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Topics - Al-1701
1
« on: September 13, 2022, 04:38:16 PM »
I need to get back in the saddle, and I might as well go with my favorite pony episode: Crunch the Rock Dog.
So, let's get into how there is a lot more to this episode than first appears (hence the iceberg) when it comes to the titular adversary. Good old Crunch, whether intentional or not, bears a striking resemblance to two stories. So, I figured it would be fun to break it down a bit.
First, Crunch's origins mirror that of the golem. The golem is a robot made of clay animated by with writing emét (“truth” in Hebrew) on its forehead or placing a sacred scroll in its mouth. It was deactivated by erasing the first letter (making it mét [“death”]) or removing the scroll. The golem would be created as a servant, but—being a creation of man and not God—lacked a soul. Thus, it lacked the compassion and morals of a person and followed its orders to its logical conclusion. (The term golem even comes of a Hebrew insult to being unfinished or unrefined.) So, a command as inoffensive as “Protect me” could lead to a rampage because the most effective way top protect something is to eliminate it before it can become a threat and everything is a potential threat.
Crunch is a being made of earth that lacks a heart and feelings (which is essentially a soul by another name) animated by the obsidian in his collar. He was given the command to protect the Heart Stone which he has turned into destroying all organic life. Attacking the collar deactivates him (reducing him to a harmless puppy in this case).
However, his plot is very similar to the Norwegian fairytale “The Giant Who has no Heart in His Body” (I'm assuming it sounds better in Norwegian. The story goes that a prince's older brothers were returning after finding brides and happened to stumble into the territory of an indestructible giant who turns them into stone for trespassing. The prince travels to the giant's castle where he's hidden by another princess he holds captive (the giant, not the prince). She tells him the giant's invincibility is because he removed his heart from his body and has it hidden somewhere. They eventually figure out its hiding place, and the prince goes to find it. By squeezing it, he can cause the giant pain (apparently Beast Wars Megatron read this story too). Depending the version, the prince crushed the heart to kill the giant or simply used the threat of it to make the giant to restore his brothers and their brides to flesh and blood and free the princess he marries (the prince, not the giant).
While not his heart, Crunch is an indestructible giant who turns anything that offends him to stone. His only weakness is a heart hidden away, and it is used to stop him.
And if that story sounds familiar for another reason, it was the basis for the third chapter in the first Paper Mario game.
This is completely random, but it astounds me how much you can pull out of this twenty minute episode.
And if you got other MLP icebergs, feel free delve below the surface for them too.
2
« on: February 23, 2020, 04:47:10 PM »
So, my sister had her daughter in November 5th last year. And it took me almost four months to realize she was born on Fizz Whizz Night. I fail as a Fizzy fan.
Anyway, I'm hoping Basic Fun makes at least the first six Twinkle Eye ponies so I can get her a Fizzy when she's a little older (maybe give it to her on her 5th Birthday).
So, pile on me with Fizzy and Fizz Whizz night stuff.
3
« on: September 28, 2019, 02:56:55 PM »
Well, that happened. It was entertaining which is more than I can say of the second half of this season. Spoiler I noticed they never asked Pinkie Pie. If you'll allow me a TeamFourStar references. CMC: We need an adult! Pinkie Pie: I am an adult! CMC: No. No you are not.
4
« on: September 21, 2019, 01:49:22 PM »
Spoiler Well, it's official. They never made a good Daring Do episode. By the time we got to the end of this trainwreck of a subplot, the story had to twist itself into so much of a knot to solve itself pretzels are saying "That looks like it hurts" seeing it.
All right, you probably know this, but I hate the "Daring Do is real" subplot. And sure enough this series have proven me right time and again this was a mistake. She and her world doesn't gel with the world of Equestria. And the justifications to try to slam this square peg through a round hole only cause more trouble.
Well, it all came to its traumatic conclusion today, and once again the writers broke out the contrivances to just bring this all to a conclusion. Since we're behind the spoiler tag here, I'm going to put this simply. Daring Do's rival writes a book from his perspective, tricks Fluttershy to become one of his grunts, is reformed by being her presence, and we find out Nostril Eyes has been after both of them because they're stealing the artifacts he's supposed to be guarding. Everyone is now good and the Daring Do subplot is done.
