mancalledtrue | Entries tagged with bronydom

For the most part, My Little Pony hasn't done "issues" episodes. This week they decided to cover bullying, and they handled it rather nicely - the episode didn't go into After-School Special "Let's Be Dramatic" mode, it just slipped its lesson into the weave here and there.

There were some early rumblings from the idiots in the corners of the fanbase, but for the most part, the bronies managed to remember the important part about our group: large as our demographic may be, we are still a periphery demographic, and this is still a kid's show. Thus we should expect it to have episodes like this now and then.

"Too Many Pinkie Pies" aired on Saturday.

The arguments over whether Twilight Sparkle committed murder began as soon as it finished airing.

It's Wednesday, and the consensus is already leaning towards, "Come on, guys, it's a fucking cartoon! She's not a goddamn murderer! Are we STILL on about it?!?"

----

The season premiere aired two weeks ago.

We're STILL making "QUICK! THROW YOUR WIFE!" jokes.

----

Sometimes this fandom knows where the money is.

So the Phoenix Wright/MLP fanvid series "Turnabout Storm" has officially canceled its sequel. The creator posted a video announcing this in what was basically a blatant appeal for sympathy.

I hate that series, as I find the voice acting to be terrible both in terms of character and in recording quality, the writing poor, the pacing bad, and the characterization unbalanced and weak.

So I left a brief, harsh comment - let's call a spade a spade, a flame - on the video.

I wonder how long before I can show my face on YouTube again.

Still, I feel it was necessary. No one should be allowed to beg for comments and get away with it.

In the quest to find a new subject to spork for Das Sporking, I sent my friend Blade to investigate a certain fanfic I had had strong misgivings about since reading its TV Tropes page: the My Little Pony fanfic Frigid Hearts and Burning Winds. This is his scouting report.

BladeofZorc 9:17 pm
"OK, I'm gonna give it a shot.
Alright, immediate reaction is that it looks a bit... beefy. Proceeding with the report.

My second reaction is that, while well written so far, the story suffers from the same curse (and sometimes blessing) that so many other fanfictions in and out of this fandom suffer from: drama.
The show has taught us that, no, not even Equestria is ALL sunshine and gumdrops. There have been civil wars, plagues, famines, failed settlements, and at least two near-Apocalypses.

But regardless, the subject matter has been handled in a lighthearted and whimsical fashion. I think the 'darkest' it ever got was in 'Over a Barrel,' and even in that episode, the finesse of Faust and her crew shone through: The weapons were pies, the peace treaty was a compromise centered around sharing snacks, and never once did the episode delve any deeper than it needed to to paint its picture.

Here, on the other hand, Uncanny Valley strikes harder than poni mysticism. The locations, characers, and viewpoints so far ring not of Equestria, but of 'pony-fied Earth.' It's already at Level 1 Discordian greyscale, and this is just the first chapter... which I'm only less than halfway through. Research continuing.
.....Research continuing, however a note must be made:
""Leaves more time for drinking!""

I understand that in our world, alcohol is regularly referenced and consumed, but canonically, it is not referenced. Not directly. Salt lick saloons I can accept (It's the Old West.). Berry Punch is a gag character given a nod or two by Studio B. The Apple family's cider is soft, not hard; regardless, Equestrian biology is very loosely-defined. Foods that would kill a real horse are consumed by the characters en masse. It's not unreasonable to assume that perhaps the concentrated juice of a fruit can intoxicate one of them similar to how booze affects us.
Perhaps I'm being too nitpicky, but vocally referencing alcohol feels wrong. It breaks an unspoken rule of the MLPverse. The fact that the poni equivalent of GOD is doing it doesn't improve my feelings on the matter.
Moving on with research.

Luna's interaction with Blueblood... OK, this story just went up several notches.
Aaaaaaand back down it went when Blueblood opened his fat mouth again.

First chapter completed. Celestia is being represented as very OOC. Then again, so is Luna. Unsure of how to proceed, but proceeding regardless.

