"My Little Pony" biomod

[Ace Dreamer]

So Bella is going to move to the Moon and call herself Princess Luna, I assume?

Bella is going to try and find Dora and family.  Dora and family are probably going to have to find somewhere to live where no one is going to get upset about Bella being around.  And, figure out a way to pay Gwen for Uplifting one of her most popular ponies.
And, there is going to be concern as to whether Dora has accidentally biomodded herself (she hasn't - she read and followed the handling instructions her father put on the 'childproof' container).
I don't think she's going to call herself "Princess Luna" - those ponies are a bit too like fully-blown gods, whereas the more minor empowered ones are more like demi-gods, or minor kami (spirits of place).  It isn't a good idea taking a god name on yourself; blaming your parents for giving you one is OK, doing it yourself is asking for trouble.
Assuming she is happy with using part of a name given to her by humans when she wasn't sentient, something like "Beautiful Hope" might do?  Otherwise, something like "Rising Friend"?
Should I have been so impressed by a Disney film when I was younger?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Journey
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Ace Dreamer]

*looks up*

Could we please.... not do this, maybe?

Ah.  OK, I'd better mark the story as a 'Fail' then.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Ace Dreamer]

Bronies make up a substantial fraction of the Crystal Millennium's male population (and a smaller but still significant fraction of the female population). Most bronies are fans of the show naturally and their interest doesn't go beyond that - despite what Fox News might say when they run a wave-fear segment, the average Fen isn't looking to turn themselves into a bizarre creature because they like a certain property. Cutie mark tattoos are fairly common among bronies and have even started to filter into mainstream Senshi culture. Brony biomods when they happen (because they always do) interestingly enough don't go full-pony but are rather more like catgirl transformations. Horselike ears and/or tails are common, wings and horn structures are less common but they do happen - the wings are usually small compared to the size and mass of the person getting them, but they're still capable of flying. Gender shift happens in about 25% of cases, which is a little more on average than the usual rate. The most interesting side effect is cloning, on multiple occasions group biomods among bronies have produced identical copies of one basic template; VIB researchers call this the "background pony effect."

The number of people interested in full-pony biomods is, shall we say, limited at best and so far nobody's come out and actually said they've accomplished it.

I'd be a lot happier with people not biomodding themselves into physical disability - that sounds a bit too dystopian.  Rather a bit Jack L. Chalker...
Polygirls like catgirls sounds a lot more like fun.
Anyone having the full shapeshift, from human-looking version of a MLP through an intermediate ponygirl form to a real pony shape (a pony-were?) would be, I guess, a bit on the powerful side to use in anything but exceptional circumstances.
I'll admit to not having read any MLP fanfic, and not seen any of the recent shows (MLP:FIS) - I've just been amazed by the massive cultural impact - the Care Bears would have loved to be half as successful.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[robkelk]

Also, on an unrelated note: CHECK YOUR FUCKING INBOXES, FOOL. I AM NOT PLEASED.

And while you're at it, BA, please check your Gmail back to July 29. I can't make any changes if you never tell me what's wrong.

Now, back to the bronies...

I don't mind the fandom being part of the Senshi. First, that faction needs more males, and I've been lead to believe that there are more bronies than pegasisters out there. Second, there's a lot of overlap in the general outlook - friendship, doing what's right, etc.

Like Mal, I dislike the idea of a full shift 'mod from human to pony. Where's all the extra mass going to come from? The concept of people with identifiable equine traits is acceptable, although they need a group name. (There's a subculture out there that has a decidedly different meaning for the term "pony girl," and thanks to The-Internet-Is-For-YouKnowWhat that meaning isn't exactly obscure any more. So we aren't using that term in Fenspace, okay?)

Pegasi... I've never been fond of the idea of unassisted flight in Fenspace. [size=smaller](Before anyone points her out: Safety has a micro-miniature gravity drive installed. That's tech-based assisted flight.)[/size] Ornamental wings would be okay, I guess.

Unicorns... Sure, why not? The pointy bit on the forehead is going to cause problems with space helmets, though. On the flip side, even a single example of proven magical ability (as opposed to handwavium "faking it") would be enough to get Noah to unseal the grimoires in the unredacted Whole Fenspace Catalog and provide them to various educational bodies.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Ace Dreamer]

Like Mal, I dislike the idea of a full shift 'mod from human to pony. Where's all the extra mass going to come from? The concept of people with identifiable equine traits is acceptable, although they need a group name. (There's a subculture out there that has a decidedly different meaning for the term "pony girl," and thanks to The-Internet-Is-For-YouKnowWhat that meaning isn't exactly obscure any more. So we aren't using that term in Fenspace, okay?)

