My thoughts about the fandom today · 4:19am May 9th, 2013
Let's get this out of the way: You will see Chapter 8 of KOTD this week. Went well writing it and I'm optimistic about it.
But I feel the need to talk about something. It bothered me some time ago, and I couldn't put it into words for a while. It was frustrating and I didn't want to feel the way I did, but I didn't know what it was for a while. And then I did some changes, some drastic and some minor, and finally I just gave up and cut myself away from the fandom.
In short, that's what the brony fandom's behavior this year made me do. I stopped calling myself a brony and instead just called myself a fan of the show, not involved in the actual fandom at all save for fanfiction, in which bronies are some of the best in the world on.
It all really began when Alicorn Twilight was heavily rumored. We had thousands of comments on Equestria Daily freaking out over a simple little sticker that showed everyone's favorite adorkable princess with wings. All in all, nobody on the show said anything about this development, so I just ignored the s---storm and went on my way. I didn't think they would actually do it save for a series finale, given its implications.
Then it was confirmed in the now infamous Entertainment Weekly article. And the fandom tore itself apart.
You know what, I'll tell you what I thought about the concept and the episode right now. It surprised me that they did this, but I was OK with it in time and I thought the episode needed two parts but was otherwise a Season 3 highlight. There.
But my God, it was possibly the worst outlashing I have ever seen. The personal attacks on Meghan McCarthy pissed me off. I saw a comment saying the bronies should take the FIM IP away from Hasbro, since Hasbro had no idea what they were doing. And the way everyone thought Faust needed to come back just got to me.
Yet, I held out hope for the fandom. After the episode aired, things would cool down. And maybe even better when the Season 4 premiere aired.
And then I saw the reaction to how Equestria Girls might be in theaters. And then I went back and saw how this fandom reacted whenever any media person said one bad thing about it late in 2012.
That's when I gave up. I stopped being a brony that moment.
So what would I like to say to the fandom? Well, it's one of the most creative fandoms I've ever seen. I love how the stories and the artwork inspire me, and how they're pumped out on a daily basis. No other fandom can match us on that front and we should always be held as the best of the best in that regard.
But good God, I have never seen a fandom that is so easy to invoke drama in. I don't care what you think about Alicorn Twilight or Equestria Girls, I can understand why you think those are bad ideas, but that doesn't justify the things we did in response to them. I see this s--- happen so much, I hated it.
And then it got to the point where I met some people that were so critical of FIM, that I couldn't just sit down and enjoy any episode of FIM. Not even the commonly loved ones. I always felt like someone was watching over my shoulder, thinking I was stupid for liking this episode. And I always imagined this person as a brony.
Yes, there's always room for it to improve. But after ALicorn Twilight and Equestria Girls, I'm not so sure. If it ever gets positive again, I will love being in it and be part of discussions about the shows again. I'm still going to write fanfiction for it, obviously.
But for now, I don't consider myself a brony anymore. And you want to know the biggest sign that it needed to happen for me? When I made that declaration, I didn't feel sad or frustrated. I felt relieved. Like I got a big weight off my shoulders.
This might feel like it came out of left field, but it needed to happen.
Hey, if it makes your life easier, go for it.
I've never called myself a brony very much. Just an author and fan. Feels like a badge that takes too much effort to tote around for too little reward.
Honestly, you don't need to call yourself a brony, and if you don't wanna do it anymore, then that's fine by me. Take the badge off and leave it on the desk.
The fandom is one of the greatest I've ever seen in terms of story creation, as all these stories have invoked my thought and feeling than I've seen in most published novels today. Hell, I adore a few of these stories just as much as Ian Flemming's works, and I love James Bond.
Just keep doing what you do, Stone, and don't let the rest of the fandom drag you down. Hell, come to the rescue once in a while.
Alicorn Twilight? Just the notion of immortality being a lesson she learns has me drooling in anticipation, and it's something I can try and flesh out in my own story universe.
Equestria Girls? Hell, the fandom's done this so much, I have no idea where this crazy lashing out came from. It's humanized, people, I thought you liked that.
No matter what happens or what they throw at me, i will stand my ground and face it like a brony i am.
I've found the backlash you mentioned really bizarre as well. Alicorn Twilight seemed the natural progression of the show's narrative to me, and there was never any question of the main show becoming humanised. I am actually super-excited to see what they do with the movie.
I do call myself a brony and I join in a lot of stuff online, but when it comes to discussing the show I mostly just talk to my two best friends at uni. When I'm online I come across too many people having a go at the writers of episodes they didn't like (seriously, what was so bad about the Mare Do Well episode, I loved it :P ) and I even saw one guy say Merriweather Williams should be fired for Wonderbolt Academy. :P Truly ridiculous, I can totally see where you're coming from.
This.....ALL of this, Everything you just said, thank you man, I thought I was alone in the world
Alicorn Twilight?
FUCK YEAH.
Equestria Girls?
FUCK YEAH.
You can still call yourself a brony. Those guys may claim to be bronies but they're not if they don't follow the motto we were founded on "Don't knock it til you've tried it". And it's not like Alicorn Twilight was complelty forgein to us. I don't see why it was o.k. for fanfic writers to make Twilight an alicorn for any reason they wanted, yet it was not o.k. for Hasbro and DHX to do the same. Same goes for the redemption of Trixie and Discord. If we can do and make it look good then we should be thrilled when someone else feels like doing the same thing and putting forth an effort.
I'm hoping that Season 4 will finally shed those winy fans we picked up at the start of Season 3. Then with some luck we'll restore our reputation.
And to those who don't like the changes that are brought forth:
1450833
I do remember a couple of readers for Kiss of the Dark dropping the story because I teased Twilight would become an alicorn. And that was during the season 2 and 3 break.
1451028
Within the Seas, I mean.