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Le war face face.

Platus said

When approaching an issue like this, we should act with more humility and self-reflection, just to make sure that we do not find ourselves placed by accident on the wrong side of an important issue.

As much as I appreciate you for making my point for me here about the tactics and goals of historical activists like King being very similar to today's social justice bloggers, I can't help but be annoyed that you'd cap your argument with a statement like that, Platus. You're an ethical nihilist from what I've gathered about you, so I can really only think of 2 reasons why you'd advocate being on the 'right' side of an issue

1: You think it is preferable to be on the side of an issue that history comes to favor with time purely for the sake of being in the majority.
2: You only said that line to try to make your rant rhetorically stronger.

I don't find either of those positions at all respectable. Please explain why you think it's bad that we should find ourselves placed on the wrong side of an issue (Perhaps in a personal message so that we don't turn this into Philosophy General)

Obligatory Horse

This episode was pretty solid. AJ and Rarity had great interactions with each other, and I love how oblivious Trenderhoof was to small town life to the point where he didn't even know when he was being offensive ("I admire the work ethic of earth ponies"). This episode did at one point retread territory that was already covered in Look Before You Sleep when AJ and Rarity were making fun of each other, and Rarity learned her lesson a little too suddenly for my tastes, but overall I can't complain too much.

Side notes:
Tabitha's voice work was stupendous, I could not stop laughing when Rarity was imitating AJ's accent
The facial expressions were hilarious
It bothered me to see Trenderhoof have the same body model as Cheese Sandwich, seeing as that was just one episode ago
I loved the "southern belle" vibe I was getting from Rarity's clothing line at the end

Betcha can't make a face crazier than THIS

@Fifths

In terms of my final line, I was taking as an assumption that most of the people here were, anti-racist, anti-sexist, and so on and so forth – an assumption that I drew from how angry people were getting at this-or-that artist (in this case, JJ) being accused of racism. In this case, being "on the wrong side of an important issue" would involve saying something that was indeed racist, or which furthered some kind of racist goal or ideology, unintentionally due to a lack of self-reflection or some other problematic assumption.

So, hypothetically, someone could, without realizing the full implications, draw a picture based on some kind of racist stereotype, insulting a great number of people and reproducing the symbolism of an ideology that they do not subscribe to. Then, when someone tells them what they did, they might, because of an antipathy to "social justice bloggers," deride the notion that they might have done something racist and refuse to take down or alter the picture. Not only would they then be doing something that, according to their own ethical principles, they would disagree with, but the incident might also become a source of embarrassment and shame for them later on should they acquire a greater level of perspective.

Part of my problem with the anti-SJ people is that, since nobody can know everything, it is always possible to accidentally further an ideology that you disagree with without realizing, and as such it would be a bad idea to create an environment in which someone calling someone else out for racism/sexism/homophobia/whatever would be dismissed and ridiculed simply for the act of doing so. I asked for humility, then, because one must to a certain extent humble in order to have one's mind changed – that is, humble in the sense of recognizing that you could, in principle, be mistaken in any given argument, and also willing to listen to someone who is attempting to demonstrate problems in your position. This does not mean agreeing with everything that the SJ bloggers say, or with playing "spot the racism" with every piece of media you see, but that, if you do indeed disagree with these prejudices and wish to remove them, it would be a very bad idea to stigmatize the people who would likely be the first people to bring those prejudices to your attention.

Of course, if someone actually holds those prejudices as a conscious ideology and wishes to promote and defend them, then that opens up a completely different can of worms and totally changes the conversation. But, again, I was under the assumption that if we were to ask any person here whether they had those beliefs or not, the vast majority of people would say "no."

Edit: I agree that if this is going to turn into another large philosophy debate, we should take it out of the thread. In the mean time, have some Purple Smart:

@Purple Smart: That's one blank tank.

@War Face:

Hey guys, we have pictures of the voice actor that played Trenderhoof! Wow with a name like Doron Bell I could just imagine him being this dorky looking guy whom could probably never have a chance with My Waifu Rarity.

Oh sweet Jesus he's attractive!

I took your pun and my pun and then I made this:

There are no brakes on this thread! Ahahahahaha!

