BornAgainBrony

Is this not already a thing? Somehow I would've expected a Brony variant of the "What's your sign?" question that is common in metaphysical circles. So... what's your element? If you were a keeper of one of the Elements of Harmony, which one would it be? Which one defines you the most at the core? Much to my surprise, it seems to have turned out that Loyalty was mine. I always would've expected Laughter but that ended up coming in second place. Loyalty explains way too much about how my life has gone. (I'm a bit surprised to not have already found a thread like this. If my search-fu is just failing me, mods in the know feel free to merge.)

I'll never know if this is just wishful thinking or if I'm reading into it right, but I think there's a more affectionate side to RD. Looking at how she felt about Tank hibernating, or how broken she was when A.K. Yearling wanted nothing to do with her. She's blatantly said she doesn't like sap but I think that's her cover story. She'd want it to be a secret just like when she was afraid of anyone finding out she was an egghead. Then of course the cat would get let out of the bag in the most hilarious way possible. And... after the initial moment of shock wore off if Rainbow kissed me? I'd gently ask her not to stop. .

Watch yourself though. Discord over there... he's been giving you nasty looks all evening.

Ehh... are you referring to rule 34 here? Because I definitely don't think a business would ever need to go that far to hold onto the fans. I think things like that are far too subjective to be mass-produced anyhow, but then... who knows. If not, and you're referring to emotional issues as you mentioned further down, then disregard. Alright, so out of curiosity, on the "psych ward" comment, and also lines about a "never ending sea of darkness" I really wonder what it is you're getting out of being involved in this. Or at least, you really seem to be going out of your way to show an acute lack of compassion. It sounds like you're just parroting snide comments about mental disorders you've read online. Why do I wonder that? What you've described about addition is the very basis of most entertainment. It's why the so-called "History Channel" is comprised of "Ancient Aliens," ghosts, and hunting for Bigfoot. Why the "Weather Channel" is running shows about naked guys in the woods and hunts for buried treasure. It's the source of the reality shows, and the 24/7 news cycle comprised of 95% speculative reporting. You seem to specifically be targeting Bronies as having a problem like this, but it's everyone. Here's the problem: scientists cracked the code on addiction. They understand exactly how it works. They learned this so they could be more efficient at curing it. But what reads like a knockoff of Dennis Leary's "No Cure for Cancer" rant, there was far more money in using the information to get people addicted to "insert product here." Very little entertainment is NOT using this information to grab and hold onto people. And it's not even remotely new. It's far older than the psychological studies that have cracked the code on addiction. Ever heard the phrase, "Bread and Circuses?" The Romans seemed to have this concept pretty much figured out. Not sure if this is something that toys would be able to pull off. And also there's the problem of being able to keep the entertainment fresh (and yeah, I understand this is one of the reasons that reboots are appealing). On the other hand, the difference between "toys" and "idols" probably isn't really that different, especially for adults, as far as serving as "reminders" is concerned. Again I get the feeling that you're not able to think outside of the tiny peep-hole you're peering through at this. The shady back-alley drug dealer comparisons... seriously? Seems like you want to vilify things as much as you possibly can. Let's take a look at alcohol for a moment, shall we? It's presently one of THE most popular human forms of recreation. Everybody from clubbers to sports fans to a cute couple on a date loves a bit of imbibing, and there's a bunch of Pony-themed drinks out there too But go back a few decades to the prohibition era, and you have the inspiration for thousands of films and books that are basically a modernized fantasy about the lives of pirates on the high seas. NASCAR owes its origins to races between bootleggers who modded their cars to be capable of outrunning the police. The point here, is that when you go out of your way to make something as hard to attain as possible, you inevitably send enthusiasts for that thing down a much darker path. But in a parallel universe, they could be enjoying the same thing with friends at a tiki bar. I really have to wonder if the internet had existed 40 years ago, and you were able to look in on homosexual groups... would you have made the same assessment? Quite probably, the darkitydark outlook you see in Bronies isn't a symptom of the addiction. It's a symptom of that addiction being treated as a taboo. But in a lot of cases I don't think the addiction is quite specifically towards MLP itself. It's something more fundamental, that MLP accidentally (or intentionally, if Lauren Faust has all the genius of a super-villain capable of taking over the world) stumbled on. And just as ridiculous as alcohol prohibition seems to us now, the fact that these things are seen as taboos is extremely silly. "Far gone" is relative. You seem to think it's a disease if people yearn for what their heart wants, while rejecting the sick reality that they never made. This "disease" is the basis for every revolution that has ever happened in the history of the world. Otherwise we'd just be a passive hive-mind ready to accept whatever nonsense our leaders want to throw at us. Again, not saying Bronies are about to save the world. But you're condemning something in humans that has been necessary for the improvement of civilization since its inception. And to simply label it an "addiction" seems to be for the sole purpose of demeaning it. 'Oh, people are addicted to warm fuzzy feelings? What terrible monsters they must be.' If you compare humans to other primates, humanity is a cold-hearted freak-show, and it should come as no big shock that there are those of us who don't feel fulfilled by the wannabe THX1138 world that has been constructed on planet Earth. What's really sicker? To reject a pathetic reality while wanting a better one? Or to just toss your arms up in the air, say "that's life," and wish that anyone who doesn't agree with you was in a psychiatric ward? Sorry, but there are perfectly good reasons for the "abyss" that you condemn some Bronies for being caught in, and anyone who has actually studied psychology should have no problem grasping this. You speak quite intellectually, but your common understanding of depression seems like it's trapped twenty years in the past. I've done the group therapy thing before, and one of the most interesting things I discovered about the dynamics of the people there, were that an astonishing majority were highly empathic; people who are sensitive to the feelings of others to the point where it at least appeared to border on precognition. Yes, we live in an age where caring for others is actually condemned to a serious degree. At first glance, that sounds ludicrous, but the more you think about it, the more you'll realize how true it is. There are a myriad of reasons for this that may not be apparent to those who don't care about it, but those things are also heavily social/political/religious and this isn't a good place to delve into that. As for Hasbro's dilemma... yes. There's a lot of untapped potential here. They could even possibly split the IP into two. One continuing along its current path, perhaps aging with the fanbase sort of like what Harry Potter did, while the other tangent becomes the reboot. But Hasbro's problems are bigger. For one, they probably don't have the resources. If this was Disney? They could do it with a finger snap. But I also feel that Hasbro is probably rather conservative. I know the studio loves what has happened with MLP, but I have to wonder what the higher-ups think about all of this. Catering only to children is definitely a much easier task. Fandoms can get pretty toxic and I'm fully aware of this. Dealing with the "Derpy war," the meltdown over Twilight getting wings, or the Starlight hate club that still wants to see her retconned... it takes a strong stomach to deal with those kinds of things. Only the individual can decide whether or not the end results are worth enduring that kind of drama. But there's another problem, especially in the West. A lot of people haven't even gotten past the "cartoons are only for kids" mentality, even after the arrival of South Park, Adult Swim, and Drawn Together. "Ponies are for girls" is something that is even LESS likely to go away. Our standards for what is and isn't acceptable are ridiculously rigid, and over things that just don't matter that much. Ideology over similar things has resulted in immeasurable suffering for people throughout history. Suffering that easily could have been avoided. And the very same thing is true to this day.

