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Equestria Girls 2 announced and new toys look like shit

@MandoFire
Nah, it just feels like friends finding a way to play around since they live so far away from each other normally.

Just a couple people trying to make each other laugh.

If you want actual creepy, pervy junk complete with ears, horns, and wings, there's always My Little Porny:

Now there's some nightmare fuel for you!

Sorry about that…
Have some cute as a palette cleanser.

Have some cute as a palette cleanser.

You called? ;D

@Fallout Equestria: I can't believe it's still trending. Mostly because of trolls, but it's still trending. I wish I had contributed to the article sooner. At least it's pretty well documented now. I should probably read the story as well. I've only read a handful of fanfics thus far:

• Cupcakes
• Bubbles
• Past Sins (I own a hard-copy.)
• Something else I can't remember.

I keep forgetting to read more, but between my school and internet browsing habits, there's hardly anytime for fanfics. lol. I know I wanted to read Rainbow Factory after the song came out, but I still haven't gotten there yet. I also once tried to start my own fanfic. I had written an intro and everything, but I never got it off the ground.

More Dreatos/Valcron!!!

DeadParrot222 posted:

Have some cute as a palette cleanser.

>Le listening to Ken Ashcorp songs, starting with 20% cooler
>One called Rival is Pokemon inspired
>Uses "Palette cleanser" as a pun
>Come here
>See those words
>Briefly forgets whether its pony thread or pokemon thread
>Decides both is good

rapper pie is best pie

I’ll admit that I found a shipping blog for two ponies based on real people in a real relationship to be kind of creepy, until I found out that it is being drawn by Mandopony and Sibsy themselves (which does explain the rather large variance in art style)!
In that light, it’s actually pretty silly and cute to see the two of them playing around together.

I see this going south faster than a desperate whore on an immoral, dry guy with a refund check and nothing to spend it on.

And this post may or may not confirm my fears.

Simply, I don't think a lot of bronies like Mandopony. It probably started with just plain jealousy. You're seriously dating part of the staff, you've helped write music for the show, and (I believe) even had your OC in the show…in addition to having your own, non-official reputation regarding the fanmusic. Many people like to be acknowledged for their work from fanfics, music, fanart, or whatever. And I don't think anyone has gotten the acknowledgement that Mandopony has (except maybe Jan.)

You add in the fact that he (and his loved ones) responded poorly (i.e., responded at all) to the hate from /mlp/ and elsewhere, and you have the perception of being weak and privileged.
 
So now, Sibsy and Mando have "entered into a fan-space" "flaunting" their relationship. Some people who legitimately don't care would probably just see it as being pretty freaking cool.
Sibsy has entered into the realm of Tumblr, which is different from DeviantArt, where professional artists and animators post from anyway. A show staff is, on her free time (regardless of how little time it might take for her) doing an OC shipping Tumblr.

I think I asked a long time ago if we thought show staff would ever do something of any note as fans of the show and fandom. Since then, Tara Strong, John deLancie (brony documentary), and Sibsy (Mandofire Tumblr), and Lauren Faust to an extent (Mane6) have undertaken stuff when they honestly didn't have to (I'm sure you could throw some others in there as well.)

This is really it. You can add video game development or filming to your résumé, so that helps your career if you need it to. You're not getting that from a Tumblr where you made sketches. Nothing about that will trump or add to your already stellar background. She's doing it for fun (Maybe it's cathartic, and maybe she wouldn't do it if there wasn't a romantic component to it, but I doubt she'd do it if it was a true chore.)
 
That said, I fear that those people from /mlp/ or elsewhere will make this a chore for Sibsy. I don't know what was up with the post I linked to, but I wonder if it's all of the negative backlash she and Mando are getting for starting the blog.

If dozens if not hundreds of people calling your significant other a pedophile among other insults on the regular knowing that you can't do a darn thing about it isn't stressful, then you just have truly thick skin (probably to the point that it's not healthy.)

If I were in a similar situation, then I probably wouldn't have started the Tumblr, because I wouldn't want to deal with initial (and lesser ongoing) troll and hate "questions." I know Sibsy and Mando know that the hate is probably from jealous people who just have issues, but when the cons begin to outweigh the pros of the Tumblr, I expect it to shut down.
 
I don't think anyone here would harass the two on any medium, but if you happen to know those who would, please encourage them to just ignore the Tumblr. I'm certainly paranoid, but I don't like talking about the show staff outside of the show and fandom, and the "Mandopony" pairing is blurring the line.

Now, the two are sorta sharing some level of that relationship with us, and I don't want petty problems to cause them (or anyone, really) issues. We're not their friends, we don't know how the relationship goes, and we don't know them as individuals like we do our friends. I hope people recognize that and just leave them be if they're going to be antagonistic.

I'm not optimistic that the Tumblr will continue for all that long, because humans without social obligations and responsibility are horrible things. But I am hoping against that.
 
Personally, I cringe at most OC's, Wildfire and Mandopony included. And I plain dislike OC's mimicking real world romantic relationships (I flat out stopped viewing Aphexangel's Stalkerloo Tumblr before he got married for that reason and no other.) It makes me cringe so hard. So I probably won't follow it. But in looking at the art, I might reconsider it if the mushy stuff isn't heavy (as it generally hasn't been from what I quickly looked at.) I'm not one who likes to share his or see others' cuddling.

@Iamslow

Seriously, you can't stop posting here. I was just looking at that image last night and have found another favorite artist to follow on Derpibooru.

@ Pinkie P.I.E.

I find the concept believable and a bit hilarious. It can explain a lot about Pinkie's abilities and skills, as well as her extremely huge knowledge of everypony in Ponyville. I'd like to see the story sometime, Cute Master!

I like that idea too, Cute. You should definitely follow through.

So Daniel Ingram just tweeted this, and at first I was like "wut?" But now I'm just like "wow. Wow! WOW!" Props to these girls for their performance. First live version of it that I've seen to-date and it's been out for over 6 months.