You know, they had an interesting idea here with the fact Daring Do is not an unbiased source of her adventures. No one is stopping her from embellishing, omitting, and outright lying. Of course, that would mean Rainbow Dash would have to wrong and we can't have that now can we.
I need to find something genuinely good to say about this episode. Uh, um, it's over. Yeah. There you go.
5
« on: August 17, 2019, 01:53:01 PM »
Theirs only ten episodes left after this. There are ten episodes left after this. There are ten whole episodes left after this. Spoiler The rules to this game reminds of Starfleet Battles. How Twilight plays also brings back some less than pleasant memories. Speaking of space, I wanted an asteroid to fall on this building about halfway through this episode.
Twilight was insufferable, Pinkie Pie was off her meds, and everyone in general was just unlikable. Even Maud couldn't save this trainwreck.
6
« on: June 01, 2019, 02:12:52 PM »
I honestly can't remember the name of this episode, and I don't care. Apple Family does apple things, and that's about it.
Anyway, discuss.
7
« on: May 25, 2019, 03:42:12 PM »
Well, we're about a third of the way into the final season, and this just happened. Spoiler This episode felt like it just happened with little rhyme or reason to its events that do not fall back on the excuse Equestria is on a planet-sized idiot ball.
First: When did Fluttershy just get over her crippling dracophobia. I mean, this she was terrified of just watching dragons suddenly she is not only okay with going into the heart of their territory but thrilled about it. I know she has a thing for baby dragons, but she would have to contend with the mama dragons. I know she's developed as a character (the result of that development being questionable), but you don't just get over that level of phobia.
Though, I noticed a distinct lack of full-grown (a.k.a make Drogon from GOT look like a shrimp) dragons. Are we forgetting dragons grow to the size of a city block in this world?
Second: This is where the stupidity comes in. I know they needed Ember to not know the problem, but her father should have explained how the thing that is vital to the continuation of their species. She knows the nests should be kept warm, so she should have been checking the temperature regularly.
Third: I really didn't care about the Garble plot. I've never cared about this character, and this little wrinkle is literally too little too late.
My final verdict for this episode is this. This is an episode that is filled with careless decisions and contrivances to pick apart and is not entertaining or engaging enough to distract from that. As much as a I hate shameless pop culture references, I would have welcomed Ember screaming "dracarys" for the laugh.
8
« on: May 18, 2019, 05:53:12 PM »
At last, we have an episode with ABSOLUTELY NO MAIN SIX. Instead, we concentrate on Grogar and his Legion of Doom ripoff. I was apparently not that far off with my trust fall joke in what he's been putting the three through. However, it's time to get to work as he has a job for them. Spoiler Apparently this Grogar has a bell of Adamantium as it's indestructible and Gusty the Great had to hide it. Now that he has underlings, he's sending them to retrieve it. We get to see the three's abilities, some bonding. In the end they actually build a friendship and work together to get the bell. However, the Starscream genes are strong in these three as they claim they failed to get the bell while they actually hide it for their own purposes.
I can't help but think of the Season 2 episode of Beast Wars where Tarantulus, Black Arachnia, and Quick Strike found an energon cube cache and claimed it had been destroyed when really Tarantulus was using it for himself.
9
« on: February 04, 2018, 06:06:48 PM »
Here some random fun. Can you do the Vulcan hand salute from Star Trek?
10
« on: January 14, 2018, 09:02:20 AM »
I don't know who here plays Pokemon, but this is a rant about the latest generation of Pokemon games and will contain spoilers. So, be warned.
I recently finished Pokemon Ultra Sun (I got Sun and Moon for Christmas in 2016, but decided to play the Ultra Sun version when I heard it was coming out). And can I start out with that. Game Freak, you're on a system that allows for DLC. Why did you need to make these completely new games? There is very little altered in the Ultra versions, so you could have easily put the additions in a DLC pack for ten bucks instead of making a new set of games for 40.
