Regarding Dee Dee - Dexter's Lab: Equestria · 10:55pm Sep 18th, 2021
Hi Everyone!
Again, thanks for reading. However, I’ve been getting a repeated question from many of you: Will Dee Dee make an appearance in the story?
https://youtu.be/e4FIvM_gvqM?t=234
(Is that a NUKE?)
Well, here is the answer I gave to a reader in discord. I wanted to share it with all of you, so that anyone else with the same question can have it answered; as well as give the opportunity for feedback from all of you.
will Dee Dee has any presence in the story that won't be a memory or mention?
I have not determined that yet, but she will not make an appearance in this story arc. The problem is two fold, one I would have to explain why she appeared in equestria. The explanation for this could range from simply 'she was teleproted at the same time as Dexter, just to a different location' to something else entirely. The second is that I would have to find a way to integrate her character and her character development into the story. The issue is, Dee Dee is not only a foil to Dexter; at her core she appears to be an agent of chaos. One of the yet to be explained questions with Dexter's arrival in Equestria is: why was he transformed into a pony? Without revealing spoilers for my story, the answer has to do with magic and with the impression that ponies of equestria seem to be creatures of harmony. I can say that 'future' Dexter (in his own show) brought harmony to the entire earth (after defeating mandark). Dexter isn't an 'agent of harmony' but more likely an 'agent of order.' Since order is akin to harmony, it felt appropriate that he take on that pony/harmony form. Dee Dee, however, as an agent of chaos, would take on a form appropriate for chaos. I can only think of one form that appropriately represents chaos; but turning her into a draconequus would be way too overpowered. Unfortunately, she would NEED to be OP in order for her to continue to be a foil for Dexter. (In Nightmare Trip Discord overloaded Dexter's suit instantly within a few moments of meeting him, which hints at Dexter's weakness and vulnerability to agents of chaos) If I did any of that I would face a revolt from my pre-readers and all of my general readers.
So: no. Not until I can figure out how to resolve this without the story imploding, Dee Dee will not be making an appearance. However, that could change if I find a resolution.
Feel free to comment below, or just see the following straw poll: https://strawpoll.com/z96jzj7cd
(No promises in my ability to honor the result for the story.)
I think not including her is for the best. She is pretty much just a hyper exaggerated fanon pinkie pie with none of the good qualities.
With the serious tone this story has, she would be a detriment.
Yeah as much as I love Dee Dee as a character I think it would throw the whole story out of whack. It may even become more about Dexter v. Dee Dee than it would Dexter v. The world/himself.
but that’s the way it seems like it might end up going with the introduction of Dee Dee (fun though it may be)
I’m just a reader so hey what do I know?
Could be a good omake at least, but I see the issues.
Dee Dee being a part of the story would feel... out of place.
Thank you! I love this story and I would have seriously questioned the arrival of Dee Dee.
I second the idea for a omake. Some of the best stuff has been omakes...ever read the omakes on quantom castaways? Bloody good stuff.
Not include her. The fic as it is going, is great, adding her would flip all, Dee Dee not only can outsmart Dexter and provoke him, but can easily destroy any of the tecnological gadgets that Dexter use. Think of what Dexter did to Mandark, only one date and his lab that overwhelmed the one of Dexter was destroyed...
Because she was dancing and using Mandark like a demolition ball. If you're planning to make a sequel, then you can use her after the end of the current fic and explain the outcome of the clash of Celestia and Dexter.
Sorry for the long comment, an old friend liked to use some idea's with characters like her, just throw her and let the ex-machina destroy all...
Honestly, I'm happy Dee Dee isn't going to be in the story. While I know her presence was necessary as Dexter's foil in the context of the show's setup, as an introvert and someone who appreciates their own solitude to work on their projects, Dee Dee and her constant, painful inability to respect her brother's personal space or him made me loath her. I know there are apologists for her, saying that she just wants to spend time with him, but she could have done it in a way that didn't constantly destroy his work and drive him to distraction.
One human only!
