And what of Blueblood?

[Quinch 1,120]

Here's something I've been curious about, but first, let's talk about the Tethercat Principle, also known as Offscreen Inertia. The idea behind it is that for characters that, when we see a character doing something, and the scene changes, we assume, if not consciously, that they have been left doing that thing until they either appear or are mentioned again.

So I got to thinking about Blueblood. Well, okay, I got to thinking about Blueblood first, then it kind of went from there. The last - or rather, the only - time we've ever seen him was during the Grand Galloping Gala, a time in which he showed himself as a... less than likeable individual. But here's the thing - during the time that just about every other character grew and transformed, in just about every other piece of fan fiction he appears in, he's still portrayed as the snobby man-child he'd been at the Gala and it seems a little unfair - inasmuch the term "fair" can apply to a wholly fictional character - that he got locked into a one-dimensional portrayal when background characters with less screentime got far more varied and branching interpretations.

So, here's a thought to consider - given all that has happened since his appearance {i.e. a lot} and what we know of his background and motivations {i.e. very little}, what do you think might have happened with Bluey in the meantime? Is he still a spoiled brat, or has he grown beyond that? Headcanons and wild extrapolations of tiny details are encouraged.

[Brony Number 42 10,071]

He is featured in a one shot comic where he is competent and not hateable.

[ShadOBabe 19,009]

Well we do know that he was apparently tolerable enough that Rarity (who was previously disgusted by the idea of every dealing with him again) actually DID associate with him again during Sweet And Elite:

Spoiler

The most positive interpretation of this is that Blueblood thought about how things went down, felt bad and apologized, and invited her to launch his new yacht.

Less positive, he apologized, but strictly for social politics reasons, because Rarity was, at that time, skyrocketing in popularity in Canterlot, and it could bring his P.R. down to be in her bad books.

I highly doubt he didn’t apologize at all, because despite being a shrewd social climber, once Rarity has pegged you as someone she objectively dislikes, no upperclass position in the world is going to make her deal with you. Especially not with a smile like the one she has in that screenshot.

Reformation with villains can be rocky, but I quite like it when garden variety jerks shape up and become better people. So I like to hope that that’s what happened with Blueblood.

Edited January 6, 2020 by ShadOBabe

[Latecomer 439]

We don' really even know enough of him to be sure he was a terrible jerk tto begin with - all of our leads have acted just as badly on occasion, we just see them on a lot of occasions.

But if we assume that what we saw of him that night is meant to be representative of his overall character - well sometimes people grow out of that sort of thing, and sometimes they get worse. Rarity's rise might have made him second-guess himself about her at least.

One thing that does annoy me though, is stories where he's treated as incompetent and laughable as well as a jerk - and perhaps conversely, one's where he's spun as a terrible villain. Just because someone has certain negative characteristics doesn't mean they have a bunch of other unrelated ones.

[Metemponychosis 1,262]

The typical arguments fit here: The show isn't about him... 

But if it was my decision, Blueblood would've started a revolution and several heads would fly. It's not even a mater of him maturing or not, but of the whole retirement and Twilight simply becoming the new ruler making no sense and the fact that he was related to Celestia and even had a title. It's such a bad, stereotypical and hollow character it's hard to even extrapolate.

Eh, I suppose that in the producers' heads Blueblood wouldn't be the kind of character that wouldn't would care about such things and he is probably comfortable enough doing whatever it is he was doing already and couldn't be bothered with a move to become the ruler.

Whatever he changed or not, honestly, I don't think that he would because I don't think he ever had a reason to change. I don't even know why he's a prince to begin with, in the context of the show. Headcanon-wise, I think he has/had some sort of administrative job and/or owned productive lands that allowed him to live with luxury and not really bother with anything. In my stories he's the administrator for the region of Canterlot and frequently gets summoned to the throne room to explain why something isn't the way it was supposed to be.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Metemponychosis
Stupid typo

[Latecomer 439]

1 minute ago, Metemponychosis said:

The typical arguments fit here: The show isn't about him... 

