Why Humans Suck · 6:33am Sep 17th, 2013
Did you know that humans suck? To many cartoon fanatics this is a fact of life so obvious that for at least three generations it has not needed to be spoken aloud, but some writers of MLP fiction need to be told this obvious truth. The following essay is for those writers who, for whatever sick and twisted reason, turn ponies into humans in their writing.
Consider one of the most well known super heroes of all time: Superman. Superman started in 1938 as a comic and was most recently seen in the 2013 movie Man of Steel. Superman has unexplainable powers beyond what scientists would consider probable in this chapter of humanity's history. Most fans of Superman enjoy Superman stories because of his powers beyond that of today's human, such as: Xray vision, impermeability to bullets and radiation, super strength, and the ability to fly by seemingly supernatural means, but here is the kicker – Superman is not a man. That's right, Superman is not a human, he is an alien from another planet that happens to look like a human.
For some reason, a loud minority of Fimfiction writers enjoy turning ponies into humans who somehow believe that doing so enhances ponies – raises them from a lower state of being to a higher state of being. If the ponies of Equestria were as horses on Earth, then there would be some very obvious benefits such as increased brain capacity, color vision, a better placement of the eyes, a longer lifespan, and better hearing, but Equestrian ponies are not animals of Earth. Equestrian ponies have a brain capacity, color vision, and hearing that are on par or greater than humanity's. Their eyes are optimally suited for their species and they have a lifespan much longer than humans, many writers estimate a minimum of 400 years.
A long lifespan doesn't automatically make a being superior, nor does it necessarily make a character interesting enough to be the main character in stories. However, there are three types of ponies with magical powers unique to each type and any of which beyond the capacity of a human being. Earth ponies seem relatively normal until their strength and stamina are shown. Sometimes insultingly called the “work horse”, Earth ponies seem to have no end to their stamina, working, playing, or bouncing in every step, the Earth pony only ever seems to get tired after twelve or more full hours of constant heavy work. In “Fall Weather Friends”, Applejack, an Earth pony, kicks a strength tester and breaks it launching both the tester piece and the bell an unknown distance away. If the strength tester had the same structural integrity as those of humanity, her kick would have an estimated 4,000lbs of force at the moment of impact. It has been suggested that Earth ponies age better as well, remaining physically active until the week of their death. In addition to these preternatural inheritances, Earth ponies have the magical ability to cause plants to grow faster and bigger than they could in nature. Earth ponies can cause an apple seed to grow the equivalent of 60 days after germination in two seconds by touching it or by being in close vicinity.
Then there are pegasi, the winged ponies who can fly. Compared to the amazing powers of the Earth pony, pegasi seem quite weak. Regardless of weather, pegasi can fly through it, because they are surrounded by a magical force that steadies them and any object to which they are tethered, such as chariots. This magical surrounding acts as a shield toward air and water allowing pegasi to magically control the weather and walk on clouds. The pegasus is most protected from forces of nature because their magical shield toward weather means they have no need of a permanent dwelling, they are perfectly at home in the clouds, and as such protected from any natural predator. Lastly, the magical shield surrounding pegasi grant them the ability to survive compression waves such as a sonic boom or the vortex of a tornado, that would crush or rip a part a human body.
With such a description it's hard to believe that the last of the pony types is actually the most gifted as far as range of abilities go. The unicorn pony can touch the nature of reality directly. In the last two paragraphs I have used the word magic because I wanted to avoid the matter of science until now. In truth, the unicorn pony has the power to manipulate energy on any level. If you happen to be familiar with M theory, unicorns can touch all the way down to string level. What this means is there is nothing that unicorns cannot do, but the individual unicorn is limited by their personal understanding of the energy they manipulate. Unicorns can for example hold objects in telekinesis, they can travel through time, they can teleport either from line of sight or to a relative location in the universe that is known to them, they can change how others perceive reality, and on top of this they can imbue beings or objects with their ability creating magical machines doing a single task or an array of tasks controlled automatically as if a program or by the will of any being given permission to control them. It might be easiest to think of unicorns as computer programmers where life itself is the computer on which they program. In this sense, given enough time, enough dedicated unicorns, along with trust, a team of unicorns could develop a systematic understanding and control of nature that could easily be defined as godhood.
From this perspective it should be easy to see that any type of Equestrian pony has a massive advantage over a regular human being as far as adaptiveness to nature goes. The only possible want of an Equestrian pony to be human is if they were stuck on Earth where everything made is made for humans, however, even this is unlikely because each type could still find a satisfaction of using their unique abilities to help them cope and would not want to lose this part of themselves.
What does that have to do with Superman? Well, you see, besides not being human and loving it, what makes the Superman comics and movies and everything else interesting is that Superman is more than human. Not many people know this, but the english word “super” comes from the German word, “uber”, which literally translates “above”, so Superman's very name explains his claim to fame: “Above (the race of) man”. Both Superman and MLP fall in the genre of Fantasy, and the genre of fantasy is made interesting and is defined by the fact that it surpasses what man can do or currently understand. Some would say it is defined by things that are impossible, however, some of yesterday's fantasy has become today's reality. Returning to the topic of my essay, “why humans suck” the answer is simply because humans are boring compared to ponies, and turning a pony into a human through writing sucks away all of the interesting parts about MLP.
Obviously, I cannot talk about this without bringing up Hasbro's clusterfuck of making Equestia Girls. From everything I have gathered, Hasbro only did this to make money off of the toys and did not think about the fans nor how it would affect the canon of the story... Actually, I am fairly sure Hasbro does not give a flying damn about the canon of the story, but let's have a look at the movie. In order to be interested in MLP, one has to be a fan of fantasy, however, it is no spoiler that most of the movie is spent in a high school setting devoid of any magical elements. This would be like watching a Superman movie where somehow Superman swallows kryptonite in the first ten minutes of the movie and the rest of the movie is spent watching Clark Kent work at his day job devoid of anything that makes him super. It is obvious to see that such a movie could only be labeled as a Superman movie because it briefly mentions the franchise. I have no doubt that the fans of Superman would be outraged for such a cock tease and not only demand their money back but also that the creators of such a monstrosity commit sepuku for their sins. The only reason that this has not happened with Equestria Girls is because an unfortunate amount of fans of MLP are following it for the hype rather than out of a genuine love of the show.
Truthfully, anyone can write anything they want about MLP, but it is only the fan who follows the show out of genuine love that bothers to read any real length of a single work of fanfiction. This can be seen by the favorites of a particular writing that short stories have more views and favorites than long stories, however, a long work of fiction featuring known pony characters as humans will be virtually devoid of favorites because the genuine fans do not even want to imagine their beloved characters being morphed into anything other than who they are. Therefore, I close this essay in a simple request to the aforementioned writers: for the sake of the genuine fans of this show, please stop making our beloved ponies boring.
ATTENTION
Due to the incredible amount of stupidity going on in my blog I feel that it is time I post some rules.
Stay on topic.
Do not start fights.
Do not post pictures or YouTube links (use your own words).
Lastly, your first post MUST pertain to the original blog post. This is just a nice way of saying, again, stay on topic.
Violations of these rules will result in blocking. Please read my comments below for details.