The number of folks who wouldnt go is surprising to me. But then i was a wallflower most of my life and house parties with teens were scary, ones with adults were boring. I ususally ended up entertaining the kids who were just as bored as me. But that makes me think a pony party would be a lot easier to mesh with anyhow. They have fun in ways that humans tend to thumb their noses at, and there isnt all the backstabby stressful social ladder climbing that i have zero interest in.

This really seemed to be exactly the way it was in the 80's though. And maybe that's why Lauren was able to make it work because she directly based it on her 80's experience with the show and the toys. There were quite a few shows that were written just to sell toys. Many of them went nowhere. But a few became permanent icons in pop culture. G.I. Joe, Transformers, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, etc. In some cases, these shows weren't even to sell toys, just greeting cards! The shows grew bigger. WAY bigger, into global phenomenons. I'm not sure if this is what the companies expected, but I'm thinking "no." I had been wondering for a long time why kids shows never seemed to do this anymore (sadly it took me a LONG time for me to give FiM a chance because I was so disillusioned with the idea of a reboot show that could actually be GOOD), and I could never be sure if it was because of a change in society or the way businesses approach it. Mostly these days they seem to have a much more "strip-mining" approach to making money these days, rather than going for the slower long-term benefits. You can even see this with MMO's now (a game genre that was developed with longevity in mind). The first ones lasted a decade or more (and a couple are still running). These days you're lucky if a new MMO lasts for two years. This is why a lot of films that aren't even that good, are expected to earn all of their money in the first weekend before audiences have realized they were completely bamboozled by a clever teaser trailer. What worries me is that with how big the show (or perhaps more importantly, the universe it takes place in) has become, tearing it down and starting over seems like a huge mistake. I really hope I'm wrong, but we know Lauren isn't coming back, and the pattern of reboots is still that they end up being horse manure 99% of the time. It might not be on the same money-making or fan-populous scale, but the FiM/EG universe has become something very important that is permanently imprinted on the hearts of fans. Compared to Star Wars it doesn't have the same large-scale, but then how often do children's shows ever do that anymore? I guess I just feel that what they already have is good enough that they'd be better off just going somewhere else in Equestria and staging a new show there, and bring our beloved characters in for a cameo once in a while. Or going into the future and focusing on CMC as adults. The kids get something new and different, the older fans don't feel burned, and there's little to no risk of seeing characters that are loved like family get distorted into something that feels like a nightmarish trip to the Bizarro planet. I just have this horrid feeling that G5 is going to feel like a weird dream filled with "something isn't right," like a trip to Oz that my subconscious will just keep trying to wake itself up from.

