Fallout Equestria

That might be overstating it a bit, I think. It's more that he's simply a sociopath. He doesn't empathize with or attempt to understand other people because he's so caught up in his own (perceived) intellectual superiority.

Perhaps I'm overanalyzing, but I've always thought of Goldenblood - in a nutshell, and setting possible Villain Sue traits aside - as a dark mirror of show!Twilight. The sort of person Twilight might have been if Celestia hadn't nudged her into making friends. A person possessing immense power and potential but lacking the social understanding or boundaries to use that power responsibly around other people.

In other words, while he wants to save Equestria he wants to save his preferred version of it, his way, on his terms. And damn anyone that gets in the way of that goal. In other words, he's a pre-apocalypse Littlepip that traded gun skills for political influence and space-age technology.

edited 22nd Apr '14 11:08:03 AM by Snipehamster

This art is oddly adorable.

I dunno if that's a problem. Sort of a weird perspective thing, but hey, not every deviantart person can actually do perspective, so that's kinda nifty.

Anyway, it's a nice picture. One of the pictures that makes me wish I liked the story more than I do.

I hear what you're saying on the perspective. To me, it seems like the degree of increased size on the foreleg is greater than I'd expect from the apparent camera placement with respect to everything else, almost like there's a fish-eye lens. But yes, it is a good piece, and I like how it adds a bit of an edge while maintaining the cartoony feel.

Mmm, not bad. The cartoony style doesn't quite fit FoE, imo, but that Velvet is certainly pretty cute.

I'd share some art relating to the PnP campaign I've been playing lately, but since (as far as I know) it's not hosted publicly I don't know whether the artist would be okay with me spreading it about. And I'm not 100% sure of TvTropes' rules on gore, either. I'll ask when I get the chance and maybe post it here.

It did raise a rather disturbing bit of Fridge Horror, though - the show demonstrates that ponies, especially earth ponies, rely on their mouths to perform tasks that their hooves can't handle. Up to and including changing nappies/diapers. Unicorns have their magic and pegasi have limited access to Feather Fingers. So what happens when healing potions aren't enough and the earth pony medic has to perform field surgery?

With that in mind, Velvet had it easy.

edited 24th Apr '14 6:26:37 AM by Snipehamster

Hey, ever hear of the human torso?

What about it?

Guy with no arms or legs. Could light a cigarette all on his lonesome.

TIL. Sapient ponies doing complex stuff with their mouths just got a little more plausible.

edited 24th Apr '14 8:13:20 AM by Snipehamster

That's hilarious. And true(ish). Two from me.

It's got nothing to do with Kkat other then them giving the group permission if they want to. And the first round already went smooth, there is no real issues with it since they aren't selling them for profit, the money is simply the cost. it's no different then someone going to a printer and asking them to print out the novel from a PDG and bind it. Just gathering money to do it for several people at once to get a bulk discount.

First printing went fine, second attempt only failed sue to issues with paypal.

Kkat has nothing to do with the printing project, actually. And yes, it will almost certainly be spared from a C&D. Companies don't care about fanfics, and they never have. Very, very rarely have fanfics ever been an issue.

Like I said, unless they are being sold for a profit. Which these aren't the only cost is the actual charge from the printer and shipping.

It's actually debatable if Hasbro could legally prevent publication of Fallout: Equestria novels even if they wanted to. (Bethesda has no case. They couldn't stop a thing.)

To start with, you should read the Wikipedia article on Legal issues with fan fiction. However, even disregarding the Fair Use argument, Hasbro's on shaky ground. Being a wholly original work, FO:E would not infringe copyright, which leaves trademarks as the only issue. Using the trademark search function of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website reveals that the characters in FIM have trademarks in the primary mediums of toys, toy accessories, cartoons, games, etc. Narrowing down to written materials, we get: "Playbooks for children, which contain any or all of these— paper dolls, coloring book pages, stories, poems, illustrations, games, connect-the-dots pictures, snowflake cutting patterns, suggestions for children's activities, and patterns for toys, pillows, and decals for T-shirts, pajamas, and mugs."

Noticeably, not novels. Which means that, technically, even FO:E books printed for profit wouldn't be violating any copyrights or trademarks. This would be the type of thing that a court would have to make a decision on, though, since it's right on the edge. The Fair Use argument would be helpful here.

edited 27th Apr '14 6:21:56 PM by Unknownlight

Not entirely.

Fallout Equestria is probably the most well known fanfic of pony, aside from Cupcakes. It's appeared on many news sites that covered bronies.

Normally fanfics are ignored, but when it comes to distributing copies that are paid for, that's a whole other can of worms.

Not saying it will or will not happen this time around, but just because Hasbro hasn't taken action right away doesn't mean they won't later down the line. Jan Animations (though that seems to be getting dealt with), Fighting is Magic, and so forth.

Though as a rebuttal, the fic isn't as infamous now that just as long and yet longer ponyfics are regularly written, it's lost much of it's fandom notability.

You could argue Fallout Equestria's famous only because Kkat did the dark long ponyfic with a good bit of Worldbuilding first, and if other crossovers such as the Elder Scrolls, Bioshock, Dragon Age, and the like were done in it's place, we'd be discussing one of those instead.

That makes me curious then if the chapterbooks actually require toys or activities to still qualify under trademark. Aside from potential proffet from the toys making sense from a business perspective, longer projects like the Daring Do books may have to have the set to retain her trademark.

edited 27th Apr '14 6:34:24 PM by darkabomination

By the way, Project Horizons has updated.

(For the first time I get to read a PH chapter update as it comes out! )

Damn that's fast. That last one was one buck of a cliffhanger.

More FO:E the Game footage.

Congratulations Somber! You've won the award for most-obvious-plot-twist-ever! It was always inevitable that Goldenblood is still alive. Even Blackjack comments on how unsurprising it is.

On the less obvious side, it was nice to at least partially learn Goldenblood's motivations. He was actually on Celestia's side, and wanted Luna out. I definitely wasn't expecting that. Well done.

I love that last line.

I can't wait! This has been a long time coming.

edited 27th Apr '14 10:14:38 PM by Unknownlight

I'd be very surprised if 'novels' didn't fall under the umbrella of 'stories', to be honest. It's a pretty broad category. That said, the print project probably won't get C&D'd because it's relatively small and innocuous (compared to Fighting is Magic and Button Mash), and Hasbro setting a precedent of 'going after fanfiction' would cause a hurricane-grade shitstorm of brony drama. Amusing for onlookers perhaps, but not worth the effort, in other words.

Legal problems will start if/when FoE oversteps the bounds of fandom enough that it starts getting mistaken for actual Hasbro content (or risking such), as FiiM and such probably did.

I'm still tentatively optimistic about the game, but they have all the odds stacked against them and not just in the legal department.

Unrelated: /mlp/'s reaction to the latest PH is very entertaining. Somber, what are you doing?

edited 28th Apr '14 12:02:57 AM by Snipehamster

I've been asking that question in my head the last ten chapters or so. At this point I'm not quite sure where it's going, not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Mostly trying to figure out how BJ's talent isn't a full on Game-Breaker.

Pay attention to the context, though.

You could argue that "novels" is included in that, but you'd be on pretty shaky ground.