I don't think I could do a con solo. I'd probably be bored to tears.
Soapbox time!
Expect these posts every Tuesday at 2:00 PM PST (3:00 EQD Time). To submit your own, see this post.
This week we dive into the following:
- Chrysalis Revenge at the Price of Her Own Sanity
- Is There an Important Theme MLP Should Not Ignore?
- Zephyr Breeze is Under-Appreciated
- Embrace your Bronyhood, My Brony Brothers and Sisters!
- A Tree Lost in the Forest - The Lone Con Goer
And get your soapboxes below!
Chrysalis Revenge at the Price Of Her Own Sanity
By: Benjamin
Chrysalis once a powerful leader of a hive of shift shaping bugs has now been dethroned from her position as Queen and now seeks revenge. With all that she has lost, what exactly is Chrysalis revenge plan? I believe her plan is mostly going to center around Starlight, She may have more broader goal then just to get revenge on Starlight but the main thing she wants is payback. But I believe this comes at the cost of her sanity. Chrysalis is a person who want to just be queen just so she can control people and use them just so she can benefit herself. Regardless of her subjects situation, she only cares that she's getting the benefits, a bully in simple terms. Starlight once was like this, she lost her status as leader and swore revenge. To the point that's all Starlight thought about, revenge no matter the risks and costs. Luckily Starlight was reformed after being given the chance to change, but Chrysalis refused it when it was offered by Starlight. Can she be redeemed or will she refuse to change and let her craziness control her.
A Tree Lost in the Forest - The Lone Con Goer
By: Sirius
It is said that those who can do, while those who cannot, teach. This article is meant to serve as a helping hand for introverts who go, or one day wish, to go to a pony convention, but ultimately go alone.
Going stag to a convention does come with benefits: private hotel room, going just to panels you like, deciding where and when to eat, etc. Obvious downside is that you are completely responsible for the costs. The subtle downside is you’re not mingling in your comfy hotel room, you’re not engaged in conversation when you do stop to eat. If you’re an extreme introvert, like myself, you may also be hyper aware of all the cliques of people around you.
You may go alone, but you’ll suddenly feel alone. You’ll want to join conversations, ask questions, but you make excuses not to.
It hurts to fall into this obvious mental trap.
You can have fun alone at a con. Like anything, the results depend on the work put into it. The only one stopping you from having fun is you. Take chances, be approachable, be Twilight and have a checklist of goals to accomplish even.
Mainly, avoid sabotaging yourself.
Is There an Important Theme MLP Should Not Ignore?
By Fluttershypegasus
MLP has proven to be capable of addressing several complex and mature themes, including grief, self blame and betrayal. However, I believe there's a very important concept that has been neglected by the show for too long, and that is the idea of mercy.
First we must make the distinction between mercy and forgiveness-forgiveness is given when someone admits they made a mistake and want reconciliation, but mercy is sparing someone even when they don't show remorse. For instance, in Star Wars, Luke Skywalker decides not to kill Vader because Vader was defenceless-there was no forgiveness involved in the moment where Vader's life was spared but mercy was still shown. Another point here is that mercy always plays a huge role in the story-if Gollum in LOTR had not been spared he would not have destroyed the ring- if Vader had not been spared the Emperor would not have died.
Forgiveness has been addressed before, such as in Twilight's Kingdom, but mercy has not (Letting Chrysalis go doesn't count for reasons I will explain). The closest was "keep calm and flutter on" and even then, Fluttershy refused to use her element against discord so she didn't break her promise rather than because she was showing Discord mercy. If the writers ever do decide to go down this route then I think they need to have certain features involved-some or all of the characters should be visibly tempted to not show mercy as there must be some desire for vengeance to ensure a conflict, and the villain cannot show any signs of repentance.
In my opinion, no villain would be better for this role than Lord Tirek-Twilight would feel anger at him for the destruction of her library and he does not seem the type of character to ever become reformed. If he was brought back, defeated and then Twilight was offered a choice of sparing him or permanently ridding Equestria of him (whether that be through eternal imprisonment or any other conceivable route), then that could create a particularly poignant story, especially if the mercy shown to the villain helped the heroes win-even if the villain did not intend for this to happen, as in the case of Gollum.
Embrace your Bronyhood, My Brony Brothers and Sisters!
By: Booksmart
October 10, 2010 was "the day everything changed" When My Little Pony:Friendship Is Magic was created and premiered on TV and an new breed of nerds was born: Bronies! But alas, not all of the world was attuned to this new phenomena of an unexpected zealousy! If mutants in the X-Men universe are called "children of the atom", then we as Bronies are called "children of the alicorn! We're treated like freaks, weirdos, crazy people as well! Xenophobia , ridicule , and societal norms were our enemies. But now, with the help of Lauren Faust, and The Hasbro Crew, we were welcome with open hooves!
Zephyr Breeze is Under-Appreciated
By: Molly
By: Molly
Ever since "Flutter Brutter" aired, Zephyr Breeze has gotten mixed reactions from the fandom. Some love him for his humorous antics or his relatable struggles, while others despise him because of what he put his family through or simply because they consider him annoying. These gripes are justified; after all, Zephyr practically destroyed everything his parents had built with little consideration to the years of work put behind it, and bothered Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash nearly to no end with his lazy attitude. Despite his flaws, Zephyr Breeze is severely under-appreciated for what he's worth. He may have acted like a lazy, arrogant idiot, but it was only to cover up his inner struggle for self-validation that surely many of us can relate to, to some extent. Even if you don't share his struggles, you have to admire his character growth by the end of the episode and the fact that he is trying to better himself. There are much less-redeemable characters out there that the fandom seems to love, so why does Zephyr get so much hate? Honestly, he deserves more love!
