gdp's Comments

Equestria Daily : Equestria Daily

Wed, 6 Jan 2016 01:56:03 +0000

Only Kyo can make shouting read like a section of epic prose.

Equestria Daily : Debate - Are Unicorns Overpowered?

Tue, 5 Jan 2016 13:22:35 +0000

[Starlight is] going hoof to hoof with an Alicorn, using her magic to both hover and fight. That's just overpowering a character for the sake of the plot. It makes no sense. It makes plenty of sense for a unicorn whose quarry is an alicorn to come prepared to fight an alicorn. Would she have fared as well if she'd been fighting an alicorn prepared to fight a unicorn? We don't know. We don't know how much of an alicorn's magic can normally be used in a magic duel, or how much of it contributes to enhanced strength, speed, durability, size, longevity, awareness...sense of taste...You get the idea. We know that Twilight was able to get an advantage when she used physical strength and speed against Starlight. No one expects a wizard to lunge and grapple, let alone to have the physique to pull it off. Especially with her having a backstory that her BFF was sent away to magic school for being too good. Well, where the did she go to learn all that magic? The typical Equestrian library. It sounds crazy, but they don't seem to keep such knowledge locked away. Granted, "Twilight Time" seems to indicate that the Golden Oaks Library was treated entirely as a private residence after Twilight became a princess, if not when she first settled there. Considering how willing Twilight is to share her knowledge, I doubt she's an isolated case. A lot of instructors would be glad to teach an eager young unicorn a few things, especially if she was entirely focused on her lessons and not the opportunity to play. Another important question to ask is: Why would Starlight be so determined to learn all that magic? The answer probably starts with her BFF's departure.

Equestria Daily : Bronies 2015 - A Tribute To Five Years of Pony

Thu, 31 Dec 2015 03:11:55 +0000

Then it's foolish of you to describe them as dumb, seeing that you know nothing of them.

Equestria Daily : The Top 10 Best New Characters of My Little Pony Season 5

Mon, 28 Dec 2015 04:24:08 +0000

Starlight noted that every new resident stayed with her at first. She also reassured others that what they were seeing was part of the equalization process for those who were having difficulty adjusting. Since that indicates it was something new to a lot in the village, we can conclude that a lot of her former house guests never experienced it personally. I still doubt this was the first time she crossed that line, but it's no more absurd than the lengths Twilight was prepared to travel to write a friendship report.

Equestria Daily : The Top 10 Best New Characters of My Little Pony Season 5

Mon, 28 Dec 2015 04:15:11 +0000

No, wait, it isn't because she didn't even BOTHER to keep in touch with him after fillyhood... Prove it. I keep seeing this claim, and I have to ask: Did you really need to see a montage of Starlight Glimmer sending out cards and letters day after day for years before you could accept that she'd given enough time to that one guy who apparently never tried to contact her either? She thought she'd been discarded. Considering she never heard from him again, was she wrong? While it sounds like a good idea to have written him to make sure, it can also be considered a bad idea to chase after people who'd just walk out on you like that. Some would consider the pursuit a demonstration of the sunk cost fallacy. Whether she did or didn't try to contact him was irrelevant to the story. The fact that matters is that he never contacted her. He moved on, as she put it, while she did everything to make sure that would never happen to her with anyone ever again, even if that meant giving up any chance to make friends for a very long time.

Equestria Daily : The Top 10 Best New Characters of My Little Pony Season 5

Mon, 28 Dec 2015 04:00:20 +0000

Siddhartha Gautama, who witnessed suffering and abandoned a life of wealth to meditate on its cause, which he identified as desire. Starlight, on the other hand, perceived the cutie mark to be the cause of all suffering, and sought to eliminate that to fulfill a desire for unbreakable friendship. She's clearly no Buddha, but I'm amused to find unintended contrast. Since she was first introduced, Starlight Glimmer had the power to change the world. It makes the finale song's lyrics about what friends can do a little more curious.

Equestria Daily : The Top 10 Best New Characters of My Little Pony Season 5

Mon, 28 Dec 2015 03:51:58 +0000

No, the best thing I can say about her is that the community she founded was strong enough to endure losing her. Despite feeling betrayed by their leader and disillusioned by the community ideal, there was still a community. That's not all on her, but she is due some of the credit. The show established a low bar for mind control years ago. I'm sure she has used her educational techniques before, but everyone seemed more concerned with hurting their friend's feelings. Even when her secret was revealed, ponies were still treating her as a friend who wasn't playing fair with them. It was hard to believe she was using them because...well, what was the advantage she was taking of a bunch of ponies who'd come here looking for a place in the world? Having a place in the world. The major problem was that she'd built it on a lie and a false belief. Everything else spiraled out from that.

Equestria Daily : The Top 10 Best New Characters of My Little Pony Season 5

Sun, 27 Dec 2015 22:20:37 +0000

It makes sense. If someone is an active, powerful force out looking to change the world, the more productive thing to do is harness her to that purpose.

Equestria Daily : The Top 10 Best New Characters of My Little Pony Season 5

Sun, 27 Dec 2015 22:09:33 +0000

Moondancer didn't mess with the timeline causing untold numbers of ponies to die in the wars it brought about, though. So what? If Starlight's interference had instead lead to a timeline in which all of the villains were able to join society as happy, contributing citizens, where Griffonstone returned to glory years earlier and all of our main characters went on to lead more fulfilling lives without their connection, would she deserve a medal? Of course not. Changing the past is no worse than changing the present, not even when it comes to unpredictable consequences. All we know is the present we saw, not the futures that would result.

