Oct
20th
2012
What the heck, here's a meme for the weekend. · 2:19am Oct 20th, 2012
Pick a character I've written/am likely to know about, and I will give and explain the top five ideas/concepts/etc I keep in mind while writing/imagining that character, that I believe are essential to accurately depicting them.
People are welcome to challenge me on this one all weekend. I don't know much about strictly fanon characters (like Vinyl Scratch or Doctor Whooves) but I could make something up!
Princess Luna?
Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.
Lol, right now my notifications is blog-tastic. 5 blogs posted in like 3 minutes xD.
Twilight Sparkle
Which character would we like to know about? That's easy.
files-cdn.formspring.me/photos/20120428/n4f9c7a3b43a39.png
That being said, I think we'd like most to know your take on the Mane Six.dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Twilight_Sparkle_lolface.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Rainbow_Dash_lolface.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Pinkie_Pie_lolface.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Rarity_lolface.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Applejack_lolface.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Fluttershy_lolface.png
The CMC
434461 Seconded. I don't know what to do with Luna, there are so many of her, even in canon.
Actually, I do not see Vinyl as being a strictly fandom character, as much as a camio character which the fandom has morfed into a major character in many stories. The same could be said about many others, including Ditzy Doo, though the Derpy Hooves name if I am to understand, is a fan creation
Now, which character would I pick for this? How about Spike!
434461
I've never written Luna, but I'd like to soon, so this is a good one for me to try. But I make no promises about the results.
1) Luna is like someone from an extremely foreign country. It's important to make sure she doesn't come across as stupid, but that naivete and clueless-ness are part of her charm. She's perfect for "Coming to America" type scenarios.
2) Luna seems to be really nocturnal. I mean, she didn't even show up at her nieces wedding during the day. This makes sense, but it's something to keep in mind. I've seen writers forget/ignore it.
3) Luna still seems to envy her sister a little, but based on "Luna Eclipsed" and the whole "I will guard the night" thing, I'd guess that she's trying to carve out her own space. I could totally see her being intrigued by any "night time" activities (I mean like fireworks or night clubs! Though there're probably pleanty of fics about her and other night time activities.)
4) I suspect that Luna is very by-the-book when it comes to leadership. I could totally see her using this for little jabs at her sister (doing things that Celestia wouldn't like but which are entirely in line with the laws of Equestria.)
5) Luna is quick to give up. If she tries something, and it didn't work, she's done.
Shining Armor and Cadence. I'd like to see how you'd work with the "newbies" of the FiMverse.
Well......I'm going to throw out another Luna but, What do you think about Darth Vader?
434462>>434464>>434487
(mane six, part one)
Twilight Sparkle:
1) Twilight does not give up. We see in pretty much every single Twilight episode that once she's set on an idea, it takes a long time and usually some kind of violence to make her let go of it.
2) Twilight likes things in their places. She likes to be able to define exactly what's going on, why, and how it relates to everything else in Equestria. This involves researching anything she doesn't understand, via whatever method she can find.
3) Twilight is one of the two most sarcastic of the mane six (the other one being AJ.)
4) Twilight is obviously from an upper-class family. While she's not showy about it, and obviously spent a lot of time wrapped up in books, she's likely to know about more upper-class things, and never have heard about or experienced lower-class things.
5) Twilight is actually usually pretty laid back. She has her organization and her lists, but she doesn't seem all that picky about the library being spotless, or changing plans when her friends have a new problem. She's more flexible than most people I know who have that level of organization.
Rainbow Dash:
1) Dash's ego is 90% fake. She doesn't actually think she's all that awesome, but it's extremely important that other ponies think she's all that awesome.
2) Dash has very little impulse control. Whether it's getting cider, trying to fight Nightmare Moon or Discord with her bare hooves, or pointing out that Rarity's career is, in fact, ruined, whatever passes through Dash's brain is likely to be acted on.
3) In addition to that she doesn't do subtlety. Can't be subtle, can't understand other ponies being subtle.
4) Dash and AJ hang out. Whether I'm shipping them with each other, or someone else, or not shipping at all, it just makes sense to me. They like to do a lot of the same things, they have similar attitudes. I always feel like they're closer to each other than to the rest of the mane 6.
5) Dash, in canon, would make an awful girlfriend. For any of the mane six. Any ship fic with Dash has to show her growing into it.
Applejack:
1) Applejack is usually the most mature of the mane six. Sometimes she's almost motherly towards them. Other times she's frustrated and sarcastic.
2) AJ's ego is 100% real. She expects nothing but the best from herself.
3) More than any of the rest, AJ has divided loyalties. She loves her friends, but her family and farm are her cutie mark, her job, her home, and her life. In a choice between her friends and family, I don't know what she would do.
4) AJ is not impulsive, but she's very easily goaded into things. She has a temper, and Rarity and Dash both know how to push her buttons.
5) AJ is a better baker than Pinkie, though Pinkie has her beat in creativity and AJ does kind of limit herself to "things that can be made with apples."
Soft curveball... what are your five ideas/concepts/etc on Cheerilee?
Princess Cadance
434822
I second the Cheerilee idea!
