Okay, so here it is! A thread where we can discuss the next step without getting things mixed up in the other thread. Just so you guys know, I've trimmed out the story bits for now since I'm going to repost those once I get around to getting this step started properly. But I'll go ahead and copypasta everything else...
Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:
So, the part I'm trying to figure out here... Where the heck do I have
Garrick show up in the timeline? Well, ultimately I would love for him
to go on a knock-down drag-out fight with Tirac - first, before he
reaches full power, and then again when he is depowered... Garrick will
kill Tirac, because screw the whole banishment to Tartarus thing - this
time Tirac is going to stay gone.
Slayed God-like Beings Counter: 1
Quote:Bluemage wrote:
...so, wait. Is this Tenchi/Macross/MLP, or Tenchi/MLP/.../Macross? I
lost track of what the actual plan was, except insofar as there was a
Macross stop someplace along the line.
Points given for language
barrier, for getting the slightly old-timey feel of MLP right, and for
going with logic over panic. Points suspended (well, held in escrow)
for what, precisely, the language barrier is.
Why go with
Quenyak (or is it Saddldarin?), anyway? Thematic reasons, or
practical? I don't know what sort of language would suit an MLPony's
facial structure best, but I doubt it's Elvishlike. On the other hand, a
fluid, soothing language would fit the Equestrian mindset better. Not
sure whether it works or not, anyway.
Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:
I'm not going for any particular language - Tolkein I am certainly not! I
simply wanted to convey a sense of 'sounds like language-x'. Like you
said, I rather thought it fit their mindset. Although if a linguist on
the board does want to chip in their two cents I would certainly welcome
their input. I know that there is at least one or two, I just forget
who they are off the top of my head.
As for panic-vs-logic...
Well, there's gonna be an even trade between the two. Garrick is gonna
have a bit of a fit... Ah, what the hell. I'll just show you.
Yep. That would be Twilight Sparkle there. Katherine overrode the
security so she can get in - she's a smart cookie and knows that they
intend him no harm.
The language barrier probably won't last very
long, at least not between Garrick and Twilight. Katherine will
probably figure out how to use Twilight's talents with magic to her
advantage and give Twi fluency in English and Japanese (both languages
have certain expressions that simply don't translate over too well - and
Japanese for REASONS!!!).
HOWEVER...
Garrick will insist that Twilight not teach anyone else the
languages... at least until he's fluent enough in Equestrian to hold up a
conversation. Even so, he'll probably need help now and then for those
'what is word?' moments. Oh, and Garrick's accent and grammar is gonna
be really rough... Whenever he is speaking Equestrian it will be like
the equivalent of a Russian speaking bad English, but steadily improving
over time. It'll be pretty funny for bits like this:
"Filly.
Sun Queen keep standing army of armored Unicorn. You cry about two
sword I have? Methink you not know meaning of word dangerous. You want
learn?"
As for the plan thus far....
1. Tenchi Muyo
2. MLP:FiM
3. Macross
4. ???
5. Strike Witches
6. ???
7. ???
8. ???
9. ???
10. ???
11. ???
12. ???
13. ???
14. ???
15. ???
16. ???
17. ???
18. ???
19. ???
20. ???
21. ???
22. ???
23. ???
24. ???
25. ???
26. ???
27. ???
28. ???
29. ???
30. ???
Believe me, we got a long ways to go here. Some of
these steps are gonna be long ones. Some of them are gonna be short.
There will be sizable time-skips on the longer ones. There will be
supplementary stories along the way. And finally, YES I AM
INTENTIONALLY BEING TIGHT-LIPPED ABOUT WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT! It's so
much fun being an evil author and keeping you guys in suspense.
Quote:ClassicDrogn wrote:
Some nice moments there, and as much of a deathworld as Equestria is the
general population is still very nice. Twi would be super-interested to
hear about other worlds and such as well, I'm sure, and between her and
Katherine, and Washuu and Tsunami on the other end, they'll probably
have some way to send messages at least when interdimensional "weather"
conditions are favorable.
