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  1. Standard User
    Hey, remember last time I posted a blaug like this? Yeah, I got in a lot of doodoo for that one. But I can't get in trouble now because I'm already IN trouble!
     
    So I'm a distance runner. *gasp REALLY?* I love distance, I love cross country, and I love the people who run distance in track. But I live in a backwater farming town straight out of Friday Night Lights - football (and, as an extension, basketball) is THE big thing. Football is the only true sport, everything else can go rot in a hole. For the spring season, most football players do track. They either sprint or throw. They're the "popular" kids.
     
    This season, a girl in my class volunteered to take pictures and document the team's season, making posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. My initial thought: "Yay, everyone will see every aspect of the team, including distance!"
     
    What actually has happened: pictures of the girl's friend, pictures of the popular throwers, and pictures of the popular sprinters. Out of hundreds of pictures I could count distance and pole vault pictures on one hand.
     
    Here's some facts: off the top of my head, I can think of two throwers that are genuinely "good" and that is it. This year in distance we have one of the top guys in the district for the 3,000m (he might go to state) and other runners (including myself) fill the top ten list for the 800m and 1500m. We have one freshman girl who has broken FOUR RECORDS this year and is within a few seconds of the 1500m record that was set by a senior. Our 4x800m relay team and our distance medley relay team could both break decades-old school records in those events. And we get no recognition. None.
     
    I was mad.
     
    I really debated how to write that sentence. Put "mad" in bold font? Underline it? Increase the font? I realized that I could do all of those things and that would still not express my anger enough.
     
    So I made a post on the Facebook page:
    In retrospect, some parts of that could have been left unsaid. But I was tired and seeing the lack of pictures representing one of the best parts of the program because we don't have popular kids left me in a red haze. But looking back over it, I mean everything I said, and everything said there is the truth.
     
    So I got a note today through the school saying that I needed to go speak to one of the head coaches immediately.
     
    Weeeeell shit.
     
    I think that conversation is going to be a repressed memory, as I cannot remember most of it. What annoys me most about the conversation we had, however, is that I got no say. I was grilled and the coach left me no room to voice my opinion. It started off with him saying "Why don't you read this out loud for me?" And he handed me his phone, which had my post already up. Boy, that was fun.
     
    Of what else he said (and I paraphrase here, of course)...
    Hmm. Get another person to help her, perhaps?

    That doesn't explain why we have four-fifths of a meet's pictures being of the same three throwers repeatedly. Move around at the meets.

    If there is one thing I hate, it is being scolded/lectured. Again, I cannot put enough emphasis behind "hate." If there is a second thing I hate, it is being called a coward. But that is for another time.
     
    First, I explain myself much better online (although that doesn't really ring true in this scenario). Second, I addressed the problem (a lack of pictures on Facebook) at the site of the problem (Facebook). I wanted to make it a public issue as I knew I would have support from my fellow runners, and I did have their encouragement. So I made the post on a public forum to get opinions.

    Do what? Question as to why one of the best parts of your program gets no love in exchange for the same handful of popular kids hundreds of times?

    A program full of people that I hate? Yeah, maybe. I just want people to acknowledge us. If they get butthurt over it, that is their problem. My intention was NOT to make people upset.
     
    But, of course, offline I'm the good kid. I couldn't do anything but sit there, try not to break down, and nod my head. I finished with "Yes, sir. I understand. I was out of line and this kind of thing won't happen again." And when I walked out of the room I uncrossed my fingers. I didn't do anything wrong. I voiced my opinion about a public problem. Whether or not I dealt with it in the "best" way is another question.
     
    Before some white knight makes a comment about how stupid I was or offers a better way I could've dealt with the situation, don't. Just don't. I've had enough of this butthurtedness and already talked it over with the coaches.
     
    So for most of the day I was alternating between being pissed, apologetic, fearful, and depressed. Needless to say I did not have a good day.
     
    Until I walked out to my car.
     
     

     
    I'm not quite sure who vandalized my car, but judging from various other graffiti on it I have a good idea. , if this was you, you made my day infinitely better.
     
    So I suppose my letter to Celestia would be this:
    - Kolth
     
    P.S. As a distance runner, my heart goes out to the runners, spectators, and anyone else near the bombings at the Boston Marathon today. I heard that many runners refused to leave the course, and I can understand why - getting into Boston is a great feat, and I myself would risk my life to complete that race. Thoughts and prayers to all the families affected. <3
  2. Standard User
    The good: I FINALLY finished the next chapter of OTSW. At almost 10,000 words it is nearly twice as long as any previous chapter, so hopefully this can hold readers over while I work on the next bit.
     
    The bad: I now have to write another chapter. Oh, the horror!
     
    Anyway, for those keeping up thus far: the story is moving from that bland introduction setting-the-scene stuff and moving to the action-y parts. So...yay, I suppose?
     
    Bleh. It is late and I've had a long day. Enjoy, whoever cares to read this.
     
