The Voyage of the Polar Star--OOC

[Trilobite]

Picture=supercute.

Birds=mega-awesome. Megawsome? Most of the griffons have a snowy-owl look to them, but some of them have the softer tones and even slight browns of the other birds mentioned.

And yeah, I actually giggled at some of the interplay and characterization in those last posts. Me! Giggling!

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I must apologize Emerath, I didn't want to cut our little conversation short, but I just couldn't let that opening go. Opportunities for that kind of earth shattering awesomeness and/or faux pas don't come often.

[Trilobite]

I'm still laughing about 'fish donor cards'. I want that on a shirt.

Also,

With a hop, skip and a jump, she bounded...

Shake your little rump!

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Well, how else are they going to get food for all the carnivores? If I was a little fish, I'd be happy to know that at the end of my days, I could keep a griffin from going hungry.

Also: Hopefully Ember Spark doesn't find herself moving her little rump into the dungeon. Speaking of which, if anypony wants to pull Ember Spark's flank out of the fire, feel free to lend a hoof any time.

[tacobob]

Beh! Griffons don't want to eat no senior citizen fish, they like 'em nice and young.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

That may be true, but they'll think twice about picking off poor little fishes when they come face to face with the unified fish armada, under the command of admiral anchovy. Griffins know better than to break the peace treaty. No griffin wants to live in fear of their own indoor plumbing, wondering if they'll be next when the ultramarine aquatic commandos launch a raid up through the kitchen sink.

[tacobob]

Pocket will probably wait to hear what the queen has to say in response to Ember's apology before he decides to jump in and save her hide. Hopefully it won't have to come to this..

[Trilobite]

Not to worry--looks like things are okay.

New bit up in the IC section, gang--nudge nudge!

[tacobob]

Sorry. Since I posted..I was waiting on the others .....And say...What sort of food would they have at the table? It seems at least on the show that fish are the only living creatures that are socially acceptable to kill and use for food.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Very little in Equestria happens by accident or by chance it seems. The plants don't grow on their own, the clouds don't move on their own, and the animals don't take care of themselves. Even animals as simple as a monarch butterfly, a wasp or an owl have a degree of intelligence that approaches or surpasses sapience. They can comprehend advanced concepts such as friendship and loyalty.

While the donor card bit was an attempt at humor, I was absolutely serious when I mentioned fish volunteering to become food after they died, because there is no moral justification for killing intelligent beings under those circumstances. In the short term, if you have no alternative, it can be a Plank of Carneades situation, but in the long term, to refuse to find an alternative solution would be tantamount to murder. They keep a census of every new baby bunny born, and so it stands to reason that they also keep track of every old bunny that passes away, if their census is to be accurate.

They may do things differently in the world outside Equestria's borders, and ponies certainly understand the concepts of predation, but I cannot imagine that is how they roll. (Also: If the animal is well taken care of, it will still be tasty when it is older, besides, predators often go for the old and sick anyway.)

Additional additional: In cold climates, root vegetables are common. Carrots, rutabaga, radishes, onions, turnips, beets, and potatoes. Cold climate greens include things like kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and peas. Berries of all sorts are good choices, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries. As for grains, barley, rye and oats were common cold weather grains. (wheat, not so much.) For fruits, there are some varieties of apples and pears that are hardy enough to grow in cold climates (Flemish Beauty, Luscious, Parker and Patten) and while Sweet Cherries usually prefer warmer climates, there are a few sour cherries that do well in cold climates, and a few different types of plums.

[Trilobite]

Boom! Ginger mint nails it on the menu items--take that stuff as key-rect. Also, a lot of the stuff is fresh-baked or freshly picked.

Lots of the prepared goods have plenty of fat and sugar in 'em too, so whatever you can imagine that's in accordance with the above is there.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

You're gonna to leave Ember hangin', just like that?

Well, I guess Ember Spark can learn super relevant information about friendship and magic some other day. I'll just have to find something else to keep her busy for a while until Gale either comes back or she has to go off and find her.

[Emerath]

I'm sorry! D: Emerath tends to get lost in his thoughts a lot (as I'm sure you've noticed) and as such he tends to not respond to people when he should. And then he forgets. He dun mean it. And neither do I.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

No worries, Ember Spark will just have to learn to be more persistent. (Normally I would have made Ember Spark poke, shake, prod or otherwise bonk Emerath to get his attention, but you said she wasn't paying attention anymore, so I tried to roll with it.)

