Starstream

Pffft, clearly the buffalo are native to Equestria. That is of course until the (European?) pony race came to take over their land and claim it as their own. It wouldn't surprise me if Celestia and Luna are two of the original "Europeans" to move into Equestria.

Obito Uchiha from Naruto is right up there on that list for me. Aside from that to a certain degree there's the various Kira in Death Note. And in terms of the MLP-verse I'd say Nightmare Moon/Luna.

For me it mostly depends on what I'm playing, mouse and keyboard for mobas, RTSes, and first person games, a hacked PSP for 2D-platformers, Xbox controller for everything else, and a PS3 controller for the second player when I have visitors. I have a secondary laptop next to my desktop to run Skype calls and youtube videos without taxing my games and a mobile phone with a bluetooth keyboard running my supplementary skype for instant messaging. I also have a 10 meter cord connecting to my TV in case I want to play party games with people. Other than that I have a large number of (3)DSes which, believe it or not, I play on more than on my painstakingly set up computer.

@@Enigma

I would love to play with you some time. The community's toxicity has been quite taxing on the old motivation here. I've been having quite some fun playing Ahri (as support or mage) and Irelia (still trying to find my preferred playing style for her, but leaning towards a tankier build).

As a little side note, how's everyone enjoying hexakill? I haven't been playing LoL for incredibly long, but dare I say in my opinion this feels like what the main game should play like.

Hai-hai. I was considering on getting back into the fanfiction scene again. This seems like something that could really help with that. Might i be allowed to join in on the fun?

@

They work for me as well, I was smiling broadly for a good part of that episode, but that's not the point I was making. The point I was making is that you can't just dismiss someone's issue with a reference handled like that based on your own personal preference. It is at the forefront of the episode and at that point it becomes something that those who can relate to the reference can enjoy and those who can not are left out by themselves. And out of the two episodes, especially Castle mane-ia would not have suffered from having more of an own identity. If the references weren't there nobody would have gone, "You know what this episode is missing? Scooby Doo!"

Edit

Case and point: 

Maybe what's happening is that some viewers who get these references allow their reaction to disrupt their viewing experience.

To a certain degree, this is definitely the case. I have spoken to enough people who actively look for references to then complain about them. Keep in mind though that complaints here are coming from a vocal minority and that the complaints themselves do come in a legitimate, more reasonable form. It's just by people that don't lash out as loudly about them.

Now to play devil's advocate for a bit more, what I've heard many people argue is that they don't notice the references and therefor there is no reason to complain, and while I feel that might be true for references like "slendermane", where the reference is in a background corner of the shot, where you for all intents and purposes should not even be watching if you're paying attention to the main focus of the scene, that argument holds absolutely no weight in the case of stuff like "Power ponies" or "Castle Mane-ia" where the references are so in your face that the only way to not notice them is to not know what they're referencing. When someone has an issue with references as they're handled in those episodes I think they have a legitimate complaint. 

I dunno, I could go for Vampire fruitbatmare, with her infinite situational resources in her utility belt, or possibly Timberwolverine, a hero with amazing regenerative powers and a kryptonite level weakness to termites. How about Stinky Rider? A former horse cart racer with an attitude as bad as her odor. Or Meltmare, with the power to... melt...

I feel like the poll options are too definite between the options of "love it", "despise it", or "couldn't be more apathetic". My feeling as a whole has been that the references are okay when they're done well or subtly, but that's far from always the case. In those cases where it isn't (and I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but) it breaks my immersion or makes me cringe.

I'm not saying that I hate the references, I appreciate the sentiment and their going through the trouble of putting them in there, but like a friend of mine once said, "a good reference is one you can enjoy if you know the source and one you don't even notice if you do not". That having been said, I'd like for the references to stay to some degree, but I wouldn't complain if hey were a little less frequent. I feel like as a fandom the animators and writers have done plenty to acknowledge us and I would personally love it if they provided us with stuff to reference as opposed to making the references for us.

Nintendo would have to majorly F*** up multiple consoles in a row to get to the point where they're at a serious risk of going out of business, and for the sake of clarity, let's just all remember that "not selling as well as your competitors" is not the same as "having bad sales numbers". Sure, it's possible that they go out of business before they get to create a next console, just like it's possible for any company, but do I think it's something we should be expecting? No.

The worst case scenario I can imagine, and this would also apply to Sony and Microsoft, is that technology progresses to a point where dedicated gaming consoles are no longer necessary, and should that be the case then we'll most likely see much cheaper to manufacture streaming boxes that provide a cloud gaming experience from those same companies. And even when that happens, and you can mark my words on this, whether you like them or not, there will always be a market for handheld dedicated gaming consoles. And if anyone thinks that smartphones hold the future of portable gaming I challenge them to give their phone to a five year old to play with for an extended period of time.

I wont die happy until I see this Metal Gear Solid film that we've been waiting years for...

I don't get this choice, doesn't this movie already exist? I believe it was called "Metal Gear Solid 4".

As for what movie I'd like to see... hmmm... Lost magic, Dissidia, any single entry in the Legend of Zelda series, Marvel versus Capcom, can't think of anything else at the moment, but I'm sure something will come to mind.

@@firetorn

Not a huge issue. I haven't played either account significantly more over the other to the point where it really matters all that much anyways. Would it be possible to add you on some platform that allows for voice chat? (I.E. Teamspeak or Skype)

Hai-hai.

I started playing recently and despite enjoying myself very much I feel like something is missing, namely, a small group of people to play with and talk to. I don't think I'm threading unfamiliar ground when I say that the people provided by the matchup system can be... well... displeasing... Anyways, my point is, would people be interested in learning the game with me or coach and pass on some nuggets of LoL wisdom?

