Telling Stories
"Hey guys, look! Dream Eater's selectable!"
"Of course it is! It's Tuesday!"
"Hey, my quarter's there!"
"But I've never gotten a chance to drive Dream Eater!"
"There's plenty of time before closing! Just watch!"
Stan Litwak sat back as he watched the kids arguing over Sugar Rush. He didn't bother to break it up. Dream Eater had already been selected as the racer, and if the fight went on too long without a race track being selected-
His musings - and the kids' arguing - was interrupted as Nightmare Moon tapped the screen with one hoof. "Hey!" she complained. "You gonna race, or are you gonna jabber?"
"Sorry," the kids all replied without thinking about it as the one whose turn it was selected a track.
Stan chuckled as he saw the brief smirk cross Nightmare's features. He was pretty certain mentioning that smirk would get him locked up in a padded cell...but then again, so would telling the truth about how that character started appearing in the games on the cycle.
As he walked by the Mega Man 3 cabinet, one of the kids waiting to play looked up at him. "Hey Mr. Litwak? Do you think you could have Moony in all the games, instead of just one a day?"
Stan smirked at the nickname the sprite had gotten unanimously from her player fans, but didn't even have to respond before one of the older players answered for him. "Why would he do that? Nightmare Moon's obviously there as advertisement for her own game that's gonna come to the arcade. It whets our appetite more if she only appears in some games on a rotation...and makes us want to play those games more on those days."
Stan chuckled as he walked past, glad he hadn't been forced to answer.
One of the young female players spoke up. "I wish this game had more underwater segments. When Moony takes Rush's place, Scuba Gear is just so cute!"
"Forget the Scuba Gear!" another kid laughed. "Have you seen the little dance she does while using Robot Master powers, like she's trying to figure out how to make them work?"
"And when you make contact, instead of just inflicting damage, she latches on and starts biting Mega Man's neck!" another proclaimed. "She knows how to attack the weak point for massive damage."
Stan continued his way around the arcade, passing by each of the other games Nightmare Moon sometimes appeared in. At Marvel vs. Capcom 3, several of those waiting in line were comparing notes on various button combos they'd attempted when controlling the Little Moon, as they sometimes called her, trying to determine her move list. By Legend of Zelda, some were compiling her attack pattern when she appeared as the optional boss fight, as well as the various locations she had appeared in, trying to reverse engineer her pattern. The only cabinet she appeared in that didn't have a debating crowd in front of it was Tapper's, since there she was just added cuteness.
When the character had first appeared, he'd gotten tons of questions about who she was, where she was from, how he'd put her into the games he had, and how she was programmed to act. He'd answered all of them by saying, "Just something to bring a bit of spice to the games, like the retro bonus stage in Fix-it Felix Jr.," and on her programming he refused to answer, saying, "That would take the fun of figuring her out away from the players." The truth wasn't something he wanted to share. After all, if anyone did believe him that she had come out of nowhere from a shooting star on the Fix-it Felix Jr. title screen, they'd try to take the games apart to figure out what had happened. He didn't want them doing that to the games.
He probably was crazy, thinking that the sprites somehow moved about on their own, having their own lives separate from the roles they were programmed to play, as though there were a whole society inside the code of the arcade. Then again, he knew he wasn't the only one to come up with crazed explanations for why old machines sometimes did inexplicable things that their programming didn't allow for. He'd heard various people talking rather seriously about how older machines had 'more soul' than newer ones. Was it really that much of a stretch to suggest that the 'soul' of an arcade game was expressed as each individual sprite living his or her own life when the arcade was closed? Making friends, visiting other games, even finding love?
Stan chuckled to himself at his own ludicrous ideas as he settled back into his office. There were reasons he didn't share the crazy stories he came up with about the sprites 'private lives' with anyone, keeping whatever he actually wrote out on his own laptop. If he told anyone the reason he left it plugged into the arcade power strip was because he hadn't had a virus attack on his laptop since - even after his anti-virus programs expired - he'd probably be locked up like for any of the rest of it. Admittedly, that started to add up to why he had begun to question how much was real and how much was his own imaginings.
However, one thing had recently worried him. Everyone was assuming Nightmare Moon would eventually get her own game cabinet, but he had no idea what game that could be. He didn't even create her or put her into the games. Still, he'd had a thought about that.
