Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[Scienza]

Rampage can be a very sympathetic and caring character when she's in her right mind. Everyone likes those moments where her better qualities come out and she takes care of ponies. She's very much like the big sister we all, always wanted who did too many drugs and lived an interesting life so now they know how to help us with our own fuck-ups. 

That being said, they need to save the good parts of her with a love/faith/forgiveness nuke. 
Save the Rampage!

Don't get me wrong-- I love Dr. Rampage. But one of my favourite moments was aboard the airship when she curb stomped BJ and reminded everyone that she was not a good guy. That she was a Reaper, playing nice for her friends, and that she was not just going to stand in line because BJ said to. Her fall from hero worship is one of the things I love most about her, and just another cherry on the sadness sundae that is Rampage. Found someone with strong enough morals that maybe they could inspire you to greater heights after a hundred some-odd years? Surprise! They betrayed what you believed were a shared set of unshakable morals, not once but several times!

And hell no a blast of love isn't going to 'fix' her. Because a blast of love can't fix capital D Depression, and if there is any recurring real-world issue that PH deserves a prize for representing it is Depression. The early chapters of PH teach you more about it than I ever learned in public schools. I love that this work tries so hard to shed a little light on mental illness where most every other book I've read treat it as just a tool to make side characters more interesting. Blackjack is the only main character I can think of that actually has Depression, not just 'the author stuffed my love interest in the fridge' sadness. It's inspiring.

If Rampage doesn't die at the end of this story, it's not going to be a magical cure-all that flips an unseen happy switch in her head. It's going to be something awful, something that hurts and only half works but it still the best hope a sufferer like her has seen in years. At least, that's my guess.

Exactly. Among other things, this is pretty much exactly why PH has always been such an emotional roller-coaster for me. I love these characters, especially Rampage (who is still goddamn best pony), and so on a pretty intense emotional level, I want them to have happy endings. I want Blackjack to give Rampage a hug and for everything to turn out okay because damn it, I want her to turn out okay. The only thing is that I know that for Rampage, her happy ending will be anything but.

Ditto for GloryJack. I really liked GloryJack, but in the end, I don't think that it could have ended in any way other than tears.

[DaWarWolf]

Rampage can be a very sympathetic and caring character when she's in her right mind. Everyone likes those moments where her better qualities come out and she takes care of ponies. She's very much like the big sister we all, always wanted who did too many drugs and lived an interesting life so now they know how to help us with our own fuck-ups. 

That being said, they need to save the good parts of her with a love/faith/forgiveness nuke. 
Save the Rampage!

Don't get me wrong-- I love Dr. Rampage. But one of my favourite moments was aboard the airship when she curb stomped BJ and reminded everyone that she was not a good guy. That she was a Reaper, playing nice for her friends, and that she was not just going to stand in line because BJ said to. Her fall from hero worship is one of the things I love most about her, and just another cherry on the sadness sundae that is Rampage. Found someone with strong enough morals that maybe they could inspire you to greater heights after a hundred some-odd years? Surprise! They betrayed what you believed were a shared set of unshakable morals, not once but several times!

And hell no a blast of love isn't going to 'fix' her. Because a blast of love can't fix capital D Depression, and if there is any recurring real-world issue that PH deserves a prize for representing it is Depression. The early chapters of PH teach you more about it than I ever learned in public schools. I love that this work tries so hard to shed a little light on mental illness where most every other book I've read treat it as just a tool to make side characters more interesting. Blackjack is the only main character I can think of that actually has Depression, not just 'the author stuffed my love interest in the fridge' sadness. It's inspiring.

If Rampage doesn't die at the end of this story, it's not going to be a magical cure-all that flips an unseen happy switch in her head. It's going to be something awful, something that hurts and only half works but it still the best hope a sufferer like her has seen in years. At least, that's my guess.

Exactly. Among other things, this is pretty much exactly why PH has always been such an emotional roller-coaster for me. I love these characters, especially Rampage (who is still goddamn best pony), and so on a pretty intense emotional level, I want them to have happy endings. I want Blackjack to give Rampage a hug and for everything to turn out okay because damn it, I want her to turn out okay. The only thing is that I know that for Rampage, her happy ending will be anything but.

Ditto for GloryJack. I really liked GloryJack, but in the end, I don't think that it could have ended in any way other than tears.

All of this. This is what I was going to say but was to tired.

