Site Post » [Interview] Archmage Ludicrous’ “That’s All” · 7:30pm Feb 28th, 2014
This week’s feature offers a literal taste of what makes the Mane Six’s earth ponies who they are.
That’s All
[Slice-of-Life] • 1,559 words
A vignette regarding a pragmatic pony.
FROM THE CURATORS: That’s All is well-named. There are no dramatic reveals here, no buildups to bad puns, no descents into comic absurdity — only pitch-perfect Slice of Life. It’s exactly what it appears to be: “a fantastic short piece with … a sort of over-the-top importance bestowed upon something rather unimportant,” Present Perfect said.
Even though it weighs in at a mere 1,559 words, we all agreed that it packed in ”remarkable Pinkie Pie characterization,” as Present put it. “That’s so rare that it deserves to be spotlighted for that alone,” Chris said. Horizon went further: “I’d be borderline if it was just about Pinkie being written well, but no, this is about TWO characters being exactly who they are.”
Read on for our interview, in which Archmage Ludicrous discusses when to reject randomness, and the unexpected similarities between Pinkie Pie and Applejack.
Give us the standard biography.
Despite what anyone tells you, I am not actually a student in the IB program, but in fact Phobos, the more awesome of Mars’ two moons.
How did you come up with your handle/penname?
I first used it on an RP forum, and it stuck. It fits me like a glove, and is perfect measures of arrogant, ridiculous, and imperious.
Who’s your favorite pony?
I’m quite fond of Pinkie Pie, but Trixie and Twilight are numbered up there.
What’s your favorite episode?
“It’s About Time.”
What do you get from the show?
Eh. Not all too much. It’s mediocre at worst, and kinda good at best, so I suppose I just watch because it’s not horrible, as opposed to the polished shit with very narrow target audiences that normally airs.
What do you want from life?
What anybody wants from life: simply the experience. Living is something that you might only do once. I want to live my life, and leave behind ideas that will make others’ lives better.
Why do you write?
I write fanfiction almost exclusively to practice my writing mechanics. However, it’s also useful for expressing ideas and thoughts I have.
What advice do you have for the authors out there?
The hardest bit is motivation. I’m still figuring out how to motivate myself. Find what works for you and buckle down to it. If you really want to go on writing, you can either just keep trying until you figure out what works… or you could take a creative writing class and read critics. Reading critics is an excellent way to find out what is what.
The way you wrote Pinkie is superb. What would you say is the core of her psyche?
People tend to get wrapped around the axle of “OMG PINKEEPI IZ SO RANDUUUUM,” whether they’re criticizing the character or people who write it, or whether they’re complimenting the writer/character, or when they’re writing it. That feels kinda vague, so let me elaborate. Pinkie Pie isn’t random. If you try and write her as a super-random cheeseball who breaks the fourth wall and has little rhyme nor reason, she’ll turn out that way. If that’s what you want, great. However, Pinkie Pie is not that character: she projects as that way due to her incredibly in-depth thought-process centered around the well-being of other. Calling her the Element of Laughter isn’t broad enough: she’s really the Element of Happiness. She has put an incredible amount of time and effort into figuring out how to make people happy, which she constantly applies. She looks random, because she feels that the methods most people use to make people happy are flawed, so she develops her own methods.
Also, Pinkie Pie has no shame. She only holds back information if she feels it would make someone upset. Otherwise, she has loose lips that will talk about anything and everything that is relevant. Or at least, that’s how I think of it. Just think outside of the box: she’ll come off as random from a third-party perspective. Mostly, it will be her minor observations that will make her appear random, while her in-depth thought process remains hidden from an outside perspective.
“Pinkie Apple Pie” aside, Pinkie Pie and Applejack don’t get a lot of interaction in the show. Why did you choose them?
Because they are at their core very similar characters. They both have a central philosophy centered around pleasing others, but they both express it in different ways. Their main difference is that Pinkie Pie thinks very far outside the box, while Applejack is a very forward-thinking character. This allowed for the main interaction of the fic: Pinkie Pie thinks that Applejack losing that hat would be catastrophic for her mood, so she jumps after it in a moment of adrenaline. But when the hat is ruined, Applejack simply doesn’t care. Pinkie sees the potential of the hat for causing joy, and is wrapped up in the chance, but while Applejack cares for the hat, its past has little weight on her.
Do you own anything that has its own history beyond belonging to you?
Not all too much. I guess I have my watch, which I inherited from my grandfather.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Nope. That sums it up.
(You can check out That's All here. You can follow the Royal Canterlot Library's interviews at our site, or join the fimfiction group to get notified of new selections and suggest your own favorites.)
You could say...
...that's all.
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Very happy to see that you folks picked up that story. It was a perfect little reminder of why I love MLP—definitely needs more attention.