Live Blogs Pannic Reads Stuff He Hates

Pannic2012-06-30 18:18:12

In the event that you just clicked this more or less at random and have pretty much no idea what this is, allow me to explain:

Fallout: Equestria is a fanfiction, a crossover between the Fallout series of video games and the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It may be the single most popular fanfiction in the entire fandom of the latter. The story is 45 chapters long plus an epilogue and an afterwards, clocks in at a word count higher than War and Peace (unless I'm mistaken one tragically misguided fan put the story on Wikipedia's "list of the longest books ever" page. Obviously it was removed), and has a large fanbase of its own, spawning fan art, fan adaptations, music, and even fanfiction of its own.

Fans have praised it for worldbuilding: the story actually does not go for the usual "character from video game meets ponies" premise a lot of lazy crossovers opt for, and instead works it into the backstory how we get from the universe in the show to the post-apocalyptic radioactive wasteland that we recognize from the Fallout games. Or I would recognize it if I'd played the games. As it is, I am waiting for a sale on Steam or GOG. The main characters of the story are all original characters, and they have been praised as "OC ponies done right" and "the best OC ponies in the fandom." In any case, the protagonist Littlepip is fairly instantly recognizable to many in the fandom, whether or not they've read the story. The story's length also qualifies it as something of an "epic." In any case, it has had praise heaped on it and is considered by many to be the best fanfic in the FiM fandom.

At this point, I have cleared chapter 13. I do not think the story deserves the praise it receives. I view it as horrendously overrated. As I go through the story, I will detail my problems with the story, along with general mockery.

The general Fallout: Equestria thread did not approve of my incessant riffing on the story and suggested I take it to a liveblog. Well, that's what I'll do.

A note that for the parts I have already read (the first thirteen chapters), I will be largely dealing from memory. As such, they will most likely not be as detailed as when I return to the stuff I haven't read. In any case, let's get started. Hopefully this isn't redundant as Perpetual Lurker is also doing a liveblog.

EDIT: It seems my complaining cannot be confined to a single fanfic. As such, I have decided to turn this into a multi-story liveblog!

Comments

KuroiTsubasaTenshi Since: Dec, 1969

Dec 28th 2012 at 2:36:22 PM

Well, to be fair, I've never read the fic. And going off the content you listed, I don't think I want to. So there wasn't really anything left to say. :P

I also found the division of the orbs and the whole jumping back and forth between mental states pretty oddball, as well. There's another chapter later on that does something like that again.

To add to what your comment on 20.5: it's also supplemental material from an external author. If the relationship and/or story can't stand without it, I think that's a pretty big weakness.

Sereg Since: Dec, 1969

Dec 29th 2012 at 7:28:43 AM

Yeah, your description convinced me not to read it either. It sounds terrible.

As for Calamity and Velvet, maybe the problem is that I've been overexposed to dysfunctional relationships, as it seems fine to me. It's just the out of nowhereness of Littlepip/Homage that bothers me. Probablyfor the same reason. Another issue being that I've never had a girlfriend before, so I'm not relating.

I haven't read 20.5, so I can't comment. I don't even think that Girl On Girl Is Hot, so yeah.

Pannic Since: Dec, 1969

Dec 29th 2012 at 10:30:30 AM

Don't get me wrong, I still think Littlepip and Homage's relationship stinks - it's just that it seems like it has a reason to exist, whereas Calamity and Velvet are an odd pairing with no accompanying hijinks. Just a moral debate here and there, and those aren't particularly interesting to read.

Actually, the thing in this chapter follows more or less the exact same format as the one in chapter 16. They have an argument on opposing sides, Littlepip says nothing until it starts getting more heated and she yells at them both to shut up.

Unknownlight Since: Dec, 1969

Dec 29th 2012 at 10:35:02 PM

I still don't quite understand why these last six memory orbs are so big and important, other than being the final ones in the story. Sure, they all include important information (except for the Apple Orb, which didn't really have real plot significance...) but so do most memory orbs. There was one orb in the chapter that I think was big and important enough to require its own bolded title, but the rest could've been spaced out over a few chapters in the normal way.

Speaking of that big and important orb, I can't wait till you get to it. It's so completely weird and random that I just found myself laughing as I read it. I actually quite enjoyed it—it's one of the most memorable parts of the entire fic for me—but I suspect you're going to have a lot of problems with the scene. ;)

KuroiTsubasaTenshi Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 2nd 2013 at 1:28:31 PM

I always thought most of Littlepip x Homage made sense, at least in terms of realism. They're a couple of horny girls without partners giving into their hormones and keeping it going based on some fantastical romantic view of their relationship. Not a healthy relationship in the least, but it makes sense. I kept waiting for the whole thing to totally crash and burn, as things based around romantic illusion tend to, but infuriatingly enough, it never happens. And then the relationship kind of gets forgotten except in moments where Littlepip needs to justify being more reckless than usual until the end where the story's all like "yep, they lived happily ever after because it was true love, man!" What.

Sereg Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 8th 2013 at 1:48:38 AM

Not a healthy relationship in the least, but it makes sense. I kept waiting for the whole thing to totally crash and burn, as things based around romantic illusion tend to, but infuriatingly enough, it never happens. And then the relationship kind of gets forgotten except in moments where Littlepip needs to justify being more reckless than usual until the end where the story's all like "yep, they lived happily ever after because it was true love, man!" What.

Exactly! It's ridiculous!