Switcheroo! A Contest by Skeeter. · 12:12am Jun 16th, 2015
Alright guys, let's have a little fun, yeah? I'ma host a contest for you all.
Switcheroo!
A contest (hopefully) hosted by Skeeter The Lurker
The Name of the Game:
switcheroo
[swich-uh-roo, swich-uh-roo]
noun, plural switcheroos. Slang.
an unexpected or sudden change or reversal in attitude, character,position, action, etc.
Is there an episode you all simply hated? Think you could have done it better? Or maybe you just want to try and see what would happen if you changed a key element to it? Like a what-if scenario? Well, this is your chance to put your money where your mouth is and prove it.
Simply put, I want you to be the writer of the show. I want you to act like you're Larson and have been told that the episode you have is crap and must be changed while keeping the spirit of that episode and moral intact.
So, what's the catch? Why isn't that episode good enough?
You may not use the focus character of that episode at all. You must change them with someone else.
And you must keep in line with the spirit of the episode itself.
That's it. That the only two rules here that I'm giving you. So what do I mean by all that?
Let's say you wanted to redo Season 1, Episode 19: A Dog and Pony Show.
What you would do is replace Rarity as the focus of it with, say, Fluttershy and go from there. You'd alter the events as you needed and do it in such a way that would hold true to the it's moral: just because someone seems helpless, it doesn't mean they're helpless.
You don't have to be rigid with how the episode plays out, too. You can alter the setting as much as you need to to make it work for the character you have. Just as long as you don't use the character of the episode and stick to its moral.
Simple enough, right? So, who all's the legal ponies you can use in all this?
Any Mane 6 can be used, as well as any canon background pony. Just select one, slap it in, work from there.
But NO OC's.
We'll use Season 2, Episode 3: Lesson Zero as an example:
Mane 6:
You MAY use Rainbow Dash. She's not the focus of the episode.
You MAY NOT use Twilight Sparkle. She's already the focus and defeats the point of this.
Background Pony:
You MAY use Trixie Lulamoon. She's been established as a character in the show.
You MAY NOT use Perfect Pour the pegasus. He was created by (well, me) and has no show time at all.
Easy enough, right? Right.
So, how long do we want it?
Entries must be between 3,000 words and 15,000 words.
We're looking for a simple redo of the episode, so you don't have to go too extreme.
How long do I have?
All entries must be in by Wednesday, July 15 @ 11:59pm EST.
Writing starts today and you'll have a full month to complete your entry. Judging will then begin on the 16th.
Anything special I need to keep in mind?
- No Mature rated stories allowed
This is a kids show, first and foremost. So any entries marked Mature will be DQ'ed.
- All stories must be complete by the deadline
- All stories must be posted to FimFic.Net.
Not sure if your story is allowed/blatantly plagiarizing your chosen episode? Eldorado has graciously accepted looking over it to determine if it's acceptable. But please, don't spam him with requests like that if you can help it.
- You may edit the story, and really, why wouldn't you? You simply can't use the editing services of the judges.
So, how do I enter?
1. Simply create your story, post it to FimFic.Net.
2. Make sure somewhere in the story's large description it says "Entry for Skeeter's Switcheroo Contest" or something to that effect.
3. In an author's note or comment, mention which episode you decided to redo. Telling us why isn't needed.
4. PM Skeeter The Lurker the link to your story. Only PM Skeeter, however.
..And that's that. Simple, yes?
So, what do I get from this?
The prize, my friends, is a $50 gift card to Steam/iTunes/Amazon/Etc and Skeeter will personally commission an artist of your choice to create cover art for you worthy story.
Not bad, huh?
So... Who all's judging this?
Skeeter The Lurker
The host and a guy who likes to read.
RainbowBob
Everyone's favorite sponge!
Eldorado
That guy what deals with stupid people all day.
FloydienSlip
Writer, editor, and reviewer for W.R.I.T.E.
Garnot
Writer, editor, generally decent guy.
Pearple Prose
Writer, TwiLuna Enthusiast, and a chill MoFo.
SpaceCommie
Writer, editor, and may or may not have gone to space.
And there it is. The writing begins now... Best of luck to all who enter and don't be afraid to ask questions!
~Skeeter The Lurker
I have a few episodes in mind that I'd think I could pull off for this contest, but I sadly lack the talent to do any of the ideas I have justice. As such, as enticing as the prompt is, I'll sit this one out. Anyway, I hope a lot of talented writers enter this contest, and I wish everyone involved the best of luck.
So, every episode that doesn't have AppleDashness in it?
You ask too much of me my good friend.
Did someone say "Switcheroo"?
Also, wouldn't a professional format television script be a more appropriate parameter for this contest? The episodes of the series are, after all, written as scripts and produced from there.
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It would, yes... But the stories need to be hosted on this site and this site doesn't allow for script format.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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Jooooooin in.... You know you waaaaaant to...
~Skeeter The Lurker
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I know. I still find that rule of the website pretty ironic (why not just allow them to be uploaded, but partitioned from the regular fanfiction?).
Too bad the contest doesn't allow for it since scripts are typically PDFs, which are easily uploadable to gdocs.
Is it alright if I can make the former focal character a side character of the story?
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Yup, I know.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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Yes! That's quite acceptable.