Unfortunately, this is not where my complaints stop. The 7th generation is the point where Pokemon stopped being fun. Once I was done with the game, including the aftergame campaigns, I was underwhelmed and not amused. I hope all the hipsters are happy, because Game Freak finally changed up the formula like you had been whining and sniveling for and the new formula stunk. This is the first story line in a Pokemon I do not look forward to playing through ever again.
Where to begin with this trainwreck. Well, let's begin with the characters. I hate Hau. I don't even love to hate him like the rivals from the first and second generations. I just plain hate him. I hate that dopey grin he always has on his face, I hate how you seem to run into him every two seconds and he wastes your time with five minutes of dialogue which is basically explaining everything your about to be forced to explore anyway (I'll get to that in a minute). He might as well be floating behind you the entire game going "look, look, listen, listen". Actually, no, that's what's next.
Why does the PokeDex talk? Why does it not just talk, but talk constantly? Why does it have to extend conversations with its banal input that adds nothing but more lines of dialogue to get through? Why does it have to say something every time you turn on the game? Who at Game Freak thought this was a good idea, and why did no one say "That's dumb?" After playing the game, I want to pack Hau and the PokeDex in a rocket and launch them into the sun.
Even Lily got on my nerves. At least she has a story arc in which she actually grows as a character. However, she's not the character. So, her story arc intrudes into a game where it doesn't really matter and feels like a distraction. If Game Freak wanted to do a story where a character has an arc, then they should drop the nameless, voiceless trainer thing and have you play as that character. There are plenty of RPG's still out there where you play as a set character with a story to them, and I think playing as Lily probably would have elevated the storytelling compared to viewing by proxy.
Then we get into how they changed up formula. Gone are gyms and in are...gyms under a different name. The Island Challenge did not impress me. The challenges were not too different from the traps in Pokemon gyms, and the Trial Captains and Kahunas were basically the same thing as gym leaders. The only addition of note were the Totem Pokemon which were just bigger versions of common Pokemon that upped their stats to be a semi-legendary. They were hard to take down, but were more frustrating than a challenge to be enjoyed since you typically put the Pokemon best able to take them down quickly at the beginning of your team to keep them from getting in a position to sweep your team. In other words, they're like the bosses from Paper Mario Sticker Star (you know, the one EVERYONE hates).
I also didn't like how you were led by the nose. I start off where you were being led from place to place on the first island. I figured it was okay because they were easing you into the game. However, it didn't stop. You were led from point A to point B through the entire game. Even what were usually side quests to partake in at any moment were turned into required story points. It felt less like a journey of exploration and discovery and more like a guided tour with the most annoying tour guide ever. The Alola region didn't even feel like that interesting of a place with little capturing my curiosity like previous games did. Though, this game seemed to force you to do so much, little was left as voluntary (and I was too tired of the force sightseeing to really care what else there was).
Even actual Pokemon battling was pathetic. So many trainers had just one Pokemon, and you almost never came across one with more than three. Even in Victory Road (or whatever they called it), even after becoming champion. Remember when you ran up against trainers with four or five Pokemon as early as just after the first gym? And I found most of the Alola forms to be underwhelming and inferior to the originals. Especially Diglett/Dugtrio. And few of the new additions are Pokemon I would want to use compared earlier kinds.
Then we get to the Limit Breaks I mean Z-moves. I never used a Z-move in my playthrough. I was willing to accept Mega Evolutions, but Z-moves are just a step too far. Stop making these stupid gimmicks. The games were fine without them. They were BETTER without them.
The overall story didn't grab me. Team Skull were fun enough (though their rosters were as bare as any other trainer in this game). However, they were more a gang of punks (actually they were a gang of the punk trainer class only with gaudy necklaces) with no real impact on the story. They were Team Rocket without the malicious disregard for life. Actually, raiding their base was one of the high points of the game. Aether or whatever they called themselves (I really couldn't care), was almost completely nonexistent for the "dramatic twist" so they had little impact even though their actions were supposed to be driving the story. The addition of the Ultra Recon squad in the Ultra version was yet another unwelcome distraction.
