My Little Pony C: Friendship Carries On

[Forum Explorer]

Hey Bleakbane, are you familiar with Konosuba? Particularly the light novels. They have a lich bullying a vampire and I thought of you.

[Aotrs Commander]

Hey Bleakbane, are you familiar with Konosuba? Particularly the light novels. They have a lich bullying a vampire and I thought of you.

Can't say as I've ever heard of it... I assume it's anime/manga (on the basis you mentioned light novels - do those get translated much...?)

[Forum Explorer]

Can't say as I've ever heard of it... I assume it's anime/manga (on the basis you mentioned light novels - do those get translated much...?)

It's a comedic take on the Isekai genre, and yes it has both an anime and manga adaptation of the light novels. Personally, I prefer the anime (specifically the sub, as there is a joke involving the character's voices that the dub does not catch), but I really wanted to know the full story so I went and found a translated version of the light novels.

The scene of the lich bullying a vampire happens pretty late in the light novels, so it hasn't been adapted to the anime yet. But it's pretty funny, so I figured I'd mention it to you.

[Rater202]

When you say "bully" what do you mean specifically? Because as a kid who was bullied in school, I uh... Don't particularly like the idea of that being depicted as a good thing.

[Forum Explorer]

When you say "bully" what do you mean specifically? Because as a kid who was bullied in school, I uh... Don't particularly like the idea of that being depicted as a good thing.

Spoiler: Specifically

Show

The protaganist was powerleveling with a lich and a greater devil (long story) in the biggest dungeon of the world. They made it to the final room where the boss of the dungeon launched into a big elaborate speech, introducing himself as the feared king of the undead, a Vampire.

The lich and devil begin mocking him for his arrogance in calling himself the king of undead in the presence of a lich, telling him that if he's so sure that he's better than a lich he'd be able to beat her in a duel. The vampire frantically pleads for his life, and the pair proceed to loot the crap out of his throne room while the protaganist has tea with the vampire, who is so traumatized by the experience he decides to retire from being a villain to live a peaceful life out in the wilds instead.

There's also a short story where something similar happens, but in that case a goddess ends up bullying tricking both the lich and vampire by having them compete to see who the real king of the undead is. After a bunch of insults, the goddess gets them both to attempt to drain her life, where her holy nature ends up purifying both of them. The vampire is destroyed entirely, and the lich ends up needing several weeks to recover from the experience.

Spoiler: Aqua as a pony

Show

[DigoDragon]

Apparently there were some pony shorts recently released as a special about Starlight putting together a memory book?

Just curious if anyone watched those. I read a synopsis that they are like clip shows.

[BlasTech]

Ooh, not yet but i'll need to check it out.

I just finished reading the comic Timey Wimey: https://www.deviantart.com/light262/...ge01-491826274

115 pages of glorious illustrations.

[Adderbane]

Ooh, not yet but i'll need to check it out.

I just finished reading the comic Timey Wimey: https://www.deviantart.com/light262/...ge01-491826274

115 pages of glorious illustrations.

And a cool song!

[Aotrs Commander]

I think Hayla and Malexekor might have gotten a little carried away here...

Spoiler

Show

But, I mean, the Lost just kept spawning, and they kept running to exactly the same place, so after a bit, Mox just sat down and had a cuppa, while Hayla and Malexekor alternately Reapered and Face-off'd every other swarm.

That's broke the Bleakbane record...



Interesting that having a mod for eight squad members is sort of a bit self-balancing, since tiredness was definitely more of an issue this time around.

Still been doin' the propaganda posters, finding I wish there would be three lines, for better snappy banter (and the community pose pack is GREAT, even if a few of the poses are not very useful).

Pulled it back from the breach, though there was a horrifying moment when the Avatar project hit 12 as I was desperately trying to contact to a region to attack the facility there; but then tghe covert ops Id been runnig fired and knocked it down two levels. All too close.

Just got the Hunter to knobble (I am Killing Him Larst again, he's really not much of a problem...!)

