I'm growing weary of FIMfiction... · 2:22pm Sep 14th, 2012
I'm considering going on a hiatus of undetermined length. It pains me, because this probably means Under The Northern Lights will never be done (though I could perhaps publish it on fanfiction.net or as a blog). That's how I function. But I'm getting more and more irritated at the fandom in general and fanfic in particular. If I go in here - and I have tended to do that a lot the last few months - I always get angry and sad.
I'm not complaining about the quality of the fics. Heavens, it's fanfic! Even more is bound to be crap than Sturgeon's usual number. No, it's the general tone of the place.
Everyone wants dark fics with an extra seasoning of sad and tragedy. Most such fics are only dark for the sake of dark, because of the childish idea that darkness is somehow automatically more "mature". It's the reverse in fanfics: dark fics seem less maturely written, like when you were 14 year old and were fascinated with the macabre. As someone who wasn't that fond of the genre in the first place but have found some really good professional dark work, that's depressing.
Everyone also wants fics that completely excuses and exonerates all the antagonists of the cartoon from absolutely everything they did, and from most of things they do in the fics themselves. No repentance, no showing that you can change. No actual exploration of why people do "bad" things - if they're not hahahaha evil its always Draco In Leather Pants, as the Potter fans say, rewriting the show so they're innocent.
In return, the writers do their best to write canon "good" characters as incompetent douchebags - sorry, "complex people with both good and bad sides", is their usual incorrect claim. Celestia is always the target of this. No fic which isn't a romance or clopfic with Twilight, and which has her actually in a main role, has her as anything else than a douchebag caricature up to and including a tyrant. She doesn't even have any positive sides in the 10000+ alternate universes where she's a villain from the start, unlike all the official antagonists in fanfic! No one ever portrays Nightmare Sun or whatever they will call her as a tragic victim of circumstances, which is the fanon portrayal of Nightmare Moon.
I mean, every single time I log on, several times a day, there is at least ONE fic among the new ones with something like "Twilight Sparkle discovers a dark secret of her beloved mentor..." or "Everyone thinks Celestia is a benevolent ruler - but IS SHE?!" And those fics will, at the first chapter, have twenty comments on how this is interesting and how they will follow this. Those guys reading them must get a stream of updates, seeing as how they follow one new such fic each day!
Let's not talk about the crossovers; hundreds of fics in which a "badass" from the latest shooter the author played (apparently the only media bronies partake of besides FIM) comes to Equestria. His talent for killing people is never questioned as a questionable thing (except by ponies clearly made out to be prejudiced and wrong, usually Celestia). It soon turns out it is neccessary for him to use it, to teach ponies about the importance of killing things. It's strange how pony society hasn't collapsed since it's surrounded by threats that need be countered by violence, while ponies haven't even an idea what "conflict" means. (This is not in any way supported by canon, but fanon for the show says so, which allows everyone who writes about pony war or crime to claim they are different and daring.) Much loving detail is spent on his weapons from the game.
Now, I'm a sane adult, and knows I don't have to read everything there is here. However, after sorting out all the darkfics, and all the crap that follows from this being, y'know, fanfic, there isn't much to read. I wonder if I belong in this fandom. See, this whiny rant is coming to something. I want suggestions on fics to read, to motivate me to not take a vacation from this place. Anything even remotely resembling what I'm talking about above is not interesting. I'm not interested in having my tastes changed, so if you send links to all the darkfics you love trying to explain why they are awesome will be wasting your time. I don't mind YOU reading and writing the stuff, I mind that there is little else. I'm a selfish prick, see.
So:
1, At least vaguely compentently written, of course.
2, Not in the slightest way "dark", especially in the ways described above. No crossovers with ultraviolent cynical worlds, no douchebag Celestia, no Applebloom being just as guilty as Diamond Tiara for the whole bullying situation.
3, Not romance/clop. I both write and read such fiction, but I want to be able to read this on my lunchbreak.
4, If humor, actually funny. No Pinkie breaking the fourth wall or doing outrageous things just because she is Pinkie, the most tired forms of brony "comedy".
5, Anything sent with the comment: "I know said no X, but this fic I wrote because of Y is totally different" automatically doesn't count. Such a comment is never true.
6, I haven't read it before. I realize that can be hard to know, but anything that's already a Favorite is obviously something I've read.
Note that I said in a comment on a fic recently that I don't like getting recommendations, so this goes against my whole personality. However, I'm getting desperate. I want to be convinced this is a place even for the minority of writers and readers whose main venue isn't darkfic.
I would like one of the few who read this column to suggest me at least one fic which fits the above criteria, that actually gives a warm and fuzzy feeling, that doesn't leave me angry and sad at the human condition like all the darkfics with 1500 upvotes and tons of praise do. Bonus point if its an action-adventure story, since most such has the Dark tag as well. Enough such recommendations would really cheer me up, see.
Note that I'm not asking for flattery about my work or character to stay or so. I'd prefer flattery for my work to be because it is good, not because I'm morose. As for my character, you don't know me from Adam and I'm actually a rather unpleasant man. I'm asking for proof that my gloomy view of this site is wrong and that there is light among the thick clouds.
I'd love to send some recommendations your way. I share many of these views of the fandom. Although I do enjoy villain personality reversal fics, as long as it's "for fun" not trying to assert over canon.
One quick question: When you say "no darkfic" do you mean absolutely nothing with a "Dark" tag, or simply no "dark and sad for it's own sake with no real story validity beyond the themes"?
As for crossovers, are well done and characterized crossovers involving wider sources throughout literature and media acceptable?
I notice we share many items on our favorites lists, so until you can clarify the above, I feel comfortable recommending these:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/22881/In-The-Twahlaht-Of-Her-Youth (bizarre premise, great execution)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/38135/Who-We-Are (friendship affirmation)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/47589/The-Many-Secret-Origins-of-Scootaloo (hilarious satire)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/3750/A-Rose-is-a-Rose (Surreal adventure and powerful friendshipping)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/13381/Moonspire-Run (A race to the finish line and self discovery)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/5384/Mythbuckers (Mythbusters parody)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/15621/Wild%2C-Sweet-%26amp%3B-Cool (Some saddles ARE for riders)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/4462/Via-Equestria (Friendshipping is not without stress)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/4022/Wingmares (Little fillies get character development too)
It Takes a Village
Wild, Sweet & Cool
Moonspire Run
The Ambassador's Son
Fluttershocked
Based on your 6 requirements and your favorites list, I think My Choices: Twisted Tales Through Time would be my initial suggestion. I'll try to remember to look harder at this later and come up with a few more, I'm off this afternoon so I should have some time.
When you say no romance, do you mean no romantic elements at all or just no stories that are primarily romance?
Just in case you want to look for yourself, my user page has a massive listing of stories I recommend, some of which probably fit your request.
The moonstone cup
Or is twilight being insanely powerfull also not allowed?
I am a bit sad to hear that, but I agree with some of your opinion.