OK, the Equestrian military is... No, this is getting out of hand. Between that whole scene and Luna vomiting from using stomsmashing magic, we're now at Level 2 greyscale.
Proceeding, but with more caution than before.

Twilight is also OOC. I'm sensing a theme here.

    ""How should I put this…Twilight, the Royal Family is a lie.""
    RED ALERT.
    RED ALERT.
    RED ALERT.
    OFFICIAL CANON UNDER TARGETING BY D-LEVEL THREAT.
    BASE QUARANTINE PROTOCOL IS NOW IN EFFECT. ALL ACTIVITY HALTED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."

The scouting report continued after this, but Blade was in his hazmat suit and I found it impossible to understand a damned word he said.

With a reaction like that from Blade, who is usually very hard to shake, the choice became very easy to make.

My next Das Sporking target will be "Frigid Hearts and Burning Winds".

I did not make this video, nor do I necessarily approve of it. But still, at least a certain story that won't be named is having creative impact.

How... colorful...

Do you have any idea how rarely I find a good Celestia fic?

Today's subject: For Her
Author: Pyre
Genre: Tragedy
Short summary: A thousand years is a long time to lose someone.

Review: It's so hard to find fanfic that doesn't blame Princess Celestia in some way, shape, or form for the Nightmare Moon business. When I do find one, it's worth acknowledging.

The story covers a few months before Nightmare Moon awakens and (with appropriate dilation) the thousand years afterwards. Put simply, Celestia went through her own personal hell without her sister, and even after she got past that and focused on trying to get Luna back, she still suffered - a lot.

This is that rare depiction of Princess Celestia that shows her in three dimensions - devoted to her people and her sister, but not infalliable and with lines she cannot cross, which cause her agony when forced against them. (She almost causes the catastrophe Nightmare Moon attempted from sheer despair-borne apathy after her.)

Granted, this story won't be for everyone - there are long stretches without any dialogue, summarizing Celestia's actions over the centuries. The author tagged it "Tragedy/Slice of Life" for a reason. And more importantly, some fans might take severe exception to Celestia's manipulations. Certainly it inches a bit close to some of the "Dumbledore as evil chessmaster" portrayals from the Harry Potter fandom.

But I personally found this to be an amazing story. Princess Celestia never wanted to harm her sister in any way, and this story is written by someone who gets that. The idea of her inadvertantly creating much of what we've seen in canon as a result of trying ot save her just seems to fit.

This is one of my new favorites.

Here's one that has its own TV Tropes page! It's also my first multi-chapter story.

Today's subject: Windfall
Author: WarrenHutch
Genre: Comedy
Short summary: Several years after the series, Fluttershy's having her first foal, and the Mane Six reunite for the occasion.

Review: To be honest, having these be my first attempt at a multi-chapter story review is kind of a cheat, as the individual chapters are pretty short. They're split up less for length/coherence and more for viewpoint, since each one switches to a different member of the Mane Six (or in one case the Crusaders).

I classified this as "comedy", but the comedy's pretty low-key. This is one of those stories that deals with the "friendshipping" element I discussed back in my "Trust" review; it explores how the bond between the main characters comes into play at an important moment like this. And it does so very well. Not that there aren't funny moments (Zecora vs. Nurse Redheart, Fluttershy revealing that even the nicest pony isn't immune to labor pains), but they're largely secondary to the friendshipping.

The story consists largely of vignettes showing each of the characters being contacted with news of Fluttershy's impending delivery and reacting appropriately, showing how they've changed in the interval, interspersed with "Meanwhile, back at Sweet Apple Acres" scenes where previously-contacted characters arrive. Some make sense (Twilight Sparkle as Professor Farnsworth's pony double), some... just plain don't (Scootaloo as a ballroom dancer?).

I commend the beta reader; this is the first story that I've read for this series that didn't have any mistakes catching my eye.

The last two chapters take a turn from the comedic to the heartwarming, though the author plays it a bit too strong at points. The final "bonus chapter" in particular goes a bit overboard with the symbolism, the last few lines all but cracking the reader over the head with a nailbat.

