This Maybe Old, But This Covers Some Very Relevant Points, Including Some Efforts That Would Come To

This maybe old, but this covers some very relevant points, including some efforts that would come to define the struggles faced. Inside shows all the more reason why it’s important to adapt as needed.

These illustrate the points me & a few others have stated for a while. Both of the above characters (along with Cadence) suffer from what my editor would call the Wally Problem. For those unfamiliar, Wally from the RSE/Hoenn story was kinda neat as a character, but you don’t really hear from him as he’s abandoned for 90% of the games (although he was elaborated upon in ORAS along with the other Gen 3 characters). Shining & Maud are nice, decent, & even likable, but suffer from the above issues.

Interestingly, all 3 ponies are more fleshed out in the comics than in the show, especially in Shining Armour’s case. To sum it up, neither sibling are bad characters, they just didn’t have much done with them in-show (including in EqG), although Maud has made not an insignificant splash in EqG (the shorts, mostly). I personally would’ve liked to find a prequel story showing how & why Shining became captain of the Royal Guard (in literature or otherwise) despite a military draft (even willing to write such myself if needed), but something on Maud’s backstory would be appreciated to flesh her out also.

why do you think there was such a hypocritical split between the fandom's first reactions regarding Shining Armor and Maud Pie's introduction? Like with Shining most claimed he was "sooo forced/out of nowhere" for a brother of Twilight when "she never ONCE mentioned him before"... and yet those same fans *adored* Maud in her debut... even though there was literally NO mention/sign of a third Pie sister before that random photo in "Pinkie Pride"...?

The answer to that question becomes clear once you read your question to yourself out loud. The introduction of a previously unmentioned family member was a problem with Shining, but not with Maud, so this discrepancy most likely means one of two things:

1. Their dislike of Shining has nothing to do with his “sudden” introduction, but they don’t know how to articulate their grievances with his character, so they just cling onto something that’s easy to criticize, even if it doesn’t make any actual sense.

2. They genuinely think the introduction of Shining was sudden and out of nowhere and simply don’t notice or don’t care about the dissonance, or they think that briefly showing Maud in a picture in Pinkie Pride counts as sufficient establishment of her existence even though she was nowhere to be seen in previous depictions of the Pie family.

These are most certainly worth considering for fantasy settings, especially for worldbuilding purposes.

Non-Boring Environments that need Fantasy Representation

Tropical Rainforests

Scrubland/Dry Forests. For extra effect make them the sort that burn very often; some native plants never germinate until after a fire, and some animals not only rely on fire to smoke out prey, but may even start them themselves.

Savannas/Tropical Grasslands

Temperate Rainforests. I almost didn’t include this bc New Zealand is covered in them, and that’s where they filmed Lord of the Rings. But tbh, no one really knows about them, so it belongs here

Taiga Forests

Barren Tundra, perfect for some extreme seasonal dichotomy

Polar Ice Sheets

Desert-Grasslands (arguably the same as Scrubland but Australia’s good at adding its own twists)

Barren Desert

If you like Cacti, look at American Deserts like the Sonoran

Salt Flats

Soda Lakes and Alkaline Lakes

Madagascar’s Karst Limestone Formations

Madagascar’s Spiny Forests

Madagascar’s Baobab Forests

Madagascar’s Subhumid Forests (Madagascar is cool as hell ok)

Danxia Landforms

Badlands/Mountainous Deserts

Steppes and Highland Prairies

Flood Basalts

Newly-Formed Islands, still rife with Volcanic activity

Now for Underwater Environments, sure Coral Reefs are cool.

But there are SO MANY other kinds of environments for aquatic settings, it’s unbelievable:

Seaside Cliffs

Archipelagos. Not just Tropical Island chains like Polynesia (Moana anyone?) but also Coldwater Archipelagos like the Aleutians.

Tidal Flats

Bayous/Cypress Swamps

Tropical River Basins, AKA Seasonally Flooded Rainforests

Mangrove Swamps/Deltas/Beaches

Kelp Forests

The Open Ocean

Coastal Seabeds

Rocky Beaches with Tidepools

And there are a LOT more I could name but this post is already obscenely long as is, if you’d like to toss in your own go right ahead, but my point is if you limit yourself to European Deciduous Forests you’re a wimp.

Being East & Central Asian myself, I feel this would be a very good point to share, especially as the range within my homelands (Mongolia) is quite internally diverse & has quite a few cases of coloured hair & eyes (especially the further west inside you go).

disclaimer: I am east asian. if anyone who is not white sees anything wrong with my phrasing, inaccuracies, or insensitivity, or something I missed, please feel free to add on. I'm just one person with one perspective; none of what I say should be taken as The Singular way to draw an Asian character. if you havent done so already, please take the effort to expand your view of Asian culture outside this one tutorial.

if a white person reblogs this and adds something stupid I'm going to bite and kick you like a wild animal

While chances of this coming up back home aren’t that high outside of UB, I’d be glad if this way was spread more.

Pretty much wherever you go (anywhere in the world, really), there’ll be a chance you’d be using some Native words of the region you’re in, even if the Native group in question happens to be the majority (like is the case in my country). This is true not only in settler communities (like nearly the whole of the Americas plus most of the Commonwealth), but also where places like West & Central Asia (the former being better known to many ‘westerners’ [rather erroneously] as the Middle East) where the ruling group is also a Native group to said lands. It’s not just in English either, but really any national or official tongue is bound to do this to varying extents. There’s more aspects than those (consciously or unconsciously), though. See if y’all can spot some more.

It’s funny when I encounter someone who hates Indigenous ppl, like you do realize you talk Indigenous everyday right?

Kangaroo (Gangurru) | Guugu Yimidhirr

Moose (Mooz/Mus/Môswa) | Algonquian languages 

Coyote (Cóyotl) | Nahuatl

Opossum (Opassum) | Powhatan 

Skunk (Segôgw) | Abenaki

Raccoon (Arahkunem) | Powhatan

Woodchuck (Wuchak) | Eastern Algonquian origin

Caribou (Qalipu) | Mi’kmaq

Chipmunk (Jiidhmoonh) | Odawa

Ocelot (Ocēlōtl) | Nahuatl

Puma | Quechua

Squash (Askútasquash) | Narragansett

Pecan (Pekani/Bagaan) | Alqonquian languages

Chocolate (Xocolātl) | Nahuatl 

Avocado (Ahuacatl) | Nahuatl 

Guacamole (Ahuacamolli) | Nahuatl

Tomato (Tomatl) | Nahuatl 

Quinoa (Kinwa) | Quechua

Barbecue (Barbacòa) | Taíno

Hammock (Hamaca) | Arawakan 

Canoe (Canaoua) | Arawakan

Kayak (Qajaq) | Greenlandic

Hickory (Pocohiquara) | Powhatan

Moccasin (Makizin/Mikusun) | Alqonquian languages

Toboggan (Topaqan) | Mi’kmaq

Shack (Xahcalli) | Nahuatl

Igloo (Iglu) | Inuktitut 

Cocaine (Kuka) | Quechua 

and this doesn’t even scratch the surface when you take into account all the states/provinces/towns/cities/parks etc in Indigenous words.