Re: [Official!] Project Horizons Comment Crew Chat thread.

[Ironmonger]

...If I had my own signal it would probably be of a crazy person screaming at a lamp or something along those lines

[O. Hinds]

Sho, whah nawt *southern accent*

..."Sure, why not"?

Oh, question for this thread: when, in the future, new chapters come out, would you like me to post the Somber Signal in here too?

Somber Signal? Is that like a spotlight with a big 'S' around a pen or something?

DEMONSTRATION:

It was inspired by a post by SilentCarto and is now the official method of announcing a new chapter here.

[IncoherentOrange]

That's humorous.

Speaking of Southern accents, don't write them like "Ah didn't know," write them like they actually are: "I didn't know."

To emphasize an accent like Applejack's or Apple Bloom's, use different enunciations that are still correct, like 'Thinkin',' and the like. That's more right.

[Frost]

That's humorous.

Speaking of Southern accents, don't write them like "Ah didn't know," write them like they actually are: "I didn't know."

To emphasize an accent like Applejack's or Apple Bloom's, use different enunciations that are still correct, like 'Thinkin',' and the like. That's more right.

That's generally when I do when actually writing. On the forums however, I practice my Confusion Fu. I'm a black belt.

[Caoimhe]

That's humorous.

Speaking of Southern accents, don't write them like "Ah didn't know," write them like they actually are: "I didn't know."

To emphasize an accent like Applejack's or Apple Bloom's, use different enunciations that are still correct, like 'Thinkin',' and the like. That's more right.

I can't imagine how hard it must have been for KKat to write all that Calamityese.

[Downloaded Skill]

I really like how Kkat wrote Calamity, I found the accent kind of endearing. It probably also explains why Applejack is my favorite pony.

[CamoBadger]

I loved Calamity so much, he was awesome. In fact, out of the 3 main characters, he was the only one I didn't hate...

[Downloaded Skill]

I loved Calamity so much, he was awesome. In fact, out of the 3 main characters, he was the only one I didn't hate...

Calamity was probably my favorite character in the story, but I did like Littlepip / Steelhooves / Red Eye a lot. The only character I really disliked was Velvet Remedy. She was an idealist sure, but she kind of crosses the line into stupid good too many times for my tastes.

[Caoimhe]

Clams was just a dude trying to make his way and bless him for it.

Red Eye was also a great character but I loathe that in the audio drama some people are making for FoE he's voiced by a horrifically nasal nerd trying to make him sound like Snidely Whiplash.

[Frost]

I loved Calamity so much, he was awesome. In fact, out of the 3 main characters, he was the only one I didn't hate...

I'm with you there. Pip's quite Sue-ish and Velvet is an abrasive Wide-Eyed Idealist

[CamoBadger]

I loved Calamity so much, he was awesome. In fact, out of the 3 main characters, he was the only one I didn't hate...

Calamity was probably my favorite character in the story, but I did like Littlepip / Steelhooves / Red Eye a lot. The only character I really disliked was Velvet Remedy. She was an idealist sure, but she kind of crosses the line into stupid good too many times for my tastes.

That's the same reason I hated her. She pissed me off on so many occasions. As for Lil'Pip, I didn't mind her much except that she was too good as well. Even when she did something bad, it was the right thing to do, so she never actually did anything truly bad to anyone. By the time I was at the end of the story, any moral choice that came up I just thought "she's going to do the good-guy thing even if it's stupid, but it will still work out for her".

Red Eye...I would marry that pony.

Steelhooves almost made me cry when he died, that funeral made me have to stop reading the story for one day while I calmed down.

@Frost: Exactly. And how dare you link me to TVTropes

[Caoimhe]

I've mentioned before, but one of the reasons I fell in love with PH initially was that Blackjack felt remorse for killing. I actually had to think about that for a moment the first time she "whined" because in Vanilla, Littlepip goes from naïveté to murdering dudes left and right trying to kill her like nothing and never really feels anything from it other than "good thing that's over." I didn't like the addiction subplot used as an excuse for it because you can feel like total shit for your actions without resorting to other things to "calm" you.

Velvs was very token beautiful love interest but after Pip gets to her she gets delegated to a one word "pacifict" personality. There really wasn't anything left for her to do but fall in love with Clams because, hey two straight ponies and Pip's taken now!

Basically FoE had a lot of character development being accomplished by "actions." It doesn't have to be that way. To put it in perspective, this would be like Glory overcoming her initial fear of everything by going "RARRGHH" and suddenly murdering 40 raiders, or Scotch building the world's largest functioning toilet.

Edit: Dag nabit, THIS IS TOPICAL DISCUSSION!

[OneMoreDaySK]

Um. Hi everyone. Had to take care of a sick sis for the morning, then classes 'till five. Kinda got sucked into the iOS pony app. Been trying to add a ton of people on the EqD comment section for the app. Game's still a bit buggy, especially with adding friends.