I've been planning a four-colour-themed comic series about Clark Kent that is a series of adventures in which Mr. Kent and Ms. Lane have exciting journalistic adventures, including defeating villains... through the power of investigative reporting. The main formula goes like this: they are doing a more mundane story but then find something more interesting by asking questions, poking around and/or just being aware. things escalate, and they uncover a deeper truth and threat to the city of metropolis, some part of if, the future, or the world. The antagonist of the month threatens then in some way, either directly, or legally, or whatever, and then they have to use the powers of investigative reporting to thwart the antagonist. The running gag this whole concept is centred around Clark, every time, doing some variation of, "This looks like a job..." running to a phone booth and then dialling a number, "The city records office!" Or he dashes around a corner, pulls open his jacket and... pulls out a camera, with which to take pictures of the machine. Every time, he's actually doing a very clever thing, because Superman isn't the right person for the job. He has to be Clark in order to beat Lex this time. Of course, the whole reason this works is that he is Superman, and he's making a decision to solve the problems using his more mundane gifts, and also showing how he can use teamwork with Lois and Jimmy, so there's a bit of character development going on there if it's set a precursor to the Justice League.
Please note: I'm not a big superhero comic fan, so I'm ignorant of a lot of this stuff. Hell, I haven't even seen The Avengers. Just a fair warning of my ignorance.
I know what you mean, though, taking Clark Kent and stripping him of his powers just so he can, I don't know, help sell this wacky race thing that has nothing to do with Superman is... dumb. Equestria Girls wasn't doing that so much as it was saying, "Look, here's the girls as humans. Uh, you know we have toys of them like this, too...? Cough cough?" I thought it was good as it could have possibly been, given what they had to work with. There's only so much you can do with a rotting eggplant of a premise like that. I actually admire Studio B more now, having seen it, even though I would have preferred something else had been done instead.
But I digress. Back to the topic at hand and hoof.
There's a few reasons why writers re-imagine the pony characters as humans. The first is that they're writing erotic stuff, and they don't feel comfortable or attracted to non-human characters. I think that it's a waste of time. Why not just write some sweet porn with complete freedom? I guess the bronies are a fantastic and available audience, but they spotlight shines brightest on pony things, understandably. The second is that the writer just thinks it'll be interesting. I've desperately been trying to understand this since the fandom first started doing this. I think it's because a lot of the fandom wouldn't be interested in talking magical horses except that it was Faust writing it, and it turned out as fantastic as the other things she's been involved with. I was... already here. I'm native to the MLP fandom. I like talking magical multicoloured little horses. I LOVE talking magical multicoloured little horses. Not to the exclusion of everything else, but it's what I'm here for. At some point I had to accept that the bronies aren't as enthusiastic about them as we are, so alas, humans in Equestria.
The horrible joke is that the pony characters are fine for talking about a lot of human experience... stuff. There is not need for human characters almost at all in the context of MLP fan-fiction. Excepting crossovers, I guess. And I suppose some topics, mostly political or dark things, or darkly political things, or maybe even politically dark things -- those are hard to discuss with ponies. Somehow, that feels acceptable. I notice some people do anyway. Naturally, a lot of HiE fics end up there anyways. "Y'all little horses sure don't gots a lot of rape and murder here, eeyup." Of course, watch out there, because misanthropy.
One of the disastrous side effects of this specific issue is that frank discussions of real-world problems that arise from fics with the human element in them is the backlash against so-called "misanthropy". The Humans Aren't Bastards group is enormous and has had a huge impact on the writing culture. Whether anybody likes it or not, human characters and civilization must always be either entirely "balanced" with the pony civilization and the human protagonists must never have any criticisms of their society or prefer pony civilization in any perceivable way. Human civilization in any form or its history must not be criticized or devalued in any detectable way. Isn't the world of literature wonderful? The next stage of evolution -- which I predicted a full year in advance -- has been that "humans" must now be superior and triumphant over the prismatic little equines. To this end, I'm seeing comments actively encouraging a full "nerf" on pony abilities to make this easier. Just a couple of days ago, I was conversing with an author in the comments when somebody replied to the topic of Earth Pony capabilities hinting that they believe that said species ought to have no special abilities whatsoever. Sure enough, they were not only a member of HAB, but also a group named "Humans Are Superior". It seems to me that those are, in practice, mutually exclusive, but I believe that's a matter of social evolution. One was leading to the other. Thus, in addition to half the stories on this site being about human characters, now half of those are going to be about those characters beating up the pony ones. Capital.
I think, ultimately, we're down to a challenge of imagination. If watching My Little Pony doesn't inspire you to write your own stories with the characters, then perhaps you shouldn't be doing it. Your heart has to be in the right place for this stuff, and if you can't bring yourself to start a story with something like, "Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria..." then I think this should be the wrong place for you. If you really want to write, but what comes out is, "First Class Sergeant Chamberlain held his XC-3231 magne-rifle to his armoured chest as the VTOL troop carrier pitched like a roller coaster through the planet's smoggy stratosphere," then awesome, but maybe you'd be happier writing something else. I think Sergeant Chamberlain would be happier shooting something scarier and more threatening than unicorns.
I know this response has been rather meandering, but what I really mean to say is that I agree: compared to the ponies, they don't have the kind of appeal that the ponies do. Furthermore, this is a site originally intended to hose fanfiction pertaining to Friendship is Magic. Excluding Equestria Girls, they're ponies, and they live pony lives with their pony powers and have pony adventures. If none of that is interesting to you without transmorgifying them into high schoolers, then only god can help you.
(Oh my god this comment is like ten pages long I'm sorry)
This essay is amazing, and brutally correct. I am ten thousand percent in agreement on every level.
I really like the analogy with Superman - Kal-El of Krypton is absolutely not human, and is magnificently the better for it. In any storyline where Superman tried to become human, both he, and the world, suffered for it.
The insanity of taking superbeings - which is what MLP ponies are - and making them human is an anathema.
To any who doubt PeachClover, I would suggest imagining the three breeds of pony as human superheroes, ala the X-Men.
Earthponies would be like a blend of The Hulk and Poison Ivy.
Pegasai would essentially be Superman minus the beam powers.
Unicorns would be The Invisible Woman mixed with The Sorcerer Supreme.
Now, those who think it uplifts ponies to render them human - imagine offering any one of these superheroes the chance to become ordinary wage slaves with no powers and no adventure and nothing special about them. They would spit in your face, and deservedly so.
In any story where a human becomes a pony, they are getting countless advantages. They are literally becoming a superior being - possessed of amazing abilities and a vastly extended lifespan with incredible physiology. To be made human from pony is to be left crippled, blind to magic, weak, powerless, and incapable of superhuman ability.
Brilliant article, and brilliant case, and I applaud you utterly, PeachClover!
*types up long-winded reply, re-reads blog and deletes it*
This opinion's probably not welcome here, but I'm going to say it anyway. You can delete it if you want.
I just can't get behind stories that accentuate the positive for ponies and the negative for humans. I love this show with all my heart. Being told that because I put my ponies and humanity on the exact same pedastel I must not is quite honestly a little hurtful. I take pride in my works showing ponies and humans as both being worthy of existence, of having their own strengths and their weaknesses.
To me, those stories that portray the ponies as perfect are the ones that are boring.
1355538
Knowing what you are doing is half the battle. The reason I explained the abilities of each of the types of pony is so that writers planning on making a story centered around turning a pony into a human can better understand what they are doing.