First year Timelord Academy stuff, really. I had wondered about the time differential to, not just because of the age thing in general, but I've also noticed that the girls don't seem to mature or learn as quickly as the ponies. Going from the first film to the second, they seemed like they're locked into Season 1 personalities and quirks, such as RD pulling the plug on the game she was playing with AJ, which basically means, at the point of Rainbow Rocks, they still haven't made it to Episode 13 "Fall Weather Friends" (Running of the Leaves). Things definitely feel waaaaay slower in the EG universe. If you send a parasprite there, does it become a tribble?

I've chased tornadoes for fun. And one of the dreams of my childhood, one that REALLY sticks out in my head, was a dream I had where Godzilla arrived in NYC (I live about an hour away from there). Everybody in town was freaking out, evacuating, just in case the fighting came closer. And I remember it being terrifying but the excitement was stronger. I was ramped. I kept running out the front door and looking towards the horizon, red crimson glow, random flashes of light! "He's getting closer!!!" I think I'd be fine. I'll be front and center blowing a flugelhorn and waving a foam hand. Also random taking pics and texting them back to Earth, "This... is SO... AWESOME!!!"

Isn't an Alias or Avatar usually meant to be something COMPLETELY different from your usual name? I don't think nicknames qualify. An Alias for Pinky (I'm just going to assume this is the name of her Ninja persona because that's fun) would be Duchess Cupcake.

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/08/bronycons-closure-and-why-its-not-end.html?m=1. Equestria daily chimed in. See, this is what is needed, for big names that have a large piece of control over the future to make a starement like this, particularly other conventions to say "we're not going anywhere"

I don't think they're turning the planet. For one, the sun often sets in the same spot the moon rises from. For another, the impact on the planet being jerked around like that would be a geologic disaster of infinite proportions, and also would fling every inhabitant like standing on a treadmill that went from zero to 1000s of kph in a matter of seconds.

It's hard to make a law against bullying though because it comes so close to digging into free speech. But ive wondered a few times if the definition of "hate crime" should be broadened, especially when it involves premeditated, coordinated group attacks.

My best friend is pretty much an incarnate Fluttershy. I have a LOT of Rainbow Dash in me when i have a chance to really cut loose.

I think it would be kind of cruel to make a pony live on this planet, so i'll take the transmogrification route.

Trees and houses were getting rolled on nightmare night, so they're using paper.

I was mostly ignoring it (though that one tweet from one of the writers a few weeks ago stunned me a bit) but the real bombshell was the Bronycon announcement. I think that sent out a pretty big shockwave. And while I understand they're trying to do something cool, I get the feeling it wasn't really thought through. The impact it could have on everyone else, even other convention committees and such. It sent a very foreboding (and IMO, the wrong) message, especially when they were talking about the year 2025 at one point. Will it be a cool party? No doubt. But as far as the slow decaying burn that fandoms go through, this felt like the equivalent of tossing gasoline on it. I think a LOT of people got the rug yanked out from under them and that's not what we needed right now. That's nearly a decade's worth of cancellation that fans were previously resting in the security of. It feels to me like a hasty and irresponsible move. Nobody when they're already concerned wants to hear that one of the biggest "leaders" in the fandom is running for the hills.

Oh, and yeah... if you want to take this further in another thread, that's cool. Not sure if you meant necroing that one or making a new one.

Hard to tell really. Maybe it's no surprise they need actual time keepers and can't just rely on mechanical clocks. Equestria is likely a geocentric solar system, and may even be flat. The transit of the moon and the sun are under intelligent control, and we know if at least a few times where things haven't happened on schedule. So, does the solar system (if you can even call it that) provide any normal cycle from which to build a timescale? Their ability to properly track the flow of time might be a bit... off.

