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@Stunthead

@Return of Brad

How can you people be so petty? Was it even ever confirmed that that pony is the doppelganger for the human love interest in EqG? I thought it was just implied up the butt.

Implications can be ignored you know.

Even if it was Flash, I don't see what the big deal is when he's not interacting with the cast, has no lines and shit.

If he does get lines and has the same problems that his EqG counterpart does, then I can see the problem.

Honestly, I'll defend the fandom through thick and thin, but yeah, sometimes the shitstorms over minor things like that sometimes make it hard.

You know, speaking of Rainbow Rocks having pop music… they could always throw this song in there:

You know what? Fuck it, just have Freezepop do the soundtrack to the whole movie.

@Flash, Ahh-Ahhhhh:

I don't know, I think he's a bretty cul guy. I've always wanted to challenge him to a guitar battle for some reason. Would you guys watch that? A guitar battle between me and Flash?

@Fifths: That's exactly what I thought, if that actually is Flash then we already know it's not the same Flash we were seeing in EQG. He barely knows who Twilight is beyond that one scene where she bumped in to him and seeing as he was one of the guards escorting Cadence that means he lives all the way in the Crystal Empire so there is very, very little chance this little cameo actually means anything beyond "hurr durr McCarthy lied about something she didn't know was going to happen"

I actually kinda liked seeing the Flash cameo. I didn't mind EQG all that much and I certainly didn't hate Brad Flash even though he was blander than my corn flakes. I just appreciate continuity nods, if any sort of nod was indeed intended.

Aren't the comics and micro comics not considered canon?

That's probably why you don't have people going "RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE" at his appearance there unlike here where he's confirmed canon, never mind the fact that pony Flash doesnt not equal sign here human Flash.

The micro comics and the main series are actually considered canon. The writers of the comics send their scripts to DHX for approval so as to make sure things make sense within the canon of the actual show. They don't go into great detail in making sure every single background event is canonical, though. Sometimes an episode is written that undoes something that happened in the comics. For instance, there were plaques on the walls in Twilight's house that implied her mother was the author of the Daring Do books, but as we all know from watching Daring Don't that is not the case anymore. Still, as I mentioned Flash's name was actually said in dialogue and he was pretty much in the foreground for the entirety of that small scene, so that most likely means someone at DHX saw that his name was in there and he was actually a character in the scene and gave it approval. I think people didn't care as much about it because a) it wasn't actually a part of the main series (i.e. the show) and b) it doesn't mean that McCarthy lied about anything.

TL;DR: The comics are for the most part considered canon and people that don't consider it so are sillyheads.

@Episode
That was a fun episode, I'm glad to see more development for both Discord and Cadance. Oh, and another thing, Twilight finally used her what were previously regarded ornaments, of wings! The song was good as well.

@Flash
I love the fandom's drama. The reactions are priceless!

@Stunt
How do you notice all of that? I really need to pay more attention to things.

Somepony learned from Fluffle Puff who likes to lick ice cream before others eat it.

My sides still haven't recovered from this bit

@Pinka

If you were to have a soundtrack for Equestria Girls 2, what would it be? I would have the following bands:

Metallica
Queen
Rolling Stones
Van Halen
Nirvana
Smashing Pumpkins
Rage Against the Machine
Incubus
Deftones
Avenged Sevenfold
System of a Down

A guy can dream right?

Queen already did a theme song for a certain Equestria Girls character – but, sadly, it was never used:

Yeah, either way the drama surrounding Flash's appearance in the episode was crazy, and to be quite honest, unwarranted.

Call me when he really does steal a waifu, then we'll talk.

It's a shame that never made it in. It fits Sunset Shimmer so well.

What if that wasn't actually Flash Sentry? What if it was an original character: Blash Bentry? Who just happens to look a lot like Flash Sentry? Like a long lost brother or something?

There. Flash is no longer in Season 4. Fixed the fandom. Nothing to see here. Move along.

So I didn't get my jimmies rustled too much over Flash (actually they weren't rustled at all), but how did you guise like this:

Idk why, but this has to be my favorite way to animate the ponies. It seems the happiest for some reason. Discord squeezing it made it even funnier.

Also @ this image:

That background pony…

I only can shudder at the things it must have seen. XD

@Pinka:
You're licking spoons? Could you like mine while your at it?

Edit: Also, we now have this book cover. Do we think this one will skip the theater and be a straight to Dvd/Blu-ray release?

And here's a game because Celestia x Cake.

Celestia's Cake Golf Adventure In Space by futzi01 on deviantART

Stunthead said:

Hey Blue Screen, you remember the ad this gif is from?