>posting on ponychan
>not posting on /mlp/
>op is not being a faggot
>ishdygddt
I am sure that no one will give a shit whatsoever. Okay some fucks have been given

@Crashgordon94
After spending twenty-five minutes scouring the archive, I finally found it:

xTSGx said:

Episodes you shouldn’t cut:
>Season Premieres
>Season finales (if watching season 1 finale, the episodes Ticket Master and Suited for Success are also required)
>Bridle Gossip (Zecora introduction)
>Cutie Mark Chronicles (gives backstory for Mane Six)
>Luna Eclipsed (Luna introduction)
>Hearth’s Warming Eve (Equestria origin story)
>Family Appreciation Day (Ponyville origin)
>Keep Calm and Flutter On (Discord reformation)
>Games Ponies Play (since it appears the Equestria Games will be in S4)
>Read It and Weep (Daring Do introduction, important for S4 episode 4)

I’d also recommend not cutting:
>Sonic Rainboom and Wonderbolt Academy (as they are important episodes for Dash’s character development)
>Winter Wrap-Uo (best song is best song)
>Party of One and Lesson Zero (to see where half of all [Grimdark]s originated with)
>the original version of The Last Roundup (if you care about Derpy)

Great tier episodes (>opinion) that haven’t already been listed:
>A Bird in the Hoof
>Hurricane Fluttershy
>Sleepless in Ponyville

Episodes you can definitely skip (>opinion):
>Dragon Quest
>Apple Family Reunion
>Spike at Your Service
>pretty much anything centering around the CMC (Call of the Cutie, The Show Stoppers, The Cutie Pox, Ponyville Confidential, One Bad Apple) as they are firmly stuck in Status Quo is God, so you already know whatever they do is doomed to fail

Of course, you really should watch all the episodes--especially if you intend to read fanfics.

Fifths said:

I know right? When have one of those assholes ever been taken seriously?

>putting Lenin on the same list as Gandi and MLK

U wot, m8? I also never recall MLK having a speech about the cis-gendered patriarchy needing to check its white ableist privilege.

Platus said:

Because – in case you haven’t noticed – racism and sexism still exist, are still problems, and still need to be called out, and despite their problems it’s the SJ people who are the most likely to call it out first.

Except they're not. I have never seen a single time that a SJW actually talks about relevant issues. AIDS virgin rapes? Nope. Female Genital Mutilation? Don't be silly. The ongoing gendercide in India and China? Of course not. What I do see is them talking about useless bullshit. How Frozen "whitewashed" the Sami. How [insert recent rape news story] proves the "rape culture." How the lyrics to a song are horrifying.

MLK didn't talk about stupid shit like the portrayal of blacks in All in the Family, he talked about real issues that were ongoing. The fact is, like everyone else, SJWs are too busy focusing on pop culture to think about actual issues.

It's a classic "boy who cried wolf" scenario. They spout that this is racist and that's sexist so much that they've lost any credibility they may have had.

@Episode
It was okay. Honestly wasn't as entertaining as other episodes have been, primarily because I know the whole thing is pointless. Of course AJ's not gonna hook up, Rarity's not either, and Spike will get shafted again. Rarity also acted kind of cringy, too, which didn't help. That crush seemed to come out of no where as well. I know Blueblood was uncouth, but you still had a thing for him.

Twilight also seems to be doing increasingly less stuff as the season goes on, but that's probably just the Twifag in me complaining. Ultimately, it was meh, but I've never been a huge fan of Rarity episodes.

5.5/10.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a book report on Louis XIV and his role in religion in France to write.

@Kewln00b

well time to go play in traffic which is also something I didn’t think I’d ever do 4 years ago.

Didn't… hang on a tick, wasn't there a… weren't you… uh… hm. You know what, nevermind.
In unrelated news, how have you been feeling?

@Onion

it feels like the characters are losing their “innocence.”

I actually really like seeing this in the show. Oh wait, not like that. Just in the sense of slowly getting in touch with areas of the show that we know exist but obviously can't be said outright.

Y'know, somedays… these characters just gotta get up, they gotta get up in the morning and take inventory on themselves and realise… "I can't be stayin' here learning about friendships all day." They gotta be mares… they gotta be bigger mares, they got, they gotta learn some slightly more complicated lessons about making friends. So that's it.

