tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301854188587462574.post8064059426289038541..comments2024-03-28T17:00:27.057+00:00Comments on Louder Yay: Ponyfic Roundup 201: TralfamadoriansLoganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03769758118827489093noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301854188587462574.post-54671484363506304472018-05-03T00:04:40.388+01:002018-05-03T00:04:40.388+01:00Right, let's get going! I don't have anyth...Right, let's get going! I don't have anything much to say about the first part of your reply, so let's start from:<br /><br /><i>Much as it impinges on Twinkleshine's behaviour elsewhere, can you really blame her when astronomy is just so rich and mind-boggling?</i><br /><br />Nope. I was a kid in the time of the Voyager probes and the first Space Shuttles, and once my family had a video I watched most editions of <i>The Sky at Night</i>. Sadly, there was another side to this, which was that the first non-personal tragedy I really understood was the Challenger disaster in 1986. To this day, though, I still have a very soft spot for space. (Twilight writing about comets back in "Owl's Well That Ends Well" may be my favourite part of that episode, which otherwise leaves me rather cold.)<br /><br /><i>Does it? I'm not sure what you mean here.</i><br /><br />Maybe "perspective" would have been a better word than "spin". Minuette may not be different, but seeing her bounciness from Twinkleshine's perspective, as something less jolly and even rather annoying, isn't something we've had in the show.<br /><br /><i>I don't want to sound clueless, but I'm genuinely not sure what you're referring to here.</i><br /><br />Spoiler alert!<br /><br />When we get to enter Minuette's house. I'd blithely assumed that we'd get clichéd Canterlot middle-class: a spotless, rather posh house, perhaps with a servant or two. Not cobwebs on the walls and papers on the floor. It worked, but it wasn't what I'd expected.<br /><br /><i>No, that was intended as a character note.</i><br /><br />Hmm, I'm guilty of ambiguous phrasing, which I'll fix in a moment. I didn't think "Minute" was a joke – I'm just not entirely convinced that, even allowing for her lack of interest in conventional socialising, Twinkleshine would make that particular error. If she'd lost contact and hadn't seen Minuette for years, possibly. Given the sort of names ponies have even in canon, "Minute" itself isn't a problem.<br /><br />The joke I didn't get was "A tiny jaw, not used to jutting, and against a big world, so used to jutting it probably kept catalogues." I get the point of the line, but "catalogues"? I thought of star catalogues, but it still doesn't seem to fit with "jutting".<br /><br />And of course you're welcome. Thank <i>you</i> for writing it.Loganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03769758118827489093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301854188587462574.post-62653194781479495302018-05-02T19:24:33.783+01:002018-05-02T19:24:33.783+01:00It'd be fun, but the title is actually a Vonne...It'd be fun, but the title is actually a Vonnegut reference. :)Loganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03769758118827489093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301854188587462574.post-9961707383020315082018-05-02T12:22:01.989+01:002018-05-02T12:22:01.989+01:00I am going to assume the title means midichlorians...I am going to assume the title means midichlorians from Trafalgar. :B<br /><br />"get the RiL list down to about 100"<br /><br />I don't know what this means. All the reading I've been doing lately has gotten mine under 8000, though! :DPresent Perfecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195959811544391904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301854188587462574.post-12855288190309972672018-05-02T12:20:52.311+01:002018-05-02T12:20:52.311+01:00Regular ol' HTML. :BRegular ol' HTML. :BPresent Perfecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195959811544391904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301854188587462574.post-29065131079515286792018-05-02T09:48:44.987+01:002018-05-02T09:48:44.987+01:00Also, how do you format italics? I thought it was ...Also, how do you format italics? I thought it was square brackets, but clearly not.<br /><br />And while I'm at it, good luck whittling the list down to 100. I don't mean that in a sarcastic way; it's always a good idea to get a to-do list down to a more manageable level.Impossible Numbershttps://www.fimfiction.net/user/5716/Impossible+Numbersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301854188587462574.post-13087415209994306482018-05-02T09:41:57.162+01:002018-05-02T09:41:57.162+01:00Ha ha, you're not slipping under the radar thi...Ha ha, you're not slipping under the radar this time, Loganberry. Not like the time with [i]The Web Untangled[/i]. :D<br /><br />Okey dokey, let's take a looksy...<br /><br />"Written with no direct speech at all, yet saying plenty,"<br /><br />It's funny how many people have said this. Without implying I could aim that high, it reminds me of the opening of Pixar's Up: how so much is conveyed without a word of dialogue. Speaking more broadly, I don't know what makes dialogue-free depictions work so well - perhaps the focus on stronger non-verbal cues makes a work seem more expressive and vibrant? - but it's a principle I go back to from time to time. When I remember to, of course.<br /><br />"this is a really nice look at the backstory of these two ponies, concentrating on Twinkleshine's perspective."<br /><br />Personally, I'm just glad to give these two more attention. Twinkleshine-Minuette has been in the show since Season One, and yet gets so little attention. Plenty of untapped potential there, especially for me, given how simple it was to link Twinkleshine's cutie mark with the greater field of astronomy.<br /><br />"It's full of the wonder of the universe – and lots of satisfying little details about astronomy and telescopes and the like –"<br /><br />Yes! That's exactly what I wanted to emphasize. Much as it impinges on Twinkleshine's behaviour elsewhere, can you really blame her when astronomy is just so rich and mind-boggling? My main concern during those passages was to make them detailed enough for a reader to appreciate, but elegant enough that the reader isn't bogged down with technical details.<br /><br />(Although I confess I couldn't resist a silly horse pun with one of the pieces of equipment near the end).<br /><br />"but also a reminder of how devotion to one thing can mean neglect of something else important."<br /><br />I like to think there are complications in there too. For instance, Twinkleshine's passion for astronomy actually proves to be a way for her to find common ground with Minuette. And Minuette's blithe and overbearing approach to socializing is just as much to blame, since she makes it harder than it needs to be for Twinkleshine to open up to her.<br /><br />"It's quite emotionally restrained, which puts a new spin on Minuette's character,"<br /><br />Does it? I'm not sure what you mean here. If anything, I thought Minuette's characterization was pretty unremarkable by fandom standards, especially after "Amending Fences" sort of "standardized" her personality.<br /><br />"but this is very effective, especially when something unexpected is revealed late on."<br /><br />I don't want to sound clueless, but I'm genuinely not sure what you're referring to here. Current best guess is it's Minuette's observation in the final scene, but I'm not sure.<br /><br />"Very few negatives – one little thing I wasn't convinced by relating to Minuette's name, and one that's probably my fault in that I don't get an apparent joke."<br /><br />No, that was intended as a character note. Firstly because Twinkleshine doesn't particularly care enough at that point to get it right, and secondly because it tied in to her "arcminutes, archours" bit with Sideways earlier (compare the description of Upsy and Sideways, for instance, with Twinkleshine - the straightforward one - and Minuette - the really weird one). Though I'm guessing I didn't convey that as well as I'd expected, judging from your response.<br /><br />"An excellent story, regardless; sweet and satisfying. A strong four-star rating and happily recommended."<br /><br />Supremely delighted you enjoyed the story so much. Four stars is a true badge of honour, and a [i]strong[/i] four stars is something else entirely. Thank you. n.nImpossible Numbershttps://www.fimfiction.net/user/5716/Impossible+Numbersnoreply@blogger.com