And of course the Ditzy Doo. (Derpy) I mean come on....her cutie mark is a buncha bubbles!
434487
Pinkie Pie:
1) Someone pointed this out to me once, and I always remember it when I'm writing her: Pinkie plays with words. Her rambles often include asides on how words sound, puns, free associations with words or phrases, rhymes, or funny made up words. She's usually not random- her asides are language based.
2) I never have Pinkie break the fourth wall in my fics, but she is allowed to use cartoon physics, popping around the scene, pulling things from nowhere, etc.
3) Related to that, Pinkie is a very physical character. Her movements and facial expressions are really important.
4) The real difference between Pinkie and "Pinkamena" isn't insanity- Pinkie's pretty close to insane normally- it's optimism vs. pessimism. Pinkie is an eternal optimist, unless she deflates.
5) Pinkie is an earth pony. I know, everyone knows that, but I feel like a lot of writers forget it. I think it has to do with Pinkie seeming to have her own kind of magic.
Rarity:
1) Rarity isn't that much different from Diamond Tiara, just more mature. In my head canon, filly-Rarity was basically Diamond Tiara.
2) Rarity has a fairly narrow view of what's beautiful, proper, or ideal. I got some flack for it in A Fact For Twilight, but I still think Rarity would be annoyed if her friends were dating someone she didn't think was their "type."
3) Everything about Rarity is carefully crafted. From her appearance to her melodramatic mannerisms to her (obviously fake) accent. It would be interesting to write something that plays with that.
4) Rarity manipulates other ponies. I don't mean that in a bad way, but she's very good at it. Not just her feminine wiles, but she's good at pissing off AJ and wowing high society. The only ponies she seems unable to manipulate are Dash, who just doesn't care, and Sweetie Belle, who seems to know her too well.
5) Rarity is both an artist and a businessmare. Balancing the two of those is an interesting part of her character.
Fluttershy:
1) The number one thing when I write Fluttershy: Fluttershy thinks a lot of things that she doesn't say. All of those hesitations? That's her trying to translate what she's thinking into something she doesn't feel bad saying.
2) Among the things she's thinking, I think Fluttershy spends a lot of time over analyzing things, to the point where the analysis is so detailed that it trips her up.
3) Fluttershy doesn't really trust anyone, including her friends.
4) It's very easy to forget that Fluttershy is in a scene.
5) Since this is things I keep in mind when writing Fluttershy: I do not like Fluttershy, but sometimes she has to show up. She's the one Dash would run to when she's embarrassed, for example. So even if I don't like her very much, I do have to suck it up and write her sometimes.
Thanks, that's some really great stuff. I look forward to reading the rest.
434980
or to 
right now...
You...you don't like Fluttershy?
.........
.........
I don't know whether to
I'm sure of one thing; I'm a bit shocked. I mean, how could you not like Fluttershy?!
Wow, you are more Twilike than I am. I've never written characteristics down that way.
434565 2) Luna seems to be really nocturnal. I mean, she didn't even show up at her nieces wedding during the day. This makes sense, but it's something to keep in mind. I've seen writers forget/ignore it.
Who would do such a silly thing?
> 5) Luna is quick to give up. If she tries something, and it didn't work, she's done.
Based on Nightmare Night?
> 3) Fluttershy doesn't really trust anyone, including her friends.
Interesting.
> AJ: In a choice between her friends and family, I don't know what she would do.
Do not know whether I would love or hate such a story.
Your take on each of the three Crusaders?
435107
I'm not a fan of passive characters in general, but Fluttershy particularly gets on my nerves.
Fluttershy is passive to the point where it gets in the way of other characters sometimes. It's probably her biggest character flaw, but it's not treated the same way other character flaws are- look at the way Twilight reacted to AJ's stubbornness in Apple Buck Season, and the way she treated Fluttershy in Hurricane Fluttershy. When other characters are hindering their friends efforts, they get confronted, but Fluttershy is always cajoled, pleaded with, and eventually inspired, rather than being told "Your friends need you. Be a good friend."
Fluttershy keeping the parasprites after they knew how they reproduce pretty much sealed the deal for me. I was done with Fluttershy after that.
(Also, I say all of this as a shy person myself, in real life.)
435615
Hey, if I can make a 'mistake' like that, I'll take it.
Besides the fact that, as you pointed out, Luna is mostly fanon. And yeah, I based the Luna giving up quickly on Luna Eclipsed. She doesn't seem to really consider trying a different approach at any point in the episode without Twilight's help. She's just gonna take her holiday and go home.
And with regards to the AJ thing, I think whether you'd love it or hate it would depend how it was played. If it was a stupid, melodramatic choice obviously set up for the feels, it would probably be the new "Dash loses her wings" or "last of the mane six" in terms of cheap feeling. If it was done in a more natural way, I think it could be something special, pointing out one of the deepest parts of AJ's character.
434461 Princess Luna.
436588
(Mutters to self-"Love and tolerance, love and tolerance...")
Well, everypony is entitled to their opinion. So, if you'll excuse me, I need to read a dozen fics in which Fluttershy is still the sweetest, most lovingly compassionate of the Mane 6. Just to fix myself.