Quote:Bluemage wrote:
Agreed. I'd offer more commentary on the timeframe bit, but I stopped watching MLP after season 2.
Also, do you really have 30 different stops planned, or just most of them?
Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:Quote:ClassicDrogn wrote:I'm glad you guys feel so. I
Some
nice moments there, and as much of a deathworld as Equestria is the
general population is still very nice. Twi would be super-interested to
hear about other worlds and such as well, I'm sure, and between her and
Katherine, and Washuu and Tsunami on the other end, they'll probably
have some way to send messages at least when interdimensional "weather"
conditions are favorable.
never really thought of Equestria as a deathworld... I figured that only
really applied to the Everfree Forest.
And yes, the correspondence between Twilight and Washuu is gonna be something to behold.
I'm
planning on going the tried and true route of Humans being something of
a legendary species that is all but unknown in Equestria, wiped out
during Discord's reign and permitted to fall into fable and then
obscurity by Celestia... because really, why be reminded of something so
painful? Garrick showing up... Celestia will keep it relatively quiet -
something isolated to Ponyville until herself, the other Princesses,
and the Element Bearers all determine that he's safe. (This, of course,
is a relative thing.)
The primary conflict is going to be
Garrick's unwillingness to be befriended by anyone. He'll be cordial
enough in his dealings, but for the most part he'll be solitary as he
tries not to form social bonds. And what will make it all the more
frustrating for Twilight and her friends is that he is going to be very
polite and rational about it. He explains his POV well enough that they
understand exactly what he means - that even though he really, REALLY
wants to get to know everyone, he doesn't want to suffer heartbreak
again by having to leave people he's come to love behind once more.
This
will make for some heart-rending friendship letters for Twilight to
write as she struggles to get through to Garrick. Eventually, though,
adventures happen for reasons and butterflies, and over the course of it
all, Garrick winds up reluctantly opening up to the others.
One
character I would like to have as a reoccurring character would be
Lyra. I've been looking at HiE fics over at FiMFiction.net, and I've
noticed that most HiE fics will either feature her as a main
character... or hardly feature her at all. I'd like to strike a happy
middle
Also, everyone seems to love a good redemption of Trixy, so I'll throw my own twist on it in there.
Oh,
and Garrick will teach the little school foals about basic technology.
Electricity, electromagnets, radio, quartz crystal clocks, internal
combustion, gas turbines, etc. Garrick will usher in the age of Art
Deco and Diesel Punk. In the years after Garrick leaves, Equestria
experiences a sort of technomagical industrial revolution, and power
plants, pumping stations, and rail terminals are all erected in a
magnificent Art Deco style. Celestia and Luna couldn't be happier -
Garrick unwittingly gives them what was probably Humanity's greatest
strength - the unrelenting drive to go beyond.
In short, Garrick finds that he likes being a teacher and will pursue such occupations in the future where possible.Quote:Bluemage wrote:Pretty much. I'm still playing around with it a bit. I'm not willing
Also, do you really have 30 different stops planned, or just most of them?
to say which ones I'm still fickle on just yet. And some of these
worlds... Well, to say that Garrick is going to 'butterfly' them is far too
generous. More like 'explode a nuke in the eye of the temporal
hurricane'. Strike Witches will be one such example.
Quote:ClassicDrogn wrote:
Hurray for Art Deco! I always have liked that style, in most
interpretations at least. I'd hope Equestria as a magical civilization
could manage something cleaner than fossil fuels for power, though.
Quote:Bluemage wrote:
Same here. Yay for Art Deco.
As far as the fuel situation, I'm
not sure what you're thinking Equestria has available to use, CD.
Unicorn magic doesn't really seem to do much with 'enchantments', per
se; all its effects tend to be either instant, instant at the point the
spell finally goes through (for those that take some dramatic groans of
effort to get done), or last as long as the unicorns in question focus
on it. Makes it sort of hard to do the 'enchant the generator to spin
continuously' trick.