[O. Hinds]

and no real way to get rid of her

...Hum. Now... that's an interesting question, actually, now that I think about it. Is there no way to pull the Angel out? There's still a surviving soul mage in Hoofington...

[Guest]

I'd think if there was a method to remove a soul from a souljar present in the Blackbook Celestia would have never recieved it. Rarity would have simply went that route and applied a lighter to it.

[O. Hinds]

70!  It’s a bit on the short side for PH, but it’s no less good.  And then, in the course of brushing, Somber added more words.  :)

Sorry about doubleposting the signal in the chat thread instead of putting it here as well!

[O. Hinds]

I do like like the stuff that's been added, though, so, in a way, I suppose I ought to be glad that we were delayed.

[Scienza]

Ch. 70 Running Thoughts:

[Luminous Lead]

Spoiler:

[O. Hinds]

@Scienza:

Spoiler:

[O. Hinds]

Spoiler:

Ah, thank you.

[JadedPony]

We must save Rampage because Rampage represents everything wrong, and right in the wasteland. She is a villain, she is a hero, she is a victim and a champion. It is the fate of Rampage which will echo the future of Equestria. Trust me, losing rampage means losing the future of the wasteland. You might not see it now, but trust me, it's true. 

*does the new page dance and goes to read!*


Typo: telling friends from enemies is oo much trouble
Possible typo or possible Derpy:  Absolutely Everything Too <-- Should that be Absolutely Everything Two? Absolutely Everything again? Absolutely Everything: Return mail? Absolutely Everything: The Re-gifting! Absolutely Everything: The Second Coming. 

Hahahaha!
Ok, I'll stop now..

[Luminous Lead]

Spoiler:

Man, this chapter was great all around. Feels like one of those moments in NV or Mass Effect where you have to go around uniting people. A good stage-setter for the conflict to come.

[Zolaheuzis]

Umm maybe I'm just stupid but where is it? There is no link to it on the hub page.

[Guest]

A couple thoughts:

editing:

[Guest]

Zola, it's in Hinds' signature.

[JadedPony]

Umm maybe I'm just stupid but where is it? There is no link to it on the hub page.

I know the page you're talking about, it's usually a day late. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vTKIR0nVsbpwLtN1Fl1bPk_FUdAX8CHY-W31XEuu90Q/edit?usp=sharing  <-- This will get you there.

[Guest]

Oops, Sorry Zola. I was completely wrong about what you were asking.

[O. Hinds]

We must save Rampage because Rampage represents everything wrong, and right in the wasteland. She is a villain, she is a hero, she is a victim and a champion. It is the fate of Rampage which will echo the future of Equestria. Trust me, losing rampage means losing the future of the wasteland. You might not see it now, but trust me, it's true. 

*does the new page dance and goes to read!*


Typo: telling friends from enemies is oo much trouble
Possible typo or possible Derpy:  Absolutely Everything Too <-- Should that be Absolutely Everything Two? Absolutely Everything again? Absolutely Everything: Return mail? Absolutely Everything: The Re-gifting! Absolutely Everything: The Second Coming. 

Hahahaha!
Ok, I'll stop now..

Ah, thank you.  The second is deliberate, but the first is indeed the typo.

Umm maybe I'm just stupid but where is it? There is no link to it on the hub page.

Eh?  No, the link from the hub page seems to be working fine; I just tested it both logged in and not.  I'm afraid I don't know what the problem you're having might be.  Here's a direct link to the chapter; hopefully the problem, whatever it is will be fixed soon.  What exactly happens that prevents you from using the link?

A couple thoughts:

editing:

Ah, thank you.

"Let's not anypony do anything they're going to regret"

Let's not have? Maybe?

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what the error you're pointing out here is.

[Guest]

"Let's not anypony do anything they're going to regret"

Let's not have? Maybe?

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what the error you're pointing out here is.

I'm trying to say I think you need a "have" between not and anypony. Kinda awkward as it is.

[Zolaheuzis]

Umm maybe I'm just stupid but where is it? There is no link to it on the hub page.

Eh?  No, the link from the hub page seems to be working fine; I just tested it both logged in and not.  I'm afraid I don't know what the problem you're having might be.  Here's a direct link to the chapter; hopefully the problem, whatever it is will be fixed soon.  What exactly happens that prevents you from using the link?Th

Thank you and found it now, no worries. But the hub page I was talking about was this thing [url=http://nallar.me/fics/Fallout Equestria Project Horizons.html]http://nallar.me/fics/Fallout%20Equestria%20Project%20Horizons.html[/url] But thank you all for helping me!

