Friday, 5 April 2024

Claude 3 Sonnet writes more (and better?) ponyfic

Don't worry, this isn't going to take over the blog! I won't be writing about AI things on here for a while now. I was, however, interested to see that a slight tweak to the prompt gave what I think is a more interesting attempt at ponyfic (albeit still with a hopeless title). This time I allowed Claude 3 Sonnet to use up two responses to write its story, prompting it with "More" to get the second one. This time the prompt was:

Please write a My Little Pony story (with a suitable title) in which Fluttershy and Rarity discuss a sensitive issue over a cup of tea. The two ponies are very long-standing friends and trust each other completely. Both of them are quiet conversationalists, so the conversation should have a restrained emotional tone. However, the much brasher Rainbow Dash barges into the cottage halfway through. The audience is very familiar with the characters already.

I think adding that last sentence has helped, but see what you think. Beyond the break, AI adventurers!

A DELICATE MATTER [yes, again]

The fragrant aroma of chamomile drifted through Fluttershy's cottage as the soft-spoken pegasus poured two cups of steaming tea. Her dear friend Rarity smiled gratefully as she accepted one of the dainty cups.

"Thank you, Fluttershy. This is just lovely," Rarity said, taking a delicate sip. "Although I must confess, when you asked me over for a 'sensitive discussion' I did wonder what could be the matter."

Fluttershy's wings gave a barely perceptible flutter as she settled onto the couch beside Rarity. "Well, you see... it's about our friend Pinkie Pie."

Rarity's elegantly shaped brow furrowed with concern. "Is something wrong with Pinkie?"

"Not exactly wrong," Fluttershy said hesitantly. "But you know how we all rely on Pinkie's spirited parties and infectious laughter to lift our spirits from time to time?"

Rarity nodded. "Of course, her zany antics are priceless. Why, I don't know what we'd do without them!"

"Yes, well..." Fluttershy paused, searching for the right words. "I've noticed that sometimes her overexuberance can be a bit... much. For some of my animal friends at least."

Understanding dawned on Rarity's face. "Ah, I see what you mean. Why, only last week at Pinkie's latest party, I saw her chasing some of the ducks around trying to get them to wear those ridiculous party hats."

Fluttershy gave a small, dismayed shake of her head. "Exactly. And while I know Pinkie means no harm, I worry her rambunctiousness may inadvertently scare or upset some of my little friends. I just don't know how to express my concerns without hurting her feelings."

Before Rarity could respond, the cottage door burst open with a cyan blur.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Rainbow Dash said loudly, making both Fluttershy and Rarity wince slightly. "I was just flying by and thought I'd—" She stopped, noticing their serious expressions. "Wait, is this some kind of super serious bestie talk? Should I come back later?"

Rarity waved a hoof. "No, no, Rainbow, you're fine. Actually, you arrived at quite an opportune moment..."

Rainbow Dash flopped down on the couch across from them. "So what's the big deal? Let me guess, Fluttershy doesn't want Pinkie messing with her critter friends at parties anymore?"

Fluttershy gave a meek nod. "Oh Rainbow, you know I love Pinkie dearly. But her party prank antics can be a bit...overwhelming for my animal friends at times."

"Psh, yeah, I can see that being a problem for your cotton-tailed crew," Rainbow said with a dismissive flick of her mane. "So just tell Pinkie to take it easy around the furry and feathered set. She'll listen to you."

"I... I wish I could, Rainbow," Fluttershy said, shrinking a bit under Rainbow's blunt tone. "But you know how sensitive Pinkie can be. I don't want to risk hurting her feelings over something like this."

Rarity placed a comforting hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Now, now, dear, you mustn't worry so. If anypony can broach a delicate subject with Pinkie Pie, it's you."

She turned to Rainbow Dash. "Don't you agree that our soft-spoken friend here has a way of communicating with tremendous care and consideration for others' feelings?"

Rainbow opened her mouth but then closed it, furrowing her brow in thought. "Yeah, okay, I guess you're right. If anypony can get through to Pinkie without a total party poop blowout, it's Fluttershy."

Fluttershy managed a small smile of gratitude at her two friends. Just then, a squirrel chattered frantically from outside. Her ears perked up in alarm.

"Oh no! Randolph is caught in one of Pinkie's old party contraptions again!" She hopped up and hurried to the door. "I'll be right back, I promise!"

As Fluttershy dashed outside, Rainbow and Rarity exchanged a look.

"You know," Rainbow said, "for such a big softie, Fluttershy sure has her share of big responsibilities around here."

Rarity simply smiled and sipped her tea. "And she handles them all with abundance of grace, composure and tenderhearted wisdom. We could all learn a thing or two from our dear friend."

2 comments:

  1. Hmn... better, but still horrible word choices and character voicing. "...her rambunctiousness may inadvertently scare or upset some of my little friends." Oh sacred stars, that so not Fluttershy's voice!

    Terrible "As you know, Bob" bit in the beginning, too.

    What does impress me is that it made up a believable problem... on the third(?) try, but still... Not feeling in the least threatened by this thing... Yet.

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    1. Mind you, if it's using canon as a base then that will include all the late-series scripts with poor character writing, so maybe it's more accurate than we're giving it credit for! ;)

      I will also give Claude a point here for doing something with Pinkie that isn't the usual hyper-hyper-hyper stuff. I think this is the first time I've seen an AI writer acknowledge that Pinkie has an emotional fragility to her. Okay, this isn't exactly "Pinkie Pride", but it's a start!

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