But if it was my decision, Blueblood would've started a revolution and several heads would fly. It's not even a mater of him maturing or not, but of the whole retirement and Twilight simply becoming the new ruler making no sense and the fact that he was related to Celestia and even had a title. It's such a bad, stereotypical and hollow character it's hard to even extrapolate.

Now now - even if he's more competent then he looks, I don't think anyone, even him, ever contemplated putting him in charge.

[Metemponychosis 1,262]

1 minute ago, Latecomer said:

Now now - even if he's more competent then he looks, I don't think anyone, even him, ever contemplated putting him in charge.

Well, that is the point. I don't know if he would even bother.

5 minutes ago, Metemponychosis said:

Eh, I suppose that in the producers' heads Blueblood wouldn't be the kind of character that wouldn't would care about such things and he is probably comfortable enough doing whatever it is he was doing already and couldn't be bothered with a move to become the ruler.

 

[flutterJackdash 218]

12 hours ago, Quinch said:

Here's something I've been curious about, but first, let's talk about the Tethercat Principle, also known as Offscreen Inertia. The idea behind it is that for characters that, when we see a character doing something, and the scene changes, we assume, if not consciously, that they have been left doing that thing until they either appear or are mentioned again.

So I got to thinking about Blueblood. Well, okay, I got to thinking about Blueblood first, then it kind of went from there. The last - or rather, the only - time we've ever seen him was during the Grand Galloping Gala, a time in which he showed himself as a... less than likeable individual. But here's the thing - during the time that just about every other character grew and transformed, in just about every other piece of fan fiction he appears in, he's still portrayed as the snobby man-child he'd been at the Gala and it seems a little unfair - inasmuch the term "fair" can apply to a wholly fictional character - that he got locked into a one-dimensional portrayal when background characters with less screentime got far more varied and branching interpretations.

So, here's a thought to consider - given all that has happened since his appearance {i.e. a lot} and what we know of his background and motivations {i.e. very little}, what do you think might have happened with Bluey in the meantime? Is he still a spoiled brat, or has he grown beyond that? Headcanons and wild extrapolations of tiny details are encouraged.

The show does very little to highlight him since he acted as antagonist to Rarity in "Best Night Ever." There have been plenty of fics that try to highlight growth in him such as The Best Night Ever and The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments which deliver logical growth while never fully diverging from his insufferable personality, it just makes the redeeming qualities outweigh that.

In Canon? Well, he hasn't been newsworthy or Rarity and the others have not felt it necessary to ever talk of him again (perhaps this as Rarity's urging?), but I tend to think this means he hasn't done anything of note. Positive or negative then.

So, I think perhaps Celestia might have taken a hoof in his continued development as a pony, thus his lack of appearance might suggest some time spent elsewhere for educational purposes. That he does not make more than a token cameo by the time the show has ended suggests little progress in this.

All speculation, of course.

12 hours ago, Brony Number 42 said:

He is featured in a one shot comic where he is competent and not hateable.

Referring to Friends Forever #26 with Shining Armor? He was a pretty good diplomat there, very true. I think it did a decent job of representing how much of his own reputation needed to be overlooked just to see that, and for Shining Armor how desperate the situation might've had to be. He wasn't hatable, I'll grant, but neither was he terribly likable.

12 hours ago, ShadOBabe said:

Well we do know that he was apparently tolerable enough that Rarity (who was previously disgusted by the idea of every dealing with him again) actually DID associate with him again during Sweet And Elite:

  Reveal hidden contents

The most positive interpretation of this is that Blueblood thought about how things went down, felt bad and apologized, and invited her to launch his new yacht.

Less positive, he apologized, but strictly for social politics reasons, because Rarity was, at that time, skyrocketing in popularity in Canterlot, and it could bring his P.R. down to be in her bad books.

I highly doubt he didn’t apologize at all, because despite being a shrewd social climber, once Rarity has pegged you as someone she objectively dislikes, no upperclass position in the world is going to make her deal with you. Especially not with a smile like the one she has in that screenshot.