Is it anything like the "Boiling pot of oil" Canadian PSA? Or the "looking at the operational end of a nail gun" one?

chowzburgerz said:

If you were to have a soundtrack for Equestria Girls 2, what would it be?

>Generic pop
>Generic pop
>Generic pop
>Dubstep remix
>Generic pop
>Classical ballad in D major

Oh, you mean what I want to see. Stuff that isn't generic pop and has that "standard drum beat" I keep on hearing in every song.

I don't see why they wouldn't do the Two day at each theater release like the other movie did. Obviously the movie didn't take 40 million to market and from what I heard most of the theaters were packed for the showings so it must've been a success for what little budget they used to release it if they were able to RE-RELEASE it again a few weeks later due to popular demand. They could easily do it again while this Brony craze is still going on.

@Stunt

Hey Blue Screen, you remember the ad this gif is from? That campain scared the crap out of me. Yeah, good times…

Ah yes, the Kiwi home safety PSA's. Fun slapstick comedy which won't give your kids nightmares at all!

It aired in the US too. Under the title: America's Funniest Home Video's

@Chowz

If you were to have a soundtrack for Equestria Girls 2, what would it be?

Oooh, I know just the guy to make the music for EqG2, I'm sure the kids and soccer moms will enjoy what he has to offer.

Fun for the whole family!
Wholesome Christian Values!
Positive constructive messages for the kids!

Fortunately for all of humanity, I will have no influence whatsoever in the making of this movie.

In all seriousness, it's probably gonna be Hannah Montana or something like that

@Flash sentry

Okay, so apparently that WAS Flash Sentry after all.

Fine, I take back what I said earlier. I've never seen EqG or any screenshots of it so how was I supposed to know that's what he looked like in pony form?

Well either it was just some cameo or Flash is not the waifu stealer he's been cracked up to be. Clearly he's been spending all his time at the Crystal empire when Twilight is in Ponyville. They spend such little time together that they didn't even address each other at the train station. Or maybe it IS just a regular guard and the animators just borrowed the Flash guard model because they didn't have time to animate two.

@BSOD: The Flash Sentry pony does not share the same memories as the Flash Sentry human, the pony doesn't actually know Twilight on any personal level at all. So yeah.

@ Big sod BsOD
Heheh, yeah, those were really scary- I mean, great ACC ads.
Eh, I don't know, it was more the initial surprise for me. Unlike the hot oil PSA that Extisgex gave as an example, there wasn't any indication that the nice lady talking about Fruit-E-Bars was about to be smashing face-first through a glass table. Rewatching them all on YouTube, though, they aren't really that graphic, no blood or anything. Though they clearly left an impact, seeing as I remembered all four of them. I'm probably just a pansy. For those who are curious, here are the links.

Oh right, this is supposed to be about ponies.

Psst… Hey Blue… Monique says you're dumb.

@Equestria Girls 2: Electric Boogaloo
Eh, I don't really see anything wrong with a sequel. It's not like there's anything to exploderize that the first one didn't already. At least, I don't think you can exploderize twice. Plus this seems to be pushing DJ-PON3 pretty hard, so I would imagine a bigger roll in the show as a setup/result isn't too far off. Maybe she'll get more than one brief scene per season for once. Plus I'm sure my arch nemesis would hate it! Take that, Crashed-and-Gored-on! Muhahaha!

That'll teach him to have a different opinion to me!

Something cool funny worth posting backwards to finish us off.

People hack, time feels weird, people there skip.
He's burned that fine ass, yes boy.
Tread! Fight! Core the foolish soul!

@Blue, below.

@Stunt

That was sarcasm. Those PSA's gave people nightmares about everyday household objects

Well, I finally got a chance to rewatch the episode which I always feel like I have to do with anything involving Discord.
His episodes are always filled to the brim with so many quick little jokes, references and gags that it is impossible to get it all in one go.
I swear that the animators must jump for joy when they see Discord in the script because it's their ticket to really let loose.

Like Stunthead said, there are just too many awesome moments to possibly gif them all out, so I'll just pick one example that I really like:

I always love the little unacknowledged stuff that happens every time Discord does… well, anything.
The house floating away, the light pole tipping its hat and walking off, the witch hats attacking ponies…
You can just tell that the animators were having so much fun and it makes me giggle every time!

@Episode itself
On the whole, I'd kind of compare it to Pinkie Apple Pie in that not a whole lot happened but I was having too much fun to really care.
It was nice to see more of a couple characters that have been a bit dormant and learning about Cadance's 'wild side' was a fun addition to her character.
Even pink pony princesses want to go out and shoot a worm with lasers every once in a while!
Overall, very solid episode!

