Everyone’s been posting so much fanfiction lately and I’m starting to get back into a writing mood. But I’m not really feeling my main fanfic right now and I wanted to just try writing something quick. I was inspired a bit by certain parts of Home Is Where The Hearts Are and I wanted to explore some of that in addition to some of my own headcanons and speculations. I’m trying to get better at just writing and not worrying about it too much, since worrying too much leads to not writing.
(I say “quick” up there, but I actually spent several hours on this. That’s still kinda quick for me though. 3000 words or so in only 7 hours or so. Success?)
Anyway, I’m already wasting too much time writing this intro instead of the story, so let’s go:
Read More
It’s often remarked that Scootaloo is the only Cutie Mark Crusader who hasn’t yet had her own episode. I think if one really wanted to stretch then one could say that Cutie Mark Chronicles featured her in a slightly more central role than the others, but obviously the episode was mostly about the main six anyway.
So I think a lot of us would be really curious to see a Scootaloo episode and get to know her better. And, just as Sweetie Bell and Applebloom are often given importance through their relationships with Rarity and Applejack respectively, many fans have suggested an episode centering on Scootaloo’s relationship with Rainbow Dash. We know she looks up to Dash and perhaps obsesses over her a bit, but we don’t know anything more than that.
Scootaloo’s interest in Dash is certainly a good plot hook for an episode about her, since that’s one of the few things we really know about her and it’s a good way to connect her story to the main six. But I’m not sure I’d make it a “Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash” episode. Scootaloo isn’t the only pony who has trouble flying and an interest in Rainbow Dash. So I think I’d be a lot more interested in seeing a “Scootaloo and Fluttershy” episode.
Let’s see how it might go!
Read More
So once, long ago, I talked about some of my ideas about how cutie marks work. In summary: I believe different ponies can have roughly the same special talent, but they will still have different cutie marks because cutie marks encode much more than just what a pony’s talent or job is. How the pony approaches their special talent, or their style and methods in using it, or even simply their personality in general may be a factor.
I wanted to approach the issue again from a practical standpoint: how can we use these ideas to design interesting, apt, and unique cutie marks for ponies we make?
I like OC ponies and I’m not one to make fun of people for having black alicorn OCs or OCs clearly based on one of the main six or any of that. Whatever’s fun is fun; go nuts and don’t worry about people who don’t like it. But I do feel like a lot of OCs have what I think of as Lyra Syndrome: her name is Lyra, her cutie mark is a lyre, and her special talent is (assumed in fanon to be) playing the lyre.
That’s not categorically bad. Applejack is about the same way. But I think that level of literalness suits her in particular, and it seems like most ponies fall somewhere between her and Cheerilee on that spectrum, with Cheerilee’s explanation for her cutie mark being just plainly nonsense.
Read More
One of the secrets of my tumblring is that like half the posts I write are ideas I get while I was writing a different post entirely. This is one of those times.
Tonight while writing another post (which is still in progress) I realized something about Applejack. It’s often remarked that she doesn’t get the same focus as other ponies. I agree with this, but I’ve always had trouble expressing the exact nature of the deficit. I’m not sure that it’s true measured in screentime alone. She seems like she’s present often enough.
But I realized tonight what the problem is. Think of the episodes centered around Twilight. Or the episodes centered around Dash. Or even the episodes centered around Pinkie. Whose perspective do we get? Well, Twilight’s, Dash’s, and Pinkie’s, respectively. Obviously, right?
What about the episodes where Applejack is the central character? Well…
Read More
kyronea:
howdoponieswork:
So, I’ve talked a lot about what makes the main characters of FiM particularly well-made characters. It’s what I see as the show’s best feature, which is why I’ve focused on it so much here. I think the show has a great cast, both as individual characters and as a group, and so that’s what I most want to replicate.
So now I’m going to do something different. I think that we can take the lessons we’ve learned from the show so far and build a new main six from those principles. I don’t have characters in mind as I write this, so everything you see in this post is created from the process I’m showing you.
Read More
Well my first thought is that E2, in particular, sounds like someone who might have some serious issues with depression or anxiety. In particular with the way they change emotions at a moment’s notice, I almost wonder if they don’t have something along the lines of bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder.
I realize that’s probably not the direction you want to take these characters—loading them down with neuroses, etc—so I’ll not say much more on the subject, but that’s the thought I have when I examine E2.
My boyfriend was actually asking me earlier today whether I plan to make these ponies as “kid-friendly” as FiM. I’m still not entirely sure. I’d like to, but at the same time that’s a big limitation and if I get a really good idea outside that limitation I may want to use it. It’s something I plan on figuring out as I work on them.
One thing I do want to replicate from the show is the lightheartedness of it, though. So I probably wouldn’t do serious mental disorders, like you say. But it’s still a completely reasonable interpretation of what I wrote, and even “grimdark” interpretations like this are interesting and useful in understanding the characters. I might choose to tweak their character in such a way as to avoid those issues, or I might try to find some way to address those issues without breaking tone. I’d generally prefer the latter over the former, but we’ll see what happens.
So thanks so much for your comment! Every bit of feedback is helpful.
So, I’ve talked a lot about what makes the main characters of FiM particularly well-made characters. It’s what I see as the show’s best feature, which is why I’ve focused on it so much here. I think the show has a great cast, both as individual characters and as a group, and so that’s what I most want to replicate.
So now I’m going to do something different. I think that we can take the lessons we’ve learned from the show so far and build a new main six from those principles. I don’t have characters in mind as I write this, so everything you see in this post is created from the process I’m showing you.
