@Starlight Storm  
“Now if Katie remembered how to correctly write Rarity instead of, in the words of a certain brony artist, “portrait her as if she was almost a whore””
 
I’m actually okay with Rarity being unsuccessful in love and thus end up flirting or chasing any eligible stallion she meets. I imagine with Equestria being a matriarchy, with mares seemingly outnumbering stallions, that any stallion would have the luxury of being more selective than the mares, so if you’re a mare looking for a stallion, you’ve really got to work at it.

@LuminoZero  
“Her issue isn’t always characterization, her big issue is balancing characterization, story and humor.”
 
I thought everything about “Reflections” was great until she had to resolve the conflict, and that’s when the story fell apart. I was thoroughly enjoying the comic until I got to the last showdown.
 
Her biggest issue seems to be plot. Even if the comic introduced the balance mechanic earlier in the story, if they changed nothing else about that ending, it would still leave so many things unanswered. The situation in mirror Equestria hasn’t improved, just that it no longer affects regular Equestria; Sombra’s taken a double dose of the evil, so now he’s super evil, so he’s probably not going to be ruling anymore, so who is? Celestia and Luna, who were the cause of the country going to shit? Would anyone actually let them rule and give them legitimacy? And without access to the EoH, how are they going to deal with Sombra in any way that doesn’t entail his imprisonment or death? Shit’s actually gotten worse in that place, but the comic makes it seem like everything’s fine and dandy now that we have Celestia and Luna back on the throne.
 
“The Forest arc started out pretty ass terrible, but the conclusion was actually decent. At the very least, none of the Mane 6 (sans Rarity, sigh) were horribly OOC.”
 
This comic is worse than “Reflections”. Not only is it’s ending bad (Aspen gets away scotch free, with Celestia even APOLOGIZING to him), it’s strewn with HUGE plot holes and improbabilities, as well scenes and events that are made completely unnecessary by later scenes. And it’s got some of the worst OoC moments out of any arc, show or otherwise, as in the entire comic was one gigantic OoC moment where the Mane 6, especially Twilight, held idiot balls that prevented from seeing the simple solution to fixing the entire mess, i.e. royal decreeing WTD’s ass and threatening legal action against his company for breaking a shit ton of laws.

@LuminoZero  
Amen to that.  
I’m so glad the second part of this arc gave a satisfactory conclusion instead of another half-arsed ending like “The Good, The Bad, And The Ponies”. And the fact this comic made me laugh and smile a little more than I groaned and facepalmed was really an improvement.  
Although I admit the Mane 6 felt kinda useless, sans Rarity and only slightly Rainbow Dash, they actually gave them a good personality and not a “mind over manners” attitude like Last arc. Now if Katie remembered how to correctly write Rarity instead of, in the words of a certain brony artist, “portrait her as if she was almost a whore”

@ichingdivine
 
Her issue isn’t always characterization, her big issue is balancing characterization, story and humor. It’s like watching someone who just started learning how to juggle work with three balls. They are going to drop one every time, usually two.
 
Now, credit where credit is due. The Forest arc started out pretty ass terrible, but the conclusion was actually decent. At the very least, none of the Mane 6 (sans Rarity, sigh) were horribly OOC. She is, slowly, improving in her ability to do adventure. The Mane 6 didn’t do anything horrendously OOC to resolve the plot, they actually took the intelligent solution.
 
So I still don’t think she’s GOOD at adventure stories, but she is improving.
 
-Lumino

@LuminoZero  
“She also wrote “Reflections””
 
The characterization in that comic was fine. The issue was the pacing in the last act where they threw in that “restoring balance” mechanic right before they used it to resolve the conflict, making it feel way too deus ex machina-ey.
 
All the characters accounted themselves well, except for the fact that the Mane 6 decided to use the EoH to imprison, instead of reform the evil sisters, and they didn’t decide to switch tactics when that clearly wouldn’t work/Sombra jumped the gun too early with sacrificing himself.

