Ancre

Moondrop's panicked stream of words didn't last long : noticing her host's general unease, Swift Kite quickly stopped the little unicorn, and asked her if she had other guests to entertain. Moondrop blushed, feeling very embarrassed, before finally opening her mouth, and then, a few seconds later, starting an answer. [colour=#696969]"N-no, no, you're the only guests I have ... "[/colour] Moondrop timidly explained, staring at her tea cup. [colour=#696969]"It's just that, well, actually, I mean, I never had guests before. I don't even know where to start!"[/colour] She stayed silent for a moment, raising her eyes up and making an apologetic smile to Swift Kite. [colour=#696969]"And, uh, you're welcome, mister Patches."[/colour] She concluded awkwardly.[colour=#696969] "I've never had a dragon guest before, so, um ... Tell me if you want anything ?"[/colour] With nothing more to say, Moondrop raised her tea cup to her mouth and finished it, keeping her worries away for a second or two. It was strange, she thought. She should have been more professional more assured of herself. She should have been discussing goods and prices with her guests while sipping tea, in a calm and collected way. But she wasn't, she was overwhelmed and clueless, and accepting it brought an odd sense of relief. Moondrop felt better now. The meeting wasn't over yet, and perhaps she could still make things work.

To be fair, the past century has been pretty awesome. We crossed the Atlantic with an airplane for the first time, then set humans on the moon just about forty years later, and then there's also the internet and all the technology advancements we have. With airplanes we can be anywhere on the globe in less than a day, and with cellphones and internet we can communicate instantly with anyone, anywhere. None of this really make people think. Yet at the same time this century have had a bunch of revolts and revolutions and people asking for justice and equality, too. It's not like nothing is happening ... it's that even fast-going changes are slow enough not to happen overnight, so you don't always see them. All the things that happened seems normal, in a way. The future is always tomorrow, it's never going on now.

Oh no ! We will be missing christmas ! It's the end of the world ! Edit, seriously : I am not afraid at all. We had lots of end of the world predictions, we will have lots more. And nothing will really happen. There isn't even a prophecy or anything this time, just a calendar doing a big jump in its numbers.

[colour=#696969]"I do live in Canterlot, but I don't go out very often."[/colour] Moondrop replied politely with her usual soft spoken voice, happy to engage in a conversation.[colour=#696969] "Do you live here as well ?" [/colour] [colour=#696969]"There's a lot of books around here,"[/colour] she continued, adressing Lore Weaver's earlier concern,[colour=#696969] "although I don't know what kind of book you're looking for. But you should find what you like, since they're as varied as the place is messy."[/colour] She smiled.[colour=#696969] "I don't know about any magical artifacts however."[/colour] The timid pony started exploring the shop once again, neatly reordering the goods she happened to pick up. She poked her muzzle inside the forlorn carriage, looked at book titles, dusted and tried fancy hats, all while making small chat with Lore Weaver. [colour=#696969]"I just came in here because I was curious. I love going outside for a stroll and visit the city, there is always so much to see !"[/colour]

[colour=#696969]"Oh, I'm, I mean, my name is Moondrop."[/colour] the white pony fidgeted uncomfortably.[colour=#696969] "I guess we are both inquisitive ponies,"[/colour] she agreed,[colour=#696969] "I just came here because I was strolling around." [/colour] [colour=#696969]"I haven't seen any shop owner though, that's curious."[/colour] Moondrop concluded with a nod. [colour=#696969]"She, or he, shouldn't be far, I guess ... Let's look around together ?"[/colour] She proposed with a tentative smile. The sheltered unicorn was unaccustomed to social relationships, and she didn't quite knew what to do - but she was trying her best. Perhaps, she thought, perhaps she could even make a friend ? [Apologies for the wait ! I was sick. Have a little something while I get better : ) I'll write more next time. ]

Hello ! Ancre tells me to say here that he is going to be away for one more week. He'll keep you posted.

Can't ask wikipedia ? (darn, how do I answer that without being snarky ? )

Would "anacoluthon" be enough to please you ?

I'm sure there are, but is it really possible to list them all ?

Isn't it because it doesn't really sound like an english word, even though it is ?

Isn't it better than solipsism ?

