Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[Snipehamster]

I'm just gonna leave this here: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/34164/Warmth-%28FoE-PH-22.5%29

That was pretty cute.

Thanks, we just got him home :D
It took a bit for him to work off all the radiation, but he's just fine now :)

But that's just adorable. Congratulations, swicked!

[Meleagridis]

I'm sorry, but even merely holding a soul against death is the blackest of black magic. There's no way a mere plant could reach out to whatever metaphysical plane Blackjack visited while she was dead, drag back an unwilling soul, and stuff it back into its old body.

A mere plant also could not turn a pony into a tree, a giant, and a fish. The capabilities of Joke are as of yet undefined.

But what I see is more along the lines of Icy's suggestion. A good comedian knows that brevity is the soul of wit. Even if it had the power to bring a soul back from the dead, why bother when you can do something so much simpler? The once-a-ghoul will still be able to feel pain and crushing failure. The joke will still be 'funny,' so there's no need to go to such lengths.

And yes, there are animals in the Everfree. There are animals in real forests too, despite being filled with predators. Besides, playing jokes on chickens may be funny once, but you can only keep the joke fresh for so many decades before it gets stale. I don't see many deadly jokes working for dumb animals, but I also don't see the opportunity being passed up if it presents itself.

Killing Joke is superpowered by an overdose of taint, though, right? Would something like that, or even granting a kind of mock sentience for its own amusement, be beyond Discord's abilities?

Stars. Same thing that made Nightmare Moon. Something fell there that made the forest nasty. It was getting bad in pre-war (A justification for the scary forest existing in an otherwise cutesy show), by the time of FoE it was this. Little Blue Joke turns from a harmless prankster to... forty mad children with nothing to do.
That's how I see Joke, anyways.

It took a bit for him to work off all the radiation, but he's just fine now :)

Thank goodness for RadAway. Adorable baby-sized RadAway.

[SilentCarto]

Fluttershy sipping a juice box of RadAway?

[Kattlarv]

@Noodle: (Cervix) Welp, I am me, kinda have to expect random stuff when dealing with me hehe ;P

(Ouchies) Well, it's kinda obvious isn't it? I got hit there.

@OAC: (Ouchies)

Spoiler:

@Sindri: (Ouchies)

Spoiler:

@Mele: (Cer) It would be funny yes, but likely "too funny".

(Psygious) If you think it'd go that way, she could also likely try and kill BJ, in the logical "if I get rid of x, y will surely love me!"
As for name, I think it was Golden that came up with the name Whisper, correct? If so, she wouldn't deserve to be punished to have to use that name. (from a "character" perspective, not "player".. or well, actually both) If it was by Shy, she's kinda done way horrible thing to deserve the relation/relevance with Shy. If she'd randomly do it to "honour her roots",then I dunno, she can if she wants I guess, just seems quite random to pull out of the dock. Imo, it's best if she gives herself a new name once she manages to find herself, who she is now. Since really, thinking she should take the name out of the blue (that she can only take BJ word on to be true) for the sake of it seems random. She said it was stupid, but yes, it could've been to keep her tough façade up. Basically, see it as you currently in your life had someone tell you "Your great, great, great, great second twice removed aunt Bob wanted you to have the name 'Slagathor', now I expect you to change your name to appease to this." Or technically more like "Hey, those that donated your genetic martial 200 years ago wanted to name you 'Steve the whimp', use this instead of your current name despite having it for 15+ years." Not saying it can't happen, But it's rather recent and very out of the blue. As said, if forming herself a new life, why cling to some of the old things instead of giving herself a new start. Granted, it would be a neat homage to her parents. But going how her parents where two of the ponies that helped ruin the world, despite one of them actually wanting to do her best and help, they stilled aided in it's destruction. One more than the other, but both still.

@Everypony: (KJ+Ghouls) Well, on "normal" ghouls, I see no reason why it shouldn't work. It might be less effective than on a "living" thing, but still.
As for ferals, I doubt they could even be affected, apart from physically. Seeing how they are soulless things that just ramble around. It's a bit like expecting it to work on a robot.

@Random: (Ouchies)

Spoiler:

@Story link: Haven't read it yet, but likely will. But can likely guess what it will be about, and can say: I wish I could write more stuff like that... but I always trail off. And the Psychoshy one is way worse than the P-21 one.