@Roxanne
Obviously, I absolutely agree with the call to not harass them, but I don't really like the implication that they should have never tried this idea in the first place.
A certain segment of the fandom does have a huge hate-boner for Mando for various, mostly-unfounded reasons (though I would say that most are supportive or simply indifferent and the true crap comes from a very tiny group of people), but what are they supposed to do?
They like making art and sharing it with people and they have plenty of followers and fans asking them to do so.
Stopping all of that simply because they will receive hate from people who would hate them no matter what they did feels like, to steal an overused but appropriate Tumblr phrase, 'letting the bullies win.'
I'd much rather see them continue on in the face of it (and have people actually get mad at anyone who harasses them) than see them stop doing what they love to do just because 4chan can't be reasoned with once their panties get in a knot.

If I may make a comparison to other recent events:

Now, there are always limits and I would never encourage them to push themselves too far if it starts getting to be too much for them to handle, but I also don't like the idea of just giving up and never putting yourself out there just because some immature idiots might have a problem with it.
From that angle, I think that even people who don't necessarily have any interest in Mandopony or Sibsy should at least be supportive of their attempts to still have fun.
Encourage them to continue to make each other (and their fans) happy!

Hey, the newest issue of the MLP comic is out!
This one is all about Shining Armor and Twily!

Bother and sister D&D nerds!
Avoid the first few pages is you suffer from Twilebetes!

You can grab it from the usual place, but try to buy a physical copy if you can!

To make this issue even better, I actually got to make a cameo!
DeadParrot reporting for duty!

(Or maybe it's John Cleese; I don't know…)
(Yay, Python references!)

Random pun time!

I have to admit, this is exactly the joke I made in my head as soon as I heard that line…

@Verbs & concerns about Mandofire harassment

That's pretty worrying. I hope things don't come to that. But I guess you and I both know how likely those two are to summon trolls. Seeing as how /mlp/ always need something new to rage at for whatever reason

I think the Mandofire blog is really cute. If you know me, you know I love a good ship. I don't really care who it is as long as they're adorable together. So I'm indifferent to the involvement of OC's famous or not

I say let them have fun with each other and do what they enjoy. I'll be saying that to anyone who feels like a shipping blog just sinned against their forefathers. I wish Mando and Sibsy all the strength and perseverance they need to withstand any amount of trolls they'll get.

As Deadparrot said: they shouldn't have to stop what they are doing just to appease a miserable 4chan board. They're doing it because they make each other happy this way, and that should be more important to them over anything the fandom has to say about it. It's a harmless form of enjoyment between the two of them which they have every right to experience. It's their detractors who need to grow a pair and deal with it.

If they do get bullied into submission, that would be a shame. We'd lose not just a blog but probably also the faith and support of two people that did so much to help this fandom become what it is. I know I wouldn't want anything to do with a fandom that proves itself to be filled with enough spite and misery that it attacks you for having the relationship that it doesn't. That's sinking to Glee fandom levels right there

People have always talked about what will kill the fandom. IMO, such negative and hateful attitudes towards content creators is precisely that. Forget Twilicorn or Flash Sentry. We lose the content creators, we lose everything

Frankly I don't understand why people hate Mando so much. Where did the pedo rumor even come from? Is his music that bad? If so, who the hell cares?

@Deadparrot & BSoD

Alright, so you guys immediately want to compare what Mando and Sibsy are doing to pure self-expression and claim that any negative reaction will have no other reason than the delicious hate. Let's look at it from a different angle.

This is Mando and Sibsy

Or if you want a ponified version

I find the whole blog to be the interwebs equivalent of obnoxiously flaunting your relationship to others while hiding under the insidious visage of 'I'm just being myself.' Nobody likes that fucking couple, and I think it is being deliberately rude for a grown man and woman to partake in that cutesy shit in front of people. 4chan was already jealous of Mando, now he and Sibsy are showing a hubris which will frenzy their envious loathing and give their attacks a tinge of cosmic justice to it.

This is NOT equivalent to that kid who got bullied for the backpack. This is flaunting.

Personally, I've got no beef with the blog. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with this version of the vanity which all couple's partake in to some degree, especially when the onlooker can so easily just click away. However, I'm not going to have any sympathy when the tempest of hate inevitably descends upon them. When an opera singer decides she wants to practice some scales in the mountains, avalanches are just an assumed risk.

Really?

Flaunting?

Thats the justifiable reason for the hate?

Flaunting

This is flaunting to these people?

What a load of bullshit. I'll argue in the morning

Where did the pedo rumor even come from? Is his music that bad? If so, who the hell cares?

Pedo Rumor came from the fact that he was spending a lot of time with Michelle Creber (Voice of Applebloom and Seasons 1-3 Singing voice for Sweatie Balle to you plebs) recording music. I think at first it was kind of like "Oh look at that, he's hanging out with a teenage girl quite a bit. Oh ho ho he must be a Pedophile." in the way a highschooler jokes around. Then suddenly everyone joins in going "HE'S A NO GOOD PEDOPHILE HE MUST FUCKING DIE!" I thought it was kind of funny for a while, then it got out of hand. Mainly when Mandomommy (I think that was actually her name) jumped in to defend Mando and all in all the whole incident was deserving of this meme.

Hey, Just like this thread! rimshot

But all in all, I just don't care for his music. And I like the fact that he's not using his relationship with Sibsy to get some say in the show. Which is what I fear from anyone trying to get too close to the staff of the show. Because let's be honest here, you know someone in the fandom that would try to become Meghan McCarthy's best friend in an attempt to get his fanfic made into an episode. So yeah with all that aside I don't really care if they have a blog, because chances are I never go on Tumblr to look at ANY blogs.

PS (Preceding Script, not post script JUST THIS ONCE): I am slower at this thread than I expected to be.

Oh wow. Dragostea din tei with negative connotations? I'm sorry it came to that.

As for the crossover, it is funny how fitting DT's and SS's positions are. Beyond that one might take it too seriously.

@verbs

Don't worry man, I'm not quitting. Real life's bumming me out lately and I was worried it was effecting how I posted. But I think avoiding this site just makes me feel shittier.

@Fifths

lol are you saying Sibsy and Mando are practically trolling by making this ask blog?

That would be great but the way I see it if making what is actually a harmless ask blog together is all they have to do to catch hell they're hardly the one's with a maturity problem and don't actually deserve people shitting on them for it.

