The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

Who wants some rambles? Too bad, you’re getting them anyway.

I am proud to announce that there are only two horrible vitamins left in the bottle. In a little over a week, I will be free of them once and for all. But seriously, I really should have just thrown them away a long time ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to. They still did whatever, you know, vitamins do. Give vitaminness. But they are of the most ridiculous nearly-square shape. They are near-impossible to swallow without choking. Seriously, did nobody even attempt to swallow these pills before they put them on the market? It’s ridiculous. I have to break them in half just to have a chance, and even then, I end up choking half the time. I bought the generic equivalent of the same vitamin, and they’re of a sane shape that you can swallow, no problem. Ugh. I’ll be glad to have them out of my life. Because this is a serious concern to be having.

Jonathan and Shauna came over, and they asked about Aesa, and if I’m going to tell my parents that we’re more than just friends. So I guess they probably read this sometimes? Hi! Anyway, they were totally cool about the whole thing, though worried about me getting in yet another fight with my parents over stuff. I told them basically what I had been saying: I’m probably not going to tell them, unless I have to in order to keep him from being excluded from family shit, as he’s a part of the family as far as I’m concerned. But yeah, nice to know they’re still on my side about how non-standard my life sometimes is. I could not ask for a better brother and sister-in-law, seriously.

I did so much work last week, for serious. I graded like crazy, and I was pretty exhausted for it. But it was all work it, really. It occurred to me how little one has to do once they’re actually working on it, as opposed to when they’re dreading it. I had a ton to do, don’t get me wrong, but I polished it off and got it all done in a very reasonable length of time, and now I’m in a much better position. Granted, there’s still more to do, there always is, but at least I’m caught up and I can breathe a little. Well, just a tiny bit, anyway.

Also, I’m really super embarrassed about it, but the tooth I had all that work done on broke while eating a crunchy slice of pizza this weekend and basically fell out. So now I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s not visible when I talk or anything, so it could be worse, but fuck. I feel like an idiot. Was there something I could have done? People say probably not, and these things happen, and I should stop driving myself crazy feeling like shit about this. I was brushing and doing all the teeth upkeep things a person should do. And I mean, I am getting old. Older people have teeth problems. Older people don’t have all their teeth. But just… bleh. I’ll get it fixed as best one can this week. Maybe get a partial denture. I don’t know. We’ll see. Just… keep it under your hat, okay, internet? Feel like such a failure…

I’ll be back tomorrow with more BLOGGING. Ta da!

Okay, here’s another dream I had.

I was working, sort of, at some sort of retail outlet. It was laid out like Kohl’s in a lot of ways, but it clearly was not Kohl’s. However, the location of the toys was in the same place in the building, back in the back corner. Still, it wasn’t Kohl’s. We didn’t sell the same stuff.

In any case, I was done with my shift, and before I left the store, I went shopping. I was with somebody, but I don’t know who. I want to say it was my mother, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I went back to the back corner to check the pony toys because I am mucho predictable. I take a look around, and I see something I want to come back for later. However, I leave it there then, and go back to meet with my mysterious shopping companion.

When we go to check out, though, I realize I never went back for whatever it was I was looking for, so I excuse myself from the checkout line and go back to the toys. When I get back there, a girl starts talking to me about ponies as I pick up what I was going to buy, since she saw I was interested. She showed me a line of Pony jewelry back there that she thought was totally cool (she liked Rainbow Dash, and they were like… Rainbow Dash necklaces) but apparently I already had a pony necklace of some sort on, so I showed that to her and she was impressed. We talked for a little while longer, and then she left.

But when she left, I noticed something. It was a book, sort of like one of those “my first chapter books” sort of size. Like, say, the size of a Goosebumps book. But it was a pony book. Friendship is Magic licensed fiction. It had Applejack looking over some sort of a cauldron on it. I couldn’t help myself. I picked it up and looked at the plot synopsis. It was something along the lines of Applejack having been given some sort of potion recipe that promised to make the apples at Sweet Apple Acres the best in the world. There was some upcoming Equestria-wide fair she was really worried about losing. But making the potion could create problems and force her to lie to her friends!

