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celera β Gots a question!
Published: 2013-03-31 22:25:11 +0000 UTC; Views: 4581; Favourites: 55; Downloads: 17
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And that's just FLUTTERSHY. Don't even get me started on Rainbow Dash, who literally "made the impossible possible".First time drawing Twilight. I'm not one to usually draw non humans, so it was a fun challenge. I think her back leg is a bit derped, though.
So... The alicorn thing. I felt a need to say something. I'm not very active in the fanbase, so I suppose my opinion doesn't have much of a meaning. I'm honestly not against her becoming an alicorn. I'm against the execution, and the timing.
I'm a storyteller. I've been writing for years, so I have this habit of dissecting plots. I know this is a kid's show, and I know that it shouldn't be taken seriously, but lazy writing is lazy writing.
I'm not going to elaborate on the length of the episode, but it was horrendous. It should have been a two parter--AT LEAST. Magic duel, same song and dance, blah blah blah.
Episode was basically this:
Twilight: Oh no! I accidentally cast a spell that made my friends switch jobs!
Girls: We are miserable and unable to cope.
Twilight: Here, put on the elements. They'll help. Also, these are your real jobs.
Girls: Oh, we're alright now.
Twilight: Awesome. Let's cast that spell again.
All: Elements, do your thing!
Girls: Oh no, we exploded Twilight.
Twilight: I seem to be in space.
Celestia: Hi Twilight. Welcome to my Netflix Account. You finished that spell. No one's done it before, so I'm making you a Princess.
Twilight: After all the stuff I've done for you, THIS is the thing that gets me a promotion?
Celestia: That's the gist of it, yeah.
Girls: Oh, Twilight's alive, and she's a Princess!
Twilight: Yay, I'm a Princess!
Celestia: Yay, you're a Princess!
All: Let's sing and wear dresses and stuff!
Twilight: I learned how to fly off screen!
Blegh.
So aside from... That... What's my real problem?
Alicorn Twilight is not foreshadowed AT ALL. Forget the commercials, forget the rumors, forget the stickerbook. She comes right the hell out of nowhere. Now yes, it could be argued that everyone always knew she was significant since she's essentially the Sailor Moon of this party, but nowhere was it written down--or foreshadowed--that unicorns who are awesome enough become alicorns.
It would have been simple to drop some hint of this during the 11 episodes. Twilight could be reading a book, for example, that talks about the process. Simple. She's an egg head. She'd be fascinated by this. Heck, it would have been somewhat interesting if the spell she ended up borking in MMC was one that she had written herself SPECIFICALLY to test out the theory. It throws reality out of wack, she has to come to the rescue, and the wings stay. Now she has physical reminders of both her greatest blunder, and her greatest triumph. She has to come to terms with her new body, and what it means for her.
Simple. Oh so simple. You keep the status quo of her being a librarian, but you add a new level of intrigue to it. No one in living history has transformed like this. No one knows what to make of it--or what it means. What are the ramifications of ponies having the ability to transform their bodies to whatever they please? There could be some good lessons in there about body issues for the kiddies.
I even felt like the HYPE it was getting was coming out of nowhere. The hell, people? It felt like after Christmas suddenly there was talk of this "Princess Coronation". Flash forward to February and they've got Miss America introducing the episode (way to go on that body image thing, Hasbro. Seriously). They treated it like it was this HUGE event that they'd been working up to the whole series. "OMG! Twilight's gonna be a princess! Weee!"
Except when you just watch the show and again--ignore the commercials--there's nothing in the show that even confirms that Twilight WANTED to be a princess in the first place. If anything, Rarity was the one who wanted that title! But no, Twilight just wanted to be a great magus. That's why she dressed up as Starswirl the bearded for Nightmare Night and NOT Celestia (or Luna, though that would have been awkward...). No, she dressed up as some ancient nerd that no one recognized except Luna, who knew the guy in the flesh. In fact, Twilight was SO dedicated to this costume that it was accurate enough for Luna to realize who she was dressed up as immediately.
I took that to mean she wanted to be the next Starswirl the Bearded.