Just got linked to the Pony Thread 6 back when the "My Little Pony Movie" was announced. We were excited for that weren't we? But then it was Equestria Girls.

Man it's fun to go back and read old threads.

Ah, PGVI…

…Those were the dark ages.

@Iamslow

Come to think of it…yeah! If it's not trolling by intention, it's at least trolling by accident. Intentional or not, I really think they have no reason to complain. If you're going to go about posting how in WUUUUV!!11! you are, be ready for hate. I don't think they have any excuse to be posting crybaby shit like this.

@BSoD

Argue all you want man, you're not going to change the fact that posting that shit will almost invariably invite a negative response. I think DP is dead wrong to propose that we try to change the status quo on this one like with the backpack kid. I can imagine a world where persistent effort causes the bullies to get over the current arbitrary stigma against colorful pony backpacks; I find it harder to imagine a world where persistent effort helps us get over something fundamental like jealousy which is just embedded in our human nature. Really, the only way I can see to fix the problem here would be to 1) Get rid of internet anonymity or 2) Change human nature.

And I don't think I'd like to sacrifice either of those things so that a couple lucky white fucks can feel unperturbed while ejaculating their love into the eyes of the nameless masses.

Fifths posted the same post of theirs that I did.

There's principle and practicality. Perhaps I'm overestimating the "few" who will harass the two, but going by that post, it was enough to put a damper on their day.
 
With that said, think back to my post where I explained my own bullyish ways when I threw that guy's Pikachu card on top of the school and just stared at him with a smile on my face. I didn't say that to gloat. I'm not proud of that sort of immaturity.

But that was to point out that I know what it's like to be in the wrong, but to have to power to be in the wrong with little to no chance for justice. I had the popularity, charisma, and physical prowess to do basically whatever I wanted to that guy. And I tested it out. It worked out as I expected.

In this case, you just need to remove any accountability, and you can easily have a dozen messed up individuals send 100 hate Asks/Submits a day in an hour. People on the Internet have the power to do this.
 
On the other hand (incoming race card,) I was raised to not test the system. If I get pulled over at night for no apparent reason, I'm going to act very differently than many of you, because I'm black. I know other black people personally who went to prison or ended up dead, because they felt like they had a right to do something.

>"I should be able to see this white girl."
>"You keep messin' around here, and you might end up missin', son."

And the dude ended up missing. Found his body by the tracks. That was in the early 90's. No convictions to this day. A similar situation happened when another guy was found dead in a pool. They said he died due to a crack overdose (because black), but most people knew he was messing around the white girls too much.
 
That is real life though. Right or wrong, doing what's right or doing what you have a right to do doesn't always end up being the best option for you.

This post shows anyone who sees it that it's getting to them. They aren't ignoring it. They're acknowledging it. They're already "losing." That empowers bullies. All they had to do is turn off Anon Asks or ignore it. But they appealed to pity. And that's…great for those who support you. Unfortunately, that just gives anyone else that same, smug grin I had back in middle school.
 
And Sibsy and Mando can't do anything about it except ignore it. They can't win. Their best move is not to play (i.e., ignoring them. And if they can't ignore them, then yes, not running the Tumblr).
 
That's my main point. If that post appealing to pity wasn't there and it didn't seem like they were getting bothered, then it wouldn't have crossed my mind as heavily as it does now. But I'm not going to pretend that the Internet hate machine isn't a certain way when it is.

It's a fatalistic view, sure. But again, I've been on the "powerful" side before and the "weak" side as well. There wasn't anyone would have or could have done to stop me, and when I was stopped by 4 police officers for walking on my school campus, I had to go through the script my parents had raised me to execute just to make sure the officers couldn't have any reason to shoot me and say I was a threat to them.

Standing up for yourself against a tank isn't going to fix the problem. If you do, then the bully is just a jerk, and you're just another person with a black eye (at best.)

The kid with the MLP backpack basically needed an entire movement to get the school to help him out. But for every kid with an MLP backpack, there are hundreds if not thousands of others with "an MLP backpack" of their own. At this time, they won't get help nor should they expect it.

You can bring up a snarky comic like that, which is right in principle, but it's idealistic to the point of (forgive me) being naive.

If a rather large kid in a class says 2+2=5, and you say its 4, and he threatens you if you say 2+2=4 with your fancy math again…

…just say it's 5 or don't say anything at all.
 
 
Or be prepared to get hit in the mouth with no real justice coming to the large kid. That's all I'm saying.

This comic is Mando and Sibsy getting hit the face. Apparently, they're not taking it well.
 
 
Does what's "right" change any of this?

Pone.

Ehh, this makes me realize what always irked me about Mandopony: he acknowledges the trolls. I mean it's a well known fact around any website that gives people the opportunity to speak their minds that you just ignore the trolls. But he's the kind of guy that overreacts to someone saying "Lel, ur gey" metaphorically speaking. One of the reasons why 4Chan still gives him so much shit is because of how he reacted to the "Mandopedo" shit which probably would've died down if it weren't for the staff (including Sibsy), the Crebers and even his Mother run to his defense because of the trolls. Now you're showing the same trolls who sat there going "Hey, I spammed Mandopedo's Twitter with like 100 Spam posts about him being a Pedophile years ago. Now he has a blog! Imma go be stupid for a few hours since I have nothing else to do." that they're getting to you which is what they WANT.

Personally I have no problem with the relationship, considering like I said in my previous post that it's not my fears come true about a Brony dating a part of the staff (unless that really WAS Mando's OC in the show….Nah it wasn't….it wasn't.) But seriously at this point Mando and Sibsy should probably lay off the "Hey Trolls, you made us sad so we make sad drawings to try to make you feel bad for making us sad" posts. Which probably hasn't worked since they probably got another 200+ Hate posts after that picture just saying "U mad?"

@Verbs

Welp, time will tell. Whatever the results, it's Mando & Sibsys choice what to do, whether they choose to ignore, withdrawl or withstand what is coming towards them. Until I see what they are actually getting, I wont make a solid statement on what should be done.

I simply attain that large scale protest appropriated towards Mando and Sibsy for making a harmless tumblr blog on the internet is not and cannot be justified and excused under any means.