Really, that's what all of this can be summed up as, it was all distractions. The previous two generations (as well as Platinum) had given us a sense of grandeur to the events around us. We were dealing with deep and rich history regarding the local legendary Pokemon and what the evil team was up to. Here, we suddenly have aliens with this light stealing monster who would have come out of nowhere if it was not drilled into our heads every five minutes whenever the Ultra Recon Squad showed up. And that was an improvement over the original story where Lily's mother merges with one of the ultra beasts only so she can throw Pokemon at you.
In the end, I found the experience to be a slog I don't feel like repeating. There are some rays of light. PokeRide is an improvement over HM's or other moves with field effects. Would have liked an 8th one (I'm not including Mantine Surf since it was more a mini-game) for like Dive or Dig so there were as many as a normal compliment of HM's (actually, include Dive and Dig and get rid of Mudsdale and the rocky terrain). Mantine Surf is a blast to play and the best way to rack up BP Game Freak has thought of yet (and you have access to it early). However, these were superficial to the problems with the game in general.
As the title suggests, I'm starting a new game on the Blue Version. It'll be one of many times I've played through the original game just for the fun of it. It's rather basic nowadays, but sometimes basic works. Really, after slapping way too many bells and whistles on their latest games, Game Freak could stand to get back to basics (by basics I would say where they were in G5) in their next game.
11
« on: December 25, 2017, 04:36:26 AM »
I was a very weird kid. While most kids watched hours of cartoons, I watch hours of the Weather Channel (I watched cartoons as well but a lot more Weather Channel). Anyway, I loved the old WeatherSTAR 4000 icons, and I finally found the old set in gif form this month. It takes me back to those days of watching Local on the 8's.
So, I'm asking you, what weird things do you love from your childhood.
13
« on: November 26, 2017, 05:36:03 AM »
I was reading about everyone's favorite winged horse from Greek Mythology and realized something about how the pegasi were characterized in G1. In Greek Mythology, Pegasus was close to the Muses and seen as a symbol of wisdom and inspiration. While it was not exclusive to them, the bulk of the early pegasi especially were related to the arts and intellectual pursuits.
-Medley is a musician -Both Skydancer and Dancing Butterflies are dancers -Heart Throb is a hopeless romantic -North Star is an explorer -Paradise is a storyteller and historian in the animated series -Wind Whistler is a singer according to her backcard and the comic and an intellectual in the animated series -Masquerade is an actress, costume designer, and mistress of disguise -Princess Pearl is an artist in the comic
Anyone else notice this?
14
« on: November 04, 2017, 02:10:04 PM »
I've been working on revamping my "Little Ponies Lost" idea that the G1 ponies were originally from Equestria and sent to the world of G1. I wanted to slow the pace a bit with the ponies having to find Dream Valley after some adventures of them wandering in this strange world. Having to actually learn the language and meeting the peoples and getting an understanding of what they're facing.
Then the show dropped the Season 7 finale in my lap with some interesting details. The runes caught my attention in particular.
The premise is this. Starswirl the Bearded has gone missing...again. This time, it's not limbo, but to another world. As a young stallion, Starswirl was obsessed in creating spells to manipulate time and space. Although he failed many times, he gained the attention of one with the knowledge that he sought.
The creature was a queen of a powerful empire with incredible technology and magic. He spent years there studying its magic. He went there an aspiring magician and returned a legendary sorcerer with the knowledge of two worlds. His various portal spells are based on the magic of this world.
Since he has returned from Limbo, he has gone back to see how his friend's empire has fared over the past millennium. However, more than a year has past with no sign of him. It is feared something has happened to him, and a world with a powerful empire when the ponies were just a fledgling society poses a grave risk. It is decided to send a small cohort to look for him. Since soldiers would be seen as a provocation, a group of civilians posing as merchants, explorers, and fortune hunters. However, the world they arrive in is nothing they were expecting.
So, thoughts on this idea?
15
« on: September 28, 2017, 05:02:04 PM »
I kind of wish I had the resources the creators of Genie and Kitty Love had. Sadly I don't but I do have ideas.
