Quiver

I had to bury my dog yesterday. Maybe it's not "bad" on the same level of things you guys are talking about, and the fact it's been a day means I'm feeling a little better about it, but... Yes. Not feeling so great.

I like you. Have an upvote. (Even though thats not how you spell Lyra). Anyway... Misheru, welcome to the 17th Shard. We will forgive lack of activity for further kitty pictures.

Queer Subtext in MLP My Little Pony is a queer show. A children's show about ponies, built to sell toys, marketed to girls, which has mustered a large adult male fanbase. The success and popularity of Friendship is Magic can very easily qualify as queer, for the definition of strange. But is it a Queer show? First, a definition: when I say Queer in this context, I'm speaking in terms of identity, gender, and sexuality. It's also a qord with kind of a complicated history of meaning, both as an insult and being reclaimed and back and forth, so I figure I should make my views on that topic clear from the start- I do not intend any offence in my use of the term. I am fully in support of equal rights and civil liberties. That being said, if there are members of that communtiy on this forum who find my use of the term to be offensive, please, let me know. I liked it for the pithy opening, but I'd rather delete that than offend someone. That being said... onto the essay. In the second season of MLP, we witness Hearts and Hooves day, a pony-equivalent of Valentines Day, complete with couples , cards and gifts. The episode is about the Cutie Mark Crusaders using magic to force Cheerilee and Big Mac into being a couple, with them eventually realising that that's the wrong thing to do. It's a decent enough episode. But as I was watching it this time, I noticed an odd quirk in the language the characters use to describe their significant other: "I don't have a special somepony at the moment". The CMC spend the episode looking for a stallion for Cheerilee, and the end of the episode certainly implies that she is straight... but it's rather curious than Equestria doesn't seem to have different terms for male/female romantic partners. Cheerilee and Big Mac both refer to the other as their "special somepony", rather than agender-specific title like boy- or girlfriend. It was an interesting enough observation to me, but it was compounded by another small quirk at the beginning of the episode. After the title song, we see Cheerilee's class giving cards to one another. There are some small flashes of funny moments, like the filly in the back who clearly discards their card once the colt she was going to give it to has recieved one... but what's unusual about the scene is a pegasus in the middle row giving a card to Diamond Tiara. A pegasus filly. Hearts and Hooves Day seems to be about celebrating love, in all it's forms; it's a safe bet, for instance, that the CMC are not harboring a group crush on Cheerilee; they present the card to her because they love her as a teacher. And yet, every other couple in the episode is a romantic pair. It can't even be that the pegasus is one of Diamon Tiara's friends, because the only friend Diamond Tiara seems to have is Silver Spoon, who didn't give her a card. Did My Little Pony sneak a lesbian crush in past the censors? As a show for children, MLP is unlikely to ever delve into an on-screen homosexual romance, let alone the most complicated aspects of identity (like asexuality or transgender). And yet, the theme of identity is an important one to the show, at least from the second season on. To get something out of the way- the fandom has taken a lot of this into their own hands. In the show, for instance, Lyra and Bon Bon are often shown standing next to one another, because their color schemes complement one another well and they have distinctive character designs. There isn't any indication that they are anything more than friends; fan-derived works, however, often show the two in a romantic relationship. Similarly, every member of the cast has been shipped with a character of their own gender, at some point. The show being what it is, it rarely delves into any form of romance, leaving lots of room for speculation, fanon and headcanon. Rainbow Dash seems to get a lot of this. In fact, the idea that Rainbow Dash is a lesbian is fairly common in fanworks. Her mane (and name) echoes the Rainbow Flag associated with the LBGT movement. She's a very "masculine" character, with an awesome guitar riff instead of "girly" music, and an interest in sports. Lauren Faust actually responded to these comments, as well as the belief that the show seems to suggest that only "butch" women wear rainbows: There is enough leeway in her response for a fan of the show to interpret Rainbow Dash as whatever-they-want her to be. Anyone who wants to view the character as homosexual has enough to go on to do that, while others who want to view the character as straight can do the same. In fact, looking at the series as a whole, there aren't that many heterosexual romances as a contrast. The first season is building up a possible Rarity-Blueblood relationship, but the finale shows that Blueblood is a shallow cretin. There is Cheerilee and Big Mac, whose episode ends with them joking about being in a relationship, something ambiguous enough that the audience is left to decide for themselves whether or not they really are in one. The only "consistent" romance story in the series has been Spike's affection for Rarity, which isn't a good example. For one thing, it's ambiguous as to whether or not Rarity recognizes (or reciprocates) his feelings. There is the age difference between them; there is the species difference between them. There's the fact that Spike's story arcs are all about him finding out who he is, that his story is one about the quest for self-identity. He wants to find out what dragons are like and be like them (male), but rejects them to be a pony(female), even though he still ascribes to a personal "dragon" code of conduct. Even his color scheme is conflicted, with purple as an ambiguously gendered color. Would it be fair to view Spike, therefore, as a trans or genderqueer individual, or should he be thought of as a character following his own path, regardless of societal norms? Societies norms also seems to play a part of this. Going back to Hearts and Hooves Day, a filly giving another filly a valentine card doesn't get undue attention. Rainbow Dash never shows romantic feelings (for stallions or mares) and no one comments on it. The rest of the Mane Six do not tease or encourage Rarity in her romantic pursuits. Spike's crush on Rarity is made fun of, but his concerns about who he is- both in regards to the dragon migration and his dragon code- are treated with the utmost respect by the other characters. Equestria is a world which doesn't have different words for different genders; the most the show every goes into is "Fillies and gentlecolts", as a stand-in for ladies and gentlemen. It's a world built around the concept of finding your special talent, and finding out who you are, and what you can do. It doesn't directly address sexuality... and yet there is enough of an openness in the world the show has constructed and the characters inhabiting it that the audience can fill in the blanks. And I think the fact that the audience filled it in with characters of such diverse traits indicates that, if there isn't an implicit equality among the ponies of Equestria, then the fans certainly think there is.