People will and are going to attack them thanks to Mando's Micheal Jackson status. Not much can be done to stop that. And I get the point that standing tall doesn't always work out, because when the bullies have greater numbers and strength, defiance goes further south. I should know. That's been my entire childhood. I know that people have been hurt in much worse ways for doing what normally should be their human right

But that doesn't mean something can never be done, I don't just believe this for Mando & Sibsy but for every time people react in violent hysteria towards pointless ends. I'll never believe that this is "just the way it is". Child slavery in 19th century coal mines also used to be "the way things were". But if we moved past that as society, surely we can move past this

I was told to be the change I want to see in the world. Well here's at least one person that's responding to events the way he wishes everyone else did: First, by recognizing when people are just exercising harmless liberties that do not affect me and not attacking them for it and secondly: by being disgusted at those who get irrationally upset over frivolous unimportant, pointless topics that don't affect them.

There are real problems you will encounter in your life that call for anger. Like banks that steal all your money. And then there's pony OC romance blogs. Call me judgemental, but I can only assume that those disgruntled by the latter are either neckbearded mouthbreathers in their mothers basement or kids in school. Either way, not much life experience could be guiding their actions

Talking about people who will rage and froth at the mouth because Mando appeared on a tumblr with Sibsy reminds me of the same people that are currently raging and frothing at the mouth over the fallout equestria article right now all because they discovered today, a fanfiction that crossovers pones with fallout and this somehow ruins their life.

These people were not wronged. They were not offended. They were not harmed. They were not affected by it in any way possible and they don't even have to look at it. I don't see any justifiable reason for the behavior. Nothing called for it aside from pettiness

All I see is incessant, immature, hysterical, spoiled, miserable, angsty, petulant children making our world worse by falling victim to their uncontrolled emotions/tribal instincts and making other people suffer for it. It may be naive in the face of human nature, but I still think that the way forward for societies future is to teach kids morals against these knee-jerk hostile attitudes

@Fifths

Argue all you want man, you’re not going to change the fact that posting that shit will almost invariably invite a negative response.

No, I'm not. But that's not what I wanted to argue. What I want to argue is that inevitable or not, the negative response is pathetic. Just like most controversies these days

Will we ever get over the human emotion of jealousy? No, not ever. But if we can imagine a world where persistent effort causes the bullies to get over the current arbitrary stigma against colorful pony backpacks. I can also imagine a world where persistent effort causes bullies to get over internet fan creations they don't like and don't need to pay any attention towards.

"If you don't like it, don't look at it" is already the sage advice that everyone growing up eventually learns about the internet. It will take time to get to that point where kids realize that sooner but we won't get to that point any sooner if we don't call out this behavior for what it is: pathetic

Really, the only way I can see to fix the problem here would be to 1) Get rid of internet anonymity or 2) Change human nature.

And I don’t think I’d like to sacrifice either of those things so that a couple lucky white fucks can feel unperturbed while ejaculating their love into the eyes of the nameless masses.

That's what you would need to do in order to completely eliminate internet dickwads, but we don't need to eliminate them, just make them not the majority that's suppressing a minority

Neither anonymity or human nature requires you to be an asshole. So I don't think either need to be sacrificed for anything. Rather than change the system around these people, I'd rather get a message across if I could. Something along the lines of "this shit isn't worth being upset over". In fact, for the people offended by the Mandofire blog, I really only ask of one change and that is to gain something: a life

Get a job. Get some friends. Get self-esteem. Get laid. Etc. Etc. Just get some actual life experience that will teach you a sense of reality regarding real problems that affect you. If they did, maybe they wouldn't feel so existentially threatened by two friends drawing each other as small pastel colored horses that hang out together, having more of a life than they do right now.

@Verbs, Blue, Fifths, Deadparrot & This Mandowhatever case

I'm just going to chime in a bit if that's ok, give my two cents if possible, and reply to some of your points. Although I will leave quite a bit of what I could say out, seeing what you have covered already.

Verbose wrote:

Simply, I don’t think a lot of bronies like Mandopony. It probably started with just plain jealousy. You’re seriously dating part of the staff, you’ve helped write music for the show, and (I believe) even had your OC in the show…in addition to having your own, non-official reputation regarding the fanmusic. Many people like to be acknowledged for their work from fanfics, music, fanart, or whatever. And I don’t think anyone has gotten the acknowledgement that Mandopony has (except maybe Jan.)

I think this simply covers most of it when it comes to the reason for the hate. Mandopony managed to succeed in multiple areas where the largest part of the fandom could only dream off. Date staff, make show decisions, acknowledgement. When it comes to the brony fandom, Mandopony is what you can call a winner.

But increase the popularity and attention something gets, and you also increase the hate and negative attention something gets. It's human nature to be jealous. History has shown this various times. To give a more known example: Justin Bieber in his younger years (so prior to his actions of the recent years). He was just a little snot who could sing, but he managed to get all the women swoon for him, and that's what caused the backlash. Sure you can say that his music sucks, but 75% of his hatedom back then never really listened to his music (or at least not further than Baby).

Deadparrot wrote:

Obviously, I absolutely agree with the call to not harass them, but I don’t really like the implication that they should have never tried this idea in the first place.

I think we can agree on that, but I will say that they might've approached the idea wrongly.

Clearly the two of like each other and they both like to make "fanart" (is that a proper term here) of their OCs together. It's how their relationship rolls, so that's cool. And there's not really much wrong with starting a Tumblr blog for it so you can share it.

But making an Ask blog might've been the wrong decision here. It's the internet, experience has taught us that certain topics on the internet are doomed to get a backlash. They made an ask blog, in which they allow anonymous questions. Plenty of blogs went down that route and had to quit because they couldn't deal with the hate.

I'm not saying they deserved it, because nobody does, but they kinda should've seen this coming from miles away when they planned to start an ask blog.

Fifths wrote:

This is Mando and Sibsy. Or if you want a ponified version. [Schmoopy scenes]

Except it isn't.

They have created a blog, one of literally thousands, in the brony fandom. But are you forced to look at that blog and see the content? Are we demanding you to visit their blog? Are we telling you that you must accept the existance of their blog by looking at it?

No, of course we aren't, and you're stupid if you believe that to be the case when comparing it to those videos. Because in your examples, people are forced to look at them and deal with it. If I don't want to deal with their flaunting I simply close the tab and look at other stuff, really fucking simple.

