crazy customizing and creativity questions and discussion

[138 Scourge]

I feel dumber for having re-read that whole mess.

[Gomess]

...Turns out I had a spare minute on an otherwise headachey Saturday morning, and I think this cured me.

Can't help noticing I didn't have a single post in that thread. Must've been during my last Great Absence. Probably a good job too, since I have almost no idea what Synjo was actually arguing. That it's ridiculous that TWO [sic] people would know about a culture's history and none of their peers would? That it's impossible for a ruling class to withhold information from the mass populace? That having one grizzled veteran (and one from the Bad Side, no less) skulking around in the shadows in a new, near-unrecognisable body is a guarantee that the entire planet would recognise him?

I know it's not the popular choice, but I'm probably gonna have to disagree with Synjo, there.

*Cue dramatic Synjo comeback*

Also some excellent trolling from O6 bringing in Beast Machines. Near-poignant MST3K reference by Scourge. And hey, a thread started by o86? Those were the days, eh?

But isn't it interesting how that thread was put forward as an example of how ass-backward and aggressive TF fans can be about personal canon, yet all but one of the posters are on the other side? So nah, I don't think placing more worth on personal canon in TF fandom would cause an outbreak of uncontrollable immaturity. I honestly think it'd be ultimately better than leaving things up to Habsor. Or to put it another way...

You're only adding fuel to my argument.

[Dominic]

I suppose, but they could be thrown out at a second's notice, so there's that.

Only by Hasbro, not by us.

Their priority is making money by throwing out several divergent toylines- and thus storylines- at once. This has been the norm since TF's inception (compare the G1 cartoon to the G1 comic, particularly the latter's amusing letters page assertions that it was telling the "real" story), and I'd put money on it never going away.

There is nothing wrong with this. Nobody expects TFA, Bayformers and "Aligned" to match up. But, Hasbro has gotten more careful about developing their IP over the last decade. They put a tremendous amount of time and effort into that during the Unicron Trilogy.

Plenty of other series get this treatment, naturally, but BM is definitely the most prone to it.

"Generation 2" is getting it now from IDW. (As much as I like G2, I am not going to say "it counts for me". No, it is a splinter story at best now. And, it is unlikely to ever be referenced again.)

I knew there was a black Ironhide in the Encore line, but I guess my point was retroactively naming it nearly 30 years after the original nameless toy was released doesn't count (at least not in my book).

It counts in Takara's book though. And, that is what counts.

(My black Ironhide does not use SG sigils, so I can credibly say that it is just a black E-Hobby Ironhide.)

And none of you are that nuts(?).

Remember my Christmas greeting last year?

...if I could remember exactly what thread that was...

It was posted in early 2010. It started as my thoughts on TM Megatron, which was almost turning me back into a BW fan. Then Synjo came along and reminded me why I grew to hate BW.

his tirade by just calling Sparky an idiot!

If Sparky were brave enough to send me his cell number, I would text him re*butt*als directly. I did that to Scourge once. It was a mistake.

Joking aside, I want to send you all pictures of my butt.

And, Synjo is the post-man-child for what sours me on the fandom (unable to parse reality and fiction, completely egocentric about something that he does not own).

*Cue dramatic Synjo comeback*

If he comes back, I am holding you responsible. I have your email. That is almost as good as a cell phone.


Bottom line: Hasbro owns TF. Not us. They produce the content, the toys or they license others to do it. Fanon for the sake of fanon just makes the fandom more egocentric and balkanized.


Dom
-again, would have preferred a new character for black Ironhide, and was too lazy to paint a blue Ironhide.

[Gomess]

I have your email *and* Synjo's, so I'll just get him to send you pictures of him cosplaying Ravage.

It's odd actually, reading that thread, Synjo wasn't a prick or a fruitcake or anything. His writing style was much more readable than I remember. Shame he only cared about one series.

[Dominic]

Wow, that is a real threat....