For those who take this shipping thing seriously, be warned - the story ships Fluttershy/Big Macintosh.

Although it pushes a bit too far at the conclusion, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses, and it deserves the positive attention it receives.

Merry Christmas, folks! As a present for the invisible readers, I'm branching away from FIMFiction and going back to the old workhorse - Fanfiction.net itself.

Today's subject: Dash's Secret
Author: Hopefox
Genre: Drama
Short summary: Rainbow Dash's parents are in town, forcing her to reveal a secret she's held for a very long time.

Review:
( Spoilers below. )

Today's subject: Trust
Author: The_Incredible_Blunderbolt
Genre: Romance/Drama
Short summary: Rainbow Dash comes out to her friends, which inspires Twilight Sparkle to reveal a secret of her own...

Review: Yeah, it's still a one-shot, but I'm still opening my boundries a little - this one made it on Equestria Daily. So what sort of story makes it past the prereaders?

( Spoilers after cut. )

Current Mood: disappointed

...time to reflect.

I'm considering doing a multi-chapter fic for my next review. I'd prefer to cover a complete story, but I'm always open to suggestions otherwise.

Any advice, invisible readers?

Today's Subject: The Hiccups
Author: uSea
Genre: Comedy
Short summary: Sweetie Belle gets the hiccups. The other two Crusaders take it on themselves to cure them.

Review: Basic premise, surprisingly sound execution.

From the summary, you've probably figured out how it goes - the girls drag Sweetie Belle from one Mane Six member to another in their attempts to get the hiccups cured. However, it's the journey that's the fun part, and the gags work fairly well. The story doesn't outstay its welcome with any one character, spending just enough time with each of the Mane Six for the jokes to work before moving along. Despite its brevity, there's time for a subplot that fits in nicely.

The prose starts bland but picks up, with a few minor spelling and grammr errors that mildly detract. The author could have used another pass or two over the story before submitting it.

There isn't much to say about this story - it's short, it knows what it wants to do, and it does it well. This is the sort of work I appreciate over bloated, multi-part "epics" that don't know when to stop.

Today's Subject: Derpy's Dive
Author: Flutterspy911
Genre: Drama/Romance
Short summary: Derpy attempts to end her life, only for the most unlikely pony to give her a reason to live.

Review: This is a very popular story on FIMFiction, which makes me wonder about the general opinion of FIMFiction readers, as it's really rather poor.

To start with, it's a stylistic mess. The spelling is decent, but the punctuation and synonym usage are terrible, and the sentence breaks are all over the place. The viewpoint abruptly switches at several points between Pinkie Pie and Derpy; while the author manages to insert paragraph breaks on most occasions, they fail to on several others, leaving me confused. And the opening paragraphs frequently suffer sudden tense changes, the least forgivable of the style sins.

For another, it's just bland. The story is written in uninterested, beige prose, with few attempts to truly engage the thoughts of the characters. Pinkie Pie and Derpy blur into each other, making one wonder why the story bothers switching between their viewpoints. Several of the FIMFiction reviewers comment that the story feels rushed, and I can believe that it was, since it feels like it needed a few revisions to iron out the characters.

A few revisions to iron the plot wouldn't have hurt, either:
- Derpy attempts suicide after being called a retard by a stallion she was attracted to. Yet the story makes a point of how she's heard similar from most of the ponies she's encountered. We're never given a specific reason why THIS was the trigger incident that made her attempt to kill herself.
- The romantic elements are balanced on the ludicrous idea that Pinkie Pie is the only pony in Ponyville who would search the Everfree Forest for Derpy. The amount of noise a pegasus would make smashing through the Everfree canopy isn't addressed, nor is Zecora's apparent absence.
- Granted, Derpy never speaks on the show, but given she's apparently close to the Mane Six in this story, surely she's said more to them than "Muffin"? (It's a plot point that this is the only word Pinkie's ever heard her say.)
- It will be a minor miracle if Derpy can ever walk again given the amount of manhandling Pinkie does to her.

