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I'm expecting my house to be burnt, a curse placed on my soul, and multiple hits to be issued on me for saying these things.

 

So I've been thinking. Derpy is REEEEALY popular, like woah. I read up on Derpygate, and from what I read, it was like North Korea threatened to launch missiles... Wait.

 

Maybe it was a side effect of coming into the fandom late, but I never really got into Derpy. I don't hate her, I rarely HATE anything on this show. I just dont like her. I'm fairly indifferent on most things Ditzy, or Muffins.

 

I'll just get right into it:

1) Mainstream. This one is pretty subjective, but I have never been a man to follow the current most turtles follow. I always choose to save the guy no one else chooses in The Walking Dead.

 

I don't like being just another sheep in a herd. I like having the other side in arguments, disagreements, or debates. It makes it interesting and for lack of a better word, more fun.

 

2)Last in the Gate. I joined the Fandom between Seasons 4 and 5 (but still know way more than some of the bronies I've talked to). I completely missed the graze on Derpy Fields. So I feel I don't have the same "she shaped the fandom" mentality that some veteran bronies may have.

 

3)The Last Round-up. That f**k took the spotlight from best pony. One of the greatest Applejack episodes was completely overshadowed by some 30 second cameo of Derpy wrecking the joint. The episode was so damn good. One of my favorite episodes to date (dat I Love Lucy reference *squee*) was pretty much forgotten by everyone else. Everytime you look up anything about that episode, at least 75% of the page is filled with "Derpy voice change", "Derpygate", "Derpy Scandal". I. Don't. Care. My apathy towards Derpy might not be so high if not for this one point.

 

So how much do you like Derpy? Do you maybe share similar feelings to her as I do? Have your thoughts be forever memorialized by leaving them below.

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I really like her.  I think she's an endearing character despite the attention she gets from the fandom.  I'm also one of the ones that appreciates the fan/creator relationship that we have.  I think it's amazing and deeply honoring that the character we essentially created was adopted into the show as canon. 

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She's tolerable, but I don't like her as much as everybody else. And I agree about The Last Roundup. It's one of my favorite episodes, and not because of Derpy's speaking role. And since AJ is my best pony as well, it was nice to have a nice "change" of an episode from her usual family situations. But alas, people only remembered it for Derpy...

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i think the last two reasons are valid , me personally I'm impartial with Derpy i like seeing the pics and stories But i wont obsess over her, but i think that not liking something because its popular is a pretty hipster thing to say lol.  even though I'm all for the not being just another sheep thing :D 

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You know you're kind of still following the herd with your attitude towards popular things.

You just wait for the crowd to decide what most of them like and then try to pick the opposite of them.

Just like what you like, regardless of wether it's popular or unpopular.

 

I love Derpy, which makes me part of the crowd.

I think Celestia is best princess/best pony, which makes me a minority.

I just like what I like.

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Honestly, I really don't give two shits about Derpy or any of the background characters. Sorry but why should I give a fuck about them? (Sorry for the swearing, I'm very tired)

All depends on how you like to enjoy media.

If you just like to have your entertainment presented to you and let that be that, then that's fine.

But others my want to get in there and imagine what the lives of all these other ponies are like. After all, like it was demonstrated in Slice of Life, they are all entities with their own lives going on, at least if you are at all invested in the show's universe.

 

It's hard because we're so preoccupied with our own lives, but if you think about it for a second, every stranger that you walk past has a life and emotions and thoughts that are just as complicated as your own. The ponies are the same way. If you think about them beyond the fact that they are just drawings on a screen and think of them as characters, your imagination can run wild.

 

But if that's not your thing, that's fine.

Edited by ShadOBabe
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Derpy is my absolute favorite pony. Don't ask why, because I don't rightfully know, something just clicked and I thought "I like that pony." She just is. I'll go down the list for your points now though. 

1. It honestly does feel a lot like Derpy is the face of the fandom. I came into the show around the beginning of season 3 and Derpy was pretty much the only character I knew of on the fandom side of it besides Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. And while the latter two are both great ponies, the show has developed them. Derpy I feel is the mascot of the fandom because of the amount of development the unexpected audience gave to a specific background pony. The same might be said about Vinyl or Lyra, but there's just something about Derpy that is just iconic to the fandom. Also, liking something mainstream doesn't make you a sheep. It's like saying somebody is a sheep for having Twilight as a favorite because she's essentially the main character, it's just not true or a very nice thing to say

2. I also missed the whole debacle on Derpy but I started watching around season 3 and joined the fandom around Equestria Girls. So while I may have missed out on the whole veteran attachment thing, I don't feel that it's an important reason to like the character or dislike her

3. I feel like this one is just being petty. Hating on her because she figuratively stole the spotlight from a mane 6 episode just seems mean. Yes, a lot of people were upset about the episode, and it reflects on unnecessary TV censorship in general. I don't have a lot to say about this one besides the petty. It was the first real appearance of a popular background pony and that was in fact a big deal. But you shouldn't let it detract anything from your overall enjoyment of the episode

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I love how Derpy was brought into MLP by the fans, showing that the people who work on MLP actually pay attention to the fan-basis.