In the episode Return of Harmony part 1 Discord magically removes the unicorns' horns and the pegasi's wings causing both to begin to mentally break down. Although it is underplayed, this traumatic shock causes Rainbow Dash to break any concept of duty toward restoring the natural state of Equestria to have that part of herself restored, because flight and all of the skills that she has developed in flight is all that she has ever worked toward and as such defines her. This is what writers who turn ponies into humans forget – that there are massive losses. Taken the other way, humans lose very few things because Equestrian ponies can use their hooves and mouths as hands. For most people, this would mean greater difficulty in using computers, but in the world of Equestria they are not needed. Furthermore, good writers, who write about humans becoming ponies on earth, will take the difficulty of being a pony into their writing.
Now here is something to consider: I would actually find a story of the mane six being turned into humans in the human world very interesting and worth reading IF Rainbow Dash had species dysphoria from losing her wings and always yearning to fly, finding flight school a poor substitute that she has to earn through years of hard effort knowing that she should have it anyway, if Fluttershy found heartbreak that she could no longer communicate with animals only to see them run from her as a constant enemy, if Pinkie Pie fell into deep depression because she no longer has her Earth pony stamina to remain bouncy all day allowing her thoughts to drift on what she has really been running from, if Applejack became enraged because her ignorance toward the society outside of her farm became multiplied when she no longer has her farm to hide from the world, if Rarity became bitter over the unfriendly and competitive nature of high society fashion design, and lastly, if Twilight Sparkle became suicidal because the one hundred or so years of her life spent researching, developing, and practicing magic was reduced to nothing more than the most outrageous fringe scientist's pipe dream for the far off distant future in a world where the most advanced research and technology is almost equivalent to a unicorn foal's first day of kindergarten... And on top of that I am a fan of happy endings so, if you find anything like that with a happy ending, do let me know.
As you can see, even though MLP is a fantasy, it only really becomes unbelievable when there is a happening that is not reacted to in a a believable way. As with your Clark Kent story, one of the ways of working around this shake up is to start in an alternate universe, but if a writer started in an AU where Twilight et al were human, how exactly would that segue into having anything to do with the ponies of MLP?
There again is the reiteration of my underlying point: a writer can write whatever they want, but good writing comes from believability and believability comes from answering questions like this to one's self, and that can only be achieved correctly when one fully understands the subject matter.
1355711
In 1984, almost the same time the original My Little Pony debuted, there was another cartoon coming out, CareBears. The CareBears lived in the clouds and were a happy family because they did not suffer the hardships of life, so when they looked down on Earth and saw suffering in children their hearts compelled them to come and change the way those children saw life so that the children could, even with the suffering that life would inevitably bring, find happiness in the lives they had. Every episode featured a different child being taught a lesson of acceptance and tolerance in a kind way.
When I first saw the pilot episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic my jaw dropped because by that point I had already seen a few episodes and it clicked: this cartoon was doing the same thing, except that instead of teaching children in the show, it was teaching viewers the lessons of life through storytelling. It is said that Lauren Faust created the show to be “Sailormoon with ponies”, but if you have ever watched Sailormoon it is the story of a self-centered brat who through hundreds of chapters (not episodes) becomes a loving and caring mother who takes responsibility not only for her own actions, but also protects two worlds out of a simple love for the beings of both.
When you get down to it, these are elements of religion, not of the western kind where all of the focus is on fear and worship, but of the eastern kind where all of the focus is on how we as individuals choose to live our life. For example, the root of Buddhism is the belief that we cannot stop pain in life, but we can choose not to cause physical and emotional pain in ourselves and others by being aware of how such pains are caused, then by that knowledge, use the inverse to instead create happiness, peace, and harmony.
Buddhism further states that the best way to teach that there is a greater potential for happiness in life, is by being an example to all whether they appreciate it or not, so that all may see that by living these actions, one is happier, and others witnessing these actions can be shown that by doing the same, they will get the same outcome. Christians also have a similar belief when it comes to preaching; they say, “how can you complain about a speck in your brother's eye, when they is a plank in yours?” It is for this very reason that the ponies of Equestria are shown not as perfect, because no one can really be perfect, but near perfect so that they may carry the message to the viewers that if they want a world like Equestria, they themselves can attain it by, as Ghandi once said, being the change they want to see in the world.
Despite the fact that Hasbro no longer supports this purpose, I and many other writers who saw it, carry on this tradition and purpose. When I write my ponies as kind, compassionate, caring, considerate, and honest with integrity toward each of these traits, I am not writing mary-sues, I am writing about ponies that have actively or passively studied the reason behind why they should do each of these things and actively practiced each of them until it became them.
The only negative quality of humans that I mentioned in my essay, is that when brought into the same stories as ponies with all of their abilities, it is very hard to remain focused on the human. As you know my favorite genre of pony fiction is actually The Conversion Bureau where humans have the opportunity to become ponies. Generally, this physical transformation is accompanied by a mental transformation, and just as I see the physical transformation being a solely beneficial evolution, so too do I see the accompanying mental transformation as a mental and spiritual evolution to live up to the ideals described above.
As far as I am concerned there are only two kinds of writers on this site, ones who think and ones who don't. The ones who don't think watch the show without asking or caring anything, they will end up writing the characters out of character using language they would never use and/or including things that could never exist in Equestria. The worst example of this that I have read was a poison joke bong. Honestly, being a magical plant with near sentience the smoker would not have become stoned, they would have become a stone. These are the writers who usually write about humans in Equestria or humans and ponies because they do not answer to themselves how that could happen from where the show is now.
Then there are the writers who think. They ask questions to themselves and answer them. They are the ones who see the connections and purposes mentioned above. Because it is very difficult to answer how humans could meet Equestrian ponies, most refuse to touch the subject, but for those who do, seeing that ponies do exemplify a higher compassion in their lives, unless the humans that the ponies encounter are religious devotees, great humanitarians, or are one of the rare tribes that actively strive toward a loving and harmless existence, it is far more likely that the ponies will encounter a normal North American speaker of English who is further from perfect than they are.
This is not an outright hatred toward humans, it is realistically seeing the differences between a culture that generally practices acts that create harmony and a culture that generally practices acts that fulfill selfish goals. In the movie The Last Samurai and the miniseries Shogun, a caucasian male goes to Japan where he first fights the culture, then finds benefits to it, and ultimately adopts it. These two things are not suggesting that the people of Japan are better people than all caucasian males, but that the morality present in that culture is superior to the morality of the individuals who came from places that do not understand the underlying purpose of morality.
As I said before, this does not mean that ponies are automatically perfect, but that the average pony from Equestria is more likely to be a kinder being than the average person from America, and so for the author who thinks and thus asks questions, it is written that way.
Now, just as I challenged the last commenter, I would like to offer you a challenge: I would be happy to read a story about a morally superior human being somehow coming across an Equestrian pony on par to what could be seen in the first season, and the whole story revolving around that pony, especially if it's somehow a specist pony, learning a great lesson in altruism from said human. If you would like to write a story such as this, I would be happy to read it.
I'm just saying.
1355711
I know what you mean, and I think that's one of the problems in shoving them together. This is my windmill to tilt at, but when you put these creatures and their civilization next to humans, comparisons are going to start happening, and yes, those end up becoming pretty uncomfortable. So you might as well not do it at all, and write something that's more interesting anyway, unless those dichotomies are exactly what you want to explore.
That being said, if you're going to have human characters interacting with the ponies, it helps that the ponies are accustomed to other beings at all kinds of levels of intelligence. Even the animals are 'persons' in that they clearly have cognitive abilities far higher than their earth counterparts. I know, I know -- it's a cartoon, but isn't that interesting? Their society is accustomed to varying levels of capability, which is something I wonder if we're going to adapt. I think it would be realistic that a human would be treated as high-functioning, analogous to a pony. Excepting, of course, that they wouldn't have any of the pony powers, but then again each pony is going to have only one third of those, excepting those whose first names are "Princess". Furthermore, not every Earth pony is going to be an Applejack, and not every Unicorn is Twilight Sparkle. Compare Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, for instance. Thus, I expect that a human characters, if their appearance is novel, are going to be treated like foreigners more than anything else.