@raw19  

 
Rarity: I love Pina Coladas!  
Spike: Not now, Rarity.
 
~
 
Rarity: I love Anal Sex!  
Spike: Not now, Rarity.
 
~
 
Rarity: I Like to scramble the fairies!  
Spike: Not now, Rarity.

@Vergil Senpai  
On imdb her episodes average out the highest I believe. Pinkie is her only competition after a mediocre Rarity season and great Pinkie season in S4.

“This place has shoes! I love shoes! Oh my god. shopping shopping shopping!” -a woman. (Bonus waifus for anyone who gets the reference)
 
A character like rarity is often flanderized in episodes where she isnt the focus because of ignorance.  
Still she has never had a bad rarity episode. (Suited for success, sweet and elite, rarity takes manehatten, sisterhooves social) and is still best pony. Come at me bro…nies! You can sing sonic rainboom’s praises all you want but mysterious mare do well makes your opinion automatically invalid.

Noooooo. Reaaaally? I suppose water is wet too.

@Background Pony #0C35
 
She’s also the writer for the Rarity and Luna micros (which were widely viewed as the two best) and the Big Mac arc, which is probably one of the FUNNIEST comedy stories in the comic series, period.
 
The gal has talent, she’s just trying to use one tool for every situation. It doesn’t work well.
 
-Lumino

@DJDerpy2013  
So glad I could help you understand
 
I too wish she would stick with silly lite hearted stories cause that’s what she is best at  
The last time was the Friends Forever with Rarity and Applejack and that was pretty good not great but still good  
They even did some questionable things like steal a plane but because the story wasn’t presented as a serious one I didn’t mind or get bent out of shape about it I just took it as the comedy it’s supposed to be

@Background Pony #0C35
 
I see now and yes that is pretty messed up.
 
Not sure if it’s worth flipping every table over, but it is understandable.

@Background Pony #0C35  
OK,that’s a better explanation than just showing a single panel.Showing an out of context panel and saying its awful is one thing.Having it clash with the mood of the story at the moment is another.
 
If the panels before hand were less serious and more humorous,I could understand this.Having this panel after several panels of serious drama is jarring.I get comic relief is a thing to lighten the mood,but this panel is not one to do so.
 
I understand why you and others are mad,but on its own the panel really comes off as a throwaway joke.Seeing this panel without any sort of context confused me as to why people were getting in such a tizzy over it.But now I understand.
 
I still enjoy Cook’s writing,but I do agree that she’s not the best at more dramatic arcs(then again,I don’t feel most of the writers,show or comic,do a good job on stories more dramatic and serious.But that’s another issue entirely off topic).I think she should just stick to more goofy light hearted slice of life stories.

@LuminoZero  
Who are you?

@Background Pony #0C35
 

 
-Lumino

@DJDerpy2013  
I agree that people can go to extremes with their complaints which is unfortunate as it ruins what are legitimate criticisms
 
As to why this image is so upsetting to everyone to me it represents the core complant that people have with Cook’s present day writing
 
Let us take a look at the context  
On the first page preview we see what is happening to Equestria the Princesses trapped in a Cantorlot that’s tied up in vines  
We see Ponyville being to be torn apart ponies homes ruined it’s as if the writer’s trying to build tension  
Even at the bottom of the page the little deer boy drops of his magic water while looking at his homeland being torn up by construction as if to symbolize tears just to show how serious the situation is  
It’s all actually done very well
 
Then we move to the next page where Rainbow Dash says maybe should just give up and rebuild Ponyville somewhere else(which is pretty OOC for her to backdown) then AJ says they can’t because Well-To-Do will just keep tearing the forest down to build a bunch of shops which leads to this image  
Rarity with a goofy exasperation on her face exclaims that line  
Rarity the embodiment of generosity-I.E. compassion caring for others- says the most stupidly clichly girly thing ever at the most inappropriate of times  
Rarity who is supposed to care what happens to others is portrayed as a vapid airhead just for a dumb background gag not only ruining her character but all the tension built up on the first page
 
