S4E4 · 10:46am Dec 8th, 2013
Headcanon actually destroyed this time. I was a big fan of "Fluttershy is the author of Daring Do" (and also enjoyed entertaining the idea of Chrysalis or Gilda as author). I suppose there still is the possibility that the series isn't an autobiography, and Fluttershy(/Chrysalis/Gilda) is her biographer, but that's too convoluted for me...
Don't think that keeps me from loving the episode, though! Great story, nicely choreographed action, and not only is the message good, but I like what it hints at for future messages, with a movement away from "friendship lessons" to "personal growth".
Yeap. Definitely "Top 10 episodes of the show" material, if not top 5!
If I had to state one nitpick, it would be how easy it was to find DD's place. You'd think, since she apparently keeps priceless, powerful artifacts in her home, it'd be a much more guarded secret... Then again, we're not told how long it took, and if Caballeron found her, why couldn't Twilight? Granted, Caballeron had the advantage of knowing the author and DD are one and the same, but we are talking about Twilight here. What do you think?
I had issues with this episode, although I’m reluctant to share them because they feel nearsighted and petty to me.
It may not have helped that the moral of the episode, whether friendship lesson or not, is basically the same as Applebuck Season. Except it’s not, really, not exactly the same.
…
Watch, in amazement, as Phyco revises his opinion of the episode right before your very eyes!
Meh. You know the comics suggested Twilight's mom was the author of Daring Do? So yea, they fucked themselves up too.
Though now I like to think that Twi's mom is a fanfic author for Daring Do. What if... Fluttershy is one too?
How the hell did you come up with Flutters as the author anyway? I mean... I've had zero indication of that, so...
Also, the episode was great... but... odd. It was just... odd that the author IS Daring Do... Aoui-whatever is real... and there'e a Mayan temple in the forests near Vanhoover.
You wanna know some weird twisted headcanon I have now?
That whole episode was really a self insert fanfiction that Rainbow Dash wrote. And she's apparently a better writer than she has previously led us to believe (see S3 E10)
1586605
Meh. The canonocity of the comics is... "variable". I discount them.
Fluttershy being the author? Well, that mostly has to do with my ship, FlutterDash. Daring
iswas a part of Fluttershy secretly fawning over RD.I wouldn't go that far with the headcanon... What about the end with the book delivery?
1586950 So... Mind telling us which part of the now obsolete fanon that make up your stories are going to get the shaft?
1589174
I suppose it won't spoil if I just give the facts without context... but just in case someone doesn't want to know:
Basically, I had the backstory of Celestia include a three year war with NMM. Obviously, though, we now know NMM was defeated within minutes, so it was changed to a war with Discord (whom we don't know how long ruled before the finding of the Tree of Harmony).
1590363 ... You might want to hold off world building for a while then.
Things will only get more bucked up from here.
I advise you purge your current fanon completely, removing references to anything that isn't directly aligned with canon. You must get rid of it completely, hell or high water.
By the way, there has been no mention of a war with ---- Change it to something else.
The only way to be sure is to go with canon Zephyrus.
I even propose that you delete those stories that directly contradict canon.
Sorry to say, but if you wish to maintain a current consistency, then that stuff has to go, no exceptions.
1586950 I see. Well, FlutterDash would be the only ship I'd consider canon. Weird as that is. And as far as the end of the episode, that would fit into a fanfic anyway. Self insert, remember?
1591600
... What? Seriously, what are you saying?
There hasn't been a mention of humans being turned into Changelings and sent to Equestria, either. Should I scrap "Love Mine"? Does Pinkie being Changelings "align with canon"? Nope. Byebye, "When They Found Us"! Changeling!Scootaloo? Lyra with Marfan's syndrome? Hououin Kyouma in Equestria? Parallel Changeling Element Bearers?
What exactly "directly contradicts canon"? Just because a war with Discord (please spoiler that in your comment) wasn't mentioned doesn't mean it didn't happen. We obviously didn't get the full memory.
... Heck, at your "advice", I'm pretty sure 99%, if not 100%, of fanfiction "should" be deleted!
dashie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2608-facehoof.png
1591656
Ha! I suppose! However, I think we'll have to wait and see if there is any continuity in future episodes referring to Daring Do being real...
