A spoiler and a gentleman · 8:54pm Nov 27th, 2012
You've been warned: spoilers lie ahead for the upcoming Trixie episode! Proceed only at your own risk!
So, I wanted to draw a "so bad it's funny" MSPaint cartoon, "How it should have ended"-style, but it turned out that I'm too lazy for that. So, here's the script. I hope you don't mind, all three of you who'll check out this blog post!
Panel #1
Trixie: Take THAT! (transforms RD's wing) You too! (transforms Snips n Snails)
Panel #2
Trixie: Now, Sparkle, you must face me and-
Snails' mother: (off-panel) NOOOOO!
Panel #3
Snails' mother: (in tears) No! Sweetie! What happened to you?! Say something! Please!
Snips n Snails: Help... us...
Snips' mother (runs in sobbing)
Trixie: I, uh, I--
Royal Guards: (off-panel) FREEZE! Ponyville Police!
Panel #4
Royal Guard #1: Drop the necklace! Hooves in the air! Don't move, criminal scum!
Trixie: No, wait, I was only--
Royal Guard #2: She's resisting! Call for backup! Call Shining Armor! The Princesses! The Elements of Harmony! The Moon Cannon!
Panel #5
(An image of Norman Stansfield)
Text: EEEEV-REEE-POOO-NEEE!!!
Panel #6
(An image of Trixie in prison or mining stone, with shackles on her legs and a tiny ball and chain on her horn)
Text: Remember kids, winners don't use weird evil magical necklaces!
Jokes aside, I think this is going to be even more stupid than the Apple family's bet with Flim & Flam, when the brothers had quite literally nothing to lose, while AJ could lose her whole livelihood. I mean, Flim & Flam at least acted completely legally. I'm pretty sure there's a law somewhere in Equestria which prohibits the rampart creation of abominations and body horrors out of your fellow citizens.
I can see why Twilight wants to drive away Trixie, but after she gets defeated what in Equestria stops her, or one of her friends, from alerting the actual authorities? Okay, the episode's still waiting for release, so it's actually possible that there's an intelligent answer to this question, but I have a nagging feeling that the idiot ball will get passed around.
But even if the episode will be perfect, I don't really like Trixie, so I'll probably still whine about it. Isn't life beautiful?
Dude, the chapter was awesome. It was, like, The Empire Strikes Back but with ponies. Zecora is Yoda, and I'm completely OK with that.
By the way, you're reaaaally into Tvtropes, huh? Did you know there's a recap for every single episode of pony? And for every character, and so on...
BTW, your pony creator avatar transformed into Sweetie Belle. You should go to the avatar hospital.
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Okay, I watched the episode, and I admit, it was way better than I expected. Though Spike could've still written to the Princess without Twilight, the episode went to great lengths to explain that, while she didn't really want to duel with Trixie, this was her only option. All in all, my willing suspense of disbelief didn't get raped.
I daresay this would be actually my favorite episode from S3 yet, if not for the ending scene. Why the hell was it necessary for Trixie to help Twilight and apologize? It goes totally against her S1 character. Is the Alicorn Amulet a cheap excuse for her jerkass behavior, and did she have a good heart all along, thus justifying the N+1 disgusting fanfic I read about this? Are they trying to make her a Jerk with a Heart of Gold Woobie? Well, they're the writers, they have every right to do so, though I can't help but feel that they're only doing it to satisfy the numberless Trixie fans. But still, as I said, I enjoyed the episode way more than I thought I would.
And yes, I did know there was a recap for every episode! I actually found MLP:FiM through TVTropes.
My avatar didn't wear its lead apron when One Bad Apple was aired. Thus, the universe-altering radiaton of Sweetie Belle sipping milkshake turned it into a superhero or something.
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And now that I've finished the new chapter I can answer you, thus continuing the conversation! Man, I'm a genius
And about what you say... well, not gonna lie: even though the first time I saw the episode I liked the "Trixie says sorry" stuff, I also think that it was a little forced. She was a jerk even before getting the Amulet, so why the heck did she need that scene? Sure, a "sorry, I didn't want to be SUCH a jerk" would have been ok, but the "apologetic Trixie" was meh
If I had written that episode the ending would have been different. They satisfied the Trixie fans? Sure. But meh.
On a completely unrelated note, I found hilarious that everybody seems to love or hate Trixie. Why? Sure, I like the character, but that's just because I'm a shipper and my mind is not very sharp when judging characters I can ship... She's not such a great character after all.
