The Art of the Accusation Fic · 12:27am Apr 6th, 2013
Spontaneous Blog Post because...uh...because.
As a few of you know, I do go to TV Tropes from time to time. And one of the things someone mentioned in the pony thread of their today was "Accusation Fics." To put it simply, they're either Fix Fics (stories that attempt to change the canon so that it fits the author's perception of the work better) or Revenge Fics (stories that are about blasting characters the author doesn't like) that work by setting up one specific character as being at fault for the situation and then going to town on deconstructing the canon and showing how things would have proceeded in the author's vision.
Why bring this up?
A) I knew about these things for a while, but never knew they had been given an actual genre.
B) Because I need to get something out of my system about these things.
There have been quite a few examples of these particular stories in the pony fandom, usually coming from episodes and plot points that are considered contentious or upsetting by a large portion of the fanbase. In fact, the first real explosion of these things occurred after "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well," and a few were around even by the end of the first season. But the MMDW one were the first of these stories to truly catch my eye...and my ire. You see, there's a small problem with writing a story such as this, and that's the risk of looking for a scapegoat for everything that happened rather than trying to be logical about it. The one I truly came to detest was What's Eating Rainbow Dash?, mostly because quite a few fans back then were looking for some kind of release after that episode and decided to have that story's babies. It has some good ideas, such as Dash's public shaming not ending simply because MMDW was revealed and the friends having to deal with the consequences of their actions. The problem was that all the blame for MMDW is heaped on Twilight; she came up with the scheme, she was unaware of its consequences, and everything that happened was her fault.
Quick, point me to anything in the episode that said that Twilight was the mastermind behind the whole thing.
And for an inversion of this, we have the many, many stories of this ilk set during or just after the events of "A Canterlot Wedding." Almost all of these deal with the infamous moment where Twilight's brother tells her off, her friend abandon her, and Celestia scolds her. (And then she gets melted through the floor into a crystal-filled dungeon by a disguised bug-pony queen, but that's neither here or there.) The idea of Twilight's friends just up and leaving her was a tough pill for many to swallow, so along came the fics. Some tried to address the issue in a fair way, which showed that neither side was totally in the right. But still others opted for the lazy route and made Twilight out to be a saint besieged by traitors and false friends. Bitterness especially comes to mind, as it has Twilight reject Applejack's apology, kick her friends and family to the curb, and storm off because they didn't instantly believe the ramblings of a pony who had spent most of her time up to her accusatory spiel behaving like a jealous psychopath.
...Just saying that Twilight wasn't exactly in the clear in that episode.
So why bring this up? Well, with the incredibly polarizing MMC upon us, yet another wave of these things seems inevitable. There's already one or two (now thankfully relegated to the dustbins of Fimfiction's archives) that say Celestia was a monster who ruined Twilight's life and cursed her with immortality to satisfy her own selfish whims. Further stories about Twilight's friends abandoning her because she's now too special or has become a Canterlot snob seem inevitable given this fandom. Some of you guys might even be writing one of these right now.
But before you pick up that pen, here's some small tidbits from me:
A) Don't let emotion override your thinking. A lot of these stories can come off as being written in the heat of anger, and that is never a good thing. When people get mad, they don't think straight, and can say and do things without considering the consequences. Likewise, you might write what you think is a fair opinion of the piece, only to have all of your issues attached to a character you dislike simply because you dislike them and want an easy way out of the situation.
B) Be realistic. The core concept of this genre is to explore the ramifications of what would happen if someone got called out for their crap, so you have to keep the events grounded as much as you can considering the source material. Going off on a wild tangent about how Twilight being rejected turned her into a serial killer overnight simply doesn't work.
C) Above all else, know what you're getting into. The above three episodes are contentious not because everyone hates them, but because people have differing opinions. So when you write about how horrible Applejack is for not accepting Twilight's help because she's a princess, the part of your audience that hates Alicorn Twilight will love her getting called out, while the part that doesn't hate her will find Applejack to be stubbornly obnoxious. Things like that tend to get very ugly, very quickly, so make sure to have fireproof clothes on at all times.
...Well, that was a waste.
Not really a waste, you made some very excellent and valid points there.
Great article! I grok the feelings of anger and betrayal that cause fics like those to be made...but this is not how one should deal with those feelings. Make angry blog posts instead, obviously.