Now, rather than make a joke about Synjo, (and I have plenty of them), lets talk about customizing.


Dom
-of course, we know the *real* reason that Synjo liked BW...(and Sonic) so much.....

[BWprowl]

Paydirt.

It starts about there and goes on for…quite a while. I haven’t finished re-reading it myself, but MAN does it go on, thanks in no small part to Synjo’s ability to make the tl-est of dr-worthy posts. Around page 7 it turns into the epic “Dom talks about how he prefers idea-based stories and Synjo can’t discern the difference between ‘idea-based fiction’ and ‘shows with morals’” argument and the Synj really starts to turn on Dom, with multi-level insults and oh-so-cute TVtropes conjecture flying like Molotov cocktails. And plenty of well-utilized ALL CAPS.

Also, Synjo really, REALLY hates Captain Planet. I’m getting the impression Ted Turner ran over his dog when he was a kid or something.

[Dominic]

Like I said, Synjo was (and likely still is) the poster-man-child for what Costa was talking about, and what I have long complained about. (But exactly what have I complained about? Oh so much complaining....)

Dom
-admits that it is completely insane to hate TV Tropes because the furry fucktard uses it, but that is not going to change anything.

[Gomess]

poster-man-child

+1

furry fucktard

-1

In all seriousness, Synjo did allow his furriness to interfere with arguments a little too much. Reminds me of a media lecturer I had who had to remind us all he was gay every other lecture with some offhand "joke". Did we really need to know about every one of his current writing projects? And did all of them have to be thinly-veiled eroticism between zebras and tigers? Or lions or bears. O my.

But overuse of caps lock is the much more evident crime, here.

...So what was this thread about again?

[Dominic]

Thoughts on custom figures, and how to customize without being a self-indulgent twit.

But, furries ruin everything apparently.


Dom
-needs to post a new haul, owing to a sucessful custom last night.

[Shockwave]

Everytime I read that thread (and I think this is the second or third time) I can kind of see what happened there and how things degenerated so quickly. Especially on Synjo's end. Synjo started out innocuosly enough, just stating his reasons why he didn't like BM. I can understand his underlying reasons even if I disagree with him. But.... Dom has a unique approach to fiction that most people don't. And he's not always that great at explaining it. It took me several conversations with him both over internet and via phone to finally get it. Unfortunately, that was never gonna work for Synjo and he wound up fixating on the worst parts of Dom's explainations. The one that particularly started the inflamation was when Dom made a comment about not caring about real people much less fictional characters. On the face of it, and without further explanation (which there was none) that comment actually does sound pretty bad. But, what I know about Dom and Synjo didn't is that what Dom REALLY meant was that he doesn't care about real people celebrities (Entertainers, politicians, etc...). I happen to know that Dom actually is quite sentimental when it comes to family, friends, etc. If he didn't, he wouldn't waste the time to photograph his tuchus to several of us three or four times a year on birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. But, Synjo didn't know that and took the one comment to make all sorts of personal assumptions about Dom and started personally attacking him because of it. And it spilled over into other parts of the argument as well with things about not liking anything without a message or that was preachy or... whatever. The thing is, I also happen to know that Dom actually does enjoy fiction that is escapism for the purpose of escapism. But, when he talks to us about giving points or when he reviews something to recommend to others, he wouldn't give points just for that. Like, he might enjoy the G1 cartoon for the escapism, but he's not going to recommend it as a "good" cartoon. Nor would he review it as such. Unfortunately, this is where Synjo went "petulant man-child" and decided it would be better to lash out at Dom for thinking differently than have the patience to try and understand a perspective he hadn't encountered before. And he took it way way WAY too far. So the whole thing is really just a big misunderstanding, but Synjo wasn't mature enough to cut through it.

Anyway, just my two cents on the whole thing.

Soooo... how bout them customs?

Seriously, Dom, do you have any pics you can post of your recent customs?