All in all, this is a story that doesn't deserve half the popularity its host site has given it. It didn't show up on Equestria Daily when I did a search, and I'm not surprised. Equestria Daily has prereaders.

Postscript: The only thing negative the FIMF.net reviewers had to say? They thought Flutterspy911 should have gone with "Ditzy Doo".

A place to keep all of my fanfic reviews for convenience sake.

Ground Rules
"Fluttersertive", Pen Palomino
"Derpy's Dive", Flutterspy911
"The Hiccups", uSea
"Trust", The_Incredible_Blunderbolt
"Dash's Secret", Hopefox
"Windfall", WarrenHutch
"For Her", Pyre

Today's subject: Fluttersertive
Author: Pen Palomino
Genre: Comedy
Short summary: Fluttershy decides to really work at the whole "becoming more assertive" business. Pity she goes overboard on it.

Review: This is a short one-shot, since I'm just getting started with the review business. Want my opinion? I like it.

Too often fanfic writers fall into the trap of thinking that if their stories aren't multiple chapters, they're doing something wrong. I'm very appreciative when I find a story that works well and keeps itself short. This is one of them.

The bulk of the story is Fluttershy by herself, which is to be expected given the plot. Fluttershy can be either the easiest of the Mane Six to write or the hardest, depending on what she's called upon to do - many writers forget that she can turn aggressive if her friends are threatened. In this story, that isn't an issue, so characterization follows a simple path, which Pen Palomino does well. (That she spends most of the story interacting with an extended Saturday Night Live reference helps.)

The author has a worthwhile grasp on spelling and grammar, making the story easy to read. It flows smoothly between scenes and manages to work in all of the Mane Six without them feeling tacked on, and even finds room to insert Derpy (under the name Ditzy Doo).

There is one weak spot in the story, though: the third act is a bit too short, leaving the effects of Fluttershy's assertiveness a bit flat. While it manages to get the "echo" effect the author was presumably going for, it isn't perfect, and could have used an extra scene or two.

All in all, though, this is a well-written one-shot, well worth the brief investment of time it requires. I recommend it.

So I decided to go for it. From this point forward, as the muse strikes me, I shall post reviews of whatever My Little Pony fanfic has caught my eye at the moment.

This post shall set the ground rules. Bear in mind that the only rule set in stone is "Rules are subject to change".

General

1. I pick the stories to be reviewed at my own discretion, though I am always open to suggestions.

2. I don't get paid for these reviews. Don't rush me.

3. I'll make every attempt to be fair. Sometimes this is harder than others, as the other rules might make obvious.

4. If at all possible, I'll avoid giving spoilers in my reviews. This may be revoked if I'm tearing a fic a new one, in which case I will give warning.

5. Generally speaking, I consider numerical ratings to be a bad idea. Therefore, I will not give stars, points, apples, or any other numerical score to a work. The text of the review will be its own assessment.

6. I will not delete your comments. I do, however, reserve the right not to read them.

Fandom

1. I accept the existence of MLP pornography, but I am not a reader of clopfic. I do not plan to review any.

2. Princess Celestia is one of my favorite characters, so I will probably be harsh on stories that portray her in a negative light.

3. I do not support or protest any ship.

Stories I Will Not Review

- Fallout Equestria and spinoffs: I've never played Fallout 3. Until recently, I hadn't played the original Fallout. Between that and the sheer size of this fandom canon, I have no reference point whatsoever. I cannot give this series a fair review.

- Cupcakes: If you have heard of this story, you already have an opinion on it, and so anything I write will be superfluous. There is nothing I can say that can influence what anyone thinks of this story. I may review some of its fan-written sequels, but I doubt it.

- Past Sins: It would take a considerable, considerable amount of bribery to get me to read this story, let alone review it.

So as you can tell, I haven't had much luck making this into a proper sporking LJ. Can't seem to get them out with any sort of speed.

I'm pretty deep into My Little Pony at this point, and I've toyed with the idea of spending some time reviewing MLP fanfics on this LJ.

So I'll put this one up to the invisible readership: if I did reviews on this LJ, would you read them?