Reformation with villains can be rocky, but I quite like it when garden variety jerks shape up and become better people. So I like to hope that that’s what happened with Blueblood.

Of course, Rarity herself is proving a social climber and ultimately at her worst as she forgets to tend to her friend's birthday dress. That said, at this stage in her life I wouldn't put it past her to have used Blueblood in the same manner you suggest he might be using her. I just don't lose respect for her for having the strength to move on. He might have apologized, but he doesn't appear the type to see too far past his own snout, so I'm having trouble visualizing such an event.

4 hours ago, Metemponychosis said:

The typical arguments fit here: The show isn't about him... 

But if it was my decision, Blueblood would've started a revolution and several heads would fly. It's not even a matter of him maturing or not, but of the whole retirement and Twilight simply becoming the new ruler making no sense and the fact that he was related to Celestia and even had a title. It's such a bad, stereotypical and hollow character it's hard to even extrapolate.

Eh, I suppose that in the producers' heads Blueblood wouldn't be the kind of character that wouldn't would care about such things and he is probably comfortable enough doing whatever it is he was doing already and couldn't be bothered with a move to become the ruler.

Whatever he changed or not, honestly, I don't think that he would because I don't think he ever had a reason to change. I don't even know why he's a prince to begin with, in the context of the show. Headcanon-wise, I think he has/had some sort of administrative job and/or owned productive lands that allowed him to live with luxury and not really bother with anything. In my stories he's the administrator for the region of Canterlot and frequently gets summoned to the throne room to explain why something isn't the way it was supposed to be.

 

He might have been distracted by Equestria nearly falling to the villainous trio as well, that could easily have sidelined any plans he might have had since that was far more dangerous. Let's not forget the tribes had been divided in the time leading up to the Twilight's coronation. Mostly, I was very pleased to see Sugar Belle standing by Big Macintosh though. Anyway, larger events might have sidelined anything he might have had in mind. But, then, I think you have a point in that he might not care to do anything more than bask in comfort for what remains of his days, and power (responsibility) would not fit that theme.

4 hours ago, Latecomer said:

Now now - even if he's more competent then he looks, I don't think anyone, even him, ever contemplated putting him in charge.

Perhaps? But, I don't know, the title "Prince" is there, unless that's his name?

[Metemponychosis 1,262]

51 minutes ago, flutterJackdash said:

He might have been distracted by Equestria nearly falling to the villainous trio as well, that could easily have sidelined any plans he might have had since that was far more dangerous. Let's not forget the tribes had been divided in the time leading up to the Twilight's coronation. Mostly, I was very pleased to see Sugar Belle standing by Big Macintosh though. Anyway, larger events might have sidelined anything he might have had in mind. But, then, I think you have a point in that he might not care to do anything more than bask in comfort for what remains of his days, and power (responsibility) would not fit that theme.

Actually, that whole mess was Discord's fault. That is even more of a reason to call for change in the system. If Blueblood isn't up to it, someone ought to be using him with that end. The egotistical jerk sounds like the perfect figurehead.

Suddenly Celestia makes a hell of lot more sense... 

Of course, this MLP, not GoT... But OP did ask for headcanon. 

What do you mean about the tribes being divided, though?

[flutterJackdash 218]

Just now, Metemponychosis said:

Actually, that whole mess was Discord's fault. That is even more of a reason to call for change in the system. If Blueblood isn't up to it, someone ought to be using him with that end. The egotistical jerk sounds like the perfect figurehead.

Suddenly Celestia makes a hell of lot more sense... 

Of course, this MLP, not GoT... But OP did ask for headcanon. 

What do you mean about the tribes being divided, though?

Thanks to Cozy, Chrysalis, and Tirek's machinations, the Earth Ponies, Pegasus Ponies, and Unicorns were keeping everything as in-house as possible, offering no faith at all for the reliability of the others. The only noticeable exception was Sugar Belle.

[RDDash 19,195]

We never heard of him on screen ever since season one. So no.