Anyway, I was shocked and pleased there was pony licensed fiction, so I bought the book too.

Then I woke up.

Goddamn, maybe I’m a bit too obsessed with ponies.

Remember how this is a thing I’m doing? I think this is a thing I’m doing here.

Tetris Attack is basically a perfect game.

There have been a million versions of what they now call Puzzle League, and they are for the most part fine. I loved Pokemon Puzzle League, for example, and the 3D mode was interesting, if not really very long-term engaging. The DS version of Puzzle League was fine, though the stylus controls really kind of changed the game a bit and made it a lot easier. I’m pretty sure there were some versions of this game in Japan before Nintendo brought it out here all Yoshi’s Island’d up. I’m sure those are also fine. But Tetris Attack is the one that I feel is perfect.

Do I even need to talk about how fucking amazing Tetris Attack’s gameplay is? Because it is goddamn amazing. It is, hands down, the best puzzle game, save maybe Tetris. Bust-A-Move, Puyo-Puyo, Puzzle Fighter, they can all get the fuck out of the way. Tetris Attack is where it is at. The way you can only flip tiles to the side is, honestly, genius. It makes the game work with basically one button, and it makes it so that if you make a mistake, you’re pretty stuck with it. The methods to set up combos become pretty easy to see pretty quickly, and you have a huge amount of control over making them happen: rarely does it feel like a random element was involved. The game is also just as fast-paced as you want it. You can fly around that board setting things up, like I do when I’m in practice, or you can take it slower and have a good time anyway.

But you get that in any version of Tetris Attack, and indeed, those are fun. What really sets this one apart is the style. The Yoshi’s Island backgrounds and stuff look great, sure! But goddamn, that music. Let’s listen to some. Here’s the classic Raphael theme. I could listen to that all day, seriously. Some of the best the SNES has to offer in terms of music. And it’s not just that stage. There is so much more.

Tetris Attack: A life-changing game for me. Granted, I mostly played it on the Game Boy, where it was also fantastic. But the SNES version is just where it is at. It’s such a damn good game, and I would not change a damn thing about it. There is a reason why it is a euphemism for sexual intercourse on Talking Time. Heh.

Cara and I had a conversation at work last night, and as often tends to happen, this got me thinking. Then I’m like “I should elaborate on my thoughts on this blog thing I have!” So here we are.

I was telling her about Aesa moving in with me (oh yeah, Aesa is moving in with me! That is a nice thing that is happening soon) and being all nervous and excited at the same time, as I tend to be. She then says, “You know, you clearly have a much different idea of what a relationship is than I do.” This catches me off-guard, so I ask for elaboration. “Well, I just get this feeling that what you want from a relationship is different to be able to do what you do. Like, you’re trying to build up a bunch of best friends.” This really only confused me more because… well, of course the people I date should be my best friends. That’s just kind of a given. Why would I date someone who wasn’t?

Anyway, it was all just her trying to wrap her mind around this stuff, which is cool. No worries there. But it really got me thinking about the nature of relationships and Relationships with a capital R and all that sort of thing, and what they really mean. Well, to me, anyway.

My go-to quick definition of a romantic relationship has always been “someone who you’re happy to wake up next to every morning, even when life is boring.” I really think that that’s a good quick definition, to be sure. But really, it’s more, isn’t it? It’s someone you want to grow old with. It’s someone you want to spend your time with, travel with, eat with. It’s someone you have 0 guards up around. It’s someone who sees the very worst you have to offer and doesn’t hate you for it. It’s someone who sees the very best you offer and isn’t disappointed.

None of that is something that’s necessarily exclusive. Granted, finding more than one person who you can do that with is difficult, especially when you factor in sexual compatibility (not essential, but, you know. Nice). I think I am mind-blowingly lucky to be in a situation where I feel like I have two people I feel that way about. To not act on that feels wrong. I only have one life, as far as I’m aware. There’s no need to give up something wonderful just because society says so. (Now, if the person I’m with has issues, that’s a completely different story. But just because I’m not “supposed so” seems really dumb.)