Found myself playing MORE dress-up this time as it FINALLY twigged that each set of non-squad armour (i.e., the ones you make) has a seperate customisable state. Didn't twig this to start with, as something in the mods I'm using doesn't default to put,say, the RAGE Armour skin on when you equip it, you have to customise it manually (which makes Bradford's speech about this new armour, when the folks are wearing exactly what they had before seem a bit odd...) And then it sticks. Which is actually cooler than I thought it was. Experimented with some of the helmets, but as usual, I don't get on with them, because even with glass faceplates, they obscure the facial expressions. So, for the heavy armours, settled on one of the mod's kevlar helmets with not face-plate, which looks okay.

Also realised why it didn't seem to hold the weapon colours sometimes, because if you just REMOVE a weapon, it gives you a default gunmetal one, but if you REPLACE it, it puts your customisation colours on instead.


And this? Is why I've not been bothered about X-Com Chimera. (After the rage-inducing arse about yesterday because Firaxis broke the mods in the launcher (I eventually found a work-around) - SOLELY so they could advertise their other games in the launcher OF COURSE, I'm DEFINTEY not going to rush at all, it's not even going on my wishlist now.) Customising and arsing about with the characters is a very solid chunk (maybe even more than half) of the fun. And I'm honestly far less bothered about the official lore and story than I am in telling my own, even if it's to myself. So they can call me when they do X-Com 3 proper-like.

[Form]

Ooh, not yet but i'll need to check it out.

I just finished reading the comic Timey Wimey: https://www.deviantart.com/light262/...ge01-491826274

115 pages of glorious illustrations.

Hey, that looks nice. I shall add this to my list of still to consume my little pony materials.

[DigoDragon]

115 pages of glorious illustrations.

That's a hefty comic size.


I'm really digging the cute new hairstyle Trixie has been getting. Lots of adorable fanarts have been popping up.

Spoiler

Show

[Rogar Demonblud]

MANEstyle, please.

[Topaz]

Well, I suppose I should have seen this coming...

Spoiler: When Memes Collide

Show

[DigoDragon]

Well, I suppose I should have seen this coming...

Spoiler: When Memes Collide

Show

Mwahaha. 10/10, I approve.


Oh, you remind me; I have been wanting to run a cyberpunk-genre pony game in recent weeks. I love the Shadowrun setting, but I dislike their rules system, so I came up with the idea to hack Starfinder in order to create my Shadowrtot setting. Since Starfinder has a decent SRD online, people without the books can still put together characters. I still need to add the chapter on Megas and then my GM notes on re-fluffing a few Starfinder things to fit the campaign theme.

(The banter in between chapters is my most proud part of that document)

And if someone wants to run ponies in space, this doc works too. Just crib the races for your own needs. :3

[RocknRollMartia]

We might finally have a release date for Pony Life, and some episode synopses.

[Aotrs Commander]

March last year, on Estee's blog about the release of Vampire the masquerade bloodlines, in response to "but how could you do proper liches in WoD?:"

Spoiler

Show

Ah. Ah, you see, because it was better than fuming over SotS of HoI4 all morning, I was thinking about this. How could you do it?

Dangerous things happen when I thinks.

See, being a Lich is great. You're immortal, almost impossible to kill, you have a swathe of ridiculouly powerful abilities and shed-loads of magic. You're not bound by the same Paradox as mages - in fact the opposite; your magic is at its best when its being overtly so, big, in your-face green-necrotic fire screaming with a thousand angry demons. Screw the mascerade - it can't hold you! No physical drawbacks, either; you're not vulnerable to anything, you can still do anything you could in life (except go to the toilet).

So, why is the world not ruled by Liches?

There is this one tiny, tiny drawback. The reverse side of the Paradox. Liches tend to personifiy it - it gives them something to hate and to rant at and there does seem almost a certain level of intent - which is known by many names, but a currently popular one is the Unpresence Effect. It can't direct repress the power of Liches.

But what it does do is make it so that no-one remembers.

In the direct presence of a Lich, they are terrible and powerful. But once out of sight? They drift from the mind like a bad dream. People attribute the actions of a Lich afterward to something else, subconsciously. They forget the Lich, and their perceptions slather over the cracks and provide explanations; from the plausible to the extreme where, if they COULD be examined in detail, would be flimsy.

