How Should Derpy Be Portrayed

[concertoldham 140]

I think she was fine as she originally was because it was a neat to look for her crossed eyed goofiness when watching the show. Her being "Derpy" is kind of backing up the morals of the show of love and tolerate.

[Modphase 1,270]

In my opinion, she should be portrayed however the fans want to portray her. I'm not a big Derpy fan at all, so I don't mind it if people portray her as "mentally challenged". I believe that it's better if they portray her in different ways, as she is a background character, and can be expressed differently, it promotes fresh new ideas for art, fanfics, tumblrs, whatever it may be. If she had one set personality and that's all people listened to it would become boring. Which, sadly, has happened to many, many background characters.

[~Lawful Sturdy Wing~ 522]

I personally don't think Derpy should be portrayed at all, I don't find her interesting or likable as a character, and the fanon surrounding her is annoying. So I say ignore Derpy, move on and develop characters that matter.

[Wubsie 1,123]

Maybe if that is how Derpy was introduced this controversy could have been avoided or at least be not as bad, what is done cannot be undone and as unlikely as a Derpy episode would be even one as positive as that I have seen more unlikely things happen. I have heard that Derpy will appear in the comics so here is hoping that could make a show appearance more likely.

They can do the episode to REDEEM DERPY (although she doesn't need to be redeemed) and not make her look like a pony with a mental disability. 

I think the episode would be good for Derpy.

[Firelord Derpy 310]

In my head cannon Derpy used to be an epic adventurer who did totally epic stuff. Kinda like a Pony Indiana Jones. Unfortunately in one of her adventures she had a misshape with a wall and took a very nasty concussion resulting in minor brain damage and malfunctioning eyes. After realizing she couldn't go on any more epic adventures she settled down in Ponyville and raised a family.  

Edited January 24, 2013 by Firelord Derpy

[AzuelFox102 18]

i would portray Derpy as the original Derpy; not stupid, but clumsey, like she was in that one episode i forgot the name of.... yah know? before they changed her voice and everything? yeah. like that.

[Batbrony 15,994]

OP

 

I like this idea, and it's actually what I've always thought the show has done in its treatment of her, despite the fact that she's always been used as a gag and comic relief character.  There's clearly never been any ill intent on Studio B's part in its portrayal of Derpy, and I'm pretty sure some of the animators love her as much as some of the fans do.

 

Concerning your more in-depth interpretation of Derpy, I think you'll actually enjoy my upcoming fan fiction, "Batmare Begins".  I won't go into all of the details about it here, but suffice it to say, for the purposes of this thread, that a primary function of "Batmare Begins" is going to be to explore the potential depth to Derpy's character and personality that we will never get to see in the show.  Should be up in a few hours, just waiting on some feedback from a friend about it. 

[Genepool 224]

To give some info, i'm currently writing a story about our lovable, wall-eyed mail mare.  It's a self-imposed writing excercise to train myself to think quickly, giving myself 3 days for story, tweaking, tweaking, and then publishing on the 4th day. 

 

Now, to the point of the post, in Derpy Delivers a Pizza, I portray the grey pegasus as a loving mother, a caring pony, but also as a pony who has a run of bad luck who day-dreams about certain things when she is bored. 

 

To research the pony, I went to the mlpfimwiki site to get a better understanding.  I was subsequently directed to the fanwiki site where I saw four categories concerning the pony.

 

 

 

• 1: The diligent mail pony: She is a sweet and hard-working mare who everyone likes and depends on. She delivers the mail for Ponyville and is the very ideal of the reliable postal worker. Neither rain, nor Dragons nor Griffons will stop her from getting your mail to you. Her vision is impaired, but that's all that's unusual about her. Respected by all of Ponyville. This version was named by fans as "Bright Eyes."
• 2: The day-dreamer: She is quite often out of it, lost in her own little world. Being easily distractable and blessed with a childlike attitude, her mind and attention are constantly shifting from place to place, but this often means she can notice things other ponies easily miss. Despite her aloof state of mind, she delivers the mail with utmost speed and efficiency. Other ponies see her as scatterbrained but dependable. Based on her scene in The Last Round-up, this is most likely where Derpy's canon personality sits.
• 3: The Space Cadet: Her words and actions are totally nonsensical, and she seems to be completely insane. However, sometimes her statements make sense in retrospect or have an kind of odd logic behind them. This leads some ponies to believe that she is actually extremely intelligent, but she acts so strange that it is difficult to know for sure. Still delivers the mail flawlessly, to the surprise of many, though some ponies say this proves her hidden brilliance.
• 4: The drooling idiot: Incapable of saying anything but "derp", "Muffins," and the like. Mentally challenged. Practically every concept more complex than “fire bad, tree pretty” is light years beyond her. She is genuinely happy, though, and capable of affection and kindness. Delivers the mail by accident. Walks into walls, often repeatedly, like a wind-up toy. Other ponies just try to make sure she's taken care of.

