My Little Pony: Cleanup Is Magic

The Memetic Badass list seems to be pretty lengthy, and some examples seem to be somewhat gushy, while others lack context, as they merely describe their portrayal in the show rather than how the fandom generally perceives them (either through fan art, memes, or other means).

Granted, I don't know how much context is necessary for this audience reaction, but generally when you're dealing with a page this long for a more positive YMMV item (and, quite honestly, a fandom like the MLP one), I feel that's a good sign that some shoehorning and gushing is involved. Anyone wanna take a gander?

A cursory look:

• Fluttershy: Not actually a good explanation of how the fandom makes her out to be "badass." I know some fans do give her a Beware the Nice Ones persona, but this is just gushing about her "badass" moments in canon, reading more like an Awesome page. So either cut or rewrite.
• Pinkie Pie: She definitely counts, but it should be rewritten to add more context. I know the fandom really amps up her Fourth-Wall Observer powers to make her a borderline chaos god.
• Rainbow Dash: Keep, but rewrite. Dash is kind of the "badass" icon of the fandom because of her athletic ability and Awesome Ego but the entry does not explain that at all. The Starscream bit is also kinda nattery.
• Rarity: IDK, some fans amp her up to be powerful, but she's not given that kind of attention compared to Dash or Pinkie. Most people depict her as the pretty one.
• Applejack: Maybe. Her brute strength does come into play in a lot of fanworks.
• Octavia and Vinyl Scratch: Maybe Vinyl on the basis of her dubstep thing being adored, but not sure about Octavia who was usually written as the Straight Man to Vinyl's antics.
• Angel: I think he's so hated for hitting Fluttershy that nobody wants to gush about him being a badass.
• Tank: Not sure if it's widespread. Maybe? Since this does sound like a jokey exaggeration of his canon endurance.
• Iron Will: Maybe, since his manliness is attractive in fandom, but the in-universe thing feels like a different trope.
• Owl: I don't think anybody really gushes about the owl being a badass that much.
• "They are the most interesting ponies in the world": The link is dead, but I found a working link and it's just an ad on The Hub. If it's referencing the ponies' Memetic Badass status, that might be worthwhile, but otherwise it's just a commercial parody put out by the network, not the fans.
• Zecora: Maybe... if the characterization in that thread is something popular in the fandom.
• Cadance: I'd say keep, since it actually explains that she got a reputation as a monster slayer. I think I remember memes about her actions in that episode too.
• Maud Pie: Basically a ZCE but maybe it could count if the fandom characterizes her as a stoic badass.

I'm surprised Celestia and Luna aren't here, since they're the first things that come to mind when I think of Memetic Badass for MLP.

EDIT: I forgot Trixie! I'm... not sure for her. Some people give her impressive magic but I see more content skew towards Memetic Loser.

Edited by mightymewtron on May 15th 2021 at 3:38:14 PM

People hate Angel?! Jeez!

Absolutely they do, or at least they used to. He was a major scrappy for a while thanks to what happened in the Assertiveness episode.

People really know how to overreact. Anyway, yeah I agree with Mewtron's points.

As I read it, the current list's examples run thusly:

• Fluttershy: Purely a list of impressive moments in canon, plus a lot of gushing. Does not in any way fit the actual definition of Memetic Badass.
• Pinkie Pie: Trope trope trope trope trope out-of-context trope and no context. I agree with mightymewtron that she does fit in how the fandom portrays her, but this needs to be rewritten from the ground up.
• Rainbow: Two web links, which are not acceptable context per site rules, and nothing further. It really does not seem to me that she's a recipient of this phenomenon in any real way — there really doesn't seem to be a lot of memetic exaggeration of her prowess in the fandom — so cut.
• Rarity: Same as Fluttershy, no mention of any actual fandom trends and only two examples of things she does in canon. I also don't know of any trend in the fandom to turn Rarity into a memetic badass, so also cut.
• Applejack: As above.
• Trixie: This may count? I think amping up Trixie's magic to actually being impressive isn't all that rare, although most stories I've read portray this as an in-universe growth from a meager start. Still, the example itself is bare of any context.
• Vinyl and Octavia: This one talks about actual fandom trends, so points for that. Would be better if it relied on more than two links for context, especially seen as one link's dead. Expand and it might be salvageable — if a consistent trend exists, which I'm not actually convinced it does.
• Angel Bunny: ZCE. Is he actually an example? I can't say I recall much regarding him.
• Iron Will: Is he an in-universe example? All I recall of him is his being really hammy, not anybody actually talking about how much of a badass he is.
• The owl: In-universe, gushing, cut.
• Tank: Technically valid. Is one example sufficient for an entry? If so it passes, otherwise it probably doesn't.
• No names, relies entirely on a dead link to explain itself. Cut it and nothing will be missed.
• Zecora: Valid, but it should be reworded so it isn't relying on a single quotation and ideally mention more than one person saying it.
• Cadence: Valid example.
• Maud: Low-context and link-reliant, but valid. I know Maud's strength tends to get exaggerated in the fandom, so writing up a more general example shouldn't be too difficult.