[Downloaded Skill]

Clams was just a dude trying to make his way and bless him for it.

Red Eye was also a great character but I loathe that in the audio drama some people are making for FoE he's voiced by a horrifically nasal nerd trying to make him sound like Snidely Whiplash.

Really? Argh... Such a great character destroyed by bad voice acting. That really rustles my jimmies.

I loved Calamity so much, he was awesome. In fact, out of the 3 main characters, he was the only one I didn't hate...

I'm with you there. Pip's quite Sue-ish and Velvet is an abrasive Wide-Eyed Idealist

I don't really think of Littlepip as a Sue-ish character. She may have abused plot armor like it was going out of style, but that is, to a degree, unavoidable. The thing that irks me the most about her is the dependance of Homage. I understand that Homage was, almost certainly, her first relationship / sexual relationship, but it got a lot of attention outside of the romance / Tenpony Tower arcs. I agree completely about Velvet Remedy though.

On the subject of Littlepip being too good, she really did do some terrible and duplicitous things. Even if they were pragmatic and for the greater good she still
A) Shot people in the stomach with incendiary rounds, leaving them to die a painful, screaming death in front of their children. Even though they were cannibals that is still a bloody atrocity. B) She shot the unarmed leader of the enclave after manipulating him to detonate his star blaster to destroy the IMP vats in Redeye's base. A very sly move that I respect, but Littlepip went from an unambiguously white moral character to a gray, but fundamentally good character through out the story. I can respect that, but I would have hated Pip if she stayed white through out the entire book.

[Frost]

@Caoimhe

A big favorite of mine (and the one me and Iron are using in Armed Redemption) is character development in the other direction: a cold-blooded professional killer finds a cause worth fighting for

@Downloaded:

Call me crazy, I don't have a lot of sympathy for cannibals and the like.

[Caoimhe]

All the outside Homage stuff was to make it A) slightly more "adult" and have fun with innuendos and B) give Pip personal motivation for her sacrifice other than it purely being "Save the world! Yay!"

Since Homage didn't go along with the party we had to be reminded she was there... a lot. It's hard to escalate a young relationship to 'true love' when the other half isn't even there.

[Downloaded Skill]

@Caoimhe

A big favorite of mine (and the one me and Iron are using in Armed Redemption) is character development in the other direction: a cold-blooded professional killer finds a cause worth fighting for

@Downloaded:

Call me crazy, I don't have a lot of sympathy for cannibals and the like.

They were cannibals, but still no one should die like that. A clean headshot would have done just fine. It probably traumatized the hell out of those children too. People call her hellmare for good reason.

[OneMoreDaySK]

@Downloaded Skill
So you were kinda hoping for more development time for Littlepip and Homage before the romance/dependence was believable?

Lots of things she does echoes throughout the other sidefics, the biggest example being Arbu. We get to see a breakdown of Homage from Project Horizons, and combined with Bucklyn Crossing, we see a huge depressing point in Murky's story.

Um. So let me get this straight. This is now the 'talk about anything' thread, right? And the other one is for chapter discussion only, right?

[Caoimhe]

If the children weren't affected that much, would they be Fine Young Cannibals?

[IncoherentOrange]

VR is quite stupid good for my tastes, and the characters do so little dying considering how many times they get slashed, impaled, shot, roasted, and stabbed that plot armor shines through the narrative, an irksome feature. The eventual irony of the fact that the most well-armored of the group dies doesn't really help; it's a long story, and in a world like that, people die often. PH has death among the characters often, especially in Rampage's case, or so I've heard--I'm not there yet--and relatively so in Blackjack's case. Resurrection ain't cheap for her, though.

Homage's relationship with Littlepip seems unnecessary. If I had written it, Littlepip would've had a more tangible reason to leave Stable 2, like Blackjack did, and there wouldn't be any romance at all, because even if it does make a good plot element, it's so ubiquitous, and as an aromantic myself, I don't like writing it nor reading it too much. Besides, it seemed very rushed, and Homage's rapid attachment to her is a sign of Littlepip's quasi-Sue status. I didn't write Fo:E, though, and you should all be glad I didn't; this story probably wouldn't have come to be.

[Frost]

@Caoimhe

A big favorite of mine (and the one me and Iron are using in Armed Redemption) is character development in the other direction: a cold-blooded professional killer finds a cause worth fighting for

@Downloaded:

Call me crazy, I don't have a lot of sympathy for cannibals and the like.

They were cannibals, but still no one should die like that. A clean headshot would have done just fine. It probably traumatized the hell out of those children too. People call her hellmare for good reason.

It has pragmatic purpose as well. Your job (kill all the cannibals) becomes a lot easier once most of them are standing in stunned silence as their compatriots die screaming. Psych warfare.