Is this one of those "righteous trolling" type of things, because it sure feels like it. Not that I think you're lying about what you've experienced, (though i don't have a clue how you got into something that seems like you are describing a literal campaign against you) but you seem to be enjoying this far too much. Not sure if that's just "for the lulz" or if it's more of a, "it happened to me, so it should happen to everyone" sort of attitude. Maybe being George Carlin as you laugh at the world burning works for some, but certainly not everyone. But if you think i see bronyism as a utopia, you're way off, and I am not blind to the drama that unfolds, which no fandom is immune to. Nothing ever done by humans can come so close to perfection. As for adapting.... been there, done that, it made things worse. And i'm not even talking about mlp, i'm talking about pretty much my whole life. I've tried being someone more cynical, more abrasive, etc. enough times... it was a disaster that actually hurt ME more than being the positive, whimsical one. P.S. I know some furries, we get along fine, though i dont know if there has been intermixing as far as bronies and furries. I'm fine doing the canterlot high tail and ears thing. That's much more "me." And even were that not the case, i'm definitely not full bodied fursuit material. I would melt to death in 10 seconds flat, otherwise i'd be making a living dancing around Walt Disney World in a Pluto costume

Star Trek, really is the last time i think a tv show did something like this. Only "roddenberry" got booted off the project pretty quick in this case. Which isn't helping my confidence in G5. I keep wishing for a "next generation" approach instead of a reboot. Instead we could get a "classic vs j.j. abrams" level of fandom disaster if G5 ends up being pure mindless entertainment with little substance.

Sorry, but that feels very nearsighted to even think this is JUST about a show being cancelled. And if you have been around that long, i have trouble believing you don't realize that. There's something very different about how mlp has influenced lives. It was so unprecedented that the psychiatric community took notice and tried to figure out "why?" Sometimes it feels to me like a minor hippie movement in disguise, but with a different set of stigmas attached. The value of the fandom goes far beyond entertainment, there is something of a social movement, and for some, even a spiritual one. In our cynical age where even random acts of compassion are met with distrust, it gave a place for people who didn't feel at home anywhere else, a place much better than the everyday; where people who shared something in common that ran VERY deep, could be together, and that's something i haven't seen with other fandoms. Equestria, in a way, extended beyond the screen and left a big mark on a lot of hearts, and inspired the best in us. When FIM ends, i just don't see anything replacing it. There will be countless other shows to watch, and things to do, but that won't fill the void that is left behind, and THAT, is indeed tragic.

You mean by society or on these forums? It's not graphic in "that" way if that's what you're asking. I've seen FAR more suggestive images on the forums that still don't fall under the definition of NSFW (fan club threads, I'm looking at you). But also, I might as well point out: some people go a lot further with this, but in my case it's purely emotional. There's nothing naughty going on As for society in general they don't take well to it, no... as they do with anything that doesn't fit their definition of "normal." Edit: But... since you brought that up, is Sugarcube really the best location for this? Seems like it'd be better off in "Life Advice," where much more serious discussions are common.

It may not be on the same level, since I haven't heard much of anything about such people being attacked for being that way, but it actually is becoming a known form of deviance that could fall under the LGBTQ banner someday. From what I can tell though, those who choose this lifestyle, do it more often out of necessity rather than a first choice. The warning signs have been there for a while: prostitutes are now sometimes hired just for a friendly ear, a shoulder to cry on, or snuggles. There's a slowly growing number of people who are arriving at the conclusion that flesh and blood relationships are no longer worth the drama, socio-political "mars vs venus" maneuvering, and mind games. It's unfortunate, but it's the direction society is taking. Society is more isolationist than it used to be, and that includes people searching for a partner. The demand for alternatives is only going to become more prevalent as the technology allows, in the form of robot lovers and V.R./A.R. artificially-intelligent companions. It started out in Japan, the origin of both the anime (dakimakura) body pillow, and also the robotic developments. And it's gaining traction in the West (I'm not the least bit surprised by this with the way things are going.) This isn't even just limited to humans. There's one example of a zoo penguin that developed a strong bond with a cardboard cutout of a character. Now for my own bit of... ehh... testimony? After my wife left me 2 years ago, I was completely emotionless for over a year, until I started watching MLP. Something about it pulled me out of my shell, so subtly I couldn't even figure out why I was "feeling" again. As for RD... it started out feeling like a school crush, and eventually I fell reeeeealy hard. She somehow awoke things in me that I hadn't felt since well before I started dating, I remembered who I really was/wanted to be, etc. Took a while to come to terms with it, even though I had been through this kind of thing when I was a kid. But I've kind of hit a point, knowing my odds at "true love" for the remainder of my life are slim to none, that I saw no point in not opening myself up to her. In retrospect, I now know that I've never been with any girl who was real, so is this really anything new? I get more restful sleep at night snuggling my RD pillow than I ever did with a person, or sleeping alone. All the adorableness... squeeeeee?