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

CCPrime Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 25th 2014 at 5:21:08 PM

Oh, boy, what a treat! More of the never-ending-blood-rape-and-angst train, with commentary from the one dude who can make it all worthwhile! I look forward to seeing more of your impressions of this behemoth. Trust me, you might like it now, but you won't after it starts spiraling into a never-ending, meandering, plotless abyss.

IcyShake Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 26th 2014 at 4:12:23 PM

Let's see, since you were listing them out, names thrown out also included Scotch Tape, Marmalade, Rivets, and Textbook. I bet I'm missing some, too.

Largely feel the same way you seem to about the chapter.

I hope you enjoy the read.

CC Prime: I can agree with you on "never-ending," "meandering," and "abyss," but "plotless"? Really?

On that note, let me express my hope that, as much as I love it, I won't be this story's "Serephem."

Unknownlight Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 25th 2014 at 9:12:19 PM

"There are twenty-one earth pony stallions and twenty-one unicorn stallions on breeding duties"

Twenty, not twenty-one. Twenty-one means you're dead.

Man oh man, Project Horizons. I could say a lot about Project Horizons. It's like a hearty, tasty, beef stew that screams in agony every time you take a bite. And not just a single bowl of the stuff, no, more like an entire swimming pool.

I'm eager see you read more.

IcyShake Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 26th 2014 at 6:23:10 PM

I forgot to say this before: on the mother issue, a few days ago it occurred to me that I don't remember anything about Littlepip's dad. Was he dead or something? Just seemed weird to me that her mom was a whole thing, but her dad was a nonentity. Of course, we know why Blackjack's doesn't much figure in.

Pannic Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 26th 2014 at 7:22:01 PM

I don't think Littlepip's dad is mentioned. Either he died or her mom was just so promiscuous she didn't know who it was.

Seraphem Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 27th 2014 at 6:58:19 AM

Was pretty much implied that her mom was just such a drunk, she had no clue who it was.

As to the chapter. Short version, right from the start we see exactly what it is that makes me loathe PH so much. Retconning and twisting aspects of the original, simply to make things as dark, messed up, cynical, and brutal as possible.

The entire concept for Stable 99 and how it is is hideous and revolting, and the way it got there is so contrived and misses the entire point of what Stables were. Turing them in Vaults. Which is one of the things I most hate about any fic doing that. The Stables, were the complete antithesis of the Vaults. That fact was one of the greatest parts of FOE to me.

Yes I could see an experiment like the one 99 started with going through, but Somber seems to forget that every experiment had an 'out'. A way to stop the experiment in it's tracks if it threatened the long term survival of the ponies in the Stable, like this one clearly did.

Pannic Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 27th 2014 at 10:46:53 AM

Re: Retcons and "every experiment had an 'out.'"

1. The story was written before the original was complete. Most likely Somber simply wrote this part and had it published well before that was revealed.

2. An "out" existing doesn't guarantee that everything will work out, as we can see from other stables that ended in disaster. Stable 15, for example, or whatever the one with the computer was.

ILSS Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 27th 2014 at 1:01:03 PM

Originally, no explanation for Stable 99 was given until it was pretty blatantly retconned in Chapter 19. Sometime during the mid 30s to 40s Somber went back and rewrote Chapter 1 entirely to include references to the added exposition.

Of course, this made scenes that had previously been dramatic revelations coming nearly out of nowhere into scenes where Blackjack is shocked and horrified to learn things she'd known from the outset, but that's Project Horizons for you.

Seraphem Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 27th 2014 at 1:29:41 PM

One of the, admittedly many, things I loved most about the world itself, was that fact the none of the Stables we know of ever failed due to anything other then bad luck. And never due to the actions of the ponies inside them. It was always either an accident, like with the chimera's, or outside forces. The Pink Cloud seeping into Stable 3, the Enclave tearing open, and tearing apart all the pegasi stables they could find for resources. The freaking Steel Rangers......

Even the one Stable where the experiment directly led to the failure, it was also due to an accident. The water talisman getting damaged, and an unforeseen issue with the AI programming. Hell, if i wasn't for nopony knowing about the AI except for that one stallion, the ponies in the Stable might have been able to do something and save themselves. Since the 'out' was still there, and still would have worked, but he was the only one who knew about it.

Even if there was an 'out' which we see no evidence of for 99, the simple fact that this alone of the stables, failed because of the ponies inside turning on each other like that. All simply going along with something so hideous, brutal, and disgusting for a century, for no reason other then, for the sake of having that environment....

Unknownlight Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 27th 2014 at 4:14:40 PM

"Yes I could see an experiment like the one 99 started with going through, but Somber seems to forget that every experiment had an 'out'. A way to stop the experiment in it's tracks if it threatened the long term survival of the ponies in the Stable, like this one clearly did."

Seraphem, please stop talking about things you know nothing about. Stable 99's original experiment was "This Stable will be all about recycling. Thus, this Stable will need to have a controlled population, as having the population grow too much will cause a shortage of supplies".

The Stable worked perfectly fine for generations. Then, there was a "civil war" between the members of the Stable, which eventually caused the evil overmare to decide that all males will now be used solely for breeding.

That's it. That's why. Stable-Tec had no say in this, they couldn't have possibly predicted this, and there was nothing they could've done to prevent people from being power hungry.

ILSS Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 27th 2014 at 4:34:01 PM

It's made worse by the fact that I'd just stated that an explanation was given.

That said (and as previously said), the explanation was something of a retcon on Somber's part that he's since gone back and written into the beginning of the story. If Seraphem ever actually did try to read Project Horizons, he may have read the original version in which it appeared to have been that way from the outset.

Seraphem Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 27th 2014 at 4:41:53 PM

I'm going with the version of events that Somber told me directly about why it was the way it was.

And it still twists the entire idea of what The Stables were, just so that the story can start out already that dark.

CCPrime Since: Dec, 1969

Jan 30th 2014 at 12:30:28 PM

@Icy Shake: Well, okay, "plotless" was an intentional exaggeration— it's more like "takes a really long time to cut to the chase".