#id love to revisit it soon once im done with transcripting BOD at least

[gorgojijijijito]

thoughts on daughter of discord?

oh boy do i have thoughts

i only watched the full thing once with a friend so i dont remember all of it, but of what i do remember, 1. rarity was done even dirtier than BOD; 2. they were so mean to rarity's daughter for literally no reason???? she literally didnt do anything and they always called her a spoiled brat or smth??? i feel so bad for her; 3. yes most of my problems have to do with rarity - i hate that shes encouraged to stay with fancypants bc it was changelings making him look like he was cheating on rarity. like yeah girl you should talk to him abt it like an adult but YOU CAN STILL LEAVE HIM FOR BEING A SHITTY DAD TO JEWEL 😭; 4. hey dick cordddd ur still manipulative af; 5. YOURE TELLING ME THERES ONE QUEER RELATIONSHIP IN THE ENTIRE SERIES AND THEY DIDNT EVEN GET TOGETHER??? FOR A SUPER SMALL REASON COMPARED TO WHY OTHERS SHOULDNT BE TOGETHER???????? come on now; 6. get all the baby filler away from me rn why the FUCK did literally ALL of them have to bang except for ONE; 7. fuck outta here applespike

i think thats mostly all of my qualms with it, but other than that i think it was a good watch. it doesnt stay with me as long as BOD did (prob bc i wasnt able to watch all of it as a child) but i think romance-wise, this love story was LEAGUES better than the last one. also i like how it kind of repeats the same moral of the last one, but in a different circumstance that poses new pros and cons.

with BOD, discord was only one person. he was an all-powerful, godly person, but he was still one mind. the changelings in DOD, on the other hand, are an entire nation. this isnt the same "misunderstood outsider" trope that we see with zecora or discord, this is an entire species; one that even themselves believe is physically incapable of loving.

mothball(which is literally the cutest name for a bug-themed character ever) is first in line to lead his species, so you can imagine the expectations and resentment that come with that; he has barely any real support on either side, queen chrysalis being the only adult he can really emotionally rely on. this is what makes his inner conflict so interesting, his empathy constantly at odds with his mother's ideology and his own biological needs.

screwball is also interesting, considering her dad is the lord of chaos and ex-tyrant, and her mom is an element of harmony, kindness incarnate. it's a classic nature/nuture debate kind of plot, but with a twist in that both sides are her nature AND nurture, the only turmulous factor in her life being her environment only percieving the chaotic side; some of it isn’t unfounded either, as she obviously tends to gravitate towards discord more (which is normal, considering most kids tend to have a favorite parent anyway). even if i really dont like the enabling nature of dick cord and how fluttershy is a punching bag again, i find screwball’s concept endearing.

also she and mothball are like, actually adorable. i find it ironic that the canon characters were altered to make an insufferable couple and the basically OCs were the outstanding romance. unlike fluttercord’s REALLY disturbing power dynamic and coercion, screw and moth managed to balance each other out, and (lemme yell it for the ponies in the back) WERE BOTH WILLING TO BE TOGETHER 💥💥💥💥

theres also smth strangely nostalgic about their dynamic. screwball has been the outcast her entire life, her lineage and connection to discord subjecting her to a lot of emotional turmoil. the only reason she has a group of friends is because of her mom’s rank and social circle as well, i dont think she’s had very much room for change or fantasy when her parents were trying to heal the damage the circumstance of their meeting caused for equestria. falling in love with the prince of an enemy nation is cliche and basically copied off of the lion king 2, but i love it in that sense because its probably one of her first instances of living through what seems to be a fairytale. it’s a kind of yearn for teenage rebellion and unpredictability that she’s had to keep trapped within a swamp in the everfree for most of her life, but even though it brings her so much happiness to be with mothball, it also leads her into great danger that her upbringing didn’t prepare her for. she’s scolded for standing up to her bullies and scrutinized for the nature of her character, so what can she do when faced with her very own romeo & juliet tale while entire nations seethe above them?

oh also i love how they incorporated the changelings’ presences in the story before the mane six are aware of their threat, even calling back to mentioned conflicts in BOD. they really use their shapeshifting powers to the most in this installment, and i think the instance that hit me in the gut most is the romantic isolation of twilight. especially with the context that this series was created specifically for shipping; what an insidious thing to keep her from finding love along with her friends to keep her alone as everyone else creates families. i, as an aromantic person, also feel a form of anxiety knowing most of the important people in my life may drift away in the event of marriage and forming roots while i probably wont. so yeah imagine that but with a newly-immortal princess who actually WANTS a romantic relationship, with people who are revealed to be actively keeping one from her - thats gut wrenching for me to think about.

when it comes to the music, i appreciate the effort they put into making original songs, but i also am just. unable to appreciate them bc the changelings voice filter just diesnt translate well to music at aaaaaaallllll. which is a shame bc it stood out so much that i cant remember anything ABOUT the original music. im prob gonna try to see if theres any normal renditions of the ost after i post this but yeah