Equestria Daily : The Top 10 Best New Characters of My Little Pony Season 5

Sun, 27 Dec 2015 21:38:18 +0000

Starlight isn't normal. She's exceptional. She built a community that continued even when her ideology was abandoned. People make a big deal about the reconditioning in a world with mind control spells--which she did not employ. Few of her villagers had experienced what was done to the main characters, as demonstrated by the public reassurance she had to give. None of this makes what she did right. It does make her more qualified to adopt a life of heroics than Moondancer, and if that's why some like her better, fair enough. Me, I'm just amused because she witnessed suffering and sought to eliminate its perceived source, as did someone else with the same initials. Coincidence? You bet.

Equestria Daily : The Top 10 Best New Characters of My Little Pony Season 5

Sun, 27 Dec 2015 20:58:15 +0000

... she's just Extra Fluttershy with no real characterization. She's the overshadowed sibling and the quiet follower. To our knowledge, Fluttershy is neither of these things, and yes, I'll agree that this makes the pegasus much better suited to carrying more scenes, let alone entire episodes. It's still characterization.

Equestria Daily : Story Updates - December 26th

Sun, 27 Dec 2015 03:45:34 +0000

I nearly choked when I realized that "A Sparkle-ling Perfection" features an attempt to get into Sunset's genes. There's no comedy tag on this one, but it's far from devoid of humour.

Equestria Daily : Nightly Roundup #1280 - Giant Edition

Sat, 26 Dec 2015 12:51:47 +0000

After watching the review of "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?", I think a few reviewers over-complicate it. It's not about how easily guilt can be overcome. It's not about self harm, as another reviewer has claimed. It's not even about the hazards of self-diagnosis or the importance of an independent judiciary system, though the episode can be tied into a discussion of either--within an appropriate audience. It's about not beating yourself up over the things you've done. It doesn't matter whether that was eating your big sister's dessert or violently overthrowing her position to take the house and kingdom for yourself. It's not about how long it takes to get over that. It's about acknowledging the point. Reviewers have been so preoccupied with the idea that Luna nearly destroyed Equestria that they overlook the final scene, in which we see Luna sleeping on an island that looks like the tantibus. She is dreaming...within a dream. Does that make her Chuang Tzu or the butterfly? The ending defies advice that a story should never end with the revelation that the entire story has been a dream. Did Luna create a monster that could destroy Equestria, or did she dream of one? Was the tantibus a monster or an obedient servant? If Luna made a mistake, it was in making a carelessly worded wish? ("Do your worst," tends to underestimate options.) If she didn't, this aspect of herself merely guided her toward accepting a few truths. First, she is not someone who would hurt her kingdom like this. It was true once. It is no longer true. Second, her people know this isn't her. They don't need to see her punished. Was this advice she got from Twilight, or did the dream supply a form that Luna would heed where she could not listen to herself? The episode doesn't say, but that final image of Luna sleeping within a dream sets everything we saw in a more ambiguous light.

Equestria Daily : Friends Forever #24 Preview Arrives!

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 03:57:34 +0000

Now please take that funnel and Kool Aid jug away, I'm still not going to drink any of that. No one's told you to drink anything, internet tough guy. You don't like the art, and that's fine. Feeling you have to blame the artist for your opinion is just needlessly defensive, irresponsible, and insecure. Speaking as your pal, I assure you that you don't need to make excuses for holding on to your four dollars, or for giving it to a food bank instead. Now, why should Jay Fosgitt care about your four dollar opinion?

Equestria Daily : Friends Forever #24 Preview Arrives!

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 02:49:20 +0000

It's not just you, and there'd be nothing wrong with you if it were. One reason I have for liking it is because different interpretation gives the comics distance from the show, for good or ill. If the comic wants to tell a story that we wouldn't see in the show, a distinction in style makes it easier to assess the story for itself, rather than how well it conforms to the show. Not for everyone, I know.

Equestria Daily : Friends Forever #24 Preview Arrives!

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 02:23:32 +0000

Can you translate THAT from asshat to human, please? You have that backward. Nh_Snork* would have been content to say, "Bipedal ponies aren't to my taste," or, "I don't care for the artist's style." You, on the other hand, phrased it as an accusation against the artist, as though Mr. Fosgitt was being unreasonable for having no cause whatsoever to care about Tocamel Fierro's tastes. It's not like he'll suffer if you spend your money somewhere else. You're not offering him enough to work to your specifications, left alone the hefty attitude surcharge he'd be entitled to receive. Still, it's his time, not mine. It's his effort, not mine. If he wants to cater to you, that's his business, not mine. Of course, if he has no interest in catering to your tastes, that's still entirely his business. I doubt he cares how it irritates you to think he's content to ignore you and just get on with his work. I want ponies, not some creepy, deformed things on two legs.. That phrasing is unintentionally priceless. Edit: Removed the bit that suggested you were other than a person. My apologies for that slight.

Equestria Daily : Luna Day: Cosplay Compilation

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 01:08:27 +0000

This was a pleasing mix of variations and interpretations. Thank you.

Equestria Daily : The Upcoming \"Lyra and Bon Bon and the Mares From S.M.I.L.E.\" Book Cover is Awesome

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 01:01:12 +0000

Story-telling Makes Imagination Legitimate Entertainment.

Equestria Daily : The Upcoming \"Lyra and Bon Bon and the Mares From S.M.I.L.E.\" Book Cover is Awesome

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 00:55:21 +0000

He may have a recurring issue with typos, but he's telling the truth!

Equestria Daily : The Upcoming \"Lyra and Bon Bon and the Mares From S.M.I.L.E.\" Book Cover is Awesome

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 00:54:18 +0000

I'd better get Kuryakin if I want to come up with a suitable reply to that before bed. I'm sure it'll come to me. ...Nah. I give up.