    - Kolth
  3. Standard User
    A few days ago, my off-to-college friend came home and invited me and my Asian pal to go play paintball. Now, this friend goes to West Point. He knows, like, six dozen ways to snap your neck with one hand. One of the first classes he took was in hacking remote turrets (long story, involving plastic dinosaurs). And he's built like a brick.
     
    Needless to say, my Asian bud and I both called being on his team.
     
    For the past week, we had decidedly un-Oregon weather: sunny in the sixties, with only mild wind. Yesterday (the day we went paintballing) it was raining all day and, by the end of our foray up on the mountain where the paintball camp was), snowing. Of course, we got soaked.
     
    On the initial split into teams, I got separated from all of our friends except for West Point's sister. I didn't want to get used as a human shield, so I hung back at the base for the first game. No joke: within eight seconds of the first round, a paint pellet bounced not three inches below the family jewels. It didn't break, but I did realize that the flimsy cover I was using was next to useless. Thankfully we had some track star on our team who ran for the flag without his gun and won within half a minute. The same situation happened for the second game.
     
    On the third game, we switched bases. Now we were up the hill, and instead of one flag in the middle both teams had a flag in their base that you needed to retrieve. In addition, if you got shot, you were out for the game. I volunteered to 'defend' our base, so I got a nice view as everyone on our team was decimated. Eventually, I was one of the probably four people left. I decided to make a run for the flag.
     
    Long story short, I got trapped in the same structure as an enemy. I rounded the corner to get him, but he had dove for cover and shot me from point-blank range in the shoulder (something you are not supposed to do is shoot from up close - but of course, the ref was looking the other way...) So we lost that round big time.
     
    On our fourth run, we played Attack and Defend. Now I was on the same team as West Point, defending the same structure that I had been trapped in in the last round. I was covering a window by the front entrance with a friend when (unbeknownst to either of us) the person behind us, COVERING THE FRONT ENTRANCE, left. An attacking player kamikaze'd into the base and shot me in the shoulder blade from about a foot and a half away.
     
    Ow. Left a nice welt, though. And we lost. Horribly.
     
    Our final game (and my finest hour) was Zombies. The humans had a finite space to move around in, while the three zombies had the rest of the field. Zombies respawn when shot, humans join the zombies when shot. All we had to do was survive for five minutes.
     
    Easy, right?
     
    Well, the three initial zombies were the most paintball battle-hardened sons-of-redneck-bitches I have EVER seen.
     
    Initially, things went well. The humans had great communication, calling out locations and what-not. Then one person got shot. Then another. Then I watched as five people in the span of as-many seconds get shot and join the enemy.
     
    I looked to the guy next to me and we both said "Fuck." We were hiding behind a short wall, taking potshots at zombies to our front and right. The enemy was moving around to flank to our right in this structure called the Prison, we us two and the small child in a bunker to our left were all that was left for two minutes.
     
    And then the guy next to me told me he was out of ammo.
     
    What. The. FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU
     
    To make matters worse, he peeked over at the Prison, looked at me, and crouched into his corner yelling "GET DOWN!"
     
    Me: *crouches out and looks at Prison*
     
    Two guys had their guns trained right on me. So I dogpiled onto the guy with me just in time to see a smattering of pellets paint the area I had just been in pink.
     
    I ducked out and took a bunch of wild shots, trying to scare them off. And miraculously, I hit them both. My ONLY two hits in the entire day were when it really counted. I felt accomplished.
     
    My out-of-ammo friend, the small child, and I all survived.
     
    Paintball is intense.
     
    - Kolth
  4. Standard User
    First off, I just looked at my Pony Hypnosis blaug entry. Over 1,000 views. Well then.
     
    And, per usual, I am so exhausted that this will hopefully be brief.
     
    So today was the first track & field meet of the season. It was against two other schools, so nothing terribly intense. I was slated to run the 1,500m and the 4x400m.
     
    Ran exactly my personal record (PR) for the 1,500m (4:38), so hopefully I can drop down into the 4:20's by May.
     
    I was the first leg of our 4x400m team because I'm great on the starting gun. I felt like I was running insanely slow, but as I lay on the side of the track and slowly lost consciousness, my coach told me I ran a 54.7. That's a 2+ second PR off of my BEST time ever. And it is only the first meet of the season. Oh, and this 400-split was the fastest of all of the 4x400-splits for my school at this meet - including the four guys on the Varsity team.
     
    Yeah. Good day. Now I'm going to pass out on my keyboard.
     
    - Kolth
  5. Standard User
    Murr. In my head I have this huge, long blaug post planned. But I know I'll cut it short and skimp on details. Not that people ever read this, mirite?
     
    Anyway, a bit of backstory about me. Gather 'round, kiddies, it's time for Grandpa Kolth's Story Time!
     