 

 

 

*Just putting that in spoilers to keep things clean, there's nothing degrading or spoiled*

 

As I read these comments, watched people commenting on Derpy, and gained my own perspective, I chose a mixture of 1&2 from the list in the spoiler tag.  I portray her as a loving mother as she prepares to deliver the pizza with several purposefully input scenes to show her appreciation for Dinky. 

 

Now, Derpy isn't the "brightest" of bulbs out there and doesn't use big words that would confuse her.

 

To give a basic gist, I view Derpy a normal mare, but a simplistic one.  You won't see her looking up a fancy word in a thesaurus, and would question why I would mention some dinosaur that lived quite a long time ago in history.

 

However, though she is simplistic to a fault and won't win any prizes for inventing revoluntionary ideas, Derpy is a dutiful, loving pony that is loyal to a fault.  Also, the dutiful mail mare will do what it takes to keep her "Precious muffin" (aka, Dinky) safe, and to make the little unicorn smile.  From her appearence during The Last Roundup, I still wonder how people jumped to the conclusion that she was/is a "drooling idiot" who spouts nonsensical words whenever she can. 

 

Anyways, that's my take on Derpy, being a loving, caring, kind pony with a good amount of childlike innocents to help her understand things. 

[Sks_Burns 730]

give her a voice with a slur and dont portray her as mental. shes cross eyed, but that also means she has poor depth perception, hence why shes clumsy. 

[Phoenix237 353]

The way I like portray Derpy is a normal innocent pony. She is accident pron and sometimes clumsy, but she is not dumb. She is kind and is dedicated to her work. She tries her best to fit in, in a world that sees her strange.

[AzuelFox102 18]

what everyone else said derp. you get a muffin.

you want it? take it! ~Az

anyway, Derpy is just a normal pegasis pony. come on, just because people get a little bit offended by how Derpy is shown, they're the one that has the problem. MUFFIN. TAKE IT. TAAAAAKKKKEEEE IIIIIIIIITTTTTT!!!!!!! ~Az

by the way, whenever i catch myself typing "derp", i give the person something of a brownie point, called, you guessed it, a "Muffin point". you get a muffin.

[pinkieshyrose 58]

i like her   clumsy and  happy or just a normal pony with derped eyes as for intelligence to me thats a bit subjective in the first place i find comics funny when derpy becomes very smart or because of some reason like one where a intelligent person would only giver her a muffin if she would "prove" it was there or rainbowdash telling a scary  story to her about how nopony made it out alive and she replying if nopony made it out alive then how did she know about the story in the first place  I also like her childlike because im childllike clumsy to....veryclumsy:P 

Edited January 24, 2013 by pinkieshyrose

[MandelSoft 29]

I portay Derpy Hooves as clumsy, happy spirited, a bit naive, but not stupid. Her cross-eyed ness and her bad motoric skills (I suffer from that too a bit) make her clumsy. She means it right, she does want nothing but the best for her friends around her, but she doesn't always succeed.

 

Her appearance makes her misunderstood; other ponies may think she is stupid, but in fact she's not. She can deliver mail just fine and she can perfectly do what any other pony can do in daily life. Only a few ponies know that she's brighter than she looks.

 

With this perspective, you can get a great storyline for an episode involving here:

- Derpy's being clumsy.

- Things go a little wrong.

- Derpy gets the blame and a lot of ponies turn their back on her.

- She's sad because she's misunderstood.

- Only one or two ponies support her (why not Rainbow Dash?).

- Then things are about to go seriously wrong, but only Derpy notices it.

- Nobody believes her because they think she's stupid

- Derpy decides to do something on her own and saves the day.

- All ponies apoligize for treating her so badly.

- Moral of the story: don't judge anyone only based on their looks and clumsiness...

 

There you have it: a good moral AND a good way to bring Derpy back...

Best,

Maarten

Edited January 25, 2013 by MandelSoft

[Trekkard 49]

I always see Derpy as a sensitive pegasus who gets along with all of Equestria. She's very eagar to help, even if she makes a mess, she's not afraid to admit it. This is one character you just want to be friends with.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

In the little stories I write (none ready for FiMFiction yet, I'm having trouble with getting time to concentrate on them. In fact this post is me procrastinating.), I have put Derpy in as a pony who is clumsy, ditzy, happy, but teasingly sarcastic with her friends. She's also unusually perceptive in a way, noticing details that others miss, but easily getting distracted by shinys and somewhat forgetful.

 

And I use the name Derpy rather than Ditzy, because the stuff I'm writing is supposed to be in the style of some British TV series I'm fond of, and my wife pointed out that 'Derpy' sounds more like an English name or knickname than 'Ditzy' does.

[Genepool 224]

I always see Derpy as a sensitive pegasus who gets along with all of Equestria. She's very eagar to help, even if she makes a mess, she's not afraid to admit it. This is one character you just want to be friends with.

 

True enough, and we see that in Last Roundup.  Rainbow Dash doesn't lash out at Derpy, calling her names, or anything along those lines.  Even as the gleeful, googly-eyed grey pegasus shouts "Yea, Applejack! Woohooo!!!" and falls over, the atheltic pegasus just roles her eyes at the pony like "that's Derpy for you."

