Manestream

sure, but its definetly going to have to wait until after I work! The easiest quickest glance is just personally watching the max participantsover a 15 minute period climb from its peak of 75ish about 2-3 months ago, to 220ish as of today. But i actually have topic creation and participation statistics as well I can pull up later.

We like to keep our back end very clean- but hiccups and unforseen things do happen (a good handful of them outside of our immediate field of control). When writing a long post, i highly suggest using notepad, or at least always copying the contents to your clip-board before hitting submit. Ive learned that the hard way from many years of such losses.

thats awesome xD

Looking at the site statistics, we're steadily growing busier xD Different forums on the board move at different rates too- i've seen threads with a hundred posts in a day, and others that only see two a week (especially in the RP). The chat is often frequented though, and I know that i'm always around behind the scenes when i'm not at my local job. We did have a driver hiccup, and that probably bombed a lot of the participation for the day, not to mention it was new-years eve, most people were likely out and about rather than on the forum. But hey, if you want a party, no better way to have one than start one!

Whatever shores you sail from, I hope you find warm welcome and a place to feel at home here. We certainly aren't perfect, but we will try our best to make this place one worth visiting. Welcome, and good to meet you :3

Lol, i just love your username xD

Just here to remind you to fix those bold tags

Your app is actually in the second stage of being accepted- it simply needs be looked over by a moderator for a final okay, and then it will be sorted into the correct app group. At that time- the mod will change your status from member to Roleplayer, and that will unlock the RP forum for you! However, since I can do all of the above, i've gone ahead and sorted your app and added you to the roleplayers group :3 I did notice however your tags on the app for bold are borked; you should be able to fix this by going into edit mode on your post, and clicking the 'lightswitch' button on the upper left of your edit box (to the left of the font box), twice. If that doesnt work, you'll just have to fix them manually. Enjoy!

Happy holidays to everypony

I think think i'm pretty much done with this- I dont want to name her parents yet (at least not her father). If she's named after her mother, (which she is) then that determines her mother's name- but i'd like to leave *some* things up to future flexibility. I feel like I already pinned down an awful lot more than needed- but hopefully this will provide a nice stable platform to work from in most cases.