1591741
(My mood isn't the best of the moment, so the comment from before and the proceeding will be very sour in nature. My apologies if I blast off into the extremities, but matters such as these drive me to rant in a very passionate, but sometimes aimless manner.)
Consistency is of the utmost vital importance. You won't get very far anywhere without it. And yes, one would be inclined to think that fanfiction would be a place where a little deviance can be allowed. But mark my words, something will come up that will throw a whole monkey wrench into the cog of your story's inner universe.
Once that happens, I can't imagine that one can just simply avoid a rewrite to fix all the internal consistency errors that are present.
Oh please. Who are you to say that a war actually happened? This is the type of thinking that proves to be the downfall of entire story arcs. Do you remember what happened to a little fic that was called "Past Sins"? The entire thing had to be entirely revamped to suit the current canon.
I am almost inclined to call that type of thinking arrogant, if I had any major marks of fanfiction to back me up on the matter. Being that I do not have such prestige, I can only state my opinions on this matter, little or large they may be.
No, certainly not. But I wonder when you are going to rewrite your current status quo to correctly suit canon? Why stop at changing that one little detail in concerns with that great war that you speak of? In fact, why not just go the whole nine yards and completely revamp your story to be removed of any and all elements that have been proven to be incorrect with the current template of the show? Why change that element? Your story already is far removed from the show's timeline, yet if this detail requires you to alter your own plot, then why not the rest? Would it not be logical to follow suit and alter the whole story so that it correctly follows suit, being consistent with show canon?
And yet you have a bloody human turned changeling in one of your stories. I fail to see how this irrelevant to your head canon, yet one detail with that ware you mentioned somehow makes all the difference.
(Yet again, being bitter and caustic. I have been met with a rather... Negative experience in terms of one writer throwing away everything they worked and created just out of some desire to be aligned "correctly" with canon. To me, the show itself serves as base to be used as a reference. But any more than that, and you can both either serve and hinder your own creativity, depending upon your personal doctrine when it comes to formulating world building with your stories. The instance of changing that detail drives me to ask, what is the point? Is that episode so important as to warrant a change in your story's self contained universe? What makes it so?)
1591893
Almost certainly, indeed. That's the "danger" of writing fanfiction of a series still being written. The other side of the coin is that if the fanfiction is also unfinished, it can be altered to fit new information in less-than-important points... like minor details of backstories. WINK-WINK
Uh, I can say "that actually happened" for the same reason I can say Alternate was "actually" a human, and him being turned into a Changeling and sent to Equestria "actually happened"... Because I'm the author!
Fanon can be considered fact until contradicted by canon; obviously there's tons of room for different fanons to contradict each other. This is a big part of what is fun about fanfiction for some--it's not uncommon to see statements of "headcanon accepted!" or "I prefer X, but I like how you wrote Y!"... or even "Only X makes sense! This Y crap is just twisting facts!"
What other points are "incorrect with the current template of the show"? I really do wish to know!
It's not that big of a difference. Really. All I did was switch out NMM for Discord. I could probably use Sombra or Tirek or even pony-reincarnated!Voldemort for all the difference it would make! If I insist on using NMM, though, I'll have to go through some overly complicated explanation that Twilight experienced a time skip in that memory without it being apparent in the show for some reason. You might say "why change it?"; others will say, "but NMM was defeated almost immediately, not in a years-long war!" It's not the "episode" that's important, but the facts presented.
In the end, I don't have anything against AU (I'm writing an AU story right now), but I'm trying to keep "Love Mine" as non-AU as possible, since "being AU" is not a point of the story (as opposed to a story about, say, Cadance falling in love with Sombra and ruling the Crystal Empire with him--that premise is designed to be AU from the get-go), so I would prefer to work to keep that label off of that story. However, I would submit to the AU tag if the Changelings show up again and utter destroy all my stories, but that still wouldn't keep me from trying to keep as close to canon as I can without bending the major plot points I have laid out; you can rest assured the stories will not change, only little facts in the background.