By the way, for those who might have been wondering:

And yes, like most of the other crazy creatures in MLP, it is based on real mythology, this time from Germanic mountain areas apparently.
(Ignore that the 'real' thing is actually more of a lizard and based on 'wurm' being a type of dragon, not a 'worm.')
I do have to say that this thing was probably the most legitimately terrifying creature in MLP history.
We've had other monsters with viscous natures and giant teeth, but they've always been balanced out by still being relatively cartoony and sort of… normal-ish, I guess.
This Tatzlwurm was just… completely alien.
Freaky as all hell and totally not something I was expecting to see (in a good way).

Oh, and as I predicted them moment it came on screen:

Finished that same day!

@The Elephant in the Room
Jesus freaking Christ, could these people actually complaining about Flash be anymore pathetically petty?
I can't even count the number of ways in which this 'outrage' is so misguided and stupid.

"But Meghan LIED to us! Whah!"
How can people claiming to be such massive fans of a cartoon show apparently know so damn little about how cartoons are made?
Meghan is the head writer.
She is in charge of getting all of the scripts together and written with her team of writers who all live down here in LA.
Once the scripts are completed and approved, they are sent up to DHX in Canada to be voiced and animated.
This process typically takes about a year to complete during which Meghan's active role in the production is basically nil.
Yes, perhaps she could be slightly more careful with her word choice, but are we seriously getting that freaking pedantic?
Anyone with half a functioning brain would realize the extent of her ability to control what ends up in the show.

Meghan was not lying when she said 'Flash is not a character in season 4' because he wasn't.
He had no lines, no stage direction, and his name was not written anywhere in any of the scripts that she approved and sent to the studio.
Flash was likely added during the storyboard or final animation steps when someone decided that Cadance needed to arrive with her royal guards and Flash was shown to be one of those guards during EQG.
In a season already littered with overt and subtle bits of continuity, that's pretty much exactly what should have happened.
It all makes perfect sense and only the most ridiculous idiots would get their panties in a bunch over it.

And really, all of this jumping to Meghan's defense is just a distraction from the real issue at hand: Why did these people even need an assurance that he wouldn't appear in the first place?
Who the hell is so violently opposed to Flash that his mere appearance is enough to send them into a rage?
I absolutely agree that he was a completely bland character that did nothing for the plot of the movie, but my God…
Bad characters exist.
I'm as attached to this show as anyone, but if your emotions are so tightly wound into all of this that Flash Sentry's little cameo was enough to piss you off, you need to take a massive step back and examine what the hell is wrong with you.
Whether you say it is because you don't like Flash or you feel that Meghan 'betrayed' you, the viscous hatred of him is something that you can only blame yourself for and trying to pin it on some outside source is just dumb.
Flash exists.
Deal with it.

Okay, I'm back because I like leaving on a good note:
More Dashie in yo' house!

@DP

This is why I only watch /mlp/ from a distance. The way people kick up shitstorms so easily just reeks of immaturity. People who find a minor insignificant detail of a childrens cartoon to be a serious matter of importance that could actually affect their lives probably have not left school yet, otherwise they'd know what real problems were.

I can't stand being around people like that

Then again, I'm sure most of those people purposely exaggerate the drama for the sheer irony of it all

Blue Screen said:

Fine, I take back what I said earlier. I’ve never seen EqG or any screenshots of it so how was I supposed to know that’s what he looked like in pony form?

>2014
>not watching EqG
>not seeing how terrible/mediocre it was
>not realizing it was worse than Pokemon 15
>not getting your jim jams jostled
>not writing an angry rant about it
>not joining the shitstorms
>not getting trapped on the movie ride

Step it up.

Deadparrot222 said:

She is in charge of getting all of the scripts together and written with her team of writers who all live down here in LA.

While I'm unable to verify, I'm pretty certain she's up in Vancouver with the rest of the staff, given the combinations of her various duties (script editor, head writer, executive producer) which woudl nessessitate being close to the crew and the fact that Faust, someone who was well versed in the production business, had to resign to due the pressures and stresses of being so far away.

Anyone with half a functioning brain would realize the extent of her ability to control what ends up in the show.

Considering she's Executive Producer, head writer, head of script editing, and a normal writer, I'd say her control over what goes into the show is pretty absolute.

Meghan was not lying when she said ‘Flash is not a character in season 4’ because he wasn’t.

Yes he was.

Websters dictionary said:

Character: one of the persons of a drama or novel.

Just because someone doesn't have a line, or wasn't in the script doesn't mean he's not a character. Going by that, Lyra, Bon Bon, Dr Hooves, Derpy, Carrot Top, etc aren't characters. There's a reason they're referred to as background characters.