Behold: Dust Pages. Or as I like to call him, "Pony Me".

Current Mood: creative

There are four main voice actresses in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Tara Strong is Twilight Sparkle; Ashleigh Ball is Applejack and Rainbow Dash; Andrea Libman is Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy; and Tabitha St. Germain is Rarity and several recurring characters (notably Grannie Smith, Zecora, and Princess Luna).

Andrea Libman has had almost no appearances in the last two episodes - Pinkie Pie had four lines in "The Cutie Pox", but that was it. Fluttershy hasn't appeared at all.

Ashleigh Ball has had somewhat better luck, as Applejack has played major roles in both "Sisterhooves Social" and "The Cutie Pox", but Rainbow Dash hasn't done much lately.

Tabitha St. Germain, on the other hand, has had the spotlight lately. Rarity was cut from "Luna Eclipsed" after storyboards, but Zecora played a large role, Grannie Smith showed up for the first time in ages (with a line, no less), and of course, Luna was the centerpiece. Rarity was one of the main characters in "Sisterhooves Social" (and she's getting another episode later this season), with another Grannie Smith scene as well. And Zecora was again a major part of the episode in "The Cutie Pox" (with yet another Grannie Smith scene).

Did she have a word with the producers?

(It's worth noting that technically, there are five major voice actresses in MLP - Cathy Weseluck voices Spike. But it's a little hard to class her alongside the Mane Six voices.)

On October 22nd, the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode "Luna Eclipsed" aired. This episode was the first appearance of hugely popular character Princess Luna since the pilot. As presented, the character differed hugely both in appearance and behavior from how fans had depicted her over the previous year.

Despite much worry, fan reaction was almost entirely positive. Many fans called for the altering of said fan depictions to suit the new canonical depiction, and nearly all fanart and fanfic portrayal of Luna since is in line with how she appears in "Luna Eclipsed" (or at least makes an active effort to explain deviation).

Recently, a new set of "blind bag" MLP toys were released. One of these toys resembles a background character that has appeared in several episodes, a green unicorn with a lyre Cutie Mark. This character had no canon name (and is officially labeled "Incidental Pony 2" in the animator's Flash files according to one of the staff), but is very popular with the fandom, who had dubbed her "Lyra". The toy is named "Heartstrings".

Much argument and debate has ensued, as fans have discussed whether the toy should be considered as Lyra (the toy is a recolor of Twilight Sparkle) and what this means to the vast amount of fanwork featuring her. There are several camps, including those who refuse to accept the "Heartstrings" toy as accepting Lyra, and one that has renamed her "Lyra Heartstrings" (as the show has presented evidence of characters with first and last names - Pinkie Pie's full name being "Pinkamena Diane Pie", for one).

To put this in perspective: a major character being nothing like her fanon depiction results in acceptance. A background character getting named differently from fan expectations results in massive confusion and argument.

I fucking love this fandom.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: FFMQ, "Defeated!"

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mancalledtrue

December 2024

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Page Summary

We Took That Pretty Well.
This Fandom Isn't Completely Out Of It
I Think I'm In Trouble
Sporking Update: Target Acquired
This Fandom is Going Insane.
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: For Her
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Windfall
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Dash's Secret
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Trust
BFR: Three down...
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: The Hiccups
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Derpy's Dive
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews Index
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Fluttersertive
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews - The Ground Rules
A Possible Shift in Direction...
Everyone needs a pony OC.
One Can Only Wonder...
I love being a brony.

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The Place That Is No More

Entries tagged with bronydom

We Took That Pretty Well.

This Fandom Isn't Completely Out Of It

I Think I'm In Trouble

Sporking Update: Target Acquired

This Fandom is Going Insane.

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: For Her

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Windfall

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Dash's Secret

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Trust

BFR: Three down...

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: The Hiccups

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Derpy's Dive

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews Index

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Fluttersertive

Bronydom Fanfic Reviews - The Ground Rules

A Possible Shift in Direction...

Everyone needs a pony OC.

One Can Only Wonder...

I love being a brony.