Here are the design notes I've created for a bunch of OC stallions I created for my writings. This is mostly filling in the gaps (though I've replaced the original Big Brothers with a different group of earth pony stallions that better fit the high fantasy tone of my work).
The "New" Adventure Boys
Name: Dune Breed: Earth Gender: Male Coat: Powder blue Mane: Yellow Eyes: Light blue Symbol: Yellow dune
Name: Fathom Breed: Earth Gender: Male Coat: Blue Mane: Purple Eyes: Yellow Symbol: Gray old fashioned diving helmet w/ light blue viewing port
Name: Gator Breed: Earth Gender: Male Coat: Yellow Mane: Dark green Eyes: Pink Symbol: Green alligator w/ mouth open
Name: Klondike Breed: Earth Gender: Male Coat: Dark blue Mane: White Eyes: Light blue Symbol: White polar bear under green aurora
Name: Piton Breed: Earth Gender: Male Coat: Dark purple Mane: Dark blue Eyes: Purple Symbol: Pickaxe w/ orange handle & gray axe over dark gray rock
Name: Timber Breed: Earth Gender: Male Coat: White Mane: Light blue Eyes: Green Symbol: Green pine tree w/ orange truck
The Island Boys
Name: El Niño Breed: Pegasus Gender: Male Coat: Yellow Mane: Dark Pink Eyes: Purple Symbol: Light blue wave w/ white cap
Name: Hurricane Breed: Pegasus Gender: Male Coat: White Mane: Wine Red Eyes: Blue Symbol: 2 black on red storm flags on flagpole & 3 red hurricane symbols
Name: Jet Streak Breed: Pegasus Gender: Male Coat: Dark blue Mane: Blue Eyes: Green Symbol: Profile of white cloud w/ face blowing
Name: Monsoon Breed: Pegasus Gender: Male Coat: Mint green Mane: Aqua Eyes: Light blue Symbol: 3 light blue raindrops in upside down triangle formation
Name: Pineapple Express Breed: Pegasus Gender: Male Coat: Vibrant pink Mane: Light Green Eyes: Yellow Symbol: Yellow pineapple tilted forward w/ speed streaks
Name: Trade Wind Breed: Pegasus Gender: Male Coat: Orange Mane: Yellow Eyes: Blue Symbol: Dark blue schooner
The Mountain Boys are unicorns in my work, the same designs only with horns.
Twinkle Eye Boys
Name: Beacon Breed: Earth Gender: Male Coat: Purple Mane: Streaked Yellow/Orange/Light Pink/Dark blue Eyes: Amethyst Symbol: White & red lighthouse w/ yellow light rays
Name: Scud Breed: Pegasus Gender: Male Coat: Orange Mane: Streaked White/Yellow/Orange/Red Eyes: Garnet Symbol: Red rocket w/ yellow flame & white smoke
Name: Stargazer Breed: Unicorn Gender: Male Coat: Blue Mane: Streaked Dark blue/Blue/White/Dark purple Eyes: Sapphire Symbol: 7 dark purple stars in "Orion" constellation
Twice as Fancy Boys
Name: Crescendo Breed: Earth Gender: Male Coat: White Mane: Green Eyes: Yellow Symbol: Motif of green, blue, & purple musical notes on scale-cheek symbol
Name: Blitz Breed: Pegasus Gender: Male Coat: Gray Mane: Yellow Eyes: Light blue Symbol: Motif of yellow lightning bolts-cheek symbol
Name: Eclipse Breed: Unicorn Gender: Male Coat: Vibrant pink Mane: Dark purple w/ white streak Eyes: Blue Symbol: Motif of white coronas around blank circles-forehead symbol
Brushes and combs would be more environmentally based (rather than frogs and grasshoppers). Island Boys and Mountain boys have lightning bolt combs and blowing cloud brushes (the wind is the handle). The Adventure Boys have compass rose brushes and treasure map combs. The Twinkle Eyes have the same shooting start combs as the mares. The Twice as Fancies have moon combs.
So, thoughts on these guys? Do you think they would have fit well into G1?
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