I agree that Dee-Dee would not fit in well with the story as it currently stands for multiple reasons. Her role as instigator and foil to Dexter has really already been filled by the various ponies he interacts with. It's already been pointed out in the story that Pinkie Pie acts a lot like Dee-Dee, though Pinkie is obviously much smarter and far more considerate of others than Dee-Dee ever was. Given the current tone of the story, having Mandark appear would fit better than Dee-Dee.
what if she’s not an agent of caos but a supercharged harmony being
hear me out
in the show Dexter’s family was really distant from him, it was like he didn’t belonged in that family or rather with his parents
even in the scenes were they spoiled him as a normal child they look a bit annoyed when they see him around (like the episode when he needs a new lamp)
the fact that any child can roam free and pass all his time in a room without interacting with the family or anything is a clear indication that they are just fine without him around
I always believed that dexter literally lacked of the emotional resources of a normal child to notice anything about it (genius children always have those problems), because reasonably speaking they feed him and fulfilled the basic things that any caretaker need to do to be responsible about a child and he reasonably believed that
but if you have a normal brain you can see that something is wrong in there
dee-dee is not that smart, barely a normal girl but she’s really aligned with her feelings and emotions, there’s a big chance that her clingy personality is an ignorant way to compensate for something that she can see but is unable to understand, change or speak about (because dexter is literally unable to understand anything about it)
but she can see his loneliness and sometimes she can see him hurting even if he doesn’t understand that
and if this is true there’s a chance that she’s not entirely a chaotic entity, just a really energetic child doing everything and anything in her abilities with the intention to get close and bring her brother to a healthier or brighter life
but the difference is that there’s no magic helping her to do the impossible and reach her objective like pinky pie does
remember not everyone will hurt you with bad intentions sometimes it’s a necessary evil
(like an isolated addict)
Dee Dee, Changeling?
that would be interest for a sequel~
It would be hard to involve Dee-Dee, given the difficulties of transporting someone to Equestria in the first place. Plus there are already characters who could fill similar roles.
Plus, I feel like Dexter's feelings about her have been explored pretty thoroughly so far, for the immediate purposes of the story.
Personally, I enjoy Pinkie Pie in this one (despite her relative immaturity)* because she is clearly giving some thought to Dexter's interests and feelings, even if she isn't exactly taking no for a answer.
It stands opposite to Dee-Dee's approach to Dexter, which is both interfering and inconsiderate.
That dynamic works really well without Dee-Dee being there, because she's the similar looking and acting bogeyman that Dexter can't help but compare Pinkie Pie to.
Conversely, the believability of his paranoia will be harder to maintain, if he's forced to compare the actions of the two side by side.
Their reunion might make for a good story, but for it to be truly worthwhile, the payoff would have to be epic. I still think there's routes you can take to make it more emotionally worthwhile then if you introduced the character now.
There's also plenty of characters who take on a role as Dexter's antagonist in this story alone to say nothing of the ones which haven't been used yet.
Muffins as a character is a walking disaster area (on par with Dee-Dee), who could be either sympathetic or not, depending on how bothersome she is and how aware you portray her.
Plus she is believable as both a self-recriminating klutz, and as a oblivious one, so as long as you keep it strictly about her causing improbable and unlikely accidents (as opposed to being a overbearing pest), I don't think you risk too much backlash for butchering her (assuming you don't over do it, and you show her having remorse upon realizing the impact of her actions).**
Or if you want a more aggressive threat, Discord already has the interfering nature, but is a lot more malicious and antagonistic, and has made a very dubious escape attempt, once before in the series. Plus given that Dexter went after him before, he has a totally viable reason to want payback on him, if things wind up going that route.
Or we could see totally different kinds of adversaries, giving us a unique perspective on how Dexter deals with different threats to his work and well being.
That's not even counting the other villains we haven't seen yet, or total wild cards getting involved with Dexter's business. Certain characters could be very terrifying, depending on how their written.
*In total fairness it is really hard to stick that balance of Pinkie Pie that speaks to her emotional issues, while also having her be clever. It's clear your putting in the effort to at least try and make her seem intelligent. It proberbly doesn't help, that the show didn't tend to be very consistent in it's portrayal of her.
**Admittedly I don't have much experience with fans of Muffins, so I could be way off, but I haven't seen anything that indicated it would be a problem. So long as Dexter isn't more brutal to Muffins then Pinkie Pie, I don't see it being that much of a problem.
It's way too late in the story to add Dee Dee, it would feel out of place. Pinkie pie and Discord (and maybe tiny bit of rarity and crusaders) cover pretty much everything she would do in a story, and getting her to Equestria would likely introduce plot holes. Only way I can see her appearing is as a rescue party to take Dexter back, but even that would be iffy, and would change the tone of the story.