To be fair, I also think there’s a big element of this is me wanting a family. I’m probably never going to have kids. The deck is really stacked against me. I’ve mostly come to terms with that. (I’ll just be a crazy aunt with a house full of toys and such who spoils Jonathan and Shauna’s kid(s) rotten and treats her pets like children, I’m sure.) But that want to have a family of my own doesn’t go away just because I don’t have kids. I still want that. My own clan. My own family. Mine. Being open to not just having one serious relationship lets me potentially have that, more than otherwise. That sort of intense family love. Maybe I won’t be the only one who finds other people. Maybe Aesa or Brer will bring someone else wonderful into our family, and that will be fantastic. The more the goddamn merrier, for serious. (Not that they have to look if they’re happy. I certainly wasn’t looking for Aesa when all this happened. But, you know.) We’ll be a family, and that will be… great.

And that’s romance, I suppose. To me.

I don’t know what to write here, but I’m worried about work, so I’m going to write about that. I have quite a backlog of things to grade. This is just not a thing that has happened to me in the past. Sure, I have a lot more classes to teach now, so I have more work, but I don’t feel like that’s the problem. Focus is the problem.

In a lot of ways, I feel like I am stuck in a cycle. I work very hard to get things done, which spawns more work. I have burned myself out, and I can’t make myself focus on that work, so I take a break. Then comes a point where I must get that work done! I must! I work very hard to get things done, taking things to the extreme, really going at it. Then I’m burned out again.

I think it really comes down to the fact that I hate working out of my house. I really wish I had an office that was not in my house.

Seriously, the level of “now is the time for work” that I get from simply being in a different place cannot be overstated. Sure, I can’t focus forever when I’m in a different place. But simply going elsewhere primes me for 3 or 4 hours of schoolwork, easy. I know what I’m supposed to be doing there, so I do it. I get things done.

When my work desk is also my fun desk, like it is here at home, this just does not work. I can’t focus. I take constant breaks. I burn out much quicker. People talk to me, and I take the time to talk back. It’s just… not optimal. And while it hasn’t gotten me in trouble yet, it’s to the point where I need to really do some fixes here.

I think today, I am going to try a different strategy. Today, as I work, and grade, I am going to do everything that does not need to be done on the computer on my dining room table. I’m going to see how much this helps me plow through what I need to do. Once I start it all, it won’t be that bad. Once I get over these big mountains of papers and actually work on clearing them, it will not take THAT long. I mean, it will take time. Clearly it will. But it won’t take weeks. I can knock this shit out in a few hours, or at least make such a significant dent that it gets off my shoulders. I can do two classes, at least, today, and at least one more tomorrow, if not both. I can finish this shit off, and then I will have much less stress in my life. I can then focus on better stress. Cooler shit. Yeah.

Anyway, this whole blog is basically me shaming myself into getting enough stuff done tomorrow. I’ll see you on the other side of grading hell, a hell I have built for myself.

Hi! Welcome to another edition of that thing that the title says.

UPS is really pissing me off lately. They used to be bringers of joy, but now they are only bringers of rage. I’ve been trying to get my copy of Rhythm Heaven Fever since it came out, but no, they can’t deliver it. They won’t just leave the box at my door. They left me notes saying the seller requested this, so I wasted a lot of time with Amazon trying to get them to not do that any more. Just turns out that UPS was flat-out lying to me, and this is just something the driver decided. So I went to UPS to complain, and they kept trying to force me to sign up for this bullshit service and gave me 0 explanation as to why they were lying to me. I even tried filing a formal complaint, and was told I could not be helped without a tracking number, which showed nobody even SKIMMED my e-mail. Now I’m writing this as I wait at home for this box, because if I leave to do errands then they’ll go back to holding it hostage, and I can only pick it up from the center in Scott City between 4 and 6 PM, not before or after or a moment too late, and ugh. Fuck you, UPS.