Now, pegasi... that's a different
story. There are a number of ways to break (or at least bend) things
with weather manipulation, the long-term one being solar power (with
predictable levels of sun and scheduled clouds). Lightning collectors,
maybe? Some sort of system that uses rain on command? There's
potential there, even if I'm not seeing it this early in the morning.
As for earth ponies... treadmills. That's all I've got.
Also,
props for a lack of friendship. You don't see 'trying not to get to
care about people' done very often in fanfic. Pity, that- it can be
very effective when done well. I'm seriously looking forward to those
friendship letters... and hoping- PRAYING- you don't do any
shipping/harem-enlarging while there.
Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:
Biodiesel is pretty clean. So is ethanol. Clean enough that if they
know the risks going and and know to manage them, then they should be
able to manage their carbon footprints fairly effectively. Can you
imagine a steam locomotive made with modern boiler technology and fired
with biodiesel?
Also, I'm pretty sure that a magitech method for producing both in vast
quantities from waste biomatter (ie, corn husks, stalks, etc) can be
figured out.
Oh, and Garrick teaches them about hydroponics. Why? Imagine pegasi growing crops in the clouds.
EDIT: Oh, hai there Bluemage!
Ah,
no. No real expanding of the harem here. Though the departure is gonna
hurt a bit. It's more or less what Garrick was afraid of - tearful
goodbyes and laments over friends lost. Although I'm working on an
idea... Katherine leaving seeds behind that wind up sprouting... and
since they're her seeds she can maintain a line of communication between
them all, and potentially serve as guides for future dimensional
travel.
Quote:robkelk wrote:Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:But... but Friendship is Magic! Don't you want magic, Garrick?
The
primary conflict is going to be Garrick's unwillingness to be
befriended by anyone. He'll be cordial enough in his dealings, but for
the most part he'll be solitary as he tries not to form social bonds.Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:Good idea for later, but isn't Katherine still a sapling right now? Can she produce seeds?
Although
I'm working on an idea... Katherine leaving seeds behind that wind up
sprouting... and since they're her seeds she can maintain a line of
communication between them all, and potentially serve as guides for
future dimensional travel.
Quote:Foxboy wrote:
Hm. Okay, you're going to want a lot of liquid consonants and clear vowels. I had been working on an "Equestrian" for another project, but that one went closer to "Make horse sounds musical, if you can."
Some sample sentences of that: (aeiou are Italian/Japanese, h is always pronounced, r is rolled/trilled/flapped, and v and f are pronounced with the lips, no teeth.)
I lihro hepu-za vo.
/ee LEEH-rro HAY-poo-za vo/
1p.s like/enjoy Apple-acc prsnt.
"I like apples."
It's got a bit of a complicated pronoun scheme, with inclusive and
exclusive plurals, and a "royal" register that tends to imply strong or
intimate feeling, mainly due to Celestia's use of it over the last
thousand years compared to the old Unicorn royalty. Additionally,
"hi'in" is supposed to sound like a "joyful" whinny, with the apostrophe
indicating a glottal stop: what the hyphen in "uh-oh" sounds like.
Soi, didua hi'in i-za vo-vis.
/SO-ee, DEE-dwa HEE-een EE-za VO-vees./
Yes(friendly) 2p.s.royal make.proud 1p.s-acc prsnt-fut.
"Of course you're making me proud, my little pony/my faithful student."
Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:Quote:robkelk wrote:*Snrk!* In all seriousness, Garrick will desperately want to make friends, but he's holding back for previously stated reasons.Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:But... but Friendship is Magic! Don't you want magic, Garrick?
The
primary conflict is going to be Garrick's unwillingness to be
befriended by anyone. He'll be cordial enough in his dealings, but for
the most part he'll be solitary as he tries not to form social bonds.Quote:robkelk wrote:... A most cogent point. Oh well. Celestia is pretty much a Goddess anyhow. I'll think of something.Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:Good idea for later, but isn't Katherine still a sapling right now? Can she produce seeds?