They can still be in the story, just not the focus of it.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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And to be clear, will the story have to follow how the episode goes? Or can it branch off from the episode's main story? Like for example, in Lesson Zero, Bon Bon clearly noticed that Cerberus has escaped Tartarus and is wreaking havoc on Ponyville, so she tries to discover who or what caused it and it ends up being a wild goose chase and causes her major amounts of stress and the people she's connected to don't believe there's a larger conspiracy behind it all and- oh you get what I mean. Something like that. (Btw anyone else who's reading this, not allowed to take that idea for your story. I will find out if you publish it.)
Damn. There are quite a few episodes I'd like to rewrite, but not in this particular way. Hmm...
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You can play it however you want and adjust the setting as you wish.
You simply have to play it as close as possible to the moral and spirit as possible.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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Alright thanks.
Looking forward to your entries guys. Have at it!
>at least 5,000 words
Well, I'm probably out.
Hey! This sounds like fun... I'll have to start brainstorming.
But my super amazing black-on-red alicorn stallion, Nightblade Darkstar, is like, the coolest OC you'll ever see. Can he get in?
Question: If you wanted to redo an episode like Trade Ya, Best Night Ever, or Castle-Mania, would you have to use background ponies, or could you rearrange the mane cast so that different ponies were in similar situations to the ones in the show?
Wow. This is tempting. I need to give this some thought.
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Hm. While using background ponies would be preferred, simply rearranging would be acceptable.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Hm. A switch about Dash's knowledge of AJ's unfinished novel in SAYS?
Oh man. This is tempting. I'm a little put off that the moral has to stay the same, because I did have a nice idea that changed the moral, but I'll probably be able to think of something else that will work. Though I'm certain I lack the talent to win, I may give it a try if I can find the time in the coming month. It seems like all the things I really want to participate in always happen whenever I just don't have the time.
I'd like to participate, but I never have much luck in contests :S
I might sit this one out, but looking forward to seeing what everyone writes :D
Besides, I don't trust myself to somehow not make it into a Rarity & Twilight episode oops
Do we just post a link with our entries here, or where do we submit them?Nevermind... I finished reading...
I can try. I'm not a writer-- or a particularly good one at that--, but I do have ideas.
Hopefully the final draft won't be too bad.
Interesting! I'l have to see if I can set aside some time for it.
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I made an edit to it.
3k is the minimum.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Just imagine: I could write "The Last Roundup" but instead of the main character, use Applejack!
3161054 1.bp.blogspot.com/_xd2QKMV_R3A/TNLvXkDOGtI/AAAAAAAAA4U/znyO-Moy4cE/s1600/ThisChangesEverythingSlide.jpg
3161099 You mean "The Last Roundup", but I still see what you did there.
Also, if you want it, not that it's worth much, I will volunteer writing for each of the top three entrants a 400-700 word slashfic with any two characters of their choice, the weirder the better. I should start offering that for more contests.
Out of interest, does the second condition here apply only to those 'background ponies' like Derpy, Octavia et al, or to all the named and official secondary characters, like the princesses and sundry antagonists? Just for the purposes of idea generating.
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All official.
Just NO OCs.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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Excellent! Thank you for replying.
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Not a problem!
Hope to see an entry from ya!
~Skeeter The Lurker
Skeeter... You hath unleashed the Harmony.
Just found out about this, but hey why not
I have a question in regards to the setting: if one can manipulative to fit the character, does that mean we can change the time that the episode took place? For instance, if an episode took place before Twilight's coronation, would it be alright to change the setting to after that?
Ugh... I do want to do this, but even with a month I might not have enough time
Say, one needs to keep the lesson and all, but is it necessary to keep the tone and genre of the show? Say that I think the Breezies episode had a lot of comedic potential, so I take Fluttershy away and make the breezies live with, hell if I know, the rest of the M6 taing turns or something. And while the moral of the story is the same, I turn the thing into an absolute clusterfuck, and it's comedy all the way to the ending, where the exact same moral is learned, but in a completely different way.
Would that be allowed? Like, not making it exactly show-like. Nothing that wouldn't be allowed in the show (no gross humor, no sex humor, yadda yaddah) but definitely not things that they would actually put in there.
Same plot, different genre/tone. Can we do that?
Hmm... I will consider this. Might be fun.
*Sees list of judges*
Well I'm fucked.
So many episodes, adequate amount of time. *pets stubble* Hmm...
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Yup! That's more than welcomed!
Hell, I'm encouraging it. Just be sure to inform us of which episode in particular you're 'rewriting', so to speak, so we can judge how accurate you came to the overall moral.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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Excellent!
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Altering the setting to make it work is ok.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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Do it anyway. Who knows? You might just pull off an entry.
And besides, what's there to lose?
~Skeeter The Lurker
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You?
Oh god I hope you do!
~Skeeter The Lurker
So, I have a question.
Does this include massive plot points, like Magical Mystery Cure or Twilight's Kingdom (aka season openers/enders)? I ask this because it would seem very easy to alter these to irk people and create lazy versions of "Alternate Mane 6" or send Twilicorn or any other pony hate.
Same question also extends to episodes like Slice of Life and Equestria Girls.
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Would you mind clarifying a bit more?
I'm not exactly certain what you mean.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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Thanks for the vote of confidence!
I have an idea, an old episode switched about to introduce more recent facts, while I still might actually be able to give it a canon feel. It's going to be tricky thanks to my idea to bring in a certain character, but if I can pull it off...
I must brainstorm. Perhaps you'll be finding an entry with my name on it in a week or so.
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I eagerly await!
~Skeeter The Lurker