Chances are most people make them specifically just to vent and making something fair or logical doesn't enter the equation at all. Writing is a great outlet, after all~
You do raise some good points. It is those revenge fics is reason I took my name with the large number of Evilestia fics that were out when I joined. Unfortunately we still see those types of fics, and they are still annoying and uncreative. With the "Fix Fics" we see those with the Changelings, completely pardoning their actions in the invasion (you know attempted enslavement, foalnapping, and so on). Granted there are good fics that kind of do that, but they also don't make the Equestriani out to be monsters. Times I wonder about the fandom.
I wish I woulda read this sooner.
983909
It's not the fandom. It's people. This type of stuff happens everywhere and in all fandoms.
I know I draw from the Ranma 1/2 well a lot, but that's because that was the fandom I was most involved in before I migrated over here. Anime fandoms, particularly harem fandoms, are just as bad, if not worse, when it comes to the two types of fics described here. In fact, I've seen entire wars of stories written to counteract the efforts of groups dedicated to a single pairing and then being counterattacked with response fics. It gets ugly really quickly, especially without the moderation that hovers over this site.
And in the end, who does this really benefit? Feelings are hurt, blood packs are made and everyone else looking in from the outside are just shaking their heads and wondering why things had gotten this way.
I guess that's fans for ya. Never knowing when to let things die.
The only time these types of story bother me is when the author is jerking themselves off while writing. I don't care whether it's over how much better their version is, how obvious their head-canon is, how smart they are for fixing something, or how insightful they are for figuring out the "real emotional consequences", if it comes across as self congratulatory in any way, I won't read it. This is why I have read very few revenge fics, and almost no fix fics.
Of course, you do come across the occasional example of the genre done right; I'm curious if you have any positive examples, to juxtapose with those you cited.
983939
*groans* Oh boy Ranma... yeah the bashing against Akane gets ridiculous, granted I like the "Cluestick" approach to character development but jeeze...
The shipping wars in Harry Potter, Avatar, Naruto, and many others do get really, really bad. I've stopped reading a really good writer for HP because she went into bashing land.
I look at it that its a minority of the fans that really do the fighting and they happen to the be most vocal, much to everyone else's annoyance
I have one thing to say about this blog post:
jorng.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/do-you-concur-meme-generator-do-you-concur-i-concur.jpg
Haven't seen much in the way of those kind of stories, but then again, I haven't really been looking either.
I wondered if there was a category name for this.
Seriously, I wonder why some of these people watch the show at all.
984301
They do still love it. Take Chatoyance for example. For all that she was crazy, she did honestly like MLP...basically...in her own strange way...
...anyway, yeah. This was a good article, and a good guide for "fix" fics. Accusation fics. Whatever.
984428
I get why Chatoyance watches the show. I was thinking primarily of... someone I probably shouldn't harp on quite so often.
I never even heard of those fics.
Now I wish I never did. It makes me upset that there are people out there who will write stories like that just because they don't agree with the canon perspective.
A fan fic should be written out of fun, and not disagreements.
Interesting post... and it makes me pretty sure I've written a "Fix Fic".
I hope I didn't take sides, though. I felt Celestia's censure of Twilight in A Canterlot Wedding needed a bit of closure. Not so with her friends, because they've had disagreements and misunderstandings before, and (on reflection) Twilight would certainly realize how her actions and accusations could easily be misinterpreted.
But, up until that moment, Celestia had always been wise and (seemingly) all-knowing. The scene when she harshly dismissed Twilight was the first time she was unquestioningly, and near-disastrously, wrong.
I just really wanted to see Twilight's realization that the mentor she nearly worships is fallible and how she deals with that. Hmn... maybe I wasn't trying to fix anything. I just thought there was some good character growth for Twilight that didn't make it into the show.
I've read a bunch of these things and I have to admit that there's some degree of catharsis in seeing characters get called out on things they got away scot-free with in the actual episode. However, I've rarely seen fics that offer a truly balanced look at the incident in question.
For example, most post-MMDW fics go full bore on blasting Twilight and Company for being backstabbing deceivers humiliating Rainbow Dash solely to teach her a little lesson. But only a tiny fraction of them (if that) acknowledge the point that Dash's attitude towards her heroism was getting dangerously cavalier to the point that she was willing to put ponies at risk in order to spend a few more seconds basking in the glory of her achievements. Most of them conveniently forget this and instead operate on the basis that Rainbow was just bragging a little too much.
