Unpopular opinion time

DaddyMakesMeEUHH

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@Brass Beau  
I honestly don’t think the writers did AJ justice as the “straight-man”, thinking on it AJ fits more into the “only sane mare” archetype if anything. I’ve been watching a comedy anime called Gintama and there this guy:  
full who I think represents the “straight-man” role better (among another character but he’s too much of a “straight-man”). Also on the topic on snarky Twilight, snarky Twilight is best Twilight, heck snarky characters are usually the best in general, lol.
Brass Beau

Howdy from Shimmer Pope
@DaddyMakesMeEUHH  
A “straight man” works well as part of a duo but is difficult to write as part of an ensemble. She really didn’t start to develop a personality outside of that until later on, being the designated “everyman” character. I think something as simple as having a hair trigger temper could have done more for how she was initially received. That said, I still like her overall and I don’t think she’s ever been low on my tier list.
DaddyMakesMeEUHH

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@Brass Beau  
I mean of course I love AJ, but I think it’s just common knowledge she’s very underused.If she was supposed to be the “straight-man” in the group we probably should’ve seen a lot more of her.
Brass Beau

Howdy from Shimmer Pope
@DaddyMakesMeEUHH  
Applejack appears in 163 episodes. Twilight is the only one appearing in more than her. It probably feels like less because she wasn’t the central focus of a lot of episodes unlike a certain pegasus. And since she’s not the focus we don’t see a lot of growth either. Which is disappointing considering we got a few episodes about characters learning the same or similar lessons from the other five.
Latecomer

@Brass Beau  
Yeah - bottling up your feelings under silence is kind of how she works.
 
 
@Cosmas-the-Explorer  
Well to be fair, I think Rarity scorns the idea that one’s “real” or “original” self is necessarily their authentic one - she believes in acting like the pony you want to be. So she might well claim to be Authentic, even if she’s not so Honest.
 
 
@Brass Beau  
I think AJ can distinguish between her things (farming, cooking, athletics and maybe a few other things), other ponies things (magic, weather, animals and so on - she’d likely respect Rainbow as much as Twilight or more if Rainbow had twi’s personality) and things she doesn’t get at all (like fashion). It’s the last she has trouble respecting, though she does learn (even if it’s as late as Honest Apple) that just because she doesn’t care about them doesn’t mean others don’t.
 
Pinkie’s problem, on the other hoof, is that in the absence of direct evidence otherwise she will tend to believe that anyone else shares her own likes, dislikes and desires - a big deal when she’s actively going out of her way to try and please them. That’s why she keeps such through files on everypony - to remind her of how they’re not like her.
 
 
@DaddyMakesMeEUHH  
Yeah, a sorely unexamined friendship (and the only inter-Mane ship to ever really hook me).
 
 
@Brass Beau  
I know some people consider her an “unesccessary” chracter, and she;s not so popular among kids or bronies… but that just kind of makes me want to make her my favourite, even though I don’t really have one.
DaddyMakesMeEUHH

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@Brass Beau  
She doesn’t have to be the central focus in episodes to be a properly used side character.I think the fact of the matter is she’s one of the main characters, so we should see her be used as such. It’s a total shame the writers didn’t know what to do with her because they could’ve really hone down on her being the “Mom friend”.
Brass Beau

Howdy from Shimmer Pope
Whew. A lot to cover here.  
I think AJ can distinguish between her things (farming, cooking, athletics and maybe a few other things), other ponies things (magic, weather, animals and so on - she’d likely respect Rainbow as much as Twilight or more if Rainbow had twi’s personality) and things she doesn’t get at all (like fashion). It’s the last she has trouble respecting, though she does learn (even if it’s as late as Honest Apple) that just because she doesn’t care about them doesn’t mean others don’t.
 
It’s interesting to note that the “things” she can grasp have an obvious and physical effect on society. Crops, weather, critters. They all serve a use whereas fashion doesn’t. Jury is out on “parties” but considering the number of festivals in Ponyville I think she accepts due to her traditionalism.  
Pinkie’s problem, on the other hoof, is that in the absence of direct evidence otherwise she will tend to believe that anyone else shares her own likes, dislikes and desires - a big deal when she’s actively going out of her way to try and please them. That’s why she keeps such through files on everypony - to remind her of how they’re not like her.
 
That’s interesting to note. Pinkie appears to struggle with social cues and, much like Applejack, can’t really see things outside of her lens. At some point she must have picked up on this fault and started cataloging other’s wants and needs. Definitely worth investigating further.  
I know some people consider her an “unesccessary” chracter, and she;s not so popular among kids or bronies… but that just kind of makes me want to make her my favourite, even though I don’t really have one.
 
Her role is very reactionary. Demonstrating any specific goals (her farm “succeeding” is kinda hazy) or faults early on would have left hooks for fans to latch onto. That requires a more active role. And what little personality we did see was very similar to Rainbow’s which made it even harder for her to stand out.  
Calling her unnecessary, though, is missing the forest for the trees.  
Has the central focus thing been counted?
 
To my knowledge, no. Maybe someone has the time to do that though. It would be useful information.  
She doesn’t have to be the central focus in episodes to be a properly used side character.I think the fact of the matter is she’s one of the main characters, so we should see her be used as such. It’s a total shame the writers didn’t know what to do with her because they could’ve really hone down on her being the “Mom friend”.
 
Curse of the foil. Applejack was designed as an opposite to the others in some way to help define them, leaving very little definition for herself. It got slightly better as time went on but the change in writers and shifting focus to new characters or continuous arcs left little room for her to shine.
 
