Confetti Cake on Speed Dial · 4:57am Oct 25th, 2023
When I got back into My Little Pony in September of last year, I was very adamant that I would not, under any circumstances, write fanfiction for it.
(I joined this website one year ago today.* This website’s got “fic” in the title. The irony of this is not lost on me.)
I think that part of it was embarrassment. Which is silly when you really think about it, because in 2018 I was stuck in the trenches of the My Hero Academia fandom. Yes, My Hero Academia. I mean, I wrote Villain!Deku fic. That’s the sort of thing that should be embarrassing**—and maybe it is, a little bit, because I really don’t think it’s aged that well—but the point is, I was in deep. And that’s what scared me about watching MLP again—I felt like if I got sucked into it, I’d want to write fic for it. And if I wanted to write fic for something, then there was no escaping it. It would become the only thing I’d think about. It would be like 2018 again, only this time, it would be ponies that would consume me entirely, and not, you know, teenage superheroes.
Before this so-called renaissance, I’d already been in a bit of a writing funk. So, naturally, as I started rewatching G4 and getting to all the episodes I hadn’t seen—I was “too old” for FiM by the end of season five, and the last piece of EqG media I saw was Friendship Games***—I began to get ideas. Ideas that had the potential to get me out of said funk.
But I still wouldn’t write fic, I reasoned. I’d just read it.
So, I hopped onto the well-trodden grounds of AO3 and found the fandom tag for “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” Clicked on it. Scrolled through the results. Was very disappointed in what I found. Questioned the dearth of content for a show that had, at the time, been out twelve years. Read one fic that had Starlight Glimmer in it, because Starlight Glimmer is cool. Saw that it was a rewrite of someone else’s fic, on a different, unfamiliar site. Clicked on that link.
Got transported to an utterly alien world.
Short descriptions? Long descriptions? What is the difference between the two? There’s a Feature Box? Stories need to be approved? By who? BBCode growls at me every time I try to do things with it, where is the familiar embrace of HTML? Why are chatfics illegal? What is LUS? Who is Anon???
I could talk at length about the things I prefer between Fimfiction and AO3, but maybe that’s a blog for another day. To me, the main difference between Fimfiction and AO3 is that Fimfiction is a social site. AO3, by design, is not.
Because on Fimfiction, you can PM other users. You can leave comments on people’s user pages. You can blog! On AO3, the only way to communicate with other users is through comments on a fic. That’s it. And maybe through notes left on a bookmarked fic, but that’s a weird spot for conversation and I’ve never seen anybody do that.
Because AO3 is an archive. It exists for the purpose of—you guessed it—archiving transformative works. There’s no PM feature, no blogging system. You can paste links into your bio for people to follow you elsewhere, but I never did. And that’s how I existed in fandom for a long while. I’d post stories on AO3, reply to the comments people left, read others’ stories, post comments on that, and nothing else. I had a Tumblr account (and I still do!) where I’d reblog fanart and whatnot, but the username didn’t match my AO3 handle and I never even made an effort to connect the pair in any meaningful way. Through this lens, it might seem a bit lonely. But then I get to Fimfiction. And I write fic. Post it. And it is just a totally different experience.
People read my stories! People have read the stories that I have written and left comments! And reviews?!?? I have gotten reviews?? Contests! There are contests here! I've entered in contests on here! And I've placed in them!?!? I have been able to meet some very kind people through the power of the Interwebs. How wild and wonderful is that? I've written fic about My Little Pony. And I'm so very glad that I did.
I think the version of myself that made this account a year ago would be very surprised that to hear they're writing this blog post now. I mean, I've even started collecting G1 ponies! I’m not a hardcore collector or anything, so ponies like Mimic or Munchy who can cost upwards of $200 USD secondhand**** aren’t quite who I have my eyes set on, but I treat my humble collection as my own babies regardless.
(Not to make anyone feel like their ponies are lesser or inferior, but I guarantee that mine are the prettiest little ponies. Sorry you had to find out this way.)
In the meantime, just as a treat, since this is an anniversary and anniversaries so often have fun things attached to them, I do have some WIPs I hope to post soon. I have a little Posey fic in the works, inspired by MYM Chapter 5. It’s spooky, so I’d like to get it up before Halloween, but if not, there’s plenty of room for spooks in November. I also hope to enter the Imposing Sovereigns contest. I always seem to jump back and forth on ideas for contests, but I think I’ve landed on one, and I am very excited about it. It is utterly ridiculous. Though I need to look up how pirates talk.
