Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[RoboRed]

So I started rereading Pink Eyes and I just

This was just like that horror story where the super nice robot goes boing and starts hurting ponies!

[O. Hinds]

Spelling/grammar (likely already identified by others by now):

Ah, thank you.  Not all of those had been spotted previously (though, also, some of them I don't think were actually errors).

That's gonna be pretty difficult without a surface to draw on that non-enchanted paper.
Edit from the future: Apparently non-sentient mundane objects have no problem on clouds. Only sentient ones fall through... or, maybe, ones over a certain weight limit? Not altogether clear on the rules, here.

Perhaps she used her hoof as a writing surface?

Okay, you know what? I can honestly say I have no idea what is going on.
Rampage wanted to tear the Society apart, as did P-21. Not a bad plan, but certainly not the best.
While there are no slaves are staring them in the face here in Thunderhead, these ponies are sill living off the backs of others. Others they regard as of no greater value than the dirt they stand on.
It's ticking me off, to tell ya the truth.
I mean, sure, JUST giving back some of the sun wouldn't save anyone down below, but it'd be a start.

In the Society, what they were doing was right in everypony's faces.  There was no one who didn't know about it, only those who tolerated or promoted it.  Thunderhead is different.  Most of the people there have no idea what's really going on down below.  Those that do believe in helping the surface can join the Volunteer Corps.  Clearing the clouds, however, is currently out of the question; while the Society could have used free labor or even joined in in working the fields, there's currently no other way for Thunderhead to stay fed.
In short, basically, tearing through the Society's leadership, whatever other effects it had, would have stopped the slavery, while all violence would do here is discourage Thunderhead and the Enclave in general from helping the surface.

…Hee… these outtakes are fun. I wonder where Trixie finds them...

Hahahahaha!

...such a nice, kind, well-to-do non-robot...

Hahahahaha!

She cried more over having regrown a leg.

"Oh what a horrible day!  My leg is gone!"
"Oh, that's terrible!  At least you got such a nice prosthetic…"
"Hm?  Oh, no, the leg grew back good as new.  Which is even worseeeee!"
"…Uh…"
"And look!  My cutie mark has a slight scar on it!"
"…Have you seen most ponies around the Wasteland?  That's really pretty pitiful for a scar.  …What's that smell?"
"Oh, roasted hellhound; I nuked a couple hundred of them.  And my PipBuck is fused to my leeeeg!"
Yeah… Rose Eye goes sort of overboard with the whole LittlePip-hate thing, but I must admit that I find some of her objections not entirely baseless.

...wouldn't Glory have gotten her power armor training directly prior to this mission? Odd that she's so familiar with it already...

It moves well for Glory because it's good armor, and it's familiar to Blackjack because cyberponi.

Edit from the future: All I could find from a quick search is Rampage saying "Ever heard of an Ursa Major? There's a reason ponies stay away from Black Pony Mountain" then, later on, stating the Ursa Major was banished, or somepony claimed it was banished, but something awful lives there now.
That and Goldenblood lives near it, as I already knew.
I don't think anyone's ever acted like this about it before, though.

…I can't tell if this is you genuinely not finding anything, you engaging in a bit of meta humor, or the magic actually being powerful enough to reach into our world and affect the search software.  Well, okay, it's probably not that last one, but still, this is a somewhat funny place for this to crop up.

She didn't lose it on the Celestia, since she showed it to Sanguine in chapter 39.
So... what happened?

…Um.  Oops…
Wait, where?  I can't find that happening, and I do seem to recall that we had to change something about that ages ago… are you looking in a version of the chapter other than the current one?

Quite an enjoyable review, as usual.

[hawkeye92]

The last two chapters have been great. I really like the way Somber uses the Enclave. They're not entirely daft evil people like the original. I always thought being cartoonishly evil wasn't conductive to having a big civilisation in those kinds of conditions. But here they're still pretty nasty but not entirely unreasonable which is what I thought they would be.

Similarly, I loved the description and atmosphere of Thunderhead. Also, big threat with Dawn although I have to admit I was looking forwards to Thunderhead's security forces storming the tower. Looking forwards to the next installment.

[Guest]

Shazam! Thoughts time. FINALLY. Worst Cobalt, taking forever to read a pretty friggin' great chapter.

Let's see, stuff that stuck out, in no particular order.

Spoiler:

[Harmony Ltd.]

Thought :

We're going to see BJ go to space before the end of the story, aren't we ?

Odds for an Armaggeddon-type sacrifice ?

[Guest]

Thought :

We're going to see BJ go to space before the end of the story, aren't we ?

Odds for an Armaggeddon-type sacrifice ?

/cough

I'm just saying.

[WavemasterRyx]

Once again, thank you very much for creating Project Horizons, Somber.  And thank you to Hinds and Bronode for all the hard work you put into helping make it as incredible as it is.

I am a little sad to see that we're possibly 8-10 chapters from the end, but at the same time, I'm so happy that it's made it this far, and I want to see it reach a conclusion that you can be proud of, Somber.  I'll always be hoping for the best for you, sir.

