weesh

Thanks! I haven't decided yet if it is a good format, or if we just got lucky to have so few misses. Nearly every player got exactly what they signed up for this time, but who knows what will happen if we do it again? Only one player was forced to do a pic when they signed up for line/line, but Phil was a great sport about it and turned in the picture very quickly. One nice thing about dual rounds was that a game could slow to a crawl, but because it was in the lead, I gave it plenty of grace, and it didn't feel like the game had stagnated. Or at least I hope it didn't. This happened about 3 times, and probably the only time it was noticeable was when both games slowed down simultaneously. Well, you can contradict me if you noticed. In either case, I tried to post everyday and say something to let you know the game was being pushed, even if there wan't progress. Perhaps I over-communicated? I am still hoping for a "hard-core" mode in which all participants participate every round, just like in the paper version of the game. Perhaps there is a website that could make such a thing easy, and we could all get together one afternoon for it?

I meant to say this earlier, but Starstorm's winking spike cutie mark is one of my favorite aspects of this round : ) Also, I've been sending these to my sister, and she has expressed interest in joining a game : ) Now to delete a few score of PMs to make room in my inbox...

From angie: More people be loving on Accellerant, and Sparkleheart!

I added the thumbnails to the game posts.

Yes, the line writers definitely kicked it up a notch this time around. While it was fun to see 10 spidershys, it is more fun to see evolution. I wrote my line, but then I had the opportunity to examine Imagination's line before I started the game. So I squinted my eyes, opened the spoiler tags and ran my eyes across it in one rapid pass. The only thing I got out of that pass was that Twilight was the subject. I had resolved to use my second choice line if Spike was the subject of Imagination's line, but that wasn't necessary. If you look closely, you will see that Spike entered game 'A' with Accellerant's pic. At this point, Accellerant had already participated in game 'B. I wonder if consciously, or subconsciously, that inspired the super manly spike. This implies that perhaps we were NOT playing two simultaneous games, but ONE major game in two parts. If the games have an effect on each other, that adds another layer to the experience. Thank you! What was that experience like for you guys? One of the disappointments of the normal games for me was that I pay very close attention to the game for two weeks, but I only actually get to participate once. I was hoping that this would keep people better engaged and make the wait seem easier to take. The primary drawback, i.e., the inability to firmly pick line or picture, turned out to be a non-issue this time. In fact, Fawkes was relieved to get a line for game 'B'.

Sometimes it is best to let these speak for themselves...

Fawkes and I had a chance to discuss the games. He obviously loved them, and was particularly impressed with Accellerant's pictures. I appreciate that spike found his way out of the game that started with him, and became the feature of the one that didn't start with him. Is that a coincidence?

Game 'B' 5: Weesh "...and THAT'S how Spike found Peewee's parents." 6: Angie Cakes 7: Browneh "Spikes trouble making ways have come back to bite him" 8: Accellerant 9: Sparkleheart "Spike is really starting to regret those April Fool's pranks." 10: StarStorm 11: Tales "A green haired Rarity is angry at Spike for giving Apple Bloom a Cutie Mark, meanwhile a confused Lyra sees that Bon Bon has grown hands." 12: Diego Havok 13: Ping "Two creative unicorns are aghast (or enamored, hard to tell) at the youngling's sprouting of strange appendages." 1: Imagination 2: Davroth "Musical ponies can't decide whether monkey paws are awesome or unsettling." 3: Phil the Time Wizard 4: Fawkes "Lyra is shocked beyond words after meeting one of the denizens of the Kingdom of Chocolate Critters!"

Game 'A' 1: Imagination "Twilight has an illness. And the only cure... Is Fluttershy's cowbell." 2: Davroth 3: Phil the Time Wizard "The princess seems critical as she examines Derpy's strange attire." 4: Fawkes 5: Weesh "That awkward moment where two ponies recognize each other at an embarrassing event..." 6: Angie Cakes 7: Browneh "looks like Applejack and Rainbow dash got themselves in a pretty awkward situation..." 8: Accellerant 9: Sparkleheart "Spike is so manly it's downright terrifying." 10: StarStorm 11: Tales "Manly Spike wants you to eat the meat." 12: Diego Havok 13: Ping "Spike the Knight hoists a hefty shank of meat like it was nothing."

Games are incoming... I am working on them now, but my inbox and PM box are bursting with mixed up submissions. If you want to mess with me NOW is the time to bump those to the top. : ) One of our telephone pictionary traditions is for the MC to comment on each submission. I've decided not to do that. You are all amazing. I will let your work speak for itself.

That is a double-edged sword. If they need only a tiny opening to get in, that means that the nightmare-folk are more powerful than we realized. And good villains are powerful. However, to say they only need a tiny opening seems to deny Luna's complicity. I appreciate the Luna character more as one who had powerful emotions that led her to make mistakes, rather than someone whose emotions made her doubt, and then get overwhelmed by these entities. ALL of us have doubt. All of us face uncertainty. Doubt isn't a sin. The problem is when we take negative actions based on how we feel. This makes relating to the story hard. To say that natural emotion is a weakness, and that to protect yourself form these beings, you must be supernaturally and perfectly strong at all times is lame. And a little silly. I read them again while looking for purpose. It does show them working together, and may have been as simple as delaying them so that they could complete Rarity's transformation. But they could have effectively delayed them without needing to be quite so successful in scaring the horseapples out of them. Heh. The increased intensity of this arc is exactly the reason that I liked the first one more! I hope to see more of the Larry/Shadowfright stuff going forward, even though it doesn't quite fit the rest of the tone thus far.