Edited by Theriocephalus on May 15th 2021 at 2:35:12 PM

I think Rainbow can still be a Memetic Badass; there's a lot of fan works that increase her rainboom abilities to be even more nuclear. Or they just straight-up give her some sort of artillery, to fit that whole fanon of pegasi being a soldier race or something.

Edited by mightymewtron on May 15th 2021 at 3:43:05 PM

PONY.MOV had her save the world. There's definitely something there.

Fluttershy certainly has Beware the Nice Ones moments. The Galloping Gala, the assertiveness training episode, and the one where she runs Rarity's boutique comes to mind. She can also be rather sarcastic when she isn't too shy to talk.

I feel like I've seen a lot of badass Fluttershy moments get posted on Derpibooru and Youtube, with scenes like her and Harry the bear in Lesson Zero getting memeified. But again, that's just a canon moment in the show getting popular with fans, which doesn't necessarily qualify a character for this trope.

The bear one was a subversion, actually, with the gag being that she was giving the bear a rather violent massage.

She does, but since those are canon moments in the show they don't count towards Memetic Badass.

Weren't there some Youtube videos of the scene playing out like a Street Fighter match, complete with health bars? Though that may have just been a one-time thing and not that widespread in the fandom.

I wouldn't be surprised, because that was pretty much how the episode played it before the gag reveal that it was all just for a massage.

Anymore thoughts on the other examples?

Double post but this is important.

Demographically Inappropriate Humor: Vignette has a video on her social media account, depicting herself lying on her bed and touching her mouth suggestively, which looks reminiscent of online videos that elementary school children probably shouldn't watch.

MLPEG is aimed at teens. It should be adjusted accordingly.

True, but honestly it just still seems pretty risqué for teens. And even though MLPEG is targeted more towards the teen/preteen crowd, it's still very much tied to a franchise primarily marketed towards young girls.

Regarding the Memetic Badass entries, I'll probably have to take another look at the trope definition and the list to provide my input on what should and shouldn't be kept.

Yes!

On TearJerker.My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, there's this under Yakity Sax:

While it's an example, calling it "Pinkamena" seems a bit too fanon-y, since as far as I know, no one uses her given name to mean "sad Pinkie" in canon.

Also, on the show's Broken Base subpage, there's a bit about how something is "either hilarious, or a prime example of Cringe Comedy". But I thought cringe comedy could be hilarious.

The Equestria Girls content is almost entirely rated G and I'm pretty sure it's targeted at tweens, not teens. It's mostly made to sell fashion dolls, who are mostly aimed at girls around 8-13. It's barely any more risque than the main MLPFIM show, and a reference to thirst trap videos is definitely a joke meant for the older audience.

Edited by mightymewtron on May 15th 2021 at 6:00:12 AM

Uh-huh.

You are correct, it's never used that way. I'd just change it to "sad Pinkie".

Cringe Comedy is the deliberate use of embarrassing and uncomfortable situations for humor, so you are, again, correct — it is not an either/or situation, Cringe Comedy isn't any less likely to be funny than any other kind of comedy.

Edited by Theriocephalus on May 15th 2021 at 5:39:43 AM

Are you familiar with the trope Parental Bonus? That's basically what that scene is.

Writer Conflicts with Canon

• The official word after Twilight's ascension was that the title of Princess (and the alicornhood it entails) was a merit-based one in Equestria, being granted based on great deeds rather than based on royal blood. This explanation was seemingly abandoned by the introduction of the alicorn-by-birth Princess Flurry Heart, although her existence is treated as an impossibility by characters in-universe, and ultimately never explained.

I don't recall Word of God stating this was the case, only statements in-work which is not this trope. Was this stated by the creators somewhere?

It's possible they explained this in a tweet. Perhaps ask in the main MLP thread if anyone remembers.