I mean you could have Dexter go back home and make a portal to pony world and have adventures like that, but that seems like different story structure and genre than existing story.
>in be4 Dee Dee manipulates Mandark into rescuing Dexter, so she can annoy him more.
I think that the story doesn't need Dee Dee but imo a possible way to have her, if people really want, could be as one of Pinkies past or future lives.
I don't understand why so many people want to see DeeDee, especially when it was made perfectly clear, even for those who are lacking in the critical thinking department because it was literally spelled out for them earlier in the story, that her actions prove her to be a malicious, destructive, and hateful older sister who hides behind a doe-eyed persona in the canon show 'Dexter's Laboratory' (outside of wanting some sort of revenge fantasy, but such a thing would go against the spirit and personality of the Dexter of the show as well as this well written story).
I dunno that she would have to be a draconequus, or that all draconequi have to be as powerful as Discord. I mean, canonically, he's the only one (the comics do not count, since they are never referenced in the show itself; hell, the show even directly contradicted some of the comics by including Sombra as an antagonist in the final season, even if we're obviously disregarding that here). If you still want something with a lot of potential to be chaotic, you could use a changeling, or even a kirin (say what you will about the later seasons, but I personally loved the kirins and their nirik gimmick, and hate that they weren't introduced until way late in the series' lifespan). That said, though, given what everybody else has already agreed upon, it might be for the best to not include her at all, at least at this point in the story- or even later ones, unless you want to juxtapose Dexter's character growth with her baseline personality, and enact some development for her as well. (Though, considering how painful it would be to even have her around- she's always been an incredibly unlikable character, at least for me- it might be best to just leave her out of things.)
I would actually say Dee Dee is there well kinda in a way. If anyone who read this thus far would agree that Dee Dee is represented through Pinkie pie, and for those who disagree just remember his first meeting with her and their interaction with each other. Pinkie acts like Dee dee only a more well Harmonious side with a bit of chaos (with her un explained actions, such as her Pinkie sense as well as popping out of no where and anything) so Dee dee is not needed heck if Pinkie was blonde (which would defeats the purpose of her name) she would be an exact ringer for her.
I'm reminded of that episode of the show where Dee Dee "accidentally" transported Dexter to an alien world but then with the help of Quadraplex 3000 followed & retrieved him...before "accidentally" doing it again.
So that could be a way she could show up, but I honestly don't think she should unless those quote marks around 'accidentally' are finally addressed. Is she actually aware, & does she care about the trouble she causes him? Is she really oblivious or is she doing it on purpose? The show does seem to settle on the interpretation that she really does care about her brother, but her reasons for acting like she does towards him & his creations would have to be hashed out as the ponies would likely insist on it, & the story (at least in its current phase) doesn't really have time for that.
Maybe later on though?
I know the current attitude is to dislike Dee Dee but I generally loved her as a foil for Dexter. I always figured she was a idiot with a teenage bratty attitude and that's why she always messed with him. I think the hatred towards her is kinda overboard but I will admit that at this current arc she wouldn't fit in and best not to have her here "for now". Later on, maybe, after all she has helped Dexter before and even retrieved him from far away places ( different planet if I remember), so that could be how she shows up, to get him back. A much later arc but I'd think it'd be very interesting to see her reaction between the Dexter she knew and the new one from here.
Amusing omake idea that just popped into my head (this doesn't actually make sense when you think about it for more than a second, but I thought it was funny): somepony learns that Discord once set Dexter on fire. They remember that Dexter once mentioned that Dee-Dee set him on fire. They note that "Dee-Dee" is the first and last letters of Discord's name. They conclude that Discord is his sister.
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That's a scary thought
5583820
To be honest, DeeDee was why I never watched more than a few episodes of Dexter's Lab, she was so annoying that she made the show less enjoyable for me.
I do not think it will fit the current story. I like the character, but the kind of conflicts you have set up makes me feel she would be "shoved" into the story. Perhaps an alternate universe piece?
The consensus I seem to get is that she has no narrative purpose to fill in this story, but might be good sequel fodder. I entirely agree with that. One perspective of why it's good sequel material is that she canonically has an utter devotion to her world's analogue of MLP... which was reflecting the franchise prior to G4. Can you imagine the annoyance that our G4 ponies would have when confronted by that?