Sure, they're the flaunting type of lovers, can't disagree with that. But it's not like they're slamming it in my face, forcing me to deal with it. You aren't forced to look at them flaunting their relationship. They are simply sharing their love in their own little area which you can look at if you want but certainly don't have to. Or are you telling me we're physically incapable to not look at their easily avoidable flaunting?

Until they're going to flaunt their relationship each time again in the canon episodes, I don't see the existance of their OCs as an issue.

And I don’t think I’d like to sacrifice either of those things so that a couple lucky white fucks can feel unperturbed while ejaculating their love into the eyes of the nameless masses.

I think you're suffering from the jealousy issue we brought up earlier Fifths, because this type of reaction really reeks of it in every way.

I will assume for now that you're not one of those guys that sends them anon hate. But considering that you're refusing to give up internet anonymity in this instance, I can't be 100% certain.

As for my own opinions towards this: I simply do not care what those two will do with their love life.

Fuck man, it's their life, who am I to decide on that for them? If they feel happy with a bit of flaunting, but manage to keep it contained to certain areas of the internet that are easy to avoid, then I'm ok with that. They're a long distance couple, so they have to look for solutions to keep the relationship going. I won't take the time to look at them, because I have better things to do.

Did they deserve the hate? No, of course not, nobody does. But I will stick to what I said earlier, in that an ask blog might've been a bad decision. An art blog would've been a smarter idea perhaps. But either way, ask or art blog, some sections of this fandom really need to find better things to waste time on.

@Verbs

I think you've got the right of it man. It's important to set aside purely ethical considerations and ask yourself what you can practically accomplish. At the same time, it's important to still retain some idealism and not become entirely jaded or else you'll never change anything. It's a delicate balance to find and constitutes a large part of the business of what it means to be a human being in the real world.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go enjoy being white for awhile.

mfw White

BSoD said

I was told to be the change I want to see in the world. Well here’s at least one person that’s responding to events the way he wishes everyone else did: First, by recognizing when people are just exercising harmless liberties that do not affect me and not attacking them for it and secondly: by being disgusted at those who get irrationally upset over frivolous unimportant, pointless topics that don’t affect them.

Don't you think you're getting a bit irrationally upset over a frivolous, unimportant, pointless topic which doesn't affect you?

In all seriousness, I'm highly skeptical about the possibility to curve internet dickery without removing anonymity or changing human nature. There are always going to be people at that stage of life where their brains are just a big, throbbing Id and the internet gives them places to congregate and express themselves. It's a phase that usually passes eventually, and by then the new crop of assholes has risen to take their place. It's just the nature of the beast, man.

But hey, even assuming I'm wrong and it is possible to condition people to curb their dickery while online, I fail to see how whining about it to people who mostly agree with you and calling those people a bunch of no-life neckbeards will accomplish anything. If you really have a problem with this kind of thing BSoD, then do something about it. Go befriend some of those pricks, and over time maybe your influence will help to temper them a bit. Simply identifying a problem does nothing. You alone would do nothing, but imagne what would happen if we unleashed an army of sagely BSoDs on the interwebs trying to gently curb the impulses of the rabid neckbeard and gently push him towards the good.

Of course that army of sagely BSoDs does actually exist, but they're all too busy playing video games or listening to music or arguing with the army of cynical Fifthses. Don't blame the BSoD's for their sloth though; they word long hours and sometimes they just want to relax after a hard day and a hard life. This, again, is just human nature.

@Random

And that's why I said this, jackass.

Personally, I’ve got no beef with the blog. I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with this version of the vanity which all couple’s partake in to some degree, especially when the onlooker can so easily just click away.

For others though, it's enough that the blog exists. What I was trying to say is that I understand that impulse that people have and that Sibsy and Mando should have been ready for the backlash if they were going to post something which was inherently irritating on the web. Some people will be like me and just ignore it and some people won't.

BSoD below

Oh come on Blue, how many people do you know go around openly bragging about how much pussy they're getting or how fucking loaded they are? You brag about how much pussy you're getting by having a couple supermodels hanging off your arms. You brag about how much money you've got by flashing your rolex.

The flaunting comes from just the entire attitude of the blog. The whole "Look at how happy we are together!!! Look at how perfectly we fit with each other. We're so cuteeeeee!"

Can I just add: wheres the actual flaunting?

I mean look at it. Go click that link. Flaunting is when you deliberately show off what you have in front of people to insist you have something better.

I'm not seeing these two draw each other hotly kiss each in front of the internet while pulling the fingers to anon and saying "LOOK AT ME I'M BANGING SIBSY"

I'm seeing them…

…go to the superbowl?

…talk about video games?

…is….is this flaunting? What am I missing here?

@Fifths

Don’t you think you’re getting a bit irrationally upset over a frivolous, unimportant, pointless topic which doesn’t affect you?

Nicely done.

Though I will say that bitchy, whiny people do affect me and I would normally have reason to be upset when they ruin things that I enjoy when that really could have been avoided. Like if this mandofire thing stops after a few pages on the account of some trolls, I may find that unfortunate

(But just so you know, my soapboxing isn't my butthurt)

You're quite right that there's little to expect when it comes to lowering the Internets overall douchery. We're certainly always going to have new assholes coming in the replace the old ones, no matter what we do. Getting the internet to behave is a futile effort even without anonymity, which is why I stressed that getting rid of assholes entirely and/or policing them is not a viable approach whatsoever. If there's something that can be done, it feel it is more likely that it would be done by improving societies cultural standards via spread of constructive ideology. How that is done isn't known, and likely will remain unknown for some time but mankind does have a way of progressing forward so long as we, the collective society continue to show that they want to progress and which direction to go in. I'm doing my part

I fail to see how whining about it to people who mostly agree with you and calling those people a bunch of no-life neckbeards will accomplish anything

I am but one person. But I'm at least expressing how I wont be part of the problem, even if I can't fix it myself. I don't expect to inspire anyone, but even if I don't; at least I'm not the one responsible for the state society is in. But you never know.