Bad characters exist.

And you do one of two things with bad characters, you either improve them, or you get rid of them. Given the fact that Flash's screen time would be extremely limited (barring an upgrade in his role), improving him would be very difficult, simply ignoring him is the easier and more sensible option.

…the viscous hatred of him is something that you can only blame yourself for and trying to pin it on some outside source is just dumb.

I'm sorry but you're wrong. You never blame the audience for how they take something that the writer writes. That's how inflated egos and ignorance of criticism happens. People don't hate something just because. There's always going to be a reason. You stated yourself the reason: he's a bland, boring character that did nothing for the plot save for being a painfully bad romantic interest for a character that's shown no romantic inclinations before or since. Flash was written very poorly, and people don't like seeing a poorly written character.

Deal with it.

That has to be one of the worst ways of addressing criticism. That's also the worst way of giving out criticism. "This is bad. Oh well, nothing I can do. I just have to accept it." If mistakes are not pointed out, how can you expect the show to improve? Of course, the reaction was quite a bit overstated, but it did tell the writers a very important thing: the periphery audience does not like Flash, even in a nonspeaking role. I'm sure they've been given plenty or reasons why we dislike him.

Rolling over and just accepting things as the way they are never ends well.

Where's Wally?

@xTSGx

You know, I'm a creative person and I actually have some experience of what it's like to be on the production side of some artistic project and not just a viewer. It's hard work being an artist, granted it's not the same kind of hard as digging a ditch 8 hours a day for minimum wage, but it still requires a lot of time and effort, and with the big projects, you really need to give it a piece of yourself in order for it to get anywhere.

When you look at a project, you're not just seeing dancing cartoons or words on paper, you are seeing all the artist's titanic efforts at creating something beautiful and all the hopes, dreams, and fears that end up getting tied into that pursuit. When he presents his work, the artist is bearing his soul and putting himself in a place of total vulnerability to his audience. What represents months or years of effort can be torn down by the watcher in a mere heartbeat. It's fucking terrifying. Why do we do it? Because we want to give something to the audience and our fans are worth it.

YOU are not worth it, xTSGx. You think you're providing thoughtful criticism, but really you're ignoring 22 minutes of lovely animation, music, and writing because you didn't like some rube who appeared in the background for five seconds and said nothing. I do not recognize you as a lover of the arts who offers criticism in hopes of improving it, but just a petty fanboy spitting in the face of the people who worked so hard to give you this gift. The only thing more astounding than your piggish ingratitude is the arrogance with which you proclaim your right to it.

If you were my audience, I'd kindly ask you to leave the theatre. We don't want you. Go.

@xTSGx
You blame the audience for what they think about a piece of work. The show will have the same content everyone views. It's what they think about it that's causing such buttthurt to rise. All I saw in Flash was some kind of background character. No more than that.

@ Fifths
Well, people are allowed to have opinions, whether you see them as shitty or perfectly agreeable. If you don't like it, ignore it. Don't go lashing out at it, cause then you just make it a LOT worse. Besides, it's criticism. It's gonna be everywhere for everything. No use stopping it, because it will just rise from the ashes like Bane.

@xTSGx

Seeing you continue to diss EqG makes me feel a lot less silly about legitimately enjoying some of it. And while your entitled to as many implication fits that you like, didn't you in so many words tell me like a couple days ago to just deal with the shitstorms even though you don't want to be told to deal with something? What makes you think you can do more about the writing than I can do about the shitstorms? I understand wanting to express an opinion, but to imply that it's actually going to change anything in either case is kind of ridiculous. The writers will never take criticism of the show that close to heart and they really shouldn't. You seem to forget that it's excellent as is for their target audience and that we're just along for the ride.

(The ride that never ends, of course).

Never did I think there would be the day that I'd:

• disapprove of DeadParrot's tone (not that he needs approval)
• agree with xTSGx on the whole (although I can't be swayed to believe Ms. McCarthy would bother to make sure that Flash Sentry never appeared in FiM ever again in any context. That's just not necessary.) But she does have control over it if she needs to use it. I'd just argue that it's not necessary. But to just "deal with it" as any sort of conclusion is too dismissive. The writers deserve all of the credit and faith we've got, but no one is above a well-stated criticism.

@Mark, Verbose

I just don't agree. I feel like criticisms against the major components that make up the show are perfectly valid and acceptable, but complaining about something so trivial as a background pony that appears for a few seconds is the height of piggishness. It's like complaining that War and Peace was a terrible book because you didn't like the font on the chapter headings.