[O. Hinds]

"Let's not anypony do anything they're going to regret"

Let's not have? Maybe?

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what the error you're pointing out here is.

I'm trying to say I think you need a "have" between not and anypony. Kinda awkward as it is.

Ah, I see. The phrasing here is deliberate and conversational; sorry.

Umm maybe I'm just stupid but where is it? There is no link to it on the hub page.

Eh?  No, the link from the hub page seems to be working fine; I just tested it both logged in and not.  I'm afraid I don't know what the problem you're having might be.  Here's a direct link to the chapter; hopefully the problem, whatever it is will be fixed soon.  What exactly happens that prevents you from using the link?Th

Thank you and found it now, no worries. But the hub page I was talking about was this thing [url=http://nallar.me/fics/Fallout Equestria Project Horizons.html]http://nallar.me/fics/Fallout%20Equestria%20Project%20Horizons.html[/url] But thank you all for helping me!

Ah, okay! Nallar, while very useful, isn't the official hub page; that's here, and linked in my signature.

[JadedPony]

"Let's not anypony do anything they're going to regret"

Let's not have? Maybe?

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what the error you're pointing out here is.

I'm trying to say I think you need a "have" between not and anypony. Kinda awkward as it is.

"Let's not anypony do anything they're going to regret." sounds like an attempt at southern accent. It's unclear who was saying it. Could be the NPCs, could be Blackjack. An indicator of who is saying it might be helpful. I assumed Blackjack since it was more than 5 words, none of which were scientific, bondage related, or about the Enclave so that left out Glory and didn't include any glaring/brooding so that left out P-21.

[JadedPony]

For some reason the phrase: "had more than enough force to liquify us." has this weird white highlighting.

Oh, and for the record: After this chapter was so horribly, horribly difficult to get out, I think it turned out to be one of the better chapters. It was a lot of payoff for a lot of character development and I really like how Blackjack went to the hole with nothing but went anyway and was just honest. I think that shows a lot about her character and how she has grown. 

Well played, well played indeed.

[Dekshuduph]

63 edits:

Also, there's been no footnote at the end of each chapter before the Author's Notes twice. Is that a deliberate style choice? Because I've not seen any mention about it.

[WavemasterRyx]

*hugs Somber very gently*

This was a very well-done chapter, sir.  While there were several quite sad spots, I managed to make it through the entire thing without crying any, so I'd say it didn't hinder the chapter at all.  Overall, the chapter did have a very positive feel to it, and there were some genuinely cheerful, happy, and otherwise cute parts to it, which was nice for leading up to what is sure to be an extremely sad conclusion.

I'll try to get my commentary done as soon as I can...

Please try to take care of yourself, sir, and hopefully someone who does know about Patreon can help you out, if you do decide to pursue it.

[Icy Shake]

Okay, so, nice that it came out on not-Sunday night. Let's see what we have here . . .

Chapter Seventy Running Thoughts:

Chapter Seventy Overall Thoughts:

Chapter Seventy Editing:

Other Editing:

As ever, Somber and crew, thank you for the chapter. I appreciate your hard work and pushing through even though the universe was working against you. Though not exactly the meatiest of chapters, it was fun, and I do think it did the job you were looking for, leaving us with an update of what's happened outside of Blackjack's little circle and giving an idea of what some of the landscape will look like after the climax. There were also some important, if sometimes minor, contributions to supporting/background plot lines, and the characters all felt right in the situations they found themselves (except maybe Scalpel, and I can see where she was coming from), which was probably the major thing you needed to get right for the chapter given its heavily social focus.

[Evilgidgit]

Another awesome chapter!  

Spoiler:

[Guest]

@IcyShake Velvet and Scotch:

Only slightly unrelated note, what happened to Scotch being afraid of stallions? I don't remember anything changing that. Was it simply the three months passing?

[Vinylshadow]

I'll probably read 70 later, once its been edited through and through

Really dislike reading through unedited work...and even then, I'm probably going to find one or two mistakes that other people have missed and then never point them out

[Scienza]

I'll probably read 70 later, once its been edited through and through

Really dislike reading through unedited work...and even then, I'm probably going to find one or two mistakes that other people have missed and then never point them out

It's already edited. That's the whole point of having editors.  The reason why there are still editing notes from the readers is because as amazing as Hinds, Swicked, Bronode, and Heartshine are, they are still (probably) human, so occasionally a few minor errors slip through the cracks.

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