Of course, actually trying to discuss this fact (or point it out to some authors) tends to get you shunned or dismissed. Personally, I've given up on trying to reconcile that episode with canon. Instead, I've made it my headcanon that everything in MMDW never actually happened and that the whole affair was actually a story by the Cutie Mark Crusaders trying to get their creative writing cutie marks (with predictable results) under the pseudonym of Merry Weather.
983944 Well, I for one have some favorites for each subject:
For MMDW, we have "No Hard Feelings". It's short, and it shows that Rainbow Dash is still hurt by what happened, but rather than lambast the other party for supposedly being in the wrong, it instead tips its hat to what the original episode was trying to get across: that RD was doing her heroics more for attention than the safety of others, and that her friends were merely trying to help show her what real heroism is; the five just went about it in a way that hurt their friend more than many of us would have liked. Maybe the way it addresses the problem people had with episode is a touch clunky, though: RD tries to hide her humiliation, but lets it slip anyway. But rather than tear into her friends for it, she understands why they did what they did and does everything she can not to hold it against them like it's no big deal. Not that it stops them all from giving her a big, long, cuddly hug when they find out what they really did to their friend. Oh, and there's a brief interval showing Scootaloo to be firmly pro-RD rather than pro-MMDW. All in all, a great extension to the episode.
As for ACW, we have "Post Nuptials". Rather than just have Twilight rip her friends and family a new one for betraying her, this story aims to deconstruct Twilight's kind refutation of everyone's (well, Applejack's) apology in the episode: they still feel it was wrong of them to ignore Twilight in her time of need, and now hearing Twilight's "water under the bridge" stance makes them feel even worse for letting down such an awesome friend. It also aims to justify why Twilight would forgive her friends so easily: she is, of course, still sore about what happened, but with everyone apologizing to her so much, she tells herself that they probably wouldn't have been so apologetic of she turned out to be entirely wrong rather than just accidentally right, thus enforcing her belief that she is undeserving of such awesome friends. If there was any problem with this story, it'd have to be its length: it dedicates at least one chapter to each character, thus spending more time building up on how bad everyone besides Twilight feels while trying to build up to how bad Twilight herself feels, leading to some repetition. Also, Shining Armor got off too easily. But that's a nitpick.
So, there you have it. These stories are definitely worth a look, regardless of what they are. "No Hard Feelings" is a quick read, but you'd better devote some extra time if you want to get through "Post Nuptials" (though I hear there are plans for an animated adaptation of that fic that will make it no longer than it needs to be).
983888
Agreed, but you need to take care when you publish it as a story on a website meant for mass consumption. I have plenty of things stuffed on my hard drive that will never see the light of day because I was venting, and blog posts and twitter are always an option.
983922
I wish I had said it sooner. Would have saved us all a whole lot of heartache.
984440
...If it won't cause problems, just who are you talking about? (Sorry, I'm just morbidly curious.)
984549
I have to second both of those recommendations. Both stories do a much better job approaching the subject matter and expanding upon it than the ones mentioned above, and avoid totally playing the Blame Game. They're not perfect, but they're both examples of this genre done right.
983922 984569
Umm... yeah, me too. Could have saved us all some heartache.
Oh well, live and learn; it's all any of us can do.
984569 It's Reality Check. I doubt he reads these, but still...
984549 Maybe it's just my own insecurity projection, but I always thought that if Twilight had any post-ACW turmoil, it would be more about "What if I had been wrong? I could have alienated everypony I ever cared for!" instead of the how-dare-they-not-trust-me line.
984670 And that's exactly what happens in "Post Nuptials". You'd be hard-pressed to find a more thorough post-ACW fic that doesn't involve kicking, screaming, and beating the crap out of ponies and changelings over one little temper tantrum. Maybe some crying and deep-seated self-pity from everyone involved who isn't Princess Cadance or Queen Chrysalis, but that's about as bad as it gets.
Its sequel "Families" is a whole other story, literally. But it's nothing that undermines what happened in the first story. Though there are some "sequel hooks" (as long as we're talking about TV Tropes) in the first story that require the fabrication of some off-screen scenarios (e.g., RD being really hard on Twilight behind her back right after walking out on her, which ties into this original subplot where RD feels so horrible about it that she becomes a better role model for Scootaloo). So if you're looking to make "Post Nuptials" your headcanon, you'd best ignore some plot threads like that.
