The Brony Foundation for the Arts is what happens when you take four normal guys, add a strong helping of MST3K (but forget the mantra), divide by sqrt(Troll Fic)^-1, and multiply in some candy-colored ponies.
The BFA, as it is colloquially known, is a group of four bronies who delve into the deepest recesses of the fandom to look for badfic to destroy. Somewhere between Podcast and Abridged Series and using the form of RiffTrax, they will attempt to read anything. Yes, even the Lemons, and in response to the question posed by the page image — everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
YouTube channel here, only currently released work here
Members of the group:
- Blue Chevre: The Smart Guy, yellow unicorn, blue mane.
- Jabberwocky Superfly: Designated reader, dark blue unicorn, blonde mane.
- Thaddeus McThaddington III of the New Hampshire Thaddingtons: The Alcoholic, Also the team's resident Marine and Walking Armory, red pegasus, electric (boogaloo) blue mane.
- Southern Cross: Hippogriff with the colors of a wedgetail eagle.
Works reviewed, in order they were reviewed.
To keep this as SFW as possible, only link to TV Tropes pages- Packing: The one that started it all, Fluttermac Clopfic.
- Progress: The First Chapter, Luna vs. The Microwave. Plans are made to review Luna vs. The Threesome, a spin-off from this.
The Brony Foundation for the Arts (and some of the fanfic reviewed) provides examples of the following tropes:
- Abridged Series
- The Alcoholic:
- Thad. Apparently he is high up on the AA's Most Wanted list.
- Southern has been known to go for a drink on occasion as well.
- Angrish: Everyone. See Bilingual Bonus below.
- Applied Phlebotinum: Some fics use this, about which Blue is not happy (working on a degree in physics and all that rot):"It's magic, I ain't gotta explain shit" — Thad in response to this, more than once.
- Artificial Stupidity: Blue Chevre has been accused of this, mainly because he sounds quite a bit like a certain computer through Skype. It's not as apparent in the first few episodes when the group recorded their individual parts and sent them to Southern Cross or Blue to be synched together.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: So... many... tangents....
- Better than a Bare Bulb: Sometimes the only thing that keeps these guys going is knowing that they can lampshade something further down the road.
- Bilingual Bonus: Blue is really saying what he says he's saying when his Angrish goes Swengrish.
- Brain Bleach: They order it by the truckload, but never have enough.
- Brief Accent Imitation: As Jabber reads the fic his voice does amazing (and disturbing) things.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: MLP Characters, and (surprisingly for Blue) Phineas and Ferb, thanks to Jabber.
- Caustic Critics: To the point sometimes the acid seems to splash back on them.
- Grammar Nazi: Jabberwocky has been reduced to tears by comma splices.
- Lampshade Hanging: Yes.
- Meaningful Name: Blue Chevre likes cheese. Southern Cross is from Australia.
- More Dakka: How Thad tries to deal with a lot of the fics read, Lampshaded by Blue Chevre with his nerf gun.
- Shout-Out: Fan-made work, what do you expect? Includes Phineas and Ferb and xkcd.
- Third-Pony Ponies: All of them to a point, and being tropers (and writing this page themselves) only multiplies it.