Before I start making characters let’s review some of the things I want to see in them. Can’t make characters if I don’t know what I want to make! With each entry I’ll be linking to a prior post of mine relevant to the subject.
So, given all of that, let’s start making some characters!
Read More
So today on Equestria Daily there was a post prompting people to come up with ideas for a pony side-series centered on a single minor character from FiM and targeted towards young males. Because of the way the post was phrased many commenters mistook this as “there is actually going to be such a series and Hasbro is really going to base it on your suggestions,” which was kind of funny to see, but it got me thinking about how I’d approach this.
Let’s start with looking at how we might target young males. FiM as a whole suggests that many of the assumptions we make about whether males will like something are not as solid as we might have thought. But let’s look at some of those assumptions anyway:
- The main character should be male and masculine.
- The series should focus on combat and physical action.
- Less emphasis on feelings and interpersonal conflict.
- Somewhat darker tone.
Initially I was going to go through these assumptions and analyze which ones I would or wouldn’t follow, but then I realized something. If I were hired to make such a show, Hasbro wouldn’t leave all this up to my ideas about how to deal with gender in media. They’d hand me that list of assumptions (probably more) and expect me to follow it. So I think instead just as an exercise I’m going to look at how I might work within those limitations.
Read More
Here’s the second part of the Twilight/Rarity story I started last week. For those who haven’t read the first part, it’s here. And the set of guidelines that I’m using as a basis for all this is here. I think these two parts together will comprise the first chapter when I post it somewhere. Which means the whole story is probably gonna be fairly long in the end, but that’s just how I write I guess. Lots of long-winded-but-hopefully-interesting internal monologue.
————————————
As Rarity set a teapot to boil she considered what her new feelings for Twilight were, and what they might mean. The most obvious change, she had to admit to herself, was pure physical attraction. Not just attraction with the eyes, but for the sound of her voice, and the feeling of her velvet fur against Rarity’s own. She was forced to wonder whether she were making an irrevocable mistake for the sake of momentary desire. But when she thought of everything else she looked for in romance, she realized that she and Twilight already shared those things. They already knew each other well and cared for one another and enjoyed each other’s company.
If Rarity had merely seen some pony on the street who caught her eye, she thought, she would be less likely to think of romance and more likely to fancy them a model for her designs. Only if she came to know them and care for them would she wonder about becoming more. Her feelings had simply progressed in the opposite sequence with Twilight. A string of doubt still tugged at her, but for now she had convinced herself. There was nothing uncouth about acting on her attraction to Twilight.
But she thought of Spike again, and she knew there was more at stake than her friendship with Twilight.
Twilight wasn’t there when Rarity returned with the tea. “Twilight?” She called out and looked around, worried that Twilight might have left while she was gone out of fear or regret. But moments later she saw Twilight walking down from upstairs.
“Sorry, I just went up to check on Spike. I wanted to make sure he was still asleep.”
Read More
So I promised some shipping action in my last post, and here it is. This isn’t a full story yet, just the first scene, but I wanted to post this now and get people’s thoughts on it. I had a lot of fun writing it (pony cuddles are best cuddles) and I look forward to continuing it. It’s about 2400 words right now.
————————————
The glowing light surrounding the ornate teacup shifted from blue to violet as Rarity gave Twilight her cup of tea. Twilight blew away the rising steam before taking a sip, and thanked her friend for her hospitality. The day was cold, enough so that she still wore her scarf even sitting in Rarity’s home in front of a comforting fire. Enough so that when Rarity sat down next to her, their sides brushing up against one another, it didn’t seem worthy of comment. Rarity could see Twilight shivering and wanted to provide every comfort she could. On a day like that, a friend by your side was as good as another layer of clothing, but it offered a warmth different and greater than any sweater or scarf.
“Please, do let me know if there’s anything else I can get you,” Rarity said, waiting until she finished speaking to take a drink from her own cup.
“Thank you Rarity, this is plenty,” Twilight replied, taking a moment to savor the warmth of the tea and its delicate floral aroma. “I’m sorry to barge in on you like this, but it was getting pretty bad out there. I was starting to worry about Spike.”
The young dragon was upstairs, huddled up in a blanket and resting. The winter cold seemed to make him even sleepier than usual. Rarity knew she had seen Spike using his fire breath to help keep Twilight warm before she called to them and invited them inside, but she allowed Twilight the vanity of saying it was all for his sake.
Read More
I guess this topic has just been on my mind lately! Anyway, I was considering something I wrote about in an earlier post, where I commended the writers of FiM for knowing when to let a plot element be silly and when to let it be serious. Spike’s crush on Rarity is the prime example of this, where it’s usually silly but gets a very serious moment when it’s appropriate, but there are others.
And it occured to me that the CMCs are another plot element that’re basically always treated as comedic. They have some relatively serious moments when they learn their lessons and all, but they haven’t had any really big dramatic moments yet. They’re pretty much just around for comedy and cuteness.
I don’t think it’s that hard a question what their big serious moment might be. It’s pretty much written right into their name. I do sometimes wonder about whether they’ll ever actually get that moment. They themselves seem determined not to learn lessons that might be applicable towards earning their cutie marks, but the show creators seem willing to give us glimpses into their talents and move things forward, however gradually. In the end I honestly think they will get their cutie marks someday. I won’t really be surprised if they don’t, but at the moment I think prospects look pretty decent for them.
But then a question remains: how should we go about it? Well, let’s give it a try!
Read More
