Save Derpy!

For those of you who watch MLP, you're probably familiar with the character "Derpy Hooves."

Up until recently, our little Derpy only had one line..."Muffins." And, in fact, about three OTHER ponies were randomly saying "Muffins" at the same time. Not anything to get worked up about, right?

Wrong.

Due to an animation error, this adorable little pony's eyes were "derped." One looked up, the other--down. Bronies started noticing the gray pony, and she was soon named "Derpy Hooves," after her "derpy" expression.

Derpy attracted quite a lot of attention, and has since become the sort of "mascot" of the brony community--representing all the love and tolerance bronies preach--not to mention, representing those of us who make mistakes and don't always fit in.

She's been depicted as Doctor Whooves's loyal companion, a young and misunderstood pony, a dedicated mother, and a sweetheart who just wants to help her friends. She's kind, and sweet, and--yes--derpy. She makes mistakes. She messes up. She gets herself and her friends into trouble. But at the end of the day, everything is alright.

This endearingly clumsy little pony has touched so many lives. ALL of us have a little piece of Derpy in us--whether you're a fan of MLP or not.

All the love and creativity of the MLP fanbase has gone into Derpy Hooves. So much music, artwork, and writing was born because of her. She should go down in history as the inspiration for many great creative minds.

Just a few short weeks ago, Derpy Hooves had her very first full scene. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaUbi-7uBDg

I couldn't have been more excited to hear Rainbow Dash call Derpy by her proper fan name. In the past, she's been referred to as "Ditzy" on the show--she was the pony who went accidently go north to fetch the southern birds. To hear our community acknowledged by the use of Derpy's name was truly wonderful. Truly, insanely, wonderful.

The thing is, some people took Derpy's voice, appearance, and name to be offensive. And I'll admit--I wasn't thrilled by her voice. I expected it to be higher pitched, with an air of distraction, if that makes sense. Still, it didn't really bother me--after all, Derpy was talking!!! And they had used her name! All the work and love and care that us bronies had put into Derpy had finally been realized. Most other bronies shared my excitement.

Some fans did NOT share my excitement, though. They said that the name "Derpy" was offensive. They said her derpy eyes were offensive. They said her voice was offensive.

If you have some time, listen to this video by the girl most fans consider to be the REAL voice of Derpy. There is some swearing, but nothing too rude.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmOxnt215ek&feature=channel_video_title

Despite videos, posts, and outcries like these, Hasbro decided to listen to the fans who were offended by Derpy. They changed her scene, so now it looks like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2CRjPO73Dg

Now, let's point out the changes.

First off--the voice. I don't actually mind this new voice so much. Okay, so it's not as silly sounding as Derpy SHOULD sound--but it's not bad.

Next--the eyes. WHY would they straighten Derpy's eyes?! They're silly and funny and adorable and endearing! They don't denote any mental challenges--so therefore, they aren't offensive! Those eyes were Derpy's trademark--the very things that brought attention to this little character! And now...now...

Lastly, and worst of all--her name. They got rid of her name. The name "Derpy," is no longer canon. The fans are no longer recognized. It's as if we don't exist. One of the things I loved about the creators/producers of MLP was that they LISTENED TO THE FANS. Now, I can no longer say that.

I guess if you don't know Derpy, this doesn't seem important. I know my own family is pretty sick of hearing about it. But this is important to us bronies. Imagine watching your child succeed in life, only for someone to change their mind and take all that success away. That's what it's like. We've poured our souls into Derpy, and now she's been rejected. In a way, we've all been rejected. Because we are all Derpy, in one way or another. Have you ever tripped over nothing? Lost your phone while it was in your hand? Fallen onto your friend's project, crushing it to pieces? Have you ever fallen out of a chair, or not realized something important right in front of you, or tried to help out your friends, only to end up hurting them? If so--you've derped. And if you're like me--if you've ever felt lonely, ever felt out of place, ever felt like you just didn't fit in--then you can probably relate to Derpy. If you're clumsy--then you are like Derpy. We are ALL like Derpy, and we must do all we can to save her.

So, what can you do to help?

Sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/hasbro-studiosthe-hub-do-not-change-derpys-name#

Or donate here: http://www.sightsavers.org/fundraising/event.php?id=278
(you can read more about Sightsavers through this link. It's a great organization.)

Or simply tweet #savederpy or #WeAreAllDerpyHooves

If you're still not convinced, here's a final, heartbreaking sentiment from everypony's favorite crosseyed pony:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK_L5kTIiXs

Star Wars in 3D!!!

I just had an amazing time seeing Star Wars in 3D with many of my closest friends. It was awesome! Absolutely amazing. A lot of my friends went in saying "I love Star Wars, but the Phantom Menace sucks" and came out saying "that was the most brilliant thing I've ever seen."

I was hyper from the moment I entered the lobby, to find R2, R4, Boba Fett, Anakin Skywalker, a Jawa, and Princess Leia disguised as a bounty hunter. I immediately began jumping up nad down and squealing. My friends litterally had to hold me down. We entered the theatre, but I soon left to get popcorn. I returned to a trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, one of my favorite shows! Soon following was a Hunger Games trailer, the reaction of which was a collective scream from my entire group of twelve people. Jenna proceeded to squeal and squeal while she rolled into a ball and began to shiver. It took three people to calm her down. On the other side of our row, our other friends were freaking out over Rue's four note song. It was absolutely brilliant to see on the big screen.