1592371
Alright. You have presented your side of the line fairly enough.
Though it doesn't exactly sate the inner gremlin inside, I suppose this pestering must end at some point. There are a couple things that still irk me though.
Lack of alicorn Twilight perhaps? (Last I checked with your stories anyhow.)
From my understanding, you merely wish to only stick with what is "fact" in the show canon. As in being the "correct" version so to speak, correct? Pray tell, if this is going to be the case of which I have highlighted in bold, then what contingency plan do have if something comes up to shred your story's fanon to the point of forcing you to rewrite major sections of the story?
Why even bother coming up with background elements when you can simply wait for the show to provide? Do you have a back up plot to resort to if by some freak incident the show harmonizes Chrysalis, making the point of your "Love Mine' story pointless?
----------------
My point being is that most of your efforts in constructing your stories are going to end up moot, thereafter which you must go through your stories and conform to canon. Even if it comes at the cost of your story's main conflict, there is no other option. Even the tag of AU won't be enough to save your work in terms of logical consistency with canon.
I suppose one reason I am badgering you like this is the fear of having the familiar being altered to the point of being unrecognizable. I took investment into these stories, with the belief that they won't compromise their own plot and story focus to shift it in favor of whatever canon throws out. When that does happen though, I often wonder what the point was in wasted effort. If the majority of the fandom insists to have everything stay in line and true, then why not just simply get rid of the material that isn't in step with show canon?
Why do you even bother trying to be unique from the crowd, knowing that at some point you ill be obligated to alter your story to keep align with canon? Why bother creating the backstory and mythos for each of your story's self contained universes? It will all be for naught at the end, thus your efforts are ultimately wasted in an endeavor that yields no rewards.
Ugh.
Perhaps it is just me over-analyzing ever single detail and placing emphasis on seemingly minor sections of your story. Sure, they don't contribute all that much by themselves. But those little details are the building blocks to your plot. If one section crumbles, then the rest will surely fall apart. For me, each of these tidbits helps give a story their unique identity that make them stand out from the rest of the masses. By conforming, I feel that you are compromising some core identity that makes your story unique.
With fanfiction, the writer can insert their own ideas as to what is and what isn't.
But ultimately all of that effort is meaningless if it will be altered to suit canon.
Thus my concern and cynicism here.
If you are intent on conforming to canon, then why is it not possible for you to completely rewrite the story to suit the canon facts from the show?
Surely you can rework each chapter piece by piece, removing obsolete elements that conflict with show canon. After all, purging all fanon from your stories will provide a consistent basic to work with, does it not?
1592800
"Love Mine" begins about a month after the Changeling attack on Canterlot. How long after the siege do you think Twi ascended? Because I don't think it was less than a year...
There is none. Nope. If something contradicts a part of the story too important to alter, I will have no choice but to add the AU tag. I wouldn't like it, but... that's that.
Yes... I could wait until they stop making new episodes to write any fanfiction. Call me impatient.
- - - -
If this were to be so, there wouldn't be any fanfiction. By its nature, fanfiction can only hypothesize how characters would respond to certain situations. We don't know in terms of pure canon how various ponies would react if Cadance were to declare she loves Sombra and intends to rule over the Crystal Empire with him, but we can make educated guesses based on what canon gives us.
Why do you see this as one or the other? Is it not possible to keep my stories canon (as possible) while still writing a unique plot?
It's a hobby. Even if it's destroyed by later canon, I still had fun in the simple creation of it! -and is "fun" not both a worthy goal and nice reward at once?
I'm intent on conforming to canon until it starts interfering with the story I want to tell.
It is "possible" to completely rewrite. I "can" rework everything to the last screw and washer... but purging all fanon? How am I, or anyone, suppose to write a comprehensible story about Changelings using the very little canon information we have? Or write anything fanfiction at all? By definition, anything outside of canon is fanon, and even a simple SoL story that doesn't follow a show plot will provide some insight into character that is outside of canon--fanon. The only way to write a completely canon story is to write for the canon itself.