(I'm a fan of Unver the Northern lights)
I sometimes feel tired with some types of fiction (but they are popular).
For example, I am the fan of Luna. But I really respect Celestia.
(She did really well in the show.)
There are some thoughts from an good authur, InsertAuthorHere
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/50723
I'm not a native English speaker, so I don't know how to type well. But I agree with what he said about Celestia.
I tried to have some recommendations for you.
My Little Alicorn is not suitable for rule # 2. (It was labeled as Dark, but I don't think so.. )
I enjoyed the fictions about the interaction between Celestia and Luna.
I hope them can be acceptable.
1. Sisters http://www.fimfiction.net/story/45044/Sisters
2. In Celestia we trust, others pay cash http://www.fimfiction.net/story/45828/In-Celestia-We-Trust%2C-All-Others-Pay-Cash
3. As Celestia is my witness http://www.fimfiction.net/story/40645/As-Celestia-Is-My-Witness
4. A slice of life http://www.fimfiction.net/story/9135/A-Slice-of-Life
I agree with what djthomp suggested.
My Choices: Twisted Tales Through Time is also pretty good!
Best wishes for you!
I don't off-hand have anything to recommend to you that I think you haven't already read, I'm afraid.
That said, I do agree with you about a lot of rubbish that's going on in the fandom now. Especially the complaints about badly-executed darkness as a sign of maturity, and painting Celestia as a bastard are ones that I can immediately echo!
Yet - and this is somewhat selfish of me - please do not despair, nor leave! Your stories are excellent, and I for one would be terribly sad if "Under the Northern Lights" was left unfinished. Perhaps, if you feel like taking a break, it could be a relatively short one, until the start of the third season, and the reinvigoration of everyone's imaginations with new un-dark poni?
I understand how you feel, because I often feel the same. I hope you don't mind if I speak my opinion concerning the fandom in frank terms. I also hope that I don't offend anyone with what I'm about to say. It may be frank, but in the end it's just my views about how the MLP fandom comes across to me, and I don't mean any offense with that. It's just how it looks like to me, and I know that there are many exceptions and wonderful people in the fandom as well. If you don't care about my two cents, just skip past the next two paragraphs to my fanfic suggestions.
~Warning: the following two paragraphs contain bitching and moaning about the fandom~
The MLP fandom often is just not a nice fandom. It is filled with people who glorify the villains and love to make them the misunderstood goodguys, while the canon good guys are obviously depraved, horrendous monsters. There can be no more obvious proof of this than the fandom's portrayal of Celestia. Bronies utterly despise and hate her. They mock her at every single turn, with every opportunity they get. You can find no drawing, no youtube-movie, no fanfic about her, on which there are no comments that mention 'trollestia' or 'molestia' or 'tyrant celestia'. And when you call them out on this shameful portrayal of one of the show's most wonderful, kind and caring characters, they always refute it with hollow claims like "we haven't seen all sides of her!" or "it's just a joke, man, lighten up!". Yes, because who doesn't call his friend a childmolester and a rapist, right? We do it all the time, it's hilarious!
And end sarcasm. Worse, even Hasbro has picked up on it, given how shamefully they portrayed her in the season 2 finale. And of course bronies rejoiced! The amount of love Chrysalis has gotten compared to the slander and name-calling of Celestia is sickening. She is not the only one who suffers from this, of course, though she is the main target of most of the bronies' spite and slander. Meanwhile, while Celestia gets all the shit thrown at her, Discord is just a harmless prankster, Night Mare Moon a kind soul who just wished to free ponies from Celestia's tyranny and install democracy, Blueblood was completely justified in his douchebaggery because Rarity is a shameless, whorish bitch, Trixie a poor misunderstood soul, and Chrysalis just wanted to feed her subjects but that evil Celestia wouldn't allow it! I roll my eyes at this, and it wouldn't bother me so much if this wasn't how 95% of the fanfics, comics and other stuff are. (Hell, it's gotten so ridiculous that my entire "Lament of the World" story is pretty much a protest epos against the way Celestia's treated in the fandom, and how all the slander and hate affects her psychologically (moulded in the shape of an in-universe story, of course).)
~Bitching and moaning ends here~
One would think that with all the problems I have with the fandom, I would have hightailed it out of here months ago. But I stayed because, even if I don't always like the way the fandom is, I still love the show itself, and I still want to write my own stories as a tribute of love towards said show. And I discovered that there are people who feel the same. They may not be as numerous as the "dark siders" of the fandom, but what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality. It makes it all the more satisfying to find them and read them! You asked to be given suggestions for good pony fics to cheer you up with their quality, so I dug in my own favourites-archive. I hope there's at least one on the list that you'll enjoy:
The Song of Syhlex
The Magic of Harmonies
The Unsuitable
Dames of the Tea Table
Dames of the Tea Table: Silver Sabbatical
A Colt's best Friend
The Fall of Discord
Let There be Night
Former Edicit
Keeping Your Hooves On The Ground
Trails and trials
Letters to a Lunar Goddess
The Importance of Being earth ponies
The Death of Princess Luna
Incorrect Assumptions
A Spider in Need
A friend of the Night
Via Equestria
A Knight's Gambit
The Stars of Darkness
Princess Luna: Crusade for 'Friendship'
Luna's Alarm clock
A rising moon
As Celestia Is My Witness
Moonfall
Tales from the Silmarillion: Morgoth in Equestria
Sisters
Those are about all from my personal favourites that fit the rules you set down for story suggestions. I hope there's at least one amongst them that'll cheer you up!
Let me try, although I am not sure you will like those - I did :). The problem with recommending anything is that your requirements seem a tiny bit conflicting to me: you want adventure but without even the slightest traces of dark. I remember a VERY long discussion here what 'dark' actually means so, to be on a safe side I decided to recommend only 'safe' choices. Unfortunately, this means I had to skip the truly best gems (I know, you would love WPN, TCYB or BoF but those belong to the 'heavy artillery')
.
All the fics below are warm, fuzzy and very delicate. Not a trace of 'dark' (the saucy scene in the first one I would rate as "E - for Everyone") and all of those are as close to the show as possible. Unfortunately none of these are adventure - I don't think a 'warm and fuzzy' version of such kind of a story exists as it would be... boring.
Without further blabbing:
The Contest - start with this one :). I believe it satisfies all your points (with the exception of adventure)
Two's Company; Three's a Crowd
Love Triangles and Other Funny Shapes
A Slice of Life - the only real COMEDY on this list
The Ambassador's Son that got recommended earlier is a very good fic, but, if I remember correctly, starts with a rather dark scene so I can't recommend it based on your requirements. It's a good fic, though :).
Maybe you could give us a list of popular stories that you did not like? This could make things easier...
EDIT: Added The Contest.
Dammit, my read later queue is already over 1200, and now I'm going to have to go and add another 30 fics to it from all the comments, excluding the ones that're already on it.
In terms of fics to read:
The Wizard and the Lonely Princess is looking rather amazing, unless you consider the Harry Potter verse to be Dark.