The other day, I was talking with Cara, and she was going to swing by before work just to hang out and shit. Then she had a legit emergency: the power cable on her Macbook died, which she needed to do homework and work. She didn’t come over because of that, as she had to quickly figure out how to get a new one. Again, perfectly understandable. I wasn’t mad at her. But I did kind of nearly burst into tears, barely holding myself back, because I had to keep being alone in my house. Fuck, am I lonely recently. I’ve taken steps to stop this (I went out of my way to eat dinner with my parents, and made some other plans) but fuck.

Apparently Sega has all but said they’re going to be selling me another copy of Jet Grind Radio at whatever price they want to name. So. I’m a bit excited about that.

Well, the word has come down at work. Ad Set will be no more by August. My job of like 7 goddamn years will soon be gone. That’s… kind of sad, but also kind of a relief. Eventually, I was going to have to leave that place, and it would have been really hard to leave everyone there. Now I’m being forced to, and everyone will understand. That makes it easier. Still, it sucks. These people are my good friends. I have seen them so often. They have been so understanding. They’re my team. MY team. Bleh.
Still, we’ve all just decided to stop giving a fuck, and man, are we having fun. I mean, okay, we’re still getting our job done, sure. We’re not total assholes. But well, I mean, like last night, we talked on the radio basically all night, instead of leaving it for “important communication,” and just cracked off-color jokes and generally had a fantastic, fun time. If there was any doubt I didn’t love all those people I work with, it was very clearly cleared from my mind. They’re why I stayed at Kohl’s so long. They’re why I would have gladly kept staying, if I wasn’t basically being fired without being fired.
Oh well. We’ll make it. But it sucks.

On Talking Time, someone said this simple phrase: “Twilight is pony Hermione Granger.” While not completely inaccurate, and certainly a decent shorthand, I, overall, disagree with this statement. Twilight Sparkle’s character is quite different from Hermione’s, and because I have a blog where I can write and post completely silly things, I am now going to explain to you why Twilight is not pony Hermione Granger.

First off, let’s just talk about how they’re similar, because they are, in many ways. Both characters study magic, and extensively. It is, in many ways, their entire life. They both love books, to the point of people around them thinking maybe they are a bit weird for it. They’ve always read something esoteric and are surprised when others haven’t looked into the same sorts of things. They’re also both insanely good at magic. They work hard to be the very best at what they do, spellcasting, and it shows. They are at the top of their game in that regard.

However, outside of that “professional” side of their life, they really split as characters. It really comes down to the fact that Twilight is clueless about social interaction, while Hermione is not.

Hermione understands dating, relationships, and how to interact with people. While she certainly puts her academic life above being popular, she understands what’s going on with the other students around her, and has insight into why they’re acting the way they do that Ron and Harry often miss, being stereotypical school-age boys. She is hurt by social conventions carelessly broken (Ron waiting forever to ask her to the dance, like she didn’t have other prospects) and just generally “gets it.” She’s not outside of social actions. When she does show a level of cluelessness about how social interactions work (her idea that SPEW is a thing that people will want to get involved with), she does not realize it. She knows she knows this stuff, and thus her errors are not immediately apparent to her. She’s confident in her social prowess.

Twilight, on the other hand, knows absolutely nothing about social interaction. We see this all the time, whether having to follow a checklist to have fun at a party or trying to be helpful in an episode like Baby Cakes in about the worst way possible, and getting shut down for it. In fact, her cluelessness is so bad that her mentor and teacher, Princess Celestia, basically went “look, enough with the magic, go make some friends!” and forced her to try to integrate into society at large. She just does not know what’s going on in social circles.
Still, she realizes that, which is a key difference. She knows she knows nothing, and is super, super excited to figure it out. After being shown the benefits, she is not about to stop trying to learn, because she loves learning, even this sort of learning. She’s willing to admit her mistakes and improve upon them, and she does with every silly letter to Princess Celestia she writes.