I mostly play on EUW, but occasionally I dabble on NA.

Sounds interesting, Majora's Mask is one of my lesser familiar Zelda games but I would like to help in any way I can if possible.

@@EquestrianScholar

Yeah, sure, Skye is probably dropping out anyway. I'll just replace her name with yours a bit later.

Okay, I'm just going to put this here for clarity's sake because I've also gotten a few PMs about this and it seems to be popping up here too now. I have in no way, shape, or form abandoned the RP. There's a few reasons as to why my activity has been a bit sub-standard lately. The first and foremost relating to a lot of stuff going on in my personal life right now. I'll spare the details for those of you who aren't interested, suffice it to say that reasons range from relationship problems to work keeping me busy. The second most prominent reason for my inactivity is the fact that the vast majority of the posts happen while I'm asleep.

Anyway, I just wanted to make clear that I'm still trying to make posts but between my distracted state of mind and general fatigue I usually find that my posts are lacking in contributional value and therefor decide against posting it until I have something better to contribute. I still read everything that is posted, I just find it hard to mix myself in, Anyway, I'm very sorry for my lack of activity. I hope this clears some stuff up though.

Star nodded in confirmation. "Fisher's got the right idea. We're wasting time by standing here and chatting. If we're all done here we shouldn't stick around. We're leaving now." With those words and without waiting for a response Starstream took the lead and headed straight for the Everfree forest.

Without hesitation she followed the path into the dark forest. Any other day she would have been shared, but today she just couldn't be bothered. She looked around. For as far as she could tell the forest was normal... or at least, as normal as it usually is. after walking for a while a thought hit her. She turned to the others and asked, "hey, should we continue following the road or should we break off from the path?"

A look of determination formed on Star's face. She picked herself up from the floor and tied the cloth she had picked up around her neck. She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts, focusing on what she could do from here on. She rubbed her temples as she took a moment to consider the suggestions that had been made.

She muttered to herself, "the coast... by now whatever has been going on must have spread there too, surely it'll be no different from the cities where everyone is fighting each other over the food that is available, and I'm willing to bet that whatever ships were there have already been taken by ponies who got the idea to look for escape from this nightmare..." She groaned. "The idiots. With the amount of food there's probably left there will be no way they'll reach any destination alive."

She considered the other suggestion. "Canterlot... That seems kind of pointless. With what's going on I highly doubt we'll be able to even get to the higher-ups there, let alone that we'll get any useful information."

"So then..." She looked at the others and spoke normally again. "I think going to the Everfree forest would be the best. It seems to be somehow related to what's going on, so maybe there is something to end this all with in there too."

Her digging unveiled a piece of jade coloured cloth that was charred at the bottom. her crying gradually ebbed down as she watched it. She sniffled as she carefully picked it up and rubbed it against her cheek. She silently rested her hoof over the one Soulfire had put on her shoulder. She grasped it tightly, still trembling a bit.

Starstream simply stood there, spectating, too shocked to react, too shocked to even move. She breathed heavily and she stared at the charred down... 'thing' that was once her home, trying not to break down and desperately trying to keep her composure. She had lost everything she held dear. Her warm bed, the roof above her head, her friends, her coltfriend, and most importantly...

"My children!"

She choked up and found herself losing her ability to control her breathing, only making long, deep inhales as if she were suffocating. Tears streamed down the side of her face. Her entire body trembled.

She dragged herself over to the charred mess and started to slowly dig through it.

"H-Honies... s-say something..."

She waited a few seconds, hoping, praying for a response.

"H-H-Honies...? P-Please talk to mommy..."

She broke down and wept uncontrollably as she clawed through the ruins of her home. She desperately cried out,

"Winter...!? Comet...! Byte...!!!"

As she recklessly dug through the rubble she gashed her forehoof, but she kept digging regardless.

"Say something! Anything! This isn't funny girls!"

Star shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. That village is where Iive. I can't just abandon it so easily. My family and friends are there." She dropped her saddlebag that still held a few food packs. "I'm going to check on my home. I can understand if you don't come along, but I have to see it with my own eyes."

Without waiting for a response she spread her wings and took off.

"Ponyville's a mess." Those very words sent shivers running across Star's spine. Despite her efforts the ponies she knew and cared about had disappeared, and despite their efforts together, to keep the town, well... normal..., despite everything they had done the town had broken down anyway. She stared off into the distance, in the direction of her home village.

Suddenly, a loud explosion boomed, seemingly from everywhere at once. Her head snapped to face Nuclear, giving her a dissatisfied frown.

Star moved between Dark and Nuclear. "Jeez, calm your flanks, everypony!" She turned to Nuclear. "You, stop doing that. We are not going to hurt you, but at this rate you're drawing too much attention. You don't want somepony to show up who will hurt you, do you?" After that she turned to Dark. "And as for your question, we're only here because we're on our way somewhere, we're not interested in the forest..." She paused for a few seconds and squinted her eyes at him. "That is of course, unless the forest has something to do with what's been going on and you're trying to hide something."

I'm glad the RP picked up a bit, I'm sorry for being so unresponsive before.

I'm going to bed for today, I should be up in a few hours again.

She nodded and wrapped her wings around herself in a futile attempt to keep warm. She watched Soulfire and said, "we should bring her there, and then we should head back to the village. If any of my colleagues are back then we could maybe ask them if they know anything more about what's going on."

She turned to the forest and waited for him to take the lead.