Or they would be like, "Ohhhh how cute it's a baby ogre! Hey little fella you lost lol?" and it just gets weirder from there, I don't know.
1355994
I wasn't thinking AU: he's still Superman, it would just be a series of comics detailing the adventures in which Clark Kent is the man for the job, not Superman, and he knows that. It's a bit like Batman reducing crime by investing in Gotham City's infrastructure and local economy while backing welfare and public safety programs. (But instead he dresses up like a rubber bat and punches people wtf Wane? Clearly he really does have some serious issues or he's not as smart as fans claim he is.) It's kinda lame, but it's supposed to be funny.
More to the point: there is an on-topic problem with a lot of humanized fics when they're just based on the show. There's a reason the initial reaction to Equestria Girls was so poor. You know, you would think that with the presence of EG, there would be a release valve for the humanized crowd. It looks like they're not biting though, and instead prefer their original adaptations more. Ha, I guess they think they can do better? Maybe they can!
I'm not even going to pretend to speak for everyone, because it's pretty obvious that why I'm here is different than the average user. I'm a weirdo, and I'm okay with that. I've come to accept that half of all contributions to this site are HiE, and now I'm coming to accept that. I wanted to read, essentially, content that was more like the show in tone and intention. Shorts that are like fan-made episodes, longer written works that could very well have been part of the show if it were possible and such. Instead I get a Lyra in a hoodie shivering around Ponyville for ten thousand pages, sexually mis-behaving alicorns (outside of pornography which is designated safe-zone/grown-up-playland), millions of humans with something to prove in Equestria showing up magically or in spaceships or whatever, and ridiculous nonsense with the ponies murdering each other. And let's not forget the unimaginative regurgitation of brony fanon, regardless of how poorly thought or restricting those bits of fanon are. Derpy works the post? That's cool and useful! Celestia is a tyrant that sends everything to the moon? That's stupid, not to mention wrong.
...Okay, at some point that became a rant. This isn't supposed to be 10 Things I Hate About FIMFiction.net.
1356796
Again, I point out that if you don't give a clear explanation of how or why he would do this over his usual course of action, then the fans are going to be disappointed because it is far from expected. As far as gags go, yes, it's a cute idea, but if you tried to make it believable then it would take many more pages than gag comic readers would be patient enough to read. You could get away with it by naming it “Clark Kent is NOT Superman – a Parody Comic” At least then you are being completely honest with your readers that it is a detachment from the traditional comic.
I have a special place for any story that can make me cry, and Background Pony is one of those stories. I am sad that you did not enjoy it, and even though it broke my heart to read it, I do not regret reading it in the first place. It is very well written and gives a believable portrayal of all of the charters involved. On top of that, I am a fan of stories dealing with existential questions. That's why I also like stories about Sweetie Bot, by the way. Background Pony is a story where you are lead to believe that the end is the only thing that is important, and then you get there and realize it was the journey that made it worth while. There is a deep wisdom in this, I think.
1356759 That was almost inspiring right up until then end, then it was just hilarious. I'm sure the aliens who hang around the planet to watch lolcats will be sending this vid to all their friends back home.
1357056 The point is, that a human can go through much more physical trauma than an animal can. If we break a bone, we don't go into shock and die. And like he said, we stop at nothing to accomplish a goal. That is what makes us super powered. We are capable of unimaginable amounts of love, to the point where we would kill, and hate, to the point where we would kill. And we're hard to kill.
1357042
It was going to be titled "The Adventures of Clark Kent", which is far more elegant. If somebody read one of these and got upset that it wasn't a traditional Superman comic, then they would be an idiot.
I'm not going to try to change your opinion on Chun-Li's Background Pony. I ramble enough as it is, and this isn't the time and place, and I don't want to change anybody's opinion on it. If I was so inclined, I would have written the critique long ago and posted it publicly, but I don't want to. That's because I think it would do more harm than good. Besides, I know I'm different than the bronies. I'm comfortable with that now. Even if we're different, doesn't mean we can't be friends.
Dear Princess Celestia....
Wait, she already got that one.
1357063
I beg to differ.
A human being is not at all hard to kill. That's part of the reason why so many value each other, and why good people protect one another. Without medicine, modern or not, frequent deaths are just something you would get used to. Oh, and infant mortality rates mean something completely different when those statistics have na... Let's change the subject.
That's... not true. That's not even remotely true. People give up on accomplishing goals all the time. In fact, most objectives that people develop are abandoned. And not because of any weakness, but because it turns out that they would cost far too much in some way, or that things change, or that people change.
But that's actually good. Because that means that we're capable of being rational. A lot of those things that are attributed to "enduring" are actually owed to our ability to think clearly.
And this stuff about being single-minded instinctual automatons bent only on conquering and killing make us sound like a scourge or some sort of monster to be destroyed -- I despise that garbage and I'm frustrated with the people that espouse it. It's a complete perversion of reality.
What I think we should be celebrating about people is their individual characters, their collective rationality, our ability to dream and the capacity to dream, not our status as some sort of science-fiction Tolkein orcs with filed teeth.
But, anyway, in the context of pony fan-fiction, none of this is interesting because some of these traits are ones that humans and ponies would share. And again (here I go again), aside from crossovers, if you're going to be doing fan fiction of FIM, human characters serve little purpose because pony characters are such an analogue to human ones that a pony character works just as well. Which is kind of one of the big points of this thread. Making the mane six into humans doesn't serve much point aside from 'domesticating' them, and shaving off their fantastic and equine characteristics makes them dull to some people. Like Peach. Hence, blog, hence thread. QED. EQD. PHD.mp3.yeah.avi.
1357063
Actually, it makes man look like the flies who keep slamming themselves into the windows thinking that with enough force they will get through.
Who are you trying to convince, me or the aliens who watch lolcats? I would like to point out to you, that I currently occupy a human body and therefore know its capacity for love and hate which actually have nothing to do with the body, but have to do with the spirit...
However, you think that loving something to the point where you would kill for it makes you better and inherently superior to any other animal on this Earth? … I want to share with you a quote from a man who has shown “unimaginable” amounts of love:
You speak of love enough to kill as if there were some nobility in such an act. I have heard of thousands of men who love enough to kill; funny how out of all the men who have made great speeches on how they would kill out of love did not move me at all and all of their names forgotten, but this man who loved all of humanity to the point to not want to kill anyone despite what arose... his name I remember.
1357063
My background is in medical biology. Long story short, humans can, and do die after going into shock, which they can easily do after breaking a bone. Humans are animals, fairly weak animals at that, and despite all the amazing one-off stories of amazing and impossible human feats... the fact is that the reason such stories are rare, and amazing, and impossible, is because they are just that.
Herve Villachez? The little-person actor from Fantasy Island. Really, really short guy. Four feet something. Know how he died?
He fell over and hit his head. He went into shock, and he died. That's it.
If any person is willing to kill, and hate, and hate to the point they could kill, then by definition, they are not feeling love at all. Not even close. Passion, sure? Sexual possessiveness like some rutting elk? Absolutely.
But not love.
Love, is not lust, it is not about possession and control and dominance and killing.
