Thoughts from Paul: Silver Spoon · 3:50am Apr 4th, 2016
Okay, so here's the point where people ask "Her? What could you possibly see in her?"
Simple answer: potential. And yes, I do plan to write a story starring Silver some day... maybe... if I can ever get around to it.
But what I really wanted to talk about regarding Silver is her cutie mark and its purpose. Over the years I have seen a number of interpretations, and they universally revolve around one of two things: either everything is given to her on a silver platter or she's got some silly, useless spoon-related talent. But recently I re-watched Crusaders of the Lost Mark and, in a moment of inspiration, built up my own headcanon. The purpose of this blog, then, is to introduce that headcanon and see how people react. Just a reminder: I don't read the comics or consider them canon to any of my stories, so even though I know a comic was released starring Silver and Diamond, I know absolutely nothing about whether it relates to this topic.
As most of us know by now, during Diamond Tiara's attempts to bribe/blackmail/extort her fellow students into voting for her, Silver tried to offer some advice and got shot down. But I also noticed that Silver seemed pretty confident about what she was saying. This led me to some speculation: what if she really does know something about campaigning and events?
My theory and new headcanon is that Silver Spoon's special talent involves organizing and leading fundraisers, campaigns and events, perhaps with a focus on culinary preparation. To those of you unfamiliar, this means that when a fundraiser for, say, charity comes along, she could be the one organizing the event: choosing and renting the location, advertising, guest lists, hiring caterers, meeting with sponsors, all the tedious but absolutely necessary things that make these events work. Skills like these are highly valuable to politicians, the nobility and businesses. As such, her namesake cutie mark could be less a reference to her own lifestyle and more a reference to the kind of patrons she would come to work with in her career.
When and if I ever get to writing that Silver Spoon-centric fic I've had in the back of my head for over a year, I intend to make full use of this concept. I know it's a lot to infer from what very little we know about her, but at least it's something useful that could make her place in social circles seem appropriate rather than Celestia-given. Opinions? Outcries? Concerns? Vicious insults?
While I have your attention, now would be the appropriate time to mention that I have a real job once again. Tomorrow I move back to Houston, and on Wednesday I go back to doing the job I was always meant to do, i.e. Technical Writing. I have no idea how this will impact my current schedule and methods for my work on FIMFiction, so things are going to be touch and go for a little while. At the moment, I don't plan to do anything different at all. That may change.
Alrighty then! I'm trying to get a chapter of No Heroes done this week, and I can't do that if I'm chit-chatting on here. I look forward to hearing your opinions!
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Finally some Silver Spoon love!
I agree with your headcanon. She's like that ornamental silver serving spoon that gets used during holdiays and special gatherings, where it's used to serve food to everyone that asks for it.
Good luck on your new job!
Hm, that's an interesting headcanon, and I'd definitely love to see that story. A couple of interesting ones I've seen are her loving customer service for her family's restaurant, and being a silversmith.
One of the better talents I've heard is appraisal: she has a knack for seeing the value in something, whether it is obvious to the more casual observer or not. And like Diamond Tiara's talent, the real value in her own is how she applies it.
I've been kind of wondering myself what Hasbro will decide on her cutie mark representing. It's pretty clear that at the start, it was just a generic symbol of wealth and upper-class status that set her up as being a snooty adversary to the CMC, but with that nature as a one-dimensional caricature no longer fitting the more developed and deeper examination they're needing to give long-recurring characters as the series continues, it's pretty clear that they'll have to evolve it into something much more interesting and significant to give Silver some actual potential.
Either that, or just phase out Silver Spoon, but I don't think they will after keeping her around for five seasons.
Huh, that's an interesting one! That also makes her relationship with DT all the more nuanced since Silver's talent is based on a service job. A high class service job, but a service job none the less. Personally, I took Silver's confidence in Crusaders of the Lost Mark (which I consider to be one of the finest episodes of the show) as simple maturity taking its toll on her relationships. We've seen her be highly subservient to DT in the past, or at least highly interested in her opinion/approval. Then suddenly she walks away and says "I don't have to put up with her drama anymore." The dam broke, and DT was on the wrong side of it. I look forward to your Silver fic, whenever you get a chance to write it!
Congratulations on the job! I hope it's everything you hope it will be, and leaves you plenty of fimfic time
Kind of figured she liked tea and was just good at making it. But that's just me.
I usually see Silver's talent as being an assistant and advisor, the spoon to somepony else's fork, the silver to gold. Heck, my headcanon is that her entire family's legacy is ingratiating themselves to those in power, allowing them to maintain one of the oldest estates in Canterlot. Other houses rise and fall, but the Silvers always find some new pony to pull their wagon.
