Pony Fanfiction Thread

Let me zoom it in for you.

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I get what you're saying, but you're kind of being an ass.

Caaan anybody find me... Somebody to ♠

I didn't say anything about Love and Tolerance. You brought that up yourself.

But, since you mention it, that rule too is written down, in many, many places, just not in official sources. Which is irrelevant, since we're talking about fandoms, and unofficial content is quite important.

I'm a brony because I like what the show and the community stand for. Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, and Friendship. And... tolerance and patience towards misguided aspirations of maturity if you count Spike and the CMC?

Had the fandom turned into yet another set of venomous, entitled, insular, sectarian people, I'd be out. It would have been fun while it lasted, but if that were to happen there would be no point in being a brony anymore, as far as I am concerned. The originality of the fandom, what makes it truly special and different from the others, would be lost to me.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Eh. I find that most fandoms are the same more or less. Once you get down to it, at least.

This one, however, is notable for being very large, being mostly outside of the target demographic, and producing an incredible volume of fanwork.

Really, the only thing that you can say all fans have in common is that they are fans.

Caaan anybody find me... Somebody to ♠

Well, The Handle doesn't, so I'll just spell it out: No True Scotsman.

Do you realize that I used the word "rules" with the highest possible level of irony? Because obviously, trying to boss around others that enjoy the same thing you do would be incredibly self-important. (It's also rather pretentious, since it involves trying to place your fandom above those of others.)

Are you saying the fandom isn't those things?

edited 6th Oct '12 5:46:37 AM by BornIn1142

There are sections of the fandom that are venomous and unpleasant, much like every fandom. But the TV Tropes community, at least, is composed of decent folk.

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...

Isn't that a rather sectarian thing to say?

edited 6th Oct '12 5:49:42 AM by BornIn1142

"decent folk."

lolololololololol!

edit: Sectarian is practically the definition of fandom. If it wasn't, then there wouldn't be any sort of community to begin with, or if there was, we'd talk about other things like knitting and how the superbowl went most of the time rather than any specific media. It'd just be a bunch of people who happen to enjoy the same thing, but with even less purpose than what we have now. And fuck it. I'M GONNA HAVE MY CRAZY STRAWS, LOOPS OR NO LOOPS.

edited 6th Oct '12 5:47:28 AM by Sessalisk

Caaan anybody find me... Somebody to ♠

edit: double post. whoops.

edited 6th Oct '12 5:47:14 AM by Sessalisk

Caaan anybody find me... Somebody to ♠

Yeah, there aren't really any "rules" for fandom and "brony" doesn't really have any set definition outside of "a fan of the show who's outside the primary demographic". It's certainly nice that a lot of fans aspire to be nice, but unfortunately being a jackass doesn't preclude someone from being a fan of the show. Just because somebody doesn't ascribe to the values that the show sets out doesn't mean that they aren't fans of the show. You can enjoy watching something without attempting to abide by the lessons it's attempting to teach.

As for the fandom's nature as a whole, it's the same as most other fandoms. Some people are nice, some people are douchebags.

edited 6th Oct '12 7:38:57 AM by JapaneseTeeth

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Another part of the problem is when some fans try too hard, and became not so different to any other jerk. The intention it's real nice, but when someone brandish the flag of the universal truth, it becomes a problem. All in all there are several things on the fandom that personally make back off from doing the step from a simple fan to a full brony. Make things simpler.

Changing topic: that awkward position of checking on the "view mature" check on FI Mfiction and imagining clopfics and gorefics stalking behind every link and page on the web, just because you are following only one fic with that tag.

PS: And the automatic Google/Chrome corrector is accepting "clopfic" as a valid word.

edited 6th Oct '12 8:50:17 AM by Connelly

@Born: please don't assume that, because I disagree with you, I do not know or understand what you are referring to. And, again, irony is something that clashes with the show. Being a brony, as far as I am concerned, means taking a stance of sincerity and idealism, and throwing aside cynicism, sarcasm, and irony. You can search my forum interventions if you want; you will find that I very seldom employ irony in any way, shape, or form. I am earnest. And, when people are being sarcastic at me, I behave as if I didn't understand sarcasm, because I'm not interested in that mode of communication, and I refuse to even acknowledge it; if you want to communicate with me in a meaningful way, you'll have to switch to sincere mode.

Additionally, you are using the wrong fallacy. I cannot decide who is or isn't a true brony, because there isn't a set of conditions for qualifying as such besides self-identification. I am perfectly entitled, however, to think that a brony ought to behave in one way or another; that is my subjective opinion and my value judgement.

Technically, it is possible to be an MLP fan and be a Torture Technician. That doesn't change my opinion that you oughtn't be a torture technician, and it doesn't mitigate the cognitive dissonance that would come with such an apparent contradiction.

That example is a caricature, obviously, but an MLP fan who is a Jerkass or a Troll of the evil kind makes about as much sense as a Star Trek fan who is a Luddite, or a Cowboy Bebop fan who despises Jazz. There isn't a normative, let alone enforceable rule, that forces the brony to be nice, the trekkie to be optimistic about technology and the future, or a Bebop fan to like jazz music, but it's rather strange if they don't.