YES! Thank you so much! That was bugging me. Since two of the posters were for Andrew Lloyd Webber productions, I was stuck thinking about his stuff. I don't know what that means. I am...conflicted regarding Turnip. In the show, it was annoying that he was depicted so completely over the top country. But it was horrifying that Rarity snubbed him so hard. That was the worst part of the episode. These two pages make me more conflicted. I dislike infatuation and "love at first sight". Bettering yourself is generally good, but in this case it was just for his crush, which set him up to be disappointed again. He brought flowers to his next meeting with her, which is weird since it wasn't a mutually set up date. And then Spike lied to him, and he took off without even talking to her. He tossed the flowers and Spike gave Turnip's gift to Rarity?! And yet, there is amazing depth to this short section, it references at least two other pieces of cannon, and it is easy to relate to Turnip. I am both intrigued and disappointed, but will probably have a different impression tomorrow.

Ah, that is better. Mediocre rather than bad perhaps.

I'd volunteer again in the future, but only if you needed another break. I've gained appreciation for the amount of work required, the joy/frustration of getting to see the submissions LONG before you, and the fun of being in contact with everyone.

This, along with the Twilight micro-series are at the top of all the comics in both series thus far. I might be able to rank them later. The story, themes and characters are excellent... Rarity kept a FANTASTIC attitude about the experience. She was willing to get out of her comfort zone, and she looked VERY hard for things to appreciate, and was very kind. However, after giving it a fair try, she decided she was done, and was comfortable telling them she was done and why. She very well embodied the spirit of generosity, but not in any weird or forced way. Connecting the collapse of the farm to Flim and Flam and Filthy was a nice touch. The hippies were lovable, recognizable and unique. Some great gags too... Rarity's snoring Z's are fancy! Two different fancy Z's! Someone is flirting with Big-Mac...with predictable results Spring loaded suitcase launches Rainbow "...you once slept on a bed without a duvet cover, you can handle this!" Parody posters: "Celestia Superstar", "Joseph and the amazing technicolour Saddle"..."Mane"? is that one too? MAIL DERPY! Some additional touches... Rarity's logo is AMAZING! It looks stylish and mysterious, and incorporates her mane into an 'R'! Wow! The badges look great, and add a lot to the first page More DJ Pon3! Note that on the first page, she looks purple...it seems that in honor of Rarity's colour scheme, they are using purple light in the main gallery. Applejack doesn't know what a bustle is, Rarity doesn't know what a hammer is : ) Trixie don't magic tricks at the after party Connection between the bonus story, and the magazine where they find the retreat info The hippies were done well. She brought 3 picture frames: Spike, Grumpy Opal and Applejack. I will let you guys interpret that...as well as the expression on AJ. TARA STRONG! Celestia was there, and bought some of the F&W product, and was enjoying it in a bath at the end. That tub is so neat, I won't bother to point out that it looks wasteful. "...but why didn't they tell me in person?" I am SOOOOOOO glad that I read this one after issue 6 of the main series.

There were a few amusing small things: Pinkie playing the Taiko rather than actually helping : ) Rarity critiquing the decor Moon Lasso The Larry/Shadowfright thing "I Spy" "Are you not amused?" feels like a gladiator reference. "Sorry, I'm all out of bravery today..." "In space, no one can hear you squee" -> "I heard that!" Rainbow rated FLuttershy's yell a 3.2/10 : ) Storywise, there are several other interesting pieces: Pinkie Pie was the only pony to zero problems with the nightmares. That ruby is going to matter. They spent way too much time on it. The twist on the last page was completely unexpected. And yet I would rate this issue poorly. The story feels weak and cliche. I found myself skimming parts, and sighing, especially during the scenes where they were in the nightmares. Why couldn't that have been something that they were prepared for? They were even warned! Seeing scared ponies is unpleasant. Seeing pages of scared ponies is unbearable. Luna is sucking it up. She is surprised that they guys are her friends? Really? And she is obviously scared about her secret getting out, and there is no way that it is actually unforgivable. This is the second issue in a row that Luna's character has been off. Rarity capitulated WAY too easily. She is not that weak. They did her character a great disservice, again, for the second issue in a row. Ultimately, I am not reading these for the gags. The story and character's are most important, and these were weak. The only thing that I can point to as a strong character moment was Pinkie's complete victory over the nightmares. She was not in trouble for even an instant. Thursday is new-comic-book-day here, so I couldn't have had it on Wednesday.

Here is one from "Real Life Comics" http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/130404.html Good stuff.

Davroth has concluded the 11th round with his submission to Phil. Fawkes is on deck and NO ONE IS IN ANY HOLES!

To Nebraska!

Aw, don't worry about that! It is great that you recently joined us, but have already contributed and are excited for the next game before we have even finished this one. I can't wait to share it by the way! We are sooooo close!

Each game has been through at least 10 complete rounds. Imagination's game 'B' picture has been sent to Davroth. Phil is on deck, and Fawkes is in the hole. Fawkes is also the final player for game 'B'.