 

However, I generally dislike Derpy or I feel as you said, apathetic towards her. Some for the same reasons as you, but my disliking for Derpy could also come from the fact that I don't like the word 'derp'. It reminds me of prepubescent tweens wanting to be puberty-teenagers.

 

That's just me. Sorry if I came off rash/rude.

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Yeah I don't like background ponies in general and Muffins I dislike the most of any character in the series. I don't really even consider her a character per se but if one was to include the extras and fanon characters I dislike her the most. I was around for the earlier times of MLP, I didn't dislike her but for some reason this obssession with her and the excessive crying and madness that people exhibited over her being "removed" or more like "censored" was probably instrumental to me disliking her.

 

I feel like Muffins is liked just because most bronies like her. She's popular for being popular. There might be some residual popularity that may have come from bronies that watch the episodes over and over while in 4chan to the point that they start checking everything of every scene that they notice things in the background and start getting obsessed over it but many of those bronies might have moved on to something else and now people just like her for the history she might have in the fandom. She doesn't need a character, a character development or anything to be popular.

Edited by cider float
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Even if Applejack was favorite pony, i don't see why i would be so upset about the part Derpy played in The Last Round-up, by the looks of it, thats why you made this topic, I just enjoy the show, so even if Derpy has a lot of fans that doesn't bother me at all because it is not my concern.

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Based on my experience, it would seem as if the vast majority of Applejack fans tend to resent Derpy to some extent for her essentially "stealing" the spotlight from Applejack in what was the only season 2 episode to really showcase Applejack in a starring role (SSCS6K really failed on that account) and it was a very long awaited one at that. I've been there. I remember being excited that Derpy made an appearance, spoke, and had her name mentioned. But after the internet exploded with literally nothing but Derpy worship and relentless background pony jokes at AJ's expense because she was supposedly "upstaged" by an actual background pony, I too fell victim to some saltiness. Derpy was on my worst pony list for a while, I will admit. :sunny: I maintain that The Last Roundup was and still is one of the funniest, heartwarming, and all around memorable episodes of the series with or without that one short Derpy scene. She didn't make that episode great. She was merely a cherry atop an already amazing fudge sundae. 

 

But while I sympathize with your third reason for hating Derpy, I must admit that your hatred is a bit unfounded and misplaced. With time, I've realized that it's a bit silly to hate on Derpy for what was a ridiculously overblown reaction by the fandom. But back in season 2, the show's fanservice levels were far lower. The show didn't constantly pander (for better or worse) to every popular fandom character or idea like it does now, so this was a new and interesting experience for fans, because it was probably the first major nod to the fandom.

 

Ranting aside, I've grown to accept Derpy and have long "forgiven" her. I've never been and never will be a big fan of background ponies even as they grow more and more prominent, but Derpy is one of the more amusing and likable of the lot, so I'm OK with her.

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All depends on how you like to enjoy media.

If you just like to have your entertainment presented to you and let that be that, then that's fine.

But others my want to get in there and imagine what the lives of all these other ponies are like. After all, like it was demonstrated in Slice of Life, they are all entities with their own lives going on, at least if you are at all invested in the show's universe.

 

It's hard because we're so preoccupied with our own lives, but if you think about it for a second, every stranger that you walk past has a life and emotions and thoughts that are just as complicated as your own. The ponies are the same way. If you think about them beyond the fact that they are just drawings on a screen and think of them as characters, your imagination can run wild.

 

But if that's not your thing, that's fine.

Okay here's my thing: the fandom and the show are two distinct entities.  Is there overlay, without a doubt but I don't judge a show or it's universe by things outside of it. It be like saying Star Wars: Episode I is the best one because of Pinkett's awesome review or that Wesley Crusher is awesome because Will Wheaton is a great guy (BTW he is).  And that's the thing,the fandom, while awesome, is outside the show and is not part of it and I don't think it should be at least not to a massive degree anyways (nods and little things from time to time are okay)  And yes I have my own headcanons but I don't apply them to the show (or at least I attempt not to) 

 

And that's the thing: Anytime me or someone else uses Derpy to write about Equestria, it's not Derpy or Equestira, it's MY/Thier version of them, not the shows. We aren't seeing Derpy but [insert fanfic writer or artist name here]'s version of her and Equestria and seeing their interpretation of things. And while it's great to talk and discuss all the ins and outs of how people view things but they aren't the show. 