[kirbyboi 587]

It's no contest: Derpy is Derpy.

 

The way I portray Derpy is a, well, Derpy pony with a clumsy-yet-innocent attitude. She may be a klutz, but it makes up her awesome personality.She's kinda bubbly, too. Don't know why people would dissect the show so much to make up a lame excuse for Derpy being offensive. But anywho, I think Derpy is portrayed as a klutzy yet likable and bubbly pony. She's kinda like Patrick Star, in a way. 

 

I like Derpy, hope the show brings her back! Miss trying to find her in an episode.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Pixiesong

[Shanks 10,811]

Since this topic is still relevant and there are a couple of active Derpy threads right now I decided to rez this. One complaint about Derpy is her voice and while I wasn't offended by it I don't think it suited her character but there is this one fan voice which suits her character quite well and that is youtube user Balddumborat here is a fake ad she did for "Derpy mail". And it is difficult if not impossible for someone to mistake it as being a stereotypical "dur I am retarded" voice.

 

 

and made this adorable song for Derpy as part of this series she has called Lovestuck Derpy which someone has reposted.

 

Edited May 11, 2013 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Mr. Changeling 132]

I portray derpy as being just an awesome, nice and down to earth person. I could see her being bullied a lot as a foal, just because of her eyes and through her hardship, she would never fight back, that wasnt her. Everyday, she who come home as a foal and cry to her mother, why she was different and why people were mean, and her mother would just say with a loving look "I dont know, but what trully matters is not why your different, its how your different" it would take derpy some time to get that through and through that time, the teasing got worse. Until one day, her blessings were listened to. Derpy was finally transfering to a different school; a school in ponyville. Once there, she met all these great ponys and made tons of friends and all of her dreams had come true. It was durring that time, she finally understood what her mother ment. You shouldnt curse your differences, but encourage them, find new ones, stand outside the croud. This is how ive portrayed life, this is how ive portrayed my friends and family and this is how I portray derpy hooves

Live long and brony on!

Sincerly, Mr. Changeling

[Guest]

Derpy should be portrayed as clumsy blonde with a bubbly personality, because that's how they introduced her and that's how the fans see her. I'd be really cool to see her in more episodes. Right now she's barely above background pony status, what with her being a recurring background character and actually interacting with one of the mane characters at one point. I'd love to see her as a secondary character.

Edited May 11, 2013 by Guest

[Orablanco Account 3,706]

Sorry if my opinion overlaps other posters.

 

I picture Derpy as bubbly (obviously), but down to earth, a pony who is always eager to help others and to be useful, [head canon time] but her clumsiness can sometimes exacerbate things or annoy others. Not that she's the village idiot or anything. In fact, she's quite liked by many ponies, but some feel like they have to "put up with her" whenever she is around (Dash). Derpy is aware of this, and she doesn't like being considered a burden on anyone, but she's still optimistic about anything she sets out to do.

 

If there is one thing she is good, maybe even great at, is delivering mail. It's her calling.

 

Also, I don't know where I got this tidbit, but I think it'd be cool if Derpy was actually much more clever and brighter than she appears. I envision a running gag where she has a word-of-the-day calender that she's always trying to incorporate into conversations. Stuff like that, you know?

 

Yeah, you know.

[AzuelFox102 18]

My Answer, because i cannot express this in just words alone:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YboI4kDcm_c

 

There. Enough Said. Derpy should be exactly as she is or was before...everything happened. Anyone else agree with me, please?!!

Oh, and i just wanted to say this: Everyone knows about Derpy's "Derpy" eyes. can't they technically be called lazy eyes? everyone has a lazy eye!!!!

[Scootalove 10,684]

I don't really know how Derpy should be portrayed. I mean if she was delivering mail for comedy purposes, then it would not really matter but I think that she is a good character.

Maybe since there have been a lot of stereotypes on how she looks, other than that I see nothing wrong with her.

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

With Derpy, I think the problem lies more within her voice than her actual behavior. I know people hated the new voice she was given, but in all honesty, her original voice was controversial because she sounded too slow, if you know what I mean. We can still have Derpy act silly and clumsy, but she can be that way without having an offensive voice. I don't know if that should mean she no longer speaks or if she should just use a less offensive voice from now on. I believe one of the writers said Derpy was originally going to speak in Magical Mystery Cure, but the line got cut due to time constraints. I love Derpy too, and I think she should have speaking roles every once in a while, but for the most part she should stay a background pony that we can have fun searching for in every episode, because that's what made her so special.

Edited June 5, 2013 by Sugar Cube

[Princess Periwinkle 3,774]

Derpy is a nice pony who is just a bit of a klutz, that's all.

 

The whole eye thing is weird... my guess is it's just a condition, but it doesn't really affect her mind in any way.

 

I think she's actually pretty smart. No genius or anything, but not dumb at all. She just has... bad hoof-eye coordination.