He had a friend - a computer programmer - who often talked about how his programs sometimes did unexpected things, joking about how the programs had their own ideas about what they were supposed to do. If he asked him to program an arcade cabinet with a blank villain slot...well, he'd definitely ask questions, and might think Litwak was off his rocker when he got the answers, but he'd still do it anyway, as much for 'the lulz' as to see if it would actually work. But Litwak wanted to have the complete game script - or at least the basics - before asking.
"Let's see," he mumbled to himself as he opened up Microsoft Word. He chuckled as the animated paperclip popped up to offer assistance, but then ignored it as he began to type. "The only time she's spoken has been in Fix-it Felix Jr. and Sugar Rush, and then she's spoken as a villain...so she's probably the villain." He typed away as he began the set up. "If she's the villain...well, she calls herself 'Queen of the Night' when she wins in Sugar Rush...so her direct opposite would be a ruler of the day. But queens are generally evil in fiction...so a Princess of the Day, her equal and opposite." He typed away.
He paused to take a drink before turning back. "But if they're equal and opposite, then how did she overcome to start the game? ...ah! Nightmare Moon was stronger than the day Princess as she tapped...dark magic. But the day princess used an older magic to banish her. But on her return, she overwhelms the day Princess before she can turn that power against her." The sound of his keystrokes became a rapid tick-a-tack. "Which means new heroes have to take up that power to defeat her. Those are the player characters. Hmm...now what should the power be..." He took another drink as he leaned back to think.
After a time, he leaned forward again. "Ancient magic that keeps the world in balance...in harmony...wielded by multiple characters..." He paused for a while, then typed in Elements of Harmony as a place holder barring coming up with something that sounded less cheesy. "And each of the...Elements...will bond to one of the player characters to be used against Nightmare Moon as a group. Dang, that sounds rather cliche when I look at it. Still, I suppose it works out.
"Now, how many player characters?" He thought about that for a time. However, before he could come to a decision, he heard a ruckus from out in the main arcade. "Dangit, what are those kids up to now?" Leaving his laptop behind, he went to check what all the noise was about.
Unnoticed to him, the Office Assistant vanished from its mini-window in one of its usual animations, but it remained gone for longer than normal.
Inside the computer, the Assistant was tied up and gagged in lines of code as another entity walked past it, raising a metallic hand to its ear. "Paperclip Man to Wily! Paperclip Man to Wily!" it said simply. "The caretaker has dropped the breadcrumbs!"
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Is that.... Turbo?
He's creating the pilot for the first season.
I'm so confused! Is he unwittingly creating Nightmare's world? That doesn't seem likely, as she already exists. Kind of makes me think then, that either he is a really prescient, or some magical force from FiM is influencing him to write the existing history. Anyway, interesting chapter about the arcade owner, and his suspicions about the videogame world! Hope to see more soon.
Yet.
Oh my gosh...Litwak made Friendship is Magic!
6049416 It's the old guy who owns the arcade.
I don't think MLP the franchise exists in this world.
Oh that's interesting, so the show doesn't exist in this world
We shall call him...MR. Faust!
6049537
No, at the very end.
I think Turbo took the place of Paperclip Man.
Ah, we have yet another seer of the multiverse. For those that don't know, thats the trope that all universes are portrayed into our own via seers, artists and authors and so forth who just think they're coming up with the idea themselves.
6049573 Ah, I see. Probably.
6049460
6049501
6049528
No, he's a relative of Lauren Faust.
In the future, she finds his old laptop and reads his old idea and gets inspiration to make Mlp: fim
6049573
6049607
No. Paperclip Man is a Robot Master Wily made to replace the Microsoft Word Assistant (you know, that little animated paperclip) as a way to spy on what Stan Latwik was up to on his computer.
6049612 That would make more sense.
6049624 AUTHOR! Use this guy's idea for a noncanon chapter!
Not quite a fan of the thought process leading to princess Celestia. Queen Celestia would make more sense and sound less stupid. Oh, hi Clippy, where have you been?
6049574 Either that or the universe is the story instead of vise versa.
6049758
Keep in mind the events of Wreck-it Ralph take place in the full swing of the Disney Era. After all, King Candy replaced Princess Vanellope.
I'm glad the show doesn't exist as a show in this world. I really don't like it when stories break the fourth wall like that.
Great story, BTW.
6049763 Pherhaps if she was a protagonist or damsel in distress (isn't she though?), but she is the benevolent ruler of the land. Although it could be concieved that Princess Celestia is a damsel in distress in season 1 episode 2. My apologies for addressing the show so much.