(Wow, what an elaborate reference to a quote that I doubt anyone but Jimmy will be able to place. Well, speaking of Jimmy…)

@Jimmy's picture of Vinyl
Well, there's her once-per-season cameo. Get ready to never see her in any of the episodes until season 5.

Now watch as she has a speaking role in the next episode and I look like an idiot in front of everyone.

@Unappreciated Derpy
I… feel like pointing out Derpy as the unappreciated one is some sort of nod to the fans, but I don't really get it… who doesn't appreciate Derpy? The fans? The staff? Because they all seem to appreciate her to me. Other than Crash.

Oh, and seeing as this isn't as crazy an episode as the last two, I'm going to leave the episode recap thing that I do. It's hard to start a discussion on a gif if it has already been tucked away behind a tag, right?

There once was a time before Pony General believe it or not. Some of us had to take refuge in it.

Once again, thank you very much TSG, I will start ASAP!
I have the video for Friendship is Magic Parts 1 and 2 loaded up on Dailymotion, barring technical issues, I should have my first mini-"liveblog"-type-thing up in about 40-50 minutes!

Wait.. Some people actually lel to this?
Come on i like to be a faggot :^(

It's working! XD

Also, I didn't get the reference in this comic until just now…

Good thing I'm into Gravity Falls now. lol.

@Platus

Works for me.

@xTSGx

Gandhi, Lenin, and MLK were all based in related schools of philosophical thought which object against the predominant models of western society and culture for the reason that they have perpetrated gross injustices on a certain demographic of people. Gandhi was reacting against British colonialism, King was reacting against racist institutions embedded in American law, and Lenin was reacting against the capitalist system of industrialized society taking advantage of the working class (Russia hardly qualified as an industrialized nation at the time, but Lenin didn't give a fuck.)

They all subscribed to the belief that society has unjust ideologies embedded in its very core and that the only way to fix it is through rigorous examination of societal norms and willingness to stir things up. This is the same line of reasoning employed by today's social justice warriors when they examine the objects of the current culture for things which encourage one bad ideology or another. This is exactly what feminists mean when they say something supports rape culture.

The only real difference between Lenin and MLK was the level to which they were willing to take things; Gandhi and MLK were nonviolent while Lenin published pamphlets describing the most efficient ways to murder a police officer. Today's social justice warriors are different, again, by only a matter of methodology; they're bitching on blogs as opposed to having marches or hosting a red revolution. You might want to say that the social justice warrior's findings are ill founded while King's weren't, but you can't deny that they're the same kind of creature with the same basic project.

@Fifths

Well, it's done, I went and watched the opening. I was concerned this would be a let down after all this buildup and all this time in the fandom, that it would be some schmaltzy BS and I'd regret having spent all this time here as well as trying to preemptively work up the strength to continue with a few more episodes if it disappointed me. The question really is, did I need to?

Well there we go, I've gone full Brony now… I've watched the show and liked it, no possible denial left for me, and no going back…

(P.S. Sorry for taking so long to post this, I really did finish watching the episode on time and I really did spend well over an hour typing this…)

"the festival is in three days!"

Not a bad episode. Rarity freaking out and acting out of character is always fun and so is seeing Applejack give her the business. New character wasn't bad either.

Best gif right there.

@Crash

I'm glad you liked it and I hope you catch up with us soon. 2 down, like 70 something more to go lol.

I never realized you'd never watched it. Have did you spot this gem?

or even this gem?

These episodes should get funner as you go along. Don't worry. It won't be long till you have your Twilight Sparkle plushie sitting next to you while your marathoning the second season for the 3rd time. XD

(Oh yeah. And nothing says you have to go in order. My first two episodes were "Dog and Pony Show" and "Green is not your Color" and then I went back and watched from episode 1. IMO the show doesn't really take off till episode 10: Swarm of the Century, although the others do have their moments. Applebucking Season is a gem in its own rights if not for the pure amount of fan content it inspired and Ticket Master is somewhat important because…well…you'll see. Best of luck on your marathon to catch up! My advice is not to watch more than 4 hours a day because any more and they'll recommend you see a doctor for prolonged "enjoyment.")

Just watched the ep. I gotta say, that's the last time I overreact to a spoiler in this thread; thank God it wasn't as bad as I thought. It's really pretty good actually. Rarity was making me cringe a bit but her dialogue and quirks are more than enough to make up for it, plus everyone else acted as well as we thought they would. And Trenderhoof's personality -- which wasn't douchey or cliche much -- was a pleasant surprise.