Hooves, Plush, and Magic: The Untold Tales has the exposition bits that would slow down the main story above. Slightly Darker.
Oh to be Old Again is a hilarious comedy, but it's dealing with a more realistic Equestria in terms of ... you already have it in your favs. Dammit.
I go to check your favorites now.
Edit: Thanks, my read later queue just grew by 82 stories. So I now have 1365 stories to read. (I would say "I hope you're happy," but it's really hard to tell if sarcasm or not)
Harbinger, randomness of George is fairly amusing.
Secret Origins of Scootaloo is pretty funny in a schadenfreude (no accents, I'm lazy) way, where Twilight asked about Scoots origins, and is now either being told fairly moronic things.
Sunny Skies All Day Long - I can't remember if I saw this in your favorites or not, but it's still a nice read.
Nightmare Night and Nyx is a slightly more realistic Equestria, but still within canon, easily. Approved sequel thingie to [site_url=41596]Past Sins, but that one is just a smidgen darker. Still has a really nice story, but... [Dark] [Sad] [Slice of Life]. Not exactly what you were asking for.
Also, people, PLEASE use either [ url=http....]Title, not the entire link[ /url], or [ site_url=/story/3819]Title[ /site_url]. It's painful to see the whole url, and I can't understand why it's so hard to paste the link into a [url ] bracket or into the popup provided by the site. Please?
Also also, you don't need the title in the link, just the story number/id is enough.
I would recommend Post Nuptuals (already in your faves) and its follow-up, Families: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/40064/Families
The Light in the Darkness: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/16531/The-Light-in-the-Darkness
Guy Talk: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/47480/Guy-Talk
Light the Candles: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/45551/Light-The-Candles It's labelled sad, but it has a relatively happy ending
Macintosh: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/42169/Macintosh
Fire Spores: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/42716/Fire-Spores
Dragon Your Hooves: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/42131/Dragon-Your-Hooves
Spike's Day Off: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/22152/Spike%27s-Day-Off
Brotherly Bond: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/6057/Brotherly-Bond
A Broken Bond: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/3360/A-Broken-Bond
Does your crossover dislike extend to pre-FIM ponies? If not, try The Elements of Harmony and the Savior of Worlds: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/3072/The-Elements-of-Harmony-and-the-Savior-of-Worlds
If you're into sadfics, there's Make a Wish: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/19908/Make-a-Wish
It isn't on here, but "It's a Dangerous Business, Going out Your Door" is a solid one.
Under clean romance, I recommend:
This Nearly Was Mine: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/5161/This-Nearly-Was-Mine
A Sweet Taste of Cake: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/21140/A-Sweet-Taste-of-Cake (really anything by this author)
Anything by BronyNeumo: http://www.fimfiction.net/index.php?view=category&user=2461 He marks any mature stuff beforehand
Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/40975/Don%27t-Let-the-Sun-Catch-You-Crying
Hearts of the Millennia: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/44464/Hearts-Of-The-Millennia
As for the fandom, all I can recommend is stepping away from it but continuing with your work. The less time you spend interacting with the people who drive you nuts, the more you like the fandom they belong to. For what it's worth, I hope you carry on with your story!
I hear you.These days, the Dark tag is enough to turn me off a story entirely unless it's by an author who's already impressed me with their other work, or it's in the favourites of someone whose taste I trust. (The Sad and Tragedy tags are almost as bad.) Nevertheless, there's enough good out there that I persevere. Here's a few more stories which fit your requirements and aren't already favourited:
The Old Stories - A collection of myths featuring Celestia at the dawn of time.
Maiden Flight - A short, sweet story about Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash.
A Teatime Visit - Comedy that actually made me laugh.
Tilt - Applejack. Pinball. Magic. Lots of fun.
Earth & Sky - A great adventure story about the invention and introduction of mechanical wings. This one doesn't quite fit your No Romance requirement, but it's the kind of stuff you'd see in an action/adventure movie, and it's not the focus.
There are already several comments here, so I won't bother with adding my own recommendations other than to affirm that you've already read It's Dangerous Business Going Out your Front Door, right? It's not FIMFiction but it's fandom.
Anyway, I agree 100% regarding the majority of tropes and cliches that we see in fan fiction, but it is really something that I don't think can be helped, it is a result of how cheery the show is in the first place. Polarized conflict is easy to write, the switcheroo works most of the time to at least get someone reading, and it often seems that it is even thought of as compelling. Now we both know that that is still two-dimensional thinking, but we must also remember that the majority of this stuff is not being written by people who have been at it for all that long; they're learning still. I think the other major factor is the popularity of Fallout: Equestria, it's the poster child for "dark" fiction, and you can see its influence in nearly every subsequent dark fiction.
All that in mind, there are still plenty of stories around here that buck the trend (pun intentional), and there are plenty that take on more mature themes without being overly cliche about villains and motives.
Thanks to you all for answering! I'm have strict demands, I know that. But it seems I might achieve my goal....
358102
It Takes a Village - Read it and liked it. One of my proudest moments as a fanfic writer was when its author said he liked UtNL.
Wild, Sweet & Cool - Read it and stopped. Don't remember why.
Moonspire Run - Could be something, will check out.
The Ambassador's Son - Labeled romance and sad. If either of these is a major element (ie worthy of actually being a label), I won't read it. Sad isn't as bad as Dark, but I'm wary of it.
Fluttershocked - I've read it and apparently even given it an upmark, but I cannot remember much at all.
358110
My Choices: Will investigate further. Wary because of the ponies involved.
Romance: Not as a main theme, that's the main point. Note how I haven't labeled UtNL as Romance despite it containing a romance between to OCs, or Dark despite involving a war, or Comedy despite me having a tendency to do things for fun. That's because it's an Adventure story, and the others are just details. Likewise, if the story should be labeled Dark, I don't want to read it. I generally respect the author's intentions, so any story actually labeled Dark is probably not for me, but otherwise, it must be your judgement. Is it a main theme of fic X?
358112
That's not really a problem, but I've already read it and liked it, especially its treatment of foreign nations compared to Equestria.
358124
Sisters - Already read, didn't really like.
In Celestia we trust, others pay cash - Ditto.
As Celestia is my witness - Will check out
A slice of life - Started to read, didn't want to continue. (I guess because it falls on the rule I gave that Comedy has to be funny - a hard rule to follow for you guys, but thanks for trying.)
Thanks for the link, it was an interesting essay.
358128
Thanks for the kind words, but as I said reaffirmation about my own skills as a writer, however meager, isn't the problem. I will most likely move the whole shebang to fanfiction if I cannot stomach this place anymore. Because of how my mind works, I don't take short absences from websites - I either take few days pause, or I disappear for years.
358136
I have my own theories for why bronies act like they do visavis Celestia, but I'm in a bad mood so I would just overstate things and be rude if I detailed them. Besides, they are irrelevant to the subject at hand.