OAC: (Router) Mine just died for nearly an hour. And like I said: ALWAYS copy your post before posting.

@Wiggle: Welcome, and pfft, there was actually a PH clop way back xP And then we got mine... okay, it's technically only partial clop, but whatever.

@O.Hinds: (Psygious) I know, I took that into consideration. It was more of a, like with (real) Shy, the part that is currently tossed out the window until further notice: Is she in a mentally good enough state to want sex, better yet: able to get it up? But as said, and sadly can't put much evidence against it, apart from that Styg seems to have "stance danced" on how attitude now when with more than BJ: If she did offer him sex, I doubt he'd turn it down. But as stated: Unlike BJ, Psy wouldn't be chill with "maybe after a few times". To me, one of the semi-working, and amusing ones is as said the one where she offers, he accepts, he tries to mount, is kicked off, she mounts him. To me at least, it'd be really amusing to have Styg question possibly several things as he's not the one in charge of the motion, or anything. "This isn't what they taught us at batave sex ed!" would at least be some interesting character development. Kind of a GloryJack one, but f/m... and would be the first and only "mare on top" relation in PH, or FoE, I think... I got bad memory. But as said. I would be an interesting development, mainly since she could really learn to take control of her life, be the one in charge for once. (sorta the same reasoning with BJ, but Psy has the dominant personality, but for once, she is without her "mentor".)

(S&S) Hm, I guess so. I think that could make sense I guess.

@Everypony: (slight tmi) And just another random, stupid thing of mine: I went to a masseuse today, and I didn't go puffy like I'd have feared! Yay me xD And she didn't seem to mind that I didn't have a bra, so that was neat, since I forgot to wear one for once. And when I swapped from back to front I noticed one of my folds weren't folded away, was a bit embarrassing, but she didn't mention anything so... Although, halfway through the session my phone rang, and the Darkwing Duck theme came up... speaking of which, anyone heard some disney songs in Swedish?

[Sindri]

(Psygious)

Y'know, I could see the potential for Psychoshy going all yandere over Stygius.


re: naming
Whisper is the name given by her biological parents, who never actually knew her and died (or turned into a tree) two centuries ago. She has described it as "fucking stupid." Fluttershy is what Sanguine called her as part of his little manipulation games, and she used to insist on everypony calling her that, but now that she knows her lineage and history she's abandoned that. Psychoshy is a corruption thereof by ponies unwilling to call her Fluttershy, and while she thinks it's also stupid she seems to have accepted it on a temporary basis from Blackjack and co.
I really have no idea what she'll end up picking once she figures out who she is... if she meets her mother after her de-tree-ification that'd increase the probability that she settles for Whisper, but I figure that name will always be analogous to 'Go Fish' for Blackjack. I'd really like to know what she introduced herself to Styggie as...

re:sex
I'm thinking that Psychoshy won't be anywhere near as casual about sex as a lot of people seem to be assuming. Her only significant relationship so far has been an unhealthy obsession with the evil ghoul that took her out of the tube, raised her as a tool, and called her Fluttershy. Since he refused to have sex with her, and she probably wouldn't have looked at other bucks much while she was "madly in love" with him, there's a high chance that she's still a virgin.

[SilentCarto]

there's a high chance that she's still a virgin.

Oh, good point. Maybe that's why she's such a *MURDERED BY KIM*

[Sindri]

there's a high chance that she's still a virgin.

Oh, good point. Maybe that's why she's such a *MURDERED BY KIM*

Now, now, why would she murder you when "reeducation" is so much more fun?

[O. Hinds]

Killer Joke is superpowered by an overdose of taint, though, right? Would something like that, or even granting a kind of mock sentience for its own amusement, be beyond Discord's abilities?

Definitely not. Remember that one robot in Chapter 39 that gained brief sentience from Flux or whatever it was in Sanguine's labs?

Obviously there's not much to work with, but I would expect that as the degrees of separation from Discord increase, the capabilities will fall. Moreover, going on the basis of the Crusader Maneframes, even sentient computers probably do not (normally) have souls in FOE. Unless an ensouled being can be turned into a soul jar. This suggests that the case of the robot needn't have involved soul magic at all. So I could perhaps see feral ghouls being given some form of awareness, but not in the sense of snatching back their soul; I would expect that the zombie would not in any meaningful sense become the pony it was before it went feral.