Hope I'm not too late. This is kinda fitting since Crash is still new to season 1:

@Cute:
Yeah, I did spot those, actually made a mention of the first one since I found it odd that they'd show the CMC together when only Apple Bloom was introduced (unless the other two had a "blink and you'll miss it cameo", but then again I don't think I blinked and missed very much at all).
For the second, didn't mention it because it was a neat effect but didn't really make an impact since it wasn't particularly strange or important. My only thought was a temptation to make an edit where NMM is pulling a Twiface (Predictable, I know), but I'm not NEARLY that good.
As for order, I certainly am using a little of that: My plan is to go through TSG's list in order (with perhaps a few added episodes), and then when I'm caught up I watch all the episodes I missed in order (jumping forward to a new episode whenever it comes out).
And since you posted that blingee pic…

Oh, and meant to say, I was fully expecting things to get more exciting as the series got into its groove too.

@Episode
'T was a fun episode, I enjoyed watching it. However, Pinkie felt a bit annoying in the beginning, where she wouldn't stop talking.
Tabitha's voice acting was indeed great, and there were a couple of fun faces in the episode.

Could that last one be some sort of reference to this:

?

@Warface

Hey you guys, I figured that you might want to know that the new brony study is up.

Also an important thing to point out: they say that they are going to present a version of this report at the American Psychological Association convention this July – which is basically the biggest psychology conference in North America. So we have officially hit the big time.

Here is the results page.

Best pony.

@Platus
That websites GUI interface is just horrid. It's giving me a headache to figure it out.

Sobcow spouted

god dammit, stop having this bullshit ridden “Love and Tolerance” massage

But…but I like the Love and Tolerance Massage!

And don't forget the "Compassion and Forgiveness" sauna you silly, little troll.

I have composed a response for you:

Also, see your inbox, and ask me if you have any questions.

Oh look, a Tumblr twat!
Your political correctness nonsense isn't welcome here (or pretty much anywhere with a brain for that matter), get back under your bridge.

$10 bucks says Sobcow is the same "feminist troll" that attacked the image gallery recently.

@Sobcow

I am sating out true facts!

Alright….where are they?

Just remembered that I never posted anything about the episode!
This must be rectified!

@Episode
I don't think too many people will disagree with me when I say that Tabitha really carried this one.
Anytime we get some crazy Rarity, she absolutely knocks it out of the park and this episode was probably the best example of that yet.
And the best part is that her voice work is so dynamic that it gives the animators tons of stuff to work with.

"My newest fashion sensation: Tail Hats!"

Seriously, go back and listen to this scene again.
No really, do it.
I'll wait…
…
…
…
Oh, fine, if you're going to be lazy, I'll do it for you:

What were those noises she made?!
This whole episode just solidified why I've always adored Tabitha as an actress and how she so perfectly captures Rarity's personality.
Absolute tour de force.

The plot itself was a little more mixed.
The crazy imitation battle through the middle was fun, but the ending felt very rushed and sudden.
Also, for being the primary source of the conflict, Trenderhoof didn't really have much screen-time or development.
Aside from that very last scene, he never really felt like he was 'changing himself to get somepony to like him' either.
He just seemed genuinely infatuated with AJ and her lifestyle.
He was a bit clingy since AJ was obviously not reciprocating, but he didn't seem insincere, just ignorant.
I did like Spike's little moment with the audience though.
Predictable, but golden.

Anyway, a pretty solid episode mostly due to Tabitha's performance, but overall a little forgettable.

I did notice that for an episode that you would expect to have a big reaction (canonized shipping fuel!), there has been surprisingly little art coming out of it so far.
Even screencaps were hard to come by in the hours after airing when most other episodes were experiencing floods.
I don't know what that means exactly, but I found it odd.

@Crazy's Journey Through Pony
Oh, please do keep posting your reactions.
It's now been nearly three years (Geez, time flies!) since I first dove in so it is actually a lot of fun to see a newbie's take on it all.
You are reminding me of a lot of the things I said at first, too.