Love is selfless devotion.
You do not know love.
You clearly comprehend lust.
1357550 Uh, no. People have killed other people to protect those that they love before. What, does a person protect a loved one because they want to fuck them later? If a woman someone loved, told them to kill someone, if they loved them that much, they would kill.
And one time, when I was young, I crashed a sled into a concrete pipe, smashed my face open. Instead of falling over and dying, I crawled my way out of the ditch and into the road to flag down a car. I was either seven or eight. My friend was running, when he fell and smashed his kneecap open on the side of his driveway. He managed to limp his way back inside where his parents called 911. He was about ten. Another friend of mine tried to break up a fight, and ended up getting punched in the face. The punch sent him falling backwards where he smacked his head into a table, which both broke the table and his head. He's fine now. People break bones and get hurt all the time, what's rare, are those that die from it.
1357347 Well, most people write humans to be unloving, heartless bastards. In reality, this is far from true. Most people are good, they love others and help others in need.
And the fly that continues to smash itself into the window, breaks through, and makes an opening for other flies to get through; as opposed to flying away and dying.
1357584
That, by definition, is not love. That is passion. The term, 'crime of passion'? You've heard it? Seen a crime drama? That's what it is. Could be jealousy, could just be have sex, yes. But it absolutely is not love. Love never kills. Ever.
This is not a proof that humans are somehow stronger than other animals. Watch any nature documentary, and you will see animals falling and getting hurt and surviving. Your original point was that humans were special.
They are not. You are not. You are just another animal. Nothing makes you, as a human special or better. You get hurt just the same as any other animal made of meat. Because you are meat.
Love is not killing, and humans are not tougher than other animals. Period.
Don't be daft.
1357584
You think you are a good person to love others and help others in need by killing others? What does it matter how humans are written when I tell you about a real person, one of the greatest humanitarians in American history and you call his nonviolent ways foolish?
What religion are you, Armalite? What believe system do you hold that is so hypocritical that you believe that you yourself understand love while also being so willing to hate and kill? Atheists don't act this way, I know this, because I know a lot of atheists. They actually have a powerful desire to see others as equals. If you saw your fellow man as equal, then you would not be so willing to even talk about killing him, because you would then accept the equal possibility that in holding that belief your likeliness of being killed by a violent encounter is equal to your opponent, and would therefore want to lower your chances of violent encounters.
Looking over everything you have posted in the comments, did you even read my essay? Did you try to understand it? Or... Did you just jump to the conclusion that I was shitting on humans and it was your moral responsibility to inform me of the error of my ways?
1358101 No, I read it, and I've seen what you write, haven't read them though. It's a simple fact, that most TCB authors view humans as the shitty, super-violent species that never loves anything farther than itself, and so must be saved. And I am atheist, how does talking about people killing other people make me better than them? And don't tell you you've never hated someone, because then you'd just be lying. We've all hated people, and most of us have loved people. It's a fact, that people have killed other people over love.
1357678 Humans, by our very evolution, are better than animals. Because we rose up. We evolved. Who knows, maybe someday, dogs will gain human like intelligence and dominate people. Then they will be the betters. Right now, humanity as a whole, has fought its way out of the jungle, and built the cities. We are made of meat, yes, just read Catch-22, but we can create. Soon, we won't be made of meat anymore.
1358195 I consider it rude to send a reply to someone after I have blocked them from replying, but your continued posting was turning into pointless arguing with not only me, but other commenters, so I apologize that I did not send this message before doing so.
I want to leave you with a thought, and I hope you try to answer this to yourself:
If TCB authors view humans as a shitty super-violent species that never loves anything further than itself, then why do TCB writers write about humans at all? The people who share that view about TCB writers hating humans seem to have a profound lack of imagination when it comes to the concept of hatred. For example, if someone wanted to show their hatred for humans in a story they would need only write about a single ignored human skeleton found in a museum of mysteries because the greatest hatred toward anything is to say it's over, it never mattered, and then forget about it.
1357678
Ma'am, I have an hypothetical scenario I'd like you to answer.
Picture someone you love. Someone you love with all your heart.
Now, imagine that person is in grave danger. If you don't do something, they will get hurt. They might even die.
Imagine that there is a group of people who are preventing you from saving that person. They can't be bargained or reasoned with. Some of them will even attempt to kill you.
How many people would you be willing to kill to save that person you love?
1360278
That question has nothing to do with love killing anything. You won't kill in self-defense because you love yourself more than the thing attacking you. Nobody hurts out of love. It's the opposite of what the word means. Sure, let's have a fringe case like Yudkowsky's Baby Eaters, but even in a scenario like yours, the person won't kill out of love.
Though I gotta say this Belgian fellow drives a hard bargain!
On the topic of this "essay":
your headcanon > anyone else's headcanon
Very thought provoking article. Thanks for that!
1360278
It isn't love that would make me take appropriate action.
It would be rage, anger, shock, fear of loss, hatred and vengeance.
Love doesn't kill.
Your question denotes a lack of comprehension of emotions that could be a severe hindrance in attempting to write stories of any decent quality. To write effectively, you need to comprehend emotion and motivations. You also need such understanding to appreciate and comprehend quality writing as well.
My short story based on this blog:
Red Kryptonite
This short story speaks for me.
1360723
In retrospect, that wasn't the most well-thought post I've written.
1361020
Now, Chatoyance, I thought you were above personal attacks.
What did I ever do to you?
1361252
The list is too long to go into, and I truly doubt that you would grasp why your actions have been a problem. And that directly relates to my statement to you.
While the above was not phrased as kindly as it could be, or sugar-coated sufficiently, it is valid. If you are serious about asking 'what did I ever do to you', if that was not just a trolling for lulz, then I stand behind my statement. You don't truly grasp emotion, or people, or how emotion motivates or affects people.
Emotion is the soul of art. At the most fundamental level, art makes people feel. If you don't know the notes, if you can't play the tune, the music doesn't work. The notes are emotional states, the tune is how they affect personality, and the music is the power that affects people.
You've been a solid, total bastard to me from square one. But that said, I'm not being mean here. It could be you are young, and inexperienced. It could be that you just haven't read widely or deeply. But to write powerfully - which so far I have not seen you do - comprehension of real human emotion is necessary.
Why? Because it is the engine, the power of any work of art. The better an artist truly understands emotion and motivation, the more real and affecting their works are. Writing is more than just shipping ponies or killing ponies or creating spite-fics out of anger. Writing is more than acting out in words.
Writing can be the most powerful and amazing thing. But to be good at it requires knowing the difference between love, and rage. Between possessiveness and genuine affection. It means comprehending that characters are not authors, that characters have their own minds, their own beliefs, and their own feelings - and that two different characters may respond to the same event quite differently... and understanding why and how this happens with regard to each of them.
Of all the things a writer could study, emotion is the most important. Because from it, comes all power in writing.
And I am convinced that once one truly comprehends how other people - how all people - feel, it becomes impossible to be a true bastard to them anymore.
Because to achieve that, empathy for others must stand superior to outrage in one's heart.
1361252
Now Dalek IX,I thought you and your anti-bronies were above personal attacks.
But then again, I didn't make someone almost commit suicide...
Don't be a hypocrite.
1361393
I have been a total bastard. That's a rather impressive claim. I'll admit that I've been immature at times, impulsive in others (like rather recently), and sometimes get carried away. I'll gladly plead guilty of the crime of lack of restraint, and that sometimes I get too passionate for it to be healthy.