Actually, fuck that analogy. It would be more akin to people hissing and booing a play in the early part of the 20th century because a black guy had a minor, non-speaking role and the audience just doesn't like being reminded that black people exist. It's just a completely irrational instinct on the audience's part against some irrelevant detail, not against the actual business of the play. Do you really think such an audience's opinion should be heeded?

I don't think such an audience deserves any respect in its opinion whatsoever, and combine that with the fact that this is coming from a periphery demographic mostly watching bootlegged copies on YouTube just brings it down to the level of repugnance. If I were McCarthy, I would start including more cameos of Flash as a BG pony just as a fuck you to /mlp/. I really would.

Wow, that got fierce really quickly…

Look, I know Flash is controversial but I'm sure we can discuss him with civility, can't we?

Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen you guys get as hostile as TSG and particularly Fifths are right now, it's honestly slightly frightening…

On a note related to another point, I found a previous post where I elaborated on my reasons for hating Vinyl… And it's gonna jostle some johnnies so I might as well post it now to deflect some of the rage elsewhere in this thread.

It was on this picture about 5 months ago:

I commented this:

Honestly, as overplayed as Flash’s “waifu thief” stuff can be sometimes, he’s still miles better than Vinyl Scratch.
Seriously, you’re going to pick the dumb bitch who makes lame music, uses FREAKIN’ RECORDS still, looks like a weirdo and apparently has red eyes like a FLIPPING DEMON? Really?

…So yeah, I kinda negatively compared her to Flashy…
Better get my Flame Shield!

Wait no, that's not what I meant at all!

@ Crash

Not that I care much about what you think about Vinyl, but others do. Needless to say, you'll need this.

@ Fifths
You don't have to agree. Just know that there's critics and opinions for the littlest things. BTW, your only partially right; there needs to be more cameos… Lyra cameos…

@Crash

While I find some of the reasons you used a bit silly (mainly the "uses still records" one), this isn't really something to get your timmies troubled over.

Crash said

On a note related to another point, I found a previous post where I elaborated on my reasons for hating Vinyl… And it’s gonna jostle some johnnies so I might as well post it now to deflect some of the rage elsewhere in this thread.

See, here's the thing. You're hating on a pony that I happen to like; doesn't really make me mad. I just disagree.

TSG is hating on a pony that I happen to also kind of dislike, but he's being an entitled butt about it. I think his attitudes towards the relation between the creators and the audience are in really bad form, that's where my irritation is coming from.

Mark said

You don’t have to agree. Just know that there’s critics and opinions for the littlest things. BTW, your only partially right; there needs to be more cameos… Lyra cameos…

I acknowledge that his criticism exists, that doesn't mean it should exist or that I have to respect it.

…but yes, more Lyra would always be welcome.

I think bands with a female singer would benefit better for a movie like this. So…

-Paramore
-X (Sorta…)
-Freezepop
-The Distillers
-Anything that involved Joan Jett
-Tokio Hotel (To be fair, I thought their singer was a chick for a long time…)

Unrelated hng:

Oh Paramore would be good for the film. Hayley Williams as DJ-Pon3.

This entire time, I was pushing for Nowacking to be her canon voice actress, but… this works so well. I mean, Nowacking's voice for her is still my headcanon, but Vinyl could sing Misery Business! In a MLP movie! Probably need to alter the lyrics, though.

Did anyone else see this ad on Derpibooru

Do you mean to tell me that Applejack and Pinkie Pie both live in my area?

How did I not know this earlier?

Why have they never called me?

But no matter – for I shall track them down.

Best you all wished you lived in my neighborhood SUCKERS!

@Crash

Seriously, you’re going to pick the dumb bitch who makes lame music, uses FREAKIN’ RECORDS still, looks like a weirdo and apparently has red eyes like a FLIPPING DEMON? Really?

Ehhh…to give you a fair bit of advice: I think you are better off with the whole "I hate Vinyl Scratch because I just plain fucking hate her " approach. That would actually make more sense than…that argument…because at least we can chalk it down to a matter of perspective/preference rather than any logical reason.

And boy I can point out the logical flaws in that one:
1. Vinyl records are HEAVILY used in the music industry right to this very date. DJ's vastly prefer them when performing on-stage. ESPECIALLY electronic artists. Go find some video's of live DJ's and you will see.
2. You haven't even heard her music. Her music is pretty much fan speculation
3. She doesn't have red eyes. Go look up her canon eye color.

But lets be honest, we don't always hate things for logical reasons and we don't need to. Some things just naturally piss us off and that's the way it is. I don't know why I hate the CMC. They just grate my nerves (sorry DP) for no apparent reason. But I don't confront anyone about that. I keep that to myself

So don't try and explain it, lets just hate away to ourselves and leave it at that.

@Above shitstorm

Uuuugh….not even starting.