I must say, I thought Star Wars was epic on my home television, but now I know that it cannot compare to on the big screen. It was absolutely fantastic. Even now I'm still shaking, full of excitement. It was AMAZING!!!

Tomorrow night is our school's "movie night," featuring "The Princess Bride." Somehow I doubt I'll be as excited, but it will be fun. This is turning out to be an AWESOME weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\

May the Force be with you,
Annabeth713

And just like that, everything is back to normal

I won't go into details, because I think Jenna's going to post about it soon (check out her blog--it's awesome!), but last weekend, we attended the best dance ever, and truly had the time of our lives. We were crazy and spazzy and didn't care than anyone was looking. We just danced and danced and had the best time ever. And for a while, I thought things would stay like that. Jenna and I would continue to text each other, discussing our brilliant night. People would continue to talk about the dance in the halls. That amazing feeling of freedom would last forever.

But it didn't.

Of course it didn't. Eventually, everything goes back to normal. Tonight, all that exhilaration left me, and I was left thoroughly depressed.

Why does everything have to go back to normal? Why can't we stay excited and giddy forever? I don't know. I don't want to think about it.

For the past few days, I've been blissfully happy. Now, once again, I'm sad. Usually, when I'm sad, there's no reason behind it--I'm just feeling sad. But this time, I have a reason.

Because everything went back to normal.

Defending My Little Pony

Contrary to what my friend Brandon will tell you, I haven't gone all "girly." I just happen to really enjoy "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic." Surprisingly, it has interesting storylines, witty dialogue, and fun characters. And it's not all pink-and-lacy-and-hearts-and-flowers like it used to be. It appeals to all audiences. In fact, if you have never heard the term "Brony" (a MLP fan over the age of 12, mostly male, although the term can work for females as well) then I'm guessing you're pretty new to the internet.

A girl can like The Clone Wars AND My Little Pony!!!
In fact, I found this picture to prove it:


Of course, I'm pretty sure that's a G3 Pony, which is sad...However, it IS an Ahsoka pony...which opens up a whole new world of fan fiction in my head XD

When you google search "The Clone Wars+My Little Pony, a Doctor Who picture comes up
Which, of course, makes me very happy.

I'm still a tomboy, but I just happen to like pastel colored ponies
Is that so wrong?

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is truly brilliant
If you don't believe me, see for yourself. I was skeptic, too, but I ended up loving it. I immediately could relate to Twilight, the bookish, anti-social pony. My friend Adi is just like Rainbow Dash. In my group of friends, we have almost every personality of the mane six, with the exception of Applejack (maybe Jenna could be Applejack?) You WILL find a Pony to whom you can relate, and you WILL love the show--I promise.

WARNING
Watching this show may cause the following side-effects:
-The desire to love and tolerate your enemies
-the urge to say "everypony" instead of "everybody"
-the enjoyment of songs that would usually make you want to kill somebody.
-an extreme love/fear of pink ponies who defy the laws of physics...(I'm looking at you, Pinkie Pie).

My Hunger Games Fan Fiction (An Update)

I must say, although it's taking me a long time to write, I'm thoroughly enjoying my Hunger Games fan fiction (the one I'm writing for Jenna). I know that fan fictions aren't taken very seriously, but I'm honestly putting all of my effort into this one. Because I'm working with all new characters, I can really do what I please with the storyline. I've got the shell of the plot, but everything else is up to me. I'm using this opportunity to really hone my skills. I'm viewing it as a serious project. And to be honest, I love where it's going.

Firstly, I'm working on my action scenes. I'm no good at those, and I know it. I simply cannot visualize battles. The funny thing is, I'm not bad in a fight. I can take down my brother, his friend, and my dad in a lightsaber duel, no problem. But my characters aren't me. I need to look at the battle from their point of view, which is much more difficult. Not to mention, it's difficult to capture a movement with a word. However, I just completed the first action scene in the fan fic, and I'm really happy with it. It's fast-paced, well-thought-out, and moves the story forward. Yes, there is plenty of room for improvement. There's too much running and too much talking, and not near enough fighting. But I think it's a good start.

I'm also working on prose. Words are like pieces of a puzzle; if they don't fit, move them somewhere else. However, I can be quite picky, and I sometimes delete full sentences because one or two words are throwing me off. And sometimes I won't delete a word, even though I know it just doesn't sound right. I need to find the perfect balance--but that's going to be a challenge.

Finally, I'm really exploring character development. Though I love character development and relationships, this is the first time I've regarded them seriously. I'm taking a good long look at my main character, and her relationships. I'm really trying to emphasize ties between characters. The main character is actually property of Jenna, who made her up, but I'm filling her out. I'm really trying to make her as human as possible. Ironically, she is very unlike Katniss. She is charismatic and friendly, with a hint of attitude. She cares deeply for those around her. I'm really exploring this. My own characters tend to be a bit cold, but this character is thoroughly invested in the fates of her allies. She really and truly cares; and more importantly, what happens to her companions affects her. Right now I'm really trying to build out her character. I'm trying to show how she changes within the arena, but I'm also trying to show how she'll never change. I'll post a more detailed commentary after I release the work itself.

I'm having a great time exploring my characters and their relationships, as well as their own emotions, insecurities, and thoughts. can't wait to show you guys!!!