It’s this eager cluelessness to social situations that, in general, endears Twilight to me and makes her my favorite pony. She is a character that knows it all, like Hermione, but unlike Hermione, she also knows nothing, and embraces it. Personally, I just connect with that better. I’ve been the person with all the answers, quite often, but so often I feel like I have no clue what I’m actually doing. I can feel that struggle in Twilight, and that’s why there’s a connection there. It’s more well rounded and real, especially when compared to Hermione, who so often just kind of becomes the source of magical plot devices in the Harry Potter novels. When Hermione does show a weakness, it mostly is of the “I am a woman with emotions” stereotypical school of weakness. In general, she always has the answer. Twilight does not. Hers is a generally humble genius. She knows her Intelligence is much, much higher than her Wisdom and Charisma, and those are stats she needs to work on. She’s willing to listen, and willing to admit she’s wrong, but she’s never going to stop trying, even when she does it incredibly badly. Practice is how you learn, after all. Her weaknesses are not weaknesses to her, but rather ways she can improve herself. When you find yourself in similar situations, having someone to look at who gets back up, smiles, and learns from complete failure is refreshing. It makes failure something that’s okay, instead of the worst thing. I like that. I like Twilight Sparkle.

Today I had this amazing moment where I’m like “WOAH, I was thinking about this housing problem all wrong! The solution is so stupid simple!” so now I know how to move Aesa into the house without issues! Although it still requires some remodeling and building, though nothing as insane as my original plans. So that was cool!

But then I was back to just being alone in my house.

I have been so overwhelmingly lonely. It makes me feel amazingly and stupidly lame. I have so many wonderful people in my life. SO MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN MY LIFE. But I never see them. My schedule sucks, and it’s never in sync with anyone. I rarely do anything social. I talk to my boyfriends and online friends all the time, and that’s nice. I wouldn’t give that shit up. Never, never. But let’s face it. It’s not the same. It’s a good substitute, but I can only run on that for so long before I want something more substantial to supplement it. And when you had this wonderful time with one of those people in real life and see how much better that is, it’s just… ugh.

Just feeling like that feels so defeatist. I am being pretty darn successful at life. I should be able to plan things, and make things happen, right? I should be able to make all this work. Right? Probably? I’m not doing a great job at it, though.

Ugh. Going to sleep. Going to try not to worry about it.

“HmmmmMMmmmmMHmmhmmmmmahhhhhmmmmmmoooohmmmhmmhmmmmmHmmmmmmm…” Twilight Sparkle was rereading her latest fanfic. It was a touching, saucy tale of a town, Horseyville, a totally original location, trying to deal with the problems of a new robot uprising, and the many dramatically romantic situations that spawned from that. It was going to be such a success! She couldn’t wait to send it to Celestia. Sure, after she had sent her last masterpiece (Prismers of Love: A Rainbow Romance), Celestia had asked her to never send her another fanfic. Surely, though, that was simply because she thought Twilight could never top her last one! But she knew she could, and this one would do it.
“I know she’ll love this one!” Twilight said. “It’s so close to perfect!”
“Twilight, I think she said last time that she didn’t…” Spike began.
“Spike, I thought I told you to clean the kitchen, not think,” Twilight said. “But no, seriously, this is perfect! But it just needs to be more… real. It needs more reality! That’ll show Celestia what a wonderful writer I am!”
“What does that even mean…” Spike said to himself, heading toward the kitchen.
It was then that Twilight had an idea. “Heeheehee, I know! Spike, I need you to write up a town-wide notice.”
“But I thought you told me to…”
“Seriously, why do you always backtalk me like this, Spike? What have I done to deserve this?”
Spike sighed, and picked up a quill and some parchment.