    ...actually, screw that. Long story short: dated a friend (lets call her M) back in middle school, had no idea what I was doing, broke up; still (off and on) friends; now I realize that she is the most amazing thing before, during, and after sliced bread and am doing everything in my power to win her heart. I've lost track of how many times I've been friendzoned. And now I'm dating the cheer captain, who is also a genius and in the band. Sound awesome? Yeah, she is. But she isn't the one I care about.
     
    I grew up around my dad, mainly. He always taught me to do whatever it takes to make people happy: that amounted to "never say no." And now I cannot break up my girlfriend. Like, I can SEE myself doing it, but then I realize that everyone would hate me and people would feel bad (long(er) story), so I never get the balls to do it. But I'm slowly getting better at it because I've realized that leading her on like this is worse than just cutting it off.
     
    Damn, didn't mean to get on a tangent. But that sort of relates to today.
     
    Woke up early so I could take M out to coffee because, y'know, coffee is catnip for girls or something. And just because of that (and maybe the other dozen times I've taken her out to dinner, coffee dates, etc) people think I have some huge crush on her. Which I totally do. But I can't tell them that.
     
    So we get back to the school and I manage to avoid the girlfriend until the wind ensemble gets ready to leave at 11:00. We had a competition at a community college today; it was our second of three chances to make it to state.
    In our division, you need two scores of 70/100 from three judges to make it to state. One year we had something like 69, 68, and 66. THAT sucked.
     
    So beginning of the day went by okay. On the bus ride, everyone was just kind of milling about. I thought "Hey, I have a smartphone! Why don't I post some funny things on the Foru- Oh, right, I got a warning from a mod."
     
    Another thing I inherited from my dad: stubbornness.
     
    The warning was for, per usual, "character limit violation" or whatever they want to call it. This was a post made back in DECEMBER in a ROLEPLAY thread. I checked every post I made in the thread - every one of them had at least 250+ characters. So I kindly asked the mod to point out which post was offensive. Here is the post, copy/pasted:
     
     
    So what is not in the spoiler amounts to 469 characters. Maybe it is just miscommunication, but the post seems fine. I was just making a comment about the character limit and how I only had, like, 190 characters in the original version of this post. So I added some character building and bam, warning.
     
    Honestly, it is cool that the mods will go back in time to find such a tiny mistake. But, whatever, they're just doing their job and I'm just bitching. So just a few minutes ago I finally "acknowledged" the ban because I thought I could talk it over with the mod, but s/he hasn't messaged me back, so...
     
    So that was depressing me for much of the day. I don't like getting in trouble, ever.
     
    Anyway. We end up getting the the college just in time to go on stage and perform. And...
     
    We blew it. Horribly. Awfully. We have NEVER played that bad. French horns were out of tune, the damn trombones didn't come in on the ONE FREAKING TIME it was actually IMPORTANT that they were there, and in general it sucked. And afterwards we had to go into a separate room to sight read - something we had NO idea we would be doing.
    The piece was some Spanish tune, lively in parts and slower in others. My part was busy with triplets and what I thought were backgrounds.
     
    For sight reading, you are given seven minutes to analyze the piece, during which you get limited help from your conductor and you cannot play your instrument at all. Then you have one shot to play the song perfectly.
     
    So we begin playing and I quickly realize that I'm one of, what, four people in a 40+ person band that is actually playing. The others that I knew were playing were a bari sax (who had few parts in this particular piece) and M on her clarinet (playing beautifully, as always ), and me covering the damn french horn solos because our horns suck.
     
    Afterwards, the professor-dude running the clinic comes down to 'help' us see our mistakes which basically amounted to calling us kindergartners. No joke. But he did say "You definitely have some talented leaders in this band, especially your lead alto saxophone over here (he points at me) who was probably the only person in the band that I heard put emotion and feeling into his part."
     
    My face when:
     
    Fast forward to much later today, after the end of school and track practice. I'm still pretty bummed because I knew (thought) that we blew another chance at state. Then I see our bass clarinetist on the side of the road, on his phone, waving me down.
     
    I thought he wanted a ride, so I kept driving.
     
    But then he gave me this big thumbs up, so I thought that I had better turn around. When I pulled up next to him, he hung up on our conductor and told me the good news. Our conductor had gotten an email from the college saying "Congratulations to the 6A and 5A schools who competed today." or something like that. Naturally, we're 99.99999% sure this means those schools qualified for state.
     
    Guess who was the only 5A school there?
     
    Yeah, suck it, everyone. For the first time in who-knows-how-long, WE'RE GOING TO STATE.
     
    And I REALLY hope I'm not wrong about that, because I don't wanna make another blaug post tomorrow denouncing these claims. That would just be embarrassing.
     
    Anyway, our bass clarinetist mentioned something about how it was our sight reading that gave us that little nudge into state-dom; if that is true, I'm the savior of the band.
     
    Feels good man.
     
    So today has been a bit of a roller coaster and, frankly, I feel like I just bitched and whined a lot in this post. But that is what blaugs are for, right?
     

    tl;dr My life is pretty damn okay right now.