Whew! Think I’m caught up now.
Cosmas-the-Explorer
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Explorer in Training
Even if Hasbro did force MLP to call Celestia a princess as opposed to a queen, it still implies being a ruler.
 
You know there are principalities where the prince is the head of state not the heir to a king.
 
So if you think of the Alicorn Sisters as princesses of a principality it actually is basically calling them queens and doesn’t have to imply a father king or mother queen.
DaddyMakesMeEUHH

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Applejack was designed as an opposite to the others in some way to help define them
 
Why though? Why can’t the other’s define themselves? I’m mean they already do it perfectly.Even someone who doesn’t watch the show would know RD is the tomboy of the group, Fluttershy is the soft one, Pinkie is the odd one,Twi is the analytical one, and Rarity is the pompous fashionista. You could tell the type of characters they are just by looking at them.
 
Writing for someone as down-to-earth and mature as AJ should honestly be a lot easier to write for. It’s sad to see her just be…there. It’s even more evident in how they handled her in the movie… just about with everything, they could have done so much with her.
Latecomer

It’s interesting to note that the “things” she can grasp have an obvious and physical effect on society. Crops, weather, critters. They all serve a use whereas fashion doesn’t. Jury is out on “parties” but considering the number of festivals in Ponyville I think she accepts due to her traditionalism.
 
Good point… but how does Twilight and her scholarship fit in? And I do think that Pinkie took some time to grow on her, it was just pre-show. Might have made a decent flashback ep.
 
That’s interesting to note. Pinkie appears to struggle with social cues and, much like Applejack, can’t really see things outside of her lens. At some point she must have picked up on this fault and started cataloging other’s wants and needs. Definitely worth investigating further.
 
It’s her big flaw IMO - the one thing that stops “totally altruistic reality warper” from being a total Marey Sue who fixes everything.
 
Her role is very reactionary. Demonstrating any specific goals (her farm “succeeding” is kinda hazy) or faults early on would have left hooks for fans to latch onto. That requires a more active role.
 
Not everyone has to want something grand. Holding onto what’s yours and seeing it flourish is a very human motive.
 
To my knowledge, no. Maybe someone has the time to do that though. It would be useful information.
 
I’ll put it on my “to think about doing” list.
 
Curse of the foil. Applejack was designed as an opposite to the others in some way to help define them, leaving very little definition for herself.
 
Not so sure about this… she’s pretty similar to Megan in the original MLP, and she was the star.
Spinny
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@Brass Beau
 
She appears in 176 episodes, actually. We also saw more of her past than anyone else’s by far, so there was definitely a lot of buildup into how she became the pony she is. It would have been nice for her to have some goal to work towards, but it wasn’t explicitly necessary, at least provided that it was established that her family would never fall into debt again, or be so strapped for funds that they couldn’t live comfortably because Lord knows one of Equestria’s appointed defenders should never have to worry about that again. Anyway, I think she got a lot of character growth and development out of the show, even when it was wasting time inventing pointless flaws for her (e.g. Applejack’s “Day” Off). And her being an unrepentant badass who has tangled with some deadly beasts with zero magical advantage (unlike Twilight) is just the cherry on top!
 
Still, I can’t believe the show denied me the opportunity to see her children. ;(
Latecomer

@Spinny  
I do think that if they were going to break the Rule of Faust and give somepony a romance arc, AJ might have been a good one - getting her out of her comfort zone a bit and compensating for her lack or a personal plot, while still tying into her family theme. But no, that went to Big Mac.
Latecomer

@Dex Stewart  
Well, gender-flipped Sugar Belle (or even actual Sugar Belle, if you wanna be daring) wouldn’t be the worst, but there are probably better options. Would prefer not an earthpony, at least - or if so, one very much not a farmer. (One ship I like with her is Twilight, but that really wouldn’t work as a canon thing.)
DaddyMakesMeEUHH

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@Latecomer  
I agree! Applejack is that type of person who feels they could do everything by themselves without anyone, so it would have been cool her friends push her out there.  
I wonder why Faust doesn’t like showing romance, as long as you don’t shove it down people’s throats all the time, it could definitely be a teaching experience.
Dex Stewart
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@Latecomer  
Vinyl would be a cool partner.  
I’m not sure how they’d meet,but I’m imagining the dynamic they’d have.  
Yeah,it’s a weird one,I just think they would be so cute together.
Latecomer

@DaddyMakesMeEUHH  
Well, girl’s shows have a reputation for, as you say, shoving it down people’s throats all the time, so I understand why she wanted to avoid it. But a rule that’s good for a show expected to run 65 eps tops doesn’t necessarily stretch well to 9 seasons… as evidenced by the fact that they ended up introducing romances, just for other characters.
 
 
@Dex Stewart  
…huh. That would be… odd.
DaddyMakesMeEUHH

(ヽ^ゝ^)ちわー!
As evidenced by the fact that they ended up introducing romances, just for other characters.
 
And that’s kinda unfair. Hypothetically if we were to see romance from the main group, AJ would have been the perfect pony to show it. Her life is already stable, she seems perfectly emotionally mature, she’s a calm pony etc. Her finding a romantic partner could’ve shown what a healthy romantic relationship would’ve looked liked.
DaddyMakesMeEUHH

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@Latecomer  
Man, as long as they didn’t listen to those drama frogs it would have been alright. And about that episode… Wait didn’t Big Mac and Cheerilee had a thing or was I watching it wrong, or what about Marble Pie? What the heck happened to that?
Latecomer

@DaddyMakesMeEUHH  
There specifically wasn’t a thing with Cheerilee - just hints. And Marble Pie… well, there was a bit of attraction there, but nothing binding. Still, even if he was free, he shouldn’t have been so first-crushy about it.
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