—

Mafia is Witchcraft

“Hide And Go Beep”

—

“And so, due to increased robotic and robotic sympathizer threat in the town of Ponyville, Princess Celestia has told me, Twilight Sparkle, to form W.A.I.F.U., Warriors Actively Investigating and Finding Undesirables, to find and squash this menace once and for all… Buy some Apples!” Applebloom gasped as she read one of the flyers pasted all over town. This was bad news! For a long time, she had always suspected one of her friends was a robot, but she never told the robot police, sure that she wouldn’t hurt a fly. But now, with this silly inquisition, she was sure to be found out, and then killed!
“I’ve got to talk to Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom raced for Carousel Boutique, where Sweetie Belle was currently staying. She knocked wildly on the door, and Sweetie Belle answered.
“Hello, best friend of mine,” said Sweetie Belle. “Inquiry: what brings you to my house today?”
“We need to talk, Sweetie Belle, and fast!” said Applebloom. “Can we go to your room?”
“Of course.”
They locked themselves in Sweetie Belle’s room, and Applebloom explained the flyer.
“But why is this a problem to our normal, soul-filled lifestyles?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Surely we are not at risk.”
“We aren’t… but I think Scootaloo is!” said Applebloom.
“Scootaloo? A robot?” asked Sweetie Belle, unsure.
“Of course! Have you ever noticed how even though she’s a pegasus, she never flies? It’s because her robotic body is too heavy! And the way that she doesn’t really have any defining characteristics… that just feels like a robot trying to blend in, doesn’t it?”
“Gasp!” said Sweetie Belle, “It all makes sense now! But Scootaloo would not injure a sentient being! She is our friend.”
“Exactly! That’s why we have to protect her! I just don’t know how…”
“Let us think. Calculating…. Calculating… Plan Formed. Didn’t you have a friend you abandoned after you met us?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Who, Twist? Well, yeah…”
“My databanks indicate her family is likely a member of organized crime.”
Applebloom gasped. “Of course! She’d know how to keep Scootaloo safe! Let’s go!”

—

“Are you sure the Princess told us to do this?” Applejack asked. “Because I haven’t heard…”
“Of course she did. Her secret messages are of the top priority and can only be read by me. We’ve been over this,” said Twilight.
“The mission is already falling apart, commander,” said Rainbow Dash, “but honestly, I believe in you and this mission.”
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I can always count on you to tell the truth.” Twilight turned to everyone else. “Listen, the Princess once again has put the most capable pony in charge, so as long as you listen to me, and do what I say, we’re going to be successful, clearly.”
“Where’s the gypsy?” asked Rarity. “Surely she’s part of this warrior whatever?”
“I have no idea,” said Twilight Sparkle, definitively.
“But aren’t gypsies traditionally robotic sympathizers?” said Fluttershy. “This is why you should have let me take her out years ago…”
“Oh, right, so that’s the reason she’s not here then,” said Twilight.
“But you told all of us to invite her to this meeting if we saw her…” said Applejack.
“I was setting a trap, Applejack, it’s what leaders do.” Twilight said. “Okay, so, we’ll meet back here to discuss our findings and make plans every night, alright? I’ll have your orders waiting for you then. Dismissed!”
“But what are we supposed to do for today?” said Rarity.
“Find the bad guys,” said Twilight. “You can do it! Go on.”
“Oooookay, well. This has been informative,” said Rarity. “I suppose I’ll head back to the shrine then.”
The Members of W.A.I.F.U. scattered to do their “work.” Twilight Sparkle giggled. “Chapter One, Check!”