Only way for Dee Dee to appear in Equestria in this point is if she enlisted the help of Mandark to follow after her brother.
Also, Dee Dee didn't need magic to royally ruin Dexter's day in their old universe, I don't see why she'd need it now.
So is having a chapter to check in on Dexter's family not an option then? seems like a way to include her and others like their parents, or Mandark and Douglass without needing to bring them to Equestria.
What are you talking about you all ready have a "Dee Dee" her name is Pinky Pie!!😍Did you forgot haha 😆 And this "Dee Dee" acoreding to the show, she has Discore powers 🤔 too a poit that is.So you don't need the real Big Sister haha haha 😆,I hope that helps you if you [A] "Dee Dee."
I personally say keep Dee Dee out of the story. Maybe like a few said, use her for a possible sequel or Omake.
But if used, I'd say have her be somewhat a foil to both Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle.
Dee Dee seems to have some form of Pinkie's Pinkie sense, so having the gang deal with a person whose essentially a worse-morals version of Pinkie Pie who can evade them could be a possible filler chapter. Especially one where Dee Dee gets captured by Main 6 pretending to act like previous generation ponies to lure her into a trap. Like 'Rainbow Dash always dresses in style' reference gag. Pinkie Pie is empathic, whereas Dee Dee thinks of herself first. Only someone going seriously out of character can pierce that head of hers.
Why I consider Dee Dee to be a possible foil to Twilight? Twilight likes to learn and try new things. Dee Dee seems to be stuck in the mindset that she already knows enough and doesn't really care to learn more. Twilight prefers explanations, Dee Dee likes no explanations. Twilight seeks the truth, Dee Dee wants to remain in Pretend.
I can see Dee Dee quickly becoming annoyed with Twilight, As Dee Dee wants to play 'the fanciful unicorn' pretend game and Twilight wants help in taking down Dexter. Sure, Dee Dee knows how and even where Dexter is, but pretend games come first for Dee Dee!
Well, that and Dee Dee pretending to be confused and acting like Twilight is Dexter, based on how Twilight is treating her like how Dexter treats Dee Dee when he wants to do science and she wants to play.
And yes, I see Dee Dee wanting to play as a pretend unicorn in a land where Unicorns exist and she might even have become a unicorn for realsies. Yes, even making the hand... hoof gestures for a unicorn horn, even though she has a unicorn horn.
I can imagine that after spending some time with Dee Dee, Twilight is willing to forgive Dexter for just about everything if he had to spend years with Dee Dee. That and I see Shining Armor getting several hundred thank-you cards for not being anything like Dee Dee.
This is what I think should happen. Back at dexter's lab his computer decides to make DD go to the same place that dexter did with a plan to get them both back.
I would be interested in having Dee Dee....in Earth, dealing with the consequences of Dexter being missed. Chances either the parents or the government eventually stumble into the secret lab.
The Elements' parting words to Dexter seem to indicate that may be already the case.
I'd suggest keeping her out of it. So far the major "antagonist" to the story has, in my mind, been Dexter himself. His mental quirks and paranoia that keeps him seeing everyone as a potential enemy. Man-vs-self is a common theme for a reason, and so far it's been really well done. The Changelings even seem more of a side enemy or even resource, while the very nature of Equestria is driving Dexter nuts, exacerbating his issues.
Adding Dee Dee into the mix seems like a recipe for him to go "fuck it" and move from running and hiding, only fighting when he needs to, to proactive self defense. Dee Dee has demonstrated time and again that she can find and infiltrate his lab(s) and no security system he's ever made has stopped her. Dexter already sees her as an annoyance edging on enemy. He's more than intelligent enough to realize that she's the sort of person to be fully on board with the ponies "parties, harmony, love" stuff. She's the Pinkie Pie equivalent, after all.
So it's my opinion that her being there would make him believe that there was no longer any way to run or hide, that her very presence forced him into a corner. And as the saying goes, the cornered animal is the deadliest.
There is a solution somewhat, just have her come back as a dream or hallucination. It'll be temporary and she can be whatever form the author chooses for convenience. Perhaps adding other characters caught in a mass dream spell from the changelings, a spell gone wrong, or an item if you want that. It'd also be a good opportunity for luna to drop by since it's her domain, but not before it mostly plays out of course.