Chapter 60 Commentary:

[Harmony Ltd.]

Noodles... the bane of cloaking devices everywhere.

*cue TVTrope marking this as a literal "Noodle Incident"*

[Kippershy]

If it doesn't go beyond ten, I'll end up reading them. If it ends after the five presumed chapters, I'll definitely read them.
If it ends up being another case of "well I had planned..." I'll keep to not reading it until the end chapter and then read that, personally.

[Moodyman90]

Could be that Blackjack is too awe struck to notice, or they figure Blackjack will find a way like she always does and are keeping quiet.
Though all bets are off this next chapter. Blackjack will get mopey,if she isn't getting attacked, about how they messed with the bubble and the other will tell her it was going to pop eventually regardless of her actions.

[Somber]

At the moment, they're too awe struck.  It's like going to another universe where the war never happened.  But give them a little bit of time.  There's one surfacer, next chapter, who will have A LOT to say about it.  If Thunderhead had helped the wasteland 150 years ago, there'd be a surface paradise.  The fact is, Blackjack is blown away that there are so many ponies living well.  She doesn't want to take that away from them.

Somepony else does...

Also, I am glad the chapters are going well.  Is there anything that was wrong with it?  Dreams too short?  I didn't want to go on and on with so much more to cover, but I also didn't want a throwaway 'my dreams were okay...' Especially since she's had psalm dreams for weeks now, and before that nightmares.  This is the first good dream she's had since 99.

BJ lost Folly at the Celestia.  Don't worry.  Somepony found it.

[FeatherDust]

... a skeezy tan pegasus in a large coat walked up to us.  “Hey.  Hey.  Want some B’s?”
        “Some what?” Scotch asked in confusion.
        The pegasus grimaced.  “Come on.  Some B’s!  I got a fresh batch.  Blue.  Straw.  Boys.  Rasp.  I got it all,” all he said, and then he spread the coat wide to reveal dozens of small baggies filled with roundish colorful objects.  “Straight from the surface!  Best shit you ever tasted!”

Oh geez, it took until the end of the chapter when BJ gave the raspberries to Boo before I figured out he was selling fruit, not drugs.

[Downloaded Skill]

I think the normal dreams are very important. It shows that BJ is herself again and that it details how she views her companions. I thought it was nice that she thinks of Boo and Rampage as her family, like it was the family she wish she had back in the stable. 

I think it's also important to prevent the story from getting too dark. Cute, happy moments like this break things up and prevent overload in addition to providing contrast to the darker parts of the story. 

Thats just my thoughts though.

[Moodyman90]

I thought the dreams were a bit short, but I don't feel like they should be longer. Blackjack is finally having "normal" dreams and those don't last very long to begin with.
Just keep doing what you're doing Somber, its been great so far.

[Mister Nikel]

Got around reading 60 a little while ago and I was very pleased. Everything felt very smooth and interesting to read. if there is one thing that you are good at Somber then it's descriptions of locations. Thunderhead is a very interesting one. You made the atmosphere of a preserved pre war city very genuine. You could even feel a subtle "something is not right here" every once in a while. This is definitely one of your better chapters despite not having a lot of drama or action.

I have zero complaints about this chapter. The cliff hanger made me audibly groan though. I wanna know what happens next now. As for the story coming to an end, it's been a fun ride. I understand you have lots of things on your mind but please don't rush the ending. That was the reason why the original FO:E left a bad aftertaste in my mouth.

And on an unrelated note, not sure if you know or care but you have a Russian fan following and a fan translation on our biggest native image board 2.ch and they share an ehhhh let's just say less critical view on your work compared to western Anons. So from Russia with love I guess. Keep up the good work Somber.

[Somber]

There is no words for how mind blowingly awesome it is to hear someone say 'I like your work so much that I'm going to translate it.'  I have a hard time thinking people will like my story in English, let alone translate it.  I'd love to hear the Russian perspective on Horizons.  Some parts of Blackjack I think are hopefully relate-able.  Except for the whining.  Russians might complain, but they never whine.

[O. Hinds]

I now have no idea when she lost Folly.

The Celestia, wasn't it?

Should this possibly be "down there"?

Ah, thank you.

he's a jerk, so he doesn't get to go by his real name

You may have noticed that I persistently refer to the Remnant's leader as "Vitiosus" rather than a certain title he claims to have.  :)

If Thunderhead had helped the wasteland 150 years ago, there'd be a surface paradise.

Aye.  The main reason the Alliance (a big faction in my headcanon) is so developed is that they were out from under the cloud cover, and considering the non-Miliozi peninsula as GPE groundspace was the reason they didn't send aid and soldiers ages ago.

BJ lost Folly at the Celestia.  Don't worry.  Somepony found it.

Oh, whew, that is such a relief!  I'm sure, after all, that whoever now has Folly couldn't possibly have any bad intentions!  :D

And on an unrelated note, not sure if you know or care but you have a Russian fan following and a fan translation on our biggest native image board 2.ch and they share an ehhhh let's just say less critical view on your work compared to western Anons. So from Russia with love I guess.