But if you are going to insult me you'd better have some proof.
I have never insulted you, and if I have then I am sorry. I have barely even spoken to you. I think I posted on one of your stories once, and you immediately blocked me and deleted it. There has not been any exchange of words since then. To my knowledge, I was polite with you. Blunt, yes, but I was not condescending or looking down my nose at you.
What you said was a lie. I'll be extremely generous and ignore all evidence to the contrary and assume that it was an accidental lie. You didn't need to belittle me. You didn't need to imply that my writing was of insufficient quality. You didn't have to imply that I have no idea of what "quality" work is. You didn't have to treat me like a child. You didn't have to be an arrogant, self important bully.
But you were.
I could go on, but I know that it would be like screaming at a brick wall. Everything will just bounce off and I would've accomplished nothing.
So goodbye.
1361424
You don't even know what you're talking about. If you did, you'd know that a) that particular problem has nothing to do with me, b) the person being referred to had issues with depression that had nothing to do with us, and c) she didn't commit suicide.
And as for me being an "anti-brony", I've written more than you have, and it has been enjoyed by actual bronies more often than not.
Please do your research.
1361506
You have, more than you realize, both here and on Spacebattles. The evidence, which I collected, was destroyed by Krass McWriter, when he decided to purge the upstart Group 26 TCB. Many other attacking posts are also now long deleted. As I stated, you may not even comprehend how insulting you have been.
But I can accept your apology. If you were willing, I would choose to be on good terms with you.
I am far from being a bully, I chose to try to help you. As a professional writer - I've written for games, for educational texts, for radio, for magazines, and I've done a few silly graphic and text novels in my day - it is just possible I know something about writing. I know how to make money from it, that has to count for something, right?
Your stories are not terrible, but neither are they powerful. You could be a much better writer.
One thing you need to do is to write with a personal passion about an original idea. Spite-fics or reactionary-fics like Wrong Universe and Conquer The Stars may gather kudos from like-minded detractors, but they say nothing. They have nothing of their own to say, because all they are is basically a means to insult someone else's favorite genre. That isn't writing fiction, that's writing a retort, as if to an insult.
Rule of Two and Friends of a Solar Empire are better, but still empty. For one, they are crossovers with movies and games, and that is the sort of topic preferred by the very young and inexperienced. It's silly fun, perhaps, but it isn't writing to your potential. But the biggest problem is not the topic as much as the lack of believable, human, characters. Characters who truly feel, emote, and interact with their world. Characters who only know and believe what their experience could tell them. It's a matter of theory of mind.
Here is a challenge to prove me wrong, and make me look very silly and stupid and bad: write a story, even a very short story, that is based not on any crossover, not on any desire to insult or react to the works of others. Write a story about something completely original, something unique to you.
How? Here's a great way to go about it. There must be something in your experience, in your life, in your history that was nice, or fun, or important or scary, or any other pure and strong emotion. Write about that. Turn that into a pony story.
I'll give an example from my own work. The Ice Cream Pony Summer. It's a true, 100% fanfic of the MLP universe. No TCB, no Optimalverse, No Injectorverse, nothing. The entire story is based on my own joy of loving ice cream when I was a little girl. Ice cream at the end of a hot, long, dull summer day that redeemed summer vacation. Ice Cream that made summer magical. That's all. Just how nice ice cream is, and how nice it is to share it with friends.
Now that's the key - interaction with others. Can you write a story - doesn't have to be long - that is based on something you know, something you personally have felt or experienced? Can you translate the power of those emotions so that a reader can feel them?
You see, that's the secret of my work. Love or hate my writing, one thing is true - even my worst detractors agree on this point - I make readers feel. Strongly.
The reason I can do this is because virtually everything in all of my million-plus words of fiction here is based on real people, real relationships, real events, and real situations I have known. My fantastic tales are built on the reality of my own - admittedly strange and long - life. I write what I know, and because it really happened (minus ponies and science fiction) it rings true. It feels true. It feels real.
That is my first challenge - and lesson - to you, if you choose to try it. Write a story that is ONLY about something that you felt, and that others with you felt, and make it pony. Make the reader live your memories, make the reader feel the truth in the real experience drawn from your life.
Don't try to be cosmic, or do a crossover, or ship a pony - write something real, only place the truth in fantasy, pony terms. Make yourself laugh or cry while you write, because your own words are true, and powerful, despite being clothed in fiction.
If you can do that, I will do three things:
I will apologize to you for effectively calling you a simplistic author.
I will draw you cover art for your story.
I will unblock, and unban you, and treat you with respect for as long as you return that respect.
If this is not a clear olive branch of peace and kindness, I do not know what is.
But if you can do my challenge, you will gain something else, too.
You will have demonstrated - or learned - the basic mechanism for making readers feel in your writing. That skill is invaluable, and must be practiced. But it is the power and the glory, I promise you.
1361506
You do yours first.
Obviously you didn't read. I said ALMOST commit suicide. Not actually commit it. That bullying is akin to attempted murder. You forced an apology, and never apologized back.
I'm sorry, but your moral ground is lacking.
1360278 1360723 1361722 1361716
Dalek IX has been blocked because his first comment on this blog had nothing to do with the subject matter and was a direct confrontation toward another poster over a tangent matter that started in the comments. I do not like it when my blog is used as a battlefield for matters that don't even pertain to the subject of the blog. A heated debate over the topic of the blog is more readily tolerated than disguised personal attacks against previous acquaintances.
I'm not going to block anyone for responding to it, because I have also gotten riled up over some people jumping at me uncalled for, but this is the second person I have had to block just from this blog in a week... Now, I have not seen most of you before, and this is my first blog, but let's come to an understanding: anyone who uses my blogs or stories to carry on fights with other users about those users will get blocked. The name of the game is "Friendship is Magic" and if the block button is friendlier than you, then I'm going to get friendly with the block button, and the effect will be magical.
1361843
I apologize if I caused or added to any trouble, PeachClover.
Forgive this comment: I veer into the off-topic lane at first, but I recover in the second half.
1361843
I think you just found something to close your profile with.
1357550
Notice how
hethey ignored me entirely? But then they respond and vote obsessively on everything you say. I don't know why, but I find that annoying. Look: we said almost the same things, but look who they all rush to. It takes no energy at all to just down-vote something, but look: mine is untouched, I wouldn't be surprised if it was unread. I really want to read both of their reasonings on why they think that is.After a few moments of reflection, I believe that their diversion was useful: clearly some people consider any creature other than human beings to be unworthy of attention, to the point of prejudice. I guess that makes them like some kind of anti-furry, very strongly rejecting non-human sapient characters. I could see how somebody with that kind of personality would be deeply uninterested in the characters as ponies, and might even reflexively humanize them, as a way of fixing a perceived deficiency of the pony characters. From this perspective, I could see how their decreased novelty could be seen by some authors as necessary or even a virtue.
I would have loved to read what they have to say to that insight, but...
1362077 No, you haven't troubled me. What troubles me is that the sort of people who come looking to fight with you are so single minded on their hate quest that I do not believe for a second that dalek read my essay. It reminds me of how toddlers think: searching all over the house, hoping to find where the dog peed just so they can proclaim it to the world and pretend to get upset. The only person unaware that the toddler is trying to fulfill a broken concept of self-worth is the toddler. I had a laugh earlier today thinking that with such a flawed thought process, if you told them being alone is your worst fear, they might actually go away just to spite you.