     
    - Kolth
  6. Standard User
    So a while ago, you might have heard me fangirling over how I became Hiddenpairer's coauthor for his fanfiction. We've been reworking the first couple of chapters ever since Twilicorn became a thing, but he finally posted the story to FiMFiction.net! *insert streamers and confetti here*
     
    From our planning sessions, I can already tell that this will be an awesome story. We'd both be much obliged if you'd give it a read and follow along: Autonomous Reflection. Here's the flavor text:
     
    Sound good? You bet your sweet arse it does.
     
    In other news, I JUST found out that chapter 3 of OTSW has been blocked from public viewing since the day I 'published' it back in January. So for those who wanted a chance to read that, here it is.
     
    - Kolth
  7. Standard User
    So yeah, today is my birthday. I'm seventeen! I can buy M-rated games! I can go to rated-R movies! I can...wait, no that's in four years.
     
    What I've been begging my parents for for quite some time is a quality camera. Now I'm the proud owner of a Canon Rebel T3i - just in time for the rare sunny Oregon weather. As I get better and produce pictures that are actually good, I'll probably post some here.
     
    If you follow my status updates, you'll know that my girlfriend went to Comic Con a couple of weeks ago. While there she was asking questions like "What is your favorite pony?" and "What's your shirt size?" I had my suspicions of her motives, and I was right. Like the awesome person she is, she got me pony stuff. She is making me wait until tomorrow for the second half of my present, though, so this post only has what I got today: the pony gear.
     

     
    So first up is this awesome custom drawing of Rarity. Now I need to find a frame for it...
     

     
    Then this awesome Derpy ID card! She said she got it because the occupation fit me so well. And I hate it, but I agree with her.
     
    And finally, the really awesome thing...
     

     
    A laminated map of Equestria. SO AWESOME.
     
    She said the other stuff isn't pony related, but that doesn't matter. Birthdays aren't about the presents, they're about celebrating the day I was expelled from my mother's birth canal.
     
    - K
  8. Standard User
    Remember when this blog was updated regularly? Yeah, me neither.
     
    So I'm a member on a writing site aimed at teens and young adults. One of the most popular past times on that website is Word Wars. They are very simple and fun to do, not to mention potentially the opportunity to give yourself a swift kick in the rear-end and be productive.
     
    All you have to do is get a group of people together, agree on a start time and end time (usually something like ten to fifteen minutes), then start writing. You can have a prompt or free writer it; as long as it is 'good' (as in something you could potentially show people and not be horribly embarrassed), it is acceptable. Then, when the timer runs out, everyone compares word counts. The one with the highest word count wins, and the game begins again.
     
    This is great for two reasons. For writers who don't have ideas and/or just get stuck (I'm looking at you, bro ), then WW's can give you the little nudge you need to get into a writing groove. For those who need an incentive to work on an existing story (I'm looking at me, me!), then this also offers that incentive - competition!
     
    So my point with this: how many writers would be interested in a Word War thread, where we could organize times and maybe a leaderboard or something? Personally, I think it is a pretty neat idea, but I don't wanna start a new thread if no one shows any interest.
     
    - Kolth
  9. Standard User
    ...yikes, that title was painful to write.
     
    So my lovely editor ShieldGenerator and I have been emailing back and forth about various aspects of OTSW.
     
    Back and forth a lot.
     
    A LOT. And each email is an even larger wall of text than the last. I think one of my longer emails clocked out at just over 1,000 words. Considering that is almost a quarter of my average chapter length thus far...yikes.
     
    But these emails have not been for naught. No, they have taught me many things. One: this story is really damn confusing. Two: I overlook the simplest plot holes. Three: I've bitten off a lot more than I can chew.
     
    GOOD THING I HAVE JAWS OF STEEL TO CLAMP DOWN ON THIS STORY AND RIP IT APART.
     
    Anyway. It has come to my attention that my previous methods of organizing this story has really not worked out so well. So I ask the writers of those longer fanfics: how do you keep track of every little element, motif, and symbol in your story without losing the plot? Because apparently I suck at it.
     
    - Kolth
  10. Standard User
    I hate birthdays. A lot.
     
    Up until a year or two ago, I would either have one, MAYBE two friends over, or just spend the day in blissful solitude. But this year I'll probably have some sort of get-together, which means that my friends will actually remember that it is my birthday.
     
    I actually forgot my birthday was coming up until a couple of days ago, when a friend of mine asked what I wanted for my birthday. I had to refrain from showing her a picture of a Rarity plushie, so I settled with "I'm not sure yet."
     
    So that's what I'm doing here (along with the fact that this blaug hasn't been updated in over a week). What should I be asking for for my birthday, MLP-wise? I already have blindbags on the list, of course, and maybe some pony shirts (if my cheap parents will realize that not EVERYTHING on the Internet is a scam...) Is there anything else that I don't know about that I should be asking for?
     