More Lyra please

I wasn't even paying attention to what's going on in this page.

Lyra

@Blue
Administering more Lyra.

@Flash Scent-Tree

I've always believed that there is no problem so small that it shouldn't be reported. The belief was only made stronger yesterday when I was looking at more violent PSAs and I saw one where a girl had her finger cut off by a bread slicer because she didn't want to ask her boss for help. Ehh…

Back on track, if Flash is a bad character, the staff should be informed of this. If people want to point out that Meghan McCarthy was incorrect in saying that Flash would not be a character, they should. These are just tiny little issues that can be quickly and easily explained or ironed out, and I think are worth enquiring about. Though judging by how I can hear Extisgex's maniacal laughter all the way in Kiwiland, I'm going to guess that the more passionate fans have been pushing the message a bit hard. And by 'a bit,' I mean rather than a tap on the shoulder they've been giving the staff running sucker punches in the back of the head. So yeah, that's when it starts getting ridiculous.

The short of it is that (valid) critisism is a tool worth using for even very small issues like a background appearance from a character who people don't like. But tools are made for fixing things. Smashing a nail with a hammer really hard (about 50 times) will get the nail in for sure, but at that point the hammer may have caused bigger problems.

Oh my gosh. My brain can't handle all of these wall o' text.

@Pony ad:

Isn't that the same one they used to have on ponycountdown.com or something and when you clicked on it, it would redirect you to a fake page saying "you sick, sick brony." or something like that?

@Moar Lyra:
She'd be great in equestria girls 2! They should put her in the background trying to jump into the ponyverse portal.

(not the pic I wanted, but close enough.)

@EqG Haters:
Do you like mmmmmm Bananas???

Actually I was trying to do some research on Equestria Girls because I thought it made the the top ten grossing one weekend, but I couldn't find any details about that. I did however find this neat tidbit about the Dvd/Blu-ray release.

It appears to be only 3 weeks of data (Sept 11-25, 2013), but that's not too bad over all. I'd say they made a decent profit off of it. Probably were a lot more sales before Christmas.

So we haven't had a group stream lately. Do you guys want to do a stream of Equestria Girls soon? I just got it on Blu-ray and it'd give BSoD a chance to see it.

And lastly, have an Equestria Girls 1 reaction gallery…

Edit: Almost forgot a link to these references that were all in EqG. I missed like half of them.

Part 1/2

Fifths said:

YOU are not worth it, xTSGx.

The entire purpose of creating something isn't because someone's "worth" viewing it, it isn't about the "fans," it's to provide people with entertainment. That's it. You, as the creator, do not get to dictate how people look at your work. You do not act like the bouncer, determining who gets to view your work. If someone dislikes something about your work, you need to accept that dislike, and more importantly, learn from it. Use it to improve yourself so that you can provide better entertainment in the future.

You think you’re providing thoughtful criticism, but really you’re ignoring 22 minutes of lovely animation, music, and writing…

Sometimes, it's the small things that ruin a story/artistic piece. You'd be amazed at how many [Comedy] fics I've read that were completely ruined by two sentences because the Fridge Horror that those two sentences had in them killed the humor. That isn't the case with Flash, but it's important to remember that you don't ignore small criticisms just because they're small.

Things can very easily snowball out of control if they're not addressed. Especially in the case of a story. What if it was foreshadowing? If it was something leading up to a much bigger event? If that chekov's gun plays a big role later on? If people didn't criticize it, and the other didn't take their criticism to heart, that small issue could turn into a massive problem.

I think that's an apt comparison with Flash. As it stands, his role is very small. That could change. Your daily reminder that Gen 2 had romantic relationships. What this entire reaction to him has shown is that if they want to throw him into S5, they're gonna have to do some serious work. As I said before, it would be nearly impossible to improve him enough to warrant his continued presence--especially when you have so many other characters (Luna, Celestia, Shining Armor, Spitfire, Soarin--just to name a few) that could be fleshed out with much larger impacts on the story.

If people just payed attention to all the "hard work" (which is one of the worst ways to deflect criticism. Even Battleship Earth required "hard work" to make) that they did for those twenty-two minutes and just ignored Flash, the writers wouldn't have known just how negatively received he is (considering only a fraction of the people working on the show itself worked on the movie). Without this criticism, they'd have no idea that Flash will need serious work if he's to become likable.

…because you didn’t like some rube who appeared in the background for five seconds and said nothing.

If you want to know my personal opinion of his appearance--it was laughter. I knew this would be a shitstorm and you should know by now that I love me a good shitstorm. I was disappointed in McCarthy's less than accurate absolute statement, but I still grinned. Don't believe her lies. Who would have thought a silly meme would actually hold true?