The Song of Syhlex, The Unsuitable, Dames of the Teatable, A Colt's Best Friend, Former Edicit, Letters to a Lunar Goddess, The Importance of Being Earth Ponies, A Spider in Need, Via Equestria, The Knight's Gambit, The Stars of Darkness, Princess Luna: A Crusade for Friendship, A Rising Moon, As Celestia is My Witness - Will investigate further
The Fall of Discord, Let There Be Night, Trails and Trials, A Friend of the Night, Moonfall - Might investigate further, doesn't look good for me for various reasons
The Magic of Harmonies, Keep Your Hooves on the Ground, Incorrect Assumptions - Already read, liked it.
Sisters - Already read, didn't care for it much.
The Death of Princess Luna, Tales from Silmarillion - Already know I will hate it. Won't even try.
Thanks for the long list!
358141
First, this is very close to what I asked you to avoid, offering me things I explicitly didn't ask for. Careful.
Second, I don't get the acronyms.
Well, maybe not fuzzy, but there are ample examples of adventure stories that doesn't deserve the Dark tag, and they are much more exciting than most Dark stories I've read. In fact, Dark is good mostly for things like really black humor or war drama, not adventure stories.
Two's a company, three's a crowd - it's a romance, which I explicitly asked you to not recommend. I also used to follow it, but stopped when I realised it went nowhere and wasn't funny.
Love triangles - another romance
A Slice of Life - read, didn't found worth following. Unfunny.
It's not your fault we have different senses of humor, though.
I hesitate to give out a list, because then every one of you would jump into the thread to tell me they're awesome and that I shouldn't have that opinion, because you love them. That's common when you ask for advice. But here are some samples: everything Fallout Equestria except the original, the whole Lunaverse (not dark, but anyway), the Conversion Bureau, all the fics that attack the Conversion bureau, that whole chess games of the gods deal or whatever they call it, Wayward Courier, Past Sins, What Princesses Need... Plus any spinoffs of any of these. These fics I don't just dislike, they make me angry and sad as I read them.
And yeah, I'm aware that not everybody 'loves' these fics - Conversion Bureau and Past Sins have hatedoms vastly more stupid than the things they dislike, sort of like Twilight (the vampire book, not the unicorn). But they have a large enough mass of people who like them.
I hope I'm not too harsh, but you accidentally pushed some buttons. I'm still glad you took your time to help.
358246
The WPN I think is What Princesses Need, which is a romance that rapidly becomes a "Luna needs psychiatric help, and everypony overreacts to things" fic. All of which is lampshaded at times, but still. Not a light-hearted thing, as the flame wars in the comments while Aegis was releasing the chapters will confirm.
Edit: finished reading your post, removed link since you've read at least some of it, and didn't like it.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/45217/The-Battle-of-Fort-Book
Nothing more than a short thousand word piece of pure adorableness. It should lighten your spirit.
Also
http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Daily%20Show%20Ponies
if you're a fan of the Daily Show.
Well, unfortunately, I'm both working on a tablet this weekend (makes link hunting a real bitch) and an inveterate shipper/dark-ficcer. I like to think I'm a notch or two above what you describe, but there's no real way to argue with "don't like it, won't read it."
What I would like to point out is that, aside from differing views on certain genres, leaving the site is probably what contributes to the problems you're seeing. People writing that type of story don't see the sort they want, so they leave the site, contributing to an apparent lack of 'good' fic and an echo chamber effect amongst those who thrive on writing... well, the sort of drek you're railing against.
I really wish we could get the star system back, rather than the current binary system. A lot of good fics get bad ratings because they hit an unpopular topic - end result, they get tossed in with the horrifically bad stories.
358246 "I have my own theories for why bronies act like they do visavis Celestia, but I'm in a bad mood so I would just overstate things and be rude if I detailed them."
My personal guess is that a lot of people have internalized the idea that the people in authority must necessarily and always be bad. Doubly so if they appear good at first! So, when faced with Celestia who, although not perfect, is genuinely benevolent, reasonable, wise and caring towards her subjects, their cynicism reflex engages. "Can't be! She got to be bad somehow!" (This, in turn, is probably linked to the pernicious idea that cynicism and apathy are "realistic" and "mature", and optimism and positivity are stupid and childish.)
Also: I think that the Featured box is part of the problem. It works, as far as I know, on purely mechanistic algorithm, and presents stuff that's (for whatever reason) popular right now, whether it's any good or not. And it does reinforce trends like those FPS crossovers, or the second-person human-in-Equestria romances, and so on.
Other stories now that I have some time to write are
Earth & Sky = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/34622/Earth-%26amp%3B-Sky (It does contain shipping but up to the current chapter it is very minor)
petriculture = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/14298/Petriculture (prequal to inscape)
inscape = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/35688/Inscape (sequal to petriculture)
magical pony lyrical twilight = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/2571/Magical-Pony-Lyrical-Twilight
dual nature = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/31925/Duel-Nature
discordant feelings = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/4502/Discordant-Feelings (ignore the romance tag)
twilight's first time = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/25944/Twilight%27s-First-Time (this one is pretty hilarious)
giai = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/635/Gaia-
quite ready for another adventure = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/22891/Quite-Ready-for-Another-Adventure
And the Temptress Came Unto Her = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/23127/And-the-Temptress-Came-Unto-Her
forbidden fruit = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/3229/Forbidden-Fruit
birds and the bees = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1983/The-Birds-and-the-Bees
a simpler time = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1844/A-Simpler-Time
common sky = http://www.fimfiction.net/story/922/Common-Sky (ignore the romance tag it is friendshipping)
Funny how i only have so many suggestions with 607 favorites xD (well most are romance so that explains a lot :P)
358163
The Wizard and the Lonely Princess: I avoid crossovers with things I know little about, and I stopped reading Harry Potter after half the first book, so...
Harbinger: Will check, is wary.
I tried Secret Origins and as I've said I'm afraid I didn't find it all that funny.
358170
The Light in the Darkness: Refers to Cupcakes. I know it's a not-dark refutation, but not my cup of tea.
Guy Talk, Fire Spores, Dragon Your Hooves, Spike's Day Off: Will investigare further.
Macintosh: Read on Equestria Daily. Doesn't remember much.
My crossover dislike concerns specifically the kind of hyper-cynical, ultra-violent gritty setting that twenty-something guys (the brony majority) love and try to crossover with FIM, with disastrous results because handling the collision of moods take skills they lack. Those fics still get a ton of appreciation because all the other people who have played Minigun Bobomfest 2024 and think it's awesome that the hero goes to Equestria. In other words, they are high-concept bad stories that live on the concept.
Now, old My Little Ponies don't qualify, obviously, but I read the first parts of the fic and wasn't that impressed, even if it should be my thing. So, not the kind of vitriol I carry for various darkfics, but I don't want to read any more of it.
I'm not into sadfics but might read them sometimes anyway, but that sometimes is not now. Specifically, I usually don't find sad literature heartwarming in the strange way people do.
