Ramble #1 (of Many): Guaranteed Failure

So it turns out I've never actually used the blog feature before! Huh. My blog posts list is all shiny and unused, but it's time to break that mint condition and actually write something.

So hi! I'm Wanderling. I'm female, from the UK, early twenties and an absolute Twijack devotee. (That's how you introduce yourself even after being on the site for four years, right?)

So I have a couple of ongoing stories (I promise I'm working on them!) but my muse/inspiration is whacking me around the head with other things and I haven't yet reached the point at which I can stuff it into a barrel and write without them yet. DIWtLF's second chapter is sitting pretty at just under 2000 words but refuses to climb any higher, and the next Asiren update is pretty much just a skeleton of bare ideas with no flesh to join the parts together at present. We're not here to talk about them.

So in an effort to break the block, I've decided to try and write about, well, anything. Anything pony, more specifically. There are always a lot of things I think about the episodes after I watch them, but I never seem to actually write them down, or discuss them with anyone. I'm not about to go and rehash any early episodes (unless people start clamoring but I seriously doubt that). Also my attention span is the size of a gnat so I don't really remember some of these things and would have to go on a rewatching spree (aka destination procrastination). There are non-episode things too but we'll save them for another day. Or maybe later this afternoon, depends on how fast I can type.

All of my paragraphs so far have begun with 'so'. Astounding. Anyway let's start with the subject of today's Ramble:

Zephyr Breeze and Failure vs Hitting on Rainbow Dash

(Wait, should I put a break here? I'm gonna put a break here.)

I got the impression that a few people didn't particularly like Fluttershy's new baby brother. He was brash, self-important and lazy. He guilt-tripped his family into providing for him, abandons his projects after only weeks, and foists his work off onto others whenever possible. He also hits on a clearly uninterested Rainbow Dash, repeatedly. He seems like the total opposite to Fluttershy - who is shy, awkward around strangers, even timid.

So what's his damage?

I think that an interesting thing to note, is that Zeph is not, in fact, the opposite of Fluttershy. In fact, I'd say they both have the same problem - crippling anxiety. It just manifests in different ways, and Fluttershy has had the support of a fairly large group of close friends who are always encouraging her to move forwards, however slowly.

Zephyr, on the other hand, does not seem to have the same support structure. Sure, he has his parents, but they certainly don't seem to be the kind of ponies who say 'hey, you have a problem and you need help to work through it'.

Zephyr runs from his problems in much the same way as Fluttershy did before some of her character development, but has nothing pushing at him to stop him from running too far. In the episode, we literally see this happen in the song.
He seems to be hiding behind a thin veneer of bold self-assurance - a mask that cracks easily when the thought of failure occurs to him. Watch him whenever the jobs are mentioned. His expression drops, he begins to sweat, and he looks panicky almost to the point of bolting. Then he gets others to do the job for him - even a cat! This is classic avoidance.

He doesn't seem too upset about Rarity and Twilight kicking him out (okay he was a tad bit afraid of Twilight but more in the 'please don't smite me' kind of way), but he is upset when his parents and then Fluttershy say he has to move out. This manifests and guilt-tripping and indignation - remember not all signs of anxiety are 'cute' like Fluttershy's. Also remember how angry she got when she was rejected by those animals at the Gala. A way with the critters might not be genetic, but a predisposition towards fear of others' judgements, a fear of humiliation and disproportionally dramatic responses to it clearly do.

So why would a pony who is so afraid of failure that he damages his relationships with his own family pick Rainbow Dash of all ponies to flirt with? Well, she's a childhood friend of his older sister, so he knows her. He's not actually a stupid pony, surely he should have clued in by now that she certainly doesn't like him in that way? Ever?

He probably does know.

That's why he does it. She's a safe response. He knows that she'll never reciprocate his (probable) crush, so, technically her refusal is a success. He can get the specific answer that he's looking for from her, on his own terms. It also means that he doesn't have to entertain the idea of an actual rejection, or scarier yet, a relationship.
A relationship that could fail.

I mean, it's not healthy at all and I think Zeph probably needs a psychiatrist appointment booked to deal with some of the underlying issues there, but it makes sense to me at least. There are a lot of people throwing him under the bus for daring to even go near Rainbow Dash, there aren't as many people considering why he might have done so.

Sure, he could just be the 'creepy younger brother of a friend' stereotype, but by the rest of his character where he goes out of his way to get rejected on his own terms, it makes sense.

Summary of my thoughts:

The writers did a surprisingly good job of showcasing a character with some of the more 'ugly' symptoms of social anxiety, and gave us a character who is actually more than first impressions show or a simple stereotype. There's plenty of potential for Zephyr Breeze as a sympathetic protagonist if he's used right, not just in SoarinDash fics as a cheap source of conflict.

Okay! Has anyone else got anything else to add? Any questions? I realise I am a few weeks late for this and everything that has been said probably has been said already!