…Huh.  Well, that's a surprise. Wow.
…And isn't PH now illegal in Russia, actually?

[Harmony Ltd.]

…And isn't PH now illegal in Russia, actually?

Hum... what ?

[O. Hinds]

…And isn't PH now illegal in Russia, actually?

Hum... what ?

Positive depictions of homosexuality.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Ah, yes, that...

[Somber]

I'm not going to hold the assholeness of a country's leaders against the people.  That doesn't get anywhere good.

[O. Hinds]

I'm not going to hold the assholeness of a country's leaders against the people.  That doesn't get anywhere good.

Oh, certainly. We can, however, hold the assholeness of a country's leaders against said leaders.

[Third Wind]

There is no words for how mind blowingly awesome it is to hear someone say 'I like your work so much that I'm going to translate it.'  I have a hard time thinking people will like my story in English, let alone translate it.  I'd love to hear the Russian perspective on Horizons.  Some parts of Blackjack I think are hopefully relate-able.  Except for the whining.  Russians might complain, but they never whine.

Hi, Russian perspective here!
First, the russian translation of PH is already active and I started with it. Switched to english later. I checked this out  -currently 22 chapters are finished and ch.23-37 are under editing.
Second, illegal, haha. Dat law. They may try to make smth illegal, but I've read FoE in russian perfectly fine and PH translation is active. The situation may change later, but for now I do not believe brony community to be in danger. Moreover, we are going to have a SlashCon with homo- ang getero- pairing cosplays. Really can't tell how they managed not to be banned for trying to organize it.  
What else Russian perspective would you like apart from telling that PH is awesome? BTW "Simply Rarity" is popular here (or I think it is).

[tylertoon2]

I'm not going to hold the assholeness of a country's leaders against the people.  That doesn't get anywhere good.

Oh, certainly.  We can, however, hold the assholeness of a country's leaders against said leaders.

...though, if they're anything like the typical outspoken american anti-gay politician, they'd probably enjoy an asshole up against them.

[O. Hinds]

"Barked" is a colloquialism, I believe, and the other sentence is referring not explicitly referring to this particular balefire bomb. Sorry.

[Icy Shake]

The "that" might stand to go.
As for "bark":
bark ²  (bärk)
n.
1. The tough outer covering of the woody stems and roots of trees, shrubs, and other woody plants. It includes all tissues outside the vascular cambium.
2. A specific kind of bark used for a special purpose, as in tanning or medicine.
tr.v. barked, bark·ing, barks
1. To remove bark from (a tree or log).
2. To rub off the skin of; abrade: barked my shin on the car door.
3. To tan or dye (leather or fabric) by steeping in an infusion of bark.
4. To treat (a patient) using a medicinal bark infusion.

[Technowolf]

Also, I am glad the chapters are going well.  Is there anything that was wrong with it?  Dreams too short?  I didn't want to go on and on with so much more to cover, but I also didn't want a throwaway 'my dreams were okay...' Especially since she's had psalm dreams for weeks now, and before that nightmares.  This is the first good dream she's had since 99.

Is it bad that I really want 'The Adventures of Royal Guard Blackjack & Her Friendly Friends' as a thing now?  I'd write it myself if I could get off my ass and do ANY writing.

So from Russia with love I guess. Keep up the good work Somber.

[WavemasterRyx]

Hah!  Well, I'm not terribly worried about them washing off...

Well that's good, just be careful around poison joke, heh.

Should this possibly be "down there"?

Ah, thank you.

he's a jerk, so he doesn't get to go by his real name

You may have noticed that I persistently refer to the Remnant's leader as "Vitiosus" rather than a certain title he claims to have.  :)

I guess on rare occasions I can still provide somewhat useful (if extremely minor) editing, heh.
Ah, the things we do just to get revenge on fictional characters for being jerks.

*cue TVTrope marking this as a literal "Noodle Incident"*

Heh, I hadn't thought about that, it's been a while since I went to TVTropes.  Though I don't know, would it be more fitting as a 'subverted' Noodle Incident possibly?

[Somber]

Ah, but if they did wash off, would he be white, black... or pink?

[Stringtheory]

Is it bad that I really want 'The Adventures of Royal Guard Blackjack & Her Friendly Friends' as a thing now?  I'd write it myself if I could get off my ass and do ANY writing.

I really think they'd get distracting in any greater amount than they are now, but I'd admit the idea has an appeal.
Reminds me vaguely of the Tenchi Muyo anime. My mind's kinda fuzzy on it since it was back in the days of this show called toonami, but they essentially had a set of characters that had an entire story in the original series. Then they made another series, Tenchi Universe, where all the same characters existed but were in completely different situations, different occupations and relationships (or lack of any) with each other, but the same looks and personalities, like an alternate universe and following a different plot.
It'd be funny to see stories of the Project Horizons characters from Blackjack's dream dimension.

Kinda like a high school AU for some animes/mangas...

[Sponsored content]