Because something fundemental to Liches is the need to be known. Acknowledged. And the Unpresence Effect works directly against that. It hides their accomplishments - not necessarily the deeds in themselves, but the reasons and the hows from the memories of the witnesses - unless they are, once again, within the presence of the Lich. And this isn't merely stroking their egos, in acknowledgement comes a lot of their power. Fear has always been the easiest example, but not the only one. Anyone standing up and saying to a Lich "I'm not afraid of you" is an admission in and of itself of acknowledgement, of notice. (And while you might, if you were exceptionally zen, be able to no-sell a Lich's fireball through sherer force of ignoring it, that doesn't stop said Lich, say, from beating you to death with an iron bar.)

But that effect only lasts while the Lich is around. (Stronger Liches have their presence felt longer.) Out of sight, quite literally out of mind. Being a Lich is being the biggest, most awesome person in the room - you have it all... But no-one else can see you.

(Liches don't appear in any monster hunter guides. Those that survive an encounter with a Lich without being reduced to a fine paste won't remember to write it down afterwards (or through away the scrawl as meaningless gibberish) - and of course, the lack of foreknowledge pushed more into the former category.)

Liches believe - most of them anyway - that long ago, some unknown person or entity cursed them somehow. They have no idea who or where or why - the same effect, they say, the entity used on itself to make sure the Liches couldn't undo it.

And it's gotten worse. In the old days, it was easy. A Lich could happily terrify a village or a town by mere reputation. But time and science advanced. It's not the lich magic is opposed by science; far from it, any modern Lich worht his salt has replaced his scrolls with a tablet for easy access, but multiple reundant back-ups, and is probably carrying a gun charged with all sorts of ridiculous magical effects. No, the problem is more fundemental than that; the way people THOUGHT changed.

They became less credulous, more cynical, more analytical. And that provided the Unpresence Effect with more leverage, more reasons to be able to dismiss the Lich's actions with some other more logical, rational explanation. The advent of radio, then television, and then social media has done nothing but enhance this effect, as now if a Lich straight-up disintegrated someone on live television, everyone will write it off as sort of special effect joke. And when the person disappears, no-one will ultimately tie it to the Lich; they'll acknowledge that person is missing (maybe dead), but the cause will be unknown. All those involved will write it off as a tragic unexplained disappearance.

So what happens to a Lich, if no-one knows who they are? If their name is forgotten?

They don't know.

And that terrifies them.

Because how would anyone know what happen to Liches that didn't make it? No one would remember them - not even other Liches. Do they vanish from existance? Did they exist at all? Or are the world's population of Liches all there ever were?

Most Liches believe the former and there is some evidence in the fact that Liches grow stronger the more they can command people's attention. But, of course, the very nature of the issue means it's entirely impossible to prove. The Liches believe there is a certain threshold, below which they will cease to exist, and fade from the memories of even other Liches. And they will do anything to prevent that from happening.

Liches are not stupid, and it has occurred to more than one of them that... What if they DON'T exist? What if Lichdom is some sort of mental delusion, and the things they think happened didn't? Is what they think happened real? Are they just some random insane person, making a scene and taking credit for things they didn't do? But those who have lived for centruies think that their longevity suggests that can't be the case, can it? But... are the memories of their long existances real or more fabrications?

So you have to keep getting people's attention. Short-lived as it is, that's another day you can keep on being. And to do that, you have to be big and loud and obvious, because just maybe if you can jump up and down and shout loudly enough in the empty room, someone might keep hearing you.

So it is that Liches have always rivals. But those rivalries are tempered. There is no point completely destroying a rival, after all; because while you rival unlives, they remember you - they know you. And that is just enough, they think, to sustain them when no-one else does. (If Liches were less egomanics and a little more introspective, more of them would realise friends would be better; but then again, "freenemies" is probably a good parlance to describe what a Lich's rival is often closest to.)

With the current age, it has got harder and harder for Liches; after all, on the internet in the anonymity, anyone can say they are anything, and without being their in the flesh, how can you tell what is real and not just special effects? The only benefit is that Liches, like everyone else, have started to gravitate together. Perhaps, what a Lich alone cannot accomplish, more can.