This is why people get so mad with Katie Cook  
It’s the inconsistent feel of storytelling and the detriment to characterization for the sake of a joke  
I know this is suppose to a comic for kids and that even serious stories needs humor but this is not how you go about doing it
 
You can brush it off if you want that is your right but my mind is made up  
This is just plain bad writing right here

@Background Pony #0C35  
I’m not trying to diss all of the comics detractors.I know it has its flaws,but I feel like some people are making a bigger deal than it really is.I mean,I won’t lie.Their have been some shitty issues in the past.But this comic hasn’t gotten a rise out of me as much as others.I’ve been more angry at the show then the comics.
 
I do get that some people are doing it because they want to see improvement.But with the way some people act its hard to actually take their criticism seriously.
 
I know that their are still people who buy the comics.But I also know some people will find away to read it for free or boycott the comics(usually cause of Ted drama or Price/cook).
 
Really,I don’t think that the comic would be under so much flack if it wasn’t for the fact that people praised it to the high heavens back when it first came out despite having some glaring problems back then.If it wasn’t for all the hype for the comic in its early days maybe people would be less offended at it currently.
 
My problem with people getting in such a tizzy over this is that all it is is just a little throwaway gag.Nothing more,nothing less.The show has had its fair share of stupid little throwaway gags in the past.Saying “This was painful to read.“comes off as being overdramatic.Now,if Rarity was more focused on shopping in the issue than helping the forest,that’s a bigger problem.A little gag like this isn’t something to get so worked up over.

@DJDerpy2013  
You make it sound like that’s a hard thing to do like people are going to great lengths to find problems when all they have to do is go through the first couple of pages to find something(s) wrong with how these characters people care about are being portrayed
 
As for me I’m still buying theses comics legit and when I criticize them I don’t do it out of hate I do because I care because these comics were really good and would really like them to be again and I’m sure it’s the same for others you so quickly dismiss

@DJDerpy2013  
I used to like the comics, so I’m going to try to explain it the best I can at least for me. The comics in their current state are very similar to how I view something like Naruto, Sonic 06, Prison Break: The video game, so bad they’re good movies, especially the movie Things. You don’t view it for what it’s intended for. You read it to either laugh at how bad it is or get someone else to read it and laugh at their reactions. Their is also the view of not as a form of entertainment at all, but as an object and being able to say, “Well, someone actually made this.”
 
Do I want the comics to get better, for the love of god yes. But right now, I might as well be entertained for how bad they are.

@Beau Skunky  
Eeyup.
 
At this point,it really seems like people are looking for shit to be mad about with the comics.I get that people are dissatisfied with the comics in their current state,but the people talk about them make them out to be the worst possible thing in the series or even the franchise of MLP itself.
 
 
I won’t say that the comics are perfect as they have their fare share of problems,but I feel their detractors are overreacting more than half the time.
 
At this point I really got ask,why do they continue to read the comics if it pisses them off so much?I get that they probably aren’t buying the comics and reading them off of downloads to not support the official release,but still,why read these comics still if you know they’re gonna continue to piss you off?

@Beau Skunky  
Oh don’t worry there will be more stuff people will get upset about I’m sure this is just one thing in an increasingly long list of things people are mad about

@Beau Skunky  
Sure, but it’s not really comparable to it in Sweet and Elite.  
And again, there’s the sign thing.

@Background Pony #9060  
I suppose the comical remark is more like something Pinkie Pie would tactlessly say, but of all the things to get upset by, this is a pretty minor thing overall.

@Beau Skunky  
Have you seen the context?

…Seriously, people are that angry over this brief gag? (Even though the show has done similar gags, like in “Sweet & Elite,” and such. “Oh a pony with expensive tastes, I see.”)
 
I like shopping.