My other drafts are too numerous to name, but rest assured that they all have enthralling and evocative names like “dried up journalism on a cloud kebab” and “equestrian thespian pedestrian” and, my personal favorite, “Untitled document.” Often, I will sleep with them under my pillow and hope that one night, the fanfiction fairy will come and replace them with complete works. She’s very picky but I think soon I shall fall under her good graces.
(It’ll happen soon. I’m sure of it.)
All goofs and gaffs aside, thank you for taking the time to read my stories (and this blog!). This is trite to say, but I’ll say it anyway, because it’s totally true: I had no idea what to expect from this site. I wasn’t sure if people would even like what I wrote. I was half-surprised there were even people to read my fic. I think I was under the impression that the fandom had slumped after FiM ended and never recovered in the wake of G5. It’s comforting to know that hasn’t been the case.
Here’s to another year of horsewords, be they written or unwritten! Right or wrong! Friendship or magic! Neighhhh!
<3lessons
*My user page says the 25th, but I actually joined on the 24th. It was close to midnight, though, so I think the site just counted it as the next day. But make no mistake—my true Fimfic-versary is today, October 24, at just before midnight. (I got the verification email at 11:34 PM exactly. c:)
**Disclaimer: I intend no ill will to BNHA enjoyers, because I would not have written that Villain!Deku fic if I did not enjoy the anime. I just don’t think some of my writing from that period of time is the best. Still, you can say all you want about the fandom or the show or whatever, but the AO3 authors were absolutely fantastic. I remember PitViperofDoom’s Yesterday Upon the Stair and feel like crying because it was that good.
***Do not ask me how many times I have seen Friendship Games because A) I won’t know the answer and B) it’ll be a number bigger than twenty.
****A relevant, but long tangent: I hate, hate, hate websites that say, “OMG L00K this children’s toy from the 80’s is worth 5thousand dollarz now!!!!” because they’re never fucking right. The articles will single out, like, pristine, MIB/MOC pony listings and slap obscenely high numbers on the page like they’re the standard price! OBVIOUSLY IF IT’S MIB/MOC IT’S GOING TO BE WORTH MORE. JESUS.
I saw one article that said Medley was rare and worth $925 USD. Medley! What! Where are you getting this information because I almost feel sorry for you, it is so incorrect. Like, I can dispute that faster just by searching up “Medley MLP” on eBay. (A Buy-It-Now listing has her priced at $5 USD. Granted, she looks very well-loved and has rustbutt, but still. Even a mint pony shouldn’t cost you almost one thousand dollars.)
Like, it's the same with American Girl dolls! And probably literally any other collectible thing out there! I am so sorry Random Doll eBay Seller, but your tan-body silver-eyed loose-limbed 2006 Kirsten Larson doll is not worth $1500 USD, and if you keep saying that, I will start eating the carpet. Unless she’s got the fingerprints of Pleasant fucking Rowland on her, she is not worth that much! Stop it! There is a difference between something being sought after and something being rare! Fuck! Thanks for reading, gamers! Take a piece of cake before you go!
Congrats on one year of horsewords! Itʼs always a treat to read your works, heart, and I, for one, am very glad you decided to share then with us.
u DO have the prettiest ponies uvu
happy anniversary!! im so glad to have found ur fics on this site, and to have found ur tumblr (u reblog the most choice selection of posts my dashboard is EATING). u dont understand the little :D! that appeared over my head when i saw u made a blog post, its like “omg! that author i rlly like that doesnt talk much has something to say?!!” that’s definitely one of my fav parts of fimfic, getting to see blog posts like fic recs and dev blogs and con updates and whatever else people want to share that isnt specifically fic.
if u do write for the sovereigns contest ill be looking forward to it! as well as the halloween / post halloween fic if u get around to it. here’s to another banger year!
Happy anniversary! It's very nice to read someone else who has had a similar experiencing diving into this part of the fandom. You've done great work so far and I can't wait to read what you've got coming next
I'm so delighted you did join and start writing. It's funny how fandom kinda sneaks up on you and slowly slips over everything.
Here's to many more years n_n