You have your various groups (equating to the clans et al of the other stuff); the necromancy-focussed ones (more so than regular liches) who are obessed with trying to discover the identity of the one that cursed them, who believe if they just talk to enough ghosts, eventually they'll find the right one. There's those obsessed with history, too, scouring the world for clues, in every ancient ruin or lost lore. And there's the others, who believe if they can just do something big enough, they can break through the Unpresence Effect. (These Liches, especially, will claim almost any big occurance, natural disater or atrocity was a Lich who failed, and then point out that no-one could prove otherwise.)

The net result, then. is get a group of megalomanical, self-aggrandising, misanthropic, attention-whoring drama-queens to have to work together. Or worse? Make friends. (And you can't do that in disguise with the postman or something - it has to be acknowledgement, unequivocably, as the Lich.)

Thus, the stage would be set for something a little tonally different to the other WoD games - more along the lines of a black comedy of increasingly ridiculous, often moustache-twriling antics, almost immediately, comically forgotten by those involved. But one which overlies the themes of identity, isolation, self-worth - which actually would match up well in today's society where everyone reallt does have their fifteen minutes of fame and it is easy to get lost in the cracks.

There you go; a reasonble, I think, and vaguely plausible line of thinking as to how you could actually DO a WoD!Lich game, and combine both the themes of character exploration, but also the ability to shout "fwakoom" and deafen your Storyteller.

Little crude, maybe, and would require refinement and fleshing out, but the idea is there.

(You can have that one, if you like Paradox. Just does me a nice CRPG out of it, will ya?)

Two weeks ago:

*spends two work days preparing a blog article on conversion of Aotrs ships from scratch built to CAD model for Partizan in the Cloud Facebook event for when Partizan shoiuld have run*

*submitted early and efficiently for the Sunday on Wednesday*

*gets forgotten on day and only gets released a day late, gets 32 reads and 1 like - from Dad, who is in same house*




Yesterday:

*completes 3.Aotrs v2.0 (bar some shouting) and sends around to mates (which comprise all meat-space friends bar the two who are neither roleplayers nor on internet) after nine months of work and 1000+ pages*

*dead silence for 22 hours and counting*



Next couple of weeks:

*completes preparations for full release of Aotrs starship fleet and 6mm fighter force, project over 25 years old and arguably thing he's most proud of ever*

*given current near-total absence of reaction anything Aotrs Shipyards releases that is not moderns...*

*you can fill in the blank here*



APPARENTLY I WAS BEING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.

[Rater202]

Don't worry, Bleekbane. I acknowledge your existence, remember the stuff you've done, and yada yada.

I don't agree with you on certain topics, like say whether or not it's fair to criticize an author for following literary conventions, narrative tropes, and in-universe logic into a direction that makes perfect sense but that some people don't like, but I acknowledge you.

[BlueHamsterBean]

Hello Ponythread! Long time lurker here; figured I should register given how often I read these threads (this one especially).

I owe you folks a lot: from signal boosting a wide range of fan content, to indirectly introducing me to Hamilton (via pony PMVs), it's always a pleasure to see new posts here (and reading the old threads is fun).

Actually, DigoDragon is partially to thank for getting me into Pony in the first place: I loved reading through the campaign log for Celestia's Finest, and wanted to learn more about the inspiration for it

(Incidentally, I may or may not have laughed quite suddenly and with great volume at the "Neighpon" pun in the Shadowtrot document... it's a good thing I live with people who are used to that sort of thing )

On the subject of gaming, if anypony wants to give a newcomer a shot in a PbP pony game, please send me a PM!

[Forum Explorer]

March last year, on Estee's blog about the release of Vampire the masquerade bloodlines, in response to "but how could you do proper liches in WoD?:"





Two weeks ago:

*spends two work days preparing a blog article on conversion of Aotrs ships from scratch built to CAD model for Partizan in the Cloud Facebook event for when Partizan shoiuld have run*

*submitted early and efficiently for the Sunday on Wednesday*

*gets forgotten on day and only gets released a day late, gets 32 reads and 1 like - from Dad, who is in same house*




Yesterday:

*completes 3.Aotrs v2.0 (bar some shouting) and sends around to mates (which comprise all meat-space friends bar the two who are neither roleplayers nor on internet) after nine months of work and 1000+ pages*

*dead silence for 22 hours and counting*



Next couple of weeks:

*completes preparations for full release of Aotrs starship fleet and 6mm fighter force, project over 25 years old and arguably thing he's most proud of ever*

*given current near-total absence of reaction anything Aotrs Shipyards releases that is not moderns...*

*you can fill in the blank here*



APPARENTLY I WAS BEING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.