    Oh, and I have world peace on there. I throw that on my list every year but it never seems to happen.
     
    In other news...I look dashing in a dress shirt and tie, I have three Lovecraft anthologies that need reading, I haven't written anything myself in over a week, and my parents are getting me a nice camera. I'll finally have a reason for having a dA account!
     
    -Kolth
  11. Standard User
    ...but then I did.
     
    As most of you (probably don't) know, I have a Twitter for all of my MLP-related business. At first, I didn't use it that much. But then I made a tweet about how I don't have the balls to wear my Lyra shirt in public...and it got retweeted twice, by BronyRT and ManeStreamNews. Now, I know being retweeted is no big deal...BUT IT IS TO ME BECAUSE HOLY SHIT I GOT RETWEETED BY COOL PEOPLE.
     
    So then I started making more tweets, and kept getting retweeted, and now I'm in a couple different convos with fellow bronies via Twitter. This stuff is fun.
     
    Anyway, if you wanna follow me, I'd much appreciate it. @KolthTheWriter
     
    In unrelated news, I totally got tongue last night finally got the balls to kiss the girlfriend last night. And then I almost hit a pedestrian. What a romantic evening.
     
    - Kolth
  12. Standard User
    So I have to take Health II this second semester, which basically amounts to don't have sex EVER and don't do drugs MOST OF THE TIME. I love living in Hicktown, USA.
     
    Anyway, our first assignment in Health was taking a "color test" so we could figure out our "color trait" personality and learn how to work together as a team. Before I continue, this is my ideal team: me, then all of the subordinate workers. But I digress.
     
    So I took the test ("Take me! Take me! Take me!") and found out that I am a Green. What does that mean? In a nutshell...
     
    Which, for the most part, totally fits me. Except for the "emotions" bit.
     
    I like making people laugh, and I wear my heart on my sleeve. More than that, I HATE seeing people angry. I hate being serious unless the situation directly calls for seriousness. And I HATE HATE HATE it when people are sad or depressed. I hate that so much that I've sort of covered up that part of me.
     
    A couple of years ago my sister and I were at a meeting at my middle school with many other parents and their kids. About half way through the presentation, my sister got a call. My great-grandmother, who the entire town of 10,000 people loved and respected, had just died. So my sister is sitting there in the middle of a crowd of people, choking back sobs, while I'm sitting there (and looking back I hate to admit it) a disinterested and, frankly, embarrassed expression. I had a so-so relationship with my great-grandmother, but I also knew that in her last couple of days she was in a lot of pain.
     
    ...I just remembered that last time I saw her, ever. I didn't expect this post to go down this route. Bleh.
     
    She was laying on the loveseat out in her living room. She was hooked up to all kinds of machines and covered up in blankets and looked like you would expect an old, dying woman to look. And I was sitting on the opposite side of the room, too afraid to go anywhere near her. I don't like interacting with people unless they are a peer or I have a specific reason to interact with them. Family included.
     
    And then she let out this little strangled cry. Geez, I'll never forget that sound. It was barely above a whisper but I heard it because the room was empty except for me and her and I was sitting there and I was too damn scared to go near her and what did I do?
     
    I left. I left the room because I'm a big coward and I hate attachment and fuck it I'm crying now.
     
    And I actually had a reason to this post, too. Damn damn damn. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Sorry if I ruined anyone's evening.
     
    - K
  13. Standard User
    Let me explain.
     
    Generally, this is how I update:
     
    1: Write chapter over a long period of time.
    2: Get chapter edited by SG7. Cringe at all the dumb mistakes, lament my horrible writing form, promise to learn how to become a better writer.
    3: Say nuts to that last part and sloppily edit dumb mistakes.
    4: Post.
    5: One reader in 24 hours. Throw a party to celebrate the massive amount of views my story gets.
    6: Next day -- I'll write the next chapter now!
    7: One week later and still a blank page.
    8: Month and a half later, I finally have something sorta-kinda-okay.
    9: Repeat from step 1.
     
    Well, not this time. Not two days after I posted chapter 3, I had a good 2,000 words down for chapter 4. And today, I'm counting off at just under 4,000. My average for chapters 1, 2, and 3 is just under 5,000. I'm close to the mark!
     
    So that's why I say I reverse-broke myself. Normally writers fall off the ball when it comes to updating. It seems that I'm slowly climbing ONTO said ball. Not that I'm complaining!
     
    Anyways, to anyone who has actually read this far, let me give a little teaser:
     
     
     
     
    What, you think I'd spoil something that big in a teaser? Pfft. You silly.
     
    Anyways, chapter 4 is actually nearing completion. Or the halfway point. Depends on how much stuff I can fit in. Regardless, Act II is in the works!
     
    - Kolth
  14. Standard User

    Gravity Falls

    By Standard User,

    I had heard about this show for weeks now, how it is like MLP in the sense that it is a kids show that is enjoyable for all ages. So I thought, "Me, you should give it a shot. You never know, right?" And so I torrented managed to view the first episode. Don't ask how.
     