Would I have preferred it if he didn't appear? Absolutely. He's a terrible character that does nothing and adds nothing to the story. Did it impact my enjoyment of the episode? No. Discord being a dick and the plot being predictable did that.

Another good criticism point: don't ever assume somebody's reaction is because of this thing or that thing. People have a wide range of opinions, including why they dislike a certain thing. When you start "writing off" people's criticisms because they're "butthurt," you start sliding down a slippery slope that leads to thinking all criticism is due to "butthurt." Ignorance soon follows.

I do not recognize you as a lover of the arts who offers criticism in hopes of improving it, but just a petty fanboy spitting in the face of the people who worked so hard to give you this gift.

Ad hominems aside, entitlement is a very nasty thing to have as a creator. This isn't a "gift," it's not "special"--It's a tv show. One that people can very easily stop watching. When you start viewing your creative work as something special, as something that you're giving your audience, that slippery slope pops back in. How dare they refuse my gift to them? I worked so hard on it and they just point out some issues with it? The nerve. The thing is, you're not "giving" your audience anything. You're putting it out there and if someone likes what they see, they come to you. You don't go to them. Besides, it's anything but a "gift." If this were really a "gift," Hasbro would be releasing it on Pirate Bay. What kind of a gift requires someone to pay for it? If I pay for something, then you bet your ass if I find something wrong with it I'm going to talk about it.

The only thing more astounding than your piggish ingratitude is the arrogance with which you proclaim your right to it.

If you were my audience, I’d kindly ask you to leave the theatre. We don’t want you. Go.

>you're unworthy to view my creation because you have the audacity to point out flaws in it. Leave my presence.

That's what you sound like. And you're calling me arrogant? Here's a basic rule of capitalism: don't insult the consumer. "We don’t want you." Alright, I'll gladly take my money and spend it on something else. When you give that kind of response to people who are critical of your work, you're going to find out very rapidly that that doesn't translate into more viewers. Into more money. The best you'll get is a four-hundred response thread on /co/ or /tv/ about how much of an arrogant faggot you are.

This is the culmination of the slippery slope: the hugbox. You ignore the criticism--you rationalize them as just being angry "anti-fans" who simply don't appreciate or understand all the hard work and time you spent into gifting them with the genius of your work. You delete comments on your videos that have criticism in them--they're only trolls. You block people on Twitter because they're offending you--they just like wasting time.

Soon, the only people who are left are the ones who agree with you. You surround youself with "yes-fans" and it very quickly and very easily gets to the point where those "yes-fans" are the only ones who enjoy your work. You become so blind and so ignorant to the rest of the world that they only stare at you and your work and wonder "What the fuck? What happened? This used to be so good."

Iamslow said:

…didn’t you in so many words tell me like a couple days ago to just deal with the shitstorms even though you don’t want to be told to deal with something?

I believe I told you to enjoy the shitstorms, not deal with them. Have fun watching everyone lose their minds over something. Having fun is supposed to be the most important part of being in the fandom, after all.

What makes you think you can do more about the writing than I can do about the shitstorms?

For one, its a mass effect. There's hundreds if not thousands of people who have the instant ability to communicate and vocalize their rustled jimmies. They're also just ordinary people. As people involved in creative works, I hope that DHX can use these reactions to help improve the quality and entertaining value of the show.

I don't expect them to personally see my comments, but when you get enough people saying things, I'd hope that they'd take note.

To Be Continued…

(Part 2/2)
Last time, on Pony General VII…

xTSGx said:

Everybody's a faggot.

And now the conclusion.

Fifths said:

It’s just a completely irrational instinct on the audience’s part against some irrelevant detail, not against the actual business of the play.

You're summarily dismissing people's reactions. Don't do that. Instead, wonder "why are they having this reaction?" There's two main reasons: 1) They think Flash is a boring, bland, one dimensional character, and 2) They don't want him hooking up with Twilight. Point two is directly tied to point one. The reason many hate the idea of Flashlight isn't because it steals their waifu, it's because he's a terrible character. Of all the characters Twilight could hook up with, they choose the cardboard cutout.

Now that you have a better understanding of the audience's reaction, you can address that reaction. If you don't really plan to ever use Flash again, then you might as well cut him from the useless cameos. You're not going to improve his characterization like that and since that's the main reason people hate him, you should just cut the tumor off.

If you do plan on using him in the future, you have a lot of work ahead. I'll be honest and say that I don't really think he can be improved. He'd require a massive amount of screen time in order to flesh him out properly to the point that people would accept him and that's screen time they simply can't afford to waste on a third-tier character.