People argue that they may fix it with Season 4, but the point is that they shouldn't need to. They had all of Season 3 to do this. They could have spent nine episodes building it, and three on the actual event. Kids would have gone crazy, and I bet that some of us who are shaking our heads would be able to accept the change more if it had at least been in character (or even made sense IN UNIVERSE.)
Why does she scare me? Because if they put so little effort in her genesis, then do you really think they'll put effort in after the fact? I'm afraid not.
Yes, it's a kid's show. Yes, I'm not in the target demo, and yes, 6 year old girls loved it. But you know what? When I was 6, I loved the Super Mario Brothers Super Show. Yyyyyyup. Captain N? Seemed badass back then. The Rainbow Brite movie was the coolest thing in the world to me back then.
Kids. Will. Like. Anything. They're too young to even know they need to have higher expectations. I remember seeing Batman the Animated Series and Sonic Sat AM for the first time as a kid, and they blew my mind. Clever, well written stories in a CARTOON? It was like my eyes were opened, and that was when I turned away from what I used to accept. There's no reason why something "made for kids" should suck, or should be done in a lazy way. Make it quality. A good quality, cleverly written, well paced, engaging piece of entertainment is a hell of a lot more educational than something that sings at you for 30 minutes. It's going to teach the skills of narrative to kids. It'll teach them to how to build plot and character. It'll teach them to ask for more from their entertainment than 30 minutes of bright, shiny colors.
Kids entertainment should be the highest quality entertainment of all.
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Comments: 36
Ok so we haveΒ 2 ponies that were born alicorns, a pegasus that became an alicorn, and now a unicorn that become an alicorn. We need an earth pony that will become an alicorn. It would make things complete imo.
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VERY FEW people seem to know(Β or BOTHER TO REMEMBER) but the signs have been there from the bgening. All the other elements manifested as necklaces. Twilight's was always a crown. It knew she was destined for princesshood, even before the others. Fluttershy is the only other safe choice for the title.
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Faved for the rant. Β Even though I don't mind the wings. Β
And yeah, that Rainbow Brite movie kicked ass.
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Fluttershy is an extremely timid doormat who possibly has hidden anger issues, if TBNE and PYHD is any indication. Β She is too kind for her own good, prefers the company of animals instead of ponies, and unlike Twilight, hasn't come to truly understand all the Elements of friendship. Twilight has had many leadership roles throughout the series, while Fluttershy hates crowds, and lets others walk all over her.
Yeah, Fluttershy would make a perfect princess.
Also, it was foreshadowed quite a lot. Β Why was Twilight the most trusted student of the princess? Β Why did she get a crown as an Element of Harmony, instead of a necklace, like her friends? Β Why was she always the leader of the group? Β Why did Celestia have Starswirl's book, and why was she talking to Luna about Twilight's "next step"? Β Why did Twilight finally learn to make decisions for the greater good in the same episode, when before, she brainwashed ponies out of fear of disappointing Celestia? Β Why did she become more comfortable with actually questioning Celestia at this time? Β Why did Twilight start taking more political roles, like entertaining the Saddle Arabians?
It was pretty clear something was coming.
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Oh, you forgot something. Not trying to prove you wrong, but I am just making statements.
Fluttershy can be quite brave when she has to. Usually, she just keeps quiet and smiles. She might be too kind for her own good, but that, and her love for animals, has saved the six in many situations. If Fluttershy hadn't existed, the girls would probably have been torn apart by a manticore in pain. And what do you mean with her not understanding the elements? Fluttershy might hate crowds, but that makes her stay away from people and not being able to get walked at. Remember when she put her hoof down? It actually worked. Without her anger issues.
Twilight had probably studied for a long while, and was the only true student of the princess in the six. The crown might have been because she is a leader. She might have been the leader because she knows confidence, is smart and is just stubborn enough.
Note that it has not been foreshadowed all the time. Lauren Faust didn't want this. Quote from her own blog (or twitter or something):
Random person asking: But you still watch the show, right?
Lauren Faust: No, I just can't. It's too painful. I still want it the way it was in my head.
But I agree. It is pretty clear that something was coming. And if you get upset by this comment, just look at the first line I wrote.
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Dud,you're on every anti-alicorn post out there. Do something valuable for once.