I did see that you thought AJ and Spike's voices were a bit off-putting so I'll let you know that those two characters, probably more than any others, have had their voices change over time.
Both of them are much lower pitched and potentially a bit less awkward for you in more recent episodes (or really, anything beyond season one).

I actually had a near-identical reaction to your Apple Family issue, except that you had foreknowledge of Apple Bloom's significance going in.
I didn't so she was completely lost in that string of names AJ rattled off.
Then Call of the Cutie (the first CMC episode) came around and I legitimately had no idea who this kid was.
I had to go back and re-watch the pilot before I realized that she was introduced at all.
Kind of funny how turned off I was by the CMCs at first considering where I am now.

Ticket Master, too, had the same issues for me as it did for you.
(Well, except that I like Pinkie's shenanigans, but whatevs.)
It was clear from the beginning that AJ had the best reason to go which did undercut the dilemma a little bit.
But it was quite fun overall.

Man, that was a lot of Apple talk…

Anyway, personally, I'd recommend that you just plow through these episodes in order.
Even though the early seasons have little real continuity, you still sort of build one based on the sequence of events.
(ex: Gilda came to Ponyville before Trixie)
Maybe it doesn't really matter, but I always like watching shows in their intended order.
Plus it would let us follow along with your reactions some more!

Oh, and welcome to the Pony Ferry!
There are no stops and there are no breaks!

@Sobcow
Please watch you language and keep your voice down.
You are disturbing our very important business.

I BID YOU ALL GOOD NIGHT!

DeadParrot222 wrote:

@Crazy’s Journey Through Pony
Oh, please do keep posting your reactions.
It’s now been nearly three years (Geez, time flies!) since I first dove in so it is actually a lot of fun to see a newbie’s take on it all.
You are reminding me of a lot of the things I said at first, too.

Uhm..



I'm right here. Why would I not have ponied by now? It's been almost two years since I started watching.

Sorry I've been off-and-on lately guys. I'm working on the final bits of research before I submit for my doctorate's in a few months. I'll try to be around more often (and keep my building pissiness to a minimum). If only just so people don't confuse others for me. No one deserves that (I still love you Parrot).

Good to see they still have a pre-2000 style frontpage for their site. XD

The ‘presence of background characters’ was rated/ranked last (only 3% ranked it #1)

Also good to see most of the fandom has their head on straight. I'm a little disappointed that the survey length is still 100 questions and takes like an hour to finish.

@DP: Thanks for all the input! Glad to hear I'm not alone on some of those things.
I must admit I've been quite tempted to just watch it all in order the first time like you suggest, these current episodes might not be the best but I'm finding it hard to bring myself to skip the unlisted episodes… It would definitely take me longer to catch up thiugh, what does everyone think? Stick to the list or grab it all in my first go?
On that note, I added Applebuck Season because of how AJ impressed me (And a passing positive mention from Mr Enter), I'll put my report on the front of my next update (Will probably wait for at least a little ordering Feedback because my next episode differs depending on which route I go) since I don't have as much to say.

I like being politically correct :|

Also remember to be friendly (less so with users who have made relationships with people in the community). The user already got a warning from me. You can hold off on the name-calling.

Also also that downvote came from me. For bring rude (two wrongs etc.) and for taking the bait.

Pone.

Well…I'd say she's "enjoying" that ice cream a little too much if you ask me.

Also, this:

From Reddit

Prepare yourselves. The hate train is coming. I wonder if we'll get a pre-release trailer this time and maybe 10 or so more minutes. 66 was alright for EqG1, but the more the marerier! (see what I did there? XD)

Are you the new feminist from the Image Gallery that makes a new account every other day just so they can bait everyone by posting on humanization art saying "Oh, sexy white humanizations. You all make me sick"? If so Welcome to Pony thread!

They only have 2 post. Looks like it's just someone who thought the could troll us. They must be new here.

@Verbose
Coco Pone.

@Crazy
Whoops, my bad!

Just got 'Crazy' and 'Crash' mixed up in my head.
It wasn't intended as a commentary on your lack of activity.
I just suck with names.
(Though we'd obviously love to see you around more often if you have time.)

@Crash
Just to add another reason for chronological viewing: you'll get to watch the show improve over time just like we did.
A number of the voices have shifted slightly since season one, the animation techniques and skills have been steadily improving, and even the style of writing can be said to have changed a bit.
Watching in order will let you see these gradual changes where skipping around wouldn't.
Still up to you though.
It obviously will take more time to watch all of them, but that's just my recommendation.