Also, I'm sorry for being so late on this, but congratulations, Swicked! Happiness and health to you and yours.

My idea is that soul (here defined to mean "soul of a sentient being" for convenience; my views of the FiM world do not restrict "souls" to sophonts, but that seems to put me in a minority) and sapience in the FiM world are fundamentally linked. Whether natural or artificial, a sentient being's magical pattern attains the complexity needed to be counted as a soul; that's where the sentience actually comes from. The robot in Hippocratic, assuming that it truly was granted sentience (rather than just, say, a recording of those lines), developed a soul but was then immediately killed.

[NoodleNugget]

This whole soul debate reminded me that technically blanks are 'soulless' but we all know that isn't true because of our snack cake overlord. Perhaps Feral ghouls haven't lost their souls but instead have lost sight of them and because of that, lost their sentience.

[tylertoon2]

To combine our two discussions, what do ya think would happen if Boo went through the killing joke.

Also when ever we talk about killing joke I always think of this.

[Ketchup]

To combine our two discussions, what do ya think would happen if Boo went through the killing joke?

She'd probably turn into a blue cake, despite not ever saying anything. Pets can say a lot without talking at all, provided that you guys think she's a pet.

[NoodleNugget]

Pets can say a lot without talking at all, provided that you guys think she's a pet.

she's not a pet. SHE'S A GOD! Nah, I kid, I kid. or do I?

[Meleagridis]

To combine our two discussions, what do ya think would happen if Boo went through the killing joke.

Is it possible to be so smart that it kills you? If not that, becoming something that better protects Blackjack (say, a rampaging fatty- she's had plenty of experience with those) or she becomes literally brainless.

[O. Hinds]

To combine our two discussions, what do ya think would happen if Boo went through the killing joke.

Is it possible to be so smart that it kills you? If not that, becoming something that better protects Blackjack (say, a rampaging fatty- she's had plenty of experience with those) or she becomes literally brainless.

She becomes so intelligent and arrogant that she gets disgusted with Blackjack's stupidity and leaves, and then she gets killed because she didn't have Blackjack's protection.
...
Yeah, let's make sure that she never encounters killing joke.

[Cptadder]

To combine our two discussions, what do ya think would happen if Boo went through the killing joke.

Is it possible to be so smart that it kills you? If not that, becoming something that better protects Blackjack (say, a rampaging fatty- she's had plenty of experience with those) or she becomes literally brainless.

She becomes so intelligent and arrogant that she gets disgusted with Blackjack's stupidity and leaves, and then she gets killed because she didn't have Blackjack's protection.
...
Yeah, let's make sure that she never encounters killing joke.

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

Depending on how cruel killing joke is and how willing to take advantage of other ponies handy I have the following killing joke options

1. Turning her into a super strong pony, what better way to get her killed then giving her the gift of great ability without the intelligence to control them... just imagine little Hulk boo walking through walls trying to get to snacks but no ability to understand her super strength or extra endurance to prevent her hurting herself.

2. Turns her into Deus the second (Requires Blackjack to be present and for the Killing Joke to use ponies to play jokes on other ponies)

3. Walking, breathing feeling Snackey Cake, eats herself to death

4. Allergic pony, Boo becomes Allergic to hugs

or the old classic

5. I have no mouth but I must scream

[Sindri]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

But there's no point in testing the effects of KJ on the only Boo we have access to; the result is likely to render her inoperable making the data gathered useless. If we had some spare Boos then the experiment would have merit (though remaining ethically questionable) but a unique sample needs to be kept away from tests with significant destructive potential.

[Cptadder]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

But there's no point in testing the effects of KJ on the only Boo we have access to; the result is likely to render her inoperable making the data gathered useless. If we had some spare Boos then the experiment would have merit (though remaining ethically questionable) but a unique sample needs to be kept away from tests with significant destructive potential.

This is not a rare tropical bird we are talking about here, this is a blank, we have the technology we can make more Boos if need require. Sure that technology is currently in small bits under two hundred tons of rubble but the raw data is safe and secure in the databanks of the Zony Cyberpony plus Blackjack has a copy herself.

Besides which lets be blunt, lets look at what Boo is, a below average intelligence pony who was artificially created in a laboratory to serve as a fully organic organ growth material which has achieved a limited sentience. She is not a rare bird of paradise, or the last of a dieing species of intergalactic aliens. She's a pony, a regular pony, lab grown but still a pony. At best you could call her a special science pony, but that's all the more reason to toss her into the nearest patch of Killing Joke to see what would happen.