—

Seven knocks later, Twist opened the door. “Oh, hello Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo. Were you followed?”
“Why am I here again?” asked Scootaloo.
“That is irrelevant information,” said Sweetie Belle. “Do not worry about it.”
“We need to talk to you, Twist,” said Applebloom. “Can we come in?”
“Sure.”
“Scootaloo, would you mind waiting outside for a moment?” asked Applebloom.
“What? Why did you bring me, then?” said Scootaloo.
“Just for a moment!” said Applebloom.
“It will not take long,” assured Sweetie Belle.
“Fine, whatever.” Scootaloo said.
Safely inside, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle explained Scootaloo’s situation.
“So you want to stop this Team W.A.I.F.U. and save Scootaloo’s robotic life?” asked Twist.
“Yes, exactly.” Applebloom said.
“Can you help us? Awaiting response.” said Sweetie Belle.
“If all the robots in Ponyville are wiped out, my family won’t be able to use the robot police as cover and an easy threat… I think I could get them behind this,” said Twist.
“Well, that’s good news!” said Pinkie Pie. “These sorts of witch hunts never go well for, uh, those who practice witchcraft. It’s good to know you’ll put a stop to them.”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle turned in surprise.
“Error: unknown participant in conversation!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle.
“What are you doing here, Pinkie?” asked Applebloom.
“Oh, well, Twist and her family helps me get all the illegal ingredients I need for my baking all the time! In exchange for some favors, of course,” said Pinkie. “But seriously, it was this kind of situation that lead to my parents’ tragic demise that only left me sad, alone, and forced to turn to the powers of evil to keep some shred of hope in my life!”
“Does that mean you’ll help us?” asked Applebloom.
“Sure!” said Pinkie Pie.
“Fantastic. Although not as useful as a unicorn or pegasus, Pinkie Pie should be able to aid us in our cause,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Let’s get Scootaloo in here and protected, and then we’ll get to work!” said Twist.

—

Days are normal 72, Nights are normal 48. Don’t talk about the game outside the game, no screenshots of “secret” information (if you have to ask if it counts as secret, just don’t do it), please put all your votes in bold text, and put nothing else in bold (in other words, if you bold anyone’s name, that is a vote, as far as the game’s concerned) and remember: Friendship is Witchcraft, and should be avoided at all costs.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are the powered citizens. Team W.A.I.F.U. are the mafia, and get a nightchat and nightkill as per usual. The town wins if they kill all of Team W.A.I.F.U. Team W.A.I.F.U. wins if they kill all of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or get a voting majority in town.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders

Sweetie Belle

A normal, sentient lifeform just like any other pony, Sweetie Belle has a robotic signal jammer built into her back. While Sweetie Belle is alive, it will take Two Nights of Scanning for Team W.A.I.F.U. to determine someone’s affiliation.

Applebloom

With presidential aspirations, Applebloom can be any Apple-related thing she wants to be. Once per night, Applebloom can choose a player. If that player is not one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applebloom will slap a presidential veto on any actions that player may be taking that night. She’ll also learn if the player she targeted is a Cutie Mark Crusader. How else would she know to stop her veto before it goes through?

Scootaloo

Considered a robot by her friends, Scootaloo fills the important role of being the pegasus so that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are racially diverse. She also has a scooter. That’s cool, right? If Scootaloo is killed in any way, after a day of rest she will return to play, alive and ready to prove how diverse this group is.

Twist

With ties to organized crime, Twist has ways of making a pony talk. They very often involve peppermint sticks to sensitive areas. Once per night, she may pick a player to brutally interrogate that night. When the morning comes, she’ll be told the affiliation of who she interrogated, and that player will have been so badly beaten, they won’t remember the experience.

Pinkie Pie

Using her teleportal powered by Gypsy Magic, Pinkie Pie can avert disaster. During the night, Pinkie Pie may choose a player. If that player would die via night kill that night, or lynch the next day, Pinkie Pie will bake the fourth wall and stop it from happening. However, if she is successful, she’ll have to regather ingredients for the next two nights.

Team W.A.I.F.U.

Twilight Sparkle

Blessed with the magical power to levitate objects, read books, control lightning, and write fanfics, Twilight Sparkle is clearly the most faithful student. However, all of these silly ponies and robots are really threatening to mess up her Mafia is Witchcraft fanfic, which just won’t do at all! Once per night, Twilight may send a message to the GM with a player and a command that can be expressed in 5 words or less. The chosen player will be informed of the command, and must follow it, or they’ll end up like Twilight’s friends back in Canterlot. The player does not have to follow the spirit of the command, just the exact wording. The chosen player cannot say, admit, or suggest that they’ve been compelled by Twilight to do something until the next game day. This power requires co-operation by everyone in the game. Come on! It’ll be fun. Play along, okay?