In terms of MMDW "Fix" fics... the worse, in my opinion, I've seen...
... I can't even recall the title. Basically, it takes pot-shots at the main cast aside from Rainbow Dash, and inserts a Gary-Stu with Green Lantern-based powers... and I don't mean in the same vein as a unicorn has, no... actual clone of Green Lanterns...And when the Gary-Stu regrets how the pot-shots have gotten out of hand, he tries to apologize, gets refused, and supposed dies when something else I've found common in some of these so-called fix fics happens.
An actual supervillain threatens the town... Oh, and when said Gary-Stu dies taking down said super-villain, the entire populous of Ponyville, along with a visiting Celestia and Luna, bitch at the Mane Cast and call it their fault he died.
... Need any more be added to this blog? Probably not, 'cause it sums it up quite well.
As for ACW 'fixes'... They can range from either people still denying the existence of Cadance and Shining Armor to... well, as you mentioned, IAH, with the apologies. Personally... I see no need.
... I do need some apple cider after reading these stories, though.
HOW...do I... Favorite... BLOG POSTS?!?
I say that in one way a fix fic CAN be good, like i remember one where rarity is thinking about the end of "Over a barrel" when she is on a puscart with Pinkie after she says "your gong to get it Rainbow Dash!" but as she thinks abotu it she forgives her because she saved her life several times.
But mainly in another, i think that they are wrong. Not really episode fics, because I believe there is a time when someone can rub it in other peoples faces when they doubted them but they were right. (cant say ive never done that IRL). but the revenge fics are just stupid. Ive never found interest in many of the ones based on episodes, but the this character > that character is unacceptable.
As ive said before several times, Almost every single fic centered around Celestia is about a personal revenge or how Luna is better in every which way and since she is so nice she'll help her sister learn how to be that awesome. (I don't name names, but Twice as Bright is one of the few fics that ive read that breaks this rule.)
Actuallly, yknow what? Im guilty of doing that as well,Ive recently made a fic that has a trolling grip and subject, a bait and switch, and end with a retelling of the canon (people will believe what the want to) a cheap blows to the Equestrian Civil war factions (SE and NLR) pointing out how stupid their logic is, poking fun at Trollestia, Molestia, and Lunar Guards, and end with them asking each other "why do our ponies think we hate each other?"
On an unrelated note, dismissing my previous reason of why i HATE MMC (not the episode, even though i dont like musicals; but the cannon that it brought) is all the bullshit,boring and gay Twilicorn+Molestia ships and clops and the GAD DAMNED emo "Boo hoo immortality sucks i have no friends" stories. I saw theese comming a mile away and was a partial reason why i dreaded the comming of twilicorn.
EDIT*****
I mean "Last roundup", not Over a Barrel.
984549 Well, thank you for that. I've read No Hard Feelings, but I've not come across Post Nuptials before; I'll add it to my list.
984549
I would like to third thesse examples of excellent Accusations Fics done right and add a few of my own.
Personally I find Tritinary's "Friendship is empathy" to be an excellent one. As that one goes neither too far in Twi's favor or Dash's, rather to do its best to demonstrate why both were in the right and yet still in the wrong at the same time. It is also a great ending for all involved with a sweet moment between the two ponies.
In the MDW side of things, there the excellent and fun fanart Alone, where we end with Dash admitting her mistakes while acknowleding the others while on the other side we have...PONY POV. Where it does the same thing allowing both to demonstrate why each are right and wrong.
Of course, I think for me, my headcannon will always be a mix of no hard feelings, post-nup, and empathy they seem to mix quite well. Then I have to try my best to accept MDW if only for to reasons, 1) I like that eppie, and 2) Without it, I dont have the kegend of mare do well.
my soluitiont the awful ending to Canterlot Wedding part 1 is to change it completly. instead of Twilight interrupting the rehersal, she just looks her brother and tells her not that cadence is evil but shes ruinning the wedding and making her friends so miserable they want to leave the wedding. shinning tries to defend her and they get into a shouting match ending with Shiing telling her she won't be in the wedding if she keeps acting like this and Twilight sayinbg she'll be leaving with her friends. shinning thinks he should apoloiges but cadence think she should do it, and you know the rest.
This way Twilights friends don't abandon her and only Shinng Armour has to say sorry.