Of victories, lessons, and Friendship Games... · 1:02am Jan 18th, 2023
So... as a disclaimer, the opinion I'm about to give on this matter may be of the unpopular sort from both ends of the spectrum. I admit I don't know enough to be sure of whether it will be one way or the other, but I felt I should issue this warning.
Mind you, though: as always, all I'm about to say is just my opinion.
On what exactly I'm talking about... I've been wondering about the matter of the Friendship Games while developing my AU, and while I haven't yet come to a final decision, I know that odds are I won't take the path that the movie did on one matter. More specifically, the matter of the ending.
I will admit, when I first watched the movie, I didn't have an issue with the 'everybody wins ending'. Even today, it's far from something that makes the movie unwatchable for me, or even something that really takes a significant portion of its worth away. That said... after watching Silver Quill's video on it, and reading some of the comments, it seems that there is a relatively big amount of disagreement with it... and well... while I can't say I am in full agreement, I can say I see where they're coming from.
That said... I also don't think that simply going on with the games as if nothing had happened should have been the way to go. I think doing so would really have shown that no one learned anything, which is why I also don't think it's an ideal path to take, especially after it was competitiveness to the point of tunnel-vision that brought about many (though not all) of the messes that ensued. Perhaps giving everyone participation medals cheapens the value of real ones too much, but I also think that acting like none of the various ordeals at the Games happened (such as the very obvious bullying and hazing of Sci-Twi by everyone or fully seeing how rotten Cinch turned out to be) sends the wrong message as well.
Though on this front, I will admit that the Friendship Games as a whole come across as quite the sham. Not only do the competitors seem very unequal (Canterlot High seems to be a public school while Crystal Prep is a private one), but Crystal Prep is far from sporting about it by rubbing it in with pranks that may actually push the envelope into actual crime, and even if they don't (I admit I don't know enough about law to be sure) they are very mean-spirited at best. With friends like that, Canterlot High doesn't need enemies.
Where will I ultimately go when I get to that part in my AU? Honestly... I'm still working it out. I did already think of a potential third option, but I don't really like it either, so I'll put it aside for now and see if I can think of a fourth one.
As I said, though, all of this is just my opinion.
Thank you to all who took the time to read. :) I hope all is well with all of you.
Best regards, and take care. :)
It seems that you and I are both thinking ahead on this.
The "everyone's a winner" thing rubbed me the wrong way too, especially after Silver Quill's review. And I personally have some very firm plans about how the Friendship Games will go down in my storyline, ones that I'm already building towards. Suffice it to say, Abacus Cinch and the students of Crystal Prep aren't going to come out of it smelling like roses. Especially Cinch.
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Well... I'll admit the "everyone's a winner" thing wasn't the worst thing (even as is, it's an aspect of the real movie I can live with), but it did start to bother me enough that I'll go for something else when I get to my version. I'm admittedly more bothered by the fact so many people who never saw magic roll with it so easily, by the fact that even the players in the games just keep blindly going along even as actual danger starts to occur, and by the fact that none of the authority figures seems to take any issue with the danger that the kids under their responsibility are getting in (it's understandable for Cinch, but Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna and Dean Cadence are supposed to be good, reasonable people).
As for the students of Crystal Prep and Cinch... well... regarding the former, I admit I cut them a bit of slack because they're still teenagers and they did do the right thing eventually... but I also plead guilty to perhaps being softer than I should, which in itself may be why I don't like much the third option I mentioned (as it is, it makes me think that maybe I'm being a touch too hard on the Crystal Prep students).
As for Cinch... well... not meaning to dismiss what she did, what she puts the Crystal Prep students and Sci-Twi through is actually among the least bad things I plan to have her do, but all the same, she definitely won't be coming out of it smelling like roses in my AU either.
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Oh, I had thoughts regarding the reaction (or nonreaction) to magic as well. And trust me, all the crazy stuff there will be accounted for with my stuff. I just hope that I'm lucky enough to get that far.
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I get what you mean.
And also, my apologies for the wording I used. Looking back on it, I realize it made me sound like I thought you weren't taking those into consideration. I promise that wasn't the case - I was only trying to convey what I thought were the most serious issues in my opinion, so to speak.
And well... on being lucky... meaning this only as an expression of sympathy, I feel you, as I hope I'm lucky enough to get where I want to get for my own AU as well. Hopefully, both of us will be.
Don't worry about it. And fingers crossed tightly for the both of us.