When aren't you being autobiographical? Also you have no idea how tempted I was to not respond, but I thought that would just be mean.

On a different note, I'm doing my own X-Com 2 game and my casualty rate is horrendous. I'm averaging one dead solider a mission. Though I'm very proud of my Blacksite suicide run. Send in a single Reaper who sets the bomb. Drop Evac zone on the rest of the squad. Reaper gets horribly murdered, but mission success without a shot fired. Now I just need to figure out how to get the Reaper out alive.

[BlueHamsterBean]

APPARENTLY I WAS BEING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.

If ponythread precedent (from an admittedly mostly observational perspective) is anything to go by, I doubt you’ll need to worry about vanishing any time soon (relative as “soon” may be for an immortal). Having hard work ignored still stinks though...

That is a fascinating idea of how to handle the more bombastic sorts of magic in WOD games on the other hand!

[BlasTech]

So, this apparently got posted a little while back, but Acracebest and the Bronies React crew finally uploaded their reactions to the final episode of G4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAyKjXaLjFI

It's long, but that's because about half of the video is a retrospective "what has Pony meant to you" from various members of the fandom.

Spoiler: Favourite moment

Show

Has to go to M.A. Larson's cameo - and his long list of restraining orders against fandom members ... and Canada.

Hello Ponythread! Long time lurker here; figured I should register given how often I read these threads (this one especially).

I owe you folks a lot: from signal boosting a wide range of fan content, to indirectly introducing me to Hamilton (via pony PMVs), it's always a pleasure to see new posts here (and reading the old threads is fun).

Actually, DigoDragon is partially to thank for getting me into Pony in the first place: I loved reading through the campaign log for Celestia's Finest, and wanted to learn more about the inspiration for it

(Incidentally, I may or may not have laughed quite suddenly and with great volume at the "Neighpon" pun in the Shadowtrot document... it's a good thing I live with people who are used to that sort of thing )

On the subject of gaming, if anypony wants to give a newcomer a shot in a PbP pony game, please send me a PM!

Welcome aboard! (Or at least, welcome out of the lurker's bushes!) ;D

Hope to see you around a bit.

APPARENTLY I WAS BEING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.

Oh don't worry Lichmaster - I definitely remember you!

At least, everything except … something - something to do with hugs? Hmm...

… It must be that you really like them!

*gives a hug*

*gets CON-drain'd*

*collapses, twitching*

[Form]

I finished binge reading the Timey Wimey comic and I loved every panel of it. The artwork is good and it really feels like it captures the spirit of MLP. It has also drawn my attention to a bunch of other excellent MLP fancomics on deviantart, so my thanks to BlasTech for posting a link to it. It was great!

[BlueHamsterBean]

Welcome aboard! (Or at least, welcome out of the lurker's bushes!) ;D

Hope to see you around a bit.

Thanks! I hope to be present often

I don't have many brony content sources other than this thread though, so I likely won't have much to share for the time being.

Where do all of you get updates on the Pony community? I know of Equestria Daily but not much else (I have known of Pony for a while, but only really got into it this year).

[Aotrs Commander]

When aren't you being autobiographical? Also you have no idea how tempted I was to not respond, but I thought that would just be mean.

Honestly, if no-one had, it likely would have passed the barrier where it would have started to worry me.

Having hard work ignored still stinks though...

Really does, but doubly-so when it's your professional work.

That is a fascinating idea of how to handle the more bombastic sorts of magic in WOD games on the other hand!

Yeah, I as rather proud of that one myself.

Don't worry, Bleekbane. I acknowledge your existence, remember the stuff you've done, and yada yada.

I don't agree with you on certain topics, like say whether or not it's fair to criticize an author for following literary conventions, narrative tropes, and in-universe logic into a direction that makes perfect sense but that some people don't like, but I acknowledge you.

Well, that's not a loaded statement at all...!

Oh don't worry Lichmaster - I definitely remember you!

At least, everything except … something - something to do with hugs? Hmm...

… It must be that you really like them!

*gives a hug*

*gets CON-drain'd*

*collapses, twitching*

They never learn do they?