Identifying the problem doesn't fix it, no. But you cannot fix a problem without identifying it. Just like in my software programming: even if I can see a bug, I can't fix it until I find out exactly where it's coming from

Even then, one must be sure they identified correctly. Which is where the whining to people who agree with you comes into play. With this debate, I'm measuring my ideals against everyone else's in order to make sure if what I am thinking is accurate and sensible. If not, I'll retract. If I'm on to something I'll develop and refine my thinking further.

I'd love to do something to reduce the amount of times people bitched away the things I cherish into oblivion. I should run outside with a big printout of my opinions and tape them to all the street lights or spraypaint them on walls. Yea! People will listen to that! I'll also go straight to the problem. Find incessant whiners in the middle of their school classes/basements and rant to them about good internet behavior! Foolproof!

Or I can speak only in venues where the topic discussion is actually welcomed and relevant next to people who are willing to listen, then offer their own ideas and counter-opinions rather than hit me with pepper spray so then I can at least get some level of input to construct my thinking upon and establish more effective ideas

The whole “Look at how happy we are together!!! Look at how perfectly we fit with each other. We’re so cuteeeeee!”

You sure you aren't just reading too much into this?

All I care about is that the askblog is adorable.

ITT:

This has been a thing since page 12 of this thread (go ahead and check if you don't believe me). People are still bringing this up and complaining about it. Whether it's about the fact they have a relationship alone or if the relationship has somehow been referenced much, it still doesn't give people a reason to attempt to drive it apart. Let them criticize all they want… but when that criticism actually encourages them to split apart, then they've crossed the line. The blog exists… deal with it if you hate it. You're not forced to look at it. If you actually like it, then good!

OK, I'm done being argumentative. Back to ridiculousness.

Blue said:

I don’t expect to inspire anyone, but even if I don’t; at least I’m not the one responsible for the state society is in. But you never know.

You caused this…

…I hope you don't mind, but I'd rather not touch the "MandoFire" thing, though I will say those asshole trolls need a good swift cannon ball to the head.

Oh wow. Dragostea din tei with negative connotations? I’m sorry it came to that.

Yeah, it hit me pretty hard, as you might guess…
Had a bit of a repeat of the situation with a Fire Emblem forum I was banned from, though at least I didn't end up ruining any songs with my mood that time.
(On a sidenote, I've gotten over the bad-mood connection with Dragostea din tei since then, but it was surprising how long it lasted, I think it was a year or two…)

As for the crossover, it is funny how fitting DT’s and SS’s positions are. Beyond that one might take it too seriously.

Given how people generally feel about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, I could imagine they'd be taking some very serious pleasure from it, like Discord here:

In all seriousness, I get what you mean, but I doubt anyone would really be offended by it. For one thing it's a silly reference to a classic video game would be difficult to take serious. And for another… Not to belabor the point but people really REALLY hate those two, you'd generally have to depict something incredibly revolting before you get anyone besides hardcore DT/SS fans (Yes they exist, I've seen them) getting honestly upset by it.
If all else fails, I know how to fix it!

On a sidenote, one of the comments on the above picture:

I now have the most awesome mental image of Diamond Tiara’s head on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s glistening, speedo-clad body.

Make it happen, artists.

Oh, and as a secondary diversion, have some very horny ponies!

C'mon, did you really fall for that?

Hey, hey, everybody, everybody! We got less than 20 pages before this gets the lock so let's make this memorable. We need some streamers, 20 gallons of sasparilla and 2 tons of party favors. We need something to not only bring this threat out with a bang, but to celebrate the upcoming one, who's name I'm not sure we have yet. Something to make Pinkie proud!

Let's get the show on the road!

>be me, lurking this thread, as I do.
>argument spew-eth forth
>ohboyherewego.jpg
>is actually more interesting than the diabetes pages

Let's see. Where can I start on this…?

@Verbose:

Does what’s “right” change any of this?

What is "right" created this, and only "right" can unmake it. People only make "wrong" decisions when viewed in hindsight. But in the moment, people only ever do what they feel to be the most "right" thing to do. This is why ignorance has been called the only "true evil", because if only those bad people were not ignorant of the "real" version of right. But then what is the real version? It's the one you believe, of course. How could it be anything else? How could you ever conceive yourself doing anything but the "best version" of right that you can fathom? For some people, it even means just listening to their Id, because when they do they feel good, and good is good. For others it means ignoring their Id or even doing what they would perceive as wrong on its own, because there is a greater good to be had.

So, the present situation we find ourselves in is a culmination of everyone doing what is "right". Ignoring the trolls and/or keeping your head down will work as a short term solution, but to change any of this for the long term, you have to change the trolls' perception of "right", and I think this is where BSoD is on the right track:

If there’s something that can be done, it feel it is more likely that it would be done by improving societies cultural standards via spread of constructive ideology.

>spread of ideology
Heh, yeah, they ought to have a word for that sort of thing…

How that is done isn’t known

Oh for fucks sake, BSoD, what website are we on!? (I kid, I kid)

Anyway, in the meantime, has anyone who follows their blog actually tried telling them about ignoring trolls and not feeding them with a show of vulnerability? Better yet, just show them what Verbose said in his post above. I thought he put it very well, minus some of the life story bits and how to deal with large kids who fail basic arithmetic.

@MandoFire
Just chiming in to say… that BSoD has basically said everything I would have been planning to say here already.
I totally get the practical limitation of trying to take on all forms of bullying at all times or thinking that it will ever put a stop to it entirely (i.e. It's impossible), but it doesn't mean that nothing can ever be done either.
Saying that 'bullying is inevitable so fighting it is pointless' is quite a self-fulfilling prophecy as deeming it impossible will assure that no one will ever try and so the problem will definitely never see improvement.
I'd rather at least attempt to speak for rationality even if I know it will have little functional effect coming from my one voice since I know that more people latching on to that same idea potentially can make a difference.
There is definitely some naive idealism in there, but trying to live up to a (likely impossible) ideal is the only way to make much progress, not necessarily toward 'perfection,' but at least 'better.'