Name: Lampwick ‘Flicker’ Jane Sex: Female Age: Young Mare Species: Earth Pony Pelt Color: #cebe4f |||||||| Mane/Tail Color & Style: #b48327 ||||||| Flicker wears her mane fairly short; in the hot seasons she’ll have it cut back to keep off of her shoulders. In the colder seasons, she lets it fall past her shoulders. Similarly, when Flicker visits wintry regions with long cold seasons, she tends to tie her mane and let it fall to one side, choosing warmth over the comfort of a shorter, breezier mane style. Eye Color: #693b45 |||||||| Cutie Mark: A lit lantern. The metal top and bottom portion of the lantern are triangle-shaped, with curling edges at the lip of each corner. The lantern itself is primarily grey. The same model of lantern can be found outside her parent’s inn in Canterlot. The lantern symbolizes Flicker’s need to bring light to the unknown in her world. The need to explore and adventure runs deep in her bones- a trait she inherited from her mother- but she always keeps warm thoughts of her family with her wherever she goes. In this way, Flicker believes her cutie mark is a reminder in that no matter where she is at, she can feel at home, rest and be at peace with her world. Cutie Mark Story: (I recommend coming back to this after reading character history.) Flicker received her cutie mark around the same time other foals her age did, but she never paid attention to others much. The need to explore and adventure was her primary occupation- and her sole focus. Having a mother who had spent her youth seeking treasures, and a father who had moved across Equestria to map the geography of the land had given Flicker’s family deep roots in traveling; but that seed had blossomed brighter in Flicker than either of her parents had expected. Flicker received her cutiemark on her birthday, when she had left her parents’ inn in the dark of night to pursue a particularily suspicious, and hooded pony she had seen when locking up the inn for the night. It had been a perfect birthday- and what would make it better was an adventure of her own to top it off! Quietly closing the door behind her, and instead of blowing out the old lantern that hung outside the door as customary each night, she took it in her mouth and set out following the curious stranger into the night. After tailing the hooded pony, careful to conceal the lamplight as she did, she finally reached her destination at a little cave dug out of the mountain side- where the figure had slipped in. Taking a deep breath and swallowing back both the fear and excitement in her stomach, she made her way into the cave. It was not a large cave, the lantern almost immediately illuminated all of the walls- but the hooded pony was nowhere to be seen. Instead, in the center of the cave was a small chest on a pedestal. Upon investigation, she noticed a small message that had been carved all along the base of it that read: “Inside this box lies my most valued treasure - worth more than any gem or magic”. Placing the lantern on the ground, Flicker’s hoof shook with excitement as she opened the small box to reveal the prized treasure- a lock of mane. A very simple, ordinary, lock of mane very much the same color as hers. A sudden wave of disappointment filled Flicker at the sight of simple hair, and not some gemstone or magic artifact like she had expected- but the feeling of disappointment was quickly replaced when she could hear the rustling of hooves behind her. Turning quickly, she saw the hooded figure she had been tracking- but the hood was down, and out of the cloth, looking back at her, was the very familiar face of her mother. To her side was her father, and they both were smiling brightly at her. Finally, Flicker understood that this adventure was their birthday gift, and the lock of hair their way of telling her how much she meant to them. It was when Flicker picked up the old lamp again to head home after an emotional embrace, that she noticed a smaller lamp of the same style positioned on her flank. Physique: Flicker is a very average pony. She may have the extra mile of endurance on other ponies, having traveled so often by hoof over the last few years, but her travels are peaceful and prone to wanderlust. She has grown accustomed to carrying what her lifestyle requires, but that is a small burden even in comparison to an applecart. Flicker does enjoy having strong health, as keeping active and moving from one location to another keeps her physically and mentally engaged. Residence: Flicker grew up along the outskirts of Canterlot, and still has family there, but she considers no town home. Rather, Flicker carries home in her heart. Anyplace that she can find rest is a temporary relief from having no shelter, but because of her strong urge to travel, the feelings and comforts attached to home never take root for her, as she feels the need to travel again before ever growing comfortable enough in one location to settle down. Occupation: Flicker is not terribly talented in any one aspect of traveling life, rather, she feels a great passion for experiencing the unknown and the unseen. This need to experience the world with her own eyes is what drives her to travel, however traveling is not always easy, and sometimes she finds that she is in need of bits. For this reason she collects oddities from different locations she has visited, and trades them to other far off locations for food and board, or