The Irony of... Rarity? (Mild Spoilers and a Big Rant) · 7:33am Aug 2nd, 2013
The Irony Of Applejack is a good story, one which I've only finished reading. Yes, I know "X is a Changeling" fics are a dime a dozen, but this one is one of the few that do it well.
That's not what I'm here to talk about.
I understand that Rarity is a hard character to write for. I myself should know, if the fiasco of DIM's third chapter is anything to go by. But that said, it still kinda bugs me when people get it wrong anyway, and one such example is her presentation in Irony. It wasn't even close to some of the worst I've seen, but it was still enough to cause me to write this post, and all the more frustrating because it appeared in a fic that was otherwise so, so good.
Yes, Rarity will always be... Rarity. Earlier on in the story, when she's awoken at midnight by Twilight and told little about the rather extreme circumstances, she is rather irritable, and given what little she knew of the situation at that point, it was only natural.
But then, later on, during a high-stakes pitched battle on Sweet Apple Acres, there was one short line that kinda bugged me; somepony tackled Rarity to the ground to save her from a blast of magic, (if I recall correctly) only for Rarity to complain about being in the mud.
And then in the epilogue, after things have been sorted out, she forces Applejack to the spa, not in a friendly capacity, but as a punishment for all the inconvenience of the last few days.
Because while Rarity will be Rarity, people seem to forget all to easily that she is also Rarity. When the chips are down, she is there, she is helping, and she means it. When the situation is even half as dire as the one they faced in the story, she'll forget all about her pride and appearance for the sake of her friends. And I'm fairly certain she wouldn't seek comeuppance for inconvenience when she knows her friend has had it far worse than she.
So yeah, I just want to remind people to keep that in mind when their story involves a certain purple-maned fashionista.
Well the forced into the mud part sounds a little OOC, but making AJ go to the spa after it's all over isn't nearly so bad, especially since Rarity would likely see it as just as much for AJ's benefit as her own and is manipulative enough to try playing on AJ's nature to get her to go along without complaining about any frufruness. Granted without the full context of the scene I can't say for certain, but that's my take on it based on your description.
1257148 I can definitely see the spa thing happening, but the particulars of how the scene played out seemed Out Of Character. She was doing it more for revenge than to misguidedly try to benefit AJ, and she didn't manipulate so much as physically force her to come.
1257156
Well, Rarity is hardly above getting physical in the event of a "fashion emergency", and is quite capable of just working with subtle manipulation of playing of AJ's guilt so she doesn't resist -- or even just making revenge like statements in jest as part of their Odd Couple pairing.
Again, maybe the author didn't play it that way, but I could certainly see such a scene working and serving as a sort of decompression laugh for the audiance at the end of a more dramatic story.
It's quite annoying when writers turn good characters into 2d brats either a) because they're unwilling to get help with how to write them, b) for the sake of the story or c) just spite against that character. If they're new to writing, that's fine, as long as they try to fix any mistakes made.
1257187 You have a point with the first bit, but it didn't come off as jest.
1257205 Indeed.
1257208
Maybe...
Still, as I see it, any story that is good enough to be worth complaining about, is also good enough to be worth looking for alternate interpretations that make the "bad" scenes less so, if not good.
1257216 I suppose that makes sense.
While I don't subscribe to the "X is best pony" club, I do have to admit that I've developed a certain respect for Rarity. She's a lot more versatile than her detractors give her credit for... This Platinum Crown, Millennium Wake, The Three Sisters, and The Immortal Game are all good examples of stories that bring out some of the best characterization of Rarity. This is the unicorn that bucked a manticore in the face. She's no pushover, although sometimes you might question your judgement because of her whining. Did she willingly jump into the mud for Sweetie Belle? You're darn tootin' she did, however five minutes later she's arguing with her sister over how dirty one should get.
For better or worse, Rarity walks the tightrope between the pony she is and the type of pony she believes she should be (the type of pony everypony should know).
I don't really remember Rarity being forced down into the mud, personally. The only bit I recall is Twilight diving into a muddy ditch to avoid spells. Then again, that was my favorite scene of the chapter.
Besides, for the spa scene, she was chasing RD first. You could imagine how frustrated that made her, so what might've been a guilt-trip could've easily turned into a form of punishment when she lost her temper. And ultimately it was for their benefit, even if she had to be a little forceful.
1258743 Indeed, that pretty much sums it up.
1259752
Here it was. Like I said, given the circumstances and the mortal peril at the moment, I don't think she would have really noticed.
Still, I'll admit the Spa scene wasn't that bad.
1259876
Well, Rarity's first concern was her mane when she got roared at point blank by a Manticore, then the potential of getting eaten. So I think every now and then things can sneak up on her before she has a chance to rightly prepare herself for them - as demonstrated by her willingness to dunk her head in a reeking trashcan herself, but if she'd been tossed in by somepony else, regardless of the situation, I'm sure she would've flipped a little.
My point is if she has a chance to mentally prepare herself, she can put herself through a whole lot, but if she's taken by complete surprise, the likelihood of her freaking is pretty good.
That's my reasoning behind my interpretation of her character, anyway. I'm not too proud to admit that I didn't get her just right, nor do her the justice her character deserves. I blame me being a country boy, and not really getting the 'high class' persona Rarity has.
1259977 That... actually makes a lot of sense. Sorry about all that.
1261039
It's no problem. Like you said, Rarity is a complex character, and it's nice to see other people appreciating her as more than just a whiny, stuck up prissy girl.
1261198 Indeed.