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i say to him who stop spamming and they say me insults
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I agree with this; there was NO foreshadowing whatsoever. Yes she's the main character, yes she's powerful, but she didn't need wings to be great. If you think about it, Twilight became a pretty pony princess just by fixing her friend's problems and doing her homework. I wish it were that easy to obtain a position of power. Anyway, I would be fine if she was just a princess, not an alicorn. Also, Twilight just doesn't look good with wings.
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You're damn right that entertainment for kids should be subject to the highest quality standards. All entertainment for kids should be required to score at least an 8/10 from the harshest critics of the medium in which it is presented before it is allowed to be shown to them.
If you wouldn't voluntarily sit through it ten times in a row, you have no business showing it to your kids.
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I agree with everything but the picture.She didn't tame him, Fluttershy just was being a sue like always :I
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How is fluttershy a sue? She's way too much of a doormat.Β
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That's probably what I hated the most about that episode. Fluttershy never did anything to reform Discord. If anything, she almost developed stockholm syndrome with him. The only reason Discord reformed was that the writers dropped the idiot ball on him so that could successfully neuter him, and get rid of everything that made him enjoyable in the first place.
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Fluttershy didn't 'tame' Discord, who is not a god, she simply showed him (at most) there might be something to friendship. Though honestly I feel her is manipulating and deceiving everyone. Heck based on the look on everyone's face at the end of the episode I would say not even Celestia and the Mane Six believe he has been reformed.
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She was foreshadowed. Watch the cutiemark chronicles when princess celestia said she would be her protege. Twilight worked since she was a filly to earn this title as princess. Fluttershy became friends with Discord, was is it a challenge? yes but that doesn't give her the title as princess. Rainbow Dash did a sonic rainboom, does that mean she gets to be a princess? No. She did a sonic rainboom not master magic. I understand your point but Twilight was meant to be a princess since the first day she became a student for Celestia.
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Not only that but the very pilot foreshadows it. What is Twilight's Element of Harmony? A crown, why is her Element a crown when everypony else's is a necklace?
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Faving for your description, love it! I agree with everything here!
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Yeah... about that lord of chaos... couldn't he have fixed the problem also? Or Time-travel? O- Gets bitchslapped by song
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Yes, you'd have to work pretty damn hard to make kids hate an episode of this series.
And Starswirl now seems less complling now that he's been outdone.
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agreed so very hard, with one addition:
beyond one line from Celestia the transformation has no connection whatsoever to the plot of the episode. it just sort of happens, and feels like it could have fit just as well with any other Twilight-centric episode.
that, more than anything else, makes me doubt that this was (as some have said) the writer's plan from season 2, and makes it easier for me to believe that hasbro forced this in some manner that included a "don't tell anyone we forced this" clause.
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Someone needs to give you a medal right now. It only take 10 minutes of thinking to realize its a bad episode, and the fact that just about half the fandom is still sitting in the "I still don't know what to make of this." camp should be proof enough. But really there are a few things that sum the whole thing up but this is my favorite. [link]
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Rusty--I agree totally with your idea of having a character *not* achieve a dream. I know for a fact (from my own experiences) that dreams don't necessarily come true, even when you work at it as hard as you can. It doesn't mean that you should give up, though, because you never know where those talents might take you. You might even end up discovering something even better than the thing you thought you wanted.
I know that the suits would hate that, though. Might upset the kiddies, after all. God forbid we do that.
Dontbow--Seriously! Girl tamed the GOD OF CHAOS with niceness. She couldn't even use her only confirmed superpower--the Stare. She had to do it the old fashioned way. THAT'S the Magic of Friendship, even if that too was an episode that was too short. Seriously, what was it with this season and completing character arcs in 15 minutes or less?
Stranded--Yeah, I'm hoping that Season 4 will come out and render ALL our arguments moot. I hope that we all look like idiots after the season premiere because--frankly--I enjoy the show and I want it to surprise me and pull something really awesome off with this. That's why I wasn't against the Twilicorn at first pass. It sounded like an idea that they may be able to pull off neatly while adding a delicious new layer of finish to Equestria. I didn't REALLY get mad until I saw the execution. *sigh* I really, really, really hope that they prove all of us neighsayers (giggle) wrong.
Trialman--YES. Granny Smith COMPLETELY fits the bill.
I think that Tia is racist against non-unicorns. YOU HEARD IT HERE, FOLKS!