@OneMoreDaySK:

Correct. This is er'rbody's little playbox

@Caoimhe:

I'm sure there's a reference there. It's slipping my mind

@IncoherentOrange:

I'm an aromantic asexual as well, so while there is some romance in Armed Redemption, it's mostly Iron's department and in my in-progress fics there is zero romance

[Downloaded Skill]

@Downloaded Skill
So you were kinda hoping for more development time for Littlepip and Homage before the romance/dependence was believable?

Lots of things she does echoes throughout the other sidefics, the biggest example being Arbu. We get to see a breakdown of Homage from Project Horizons, and combined with Bucklyn Crossing, we see a huge depressing point in Murky's story.

Um. So let me get this straight. This is now the 'talk about anything' thread, right? And the other one is for chapter discussion only, right?

I was hoping for more development with Homage, she seemed like a good character with not enough screen time. I also believe that is the case with the two threads.

If the children weren't affected that much, would they be Fine Young Cannibals?

From what I remember, I could be wrong, the children didn't know about the cannibalism. Only the adults did, so they would likely reintegrate into society without much trouble.

[Ketchup]

I liked all the main characters, call me crazy.

Littlepip would be a mirror of what you'd become in Fallout 1 or 3: a mass murderer of good (or evil) intent emerging from a safe and prosperous community. No, it doesn't make it justifiable, but that's probably why she's like that. Also, Kkat considers Fo:E to be a parody. A damn fine parody.

I liked Velvet's personality as a contrast to the atmosphere of the story as a whole. She doesn't change very much through the story as I remember, though.

Calamity wasn't my favorite, kinda just a medium-powered fighter with a colorful character and specific personal moral codes. The last bit is my favorite bit about him, he sticks by what he believes in. Well, so does Littlepip, but she has other reasons.

Steelhooves was a great character, and he died in the only way he really could have: in battle. He was also trying to make Equestria great once again, and he took good care of the AJ's Rangers.

I don't remember much about Red Eye's personality, though I remember really disliking him and his ideals. One of the reasons I'm re-reading is to remember why.

[OneMoreDaySK]

@Downloaded Skill
Reintegrate, sure, but whenever anyone mentions the heroic Lightbringer, they will be the ones that cringe. Sure their parents might have been cannibals, but they were still their parents. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to seek out vengeance in one way or another.
Question: what would happen if an adolescent pony of the town, seeing the cannibalism, refused? Would they be force fed, or just kicked out / killed?

[Ketchup]

Y'know, all this talk about the Arbu incident and the effects on the children reminds me of a story my friend told me about an experience he had on a Facebook Communist group. Supporting Stalin, someone justified the Great Purges as "To make an omelette, you gotta break a few eggs". Utterly ridiculous, as that isn't a few eggs.

[Downloaded Skill]

@Downloaded Skill
Reintegrate, sure, but whenever anyone mentions the heroic Lightbringer, they will be the ones that cringe. Sure their parents might have been cannibals, but they were still their parents. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to seek out vengeance in one way or another.
Question: what would happen if an adolescent pony of the town, seeing the cannibalism, refused? Would they be force fed, or just kicked out / killed?

That is unfortunate, but that town had to be purged. While I think the methods used by Pip get glossed over too much, it still had to be done. A straight headshot would have a reduced effect on the children compared to the firey, screaming death Pip used, but that resentment and bad publicity is an acceptable cost to removing the cannibal threat.

Seeing as how the cannibals would lose their food source if word got out those adolescents would probably have their role changed from "growing child" to "meat bag"

[222222]

Just reading FOE for fun, I liked all the characters. They all had their qualities which I thought made them good characters. But if/when I reread FOE with my literary lenses on, I will probably be more critical. But ponies, even in FOE, is where I go for fun, not thinking so then again maybe not. Their is only one way to find out I suppose, reread FOE woo.

@Cannibalkids: that village is definitely supposed to be Littlepips bad day. I see it as her breaking just a little bit, but because she is inherently good realizing she broke and trying to make up for it later. But yeah, definitely a bad time for her.

[Ketchup]

@Cannibalkids: that village is definitely supposed to be Littlepips bad day. I see it as her breaking just a little bit, but because she is inherently good realizing she broke and trying to make up for it later. But yeah, definitely a bad time for her.

It hit her hard, for sure. It also created rocks on her relationship with Homage, making the relationship a bit more meaningful.

[Caoimhe]

@Cannibalkids: that village is definitely supposed to be Littlepips bad day. I see it as her breaking just a little bit, but because she is inherently good realizing she broke and trying to make up for it later. But yeah, definitely a bad time for her.

It's her low point, but the action is too over the top. I hate to make the comparison but FoE is the Michael Bay to PH's (non batman) Chris Nolan.

[222222]

I've always justified everything overthetopexplosionswoo in FOE by comparing them to the crazy ass stuff I did while playing Fallout, and saying yeah my character could totally kick Littlepips ass, she isn't overpowered yet. Blackjack on the other hand, my character would most certainly be killed by. But at least I know Blackjack would feel really bad about it afterwards. Not really a great base for comparison I suppose, but it is a Fallout derived story after all.

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