I'll stay away from even clean romance for now. That might seem strange for someone who writes clop, but it makes things easier.
Thanks, but the problem is I have literally no drive of my own. For any project that takes any longer time, I need to interact with other people around it (even if I do all the actual work, which is what usually happens) to get anything done. If I lose the fandom, I lose the people who are interested in what I do.
358196
The Old Stories - I'll check it out, but I'm wary for a silly reason. See, I already have an extensive headcanon for this, which I already use in my longest fic. I'm afraid I'll go either "They're doing it wrong!" or "Why didn't I think of that! AAAARGH!"
Maiden Flight, Tilt - I'll check them out.
A Teatime Visit - Read it and rated it thumbs up, but remembers nothing.
Earth & Sky - I started to follow it, but stopped after the race got underway. I disliked how certain things was handled and couldn't follow it any longer. This isn't a fic I'd call bad - quite the opposite - it was just that I and the fic separated amiably.
358201
Dangerous Business... is in the canon background for Under The Northern Lights, so to speak. It's perhaps the best fic I've read.
I think you're a bit too generous. The darkness choice is more or less conscious, mandated by culture, instead of following from the source material. My "proof" is that I have no greater talent or skill than most people here, but don't feel the need to write cynical and violent fics. It might be easier in some ways (it certainly isn't harder), but mostly it is because that's the only kind of story read or watch or play, so when they make their own story, they make one they are familiar with. Same thing with reading stories.
I think you're right in the Fallout: Equestria influence, though. It's the only truly Dark fic I've read that has been any good. For me, it's a rule that there is a 99,99% a darkfic will be either childish violence and gore or pretentious cynicism, and hence unreadable to me. Notice that this ridiculous exaggeration is based in bitter experience. I wasn't born disliking darkfics...
358266
(I had to rewrite this phrase about five times so I don't say something so offensive I get kicked off this site.)
Ah. I consider that fic vile drek with no redeeming features whatsover. Of course, it has 100000 upvotes. I truly don't belong in this fandom.
358284
The Battle for Fort Book I have already read, but it was really fun! :) I don't watch Daily Show (not American - it is an American show, right?)
358316
I see what you're saying, but there is no way I'm going to have heartburn from distress when I go to check out a site for my hobby. If I do, I'm going to change either the hobby or the forum. Yeah, that's selfish, but I'll have to. I can't change the site and the easiest way to change myself is "don't be there".
I'm not sure how that would help - I think that people voted either one or five on most fics where they voted - but if it could it would be great. My main concern is not downvotes of "good" stuff but upvotes of "bad" stuff - for instance, voting up a crossover with Battle Bomber Airstrike just because you love the game and think it's a clever idea, not because the author makes something readable of a bombplane pilot in Equestria.
358388
That's what I really like about the Lonely Wizard - rather than shoehorn in Luna into Harry Potter, or vice-versa, he's created a scenario where Luna and Nightmare Moon are friends with Harry, and essentially watching him grow up. He's barely a week into his first year at Hogwarts, and everything is already very different, while still keeping the main events intact. For example, they've taught Harry some fundamentals of magic, and he can do several spells without a wand.
Give it a shot, he's already said he's scrapping the Ginny romance, and is thinking of everything's implications, much better than Rowling did. Which leads to some fun lampshading.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/9743/Forever!
This is the best crossover I've read.
358388
Fair enough. I've always been pretty stubborn about that sort of thing myself. I do definitely agree that there needs to be a reckoning of sorts in some types of stories, especially Dark fics. As for the voting issue, I definitely see that too, but I'm a sucker for certain genres that tend to be slaughtered by standard reviewers, like slashfics.
Ultimately it's up to you man, though I second the recommend on Sunny Skies All Day Long, and hope you can eventually find your way back. As I've always said, the biggest problem with fanfic is the lack of quality control; at this point in the fandom we've got vast quantities of authors who know their shit - and unending swarms of those who don't, and/or who don't care. It kinda feeds itself too - people will read a lousy story, think they can do better, and try to. They succeed, but not by much, feeding the next person like them.
And, since they've grown up with textspeak, their grasp of the English language is about as firm as month old tapioca in August.
The good news is that, as time goes by, it will be the dedicated fans and authors who try to keep going, so... It Gets Better.
358388
That said, don't discount that "dark" is a shortcut, culture and difficulty are not mutually exclusive. There is a reason that cinema and television have the same propensity to be "dark" or "edgy," it is much more difficult to write compelling characters with internal conflicts or more benign mcguffins than it is to pit a protagonist against evil incarnate. Remember also that this is fan fiction we're talking about, to write something on the scale of Door, or even your own Northern Lights is to do some pretty sturdy world-building, the type of complex and detailed thinking that requires time and effort and a suitable knowledge base to work from. The cited works of shitty dark-fiction tend to not really do any building at all, and if they do they do it they do it only the context of propagating dark, not providing reasoning.
You're selling your own writing ability short, methinks, but I will agree that there's a cultural phenomenon occurring here (both in and out of the fandom). You've been doing a better job articulating my own thoughts on the matter, but I haven't had nearly enough coffee today so I will hide behind that
Back to the despair you're feeling, though, wading through all the mediocrity on the site does eventually reveal something worth reading, and it occurs for me once a week or so. That, in fact, is how I found your story in the first place: looking through "latest updates" and trying to find something worthwhile. Here's one I found the other day. A decent sized one-shot (that's actually a prologue to something else, but stands on its own) with more adult themes but that maintains the show's charm and exploits certain characteristics for something interesting.
Also, I really want to keep reading Northern Lights and this place has thusfar been the easiest way to keep up with it!
Oh yeah! I also forgot Birthday Wish, which could practically be an episode of the show.
358345
Thanks for your nice encouragement, but my problems aren't with my writing, as I stated in my rant, it's with my reading. It's like this: I'm a musician who plays in a bar. I tend to hang out at the bar a lot both because I need to be there for my job but also because I like the place. Or liked the place. Because I have realized that the music played in the speakers all the time is 180 degrees from my musical tastes AND played by the band started by the bartender's 13-year old son who has no skill in playing whatsoever. My problem isn't with my guitar skills: it's with making myself hang around, so that I get the connection I need with the people I play for.
In my experience, and that's the problem, there isn't just a few bad apples, they cover a lot of the tree, and in addition I prefer pears anyway. (My the metaphors change quickly today).
I've read that one. It is also one of the best fics in existence.
358358
Good observations. I tend to think of Celestia as a mother figure for the ponies and hence for the target group. Seven-year old girls have a different relationship to a mother than twenty-seven year old men.
I haven't commented on most second person romance etc fiction. I usually don't like them, but they don't give me heartburn like the dark side. They don't bother me overmuch.
