very little else, apart from enjoyment of music numbers and a rather endless number of moments with Hitch, her obvious soulmate. This was rather concerning for lore buffs and analysts like myself, who wanted to see a character that had some semblance of a rounded shape, a character who could at least react differently in different situations when weighing what was more immediately important. Instead, we got a character with a very one-track-mind, with no depth provided into why she acted this way. It was at this point that a hundred fanfics rained down from the digital sky, weaving tales of strained sister relationships, depression and anxiety, and a dozen other downtrodden topics to try and make sense of this undeveloped character. So then Tell Your Tale comes along, and we got to see how Zipp behaved in a world with renewed magic. Suffice to say, it's a noticeable change. Right from her focused introductory episode, 'Sisters Take Flight', Zipp is far more attentive of her sister, and they have a bonding moment near the end of the episode. But most noticeably to mention is 'Mane Melody', where Zipp has a rather interesting (and adorable) character arc within a mere five minutes. Though starting the episode with hiding from her sister's attempts to style her mane, Zipp ultimately ends up comforting Pipp after a styling mishap, and then allows her mane to be done, purely because it'll make her sister happy. This, right here, remains the most wholesome moment between these two so far, and was a much needed development after their seemingly strained/detached relationship in the film. Tell Your Tale showed us that Zipp's character had mellowed out from what it was in the film. She was paying attention to smaller things and those around her far more than before, now that there wasn't some large-scale threat to flight and magic in Equestria. And so NavelColt began to write adorable sisterfics to counteract all the dour and angst from the previous five months. "*GASP!* Really?! You NEVER let me style your mane!" "*verbal shrug* :)" And so at last we reach the present, on the very cusp of the Make Your Mark special coming out. Well now, thanks to previews and clips galore coming out all the time, we have something interesting to take a look at. Here, we see the return of that very one-track-mind pony we saw in the G5 movie, terrified of not having access to magic (and flight). Not only does Zipp blow off her sister's song (and in a deeper context, her attempt to help Zipp relax), she even shows a more instigator-y side when she purposefully gets a rouse out of Pipp for the sake of demonstrating her point about how the friendship crystals seem to be 'glitching'. Especially in the latter parts of this scene, you can see how laser focused she is on this issue, when she (and Sunny, after jumping in) brainstorm what exactly is going on. And now, an analysis of Zipp's character from my perspective. From the early days of her reveal, Zipp's criticizers have often referred to her as a Rainbow Dash clone, or a mary sue, or both. I'll lay out right now that Zipp is not a Rainbow Dash clone. An inspiration, maybe, but not a clone. Dash is a loud-spoken, boastful extrovert who largely emulates tomboy and jock stereotypes while Zipp is a modest, (mostly) laid-back introvert who has branching interests in math, science, and athletic pursuits. They also have polarizing views on attention. Dash loves to be the center of attention while Zipp actively avoids it, always denouncing her princess title and doing her best to stay away from public photos she believes are embarrassing. "Pipp, no pictures!" "Aww, cmon Zipp, just one? :3" The mary-sue argument had more ground to stand on. It was born from the fact that Zipp, in addition to being athletic, is incredibly learned in math and science (having presumably written out all of the equations regarding aerodynamics and other mathematical functions seen at the start of this topic) while having no real, solid flaws. Even in the early promotional material, Zipp was kind of perfect. She's fit, she's smart, she's stealthy, she's courageous, and she's in line to be a queen. Before TYT and the MYM promotional trailers, it really did seem like Zipp was noticeably less flawed than the other four main characters. For those paying close attention, this bit of promotional material confirms that Zipp loves math. She totally wrote those equations. But now we have more material to work with. Now we know better. Zipp does have major flaws, and they can be summarized like this: When Zipp is fighting for/bothered by something she deems to be very important, nothing else matters. She can grow curt and impatient, narrow-sighted, and will even brush off friends or family in the face of trying to solve whatever she's faced with. To Zipp, chasing magic was more immediately important than attempting to help her sister or mother after the fallout of their family's lie. When Pipp confronted Zipp about this, she blew everything off—her sister's career(hobby?), her status, her worries, everything. She told Pipp to simply 'forget about all that' because '(they) think (they) can bring back magic.' She cited magic, again, as the solution to Pipp's worries and anger later on, saying that, 'once everypony gets their magic back they won't even remember any of that. You'll be a hero, Pipp.' From what we can see so far from the Make Your Mark special, Zipp is displaying traits like this once again, and, like before, it's linked to a crisis involving magic. When magic was a thing that had been lost, it was an insatiable longing that drove Zipp. Now that it's a looming threat of losing magic again, it's become paranoia, as Pipp herself mentions. In both scenarios, this unease drives all of Zipp's major decision making. She likely has some manner of anxiety issue, which a lot of us can probably relate with. In my latest work, 'The S-Regimen', I explore this stance further. Taking place prior to the G5 film, it shows the emotional (and heartfelt) climax that comes from months of Zipp doggedly chasing flight through non-magical means. Zipp's endless pursuit has not only caused her to isolate herself from her family, but to neglect certain rituals with her sister that they've done since foalhood. It takes Pipp yelling at her sister with tears in her eyes for Zipp to realize just how shut off she's made herself. As an introvert with anxiety issues, myself, I know about these things all too well, and again, I'm sure others can relate too. ~ The S-Regimen, found on FIMFiction and in audio form (Parts 1 & 2 ) I think the Zipp we see in Tell Your Tale is a Zipp free of worries. She loves her sister and readily shows it when needed, genuinely enjoys being spontaneous with all of her friends and is (usually) a voice of reason in the group. The Zipp we see in the G5 film, and at least the pre-conclusion of the Make Your Mark special is a Zipp ruled by anxiety. She's often blunt, unsympathetic, and has a one-track-mind for solving the greater problem at hand. Zipp has flaws, everypony, and they're starting to become tangible and identifiable. And that's cause for celebration. Zipp is a queen in both lineage and character, because she's a work in progress, and that's what makes her work. (Let's just hope the writers keep this consistent.) Thank you for coming to my PONE Talk.
  23. It's hard to judge characters in TYT because of the show's ridiculously self-imposed time limitations. I did find Izzy a little flanderized in certain episodes, but less in others, too. For example I found her better off in the box episode than the nightmare roommate episode. Best wait till Make Your Mark before we start hard setting judgements on lackluster writing.
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