Speaking of which, Praise Celestia, I'm feelin' the spirit! That may have been the hardest post I've had to make so far, and I apologize if its a little bit of a bumpy ride. Its hard to keep Ember Spark's spirits down for long though.

[tacobob]

you want us...to move? Doncha just hate to move once you get all comfortable?

[Trilobite]

Now I want you to move! Or Queen Katabat does. There's some conversation going on amongst the officers, so maybe a quick scene en route to the library if you want and then I'll set us up there.

[Emerath]

Ah, I'm sorry Ember, I didn't mean to make your character do something she wouldn't have. I just assumed that with the queen speaking everyone would pay attention to her. I guess I still don't understand Ember all that well yet. >.< I'll be more careful in the future.

Now, to the library! Oh I do hope it's organized, Emerath is going to have a field day if it isn't...

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

These things happen, don't sweat it too much Emerath. On the plus side, if the Elements of Harmony ever get brought up again, Ember Spark is going to have the excellent opportunity to try to keep them a secret for no good reason.

As for Ember Spark, while she does have some things that are exceptionally interesting to her such as the subject she is currently studying, timekeeping at the moment, as well as friendship and magic, she will often times be more interested in talking with someone rather than talking about any specific subject.

To be honest, up until perhaps just this last post, Katabat hasn't really distinguished herself from any other griffin in Ember Spark's eyes. Ember Spark would probably be more keen on talking to the Griffins that helped her tie the ship down rather than listening to all this boring stuff about ancient evils or whatever.

When she told Emerath to hold that thought and she ran off to talk to Gale about Luna, that was a very difficult decision for me to make, because it was really pushing the boundaries of out-of-character for her. In the end, though, I just couldn't let the opportunity pass by, and she does like making ponies and griffins smile a whole lot. So being able to tell someone that Luna was back was kind of like saying "You've just won the lottery," for her.

Also: Yay! Post complete. You can bet that, even if something else catches Ember Spark's attention, she has made a mental note to revisit the subject again later.

Also, also: Don't forget that studying Emerath's special talent is the entire reason why Ember Spark came along on this expedition. When in doubt, her default course of action is going to be "see what Emerath is doing."

[Emerath]

See, Emerath isn't used to anyone paying attention to him. He's a very laid back pony who does his job and enjoys doing so, but in the end, most ponies just pass over him. And he's content with that. Having somepony who actually wants to get to know him is new to him, and will probably continue to be for a while. Really, Emerath gets so focused on his work (admittedly, he's quite a workaholic) that he never notices that anyone actually wants to be his friend.

Also, whenever I talk about Emerath as a character, I feel like I'm talking about myself in the third person, despite that Emerath and myself are completely different personality wise.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Sorry about the short post. I would have normally waited until Trilobite posted, but I wanted to get something out there before entering my usual Thursday/Friday freetime free zone.

[Trilobite]

No problem, Ginger.

And Emerath, I often feel the same way, or at least speak/write the same way, on the rare ocassions when I get to play a character. It feels a little weird, but it also helps me get into the role, so it's all good.

I absolutely love the way all the ponies here have their own unique voice--as in way of speaking and acting, clearly backed by ways of thinking. It's awesome to see characers already so well-developed. I have a load of fun reading y'all entries, and there's a lot of stuff, like "Lady Canterly's Love", for example, that makes me smile or even chuckle out loud.

I wanted to check in and see how you, as players, feel about the tone and pacing of the game. Lemme know, especially if you have suggestions!

[Emerath]

I think the tone and pacing of the RP is perfect so far. I think we have a great group here, and everyone is able to post at a pace that all of us can keep up with with our busy lives, even when they get a little overwhelming.

And I absolutely love reading others' posts, and indeed look forward to it. I think when this is over, I'm gonna have a great time going back and reading the entire thing form the beginning.

[tacobob]

Great posts guys! Will post tomorrow before work..I could post now..But it's late..and I am ever so sweepy!

[Trilobite]

No problem, Taco!

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Oh my... its going to be hard to keep track of which things Ember Spark said and which things she only thought about really hard.

Quick question: Is the scrivener called "Bartleby" or "Batleby?" I've seen it spelled both ways.

Also: For the record, predictions and prophecies in Equestria are no sure thing either. The prophecy of Nightmare Moon's return called for eternal night, but as luck would have it, that never came true.