Tastes are one thing and morality is another, though, and, while I won't tell someone what music to like, and will debate the merits of technology on a purely intellectual level, I don't think there's anything objectionable about me objecting to the way others choose to behave around me.

Some fandoms are more enjoyable to be around and more sane as a matter of fact. The Star Wars fandom, for instance, is a very famous for being an Unpleasable Fanbase. The Code Geass fandom is, in day-to-day interactions, incredibly vitriolic and conflictive, because the show encourages this in many ways (I'll go into more detail if you insist, but it'd be offtopic). The shipping wars around Avatar The Last Airbender and The Legend Of Korra are the stuff of legend. Glee is another show that seems designed to cause conflict and disagreement.

I'm not saying that the MLP fandom is superior in an objective sense; some people may enjoy the ebb and flow of conflict, and great things can grow from that, as well as terrible things. But it is superior in the subjective sense that I enjoy it more than other fandoms; to me, being a brony is more fun than being a trekkie or a fan of Twilight. This need not hold true for other people, and I never implied such a thing.

The borny community, from what I've seen of it (essentially TVT, fimfiction, Giant In The Playground and KYM), is a lot more laid back. The show stands for certain values, and the people who like those values, such as myself, are rather glad for a flagship to rally around. Back when the show came out, I couldn't believe how happy I was; it's depressing that, nowadays, it takes courage to say "let's be nice to each other and become, together, more than the sum of our parts, through the power of goodwill and understanding" with a straight face, and I'm glad for a media franchise that does it, and does it with panache.

By sectarian I mean fandoms (and communities in general) that are very hostile to newcomers and to foreign ideas, not fandoms that don't talk about anything other than their show, in media (such as fanzines or forum threads) that are dedicated to their show. The troper bronies do talk about other stuff with each other, just not on this thread, because this isn't what it's for.

edited 6th Oct '12 9:11:01 AM by TheHandle

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

So treating this enjoyable cartoon show as an enjoyable cartoon show instead of a philosophical guide around which to base your life and behavior is unacceptable for a brony in your opinion? Is that what you're saying? For that matter, For that matter, do you think rampant condescension you're displaying right now is in line with the show's idealism and niceness?

It's quite astounding how righteous you're being while simultaneously admitting that you act intentionally difficult. This is Jerkass behavior right here.

Not to mention, your idea that sarcasm and irony are not valid rhetorical strategies is ridiculous.

Then stop acting like you can.

Does that entitlement include being judgemental of other fandoms wholesale?

Actually, it's more like a Star Trek fan that strives to be detached from his emotions, strictly adhere to logic and only has sex every seven years.

Well, frankly, you're objectively wrong. Your view of bronies is based on wearing blinders and sticking fingers on your ears. The "standard" you set never existed in the first place. To think you would criticize Star Wars fans for being unpleasable with all the ridiculous amount of complaining bronies have done all along...

edited 6th Oct '12 9:36:05 AM by BornIn1142

I just go with the thinking that all fandoms have their idiots. My Little Pony is no different.

<mod hat on>

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Oh yeah, forgot that you are a moderator.

I'm a (socialist) professional writer serializing a WWII alternate history webnovel.

Ludicrous phrase anyway...

BUY A CAR FROM ME!

I want to note that the main thread talked about a huge variety of things of mutual interest until the mods put their foot down.

Sess: I've met some real scumbags in my life. You're definitely decent.

The fandom certainly does a good job of presenting a good public face. But people will be people regardless of fandom or anything else. The main thread certainly hasn't been exempt from trouble makers, some of which were long time posters. And I've seen some really self entitled bullshit among the Deviantart community. That said, I've also met a lot of like minded people (here and otherwise), so it's pretty much impossible to generalize one way or another.

FE: Genealogy Story Run 7PM PT Sun, Mon, Fri; Expert Unicorn Overlord 7PM PT Wed, Thurs: http://www.twitch.tv/kuroitsubasatenshi

In my case it's just a show I want and enjoy.

Nothing more. Frankly this whole fandom thing baffles me. Any fandom does, to be honest. I like a show, but don't see the need to be so...public about it.

But perhaps this should be spoken of elsewhere...?

edited 6th Oct '12 9:57:49 AM by VeniVidiPony

BUY A CAR FROM ME!

Yes. Elsewhere. Now back to talking about fanfiction. Specifically, need to get back to Mormon ponies. Haven't written anything this week on account of school.

Yeah; Sessalisk, I have never seen any evidence to show that you were someone malicious. Unless you're hiding such evidence from us, allow me to disbelieve you.

About the second thing, I suppose you're right. No, you're definitely right. I still reserve the right to believe that it oughtn't be so, and that everyone should be good and nice, not just bronies, but that's just my opinion, no more and no less. I disagree with a lot of what Born said, and would like to explain myself until we've ironed out our differences, which I'm confident we can do peacefully and rigorously; but the moderation has requested that we stop, and so I will.

