Thursday, December 29, 2011

Favorite Pony?

Y'know, this has kindve been bugging me for a while Who is my favorite pony?

I mean, I love Celestia, I see so much potential in her. 
When I see Celestia, I see her history, I see what’s inside, or rather, I imagine what’s inside. What is she always doing? What are her powers and limitations? How does she relate to people? I mean, I wrote a fanfic about it, but I'm still curious, I still want to explore more. I have at least two other stories about Celestia in the works. Maybe more. She seems so full of potential, so fascinating.
Even when people call her a tyrant, that only makes her MORE interesting! Then she becomes affably evil, distanced, ruling with an iron hoof because she does not give a crap. I mean, that’s the first chapter of Sunset Looms right there!

But Celestia isn’t what My Little Pony is about. Celestia in the show is in the background, a mentor character. A pleasant person with a few quirks, a god that lets the ponies do what they naturally do, helping them where needed. In the show, I dont really see her as a tyrant, because she's not. She is an extension of the world, and the world is a bright and colorful paradise. I like the idea of Celestia more than I do her actual character.

So when people ask "who's your favorite pony?" I say Applejack or Applebloom. There have been episodes about them. We know who they are and what they do. We are allowed to understand them as humanlike characters.

But... it doesnt sit right to just say that, you know? Applejack is definitely my favorite of the Mane 6, but I dont get excited to see her, or Applebloom for that matter. On the other hoof, When Celestia drops out of the sky, I go "hell yeah, Celestia!" 

Can I claim Celestia to be my favorite pony, based on my adoration of what she could be, rather than what she really is?

Eh.

Next project is about Celestia, Luna, and Discord. God, do I look forward to writing it.

Good Reads: More Somber Works

Using my all powerful magic skills of, I dunno, being female, I transformed my boyfriend into a brony. And not just a brony, but a brony who read a TON of fanfiction. And doesn't like being called brony because he thinks its a silly word. ANYWAY.
Seeing as he reads fanfiction like a bandit, he's been linking me to some of the best reads. Also, he found out that Somber, the chick who wrote Simply Rarity, writes a lot. So I'm reading more. And opinion-ing on it.

Somber's writing is definitly above average. She comes very close to melodrama, or rather, most authors would become really melodramatic approaching these topics. But she never quite falls into it. Its Drama. Its not overdone or silly, its actually affecting.
However, Somber's skill almost seems to go up and down in different areas. She knows how to construct a scene. She can construct a character, and let them flow properly. She's not forcing things to happen, or it doesnt seem like she is. If I can point out a small flaw, she doesnt quite grasp what makes a writing style interesting to read. Her stories are great, but her style is lacking something more... a bit of flourish, or something special that marks her style as her own. But that's nothing she cant eventually grow into. With more practice, maybe some proper training, I can see this gal becoming a professional and respected author.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Sunset Looms Final Chapters


So that's the end. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it! I intended to cover a bit more about mortality and stuff, but I think this works well.
Yay!

EDIT: About the end.
I had told EqD that this was the end of the story, and I was pretty surprised they didnt put it up as such XD.
And honestly, several people (including some of my friends) say that this only sounds like a beginning, and there's way more to this. And there is. I still have ideas. But what I don't have right now is a story. I thought these four chapters could form a complete arc, a whole story, a good stopping place.
I might someday write a continuation of this, a sequel under a different title. But when I do that, the theme, the feel of the work would be a bit different, its own thing. A few more characters, a bit more rooted in actual events than an exploration of mindsets.

For now, I'm going to write a couple oneshots. Try my hand at a bit of worldbuilding. This isnt over, but I dont want people waiting for a continuation that may take months.

Again, thanks to everyone for reading. =D

Monday, December 26, 2011

Art: Propaganda Poster

Christmas is being Christmas, I'm editing the final two chapters of Sunset Looms, and I tried to draw a pony.


Whee, pony propaganda posters!
Or 1920's motivational posters ponyized.
But I'm calling them propaganda.

Happy Merry!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

S2 Ep11 : Hearth's Warming Eve

I really paid attention to this episode. Worldbuilding is something I usually enjoy, and this didn't disappoint me. I was kindve waiting for this episode to see if there was anything about Celestia in there, but there wasnt. Now I can work on my fanfic IN PEACE! Um, yay?

Though it was weird how absent Celestia was from the story. I mean, their flag has Luna and Celestia on it... but they arent around yet?
Oh god that suggests to much fanfiction.
Or it suggests that they had let a bit of anachronism slide for the play to make sense to the fillies.
BUT OH GOD THE FANFICTION! The possibilities have doubled!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Good Reads: Fallout Equestria (First Ten Chapters)

Archive

I've been trying to read Fallout: Equestria for a couple weeks now. I had to absolutely convice myself to give it a chance. There had to be a reason why everyone was reading this! Why there was such a huge TVTropes page, fanart, fanfiction.... THE INTERNET CAN NOT BE WRONG.

Why was it so hard? Lets take a metephor: Fallout: Equestria's writing style in the first chapter and prolouges is like the big rusting clunker you buy because its on sale for negitive two dollars. You're not trying to express your personality or find something that suits your needs. You need a car, any car that can get you where you're going. Hell if I was going anywhere near that beast. It was sending me into fits just looking at it.
But I pushed on anyway. And something amazing happened! When I reached the second chapter, the rusty clunker transformed into a BMW from 2005 that occasionally needs to be jumpstarted.
How the hell did the writing style change so much? Was the first chapter rushed? Why even bother with it, then? You know what? First chapter? Its not needed. Completely and utterly not needed. Skip it. It almost drove me away from what was actually a pretty solid piece of work.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

One Shot: Lyra's Little Dream

(source)
Had an idea in my head for a while, and wanted to experiment with voice. It came out a little giggly, maybe even childish. I dont know what common fan depiction of Lyra is, but she seems cheerful.