@Fifths
I can sort of see what you are talking about, but i think you are reading waaaay more into it than what is there.
If they made a big deal about how amazingly awesome their lives are or they answered hate questions with 'Well we have love in our lives! You are just a sad little troll with no girlfriend who will die alone in a basement!' I might be more inclined to agree with you.
However, right now, you are coming across like someone who is pissed off at a random stranger who has the gall to be happier than you.
Like, I'm imagining a guy walking down some street whistling merrily to himself when you jump out of an alley to kick him in a balls so he'll stop throwing his incessant happiness in your face.
They aren't forcing it on anyone nor are they being overly 'cutesy' or obnoxious so I just can't get behind the idea that they are somehow trying to piss people off or flaunting their relationship inappropriately.

I guess I will say that I can understand the impulse, but I can not condone it in any way.

(By the way, I can see what you were going for, but if you want to make a reaction you are having seem legitimate, I would not suggest using George Costanza as a model. His whole character is based on overreacting and blowing otherwise inconsequential pet peeves into deals that are much more intense than they have any real reason to be. It works great as a comic element… but not so much as an example of justifiable behavior…)

On to other things!

Finally got a chance to watch the Bob's Burgers episode dedicated to us and it's… not bad.
Still not really sold on the show's overall style, but it was weird and silly and had a few pretty nice lines in there.

If you want to check it out yourself: HEAD OVER HERE
There's an embedded version a ways down the page.

While she did fail in her attempt to rule Equestria, Sunset quickly reworked her plan and set sights on a new target.

ALL HAIL SUNSET SHIMMER!
PONY OVERLORD OF AMERICA!

(Get it? Cuz Amuricuns iz fat. lawly-doodle-doo)

If you don't mind, I think I'll post some more random silly stuff.

Oh halp! My sides!

Also, Steffan Andrews posted this to facebook. Made me giggle m8.

Edit: Just watched that Bob's Burgers ep because I forgot. Man, that was gold! "Equestricles" was probably the greatest thing ever. xD

Deadparrot said

However, right now, you are coming across like someone who is pissed off at a random stranger who has the gall to be happier than you.

Okay, lets get this straight: I do not personally have a problem with the blog. I'm saying that I can recognize that there's a lot about that blog which could and would piss people off and that Sibsy and Mando have no right to complain about the hate that was so clearly coming. It's an assumed risk. I'm not saying I condone the trolling, but I am saying they brought it on themselves.

This is the entire humor of George Costanza by the way. He obsesses over little things that we can kind of understand why they annoy him but we ourselves would never bother to make an issue of. If George just got obsessed over things which we didn't understand whatsoever, then he'd just be a crazy person and not funny.

So yes, I'd say the addition of Costanza makes Schmoopy even more apt of an example. There's a lot of George Costanzas on the internet.

I’d rather at least attempt to speak for rationality even if I know it will have little functional effect coming from my one voice since I know that more people latching on to that same idea potentially can make a difference.

Well what the hell is rationality? We can define it as being merely the exercise of formal logic, but that only prescribes for consistency in arguments, not the ethical maxims which you want people to start following. I think what you mean by rationality is a number of social mores which prescribe modes of behavior in society, which is to say an ideology. It sounds like you want people to be forced to follow your ideology either through social pressure or outright force, and that is EXACTLY the kind of thing which those scumbags on 4chan say they are against. People don't like being told they have to act a certain way, especially not by someone who doesn't even know them.

Which brings me to my second point: Neither you or BSoD are actually doing anything. You both talk a big game about needing to stand up for what you believe in and being the change in your world, but are either of you actually bothering to get your hands dirty? Whens the last time either of you has volunteered down at some youth center to try and give a little guidance to the angry kids who will most certainly form tomorrow's trolling population? You talk about contributing your one voice, but what does that do exactly? At best you will just add to the social pressure which 4chan is explicitly reacting against and at worst you will become the tacit consent and faceless body of the mob which authorizes political figures to pass brutal and inefficient laws. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not contributing down at the youth center either, but that's why I don't presume the right to complain about a society which I've made no effort to fix.

So I say keep your 'rationality' and keep your 'one voice.' If you really want people to be gentler, go out there and demonstrate some gentleness to them.

@George Costanza:

@Fifths:

I must say, Fifths, for a brief moment your post made me upset. I'm not now, but I am gonna tear your post to pieces.

It sounds like you want people to be forced to follow your ideology either through social pressure or outright force, and that is EXACTLY the kind of thing which those scumbags on 4chan say they are against. People don’t like being told they have to act a certain way, especially not by someone who doesn’t even know them.

Then by your own words, 4chan must be a hypocrite, because social pressure is what they are, essentially. When you interact with them, you either adhere to the culture or be ridiculed to your exit. And all that hate for the ask blog, that is social pressure as well. You can't ask people not to exert social pressure for the sake of their ideals. Social pressure is a fact of life. Your friends, your family, the only reason any of them could have had an impact on you is if when they exerted their social pressure on you, you allowed it to affect you. You value it, even, to the point you don't realize it's there.

Neither you or BSoD are actually doing anything.

I hadn't realized you knew them so well offline as to make that sort of claim.

I don’t presume the right to complain about a society which I’ve made no effort to fix.

Except that's what this post became when you started complaining about the way others choose to fix society. Of course, this post also means you (and by extension, me) actually have made an effort to fix society, by putting forward your 2 cents on how people might better serve that purpose, using what social pressure you can to convince others in the thread of the strength of your own ideals, in the hope that they might accept and agree with them, which just brings us back to what BSoD and Deadparrot were saying in the first place. Funny, that.

At best you will just add to the social pressure which 4chan is explicitly reacting against and at worst you will become the tacit consent and faceless body of the mob which authorizes political figures to pass brutal and inefficient laws.

Or, they could become a force for explicitly opposing the mob's tacit consent and political apathy, and 4chan can just react in whatever way it pleases, as always.

Whew, I don't think this can continue any further without being completely off topic. I'm content to stop here, but if anyone wants to continue this train, they'll probably need a new thread or something.

Here, have yous a thing:

Verbose said:

I fear that those people from /mlp/ or elsewhere will make this a chore for Sibsy.

/mlp/, like SJWs, tend to let their hate flow rapidly from one person to another. First, it was Purple Tinker, then Yamino, then Mando, then Final Draft, then Pinkie Pony. The most recent one would be "Scammin" Sam Hyde (the guy that orcestrated the failed Dark Skyes kickstarter). "Mandopedo" is fairly dead, with many rolling their eyes at it now as new targets of hate and better memes have taken its place. While there still will be some harassment, I think the days of /mlp/ tossing their hate sink at Mando are over. There hasn't even been a thread about the ship--or if there was one, it didn't last long.