And avout the Jerk with a heart of Gold... I like more the jerk with a heart of jerk. It's way funnier.
And hey, I'm the only one who thinks that Applebloom is waaaay cuter than Sweetie Belle? In that scene too. Sure, she doesn't drink the milkshake, but COME ON, SHE'S AS CUTE AS A PUPPY MADE OF WAFFLES. A WAFLLE PUPPY.
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Well, I don't know why others hate her, but I personally grew to detest Trixie because of the fanbase. I read one too many fanfictions in which she wasn't a jerk with a heart of a jerk (as you said), but a tragic misunderstood heroine, fragile and insecure under the guise of a braggart, who just wanted a little attention, but the evil Twilight drove her out of Ponyville. Don't you just hate it when you're reading a perfectly fine Dragon Age crossover (or what have you), and suddenly Trixie's sacrificing herself for the greater good and her magic prevails where Twilight fails? It was there where I drew the line. And don't even get me started on Twixie shippings! That pair doesn't make any sense!
And the episode basically canonized everything the fandom wrote about Trixie, down to the part where she was forced into a life of poverty and ridicule after Twilight "humiliated" her. I liked the episode, as I said, but for the love of Celestia, stop pandering to the base!
Applebloom is just an annoying lil' redneck. She's got nothin' on Sweetie Belle! Even Sweetie Belle's sister is better than Apple Bloom's!
Oh, and...
Rule number two!
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i.qkme.me/35m2pn.jpg
About the tragic-heroine thing: so much YES. I'm a stupid fanboy and I know it, but even I want the characters to be in character. Of course, there are some exceptions, and sometimes the author can re-write a character in a more positive light -take "Of mares and magic", for example. Now THAT'S a good Trixie fic. But most of the time? Trixie just HAPPENS to be kind and fluffy and good and stuff because fuck you, it's my fic. That doesn't mean that I won't read the fanfic, it's just that I'll read it and think "meh".
The Twixie part... No, that pairing doesn't make any sense. But back again, which pairing does? Cherilee/Big Mac is the closest thing we have to a canon pairing, and FlutterMac is ten times more popular. IMO, Twixie is just an excuse to find somebody we can ship Twilight with and end with funny/interesting moments. Trixie is commonly portrayed as a jerk, egomaniac and proud unicorn who loves magic. And Twilight is a more talented and humble unicorn. There can be chemistry... if you're good with it.
I would kindly write a Twixie story, but let's be honest: it would be crap. The closest thing I can write is the Appledash in TSFS, and it's so messed up that it's everything BUT romantic. So meh. I'm no good at shipping.
About Apple Bloom being a lil' red neck... well, you let me no other option. At dawn, in front of your house. I'll bring the guns. I demand a requital for those words -your blood.
And about Rarity being better than AJ... Pfft, not gonna lie, that's true. BUT APPLE BLOOM IS THE BEST CMC.
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It's funny how we agree that there're hardly any pairings which make sense, yet you still remain a shipper! The closest thing we have to a canon pairing is Shining Armor x Cadance, or Cranky Donkey (or whatever his name was) x Matilda (and Mr. x Mrs. Cake, ofc.) But the others? There're absolutely no traces of romance between the Mane Six or anypony else.
What's more, having two or more members of the six protagonists would unbalance their friendship. I mean, romantic love and friendship is definitely not the same (I'm sure you read the article about the four loves on TVTropes
) and it would change the relationships not only between the two lovers, but between the lovers and the rest of the Mane Six. Just imagine that two of your very best friends suddenly fall in love with each other - it wouldn't be the same anymore for the three of you, you have to agree.
So, a duel it is, then! I am willing to defend Sweetie Belle's honor as the best CMC! Apple Bloom is too... vanilla. And she has an annoying accent. "BUT I WANT IT NAO!"
You know you're talking with a good person when you're talking about love and he talks about an article on TvTropes. Kudos to you.
And I'm a shipper because, honestly, I'm a shipper. There's just no good reason. I've been shipping all my life, in all the fandoms. It's like an old habit that I don't want to lose.
Because, yeah, it doesn't make any sense... but you need to think about the ships in a "what if" way. It's something that's never gonna happen in the show, so you don't need to think about it too much...