The real "skill" in fanfiction, I think, is to find a balance between canon and fanon, even in AU, because if you go too AU, then one might as well write an original story. Taking the Sombra/Cadance example above a little further, if Cadance does not retain (at least mostly) her canon personality, then it might as well be Sombra/OC. It might be easier to write an one's own OC, but therein lies the skill: in maintaining Cadance as recognizably "Cadance", but altering situations in such a way to justify her ending up with Sombra. In this way canon indeed provides the base of the work, but the act of balancing fanon on that base is how fanfiction works.
1595197
Bah. Perhaps I should paste you to this link where I am having a similar discussion on the topic, only more... Polymerized shall I say...
Now, as for your reply.
I suppose I must concede to your viewpoint of the argument.
What irks me though is that whatever was your original intent and plot for the story will be altered to suit some fancy of the show, regardless if your divergence could be the production of something interesting later on. Even though this is a rather trivial detail in the long run of things, I cannot help but feel that something is lost along the way.
Of course one has to keep within the base canon of the show, for otherwise there is no fanfic to be had. But I worry that something from the original conception of the story itself is lost in this transition to canon. With that in mind, I can understand your viewpoint. Though why not simply take the route that a certain Pen Stroke did with his story? Just move the timeline along in your story a year or so, and volia, you are firmly suited in canon territory.
That being said, I suppose from a neutral viewpoint, I am being unbecoming as one of your readers here, overly concerned with the way your story is heading. So an apology is an order for being such a harassing element here. Blame it on irrational fears I suppose.
1617959
I, too, still feel as if something was lost. I feel as if a years-long war with NMM would have really added an extra "punch" to Cele's backstory, but... que sera, sera. -and just the fact NMM happened at all, I think we all acknowledge, is a powerful event in Cele's life already. It... just isn't applicable in this instance. However, I think something might have been gained, as well, in not only explaining Cele's apparent hatred of Discord, but her eventual willingness to forgive Discord/overlook his past transgressions when he reforms.
I don't quite see how sliding my story along the timeline helps the "NMM is defeated in minutes" issue, though.
No need to apologize for that at all! I do love a good debate. Although that mention of deleting my stories was pretty-... yesh. That was why I was a bit more aggressive in my first few posts.
1619326 Don't give me the benefit of the doubt just yet. As of recently, I had a somewhat heated debate upon the issue.
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/258420/daring-quit-complaining-about-smashed-headcannons-dont#comment/1603102
Quite said, I am in favor of having the site go through a perodic purge of obsolete content that don't fit with the show canon. I don't see the need to keep them on here, since not only are they out of canon, but their writers deliberately refuse to update them to current standards to fit the show. Don't you find that somewhat insulting, even arrogant to the show's spirit? Frankly, I see that attaching a mandatory clause to this site to update your story to keep within canon would do wonders for increasing the quality of stories on this site. So what if a few nay sayers come out and whine? It is their fault for not keeping within show canon, and thus deserving of no exposure whatsoever.
In your case, I suppose you could be excused with your story taking place pre-season 3.
But the rest of the site should be forced to go through purge, whether they like it or not.
Follow the example of Past Sins, and purge any useless fanon that should not be here. Frankly I don't give a damn whether it is vitally important to the story itself. If it uses broken fanon, then it goes to show that it has no reason to take up hard drive space on this site. Failing, that, it can be at least hidden from public view, with only past readers being able to gain access to it.
Canon is important, no matter the so called "crushed dreams" that may be had.
I would almost dare say that those who produce fanon oughta be outright banned from the site post hate immediately. (And yes, I am somewhat currently a hypocrite of this saying, considering that my own stories sadly do not conform to the current standard. Right now I am considering if I should outright cancel them or not.)
1619481
Wait.
Wait!
... Wait... Wait...
There, you're saying that stories need to be constantly updated to conform to canon or be purged/delegated to a separate part of the site because fanon is filth, but to me you're lamenting the fact I decided to switch out NMM for Discord in a minor piece of backstory in order to keep up with canon? -and not only that, but you also mentioned how you had a "negative experience" (whatever that might actually refer to) with an author throwing everything away to align with canon?
I-... I don't know what to say... Besides, parhaps, begging you to admit to playing devil's advocate for at least one of these arguments...