1362091
Send them private messages, and let me know what your research turns up. The users now blocked, may have shown by their strong emotions that they carried certain beliefs, but I am not willing to let people carry on like loose cannons so that a psychological analysis can be extrapolated from them; if one cannot convey their own believes and observations purposefully, then they need not be here, furthermore, if one completely ignores the topic for their own agenda, then they should not be here.
1361843
*looks up the reply*
*it has nothing to do with me*
Okay...
1362091
I know! Why don't we get the attention we deserve!
What do you mean with this?
I would propose another theory. Maybe lots of people write (pony) fanfiction because it's a good vessel for their creativity. After all, ponies are somewhere between talking horses and humans, and you gotta draw that shaky line somewhere. The ponies' novelty means different things to different people; to some it's novel enough to have ponies doing stuff without hands while some want to immerse deep in their headcanons. If one really wants an example of a "some kind of anti-furry", one has to look no further than My Little Unicorn.
Now to the topic of the so-called essay itself (I think it's more of a rant, but whatever suits whoever). If we remove the No True Scotsman fallacy and assume everyone who so claims is a genuine fan of the show, the point of the text becomes as simple as the aforementioned "different people like different things".
1361843
You have a point. I'll respect your position. :)
You have an awesome day now! :)
1363570
The term “so-called” is belittling as it implies that the thing in question is trying to be something more than it is, but my blog entry is an essay as it has the purpose to inform the reader “why humans suck (when compared to Equestrian ponies)”. I could have gone into greater detail, but I wanted to create something that was somewhat pleasant to read rather than a college level dissertation which mulls over every fact.
Previously, I ignored your suggestion that the essay contained the “No True Scotsman” fallacy, because that is absurd, however since you persist I shall spell it out for you. A “true fan of the show” does not watch the show because their friends started watching it, or to understand some internet meme, or to make sense of the pony merchandise, and most importantly, they do not watch the show to keep up with “the crowd”. A “true fan” is someone who finds joy in watching, reading, doing, or otherwise enjoying something even if they were the only person in the world who knew of it's existence and believed that everyone they knew would dislike it.
Specifically, for fan fiction, the true fan of MLPFM can be identified as the one who goes through Fimfiction, finds a story that sounds interesting, and chooses to read it even though no one they know has read it, it has a very few number of reads, and may not have a very high rating. If a fan chooses to do this because they believe that there is something in that story that they alone may yet find interesting without the express intention to share the story with anyone for the sake of hype, then that person is a true fan. However, if this definition does not suit you, then understand that the person described above is a true fan of reading.
Although it has mostly been forgotten by normal people, the StarTrek fandom also had a rift in the fans when The Next Generation became popular. Unlike the Brony fandom, this rift had names for the opposing views: there were the “Trekkies” who watched the original series and were more focused on the philosophical appreciation of the shows defined by the concept that “with technological development we expand our capacity for noble and humane action”, and then there were the “Trekkers” which were the fans more focused on the glory of having that futuristic technology and having rank in a futuristic space military. The Trekkies were appalled that these new fans could be so shallow to look at the show with only the concept of grasping something they didn't have when the original fans were focused on growing into something greater than what the world was at the time.
Your argument was “different people like different things” and that would be fine, except that you have ignored the fact that these two different things with two different minded fans exist on the same fansite. As I said in my essay, the garbage of slapping a “My Little Pony” sticker on the high school drama called Equestria Girls is false advertising, and because MLP is unquestionably under the genre of Fantasy, ripping away everything that defines it as Fantasy is a great disservice to the fans.
Applying this to fanfiction is no different. In its oldest form, fan fiction is defined as: a work of fiction created by a fan of an original work where the work that was created by the fan may be plugged into the original as a continuation, prequel, or side story of the canon of the original, at the time of its creation. In this original definition, fan works that altered anything that was previously established in the original were shunned.
Nowadays, if a fan wants to write a fanfiction, then there are many forgiving factors such as omitting the happenings of certain episodes, but the standard of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is stated clearly in the name: the show is about ponies, friendship, and magic. Taking away any one of these elements makes the so-called fanfiction very hard to swallow because most writers will offer at best a deus ex machina as to why that element is gone, and for most writers who take away the ponies to give them human bodies instead do not offer any explanation at all. The shock of going from high fantasy with a well written world mythos to something somebody wanted to write because they were bored and wanted to get people to read it by slapping MLP names on everything is a shock that is like stepping into an elevator from the tenth floor and instead of having the elevator lower you to another floor it just drops and stops dead on another floor, unforgivingly bashing the reader around inside.
There is one story I am reading that speaks of a human fan of the show who finds himself in Equestria as a changeling. This story does not bash the reader with unbelievability because said person/changeling does not know how he got there, and is trying to figure that out himself. The events in the story are otherwise believable to what has been set up in MLP. In fact, that author expands upon the society, abilities, physiology, and language of the changeling allowing the reader to believe these things that weren't touched upon in the show. In other words, it is actually possible to start in the official world of MLP and end up in a place where there are no ponies, but for every degree away from “normal” a writer attempts to convince the reader that is possible, there are a certain amount of words that are needed to fill the transition.
My request at the end of the essay was “please stop making our beloved ponies suck”, and by that I meant essentially, stop writing stories that suck, because writing an Equestrian pony as a human takes away the Earth pony's strength, stamina, and magical growing power, or it takes away the pegasus pony's flight, weather control, and the ability to resistance forces of nature, or it takes away the unicorn pony's unhindered magic. If all of Equestria found itself as humans then maybe there would be friendship but the other pillars of what defines the show: ponies and magic, would be missing. Furthermore, it is soul crushingly cruel. This has been stated a few times in other comments, and Chatoyance has even written a short story detailing how emotionally painful it would be for ponies if ponies had to convert into humans.
If the entirety of this new essay catered to you does not explain my point then I will explain everything in the form of a question: How does turning Equestrian ponies into humans improve the entertainment value from the show itself? If a person's answer to this question boils down to the individual's preference of humans over ponies, then that person is watching the wrong show and needs to browse the library, bookstore, TV channels, or the internet to find a genre and setting that better suits their preferences.
1364037
Alright, you aren't talking about true fans but "true" fans. You didn't put any quotation marks previously.
It's funny how this applies to no one. Good luck with finding a fan of the show who claims not to like it, and good luck with finding another who found the show in the first place without any outside influence.
Source, please.
I agree with the latter, even though our thresholds are probably at different heights. But "high fantasy with a well-written world mythos" is where the problems begin and why people write essays like this one. Every "true" fan of the show has a different headcanon, one they got simply from watching the show. Everything's up for interpretation: which is the rule and which is the exception, what is cartoon physics and what is not, and what does every inconsistency mean. There is no way to make "our beloved ponies" not suck, if one thinks that the only "true" fanfics are the ones that they can fit in their narrow interpretation.
However, I completely agree that people should think before they write. If we take that poison joke bong for example and make the author think about before writing it, what happens? Does the author explain the existence of the bong in a plausible way, or realize that such a thing shouldn't be written at all?
That's a very specific question. Most things only done for their own sake don't work, and so I'd say no it doesn't improve it. Nevertheless, the connections are rarely so simple. Take my (hehe, self-promotion) story All the Time in Equestria for instance. The time travelling sci-fi short is woven into the world and its characters deeply enough that the reader can get insight into them despite that a lot of it works well without ponies at all. The same thing is present in the show episodes as well - even in our favourites.
1363570
You've even written a few TCB stories, but they're familiar sorta with you, so maybe... I don't know, maybe they have tunnel vision on their favourite chew toy?