    Anyways, this might be one of my new favorite shows. I live in Oregon, which just makes me love it more. It makes me want to go outside in the middle of the forest behind my house and explore. Too bad I have finals coming up.
     
    Anyways, are there any other Gravity Falls fans here?
     
    - Kolth
  15. Standard User
    Psychology is such an amazingly fun class. As the semester closes, we've finally moved into the Memory unit of the class. And what better way to test memory than an old-fashioned game of Telephone?
     
    So seven volunteers were chosen and left the room. One (me) came back in and heard a two-minute story from the teacher. The second person then had to come in, and the first (me) had to retell the story with as much detail as possible. Then the third came in, and so on. After today's class, I now realize I have a very good short-term memory.
     
    Here's my approximation of the story (the seven of us still haven't read the exact story, so this is all still from memory):
     
     
     
     
     
     
    ...yeah, it landed back in Miami. Just to trip people up, I suppose. Now, that may not seem so special, but it is exactly what I told the second person. Here is an approximation of what she told the third person:
     
     
     
    The story quickly fell downhill from there. Our final story ended up being something like this:
     
     
     
    Which is better than two previous years, actually. One year the final line was "There was a man who bowled a 142 and took a trip to Miami." Another year had the passengers landing the plane at a remote cabin, sexually assaulting the hijacker, and completing their journey to Los Angeles.
     
    Psychology is a great class.
     
    - Kolth
  16. Standard User
    First day back at school, first day without my trusty backpack. Instead, I decided to use my new Derpy mailbag from WeLoveFine. I expected ridiculous amounts of spaghetti...
     
    Well, for the most part the day went without incident. My friend Theo (who IS a closet brony and just doesn't realize it. He knows more about the fandom than I do) gave me some friendly grief over it during first period math. I managed to keep the pony emblem relatively covered until lunch. Then my female friend saw me covering it and said out loud "IS THAT A PON-" but I managed to shut her up in time. She walked away laughing with another friend of ours.
     
    After school, while digging through my locker, Theo walked by with one of his friends and said "Look at this horsefucker's new bag". So the friend looked at it, looked at me and said "I'm walking away now." And turned around and left.
     
    The worst came from my sister, who I'm pretty sure thinks I'm gay. Like I care what she thinks, honestly. I've tried to get her to watch the show once or twice, but she is fairly adamant against it.
     
    Regardless, my first public display of pony-love went much better than expected, and I suspect much better than others' stories. Perhaps the coming week will prove me wrong, or maybe not. Who knows?
     
    - Kolth
  17. Standard User
    ...well, at least that was what my brain was trying to tell me last night.
     
    So my sister came down with some stomach virus on Christmas Day, and she passed it to me. Well, it didn't hit until yesterday, but when it did, it hit me HARD. I was out. No strength to even move, my stomach was doing acrobatics, and it was liquid out both ends. Yeah, maybe TMI, but still.
     
    So I tried watching Captain America last night (because Chris Evans is such a stud in that movie ), but only got about an hour in before my pounding head made me give up and go to bed. That was at 10:00PM.
     
    So around rolls 1:00AM, and I've been tossing myself around in my bed left and right nonstop. So finally I go to my mom and ask if I can take a shower, and she said go for it. So I slept in the shower for about an hour, then got out and went back to bed. And I even felt better for a while.
     
    The weird thing was, the entire time from 10PM till about 6AM, there was a part of me that was saying "You are fucking Captain America. Go save people." And so I kept having minor hallucinations where there were buildings in my bed that needed to be destroyed by the awesomeness of the Cap'n. And ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS BEING CAPTAIN AMERICA. I couldn't even TRY to think about ponies or anything else: only the red, white, and blue.
     
    So, uh, yeah. That was my night. Lotsa fun.
     
    - Kolth
  18. Standard User
    Obligatory Christmas Eve post incoming!
     
    Christmas is that magical time of year when families from far and wide gather together to exchange gifts, sing songs, eat great turkey, and love and tolerate each other. Except for the little cousins. They get no niceties from me.
     
    So of course, I had to make a Christmas Eve "What I'm Thankful For" blaug post. Bear with me. I'm thankful for...
     
    * My health, of course. No pneumonia, no six-year strep throat, no twisted ankles or hacking up blood clots for me this year!
     
    * The amazing opportunities presented to me this year, including Steens Mountain Running Camp, the Team Marathon race at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, and the USATF National Junior Olympics race, just to name a few. And I SWEAR I do more than run.
     
    * My friends and family. Yeah, I rag on you guys all year - and frankly, you deserve it - but without you I would be a lonely ole' curmudgeon. Or a crazy cat lady.
    Special shout-out to my number one, hands down bestest friend ever: @@NeonDinosGoMeow. You're awesome, even with dual citizenship.
     