No, they do not.

Should we inform Lord Death Despoil ponythread thinks you're gunning for his job?

Rather not, I've got enough trouble on the plate at the moment.

Also, I think the abrupt table-flip of 90% of (not-this-Earth) human space forming into a superstate to the complete surprise of literally everyone everwhere means HE has enought trouble on HIS plate at the moment.

Oof. Yeah, that's a fustercluck of epic proportions all by itself...

[Rater202]

Well, that's not a loaded statement at all...!

It wasn't meant to be...

To many words. should have just said "don't always agree with you on certain topics."

Sorry.

[Miltonian]

Hello Ponythread! Long time lurker here; figured I should register given how often I read these threads (this one especially).

I owe you folks a lot: from signal boosting a wide range of fan content, to indirectly introducing me to Hamilton (via pony PMVs), it's always a pleasure to see new posts here (and reading the old threads is fun).

Actually, DigoDragon is partially to thank for getting me into Pony in the first place: I loved reading through the campaign log for Celestia's Finest, and wanted to learn more about the inspiration for it

(Incidentally, I may or may not have laughed quite suddenly and with great volume at the "Neighpon" pun in the Shadowtrot document... it's a good thing I live with people who are used to that sort of thing )

On the subject of gaming, if anypony wants to give a newcomer a shot in a PbP pony game, please send me a PM!

Hey! Will you look at that? I was the GM of Celestia's Finest! Good times.

Welcome aboard.

[Form]

Thanks! I hope to be present often

I don't have many brony content sources other than this thread though, so I likely won't have much to share for the time being.

Where do all of you get updates on the Pony community? I know of Equestria Daily but not much else (I have known of Pony for a while, but only really got into it this year).

I've found a bunch of MLP fan content via the MLP tvtropes page and a lot of the fan materials on youtube and deviantart tend to be linked to yet more fanmade content. Once you've got an entry point you can often just follow the branches from there. Of course there's fimfiction too for fanfiction. Most of it isn't the newest, so it might not technically count as an update. For something like me who has also decided fairly recently to delve more deeply into the MLP fandom that doesn't really matter because most of it is new to me, even if it isn't to others.

[BlueHamsterBean]

Hey! Will you look at that? I was the GM of Celestia's Finest! Good times.

Welcome aboard.

Thanks! I remember: you helped put together quite the compelling story.

I mean, you made Chryssi in all her horrific glory somewhat relatable somehow (the side chats between the PCs in her cell helped; she obviously has... trust issues to put it mildly).

And I’m not saying it’s alicorns, but (insert ancient aliens meme here)

I've found a bunch of MLP fan content via the MLP tvtropes page and a lot of the fan materials on youtube and deviantart tend to be linked to yet more fanmade content. Once you've got an entry point you can often just follow the branches from there. Of course there's fimfiction too for fanfiction. Most of it isn't the newest, so it might not technically count as an update. For something like me who has also decided fairly recently to delve more deeply into the MLP fandom that doesn't really matter because most of it is new to me, even if it isn't to others.

Ok, this is all good advice: thanks! I have glanced over the TvTropes fan works entries a bit (struck gold with the Equestrian Civil Service series, which is excellent for any brony with a fondness for Terry Pratchett’s work in my opinion).

YouTube has also been helpful, but I haven’t checked deviantart much: I’ll take a look

[Manga Shoggoth]

Ok, this is all good advice: thanks! I have glanced over the TvTropes fan works entries a bit (struck gold with the Equestrian Civil Service series, which is excellent for any brony with a fondness for Terry Pratchett’s work in my opinion).

Ghost is a very good writer. There are several others worth reading (including a couple of pieces by our own Bleakbane), so if you want reccommendations I'm sure the denizens of Ponythread will bombard you with them.

[BlueHamsterBean]

Ghost is a very good writer. There are several others worth reading (including a couple of pieces by our own Bleakbane), so if you want reccommendations I'm sure the denizens of Ponythread will bombard you with them.

Recommendations are certainly welcome!

Stories with a comedic bent would be most appreciated, but I’m happy to take a look at more dramatic or tragic pieces (the three aren’t mutually exclusive after all ).

One does wonder what sort of pony fiction an immortal undead sorcerer creates in their free time!