I'll take this chance to mention what a good job they do collectively on these fora, and how high a standard they hold themselves to; I myself apply the rules I follow here to my interactions in Real Life, and so far it has served me very well, as far as I can tell.

Back on topic, I've been reading Griffin the Griffin, and it feels like Ender's Game all over again. I used to be a huge fan of that story, so I feel all the more uncomfortable seeing someone fall for the exact same traps I used to. The comment sections are especially appalling, with people supporting Griffin's values and behavior with an ethusiasm that I find unhealthy. I used to be a bullied nerd just like a lot of bronies, and I'm ashamed of the revenge fantasies, misanthropy, and superiority complex I used to entertain, and it is an oppressive feeling, seeing the same emotions in so many others. I'm still in the early chapters, though, and I've yet to see what the author has planned for the character.

But, right now, I'm deathly afraid of having embarked on a Doorstopper Randian-esque fantasy. Hopefully I will have something more concrete and rational to say in a few chapters, once I've gotten more familiar with the work.

I'm not public about ponies. I've learned to keep it a goddamned secret, because I can't trust people to be intelligent about it. But I'm committed to the ideal I feel they represent, in a way that goes beyond simple appreciation. The commitment to the ideals precedes the show, though; I'm not building my life around it, I'm simply happy to have something that exemplifies my values so earnestly and unironically. The same goes for Methods Of Rationality*

... and pretty much nothing else. Even in the case of Discworld, it's more of a "too true, bro" feeling than a "this guy is saying my unspoken thoughts out loud" feeling.

edited 6th Oct '12 10:23:20 AM by TheHandle

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Oh man. I tried to read that Ender's Game article, but I couldn't get past the first section. I'm trying to imagine what kind of warped definitions you'd have to be working with to consider that book pornography. I personally felt that the book made it quite clear that Ender's warped outlook on life was wrong, the way he was being used by the government was wrong and the things he did in the end were extremely wrong, especially in the context of what he goes on to do in the sequels. I can kinda see the wish-fulfillment side of things, if you ignore the damage that the actions Ender takes do to his mental state, but how that could constitute porn is beyond me.

I can feel my old fanfic idea beckoning to me, demanding to be written.

Alas, I am constantly afraid that I can never do it justice.

Why did I have to think up an epic adventure story?

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...

I hope this doesn't count as continuing the nonsense, otherwise I'll delete it if you say.

I like John de Lancie's take on the fandom. What Star Trek did for science and technology, MLP is doing for art and music. This fandom is what convinced me that fanfiction counts as legitimate literature. Even the ones that are written badly as often as not have incredibly infectious ideas.

And then you have the stuff that isn't done badly. It's true that most of them aren't quite up to the technical standards of officially published works, but the trade-off is in the effect. I haven't read a book in the last five years that is even comes close to being as interesting as Austraeoh, and this is coming from someone who found out that you can max out your library card. Austraeoh isn't even the most interesting story the fandom has to offer either.

I don't think any piece of art has captured my imagination as much as this picture, and that's an OC as far as I can tell, so I don't even have the excuse that I'm seeing a familiar character in a new way like I do with this one.

Part of the appeal for me is that all of this stuff is genuine. The epic stuff is meant to be epic. The funny stuff is meant to be funny. Even the deconstructions and the parodies are genuine and affectionate. It's rare that you see someone writing or drawing for any other reason than the sheer joy that they get from creating cool stuff. Most serious fiction and art come in with an axe to grind and a point to make, a hidden agenda, or sometimes not so hidden. Paradoxically, it's the things that don't set out with an agenda that affect people the most, make them pause and think. It's only when an artist realizes and embraces that their work is nothing more than entertainment that it really has the potential to open up and become bigger than that. This fandom is teaching artists and writers to do just that.

My theory on why kkat is so silent in the fandom now that Fallout Equestria has ended is because she's working on original fiction now. If she wasn't prompted to move on to other things, I am still entirely confident that the fandom will produce several artists and writers who will become important in the years to come. Hell, the practice I'm getting from A Still More Glorious Dawn Awaits is giving me the motivation to continue working my original fiction projects that I dropped because...well, mostly because I was frustrated and was too lazy to work through the problems.

Edit: I just got to say, I read that Ender's Game article, and I think it is both untrue in nearly every aspect, and falls down as a persuasive piece of writing for not providing convincing or enough support for the extraordinarily large claims that it makes.

edited 6th Oct '12 10:34:05 AM by CDRW

I think it's also that the sheer amount of feedback that the fandom generates for the artists. There have been other works that also inspired me to write fanfic of them, but none of them came with a built-in audience to bounce ideas off of. Yes, you still have to look for proofreaders and whatnot, but the sheer number of training-ground style places the fandom has created is astounding It's not just that people are inspired to write stuff, it's the fandom has actually developed places for improvement. It's organized places where an author or artist can go if they want feedback, which in turn results in more people being willing to create stuff because they know that they'll be able to get people to look at it. Also:

This. So much. I've always thought that when you're writing a story, the story needs to take precedence over the message.

edited 6th Oct '12 10:34:44 AM by JapaneseTeeth

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