    And, of course...
     
    * YOU GUYS. Yeah, admit it: you saw this coming. I honestly wish I could tag every member and let them know how amazing they are. And, frankly, I think it is unfair to do this, but some users deserve an extra little nod.
     
    @Nicholas Cage: Yous a cool person - very interesting and different, and that is what the world needs more of. I'm glad to call you a friend. On a side note, I could NOT for the life of me tag you. Sorry.
     
    @: You haven't been here all that long, but as writers you and I have that super-awesome writer's bond. You're writing a great fic, and I thank you for your support and encouragement with my own story.
     
    @@Crystal Skull: You've been a great supporter of my terribad writing, and for the extra push of encouragement from you I am thankful.
     
    @Shield Generator: First off, you, sir, need to join this site. Second off, you taking on the immense challenge of editing my story is cause for a big hug and a cup of coffee on me sometime. I know I don't update super fast, and my silly mistakes probably grate on your nerves after a while, but I wouldn't be getting the praise from ^ those people up there if it wasn't for the hours(?) of work you put into fixing my fic. So consider every positive comment about the story a positive comment to you as well, because you have certainly earned those compliments.
     
    @Anyone reading or not reading this: You're a pony fan, and that makes you awesome in my book.
     
    I feel like I'm forgetting people (in fact I know I am), but I'll probably add them later. It's been a long day of friends, family, and turkey, and I need a nap. In short, MLPForums...
     
    :wub:
     
    - Kolth
  19. Standard User
    Damn, where to begin...
     
    My whole family is weird as hell. You know how people say you always think your family is normal because that is who you've grown up with, and so everything they've ever done MUST be what other families do as well? Well, according to that principle, other families never go on vacations, the mother and father are never home at the same time for more than two or three hours, and the family only speaks to each other when something is wrong or there is nothing else to do, because that is exactly what my family does.
     
    I'm fairly certain my mother is bipolar. And on a semi-related note (I don't feel like writing a lot right now...), because my sister got a 94% in AP United States History, I'm expected to do even better than her because APPARENTLY I'm the brainchild of the family and my mother said that, when - not if, when - I go to college and get my Ph.D and become a nationally-ranked athlete, I'm expected to use all of my money to pamper her and buy her a new house because she hates the town we live in.
     
    Oh, yeah, no matter that I'm fourth on the Varsity cross-country team and I went to fucking Nationals for the Junior Olympics - I'm a horrible athlete and I'm so lazy and I'll get fat because I forgot to run on a Saturday. And forget that I'm (almost) an Eagle Scout, four-year Varsity letterman, first-chair alto saxophone in both bands, a 4.0 student in all Advanced Placement classes, a champion 4-H swine showman, an ardent volunteer, AND have written many original sermons that I've then given in church (and, might I add, churchgoers came up to me after all of my sermons and asked if I was considering becoming a pastor)...never mind any of that. If I get a B in APUSH, I will, in my mother's own words, "Work at fuckin' McDonalds for the rest of [my] life."
     
    Oh, do you think I WANT to do half of that stuff? Sure, it all sounds good, but all I really want to do is write. But never mind that either! I've showed her the compliments I've received on my writing thus far and her only comment was "Your sister will be pissed if you get published." Yup, everything is a competition to my mother. Same with running: she expects me to drop everything I'm doing (while still being a 4.0 student Boy Scout champion musical volunteer preacher) and train all day, every day so I can become number one in the school. Our shitty little school of barely one thousand in a piss-poor farm town in the middle of nowhere.
     
    ...I just realized I was only supposed to talk about my dad. Whoops.
     
    My dad drinks. A lot. He likes working. A lot. He is never home. A lot.
     
    When I was little, he would drag my sister and I along to his friend's junkyard and delude us into thinking we were going to explore or something stupid like that. Then he would drink himself into a stupor with his buddies - and that could have taken all day - and then drive his two little kids home while buzzed out the wazoo. His entire life is wake up, go to work, drink, work, drink, work, come home, drink, WORK, drink, go to bed, keep my mom up all night with his snoring, repeat. Day in and day out for sixteen-plus years, never really learning anything about me.
     
    And all of a sudden, out of the blue, he is trying to connect with me. He acts interested in the stuff I do (and makes an ass of himself because he has NO idea what he is talking about) and tries to get me to come outside for "father-son bonding", which is code for work in the barn on someone's car. It took him seven years to finish our basement because he kept agreeing to fix other people's stupid shit FOR FREE.
     
    So, long story short, I'm in that teenage phase where I believe my parents don't understand me. I believe I'm supposed to use this opportunity to explore alcohol, drugs, and sex, but if nothing else they raised me a moral kid. So I can't even go out and have ILLEGAL fun. I can just stay home and work and try to stay out of their way.
     
    My mom gave me a pair of pajama pants today. It's sort of a tradition: every Christmas Eve, my parents get me a new pair of PJ pants. Well, she's working today, so she gave them to me early. My dad walked into my room and the pants were laying on my bed.
     