6049773
Name one Disney based story where one of the primary characters - whether voiced or in the background - was a Queen and good, not including sequels where she was the good Princess of the prequel.
Actually, not just Disney. Name one good queen character who was a primary cast member of any fairy tale story. (Sleeping Beauty's mother or birth mothers of the Princess leading ladies don't count.) If you can, I'll admit the logic is flawed. However, keep in mind Litwak's ideas of character decisions are based on popular media, as that's what shapes new media.
Keep going! Plz! So awesome!
It's too bad there's not a Castlevania arcade machine. I can't help but think that place would be pretty fun for Nightmare Moon.
Paperclip Man? Oh Wily, where DO you get these ideas from?
6049881
From the same place Wood Man came from.
It's the origin story of Adventure Ponies in Wreck It Ralph. Doom, doom, DOOM!
This is a prime example of "Monkeys and typewriters" but in this case, an old man with MS Word
6049796 Frozen's Elsa. But Frozen was part of Disney's quest to get over some of its stupider tropes, so it may not quite count.
6049955
While Elsa wasn't the villain, she was a victim, though of her own powers.
And she started out as one of two Princesses, becoming queen as part of the story, so that technically also makes it fall under the same category of "Queens who were Princesses in previous chapters".
6049960 Sure, she was a victim. You specified "good," not "not a victim." Every quality character is a victim of something, anyway.
I was unaware that parts of a movie that took place before other parts of the same movie were prequels. I was under the distinct impression that prequels needed to be separate works. Please make up your mind as to your criteria.
6049796 Kida's mother from Atlantis (Though she did get sucked up into that spirit stone to power a force-field)
Bambi's mom, his dad is "The King of the Forest" so technically she's a queen.
Ponyo's mother, though she's actually a Goddess (Princess Mononoke's wolf mother is also a Goddess and the forest was her territory)
And Princess Dot's and Princess Atta's mother the Queen
6049974
Alright, here's the main reason Elsa of Frozen doesn't count.
My statement about the era. You yourself said it didn't apply for that reason.
6049981
To my knowledge, Kida was never stated to be a Princess, nor her mother to be a Queen.
Bambi's father was stated to be King of the Forest, but his mother was never stated to be the Queen. Heck, they never even stipulated that she was the King's mate, just that the King was the father of her child.
Gods don't count.
And I don't recognize that last one.
The question is about characters who are named as Queens who were the good guys.
6050041 Then Merida's mother from Brave, is the queen, a main character and is good. Her predicament is a byproduct with the real villain, female empowerment against tradition.
Oh and there was a giant bear too
I always wondered if the arcade owner ever noticed what went on with the games.
6050074
Pretty sure Brave is disqualified based on what I said about the era.
The events of the arcade take place back in the classic Disney Era. These mentioned movies are too new.
6050123 *Reviews through comments*
Ah, you told someone else that, I'll just enter reminiscing mode and find something from my childhood.
6050123 Yeah, looking back Disney and other media were dicks to queens, I'm even going back to live action movies, and even the kingdom in Never Ending Story was governed by a princess
6050158
Precisely the reason why Litwak decided the good ruler should be a Princess.
Heck, even Friendship is Magic does it.
6050188 This reminds me of an old review I saw, where we once hate queens, times have said similarly to princesses
6049796
In fact, this logic is exactly why Celestia and Luna are princesses instead of queens. Lauren was going to write them as queens, and Hasbro had her change them to princesses because of the image Disney has painted of queens being evil.
Such intrigue. Much mistery.
Also -
Feals like you're missing something there
Also -
Several years later....
"Hey, Uncle Stan! Can I use your laptop for a while? I wanna write somethin'."
"Sure, Lauren. Just be careful with it."
"Okay, I will! Hmm... hey, what's this?"
6050158
6050188
Empress. The child-like EMPRESS. Feminine form of emperor. NOT PRINCESS.
6050490
...still not a Queen.
6050499 One can easily argue that Emperor has an even worse bias against it than Queen.
6050554
But the point of the discussion here was why Litwak chose Princess over Queen. Empress has no place in the discussion.
6050640 Tell that to the person who misidentified her as yet another damn princess.
This website...
I read the amazing chapter of the brilliant story...
and then I look at the comments.
Me =
'Tis a good story, therefore we argue over the fine details!