Rainbow Dash

Rule text? That is so un-Rainbow. Dashing like a Rainbow, Rainbow Dash can dash a message to the GM during the night, in a totally rainbow maneuver. The player mentioned in the message will be totally rainbowed in a dash, and be so overwhelmed with how shallow a character Rainbow Dash is that they will be dumbfounded, unable to speak, other than to vote, for the next game day.

Fluttershy

Cult Leader Fluttershy knows the machinations of the great Lord Smooze, and can thus predict the next Smooze-related eclipse. Once per game, Fluttershy can proclaim the next great eclipse is coming the next game day. That game day will then be shortened by 24 hours, due to the darkness of the eclipse.

Rarity

Part-time Fashion Designer and full-time Cultist, Rarity knows the value of a Giant Hat. She also has a wide collection of magical contact lenses and has taken a copious amount of acting classes. Once per night, Rarity may pick a player, an affiliation, and an identity. Taking on the role of that pony, Rarity will then put on a one-pony show to create fake proof of that player being of that affiliation and that identity for all investigations that night and lynches the next day. However, her overacting is way too over the top to work for herself: other ponies see right through it. She’s always that way.

Applejack

Solider and Apple Farmer, Applejack remembers a few techniques from her time in the war. Equipped with wartime Turing Test and Soul Detection machines, Applejack can determine a player’s affiliation. Once per night, she can pick a player to scan. When the next day starts, she’ll know that player’s affiliation via her invasive, against-Geneva-conventions investigation. The trauma will be so great, the player will block it from their memory, and be unable to tell they’ve been scanned. However, Applejack’s equipment goes haywire in the presence of signal jammers. If Sweetie Belle is still alive, the first night Applejack scans somepony, the results will be inconclusive, and she’ll have to perform a second scan on that player in order to find out the truth.

Because you are an avid reader (??) of my blog, you’ve probably been noticing that my blog posts have been going up later than they used to. I mean, you still get one incredibly stupid blog post a day, but it’s not up at like 1 AM! Crazy. How can this be?

This is due to Project Since I Wake Up Early Now I Should Sleep Like A Sane Person.

When Aesa visited, he was flipping to a day schedule from a sort of heavily nocturnal one. He made the transition to my schedule without much problem, but it also made him tired pretty early in the evening. We turned in at quasi-decent hours every night he was here. It wasn’t until after he left that I realized something.
I felt so much better having gone to sleep early than I normally did.
Thus, I decided I should probably continue that. I don’t hate my body anymore, and life is pretty great. No reason to feel like shit every day, especially without caffeine to power me through as I used to have. I kept going to bed at around like 8:30 or 9 when I could. My body instantly jumped onto this routine in an “Oh thank god” kind of reaction, and started making me feel real drowsy at that time as a cue. I also started going straight to bed after work instead of getting on the computer for an hour. Once again, my body thankfully obliged to make that a viable strategy.

The only way this whole Project Sleep Some More So Days Go Better would work, though, is if I was willing not to write a blog every night, but let it transfer over to early the next morning. So often, why I stayed up so late after work was because I still had a blog I needed to bang out, and that would get me all woken back up, you know? By letting go of that pressure, still making myself do a blog a day but not requiring it to update right when the day flipped over, I was able to get to bed faster, and get some sleep. I thought that would bother me, but it didn’t end up bothering me near as much as I thought it would. Writing a blog just transferred to a “just got out of bed” routine, which was a nice thing. I’m down with that.

Anyway, if things are late on here, that’s why. I don’t think that’s going to upset anyone too much? I mean, I’ll try to write things ahead of time when I can. Like this one! But overall, I am getting old or something, and I really have started seeing the value of actually getting enough rest. I think I’m going to keep up with it.