Alone in the shop, led by her curiosity, Moondrop begun exploring. The chaotic room was like a dragon's den, a treasure trove, filled with wonders to look at. Little toys, old hats, dusty books, broken furniture ... Humming a little tune to herself, the unicorn absentmindedly started cleaning up a little bit. Dusting the goods, putting them back on the shelves, making neat little piles, slowly slipping inside her own little world. She had a thousand questions dancing in her head. Where did it all come from ? Why sell such a strange collection of wares ? Was it an inheritance from a distant uncle ? The results of many adventures spent abroad ? Unable to come up with a reasonable explanation, the little unicorn started daydreaming stories after stories, each of them a little bit more implausible and fantastic than the last. She didn't hear the other pony come inside the shop. She did hear his query, however, and jumped out of her reveries with a little squeal of surprise. [colour=#696969]"N-no, I'm not !"[/colour] she stammered, turning around to meet the newcomer.[colour=#808080] [/colour][colour=#696969]"I just came in a few moments ago, I haven't seen anypony."[/colour] The unicorn eyed the trail of orderly goods she had left in her wake. [colour=#696969]"Uh, I can see where you got that idea though ..."[/colour] She chuckled in embarrassment, and then kept quiet, timidly shuffling her hooves.

There's a few "first contact" stories where human space explorers end up, by accident or by intent, in Equestria. "Article II" and "Arrow 18's mission logs" are good example of that. There's a few of them where humans reach Equestria because Earth is in a dire situation - like "Sunflower" or actually the whole The Conversion Bureau sub-universe. I love to share links to stories I liked, so if you want links I'd be happy to give them (And as always, there are some good fics that sounds like a very bad project, and similarly bad fics that looked perfect on paper. Some of these fics are very good. HiE fics usually suffer from a lot of flaws though, from self inserts to misanthropism. It's probably one of the themes where it's easy to do bad.)

I'm INTP. These kind of tests usually say I'm either INTP or INFP. It's fun though

Oy, let's revive this thread ! I play that game too, I'm Ancre, on the north american servers (iirc). I'm level 16 and I play Poppy a lot these days.

Oh, I love this game ! I tend to play a lot of it every six months, then forget about it, then go back and do the same. Right now, I'm forcing myself not to erase my saves and update the game, just so my fortresses can last longer. It's going to become very chaotic soon, especially since I play without any program help (not even dwarf therapist). I shall play until a massive catastrophe destroy my colony ! It's also fun to come back to old save and wonder what the heck was I planning, then do something different, then come back again later and wonder what the heck was I doing. I must be one of the few who actually like the graphics. Obscure, ugly graphics ! I find them easy to get around once you know what is what, and people have a lot of different interpretations of what dwarves (and the world) actually looks like. Fan art is fun.

Canterlot, the city of majestic spires and winding alleys, held many colorful sights, like little-known and better-known secrets, there for anypony who took the time to look at the streets she was walking in. There were buildings from ages past and there were modern masterpieces, there were streets turning into stairs that led you down the hills, and alleys covered with glass roofs that seemed to take you through buildings like secret passageways. For the curious traveler the city was like a maze, slowly built by generations and generations of scholars, magicians, and diplomats, revealing many shops, libraries, restaurants, and other curiosities nested inside ancient buildings. Perhaps the city's excentric character explained why [colour=#808080]Moondrop's[/colour] attire didn't seemed out of place. She was wearing a large, pointy red hat adorned with a pattern of golden stars ; a pair of glasses, twin golden circles, rested in front her eyes ; and a long red mantle covered most of her body, closing in front of her neck with a golden clasp in the form of an owl. She sometimes pulled it back to grab something in the brown saddlebags she carried along. The white unicorn looked like an extravagant wizard visiting a similarly extravagant universe, as if she was coming out of a foal's fairytale book. And for Moondrop life was like a fairytale. Finally free of the sheltered existence she had lived, she was discovering for the very first time the many wonders of her hometown. And, with her job going well and the money as well, she was spending her newfound freedom in a shopping spree today, buying ancient books, dusty tomes of magic, sewing instruments and materials, and whatever interesting curiosities she could find. With a large population of magic student and foreign visitors the shops of Canterlot always had strange things to sell, and it was those she was most interested in, along with the stories those items carried. Right now the white unicorn was entering one of those shops. A wooden door and a few steps down off a covered arcade led to a dim-lit room, filled with messy clutter, piles of books laid on the floor, a carriage with one wheel pushed against a wall, a staircase leading to a mezzanine, with zebra masks, paintings, and a saddle hanging on the barrier, and many, many more strange goods haphazardly thrown around the place. The entire shop had some sort of mystical charm to it, despite (or perhaps because of) the clutter, and Moondrop wondered who held it, or even if anypony was there ... [Hello everypony ! I'm trying to go back to roleplaying after a year of leave. For the curious among you, the shop and Canterlot are pretty much inspired by EQD's Canterlot pictures and Paris' covered alleyways. Thank you for reading !]