 

And so from solely a show perceptive I have to ask: What makes them interesting? And please do not give me a meta answer on how they're all people or the like and I should feel empathy and what not, I mean specifics. What has the show shown that makes their lives interesting? What are their conflicts, hates or sorrows, their dreams and hopes? I follow Kurt Vonnegut short story tip #3 & #6: "Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water" and "Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–in order that the reader may see what they are made of." (link here to rest of his tips: http://www.openculture.com/2015/04/kurt-vonneguts-8-tips-on-how-to-write-a-good-short-story.html) Seeing them go "Oh Muffin!" or looking like Doctor Who is not a conflict. I could write a fanfic where Derpy is Adolf Hitler and personally killing everyone in the Holocaust based around that she has blond hair, it's clearly not part of her character because there isn't one to her in the show.  I want to see a character at their weakest or when they are down on their luck, when the walls are closing in and they are desperate and how they overcome it.  I mean that to me has been one of the show's strengths, that it can do this yet not be soul crushing or cynical. I don't care to see them acting random and quirky because it'd please the fanbase.  

 

 

Also thanks for implying that me not caring about Derpy or the background characters means I only watch the show on the surface level and that I don't invest in it. (Sorry, I'm very tired and not in a good mood. This isn't an excuse but an explanation) 

Edited by Sidral Mundet
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I have almost no opinion on her. I know about the fan idea that "Dinky Do" is her daughter, I know about the fact that a lot of people lost their minds at her cameo in "The Last Roundup," and I know that she is really popular. It just doesn't really matter to me. What it all boils down to, (in my opinion), is that she rings with some people and she doesn't ring with others, (just like a lot of other things). Some people are passionate about it, some are not. So be it. I always just accepted her as another character in the MLP universe.

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Okay here's my thing: the fandom and the show are two distinct entities.  Is there overlay, without a doubt but I don't judge a show or it's universe by things outside of it. It be like saying Star Wars: Episode I is the best one because of Pinkett's awesome review or that Wesley Crusher is awesome because Will Wheaton is a great guy (BTW he is).  And that's the thing,the fandom, while awesome, is outside the show and is not part of it and I don't think it should be at least not to a massive degree anyways (nods and little things from time to time are okay)  And yes I have my own headcanons but I don't apply them to the show (or at least I attempt not to) 

 

And that's the thing: Anytime me or someone else uses Derpy to write about Equestria, it's not Derpy or Equestira, it's MY/Thier version of them, not the shows. We aren't seeing Derpy but [insert fanfic writer or artist name here]'s version of her and Equestria and seeing their interpretation of things. And while it's great to talk and discuss all the ins and outs of how people view things but they aren't the show. 

 

And so from solely a show perceptive I have to ask: What makes them interesting? And please do not give me a meta answer on how they're all people or the like and I should feel empathy and what not, I mean specifics. What has the show shown that makes their lives interesting? What are their conflicts, hates or sorrows, their dreams and hopes? I follow Kurt Vonnegut short story tip #3 & #6: "Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water" and "Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–in order that the reader may see what they are made of." (link here to rest of his tips: http://www.openculture.com/2015/04/kurt-vonneguts-8-tips-on-how-to-write-a-good-short-story.html) Seeing them go "Oh Muffin!" or looking like Doctor Who is not a conflict. I could write a fanfic where Derpy is Adolf Hitler and personally killing everyone in the Holocaust based around that she has blond hair, it's clearly not part of her character because there isn't one to her in the show.  I want to see a character at their weakest or when they are down on their luck, when the walls are closing in and they are desperate and how they overcome it.  I mean that to me has been one of the show's strengths, that it can do this yet not be soul crushing or cynical. I don't care to see them acting random and quirky because it'd please the fanbase.  

 

Also thanks for implying that me not caring about Derpy or the background characters means I only watch the show on the surface level and that I don't invest in it. (Sorry, I'm very tired and not in a good mood. This isn't an excuse but an explanation)

 

I'm not going to write an essay for you to try and change your mind, buddy.

You seemed to imply, at least from my perspective, that caring about the background characters makes no sense. So I tried to explain why others do care. It's fun to come fill in blanks with your own ideas. Making it personal like that is what gets a lot of fans attached. But that's not for you.