Of course, as with Diamond Tiara, that talent has positive, constructive uses. She was trying to put them into practice in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark," but by that point, Tiara saw her as a minion rather than an aide.
That being said, I quite like your interpretation of her. It definitely fits, and it gives her a lot more independent potential than my take. Definitely looking forward to seeing what you do with the idea.
yay4job!
This is certainly a new direction for Silver, and one that totally makes sense. :)
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Silver Spoon is Best Filly.
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I might have seen the silversmith concept used somewhere. It's not a bad one, although it can be hard to see her in action that way.
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Interesting, although I'd like to see how an appraisal talent matches up with her cutie mark. Perhaps the first thing she valued?
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Well, Diamond Tiara finally got her episode. Mayhap someday son Silver will also get one. I'd love to see a Diamond/Silver history "how they met" episode or something. Silver is one of those wonderful characters who has enough known about her to be used, but so little that an author can take her in any direction they want without it seeming crazy.
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We have seen her have a certain level of subservience, but we can't say Diamond was particularly mean to her up until that point. There's only a suggestion that it is so, although it's a strong one. It could be that Silver was simply unaccustomed to being on the receiving end of Diamond's attacks and, upon realizing just what it felt like, had a change of heart.
Which is just speculation, of course. Silver may have always been DT's whipping... uh... filly.
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Tea? Huh. that feels kinda out of the blue, but in hindsight...
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That's exactly the kind of thing I wanted to avoid with Silver, because it seems like an easy out and a sure way to guarantee her being a petty and pathetic individual – think of the overdone sniveling, self-serving and cowardly advisor we so often see in movies and the like. I wanted her to have something better than that.
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Glad you approve! And yes, yay4job indeed.
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That's true, I can't recall DT being outright mean to her before, only dismissive at the worst ("not now, Silver Spoon")
Darn it. You've really got me thinking now. Supposing Silver does indeed come from a well-to-do family and her special talent is 'lower class' than her family's social circle would normally see and she's latched herself to DT for companionship... Write your fic already, I've got plenty of my own stuff to do
Huh... I've always wondered what their (Diamond and Silver) Cutie Marks could possible mean. This... makes more sense than anything I could ever come up with.
Good luck with the job man. It's because you didn't have one that your hobby gave you so much stress.
I once saw one where her talent is in cooking, being able to identify the ingredients of a dish by taste and smell.
Always glad to see alternative head-canons, though.
Something has to replace Canon when it's inconveniently in the way of a plot point.
I like your idea on SP. Hope you get the time to work on this.
Oh, so I'm not the only one bothered by Silver Spoon! This exact topic is what prompted me to write my first blog post here, so I like seeing another interpretation.
The concept itself is... well, it's not "cool". Nor do I really expect it to go quite the weird places I'd hope for. But then I remember what Fukushi did with Law of Ueki or what Araki continually does with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and wonder if I'm just missing the true genius of it.
We've seen things like that in that one episode people love to hate, for whatever reason, from s4 Twilight Time. Silver is portrayed as an organizer, a pony who knows how to keep things in check, orderly, and calm. She's right smooth and confident even back in her Family Appreciation Day episode in s2 where everyone somehow mistook Silver Spoon clapping as being a defiance or attack on Diamond or having a moment she lost herself to some inner filly who just wanted to break out and 'make new friends!' as many seem to be stuck on.
Apologies for the run on but yeah, I've had a couple blogs about Silver Spoon... and more than enough to bitch about the hive mind mentality people have with making her the victim in order for them to 'like her more'. Honestly, if you can't like someone for who they are then leave them be, damn posers.
Anyhow, double apologies, lost train of thought. But yes, POTENTIAL is the one thing i always saw in her and Diamond. Those two are pretty special even if all we ever get shown are their down sides half the time. I think the business type secretary and organizer for events is a not as outspoken headcanon but certainly one that thrives well enough among some circle of artists and writers. I enjoy playing with her character, if even jokingly or in AU scenarios. Po-Neigh-Oh and whatever my last one was called had some moments I adored playing with for Silver, even if my last one was going the cliche'd route and ignoring canon, LIKE A BOSS, for the cutes.
We still don't have many fics doing much with her character. It's a crying shame given the 'least liked' Diamond Tiara has had so much more characterizations throughout the past years whereas Silver Spoon stayed pretty much meek and helpless most the time.
Not that it's a bad thing, character traits can show weakness and levels of docility (new word! Docile just wasn't gonna cut it!) and make it work just fine, no different than how Fluttershy is shy and yet still able to be a well rounded character.
I think I'll stop here, I can go on for hours talking about these two. Though, that shouldn't be a surprise if you've ever seen my page.
Praise the Silver one! Do her justice! And do so let me know when you do write such a story, I'll be there in a flash!