But again, don't dismiss an audiences' reactions. I don' think I can stress that enough. People don't just hate something, there's always going to be a reason. you're analogy is silly and fallacious. people don't hate Flash because of a bias, they hate him because he's not a well thought out, or used character. Even the people that love EqG admit he's bland and poorly done.

…coming from a periphery demographic mostly watching bootlegged copies on YouTube…

Who happen to spend shittons of money on the merch, AKA "the only thing Hasbro really gives a shit about."

If I were McCarthy, I would start including more cameos of Flash as a BG pony just as a fuck you to /mlp/. I really would.

Taking the high road, I see? Antagonizing your audience isn't going to do anything. How does more Flash cameos make the show better? How is it more entertaining? It's not. You're doing it because you're being petty. You have a very thin skin, Fifths. And that's not a trait to have when you're in a creative field.

Crashgordan94 said:

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you guys get as hostile as TSG and particularly Fifths are right now, it’s honestly slightly frightening…

This is nothing. You should have seen me in Exit Through Canterlot's comment section. My jimmies aren't even really that rustled right now. Just as long as no "zero tolerance/summery execution" justice systems start getting used, my jimmies should remain fine.

Seriously, you’re going to pick the dumb bitch who makes lame music, uses FREAKIN’ RECORDS still, looks like a weirdo and apparently has red eyes like a FLIPPING DEMON? Really?

Wut.

>who makes lame music
We don't even know what kind of music she makes--if any (I'm pretty sure most DJs/audio engineers don't make their own music). The wubs are all purely fanon.

>uses FREAKIN’ RECORDS still
DJs almost always still use vinyl records, as they can physically manipulate the song to get it to do all those unique audio techniques that are impossible with CDs/mp3s. In addition, given Equestria's 70's era computer technology, vinyl records would still be the main music source for distribution.

>has red eyes
Fanon. Since jossed.

Iamslow said:

Did anyone else see this ad on Derpibooru

Where'd Disturbed B[insert] go? He's our "creepy social stalker murders him in a run down apartment" guinea pig, isn't he?

@Fifths: Fair enough, I guess, though I must admit I still think you were laying it on a bit thick. I could definitely see why that was irritating but at the end of the day it was just pointing out some critiques. Though letting it ruin the episode for you would be pretty dsft.

@Blue: Maybe and you do have a point but I like to have reasons, possibly because of the degree to which I hate my least favourite ponies (you probably don't want to see the CMC suffer, I could imagine that sort of thing would require a lot more reasoning) and I have reasons for the other three. Not that I'd venture to go on a rant here, just so I could actually give a proper reason to anyone who asked why I feel this way or something like that. Because honestly I'm not satisfied with those reasons either.

@Cute: Is this the picture you were looking for?

BTW, with all the song talk, don't all things MLP use original songs?

@Stunt

I love this image, she's so squuute in that hoodie! I wanna hug her.

Smashing a nail with a hammer really hard (about 50 times) will get the nail in for sure, but at that point the hammer may have caused bigger problems.

This is a pretty good analogy and lines up well if what I was thinking earlier. I have no problem with people voicing concerns about Flash Sentry. They just don't need to be so melodramatic about it as if it's the biggest problem in the world (Then again, perhaps it is in their world)

@Crash.

I like to have reasons

And that's definitely the smart thing to do. It is rational to seek reasons before you go and hate something. By all means you should consider carefully the reasons why you choose to dislike and hold onto that dislike. A wise man also re-evaluates his reasons on a regular basis

A kids cartoon isn't that significant in the greater scheme of things, so you can get away with choosing to dislike something for the sake of it. If you just don't like something in MLP, that's no big deal (then again, said insignificance also means that it shouldn't be such a tremendous object of distaste either). For anything else greater in life, however, one should never loath with reckless abandon

But while you hate reasonably if you must, I just think one shouldn't pull their reasons from the ass. Either have good reasons or just admit you don't have one, so we can all move along.

you probably don’t want to see the CMC suffer, I could imagine that sort of thing would require a lot more reasoning

You are quite right. While I may dislike CMC episodes, I in no way wish such ill upon them, nor by extension would I wish ill on their fans either. I mean they are just fillies for crying out loud. I would even defend them from other people who would impose malicious attitudes to them. They don't deserve to be punished. Especially not because they merely didn't pertain to my interest (Another thing that separates men from boys is that men realize that uninteresting =/= evil)

There's also the fact that they are not real, so it's kinda pointless focusing that much anger on a Flash animation

So if I did hate the CMC to that point, I would definitely require a solid reason for doing so.

At this point however I don't have a strong reason to dislike them. I guess I just don't like kids. Stupid little ankle biters…