supplies. Sometimes, making bits is as easy as picking berries on one side of a mountain range, then selling them the day after on the other side of the range, where the berries are in demand. Flicker is no herbalist or medicine maker, but she has picked up necessary tips and know-how from her own scrapes and breaks in the past. She listens carefully to those that she comes into contact with, curious about their lifestyles, outlooks, and roles in life- and her doctors have been no exception. Knowing which herbs help take away pain, which are safe to eat and which are not, which reduce fevers and which can speed up mending has made her life on the road much easier. Occasionally, she has offered poultices and light remedies to other travelers along the way to bring in a few bits. It is a very modest lifestyle, but it is one that fills Flicker with the richness of life. Motivation: Flicker's passion is actually traveling. She has an affinity for the evening, night, the stars, and moon, often laying awake at night to watch them as she travels from one destination to another. A very mellow pony at heart, she enjoys company, but prefers to travel in solitude. This is better explained in that she is fascinated by other ponies, but isn't very socially graceful, often being overly blunt or honest in her statements and assessments- or completely un-attentive of her traveling companions while lost in her own thoughts. She is most at ease when she experiences nature just herself, and is able to carry on in her parents’ hoof-prints. It is her hope to add to her father’s maps with her own, and to write down the places she encounters and adventures she finds herself on in her mother’s fashion. In other words, Flicker finds herself driven to experience and chart the world- learn about its peoples and see the sun rise and set on lands no pony has seen in the history of Equestria. Character Summary (History): In a stroke of incredible un-creativity (but sappy sentiment of her father), Flicker was named after her mother, Lampwick Jane, explorer-extraordinaire! Over the years her filly friends picked up the habit of calling her Flicker- sometimes bright, and sometimes a little dull, but always warm- and the name stuck. It has always been impossible to keep Flicker still for long, or focused on something outside of her field of vision. She was not a highly active or energetic pony- in fact she had a slow and somewhat lazed gait in everything she did. It was her insatiable curiosity and love for the outside world, the tops of the mountains, the bottoms of lakes, the depths of caverns, and the open expanse of the sky that seemed unmanageable to everypony around her. Flicker would immerse herself in the maps her father had made, and the stories of her mother’s travels into the southern reaches of those maps- longing to hear more about glimpses of dragons in the badlands, and sunken ships never seen or heard from again between the oft dangerous waters between Equestria, and the land of the Zebra tribes. When her parents met, it had been a cold stormy night that had gripped Equestria from one end to the other with howling, whipping winds. Looking for shelter from the weather Pegasi’s efforts, the two had found refuge inside an old abandoned rickety inn several miles out of Canterlot. The only sign of life on the outside had been an old lantern that had been recently lit- guiding stranded and wet travelers to some form of safety. The sign had been worn so badly that nopony inside knew the name of the beaten and dingy, but dry, shelter they had found. The two soaked ponies were not the only refugees that had found solace in the old inn; other adventurers, merchants, and travelers had gathered by the hearth to ward off the chill. With a little initiative from the waterlogged newcomers, a fire -and a few discovered barrels of cider and preserved rations- what had been a rag-tag group of strangers quickly become a warm, loud, and rambunctious group of friends- sharing stories and tales about the places they had come from, seen, and were yet to go. When the night ended, Flicker’s parents went their separate ways, and spent the next few years traveling Equestria, pursuing their own dreams, and crossing paths in the most of unlikely places; but from that night for all the new places and sights they had seen, their hearts slowly began to yearn for something they had already discovered- each other. Come one cold and wintry night some time later, the two explorers found themselves once again under the worn sign of the unknown inn, and after a night alone of retold exploits and dreams, the two weathered ponies found a warmth in one another, and began to share a new adventure, together. It wasn’t long before Flicker was scurrying underhoof- and the abandoned inn had undergone many changes. The two explorers had refurnished and refurbished the inn from its sad state into a cozy and warm place for any traveler to dry their coat. New tables had been made, beds began to line the rooms again, and foods and drink from all over Equestria was shipped from friends made during old travels- and the sign outside had been painted. The same old worn wood had been polished and stained, treated and cared for, and painted to boast a picture of an old looking lantern, spreading a soft warm glow to attract any stranded or lost travelers in need of sanctuary. (only took 7 months in the making- lol!)