My god, I cringed so hard at that

@Verbose: First, what do you mean by politically correct in this context? I only ever use it to refer to the stupid stuff, and I don't think that's what you meant.
Second, can I just ask WHY be friendly to someone like that? I'm sure you have a good reason but I just don't understand.

@DP: That's another good point, I must say that I'm slightly leaning towards that approach now.
Anyone else got any input? I'd like to watch some more episodes tonight and this effects what comes next.

@Crash

Second, can I just ask WHY be friendly to someone like that? I’m sure you have a good reason but I just don’t understand.

Well for one thing, that was an obvious troll. You certainly don't want to stoop down to it's level or offer the slightest indication of rustled jimmies.

Not being rejecting to people is a rule, after all.

Okay I was watching this episode for the first time tonight and I paused riiiiiiiiight about here…

…"Unappreciated" was the line that rung in my ear.

Hehe….hehehehehe, ahahahahahaha! I saw the macro of that scene earlier and I thought it was some brony making an opinion….But I had no idea that was in the actual show!

Somebody please, please, please, pleeeease tell me that was a passive-aggressive stab from the show writers right at the hearts of all the bronies that were complaining about 'Derpy pandering'. Oh boy please let that be true! If it is, then DAAAAAMN, the writers are getting bold! And I love it!

@Crashgordon94

We tried to warn you about the ride. Fifths even showed that there's no escape. But you went ahead and hopped on board anyway. You could have listened? Why didn't you listen? Especially now that you'll have to endure the Great Hiatus of 2014.

>2014
>hating Luna

You join the ride and then you go and shiggy it all up?

Third, Pinkie was really pissing me off again. Besides her reasoning, I had her hijack a scene to do a stupid mini-song, as well as some more of the typical “obnoxious comic relief” crap. Fluttershy only slightly annoyed me though.

If you think she's pissing you off now, just wait until Feeling Pinkie Keen, aka "The Episode That Ensured Pinkie Would Never Get Into My Top Three List." She's been stuck fighting Rarity for Worst Pony ever since.

Mike said:

Could that last one be some sort of reference to this:

I still like the "Twilight accidentally hit the real Pinkie and it's been a clone ever since" theory--even if it is kind of cliche. It would explain how she's been noticeably more malleable and annoying lately.

Wouldn't that be a twist? It's actually revealed Pinkie's been a clone this whole time and much drama and angst ensue. The shitstorm /mlp/ would kick up would be great, particularly from the Pinkiefags.

@Sobcow
>Brand New Member
It's been a while since there was one of these on here. Maybe LezHuarez has decided to preempt any overthrow attempts and get himself a SJW sockpuppet?

Ugh, can we just sign a petition to take Bronies off the internet for good?

You know, Fifths, I think you were right including Lenin. Since it seems like suppression and censorship is another key trait the SJWs have. "Their opinion offends me. Let's get rid of it."

Sobcow shitposted:

For your information I am sating out true facts!

For some reason, my mind instantly flashed to this guy when I read that.

I wonder why?

Blue Screen said:

Alright….where are they?

See? Patriarchy is real. My uncited, Paint sources prove it! Like how it can be statistically determined how many attacks occur, when only 38% are reported. Or how "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" is just a silly term used by the oppressive Patriarchy and everyone who is arrested of a crime is guilty regardless as to whether they are convicted or not. You need to check your Oceania privileges, you transfatphobic, specist scum.

@Harshwhinny
I thought you renounced your unicode character representing a crescent moon and embraced the joys of an IOC Chairpony?

The Cutie Master :3 said:

Oh good, just in time for Crash's joining of the ride.

Crashgordon94 said:

Second, can I just ask WHY be friendly to someone like that? I’m sure you have a good reason but I just don’t understand.

Something something board culture something.

Blue Screen put on is mod hat:

Not being rejecting to people is a rule, after all.

I require clarification. What does that mean? We're not supposed to reject people's opinions? We have to take the bait and not ignore it? We can't outwardly show our disapproval and must bury it deep inside until we snap, create fifty spam sockpuppets, and slowly drive the mods insane?