And of course, mind you -I'm a fan of good shipping. A lot of fanfics out there rely only in the "I'm writing about a character you already know" card to show any kind of quality. If you can succesfully eliminate everything that relates a ship-fic from a tv show and it's still a good romance story, then you have in your hands a good ship fic. But sadly, most of the time is just "oh, I've been loving you all my life" "what a surprise, I've been doing the same" "let's make out" "okay" and everything goes downhill from there.
But, you know, sometimes you look at two characters and think something like "they sorta make a good couple". And that's it. When I was a five-year-old I shipped protagonist with protagonist just for the sake of it: there is a girl and there is a boy? Then HOLY HELL GET MARRIED NAO! You can say I'm a very romantic guy, I guess. With time, you find that it's the personality what's important. InuYasha is a brat, Kagome is a tsundere. Pffft, their conversations can be funny. Okay, let's ship them. Easy-peasy. Hey, it looks like HInata loves Naruto, and she's a character I like. He's just an idiot, but they are sorta cute together. SHIPPED! Xiaolang, dude, Sakura and you are like soulmates. Get together already. AND DON'T LET ME START ON SCULLY AND MULDER.
See? Of course I know Twixie won't happen, and hell, the show would go down the toilet if that was the case. But the interaction, the romance, the plot... It can be pretty powerful. Love is a very useful plot device, I should say. In doubt, make a character love another, and BAM GOOD QUALITY DRAMA FOR YOU.
As for the relationship between the lovers and their friends (if the two mares shipped are from the mane 6), that would be a good point, I guess. But you know, maybe something like that can make the fic even better -or maybe the author shrugs and thinks "what the hell, they sure don't care". After all, they're six friends -if two of them become a couple the situation is different than in a three friends case.
So... shipping is just something that can be good IMO or very bad. And where's the fun in making sense after all?
Also, for some reason, I find the Cadance x Shining Armor fics a little meh. They are too perfect as a couple, at least in fanon. There's no drama, goddamnit! I'm sure they argue sometimes, I can't believe they love each other SO MUCH that everything they do is just FUCKING AMAZING FOR THE OTHER! 'm a shipper, but without drama, I sure hate lovebirds.
...
Well, except Allegrezza. That fic is just two ponies being hapy and nothing happens. NOTHING. No drama, no arguing. Nothing but "I wb you" "I wub you too". No idea why the hell I love that, because I'm pretty sure I shouldn't. It's a very good fic and a very bad fic at the same time.
Also, come on, I'm sure there's some ship fic out there you like. Have you read Yours Truly, for example?
Also BRING IT ON, APPLE BLOOM'S HONOR WILL BE RESTORED WHEN YOUR BRAINS MEET THE FLOOR!
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Have you... have you tried not being a shipper?
Hmm, you described pretty perfectly what I hate about most shipfic. Maybe you're not so bad after all? No, wait, you like Twixie ships. You're still a public enemy.
I admit that shipping conflicting personalities could be interesting, but it's kinda jarring when people ship them together just to see what would come up, even if it's written well. Why the hay are the author shipping 'em? There is nothing in the show that would imply romance between these two characters!
On the other hand, I guess this is what fanfiction is for: exploring possibilites that would never come up in canon. I guess I should just live and let shippers live, even if they ship Trixie with... Twi... li... Aaarh, I can't even write it down!
But I assure you, you'll never see me downvoting a well-written shipping fic just because I didn't like the pairing. I may refuse to read it, but I won't badmouth it. No, I didn't read Yours Truly - the only shipfic I remember reading was Let's find you a date (and Fixing up Miss Smartypants, but I found the shipping awkward in the latter and only read it for the comedy). And there was something about shipping Chrysalis with an OC, but I can't remember the title.
I'm not saying I love Shining Armor x Cadance, only that it's canon. Other pairings can be more interesting, but baseless.
So, I guess shipfics could be totally interesting (provided there's an interesting plot BESIDES "I wub you"), and even though they aren't for me, I respect your opinions. EXCEPT FOR PLACING APPLE BLOOM BEFORE SWEETIE BELLE! Can't you see my avatar? Now that's cuteness! Not that over-sugared tastes-like-diabetes thing Apple Bloom did (I'm talking about this face:
)
P.S.: I also totally shipped InuYasha with Kagome, but haven't watched the other shows you mentioned. Though InuYasha falling for Kagome (and vice versa) seemed pretty straightforward, not like, I dunno, any MLP shipping...