Hey everypony! The winter holidays are here and Canterlot is once again covered in a beautiful blanket of snow! Canterlot's Winter Moon Celebration is now in full swing, Hearth's Warming Eve being just one of many exciting (and awesome) winter holidays filling this season. There are many new locations to RP in, and quite a few places to show off your creative ideas and talk about the winter holidays, so head on over to the Winter Moon Celebration Forum and check it out! To navigate the event, click on one of the three sub-forums (Hearth's Warming Eve, WMC Inner City, or WMC Festival Fields), and read about the locations that are available to be RP'ed in that forum. Each forum will have 2-4 locations. To enjoy a location, either start your own topic thread, and include at the top whether or not it is an RP only, or OOC allowed thread. A few of the locations have to do with gift exchange, arts and crafts, and even song creation- so OOC discussion is okay in the circumstances where the original creator of the topic has stated so. In this holiday event, not *every* topic requires RP'ers to be in-character; so please pay attention to the topic you are posting in to make sure you are not crashing an RP with an OOC question! I'm excited~! I'll see everypony there! Oh, if you have any questions, feel free to ask here! :3

The fields below Canterlot are laden with white fluffy snow, and with ponies! The field activities stretch all the way from Canterlot to the everfree forest- with ponies ice-skating on lakes, throwing snowballs in the fields, making snow-castles, and snow-pegasi! The Canterlot-Ponyville train often makes many stops along these fields to allow ponies to get to the event of their choice- or to simply enjoy watching the winter festivities from a warm and cozy view! (Dont forget to apply the appropriate Topic Tag to your topic when creating one! This lets others know what your thread is all about- and makes it site-searchable!) Mooncakes and Other Goodies! All scattered throughout the fields there are booths and tents where ponies can take a break from the festivities and get a bite to eat! One of the favorite treats of the holiday are mooncakes! After all, this IS a celebration of the longest day of the year! What better way to celebrate than to eat in honor of white orb that lights the night? There are benches and cushions scattered about under a canopy, under which the snow has been cleared away and everything is dry. Snow! The fields of Sweet Apple Acres lie barren now, cleared away in the Fall of all their crops. It's a perfect place to play in the snow! Make a snow fort, a snowpony, or have a snowball fight! The field is flat and white, just waiting for some ponies to come and mess up the perfectly laid snow. So join the fun, and watch out for snowballs! Everfree Forest Light Show! Many of the trees in the Everfree forest have been decorated with lights, streamers, garlands, glass bulbs, and many other pretty things. This is one time of the year when nopony needs to feel afraid of the dark and foreboding forest. Some even bring offerings to the wild creatures of the wood, if they're brave enough. The multi-colored lights are so beautiful, and somepony's may even find it a bit... romantic. The most spectacular of the light events holds on the night of the Winter solstice- Ponies from all over Equestria light floating lanterns in unison and send them floating off into the skies of Equestria, filling the night with brilliant floating ‘stars’. The tradition is rumored to have been started by Princess Celestia herself, nearly a thousand years ago, in the hopes that the Mare on the Moon might find her way back. The gesture has since lost such meaning, but it is still a fun tradition. The Ponyville Express Put your hooves up and take a ride on one of Ponyville's newest additions- an express train from Ponyville to Canterlot! Each section of the train is filled with ponies traveling to one destination or the other- or waiting to get off along the great snow-covered fields in-between. Enjoy snacks, warm coa-coa, and a pleasant ride along the climbing mountaintops overlooking the region of Canterlot!

Welcome to the inner city of Canterlot! The Winter Moon Celebration is well under way! There are decorations everywhere, snow on every roof-top, and snowponies on every corner! The unicorns really out-did themselves this year- the winter festivities look beautiful! A large map is posted on a banner beside you- take a look to see the different places you can go! (Dont forget to apply the appropriate Topic Tag to your topic when creating one! This lets others know what your thread is all about- and makes it site-searchable!) Arts and Crafts Stalls! Feel free to Roleplay, but also show off your holiday arts and crafts! Made a popcorn string, coloring a Christmas themed picture, painted a Christmas bulb? RP your pony making the craft (just as you would in real life) and then show it off! Make a pencil holder for your mom? That works too! Be artsy, be craftsy, heck, be craptsy! Good or bad, show off your stuff! (Arts and Crafts threads dont have to be in character- but please respect Arts and Crafts threads that are in character! You should determine in your opening post of the topic you create whether or not it is an In-character thread, or an OOC thread) Parade! Everypony loves a parade! There are horse-pulled floats, silly ponies dressed as clowns, and even Princess Luna heading the parade on her own royal float! There are so many lights and decorations all in the spirit of the Winter Solstice. Some ponies have worked for months, and it shows. And look! Some of the ponies in the parade are even throwing candy to the little foals watching. Careful not to get underhoof though! The Gift Exchange! It's that time of year again, when bells are ringing and snow is falling! Here's where you can set up an art trades with everypony! This is the season of giving, and what better way to do that than with an art trade! (Gift exchange threads dont have to be in character- but please respect Gift exchange threads that are in character! You should determine in your opening post of the topic you create whether or not it is an In-character thread, or an OOC thread) Simply create a topic letting others know you want to do an art trade, and as soon as someone replies, there you go! Once someone has replied, if you want to take on a second art trade you'll need to open a new topic. These will be two way art trades, and topics are not request threads. If you need any clarification, comment or send a PM to a Moderator!