358372
Thanks for your large batch of suggestions! Now, ignoring a few that aren't repeats...
petriculture = Read, don't remember what it was like.
inscape = Read, fairly clever
magical pony lyrical twilight = Crossover with manga/anime/Japanese game (or something like that) I haven't read/seen/played, so no thanks.
dual nature = Will check out
discordant feelings = Won't read. Clearly a white-wash the villain piece. I can't take any more Discord-hugging.
twilight's first time = Will check out.
giai = Will check out
quite ready for another adventure = Sadfic, won't read, sorry.
And the Temptress Came Unto Her = Read, I disliked it but don't remember why, it was quite skillfully done...
forbidden fruit = Will check out
birds and the bees = Read, really funny.
a simpler time = Read, really funny.
common sky = Will check out, but a bit wary
358425
I'm wary of it being "4th wall breaking comedy" instead of "actually funny comedy", but I will check it out. (I know more of Harry Dresden than Harry Potter...)
358418
I'm sorry, but nothing you said make me more likely to read it. In fact, the mention of Nightmare Moon indicates it is another lets-whitewash-the-villain-I-think-is-coolest fic, which I don't like. I didn't find Harry interesting when I read about him in the first book, and don't really think he'll be better together with ponies. Sorry. Should have been clearer about that. Thanks for trying, anyway!
358451
Wait, what are you commenting on here? Sorry, I've lost track...
I've read Sunny Skies All Day Long, but I'll check out Birthday Wish.
358465
Note that when I say I'm not very good I'm not humble, I'm simply crass.
I'm happy you liked Northern Lights. The fic will be written, but it might not be published here.
358479
I understand what you're saying here, and I understand how you're feeling, too. But if I'm allowed to put out my opinion, those few good apples in the orchard make it worth staying, if only so you can protect them. But if you really prefer pears, don't run away, plant a pear tree! The orchard has more than enough space for it. If the bar no longer feels welcoming, build a clubhouse (in that pear tree you like)!
If you need the socializing in order to feel good and to give you that kick to get writing, there are many ways you can achieve this without leaving this place and making the followers of your story sad. From the amount of reactions you got to this little blog, I'd say you have quite a bunch of people here already who feel like you do. You could start a group where you can hang out and add stories to that fit your tastes, like people did here, where you can chat or talk with like-minded people about funny fics you found, about the mythology of Equestria, about whether or not Celestia prefers silk or lace, and so on. The posibilities are many.
You could say it's like this (metaphors ftw): right now, Fimfiction to you seems like an old, shaggy, disshelved, rickety little shack where the paint peels off the walls, the roof is leaky and there's enough dust inside to give your lungs a workout for the next two decades, in a town that's made up entirely of such houses. You could leave and look for a new house in a different town, or you could take a broom, a dustpan and a paintbrush and make something nice out of it. Both have their pros and cons, but with the rebuilding-option, you at least know for sure that you have some friendly neighbours to count on who're willing to lend a helpful hand in helping you repaint your house. Whereas if you go looking for a new house in a different town, you won't know what kind of neighbourhood you end up living in.
Eh, I hope that didn't come across as too cheesy or forced-positive.
I guess I just wanted to say that I know where you're coming from, and that there are many people here who agree with you and want to help make something good out of it. Even if we're just one colourful, nice house in a whole town of grey, cold and desolate houses, one is still better than none.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/974/1/Raiders-of-the-Cutie-Mark/The-Colts-Templar
It's written pretty much like an actual episode.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/273/Paradise
It is great, but going by the gaps in when the different chapters were posted worries me.
The Worst Bakers in Equestria by Bob in Bottles
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/08/story-worst-bakers-in-equestria.html
This is actually a series. Most of the first ones are establishing the characters in relation to the concept of the Worst Bakers in Equestria competition. The last one or two actually take place at the competition, which is where much of the best material resides. It's hilarious. Just outright hilarious.
(A note: it does feature a not-fully villainous Trixie and one or two Pinkie fourth wall breaks. However, she's definitely NOT whitewashed good and they're fairly minor.)
---
Meanwhile, you might avoid some of the rat race on FanFiction. But PLEASE don't just discontinue this. Please?
I'm a little surprised to see you like Banishment Decree given the character focus and how dark it gets.
As for recommendations, perhaps The Flight of the Alicorn and This Platinum Crown will be to your liking. They have worldbuilding.
Nooooo, sieurin, don't leeeeeave!
I know what you mean, though. I started to quote bits of your post that I particularly agreed with, but then I realized I was quoting most of your post.
Especially poor Celestia, she's either Deux Ex Celestia or she's Tyrant Celestia, blargh. And don't get me started on the "Discord used to be good but he was in love with Celestia and she broke his heeeeeart and turned him evil" fics. (Seriously??)
Okay, some recommendations. I flipped through your favorites up to page 20, but some of these may still be repeats.
The Third Generation - Yes, I see you making that face, but this G3/G4 crossover is really well-done. (And this is coming from someone who didn't like the G3 shows.) This story isn't "G3 ponies fight G4 ponies", it's not even "G4 ponies visit an alternate universe." I don't want to give too many spoilers, but it's a fun adventure spanning Equestria, and it has a complex plot. Also the author actually uses Trixie properly--that is, she is not Eeeevil, but is not Simply Misunderstood either. (Also, not a story where Trixie dominates the plot. She's an ensemble character.)
Smoke and Mirrors - Well, this might be too dark, depending on how you define dark.
Hostile Takeover - Fluttershy and Trixie are roommates. Dun dun DUUUUN!
A Study in Rainbows - It's been a while since I read this, but I remember the combination of Arthur Conan Doyle style prose combined with Rainbow Dash-esque phrases to be hilarious.
Trains, Carriages, and Airships - Yeeeeesssss.
Binky Pie - This is what happens when MLP meets Terry Pratchett.
I'm also digging around to see if I still have "The Curse of Beauty" by HQT on my computer anywhere . . . the pony fanfic that started me writing pony fanfic.
I'd recommend some Fallout Equestria fics, but you obviously don't want the "Dark" tag or whatever and you've most likely read them already...
And I'd recommend some of my newer works, but none are exactly that far along and I'm guessing you want something that 1) either updates regularly 2) has a bunch of chapters (Or a Complete 1-Shot) or 3) Wholly completed.
I'll have to check. I'll get back to you on this.
P.S: Don't even go near some of my old ones and ideas that never went anywhere. That might just get you a bit discouraged.
Do consider that there's really two kinds of "Sad". There's the "Everyone dies and tears all around" kind of sad, and then there's the well written kind where something sad happens, and then gets resolved over the course of the story and a happy ending.
Unfortunately there's no separate tag for "Successfully resolving valid issues" and "Everyone gets cancer".
Well, if you're okay with OC's and Twilight that's well written... I have to point to Tinkermane,
Razorbeam's been doing well recently. However I suggest you read Visionary first. Heart of a Dragon made me cry.
Umm, I haven't been able to take a look at your fav's due to typing this on an IPod. Let's see here... Perhaps, Inscape by Kwakerjack or Flight of the Alicorn, By Ponydora Prancypants.
358479
Also you might like A Beautiful Day in Equestria.
Basically a horror story that parodies bad fanfics.
I definitely understand your requirements. It's surprisingly hard to find good MLP fanfiction that has real substance and doesn't fall into tropes which completely break the characterization of the protagonists or antagonists.
To suit your tastes, I'd recommend:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11748/From-Canterlot-with-Love (The sequel to In Her Majesty's Royal Service- which presumably you've read, so you may have read this already)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/39849/Rites-of-Ascension (An alicorn Twilight story seemingly done right)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/40634/Under-A-Luminous-Sky (This is dark tagged, and is basically a murder mystery/thriller, but the dark elements are only nebulously described and serve the plot - it has an excellent Twilight and no gratuitous violence or unrealistic premises for the sake of drama)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/32500/Ponyville-Pawn-Stars (A cross with the tv show 'Pawn Stars', but involving the Mane 6 and CMC frequently and always with realistic characterization)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/18256/This-Platinum-Crown (mentioned above, also a favorite of mine)
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/41337/Twi-Hard-2%3A-Twi-Harder (a good comedy despite the name)
Okay, here we go:
The Flight of the Alicorn - This has been mentioned a few times already. It breaks the no-romance requirement, but what I can tell you is that the Adventure part of the story far outweighs the Romance. It is a bit of a Blueblood redemption fic and since I see you have The Best Night Ever on your favorites list this may be up your alley. It is excellent, and is one of my top favorite stories.
This Platinum Crown - Sequel to The Best Night Ever, not on your favorites list so linked just in case you don't know that it exists.
Tangled Up in Blues - Mild romance in parts, but is fairly minor compared to the overall story. Happens to be by the same author as the already recommended The Song of Syhlex.
Arrow 18 Mission Logs: Lone Ranger - A rare breed, one of the few HiE fics that I have listed as recommended. A first contact mission that goes well for once.
Trains, Carriages and Airships - Dash, Twilight, and AJ travelling to WonderCon. It doesn't go smoothly.
Our First Steps - Equestrian Space Program.
Hostile Takeover - Has Trixie, but she remains a terrible pony for most of the story.
Twi Hard 2: Twi Harder - Written by the author of Harpflank and Sweets.
OK, I'm running out creativity to give blurbs to the rest, just gonna go with a list:
Twilight's Best Friend
Treasure in the West
Rainbow Dash and the Treasure of Canterlot
The Fires of Friendship
Trouble Sleeping
The Fraternal Brotherhood of Mann
Regarding the recommended Duel Nature, it's enjoyable enough but I suspect it won't be your cup of tea because of how Celestia eventually treats Twilight. I could be off base about this though.
And I think that's all I can come up with at the moment. I vetted these against your favorites list so these may all be new to you.
Everyday, we get closer to the Sonic Fandom's fandic section.
All American Girl is an entertaining, if complex story, and the side stories are needed for the full picture.
The Third Generation is a good adventure story, and portrays Celestia in a positive light. Trixie does get redeemed eventually, but it takes a while and she is by no means perfect.
358246 - first of all, I am very sorry for suggesting romance stories. I just misread your list (I thought you meant romance with clop
) - please accept my apology for that.
I agree that we may have vastly different tastes, but there is one thing you seem to have missed. It's my 'black horse': The Contest. I assure you - it's not a romance, it is far from dark so I think it qualifies...
If (and only if) you like it, I may be able to recommend something but for that I will need a special permit from you because it will be the longest shot in the history of long shots, with 99.9% chances of being a large waste of time. Still - there is 0.1% chance you will find real gold.
First: Thanks for all suggestions. I won't go through them one by one, just note down the ones that aren't obviously things I should avoid or things I've already read. It is all very considerate of you.
358677
I actually don't consider Trixie a villain. She's a narcissistic jerkass, but so is Rainbow Dash, and people who get to know RD (like the viewers) actually like her. It's just that many Trixie... fans don't treat her that way when they want to make her sympathetic. I don't get as angry with people who treat her as Victor von Doom instead, but I facepalm a lot. That's about as stupid.
I'm not going to actively put any writing on hiatus. It's more the risk that if I drop out of the stimuli I get from the fandom, I'll get disenchanted and never finish it. I do that a lot.
358922
But I liked Fallout Equestria as well (the first story). It's like broccoli; I don't mind broccoli, but if it's what the restaurant serves every day, I'm gonna bring a packed lunch to work and not go out to eat.
I must admit Banishment Decree gets a pass partially out of vanity: the author is a fan of me.
358515
Any more concrete suggestions for painting the house? A group seems to have some potential, but making "The group for stuff sieurin can stand" makes me feel like Christian Weston Chandler...
359142
Thanks - I'll be ever so grateful!
359217
IIRC, Tragedy is "this won't end well" while Sad is when it makes you cry. I'm wary of either right now.
359628
Thanks. Now I can avoid it, and its author.
359640
This is always a sign of a bad author. Thanks for warning me. Everything about that fic suggested I wouldn't enjoy it, and now I will avoid it completely.
359898
Apology accepted.
That's how it is for me now that I click on a fic on this site anyway, even after considering all the signs, but shoot!
359972 - this is the most unorthodox thing I've ever recommended here. I would humbly ask that you put this at the very end of your queue of fics to try and use this recommendation only when all other proposals fail to impress you.
Take a look at this group recommendations. As I said, the chances of you finding anything good are very slim, but... maybe....
I must warn you beforehand: I did not read most of them, the ones I tried did not 'click' with me (with one notable exception - guess, which one :)) but since our interests are so vastly different, those might just do the trick for you.
359972
Well, you don't need to call it that, of course, but you can make it so that only the kind of stories you enjoy are added to it. There's nothing wrong with that. From what I understand (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), you prefer stories that don't contradict or mess up the established canon of the show, but rather follow the canon and expand upon it (like you did in "Under the Northern Lights", you took the show and build a world from it).
You could make a group under that monicker, and every story contributed has to fit that description. It has to follow the show's canon or expand upon it. So no "Discord is a nice guy but Celestia made him evil!" or "Night Mare Moon just wanted to free ponies from Celestia's tyranny and install democracy!" kind of nonsense (seriously, where do people get this stuff? Lauren Faust herself confirmed that Night Mare Moon was evil and that if she had won her rule would have been an evil one), no whitewashing the badguys or demonizing the good guys. These regulations still allow for a large spectrum of genres and stories: romance, adventure, sad, happy, clop, slice of life, anything really. Everything goes, as long as you can read it and say "yeah, this could happen in the show" or "yeah, this would be possible within the show's Equestria".
Or, if you just want stories that can cheer you up, like you asked for here, you could make a group for that and allow only in-canon or canon-expanding comedies, adventure, slice of life stuff, maybe some sad, but no tragedy or dark or gore, for example. If you just want adventure, or world-building stories, that's a possibility, too. It all depends on what would make you feel the best and most happy. There are many possibilities, and from what I've seen of groups, there aren't any real limits either, and you could start a group about anything (as long as it's within the site's rules, of course).
