Friendship is Dragons
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Page 169 - A Fire Within
Author Notes:
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67 Comments:
Oh yes, I love that about Fluttershy's character. That even a meek pony can bring out a raging fire of determination and bravado ^_^
Protip: don't make Fluttershy mad. You won't like her when she's mad.
This should be good. Hell, even if it is, line-by-line, a verbatim dialogue from the episode, it should be good. :)
I can't wait to see what happens next.
What happens next is comic number 170 -- which number is evenly divisible by 10, and therefore an opportunity for Newbiespud to make it a double-length comic. (*Hint* - *wish* - *hint*)
FS: How dare you? HOW DARE YOU?!
Everyone else: !!!
FS: (slams hands down on the table, eyes locked on the DM) Listen here, mister! (gets face-to-face with the DM) Just because you're big, doesn't mean you get to be a bully!!
DM: (eyes widening) Okay, good so far...
FS: You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales...
DM: Waitaminute...
FS: ...snore smoke, and breathe fire...
DM: (looking at the other players) Is she mad at me or the dragon?
Everyone else: *shrugs*
FS: You do NOT! I repeat, DO NOT! HURT. MY. FRIENDS!!!
DM: (slinking down fearfully behind the DM screen)
FS: Got that?
DM: (shaking head rapid in acknowledgement) Uhh, yeah. I got all that...wow, that's uhh... gonna be worth a significant bonus. I'm willing to do at least a plus five...
FS: (stares angrily at the DM)
DM: Erm, a plus ten at least. You still gotta roll for Intimidation though...
FS: (snaps out of self-righteous anger mode) ...oh, right. (rolls d20). Oh, my...
Everyone else: What is it?!
FS: It's a...
DM: (groans and face palms) It's a Nat20, isn't it?
FS: It's a 1.
Everyone else: (Epic Face Table)
AJ: Well, A for effort, sugarcube.
Luckily, there's no penalty for a Nat 1 on skill checks unless you house rule it in.
Also, a titanic failure isn't always the end of the world; hell, there's been a few occasions where it has even saved the party. Infrequent, but it still happens.
Just wait for Wil Wheaton's "Flip out of Acid" Maneuver from earlier today gets on youtube and you'll see what I mean.
Go to 2:05:00 on that video and you'll see what I was referring to.
I've been meaning to watch that, and now I have to do it get some context to Cirque de Aeofel. Also, I want that fez.
Awesome, that means I'll have to roll at least 50% less for skill checks XD
Dragon: But that white one stole from me.
or
Fluttershy: You are not a bad dragon. You are just cranky from being woken up from your nap.
Pinkie: Excuse me!? I most definitely was not!
Twilight: Excuse me, I was the one who annoyed you when all I did was trying to reason with you?
Dragon: Well you were the one that woke me up.
Ra: Aw buck no! I just tried to steal your hoard!
D: Oh, is that so?
Ra: uhhh...
That's a good one, Destrustor, but doesn't hoard stealing count as dragon foreplay?
(Sorry, Destrustor. I've been misreading that name constantly. Will practice.)
(Sorry, Destrustor. I've been misreading that name constantly. Will practice.)
P: No I Didn't!?
D: But you were dressed like daffy duck was.
T: Wait, she was?
D: Er, yeah. She drew the outfit and showed it to me. See?
P: Yeah, but that's a Looney Tunes reference. Not the stupid rehash show.
"Courage isn't just a matter of not being frightened, you know. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway."
-The Doctor (Jon Pertwee)
-The Doctor (Jon Pertwee)
Also Robert Heinlein, in a short story when he made the mistake of selling non-fiction as fiction.
I think my favorite Fluttershy moment comes from "Griffon the Brush Off" when Pinkie Pie pats her on the head and says "Just let your Auntie Pinkie Pie take care of everything."
The way she says "I'm a year older than you." hinted to me that there was more to her than liking animals and being shy.
The way she says "I'm a year older than you." hinted to me that there was more to her than liking animals and being shy.
I think my favorite Fluttershy moment comes from "Griffon the Brush Off" when Pinkie Pie pats her on the head and says "Just let your Auntie Pinkie Pie take care of everything."
The way she says "I'm a year older than you." hinted to me that there was more to her than liking animals and being shy.
The way she says "I'm a year older than you." hinted to me that there was more to her than liking animals and being shy.
And then she unleashed a five minute stream of obscenities that melted the paint of the walls.
So here I am, keeping up with the boy's comic, and LEARNING THINGS? Yeesh, what's the world coming to. (Honestly, that's the best explanation of the "spectrum" idea I've read yet. Thank you!)
And, since I have no exposure to the source material beyond... well... this comic? I have no idea what's coming next. I'm enjoying that. :)
And, since I have no exposure to the source material beyond... well... this comic? I have no idea what's coming next. I'm enjoying that. :)
Oh, and, uh, spoiler warning and stuff, I guess.
Glad to see you're enjoying the work, GreyDuck. Your son's reworking of the source material has been both fun and illuminating.
Sorry, this came into my head and I have to write it down: Gangsta Fluttershy.
FS: Do you got the balls?
Dragon: ...What?
FS: I'm asking if you got the balls. I hope so, because when someone decides blow smoke all up in my hood, and messes with my homies, I have to make sure he don't got mental problems before I make him taste the curb! You thinking that walking like a pimp with your scales and claws is gonna impress me, motherbucker? Now, you's best be steppin, or so help me, you might as well tell Celestia that you like bananas, cause you going straight to the MOOOOOOOOOON, b*tch....Do we have an understanding?
Yeah, no way I'm going to top that, though it does give me an idea for an alternate panel in place of the next strip or so. It needs an image of Fluttershy holding up a small animal and a word balloon containing the phrase, "Say hello to my little friend!"