Lightsol--Heh, long time no see, dude. You're right--Hollywood WOULD have to be assed to try harder. It's a shame that mediocrity is what they set their curve to.
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"It'll teach them to ask for more from their entertainment than 30 minutes of bright, shiny colors. "
But that would mean in the future, outfits like Hollywood would have to put *gasp*, EFFORT into their work! Can't have that when they could just as easily brainwash them into enjoying mindless color-flashing for their lives...
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Too true. The only hint of foreshadowing was at the beginning of S3 when Tia says: You stop Sombra and you'll be one step closer to your destiny. And the end of Part 2 you see Luna holding Star Swirl's journal that used in this crap of an episode. The official people say that THERE IS MORE in parts 2 & 3 that will be S4 E1 & 2. That's what bugs me about this whole thing Twilicorn's biggest flaw is that they didn't TELL A STORY for us to accept the idea.
I hope S4 will fix that. Cadence as bad she was they at least told us a story to explain her and try to make us care about what happened to her.
The amusing part of your question is that I have found more ponies other than Twilight that could be come a alicorn and it would make more sense.
Fluttershy:Who else could tame Chaos in flesh?
Pinkie Pie: Do I really need to go on?
BerryPunch:A half glass of red wine is said to extend your life by five years X INFINITY!
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I can find another pony who's more worthy. It's none other than Granny Smith, as she discovered magic apples and the insane methods on how to harvest them in their best quality, and was able to found a town using these skills. Or as said in the description, RD, who made the impossible possible.
There is only one logical solution. Ms. Celestia, you are guilty of favouritism! As you give this position to Ms. Sparkle, when her actions are relatively mundane in comparison to Ms. Smith and Ms. Dash! As Ms. Sparkle is your student, there is a clear sign of favouritism here!
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I've never seen an episode of FiM, so I can't really judge it. Some even suggest that I'm not allowed to have an opinion.
I admit that I tend to sigh when I hear of it having main characters that are all this, that and the other, accomplish all these amazing things and get all this attention from the leaders of the world etc. While it's good for kids to set high goals for themselves, I worry that it also sets them up for disappointment should their real lives and accomplishments up end up being shall we say, less? It can make people think that the only people whose lives have any value are these upper crust types. It can also have them expect to get all sorts of attention and think the world should revolve around them. Should they get little to no attention and see or hear someone else getting massive attention for what feels like little to no reason, I doubt it's going to trigger a positive response.
I don't know much of this episode or the character but I think they're trying to make it satisfy the kid's fantasies rather then trying to tell a good story with a good morale. How about having her have that dream but take a risk and have her not achieving it and accept it?
What you're saying about Batman TAS is also true, especially when it was still on Fox. It was a show that didn't have to use violence, gore etc. to be shocking. Just look at the Mr. Freeze's initial episode or Two-Faces initial episode. Both tell interesting stories and both have (dare I say?) moving conclusions that still work even for adult viewers. Granted, not all the episodes reached that level but there were still plenty of good ones.
When it comes to what people think of so-called kid's shows, one thing I find amusing is when people complain about the violence and nasty stuff happening in kid's shows. There is truth to the idea that some of the stuff that happens on these kid's shows is just as cruel and messed up as "grown up" shows and movies, perhaps even far more so. The thing is that, it's often the adults complaining, not the kids.
How many of us watched stuff as kids and were cheering at the violence and/or didn't let the sadder stuff bother us as long as it had a happy ending. If it didn't, it might be a scene or scenes most of us hated and cringed when we knew they were coming up, but once they were over, we'd forget about them.
Maybe they should let kids rate some of these shows for what actual kids think they should be rated for in terms of violence etc.
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Why do I keep bumping into people I recognize from TF fiction in this debate? It's starting to weird me out.
In any case, your arguments are sound for someone who doesn't watch the show. I agree with your reservations about trumped-up rewards and expectations.
"How about having her have that dream but take a risk and have her not achieving it and accept it?"
Because that would be an interesting and clever concept. Something I fear us fans won't be seeing much of come next season.
Long live the Twilight who, like most people, was special on the inside rather than the outside.
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that and doesn't a sonic rainboom kinda count as a new magic?
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