For science!
......
Uggh, fine you bunch of Bleeding heart, peace loving zebra huggers, if you really want we can start with a less extreme test and throw here into the nearest patch of Poison Joke... happy?

[Sindri]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

But there's no point in testing the effects of KJ on the only Boo we have access to; the result is likely to render her inoperable making the data gathered useless. If we had some spare Boos then the experiment would have merit (though remaining ethically questionable) but a unique sample needs to be kept away from tests with significant destructive potential.

This is not a rare tropical bird we are talking about here, this is a blank, we have the technology we can make more Boos if need require. Sure that technology is currently in small bits under two hundred tons of rubble but the raw data is safe and secure in the databanks of the Zony Cyberpony plus Blackjack has a copy herself.

Besides which lets be blunt, lets look at what Boo is, a below average intelligence pony who was artificially created in a laboratory to serve as a fully organic organ growth material which has achieved a limited sentience. She is not a rare bird of paradise, or the last of a dieing species of intergalactic aliens. She's a pony, a regular pony, lab grown but still a pony. At best you could call her a special science pony, but that's all the more reason to toss her into the nearest patch of Killing Joke to see what would happen.

For science!
......
Uggh, fine you bunch of Bleeding heart, peace loving zebra huggers, if you really want we can start with a less extreme test and throw here into the nearest patch of Poison Joke... happy?

No, we can't make another Boo. We could make Blanks aplenty with the right gear, but there is something fundamentally different between her and the others. She is neither Blank nor, as far as I can tell, Pony, and therefore is invaluable to science until such time as we determine how to make more Blanks into Boos or conclusively prove her to be a Pony with specific, known mental deviations.

[Sindri]

I have finished skimming through the pages I missed last week and come to a disturbing conclusion:

We have not had any fanart of this chapter yet. No Blackjack's Eleven, no SSXanthe adorableness, no fancy'd up Lacunae, nothing.

This must be rectified, and I'm afraid I am powerless to do so myself.

[WavemasterRyx]

I have finished skimming through the pages I missed last week and come to a disturbing conclusion:

We have not had any fanart of this chapter yet. No Blackjack's Eleven, no SSXanthe adorableness, no fancy'd up Lacunae, nothing.

This must be rectified, and I'm afraid I am powerless to do so myself.

Sorry, it's going slowly, but I'm working on it.

I'll also go back through and look over the replies I've been missing. It really hasn't been the greatest past few days.

[FeatherDust]

All this talk about Boo and the soul debate got me thinking.

I think Boo is well and truly un-souled, as advertised, but my main reason for thinking so is narrative-based.

For a while I've been trying to figure out how the heroes are going to fight the Eater of Souls. They have to eventually, but how does one even approach the thing when it doesn't want them to? A least, without getting their souls, y'know, eaten?

BJ probably has special protection from the Stars -- that's also why Enervation doesn't work on her after her return from their company -- but she'll need a companion, and a soulless Boo is the perfect thing.

[Cptadder]

The problem is with that FeatherDust is that MLP:FOE strongly implies that Souls = Sentience to some degree. You can fake it with a Crusader Maneframe but that's still a computer simulacra not a real free thinking mind.

Why are blanks unintelligent but Boo is? Best guess is still having a Soul, having intelligence even if it's quite primitive or perhaps underdeveloped. One of my internal theories is that Boo's problem is that biologically she's and adult but mentally she the equivalent of a baby pony like Pound cake or Pumpkin Cake.

[SilentCarto]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

[Cptadder]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

Nothing more SCIENCE can't fix!

[Guest]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

Nothing more SCIENCE can't fix!

SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cptadder]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

Nothing more SCIENCE can't fix!

SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Moodyman90]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

Nothing more SCIENCE can't fix!

SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SCIENCE!

[Valikdu]

But we must throw Boo into zee Killing Joke
For science!

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

Nothing more SCIENCE can't fix!

SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SCIENCE!

Science isn't about "why?", it's about "why not?" !

[Somber]

Science is about 'How'. Philosophy and Religion is about 'Why?'

[RoboRed]

All this science requires techno Bill Nye the Science Guy.

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