Hey this thread is still going strong I'm pretty sure the cricket won't be offended.

Ow this is real sad news. I love twinkies, and I could only have some when I went to the United States. Now I won't be able to anymore. And next all the fast food places will close, and when I'll be an old grampa, I'll tell everything about the marvelous twinkie era to the grandkids ...

Where I currently live : France. I was born in the US, though, and have lived there in the past. Countries I have visited : Algeria, Botswana, Germany. Countries I'd like to visit : Well, everything, really ... If I had to name a few specific things, though, I'd like to know the US better, there are so many places I have never seen there. I'd like to go to Ethiopia (Lalibela!), to Mexico (and I'll bring lots of cooking recipe books), to Malta (I really, really want to see La Valette, so many pictures to take, and ideas to draw, and this is likely to happen), to Greece (for the same reason as Malta, really, I want to tour the islands and take pictures). I also want to go to places like Libreville, Gabon - I don't think there's a lot to actually visit, but they actually speak french there, and use that language in a variety of exotic ways. Or Paraguay - again, I don't know what there is to see there, but they speak Guarani there, an indigenous language, and it fascinates me, both on a linguistic and political point of view. I am strange like that - there's a lot of places around the world that have unique and interesting characteristics like that, and I want to see how they work.

Eh, I'm surprised to see so many people say the powerpuff girls are girly. Nobody in my family thought that, and we all watched that show. I mean, sure, the heroines are three girls, but they spent most of their time fighting super villains. I've always classified as a "super hero" cartoon, a bit like batman or superman or whatnot (and those are boys shows for me), with an ironic/humoristic universe instead of a dark one full of criminals. All in all I thought the powerpuff girls were gender neutral, with stuff for boys and stuff for girls in it. I loved card captor sakura when I was younger. I don't remember much, other that there was a lot of cool dresses in it.

Aye, I don't pirate stuff, mainly because I'm too lazy to learn how to do it. And I use youtube to listen to music. If youtube is somehow damaging artists' lives, I sure as hell will be angry if I'm the one blamed for it. After all, I 'pay' for that use of youtube in the form of being bombarded by ads there. It's not my job to redistribute the money they earn. And as far as I know, it's not illegal to use youtube. And all in all, yeah, if I like a band, I'd be happy to give them money (well, as soon as I have some) - but I'd like to see that money go to the artist, and not some big corporation, as I do have a gripe against big corporations. And I kinda disagree with that article. The "inconvenience" with legal services isn't having to pay, it's the DRM, the digital laws and whatnot, and the general trouble I have with making non-apple stuff work with apple stuff. It's that when I buy a CD rom for twenty euros, I don't actually know where the money goes, but that I'm pretty sure the money doesn't go to the artist, and isn't swallowed in material cost or worker wages. It's because in general digital and copyright laws do little for artists, hurt the legitimate user but not the pirate, and are a crutch for companies that would rather render innovation illegal than adapt and not become obsolete. If I ever become a pirate, it will be out of a desire to see those companies fail, because I sincerely believe musicians are better off without them. If I ever become a pirate, it will be because I am fed up of seeing people trying to control me into behaving with various anti-piracy (how ironical) restrictions slapped on the products I buy. If I pirate something, it will not be so much an act of convenience as a political statement. Fortunately (I guess) I do not have a need or want to own any kind of music yet, and I am too lazy to actually read in detail who does what and where does the money goes. (As an aside, from what I read so far, bandcamp is pretty cool. I'd buy stuff on their platform.) As a related point, I find it very interesting that those who download music illegally are called pirates. Pirates in popular culture are the sea robbers in the caribbean during the era of european empires in america. They flourished in a time where the common economic ideology was to enforce monopolies and exclusive rights of commerce, where merchants purposefully brought less goods than there was demand in order to inflate price, because colonies were here to bring wealth to their main country. Most of them were simply bandits, but in their ranks there was a lot of political and religious ideas that were at odds with the repressive societies they came from. And they have been romanticized a lot once they disappeared. The parallel is quite intriguing.

This is the only forum where I roleplay in english. I'd like to join a few more, but I don't know where to search, and I'm not that interested to figure out something. Plus, I like Canterlot. I have had a lot of different rp forums in french over the years, and I'm trying to join another one now (mostly because I just discovered I have a bunch of friends already there). Of course all this implies that I manage to start writing again ...

I want to become a published poet. I don't expect to be rich or famous (it's poetry) but just published would be nice. Unfortunately writing a book is altogether different than writing a poem, and well I still have lots to learn. But, one day, perhaps ...