It makes me cringe so hard.

At long last, I have finally found Verbose's weakness.

As for the tumblr and shipping thing itself, count me in the "don't give a shit" camp. I don't really care if a fandom person and show staff member are together, nor do I care that they have an "ask" blog about it.

Blue Screen said:

Where did the pedo rumor even come from?

It originated on an /mlp/ thread where OP declared he was "mandopedo." The thread had about three replies and was well on its way to being deleted, before somebody told Mando about it, he latched onto the bait, and /mlp/ realized they could shift their hate from Derpy hating Yamino over to one of the fandom musicians that they already weren't a fan of since /mu/ infects 4chan's music opinions.

@Fallout: Equestria butthurt
It only re-enforces my opinion that KYM needs to do a site-wide pony joke for next year's April Fool's (like renaming the site "Know Your Pony") just so I can bask in the shitstorm that would follow.

Kewln00bs name isn't special said:

…he acknowledges the trolls.

This. This is the entire reason this whole thing has escalated to the point it did (inb4 blaming the victim). Every time he tweeted about it, posted a comment on Youtube, railed against 4chan, that only fed the blood lust and propelled it along. Once the Internet Hate Machine gets going, it has a lot of inertia. Since he stopped making a big deal about it, /mlp/ has as well.

Blue Screen said:

Get a job. Get some friends. Get self-esteem. Get laid. Etc. Etc. Just get some actual life experience that will teach you a sense of reality regarding real problems that affect you. If they did, maybe they wouldn’t feel so existentially threatened by two friends drawing each other as small pastel colored horses that hang out together, having more of a life than they do right now.

The funny thing is, most people who engage in trolling and 4chan antics (not related to /b/) already have that. Most have jobs, girlfriends, etc. They're just normal people. It's one reason I always laugh at the hate Reddit, EQD, or KYM get--because I know that, since they're just nromal people, many of them go to those very sites. All 4chan is is a hobby. They get off work, go on /pol/, and blame the jews/blacks for their problems (which is evidently a meme ) or, in /mlp/'s case, rail against a fandom artist for no logical or rational reason.

I suppose that's pretty scary. That normal average people--people who are perfectly sociable, likable, and who know all about real life bullshit--do these sorts of things in their free time as a "hobby," but that's a subject for the psychologists and sociologists to tackle.

@CrashGordon94
>2014
>missing the most obvious one

Supreme the Lurking Monitor said:

…4chan must be a hypocrite…

Would someone really do that? Be a hypocrite on an anonymous image board?

In all seriousness, that's a bit of a stretch. While 4chan is more rough and aggressive than most sites, it has a huge range of opinions and cultures. Saying you must adapt is a bit silly. All you have to do is get thicker skin. Their opinions and actions are more raw--but even then, it's not always the case. General threads are very famous for being more "circlejerky" and "hugboxy" than the rest of the site.

In other words, you don't have to change who you are, or even how you act: you just have to do it more aggressively.

>implying hivemind

4chan's not one uniform body. There's 50+ boards--all doing their own things. /pol/ (for the most part) hates gays, while /lbgt/ is all about them. /co/ and /a/ have their never ending rivalry. Some people may rail against society and social pressures, while others see it as a necessary part of culture and humanity. Just look at the bullying threads to see how opinions clash.

4chan's just like real life--it has just as many opinions and ideals, but is just expressed more openly, more vocally, and more aggressively.

The second round of runoffs for the KYM Pony Thread Title Straw Poll is now here!
>Polls close on page 186
>only one vote, so make it count
>if no Title holds a majority, top two vote getters move on to the final round of runoffs

KYM Pony Thread Title Straw Poll
Sponsored by the Ponies for Prosperity SuperPAC, a non-profit organization.

And that is my post for the day, titty sprinkles.

It's my birthday today and I thought I'd show you guys this gift I got from a friend

She's doesn't even watch MLP, but she knows I do. It was nice of her.

That's all I have to say.

Happy Birthday, Disturbed!

@Disturbed: That's awesome! And Happy Late Birthday! My dad just turned 50 today as well. Time to go pester him some. xD

"Say what sonny?"

"Nothing dad, nothing."

Happy disturbed birthday! Have a pony:

@Disturbed's birthday: Since my last post was so basic, shall I add a picture?

@4chan: Quite frankly, I've never liked them, and this whole idea of everyone having to become a tool to fit in doesn't help, they have some funny moments though:

On a side note, I have just a quick question:
I was just wondering, was Ms. Harshwhinny featured in a toyline or something that gave her a serial/series number? Just wondering for a story I'm currently doing (would rather not go into too much detail, but if you need context I'll give it)

@Disturbed

Eh, /mlp/ is /mlp/. They won't change and it'd be kind of sad if they did. Leave them to their in-jokes and definition hate, just enjoy some of the humor that comes out of that bit of 4chan.

No, no Harshwhinny blind bags… Yet. That kind of thing requires extra work to reach a certain degree of professionalism. I'd certainly know the moment it existed.

@Disturbed: This calls for a birthday game!

Me, Luna, and Derpy end up living in the same house. Holy shi-

HAPPY B-DAY DISTURBED! MAY MANY CAKES FALL UPON THEE!

@ Jimbo: July 23, 1995…

DEAR GOD WHY…

@Harshwhinny: Ah, thought as much. Any of the trading cards or anything else that might've numbered her?

@Birthday game: Me, Fluttershy and Flitter stay in a hotel room that only has 1 bed.
Dammit, how am I supposed to dispatch Fluttershy with a witness around?!

CrashGordon94 wrote:

@Harshwhinny: Ah, thought as much. Any of the trading cards or anything else that might’ve numbered her?

In unofficial merchandise related news, this pretty mare will now be a long-term companion for my desk.

Can anyone say, "best pony"?

@xTSGx: I shall inform that I made my choice for the Thread Title.

@Jimmy Lethal: September 22, 1992 = An unusual combination, but a marvelous result nonetheless.