DM: What?
FS: What country you from?!
DM: What?
FS: What ain't no country I ever heard of. They speak Equestrian in What?
DM: What?
FS: EQUESTRIAN APPLEBUCKER DO YOU SPEAK IT?!
DM: ...Y-yes!
FS: THEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING TO YOU!
DM: Yes!
FS: DESCRIBE WHAT I LOOK LIKE!
DM: What? I...
FS: SAY WHAT AGAIN! SAY. WHAT. AGAIN. I DARE YOU, I DOUBLE DARE YOU, APPLEBUCKER! SAY WHAT ONE MORE MOON BANISHED TIME!
DM: Y-you have a pale yellow c-coat.
FS: Go on...
DM: ...And a pink mane...
FS: DO I LOOK LIKE YOUR MARE?
DM: What?
Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Pony Fiction that is...
FS: All right, then, Mister Dragon, sir, you, uh, you better stop being a, a, a big MEANIE-PANTS! Um, please?
Angel: *Glaring at the dragon from behind FS* I know you can understand me, buddy, and I know you know who I am. So you just better do as my little girly here says, and maybe, just maybe, there won't be any trouble. 'Cause if you don't, well, it's going to get all Monty Python up in here, got it?
Angel: *Glaring at the dragon from behind FS* I know you can understand me, buddy, and I know you know who I am. So you just better do as my little girly here says, and maybe, just maybe, there won't be any trouble. 'Cause if you don't, well, it's going to get all Monty Python up in here, got it?
Last panel = the moment when Guile's Theme starts playing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp5_tWjADes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp5_tWjADes
Dragon cries back to Tiamat: "Scare the ponies they said, it'll be easy they said."
"And then they yellow pony threw a chimney at me, and it hurt!" D:
Dash's anger made her kick a dragon in the face. Absolutely terrible plan.
Flutter's anger sent that same dragon crying home in terror even though there was logically absolutely nothing she could've actually done to her.
Also, "Twilight, couldn't you just use your magic to put the dragon to sleep then levitate it over a cliff onto some sharp rocks?" "No, that'd be stupid or else I would've thought of it."
But Gangstashy would be hilarious.
Now we just need to find a girl loud enough, angry enough, and sounding as akin to a female Samuel L. Jackson as possible, to record the whole Pulp Fiction bit.
I know what you mean. I was fingering my friend's trumpet, see, and decided to try out my mouthpiece on it, but there ended up being too much noise and a neighbor peered into the backyard...
*Eyes left*
*Eyes right*
Everyone gone?
Fluttershy: FUS RO DAH!!!
*Eyes right*
Everyone gone?
Fluttershy: FUS RO DAH!!!
In the eyes of a ranger,
The unsuspecting stranger
Had better know the truth of wrong from right,
'cause the eyes of a ranger are upon you,
Any wrong you do she's gonna see.
When you're out trollin' look behind you,
'cause that's where the ranger's gonna be.
I see your dragonborn, and raise you a ranger.
Very nicely put. I know what you mean. That really is a part of what's made Friendship is Magic so popular. The characters have such depth that the mere glimpses we catch create easy avenues in our imaginations through which we can read deeply into what might be behind the facades they put forward. Fluttershy, for example, seems to have such a violent temper when roused that one might imagine her meekness stems from an inherent (and not unreasonable) fear of her own uncontrollable emotions, leading her to distance herself from social situations. Or perhaps she suffered from some kind of childhood abuse which instilled in her a deep fear of drawing attention to herself, and her temper is a result of unresolved anger welling up every now and then. The point is, the writers seemed to realize that they could create their characters more fully not by nailing them to their prominent traits but by poking holes in them.
Since I recently played Portal (1+2) whenever I see this scene I can't help but to think of Cave Johnson and his combustible lemons. It fits so well.
What are you supposed to do with Dragons? Are they edible? Can you hang a hat on one?
Demand to see the Dungeon Master! Make him rue the day he thought he could give Fluttershy dragons! Do you know who she is? She's the pony who's gonna pull your campaign down! With the dragons. She's gonna use her intimidation to pull your campaign down!
Ever since I saw the episode you've been getting your screen caps from, I've been waiting for this...!! :-D
(unfortunately, everyone else seems to have taken all the appropriate Chew Bubblegum lines already...lol)
(unfortunately, everyone else seems to have taken all the appropriate Chew Bubblegum lines already...lol)
Fanon!Fluttershy is probably my least favorite character because some people like playing up her meekness (which makes her into a spineless, fearful lump) and others like playing up her assertiveness (which makes her a furious demon-pony).
Is there no middle ground?
Is there no middle ground?
Good characters in writing are said to have "dimensions." What is that, exactly? Just having a laundry list of random character traits (collects stamps, failed high-school French, only buys wheat bread, etc.) isn't enough to make an interesting character.
Simply put, a character dimension is a spectrum between two opposed qualities. The story's events cause the character to respond on both ends of the spectrum, allowing the audience to see the same character from multiple angles (hence, "dimension").
Rarity's primary character dimension is obvious: Her generosity versus her greed. Earning gratitude from her friends (Suited For Success) inspires her to act generously, while lucrative social/business opportunities (Sweet and Elite) appeals to her greed. Same character, contradictory responses in different situations. Interesting character.
Over the course of the series, Fluttershy has slowly revealed a character dimension of her own: Her meekness versus her assertiveness. In Putting Your Hoof Down, the writers of the show pushed that spectrum to further extremes than ever before, resulting in an expanded frame of reference for her character.
I could go on, but suffice to say I'm always impressed by the writing on this show.