Shipping characters, or supporting the real or imagined romantic relationship of certain characters in a fandom, has been around since Classic Trek. However, the term “shipping” has only been commonly used in more recent years, and nowhere have I seen it more prevalent than in the My Little Pony universe. Fluttershy and Big Mac (my favorite), Fluttershy and Discord (Time Siren’s favorite), Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon, Dr. Whooves and Derpy…the list goes on.
You see it in art work, fanfic, and fan videos. One of the most popular ships of background ponies has been Octavia and Vinyl Scratch/DJ Pon-3. They are constantly put together as roommates or something more. This clip from the upcoming 100th episode finally make this fan-created ship canon (well, the roommate part).
There is a lot of speculation if Vinyl will finally speak in this episode, and if you’ve think you’ve heard her speak, check again: we’ve only seen her speak in fan videos. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve never heard Octavia speak either. Despite that, Vinyl has been pulled up from the background several times during the show, has her own music video, and played an important part in the Equestia Girls Rainbow Rocks movie.
Check out the comments on the Equestria Daily page…my favorite is “There aren’t enough FedEx Trucks in the world to ship this.”
And finally, a big #secondgeekhood shout out to composer Danny Ingram for combining classic cello and Techno so awesomely!
Posted in Horsing around with My Little Pony, Our Opinions And We're Sticking To 'Em!
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In the recent Bronies React review of the My Little Pony Season 5 premier, one of the bronies went on about how a pony’s personality seems to be tied to their cutie mark. For example, when Pinkie Pie has her cutie mark taken away, she stops being funny and energetic. But wait a minute, let’s analyze this a step further. As we heard Applejack say in “Bloom and Gloom”, a cutie mark reflects what’s inside you. So can what’s inside you be taken away as well? But then that begs the question, how did what’s inside you get inside you? A cutie mark may show what you are meant to do, but, perhaps, the real question is how much power does the name given you have?
Think about it. AJ’s parents named their first two kids Macintosh and Apple Jack – and they end up with apples on their plots. And we’re all expecting the same for Apple Bloom. Two other ponies named their daughter Fluttershy. She flutters (as opposed to high-speed flying like Rainbow Dash) and is shy. Rainbow Dash dashes around in the sky. Rarity has gems on her plot, which are rare and beautiful, which segways into fashion. So do cutie marks really show their destiny, or was their destiny set by what their parents named them?
And if that is the case, are pony parents aware of what they are doing? Do they set their foals destiny on purpose? Did AJ’s parents (when they we still around) name their three kids Macintosh, Apple Jack and Apple Bloom so they would always stay on the farm to run it? Did the Cakes name their kids Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake so some day they would take over Sugar Cube Corner? Did Fluttershy’s parents want her to be shy? Why would they want that?
Which makes you wonder, what were some parents thinking? Snips and Snails? Did Snips’ parents want…what, a barber in the family? And Snails…did his parents want him to be slow? Did Filthy Rich name his daughter Diamond Tiara so she would be a snooty prima donna? Was Trixie destined to a life of low-level magic that would amount to no more than some parlor tricks? No wonder she doesn’t like Twilight. She must be as jealous as Tartarus. And if this line of thinking is correct, aren’t you just asking for trouble if you name your twin sons Flim and Flam?
And then there’s Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer. Is there something inherently magical about a “sparkly” name? Can you give you foal a name like this if they are not a unicorn? Or will the name police come down from Canterlot and arrest you while you’re filling out the birth certificate?
Is this all some cultural phenomena that nopony is even aware of, or is it a deep, dark secret that no pony speaks of? I don’t have the answer. But if I were a pony living in Equestria, I’d stay away from any pony named Kill Joy, Buzz Kill, World Wrecker or Sun Snuffer.
~The AFOL Husband
Okay, when I started this concept of Second Geekhood, I never though I’d have to arrange for Staff Meetings, but I am! The ‘site is expanding even faster now and there is so bloody much Fandom out there to geek out about, I literally feel like I am drowning.
But it’s drowning in a good way. I learned to multitask clients for my website design biz and that experience is coming in real handy right now. Currently I am writing this post, recording our FB, TW and website posts on a spreadsheet, handling a FB staff meeting chat and engaging in a great discussion over MLP Rarity’s fear of being naked at the Grand Galloping Gala with Andrew W.C., known as @Honda175 on TweetDeck! Hi Andrew *waves!*. I mean, have you seen TweetDeck?!? It is the multi-headed hydra of multi-tasking all on it’s own!!! And I am chuffed to say, I’m handling it like a boss!
I don’t mean to sound arrogant and if I do, that’s the problem of the arrogant out there. I learned back in my business college days that we hate the so-called faults in others because they are the exact same flaws in ourselves. This doesn’t mean that when they get offended we shouldn’t take a look at ourselves, it means we need to take a breath, not retaliate and understand it is coming from their own internal pain.
This can be harder than hell, but once mastered, it also goes a long way towards stopping wars and hatred. It can also guide you that much closer to your dreams. Don’t believe it? Stick around and you’ll see living proof that loving your reflection in the mirror – and in others is part of what is going to keep us running towards bigger and better dreams.
Watch me, Doctor. Watch me run.
TimeSiren
So, what did you all think of the first Discord episode this season?