When I said that I'm different from the bronies I mean that I'm not easily classified as such due to the differences in background and core interests. I'll explain further, I don't want to be misunderstood. When the fourth generation of MLP was announced, I was actually excited to see it. I was really busy that fall, so I didn't get to see any of it until it was already several episodes in, but when I did... a long-time friend of mine, to whom I had mentioned there was a new MLP coming out that I was excited about, had already been watching them. Then it turned out there was all these people on Youtube ecstatically filling the comments and there was talk of it everywhere. It felt like the world had gone insane. It didn't take me long to track it down to 4chan and a few other places, which made sense with how meme-y they were, but hell, 4's company, I thought. Some of the other old-gen fans were a bit more put off, but I thought it was neat, and I'm a weirdo enough by their standards -- and the old MLP fans are weird in a fantastic lovely way. So, from my perspective, the brony fandom joined me.
My original interest in MLP stems from three things: an innate interest in fantastic creatures especially those of the sapient type, an interrelated nostalgia for G1 and G2, and I also love horses. Many bronies share the second, am generally abhored for the second, and the last provokes either tolerant eye-rolling all the way up to plain jeering. I used to be really bitter about all of that, but now I've come to accept the bronies despite those differences. I've had a few good times, and even though I now spend a worrying amount of time talking to heterosexual jailbait teenagers about cartoon horses, I can't say I really regret much of it.
Dear Princess Celestia...
(I think I've already made this joke on this subject.)
Hmm. Neil Gaiman made the observation that when somebody that doesn't write thinks something in a story isn't working, there is a reason that they feel that way. Their ideas on how to fix it are always terrible.
Back to on topic: you're right, people like different things, and that's good. It's also perfectly acceptable and expected to make observations on the things we like, as well as what we don't like. To Peach, humanized ponies are frustrating because they are uninteresting and self-defeating.
1364037
I've actually gently brought that up to quite a few writers on this site, but usually not due to humanized ponies. I see a lot of people changing everything to the point where I just see a character named Rainbow Dash and a character named Twilight Sparkle in Renaissance Venice trying to assassinate a character named Celest-- why not just get rid of the pony baggage and write the video game fanfic with clarity? Is it because of FIMF's enormous potential audience is too tempting? Judging by the content of the feature box over the last year, I think that's what's actually happening.
1364525
Lucked out in less then ten minutes... damn. Though nostalgia is strong in my (and the rest of Finland's) eternal appreciation for the 90s Moomin cartoon (anime, to be more precise). They are making a movie based on the characters (not the cartoon specifically) now, and I indeed want to see it when it comes out. So it seems I hesitated a bit when writing that line...
I don't follow.
All in all, I consider myself an unexpected fan, whereas you might say you are the opposite. Whether or not that makes you "different than the bronies" is debatable, thus your explanation.
Funny how I can no longer look at horses just as pieces of meat, and instead of wanting to eat them I want to pet them. Though I'd still eat them afterwards.
1364514
I see what you are doing now. You have been lawyering each sentence down into terms where you can force a misinterpretation... Perhaps I wasn't clear about this, but my essay is not actually up for debate: it is an essay for the purpose of clarification of the way things are. Pretending that you don't understand its meaning to get to this point is honestly infuriating.
In the world of Equestria, there are no humans; this is high fantasy. Previously, you questioned the term “high fantasy”; high fantasy is anything far far beyond the question of fitting into this world, as is, right now. CSI could be called “high reality”, because even characters with psychic abilities, which are becoming more common place over the years, are not portrayed with the majority of characters believing in those abilities thus taking extra scenes to balance the believability.
The difference is genre, and this is Why Humans Suck in Fantasy. I will say that there are a few exceptions where the presence of humans does not dilute the fantasy, but these stories are rare and the authors have to work very hard to make them believable.
If you want to argue a case for the equality of humans in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfiction... Go up to a fan of CSI or any other show based in reality and argue a case of equality for talking ponies with magic powers in their fanfiction to be posted to their sites.
The responses you get from those people are probably the responses that you deserved from me, but it has only been for the sake of love and tolerance toward all readers that I have tried to convey this fact in a polite way, however... Now that I understand what you have been doing, and now that I have made myself clear, there is no need to discuss this matter anymore. If you must continue your quest to win at arguing with darkmatterbutterflies, then do so through private messages.
1364719
Will do, but the good thing about having these matters talked publicly in blogs like this is that it caters nicely to outside observers, helping them to come to conclusions as well, and so I don't think I've wasted my time. At least not too much.
1364557
I had this long and compromising response to this, but I'll give you the sanitized one: I find the tone and content of most brony socializing to be alienating, and the feeling is mutual. There isn't anything wrong with me, it's just that I have such a different background from most bronies with how I relate to the show, and that's that. There's nothing wrong with that, and maybe we're all better for and healthier for me recognizing that. When I approach the fandom and its content as something that's there to visit and explore, rather than trying to take some sort of responsibility and ownership over it, I find some joy in it. I tried the other way for a short while and it was disastrous. I felt like a babysitter or something.
Just so you know, that's actually quite... foreign from the U.S. perspective. They're not animals that you eat here. They're in the same class as cats and dogs, which it is also taboo to eat. There's a common stereotype about Asian people and eating both of those, but the history of that is intertwined with a history of class, race and the era of "manifest destiny", all of which lingers today. If you've ever read a human in Equestria story in which the protagonist indicates that humans don't eat equines, the character isn't necessarily lying, they're just unaware or every culture on earth.
In my life experience, horses have a lot personality and surprising intelligence. They are quite social and can get a read on your behaviours and motives, just like a dog can.
Just so you know, it's trying very very hard to be neutral about this. Where would we be without anthropology?
1364514
Even though I was here for it, I'm not sure how we arrived at ziggurat of layered digressions from Peach's rather simple opinion: turning ponies into humans strips them of some character-essential attributes and also makes them otherwise uninteresting by comparison to their original forms. If that challenges your head canon, it's made of glass.
1361716 I fail to see how Conquer The Stars is a Spite-fic explain please.
1388134
It was written as a response to my writing, back when the Anti-TCB was in full swing. It was written as well-poisoner, and labeled a 'Conversion Bureau' fic even though it absolutely isn't.
1388387 It has nothing to do with anything you've writin it's a sequel to Not Alone and a pretty good one at that.
1388470
And Not Alone is... an Anti-TCB spitefic. As you surely know. Neither have anything to do with true Conversion Bureau stories. They are poorly written, ridiculous works that disappoint on every level.
Which is just kind of sad.
1388967 I disagree i don't think Not Alone is a spitefic i thought it merely showed another perspective someone else take on the genre, Now what makes a true CB fic who really has the right to say what makes a 'true' CB fic is and it was not poorly written it was written very well it gave 3D characters it showed good people bad people good ponies and bad ponies it was-int ridiculous it felt real you may disagree but many others don't.
1389080 Once again, my blog is not an open forum. You will be blocked for reason number four: your first comment was not about the blog, furthermore nothing you have said relates to the blog. I have not read this story you mentioned, however, I will answer your question about what defines a true TCB story: A true TCB story is first and foremost centered around transformation as an evolution: physically into an Equestrian race and emotionally into a more noble being. Second to this is the requirement that, regardless of the trials and tribulations of the convert, the tone and outcome of the story support this evolution as a positive happening.
1389788
AUGGH! I did it again, I got sucked in and went on about non-topic material. I apologize PeachClover. Sorry.