Oh, the scariest one you have for sure. Twill match their charge. Together, the nightmares shall be doubled! EDIT: Better Luna Krueger picture. And here's another, because I find it funny.

Nightmare-fuel, you say? Yes, this meeting should go most well!

In that case, perhaps your character wouldn't mind being paid out as a bodyguard for the Herd. Our Royal Ambassador entered the Dark Alley to open diplomatic relations. It ended poorly.

Huh. I know Doctor Funtimes is your Epic character in the Orgon campaign, but this is the first thing I came to mind on reading that particular job title

You doubt the amount of cookies available to the Dark Side?

You had cookies.

Eh. Maybe I wasn't in the right mind set to appreciate it, but I didn't like Death Note. I liked the concept behind it, but... The plot fell apart for me. Most of the gambits and gambles and other-fancy-terms-for-smartness seemed... contrived. Honestly, the best part of the entire series for me was the brief encounter between Light and Naomi; she was an interesting character, one who I wished could have stuck around for longer. And yes, I udnerstand why the writer did what he did; I still think it was a mistake. By the time the manga was over, I cared more about her than I did any other member of the investigation.

Recognition! As far as my shoe-horning MLP jokes into every topic goes...

Doubles as a Susan reference, so if "shameless" means referencing classic Doctor Who, then I encourage everyone in this topic to have no shame.

I believe this would the moment Daisy, Roseluck and Lily would collapse from the horror of something tasting like ponies. Double horror points for Daisy, obviously.

Yes. More detailed, I believe WoB is that it could, conceivably work, IF the bullet went through the exact point, and IF the shooter knew what they were doing, since Intent is an important part of the magic systems.

Well, I rather liked it. Yes, there were things about it I didn't like; it seemed like Moffat finally caved in to the "Clara has no personality" detractors and fixed it... by having Strax and the Doctor exposit in what it is. Not the best way to do it- and not that distinct from other Moffat women- but it's more than she got last year. It'll be interesting to watch Capaldi though. I got the impression from the ending and the teaser that he still isn't sure who he is, so I'm interested in seeing that get addressed. They changed the opening. I don't know if I like it. As for the woman at the end... I don't know. I'm a little disappointed that, after killing the Doctors Wife, and making it clear that the Doctor is not. Clara's boyfriend... Moffat introduces a female character whose relation to the Doctor is to call him her boyfriend. I'm not sure who she is; right now, my guess is she's somehow connected to "where the faces come from".

In some places, the Way of Kings was split into two books. I know it happened in the UK, but I happened to get a single copy of it (same with ADwD, actually). As for the question...depends on where your at and what you think of the characters. Personally, on my first read through I found Kaladins sections to drag a little.

I hate to be Padantic, but there's a typo.

I'm not surprised. Colgate is fairly potent.

Mini-topic bump. So, Doctor Who airs in the UK tomorrow with a feature-length episode. I don't know yet whether or not I'll be online to discuss it after it airs (though for the record, don't expect MLP re watched sized posts on it). Just wanted to clarify, when does the US episode air? I intend on putting it behind a spoiler wall anyway, but I'd hate to be basically taunted you guys with it.

Best Pony is also best dancer. Plus Bon Bon.

Felt like posting Best Pony. So here is best pony, expressing the mood I'm in.

But the next rank up is "Fire", so it's worth it.