Amongst the winter festivities, the Hearth Warming Eve is one of the most anticipated and widely spread Equestrian traditions. Its warming glow can be felt in every town all across Equestria as ponies far and wide celebrate their history- and the rich friendship that has brought them harmony for over a thousand years! (To participate in the events, just create your own new topic and select the appropriate topic tag for where you thread is taking place! Dont forget to apply the appropriate Topic Tag to your topic when creating one! This lets others know what your thread is all about- and makes it site-searchable!) The Pageant Hearth’s Warming Eve is celebrated throughout equestria- the warmth and glow of friendship spreading to everypony- and the friend of everypony from afar! The pageant in canterlot has just finished, but many ponies are warming themselves by the great hearth in Celestia’s castle, and retelling stories and tales of their own winters past! Come sit, share a mug of coa coa, and be warm this holiday season! Or if home is a far ways away, you can partake in your towns’ Hearth Warming Eve celebration- and spread the warmth of friendship from anywhere in Equestria! (simply start your own thread within a chosen Equestrian town or city, and experience Hearth Warming Eve from there!) Caroling Musically inclined? A poet at heart? Got an idea for a Hearth’s Warming Eve carol? Then the Caroler’s corner is the place for you! Post and discuss your creations here! Feel like RPing caroling your song, go for it! (Caroling threads dont have to be in character- but please respect Caroling threads that are in character! You should determine in your opening post of the topic you create whether or not it is an In-character thread, or an OOC thread)

Dont forget to make the appropriate changes in your app title as well- the helpstaff wont look at it unless you've got every detail sorted out- they've got an awful lot on their plate- so be sure to change the name of your topic if you've found a name you like, and change it in the original post as well

Hmm, a name for a handy-man pony.... Hooves McGee? Crafty Jack (Afterall we have a "Pony-joe" in the show. You could make his 'real name something like Crafty spark, but he goes by crafty jack) Arch stronghoof? Bevel Cantertrot? Geary Twist? Cogs Hoofbit? Maybe some of these might inspire an idea. I personally feel that if you think *too* hard about making the name 'work exactly', it gets away from you. Twilight sparkle really has nothing to do with magic OR books, but the name is perfect for her, isnt it? Maybe say some of these out loud, and see if they take you anywhere Keep in touch with me- I want to make sure your getting the help you need!

Remember, its not about what we can or cannot find in the show to prove indefinetly one way or another- its about the attitude and style that best serves as consistent for the RP.

I've spent about 120 usd in personal items like shirts, and a few gifts. For the forum I've spent about 300-400 usd, but I've given all of those items away, or will be giving them away in the near future :3

Wanted to pop in and let everypony know that we are currently still working through judging our contests! The writing contest in particular is taking a long time to read through, and will take a little bit longer to work through! I was supposed to have tomorrow off, but they called me in to meet with the district manager and do a four hour count- so so much for having time off! I'll update this as we get closer to announcing winners and sending out the packages :3

Hey there tornadopelt! Sorry it takes me a while to find time to reply- I work full time and i'm being trained as assistant manager of my store, so its hard to find the time to sit down and reply sometimes! I'm glad to see you made some changes- i think your getting very close. There are a few references to MLP you make that i would take out, since your pony is a member of the MLP world, it would be hard for them to watch about it ^_^ Here is where they are: "Likes: Anything to do with explosives or fire, MLP toys, and MLP in general. (For example, he'll sit for 2 hours straight on a couch just to watch 4 episodes of FiM, and he's done so.)" <--- Take out the stuff in blue, because technically your pony lives in the same world as the mane 6, so to him its not a show, its real life! "And his life has its funny moments too, like watching My Little Pony whenever he gets the chance. His thoughts on the show? "The animation is good, the characters go through major development, you get to see HOW ponies get their cutie marks, it's fantactic, the show itself looks 20% cooler, what else do I need to tell you?"" <-- same thing here, you'll want to take out the parts in blue. When you play your OC, you are in a way becoming them to describe what they say, feel, or do, but your pony wont know about MLP like you do- to him its his everyday life and all he knows :3 Its his reality. You also have this in your app: "(Other times, he got them delivered by the EPS, or Equestrian Postal Service. [No reference to Derpy.])" <--- This is okay to reference the EPS, you can take out the little bit in blue here. Its totally okay to reference a well known location or aspect of the show, it is just not okay to say that you know any cast pony. You can however, meet them in the Mane RP and then become friends and have adventures! I think if you make these changes, your looking pretty good to go. That said, I think there will still be room for improvement in your application (some of the grammar and clarity can be cleaned up to make your bio flow more smoothly, but thats pretty minor. Everyone here, experienced and new, has a lot of room to improve! I did want to add a little blurb here though- Your pony is very caught up with fireworks and pyrotechnics, and that is fine as long as your OC uses them responsibly in the mane RP (and not to distract or derail other RP's), but I dont think a mushroom cloud really as cleanly as a firework explosion like you describe from a girandola- I think it is much more playful and happy (like your OC), than a mushroom cloud (which can have a very negative connotation to it), so that is something you might consider thinking about some! Send me another PM when you've got the changes I outlined, and let me know what you think about the cutie mark suggestion- I'm not going to force you to change it, but I think it would fit your OC and his personality a lot better from my point of view!