    "Where did you get these?"
     
    "Mom gave them to me."
     
    "Yeah, they were supposed to be your present. Dammit, she's ruined Christmas."
     
    And then he stormed out of my room and I can hear random banging from the other side of the house now. So, once again, Christmas will be a wonderful time.
     
    To add to my mother rant: she expects me to work on the neighbor's farm for the morning and afternoon every weekday, then go workout for 2-3 hours in the closest major town (about 45 minutes away) in the evenings. So when I get home at 8PM, exhausted and sore, she berates me for nothing having anything done and only having an A- in what is quite possibly the hardest high school class offered (APUSH).
     
    So...yeah. That's my rant. I'm gonna go curl up in a ball and cry now.
     
    - Kolth
  21. Standard User

    Roll20

    By Standard User,

    After a...different...first session of Dungeons & Dragons last year (the story involves a diamond, a smelly orifice, and a remarkable Strength vs. Endurance check), I've finally gotten around to bothering my friends about starting up a campaign again. Out of:
     
    Fallout
    The Elder Scrolls
    D&D 4.0
    Cyberpunk 2020
    The Call of Cthulhu
     
    They chose The Elder Scrolls. Why? Skyrim.
     
    So now we're deliberating between playing in person or on a site I found called Roll20.net. Because schedules and parents are insane around the holidays, I'm thinking that Roll20 might be a viable option. And if not...well, that's why I'm here.
     
    Would anyone be willing to either run or play a couple tabletop games using Roll20 with some other forum members? I've messed with it for a bit and it is a very easy system to use, and I need to get my fix of pen-and-papery goodness.
     
    - Kolth
  22. Standard User
    OTSW began in my head as a ten-or-so chapter novella that would feature only ponies. And now, the planned story spans four books and at LEAST four-six worlds. Why? Because every idea I have is amazing and I can't let it go.
     
    (Possibly spoilers. Though, really, what could possibly be spoiled?) So Shield Generator pointed some things out to me about chapter 2 - namely, why is there such little security surrounding not only a supercomputer/personality, but an alien source of immense energy that can power said supercomputer all on its own? If Mr. Card was really on there for a month total, why does he know about A.I. and the orb? Basically, in my rush to update, I neglected a couple of very obvious blunders.
     
    So, rather than do the intelligent thing and edit the chapter with a little author's note or whatever, I added on new plot ideas. And these new plot ideas DO certainly add more to the story, but every idea requires two more ideas to make it work. So now I have an intricate web of stuff that explains my stupid 'mistakes'. The only little hint I can give as to the problem of near nonexistent security, Mr. Card knowing stuff he shouldn't, and the explosion (you didn't think that was just any old explosion, did you? ) is this: the color red.
     
    Regardless, I hopefully will post chapter 3 by the beginning of next week. Which means give me till February.
     
    - Kolth
  23. Standard User
    Read my last blaug post? Well, I got my second Secret Santa gift today. A glow-in-the-dark skeleton mask (say wut), a pack of MLP cards (YAY), and a nice note saying how my SS felt guilty for giving me "such lame gifts" so they plan on giving me something really cool on the last day (tomorrow).
     
    Of course, my SS ridiculed me for being such a hard person to get gifts for. I shouldn't have been such a smartass on my card. Oh well. Christmas is a wonderful time of the year.
     
    - Kolth
     
    EDIT: My OTHER Secret Santa gave me MLP gear as well, which amounted to a large bottle of Coca-Cola covered in MLP stickers and one of the pony-themed coloring/teaching books. Although, I think it was an insult to my intelligence...
     
     
     
     
    ...only slightly. But still, a bottle of Coke is a bottle of Coke, and I have reason to celebrate.
  24. Standard User
    ...a bottle of water.
     
    No, really. A nice bottle of Aquafina purified water. Guess that's what I deserve after being a smartass and putting water as my "favorite drink" on my Secret Santa sheet.
     
    However, the note they gave me promised something even better: MLP gear. They said, and I quote, "I'm guessing that MLP:FiM is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic; if so, I have a treat for you. If not, you will receive a gift worthy for a five year old girl."
     
    Not sure whether to feel insulted or be exci- SCREW IT I'M EXCITED.
     
    - Kolth
  25. Standard User
    All I can say is...heeheehee.
     
    Nah, that just seemed like a good place to stop the chapter and cause some drama. Which, judging from the PMs and emails I got, was just what happened. So in celebration of a finally finished chapter and renewed interest in this story, I offer this little teaser bit that I just wrote. Subject to change, deletion, and casting into the fires of Mt. Doom. But regardless, enjoy:
     
     
     
     
    From what I have, that's about all I can say without spoiling any of the real fun. And for those of you who have consistency-issues and other questions about the story, there's a reason this chapter is called "Answers".
     
    ...airports are a great place to write.
     
    - Kolth
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