As for extra mass, ponies mass 200-400kg, and the average American male is only about 97kg (say CDC), heaviest man in history is 634kg.  Seeing as muscle is only about 1.18x denser than fat you wont do it that way...  Hollow ponies faking up their mass with a gravitic effect?  Dehydrated ponies, just add water? [grin]
How about "Shetland Girls" or landgirls for short?  Eww.  I hadn't connected that fetish with 'ponygirl' in Fenspace.  I did see a "pony girl race track" in Second Life, and I avoided the area when I found out what that was.

Pegasi... I've never been fond of the idea of unassisted flight in Fenspace. (Before anyone points her out: Safety has a micro-miniature gravity drive installed. That's tech-based assisted flight.) Ornamental wings would be okay, I guess.

Would it be possible for handwavium to make a biological structure that functioned as a speed drive?  Say by waving an implanted speed drive (or holding one very close to you when you're biomodded and hoping - no, I don't believe that'd work).  Might that be a Season 2 sophistication?

Unicorns... Sure, why not? The pointy bit on the forehead is going to
cause problems with space helmets, though. On the flip side, even a
single example of proven magical ability (as opposed to handwavium
"faking it") would be enough to get Noah to unseal the grimoires in the
unredacted Whole Fenspace Catalog and provide them to various
educational bodies.

I'm sure there could be a version of the "Wright Suit" that fitted unicorns. [grin]
I think ponies would be far more likely to use a force field space protection, maybe driven by a harness they wore, what might have enough smarts to climb on them and buckle-up when asked.
I'd find it quite funny if it was ponies who introduced magic into Fenspace...
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[classicdrogn]

My first reaction to adding thaumaturgical science is "Cool!"

Second thoughts say, "But don't we have an entire garden party of unicorns already with handwavium and its wierdnessess? Explicit magic will just mix everything up more!"

Then I think how much I loved Xenosaga's and Rogue Galaxy's mixes of space opera and magic, and just feel conflicted because a couple of good examples doesn't make up for the bad ones.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[robkelk]

Explicit magic is so they keep it under control, rather than letting "wild" magic have its way in Fenspace...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[robkelk]

Would it be possible for handwavium to make a biological structure that functioned as a speed drive?  Say by waving an implanted speed drive (or holding one very close to you when you're biomodded and hoping - no, I don't believe that'd work).  Might that be a Season 2 sophistication?

If it was up to me, I'd say "no" because a speed drive is a very complex thing. Maybe Season 5...?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[HRogge]

If it was up to me, I'd say "no" because a speed drive is a very complex thing. Maybe Season 5...?

Season 5 sounds good for a breakthrough at Biotics... time for catgirl biomod 2.0 or 3.0

[Foxboy]

Dangit I wish I remembered what the generic Japanese term is for "cute girl with animal ears and tail."

There is one... I just can't remember it because most folks go "nekomimi kawaiii desu~! Ugyuuu~!"
Edit:
"Kemono" and "kemonomimi": the first is anime furries and the second is "tail and ears only."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Ace Dreamer]

Dangit I wish I remembered what the generic Japanese term is for "cute girl with animal ears and tail."

There is one... I just can't remember it because most folks go "nekomimi kawaiii desu~! Ugyuuu~!"
Edit:
"Kemono" and "kemonomimi": the first is anime furries and the second is "tail and ears only."

Given how things get abbreviated, I wouldn't be surprised if that just ended-up as "mimi" being used as a general term...
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Bob Schroeck]

I don't know about anyone else, but I like it. The inevitable question becomes, what sort of pony did Bella mod into?

   (...suddenly struck by vague ideas for Twilight jokes involving sparkling unicorn ponies who are probably purple and named Edward...)
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Ace Dreamer]

So biomods:

• humans to add animal ears and tail, yes
• humans to full (MLP) pony, no (arguably dystopian 'Joker')
  
• human to pony shapeshifter, probably no (conservation of mass issues)
• pony to MLP pony, yes ('uplift'; though maybe issues with manipulation, vacuum and flight capability)

OK, re-write.
Bella escaped from the stables as an intelligent, talking, pony with no obvious other abilities. Tracked back to Dora's (abandoned) home. Used Dora's fathers workshop to make a pony harness and some abandoned electronics, MLP media, and handwavium into a harness giving flight, a credible space-proof force field, and a touch-range tractor-presser manipulative capability. Then followed Dora 'up'.
That should be within the capabilities of a biomod, and 'desperate beginners luck' use of handwavium.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind