Story contest: Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? (1/19/22 -- 4/1/22) · 7:26pm Jan 19th, 2022
There's a lot of ways we could describe MLP. A passion. A casual interest. The reason why most of us are here and yes, I said most. But ultimately, it's a cartoon. Animation. Still images which change slightly from frame to frame, creating the illusion of movement. And in that, it's one among many. One more example of an art that's been around for over a century. And some of the writers on this site like to take that cartoon and cross it over with other properties.
All I'm doing is giving you a direction. If you want to enter this contest, then you'll have an extensive choice of IPs to cross over with. Extensive, and... if you do it right, if you're trying to win -- maybe just a little... looney.
Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? story contest
This contest is for writers who want to find out what happens when our crew interacts with classic cartoon characters -- but not every character is on the board. Your choices are limited by time and theme.
Da Rules
* Writers wishing to enter the contest must be willing and able to submit a physical mailing address. The prize is a tangible item and must be sent through the postal system. If you can't receive a package, even through a mail drop, don't participate.
* Each writer is limited to one contest entry, which must be labeled in the story's long description with 'For the Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? contest'. This story must then be submitted by the author into the contest folder.
* Any story entered into the contest must be a crossover between MLP and at least one classic cartoon character (and must use the Crossover tag accordingly). Ideally, the interaction between personalities should be a primary focus of the story.
* You are limited in your choice of incoming character(s) in the following ways. Either:
** The animated character must have debuted in a cartoon with a copyright date of no later than 1947.
** The animated character in question appeared, even as a brief cameo, in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I'm providing a list of all such appearances for your convenience.
If the character does not qualify for at least one of those criteria, then the character is disallowed and your story will not be accepted as a contest entry.
Example: While the character of Marvin The Martin officially debuted in 1948, he appears in the movie and can be used. For Animaniacs, the history of the Warner Brothers (And Sister!) has them initially showing up in the 30s -- but the actual copyright date is 1993, so they're out. Cuphead may have that Great Depression look to him, but he's a little too young to qualify. And naturally, any toon character who first appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is eligible for use.
You are not limited to Disney or Warner Brothers productions. Want to go Out Of The Inkwell? Not a problem. The Fleischer studios? Go ahead. Leaving the borders of the States to check out some obscure European characters? At your discretion. Just be ready to link into a handy page for anyone who needs to check your references.
* Character depictions must be consistent with their cartoon personalities and animated portrayals of that era. Do the research. Why? Because it's good for the story. Also, it's an excuse to watch some cartoons.
** I am aware that the 1941 Superman releases are eligible here. That means that if you pull out the cape, it had better be the Fleischer incarnation. Fedora included.
* All characters must be themselves. By which I mean that if you try to pull off 'I went to a convention dressed as Porky Pig and met this merchant'? You are out. With prejudice. And if you dress up your OC in a rabbit costume and call him Bugs, we are going to be very unhappy.
* Contest entries must be Complete at the time of submission, and no longer than 12,000 words. If you have the sort of brilliant idea which can easily lead into a six-digit epic, I understand. We just need a story of 12K max to get you entered. You can launch the epic after we're done.
* All stories should work as standalones: the reader should be able to go in with little to no prior knowledge of the setting and characters, learning along the way.
* No Mature stories. All entries must be rated Everyone or Teen.
* The following tags and genres may not be used. Doing so is a disqualification.
Equestria Girls (and characters exclusive to that franchise) You are limited to G4 and G5. At most, you can casually mention that EQG exists.
Human Humanoid toons are fine. Actual human beings are prohibited.
Gore No intestines, please.
Death They're toons, Doc!
Non-Consensual Completely against the spirit of the times and the competition.
Anthology You get one story.
Anon
Self-Insert, Second-Person This is literally not about you.
Anthro Unless you can find an anthro toon from that era. But anthro ponies are out.
Porn Everyone or Teen, remember?
* However, these tags and genres are not an automatic out.
Violence I'm sorry: you expected me to ban good old-fashioned cartoon violence? We're just closing out gore. Violence is fine. Bring out the mallets!
Sex & Fetish With caution, within limits. Let's face it: if Bugs is on the scene, then there's a good chance that someone's gonna crossdress. The classic cartoons frequently had some wink-and-nudge adult humor lurking in the background -- at least, when it wasn't taking center stage. You can't have a sex scene, but you can certainly allow your characters to be a little raunchy. And let's also face it: with Jessica Rabbit as an eligible character, outright banning those two tags would be its own sin. So yes, you can use those tags -- very, very carefully. We'll let you know if you crossed the line. Through violence.
Suicide/Self-Harm May be invoked as dark comedy. The cartoons of the era were not shy about letting characters high-dive from tall buildings into a concrete ocean. You can't actually kill anyone, but a comedic "Goodbye, cruel world!" does not get you removed.
Narcotics Similarly, we've caught a few of them drinking. Usually just before the cruel world bit.
Horror, Dark, Drama, Sad, Tragedy Have you seen some of this stuff? Use with caution -- but if you think you can make it work...
Alternate Universe Keep in mind that all stories must work as standalone entries. If you've established a personal pony setting and can make it work within this contest and context alike, then it has to work for a new reader. Using 8,000 words of your limit to explain why your OC is currently Princess Of Industrial Sabotage is going to be an issue.
* Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on April 1st, 2022. Results will be announced on April 22nd.
Never-Asked Questions
Is this real?
'fraid so.
Can I work with another writer?
Sure, but there's only one prize. Also, if you team up with someone, that counts as the single entry for both of you. You can't double-dip through submitting one story by yourself and another with a partner.
Why the copyright cutoff date?
It's the year in which Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is set.
Hey, Estee... um... remember that time when I downvoted your entire story catalog because my mental image of Twilight is taller than the one you described and you had to pay?
Sure do!
How can I expect you to judge my story fairly after that?
That's easy, imaginary person: because I'm not the one doing the judging! I have three roles in this contest: preparation, launch, and mailing out the prize. When it comes to the judging? There's a panel of five, and I'm not on it.
...so who is on the panel?
FanOfMostEverything! Knows every character!
Masterweaver! Completely insane, but in a way which actually helps here!
Dawnbreez! Overthrows governments in their spare time and judging means they have less of it!
Tipper! In a different time zone and can read the night entries!
CCC! Creates a panel with an odd number of judges!
So you're really out of it? My open hostility towards you won't affect my chances?
Once this contest blog goes up, I just host the judge's discussion room in my Discord server. And once we have a winner, I mail the package. That's it. You're safe. And I'm certain that the local authorities will be unable to link your mysterious death to any prize received.
What are the judging criteria?
Quality of story, characterization, skill, possibly faithfulness to the source material and the spirit thereof. And yes, they're going to take points off for bad grammar. Among other things. If you can't be bothered to check over your own work, then the panel isn't going to let you win.
Can I send bribes?
Sure. But only to me. It won't actually accomplish anything or have a single effect on the results, but you do you. And I'll do something with your money.
If someone else takes a toon before my story is published, can I still use that character?
Yes. This isn't one-and-done on character choices. We could get no stories with Daffy, or we might see six.
How am I supposed to get the character into Equestria in twelve thousand words?
And who said you were limited to Equestria? They're toons, Doc!
Princess Celestia and Daisy Duck get together at the studio commissary once a week to talk about work. Luna crashes a Disney Princess meeting, at least for the 1947-on-back crew. Scrooge and Daring Do wind up going after the same artifact. Opal? Black paint in her fur, and here comes a skunk. Duck Season? Rabbit Season? No, Pony Season! Did you know Popeye's been running on earth pony-grown spinach this whole time? Rarity would drop by to meet him, but she's busy repairing Jessica's dress. And remember the pegasi in Fantasia? New colt in town! Oswald vs. Angel Bunny? Let's see how long his luck really holds out. Between Foghorn and Applejack, who's less comprehensible and more Southern? And seriously: you can't find a reason to pair Rainbow and Speedy?
What do you want to do?
Besides, Bugs can always just miss that left turn at Albuquerque.
...did you just throw a bunch of ideas into the open?
And you may feel free to use any of them. But I did hold onto one concept. I can't enter my own contest, but I want to publish a just-for-fun story after it's done.
So what's the prize?
Currently, we just have one.
(There's a very small chance this might change, but it would have to come from outside sponsorship: as such, I'm going to proceed as if this is the only prize available. But if someone wants to sponsor extra prizes, just let me know.)
The person chosen by the judging panel as the winner will receive this:
May the best story win.
I may be tempted to join just because the prompt is so interesting. No guarantees, though.
Peripherally related: Wile E. Coyote Best Tune
Don't @ me, bro.
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Note Just For Paul: Wile E. appears in the group shot at the end of the movie. So despite his initial copyright date being 1949, he is eligible for participation.
We have a few cases like that, which is why I made sure to link the cameo list. Just consider him to have been trapped in Development Hell on that first project for a while.
Rats no Popeye then. I need to see if if there are any surviving original Betty Boop cartoons, I’m them she was an anthro dog.
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Popeye's animated debut was in 1933. He is eligible.
5629097
Huh. Good to know, thanks!
Not sure if I'd ever write a story involving him, but it would be an entertaining challenge to write him in just for the sake of a character who only communicates through facial expressions and hammerspace-sourced signs (yeah, he's talked before, but this is more fun).
I look forward to seeing what wonders (and horrors) await. Best of luck to all entries!
Well, there goes my first thought of a beleaguered and bemused Sunset Shimmer getting increasingly annoyed by The Dover Boys.
My second thought and a quick foray into Wikipedia reveals that Goofy's "How To..." animations were already a thing in that time period.
Epiphany edit: Wait, you said G4 and G5. I can pair him up with Sprout and Hitch.
If you want to get silly, "Swing You Sinners!" is 1930 so get juxtaposing. If you don't want to get silly, why would you enter this contest?
It would almost be a crime against cartoonanity if a ghost running a YouTube channel called Cartoon Karma (you're looking at his handsome mug
) DIDN'T at least try to do something for this. Despite my general aversion to crossovers. If there's one thing that can get me past that, it's a property built for it.
Plus, the world could always use some more Golden Age cartoon characters.
I remember reading one fic set in the world of Who Framed Roger Rabbit about Valiant's son/descendant being hired to find Twilight Sparkle, who was going through a mental crisis following becoming a Princess or something. It was pretty good! Must dig that up again sometime.
5629158
Huh. I shouldn't be surprised that someone's already tried bringing the two franchises together: if a crossover can exist, then it potentially does. But that's an interesting angle.
If you want to promote the contest on your channel, that's at your discretion. Promoting your entry does the same thing as bribes: when it comes to the actual judging panel, the effect works out to 'absolutely nothing' -- but hey, extra page views! Can't turn those down!
Please forgive my need for utter clarity here...but does this mean I must not put two or more eligible (pre-1948 or "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?") characters into one contest story? I do not want to use "The Merchant," but I can see wanting Mickey and Minnie Mouse to be together.
5629158
I believe this is the story in question.
- MLP: FiM
- Drama
Twilight Sparkle goes missing. Ted Valiant, son of famed private eye Eddie Valiant, is tasked to find her.5629107
Good to know.
5629168
You may use multiple eligible characters.
I am dreading the entry which decides to use a 30s incarnation of The Nephews.
They said they were sorry, Unca Donald.
They lied.
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Heh, promoting wasn't what I meant. I haven't been active for over a year, and my subs were both small and, by and large, NOT big for either classics cartoons or MLP. Just brought it up as part of the name joke for myself. I realise now that as I'm not a regular commentator on your posts, it might have lacked context and been a bit confusing.
Make no mistakes, though, Estee, this is an absolute banger of a contest! Regardless if whether I manage to scribble up anything, I'm looking very forward to reading the silliness that's bound to ensue.
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That's the one! Had a feeling it was by an older, big author Though it's one of his most recent works, being six years old right around this contest's deadline. Now I'm tempted to read it again.
And if more people here find it, all the better.
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As I read it, you're allowed to put two or more eligible characters into the story; they just have to be themselves, not an edit, self-insert, displacee, or OC-in-a-costume. You can have both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, but you can't have your OC be cursed into the form of Mickey.
I probably won't have time to actually enter this, but you have sparked a weird idea into my head.
Is there a lower word limit? Like does it have to be over a certain word count?
Also, while I understand that the main characters must fit those time frame criteria, do ALL cartoon characters have to fit those criteria?
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As the story must be posted on the site, minimum word count would be 1000.
You may not bring in 1948-2021 non-MLP cartoon characters into your story. Not even as cameos.
Because I'm the living incarnation of evil, that's why.
Most Cringeworthy
Inky & the myna bird
Some of the WWII propaganda cartoons.
Fortunately, No Humans Allowed.
Still leaves the gremlin, one of the few characters to ever beat Bugs.
Are post 1948 versions of characters allowed? Such as 2020 Donald Duck or Scrooge or original duck tales cartoon Donald?
5629230
As suggested in the rules, the preference is to keep characters close to their classic incarnations.
There is a place in the world for 'Bugs Bunny, Daffy's long-suffering roommate,' because that show has some quality. But this contest is not it.
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I feel the need to point out that human-shaped Toons are allowed. That means Yosemite Sam and Granny are permitted.
And yes, that does mean the Nazi caricatures from the WWII propaganda cartoons are allowed. It should go without saying that those guys are hazardous material, but I feel the need to say it for the benefit of anybody who's listening.
Edit: Just to be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR, I will be paying very close attention to what you all write, and if someone tries to pull any funny business with the wacky German caricatures, I will see to it that they're removed from the contest. Again, I'd think this sort of thing is obvious, but it's better to put these things into the record so that nobody is confused.
I'm looking forward to the results of this.
Are these desplased ideas werk? (I am just throwing these ideas out.)
Someone dressed as Bugs Bunny buys a Daffy Duck doll from the Merchent. This allows the stander Daffy to interact with the pones and the despased.
Who said it had to be a human? Micky Mouse dresses as Dontay from Devel May Cry, becoming a Micky/Dontay hybrid.
Who said the toon has to change? Ex: Popeye buys a Thousand Sunny modal from the Merchent.
(I apologize for any misspellings.)
5629304
The results of your three suggestions are as follows:
Disqualified.
Disqualified.
And disqualified.
If it looks like Displaced, crawls in its own slime like Displaced, and stinks on ice like Displaced, it has no place in the contest. In all cases, you are trying to put someone else in the character's skin, and that has been specifically prohibited. You lose. You triple-lose. You fail both contest entry and life forever. At no point in your rambling, incoherent query were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational story concept. Everyone in this blog is now dumber for having read it. I award you no steelbook, and may God show a total absence of mercy on your lack of soul.
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Look on the bright side.
Now we have an excellent example of why Displacement is against the rules.
Hm, how about some of the neglected and quickly tossed characters of WWII:
Private Snafu
Barney Bear
Popeye (the fighting sailor)
>cracks knuckles<
"Let's get dangerous!"
Edit: Yes, yes...I know...
5629309
The transformation argument applies to the first two not the third. In fact, if a person/toon is transformed, they are disqualified from my example. Heck the item serves only as a "ticket".
It is more closely related to toon/Popeye in Equestria, a lab accident sending him to Equestria, or something like this:
Popeye finds a cave on a small island.
He goes threw the cave.
He finds himself in Equestria.
He turns around to see the cave has disappeared.
Basically it's a cheep way to put Popeye in Equestria.
The only difference between the end results of the examples is that in one Popeye owns the Thousand Sunny. That means that he could do anything to it; including changing, selling, abandoning, and/or destroying it.
The item in of itself is UNIMPORTANT. Popeye could by a model of one of his own ships; a pipe to replace the one that just broke; a pen that has his name or face on it.
Heck it could be used as the beginnings of the shenanigans. An example story outline:
Popeye meets the Merchant.
He sees thru the Merchant (wouldn't be the first time something like this happened), and, maybe, give him a spenage empowered beat down (the only why he can).
Lets face it, Popeye loves adventures. So he haggles for a two way ticket.
He runes into Daring Do.
He basically explains that he is a toon looking for adventure. (Note: Toons exist in Daring's world; it's just that they are not real.)
They team up to find a beautiful yet powerful necklace.
They find it, but a villein got to it first, and used it to wipe the floor with them.
Popeye finds a can of spenage in Daring's satale bag.
He feeds it to Daring. Who then gives the villein a spenage empowered beat down.
They say their good byes and Popeye returns home.
Is this the best example? NO. Is it the best one I can make? YES. Did I shorten it at the end? YES.
It doesn't have to be the Merchant. It can be the Travel Agent.
Travel Agent-"For $X I will temperately displace you to an Equestria of your choice for a two week vacation."
Popeye-"I'll take two tickets."
Travel Agent-"Where to?"
Popeye-"My gale whats to cuttale some pones."
I feel I must stress this: For it to count, the toon MUST NOT CHANGE IN ANY WAY. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
All the examples I made with Popeye are Popeye the Sailor Man in Equestria. NOT some guy turned into Popeye the Sailor Man in Equestria, Popeye the Sailor Man as a Straw Hat in Equestria, NOR Popeye the Sailor Man changed in any way in Equestria.
Is there a limit to how many characters can be used? (Example being like with the Princess Luna idea haha)
5629394
You are now banned from entering the contest.
You have also been blocked.
Any stories posted by another which follow your suggestions will be removed. Any alt account you wished to use, anyone you were going to get doing it for you -- that's all gone.
You are demonstrating visible troll behavior. You're seemingly looking for nothing more than the dubious pleasure of triggering someone. Because a rule exists and that's offensive, so you're just going to play around until you can find some way of breaking it. I doubt you had any intent of entering at all, not personally. But making sure nothing could go ahead as planned, while trying to stir sewage into the waters? That's just fun.
So -- you don't get to go ahead with your dubious little plan.
I think that's fun.
Goodbye.
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No, but every character used has to fit the listed criteria. Also, you've only got twelve thousand words to play with. Consider how much you're juggling, and whether you'll be able to give sufficient attention to every part of a large cast. Go too far and all you'll have space for is a credits list.
Many of us have seen mega-crossover stories go through the New column. The long description can consist of two thousand breathless words about just who the author is bringing in, where they're from and, on a really bad day, the first chapter will become a stats block. Powers and equipment.
You rarely see a second chapter.
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Makes sense! :) Just wanted to make sure as I have two characters in mind, haha.
Another prompt, based on the "how do I get them to Equestria bit": make it a plot point. Spoilers because this is the sort of idea that needs to hide the fact that it's a contest entry in the post-chapter Author's Note: There's a new stallion in town and Twilight is tearing her mane out trying to figure out what the
is going on. He'll grow hands and human feet at the drop of a hat (to pick it back up), and trying to ask him for answers is an exercise in futility because he refuses to do more than neigh. When the author feels that Twi has suffered enough Toon Shenanigans©, have him drop by Sugarcube Corner and have Pinkie Pie explain everything to the reader and less than nothing to the characters with a single line referring to him as Horace (he'd been unnamed up to this point for fairly obvious reasons).
Yup, the actual original inspiration was the specific wording of the Anthro tag being banned followed by looking up a character I only knew about from KH2 and finding out that he was slightly more interesting than I thought.
Cartoon personalities and portrayals must be consistent with that era, but does this include jokes/references?
For example, would having Daffy Duck make a joke about Space Jam(s) go against the spirit of the contest just due to him knowing about the movies, or can they reference their modern filmography (which does play in the era that the other half of this crossover takes place) as long as their behavior/personality while making the joke stays consistent with their classic depictions?
Crossovers are my specialty, and I did think of a silly crossover about Bugs some lengthy time ago. I'm a fan of Chuck Jones' directing of the Looney Tunes, so his Bugs won't be a problem for me to imitate. Just need to think of some shinanigans, some kind of a conclusion, and find an enticing reason for me to enter.
*Eyes Estee*
Roughly around 2.5k followers... promise to spread the word of my tale if I become victor and I'll aim to bring you a story involving Bugs meeting the Great and Powerful, Trixie.
So a story about Eddie Valiant investigating a case in Equestria would be off the table, right?
You could get some great material involving him and Detective Rarity investigating a case together.
Love Pepe Le Pew!
So I've finished my entry and posted it. Hope everyone likes it.
I was so hyped to see Bullwinkle J. Moose
terrorizehelp the natives, but he is not even eligible. Better luck next time I suppose!Would the classic WWIII era Superman cartoons be allowed?
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No, because World War III is scheduled to start in two weeks.
But If you're looking for the Fleischers, those were given as an example of something permitted in the rules. You would just have to use the studio's interpretation of the character for that era.
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Sorry that was a typo. I meant WWII
5633170
I know. But it was one of those typos which was too good to pass up.
5633169
I get what your saying. Superman would have to be the good old "up, up, and away!" version. As for just HOW the man of steel would end up in equestria I'm still trying come up with a way. Perhaps an experimental device malfunctioning or something.
So, would Casper the Friendly Ghost not qualify for this contest?
5633360
He's fine, actually. First animated short debuted in 1945.
Yo. Thanks for making this so long. I just found out about this and that I have TIME to enter!
Right before I read the rules, I thought: OOH, I'll have the ponies meet characters from Undertale, Cuphead, Bendy, and Fnaf, (all franchises as fun, happy, old-timey comics/cartoons,) and have them meet the ponies, then - Oh...just cartoons, no games. And they have to be retro. (Then I read the rest of the rules.) But Bendy and Cuphea- The franchises I mentioned except (Undertale) may have characters SET in the good ol' days, but the games were not MADE in the 1940s anyway. (After I finished reading the rules and was choosing a character) Also: a year limit. Umm...hmm...so many characters to choose from, but I want a simple story with one character, as well as one I like on its own. I also wanted the personality chemistry to only really match up with a specific pony. Hmm... THAT'S IT! Alice in Wonderland CHESHIRE CAT! *Checks when the AIW movie was made*...1951, NOT 1947...The original franchise was released in 1865, though, and since the Cat was in the Who framed Roger Rabbit movie, I should be fine. Right...RIGHT?!
Those were my thoughts before and after reading the rules, LOL. Is Chesire Cat OK?
...
Is a story where a pony finds themself in the cartoon world or the character's world from Equestria acceptable? It probably is; just checking.
"Never-asked questions," LOL.
"Luna crashes a Disney Princess meeting, at least for the 1947-on-back crew." HAHAHAHA. Wait, which princesses WERE part of the 1947 crew?
(Thank you and have a great week!)
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The Cheshire Cat does have a cameo in the movie and may be used. (See the linked list)
Setting is your choice -- but it's not MLP, then it should likely be character-appropriate.