Although
I'm working on an idea... Katherine leaving seeds behind that wind up
sprouting... and since they're her seeds she can maintain a line of
communication between them all, and potentially serve as guides for
future dimensional travel.
...Oh,
and just imagine her reaction when she finds that Garrick is a slightly
more than mortal? I'd imagine at some point when no one else is around
(except maybe Luna) she'll glomp him and start blubbering about how
terrible it is spending thousands of years with others whose lives are
so brief and what a joy it is she found him.Quote:Foxboy wrote:Whoah.
Hm. Okay, you're going to want a lot of liquid consonants and clear vowels. I had been working on an "Equestrian" for another project, but that one went closer to "Make horse sounds musical, if you can."
Some sample sentences of that: (aeiou are Italian/Japanese, h is always pronounced, r is rolled/trilled/flapped, and v and f are pronounced with the lips, no teeth.)
I lihro hepu-za vo.
/ee LEEH-rro HAY-poo-za vo/
1p.s like/enjoy Apple-acc prsnt.
"I like apples."
It's got a bit of a complicated pronoun scheme, with inclusive and
exclusive plurals, and a "royal" register that tends to imply strong or
intimate feeling, mainly due to Celestia's use of it over the last
thousand years compared to the old Unicorn royalty. Additionally,
"hi'in" is supposed to sound like a "joyful" whinny, with the apostrophe
indicating a glottal stop: what the hyphen in "uh-oh" sounds like.
Soi, didua hi'in i-za vo-vis.
/SO-ee, DEE-dwa HEE-een EE-za VO-vees./
Yes(friendly) 2p.s.royal make.proud 1p.s-acc prsnt-fut.
"Of course you're making me proud, my little pony/my faithful student."
Yeah, you see, I'm no linguist at all. I could never have come up with
even half of that. Would you like to help me out on the Equestrian
Language until Garrick is fluent? Pretty sure you'll wind up working
out a lot of the kinks and expanding the vocabulary by a wide margin.
Quote:Bluemage wrote:
...one thing I'd like to see is Garrick having problems speaking
Equestrian. Like, he can get most of it, but his mouth/throat can't
quite make some of the sounds.
Worst case, he has to
sort-of-approximate some of the sounds- or substitute others- leading to
new people having to learn to interpret his dialect. Sort of a bad
speech impediment.
Best case, one heck of an accent.
Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:
Pretty much what I had in mind with him coming across to them like a Russian with a bad accent does with us.
Quote:Foxboy wrote:
Yeah, I'm thinking that part of his accent, if you use that Equestrian,
would include "H" dropping, smearing vowels and "teething" the V and F.
Imagine a relative reading the sample sentences without a pronunciation key, and laying the local color on thick.
Like, a similar accent in English:
Teh samous zocalist, Sassi-uh Shoahz (The famous vocalist, Sapphire Shores)
The vowel smearing: imagine an uneducated person from the Deep South
saying "milk" versus a news broadcaster: "Meeeeyulk" vs. "milk." English
has a crapton of vowel sounds and we subconsciously use them
everywhere.
Quote:Bob Schroeck wrote:I don't think that will be too much of a problem for Garrick. Like we said, he'll probably be able to get by with one heck of an accent. Something that would probably be funny would be if Garrick reminds Celestia of an old human friend she had because of his accent.Quote:...one thing I'd like to see is Garrick having problemsI recall that there was
speaking Equestrian. Like, he can get most of it, but his mouth/throat
can't quite make some of the sounds.
an attempt to teach a chimp to speak English during the 1950s, I think
it was. Late enough at least for substantial film documentation of the
process and the results. The results were... mixed; one of the details
thereof is one that might be of use here -- in order to say some sounds,
the chimp had to use its fingers to force its mouth into a shape its
facial muscles couldn't make. It might be interesting if Garrick had to
do the same for some Equestrian sounds.