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I'm indifferent, I think she's cute, but that's really about it. Never found her obsession with muffins to be funny, and I also thought the whole Derpy thing in Last Round Up was bullshit. Yeah, on it's own it's a funny 30 second thing that had me giggling. But considering that alone affected a lot of bronies opinions of the episode, especially with Derpygate, was incredibly unfair and dumb

 

 

 

But in the end of the day, to me she's just another BG pony

Edited by Green Biker Dude
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Honestly the main reason I don't like background ponies in general is because it's another meme. Bronies seem to care more about these characters with no personality then they do the actual plot and characters of the show they're watching. I mean I'd understand it if Derpy was an actual character but she really isn't. She just has some basic personality traits, there's nothing three-dimensional about her. 

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 Derpy was nothing but a more well known cute background pony. I think it had to do for joining the fandom so late (mid S3). It now was until Slice of Life where she became endearing to be, though, I was surprised they kept Tabitha as her voice after that fiasco  :P

 

This discussion made me draw paralels with Derps  :muffins:  to Pleinair from Disgaea series. The latter was already popular before she was playable in the remake of the first Disgaea game, and I've only truly liked her from than point onwards

tumblr_m6ndl3xFU81rsvfuuo1_500.jpg

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I got in a bit late to the fandom too. I think I had just become aware of the show and started watching season one around the time The Last Roundup was airing, so I too was not there from the start watching Derpy become a major fan nod. For this reason, I'm glad that she's so mainstream. Derpy is definitely the kind of thing I like to see in media. In most of her appearances, she is an Easter egg to watch out for and I like subtle and not-so-subtle background jokes. So I'm glad that she became popular because if not for all the hype, I might never have noticed her. I agree that blindly following what's popular is a very sheepy and dangerous thing to do, but it's also important to remember that sometimes things become popular because they're good. It is a delicate task to consider your media carefully and be sure that you aren't just getting swept up in the hype, and maybe on closer inspection you will confirm that you really do dislike Derpy, but don't deny yourself the opportunity to get to know a pony or any piece of art just because it's popular. Give yourself more credit than that! You're obviously a very thoughtful person, and you are probably quite capable of deciding for yourself what you like, despite what others like. You don't have to be ashamed of liking a mainstream thing as long as you like it for the right reasons.

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The last round up made AJ look really bad by the way. She lied so many times to her friends and family.

It doesn't make her look bad. It makes her look desperate and believable.

Go look up FOB Equestria's Top Ten Personal Episodes. Firebrand will tell you why it's understandable.

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Derpy hardly has canonical character. It's 79% fanon based. People who like Derpy seccumbed to fanon culture of her. We've seen bits of her making mistakes most likely due to the obvious eye impairment and a few muffin jokes here and there only. 

Edited by IncognitoKiwoy
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My reasoning for disliking here has nothing to do with Applejack or that episode. I just don't really like when Hasbro gives fans stuff like this because it just gives them more and more impressions that they can control the show. Every time they give fans something, it seems as though they get more and more prone to headcannon being broken. You groom a fandom to think they will get what they want, and they will uproar when they don't. It just isn't a winning formula and I think it's more or less been proven by the fact that every time something minor was done that fans didn't like there was an uproar. I vaguely remember a petition to change Vinyl Scratch's eye color to red and regular hate mail to M. A. Larson.

 

I hate how giving into the brony fandom seems to always bite Hasbro in the ass because it just teaches them that they "control" the show when they don't. So often I hear "we are the REAL demographic" and constant insistence that the show should only be catered to them. It's really pathetic and hurts the show in that the writers have to back out of what they originally planned to cater to bronies instead. It straight jackets their original ideas so they can squeeze some brony refs in there. Hell in an interview with Amy Keating Rodgers, she never intended Derpy to be in the episode, she said she she was going to call the character Ditzy Doo, but she was asked to change it to Derpy to cater to fans. Her original vision was changed due to bronies.

 

To top this off, she was actually offended when she found out that "Derpy" can be a slur for mentally retarded, as she has a child who suffers from mental problems. People were not sympathetic to that though and demanded the episode be restored "Derpy" and all, uncaring that she herself never wanted her to be called Derpy or that she was offended by the change.

 

That's my issue. Fans take nods to the fandom waaaaaaay too far sometimes. Some people even petitioned to have the show canceled.

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I don't dislike Derpy. In fact I'd say I like her. What I don't like is the stuff the fandom burdens her with. "Oh look, she's clumsy! HAHAHAHAHA!" No. Like dude, the fandom's appointed Dinky as her daughter right? And as far as we know she's a single mother. do you know the character you could build from that fact alone? Hard-working, determined, does everything she can for her daughter... etc. And then you could add negative traits AND BACKSTORY from it too (pushes herself too far, resents the father for leaving her, misses the clouds but stays on the ground for Dinky's sake, etc).

 

Derpy could be such a great character if we'd only give her a chance, but no. She's stuck being old Ditzy Derpy, the poor girl.

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