You could start "H.A.P.P.Y. : group for Humorous And Pleasant Pony Yarns" or something like that. I'd give more name suggestions, but I suck at making witty acronyms.
The Sun Whispers Your Name
Tales of the Winter Magic Academy
The Perfect Night Sky
Twilight's Tiny Trouble
Arranged Disaster
Woah, I missed a lot. Sorry for not reading through all the comments and as such probably repeating few things that were already said.
first of all, I totally agree with you, 99.9% of fanfiction is pure distilled crap and that's why I felt my stomach freezing when you said you might put Northern Lights on hold- that's the 0.1% that is worth reading.
Dark fics done right are rare, really rare I managed to find a few, one in particular that I find extremely entertaining, well written and with at least as much work put into details of the world as you put into Northern lights, but even it suffers a little from the things you said, and it’s rather dark and has Celestia, if not outright evil, than misguided so I won't suggest it. I'm not a huge fanfiction reader myself. I don't have time for it. I follow fanfictions and authors I like, so I don't have any suggestions for you... maybe http://www.fimfiction.net/story/22329/Pinkie-Watches-Paint-Dry - a short one that captures what happens in Pinkie's head.
So yeah, I don't know what else I could say. I hope you won't stop writing the story (or even stories) because you're the spark of light in the swamp that is MLP fanfiction
also, screw this site, I found you on fanfiction.net and I have nothing against you posting your stories there :D
360208
I thank you for your help, and I see what you're saying, but I still forsee trouble unless I'm very careful. For instance, most people who are Luna-worshippers considers their view of her canon, no matter what Lauren Faust or anyone says. Hence, they'd have no problem posting a fic that's clearly non-canon to me, without the slightest malice. I've been the admin of groups in places like deviantArt, and its amazing what people will post; things like a group for dinosaurs, and people would post dragons and vaguely reptilian Pokemon... Or look at my angry rant here: people ended up suggesting exactly what I asked them to avoid, despite being wellmeaning and as far I can tell sensible people. In some cases I think people meant to suggest GOOD fics, since I'd complained about the fics, ignoring that it was primarily the KIND of fic I was
worriedincensed about...So either I'm sitting there vetoing every fic (which means I should really read them, when I'm trying to avoid that), or I have to write an absurdly detailed description of "sieurin's headcanon", and in either case I'm getting silly. If I am to try to use a club as some sort of... sieve to still find valuable reading, I must be very careful in design of its mission statement. Else I risk ending up failing to reach the object of doing the work in the first place, or I risk treating people unfairly and being even more of a douche than usual.
I'll consider your suggestions very carefully, because there is potential there, though.
362607
Will take a look. I'm plowing through all the suggestions now, with varying amount of success. Thanks!
364956
Thanks for the support. However, note that the main problem for me isn't so much that fanfic is written by, well, fans and sucks, such as that the most popular themes and genres are such that I to an increasing degree find not so much bad as inducing rage, sadness or hopelessness in me. I've gotten seriously oversensitive to them, which disturbs my overall enjoyment of the fandom.
And again, while I'm very happy that people like my writing, that's not really my problem. Yes, of course I'd love to be more popular, I'm shameless like that. It's not like 41 chapters at one gazillion words have made any impact on rec and review threads, other fanfics (except Banishment Decree - whoohoo!), other people's fanon etc in any perceptible way, and of course I'd like if that wasn't true, but that's not the point. I'm quite happy anyway. I remember having 10 upvotes, and then one day suddenly having 13! I've almost as much support for a short fic where Twilight talks about her sex life as I have for UtNL, so if I only did this for fame, I wouldn't be at 41 chapters.
My problem is, like I said, that I'm not finding this site any fun. And I'm doing this for fun.
OK, jumping up and down on the bandwagon kind of late, but...
Of Muffins And Tales
A really cute Dinky one-shot.
A Brief History of Equestria
A "what really happened"-story concerning the events of the Heart's Warming Eve play, written in the style of a historical essay. Very nice canon expansion, and a highly enjoyable read.
A Slice of Life
Wooooo, boy. Let's put it this way. I read a lot. I finish two or three full-length novels in an average week. Four authors have had me laughing out loud while I'm reading, Jim Butcher, Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, and this person. There might be a few too many aspects of questionable canonicity for your palate, but I think you should give the first chapter a go-see at least.
368706
I was gonna say that your post made me even sadder, but that would imply you intended to sadden me. So: I became sadder - and felt more hopeless - after reading your post, whereas I'm sure you only intended to be nice. This is about my reactions, not what you did.
A Slice of Life: Okay, I respect that you might have missed that I've already had it recommended to me earlier in the thread, and that I answered that I tried and didn't follow because it was unfunny (Pratchett?! What?!). But I asked - perhaps not politely or clearly enough - to not suggest things I'd told you I disliked, made me sad and angry even, with the caveat "but this is different!" Since "There might be a few too many aspects of questionable canonicity for your palate" really means "This is crowd-pleasing Celestia-bashing" this fic fits. Sorry.
See, since I'm sure you're a nice and sensible person, I can't see this as anything else than me being so completely not fitting in here, that people suggest things they like, even when I have said I dislike it, because its impossible than anyone could dislike this! I shouldn't be here. I really shouldn't be in this fandom!
Wow.... I'm truly sorry you feel that way, and for anything I did to contribute to it.
I completely missed that you'd already turned down "A Slice of Life", and I'm sorry my recommendation came across the way it did. I would like to state that it was never my intent to cause you that kind of grief, but you seem to be a gentle and understanding soul, and you know that already.
If you decide to leave, and I dearly hope you don't, I wish you luck in finding another corner of the fandom where you feel more at home.
Best wishes.
370048
Well, I'm petty sure you intended very well. It's me who reacts to things, not you who act.
I'm a bit edgy right now, and hence unneccesarily acerbic, but I'm completely certain the majority of people who like this stuff I hate are perfectly decent guys, we just have 180 degree different tastes. (There are a few, sometimes popular, fics which I feel have vibes that are actually... morally wrong, not just written in a genre I dislike, but they are in the minority.)
Thank you for looking at intent as well as execution, and don't feel bad for snapping a bit. Everyone has a bad day every now and again, and I did give you good reasons to snap.
369289
Hold. Stop. Don't think that way. I dunno if it's the result of how you're feeling at the moment, but don't start thinking that way. You're not alone. The fandom is large, and I am sure there are plenty of people who share your interests and likes and preferences. The key is finding them, that's all. And trust me, I do know how you feel, because I've felt like you did before as well. Sometimes I felt like I was alone in this fandom as well. But that's just our imagination. This site alone has who-knows how many members. It's impossible that amongst them there isn't anyone who doesn't share your interests. I looked around, found stories I liked and authors who seemed to have a lot of the same interests as me. One of them was you, actually (and I'm not saying this to be slimey, it just happens to be the case ^^" ). If a hopeless pessimist like me can find a place where he belongs in this fandom, I don't see why you couldn't.