lopoddity
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Parents WIP
🕑 Added 2020-03-04 04:52:50 +0000 UTChey
maybe don't steal that baby
One more doodle before bed. I looked at some old clips of MLP for inspiration, and it led me to a jarring observation. Daring Do is totally the bad guy.
In her last feature episode, Ahuizotl reveals himself to be a temple guardian, desperately working to preserve native artifacts. While Dr. Caballeron admits to having plundered artifacts to get rich, Daring Do says "The only reason I've been taking the artifacts is because I thought I was protecting them."
I think that's really interesting.
Caballeron is condemned as a run-of-the-mill thief (and he is), but Daring is framed as the good guy unwittingly doing a bad thing. She's not a thief like Caballeron! She was protecting the artifacts!
Protecting them by prying them right out of Ahuizotl's hands. And taking them back home, to be displayed in a museum. A museum that most certainly charges admission for ponies to see these rare wonders of the world. Said museum probably compensates Daring for providing new items. And then Daring goes home to write about her adventures robbing native temples, to the joy of her countless fans (and their eager wallets). The historical sites she's robbed are often left in destroyed shambles.
......Daring Do is a thief. She's as bad as Caballeron, if not worse, because she stole under the facade of doing good. In her final episode, she doesn't even vow to return the artifacts, she just pledges not to steal any more of them. Gosh, Miss Do, how noble.
I wondered how far Daring's oh-so-selfless attitude might extend. Certainly far enough to destroy an ancient temple to retrieve a trinket. Enough to condemn Ahuizotl as a monster. Perhaps enough to project her own equinecentric notions onto Ahuizotl's species.....enough to see Ahuizotl's child as the helpless son of a savage, in dire need of rescue by two kindhearted ponies.....maybe enough to kidnap said child. Ah, I'm sorry, "protect" said child.
Caballeron is supportive of his wife's charitable, newfound "adoption"......and hey, if along the way a few ponies want to pay a few bucks to see a living, breathing cryptid, then so be it.
Comments
SmilesPerHour
Bum bum, bum bum, bum bum, bum bum...
Lopoddity
Thank you very much! :D She can definitely add poaching to her list of crimes now.
Lopoddity
Thank you, I thought you might enjoy it. :)
Lopoddity
Thank you very much. :D I think Daring Do might really believe she's doing a good thing. She did write an entire adventure series starring herself as the fearless hero, I imagine she has a very black/white line of thinking, and maybe some delusions of grandeur.
That guy
.....well this rabbit hole just got really dark.
D
Oh dear God. Put that thing back where it came from or so help me
SmilesPerHour
Geez, the implications of the Daring Do narrative have been getting darker ever since her final episode. I can't believe I never considered that regardless of her intentions, Daring Do is legally a thief. At least proper archaeologists ask permission before excavating and removing artifacts from their resting places. And this... taking little Montezuma from his rightful parent is legally kidnapping, and boarderline poaching. Once again, I commend you on your in-depth look at the MLP mythos, and your storytelling skills, Ms. Lopoddity. I'm excited to see where this story goes.
FloweryFruitFangs
Oh wow, the way you characterized Daring made me uncomfortable, but in a good way. You are really good at making these cutesy pastel horsies feel very human, even if the qualities they have aren't admirable. The idea of someone masking their slimy behavior under the guise of good intentions is all too real with how many public figures in real life present themselves, and I like how you pulled episodes from the show to reinforce your characterization of her.
Lory
That being said, I really LOVE the idea of Daring Do being a slimy fuckin scammer. That’s some good shit
Lory
Oooh this is some spicy pulque
Vio_dacreator
Holy Shit. 😱
SketchyBug
Whoa, this is such a cool idea! I thought I was the only one that thought of Daring Do that way.