Hey there Tornadopelt, I heard you were very anxious to have your application approved, so i'm here to come take a look at how I can best give you a helping hand. Lets see what we can do! First off! I've read through the comments in the thread here, and i'm going to have to call this one like I see it- I see you are making changes to your application based on staff suggestions, but I am seeing a lot of places where you have missed making changes in your application, and only addressed a few of the concerns. The staff is here to help you develop your application, and we are all eager to help you succeed in this, but if you want to make your application ready for the Mane RP, we need you to very carefully address all of the changes suggested by the staff. Your responses are generally pretty short, so it doesn't help us to understand your thoughts, or what you have and havnt really changed. One of the key components to getting your application passed is that your able to communicate well with other users here and work creatively- and your responses are not helping us to understand your intent for your OC, or your thought process- I do see that there has been change to the app over time, but if you had gone into a bit more detail in your posts it would go a long ways to show me how best to help you. I would love to see you get into the RP here, but for that I need you to be patient with my helpstaff and work with them to make sure that you are making all the changes needed. I know waiting can be hard, but they are here volunteering their time to help, and several of them have come in pointed out areas that your application needs careful expansion in to mesh with the Mane RP here. Their job is to make sure that each OC can mesh in a world of other OC's- so dont take their advice as critique to your creativity, instead try to understand that they are offering the the bridges needed to help guide your OC to the Mane RP. I would urge you not to get frustrated, but instead take a moment to read over the helpful suggestions and areas they have pointed out that need adjustment to fit with our RP, and come back to it inspired. Ultimately, you can shorten the application process by familiarizing yourself with the general rules of the RP, and other applications that have been accepted in the past- and be sure to double-check to make sure you havn't missed any suggestions- that will hang up your application needlessly. I see the premise for a great OC here, and I think this application could be accepted with the right tweaks in the areas that have already been pointed out. I do hope you will take the time to come back to your OC with a breath of fresh inspiration, and see it through to the RP- our goal is to help everyone succeed, but there are guidelines we have to navigate around to make sure the Mane RP remains consistant and fun for everypony. Remember, we're not here to tell you no or break your app down- we're here to help build it with you. If you have any concerns or questions, or feel like you need help generating/adjusting ideas and your not sure how, feel free to PM myself. I do hope you will give it another chance

The Harvest festival and the contests are now over! Thank you everypony for participating! I've finally got a couple days off starting tomorrow, so i'm going to start judging and i'll be posting up the winners and exactly what they have won! I'm also going to get in touch with the winners of nightmare night, and be sending out their packages in the next two days~ thanks for being patient everypony! Hope you all enjoyed the events! Im actually surprised there werent more contest submissions- but hey- if you dont like free stuff, more for the ponies that do! And trust me, these prize packages are something to drool over. More tomorrow with pictures!

I'd like to also point out non-rper's arent 'shut out' from the OOC at all- they are able to view the threads and learn from them, they just arent able to participate in them. I should re-emphasize that the OOC is for planning and discussing RP threads, its not the place i'd like new users to be discussing Rp tactics- that belongs in the etiqutte thread and application forums where the helpstaff is geared- there is a reason all users of the board can comment on apps there, and also why we have specific places for users to ask questions- because i would like to bottleneck where those questions are being asked, so its easier for me to answer them. All the ideas about it being a good place to educate new users sounds very good, but i'm not sure the OOC topic thread is where i'd want those efforts centered. I'm kinda on the fence about this one still.