You Gotta Believe · 9:41pm Sep 26th, 2014
First off, I want to thank absolutely everyone who took the time to answer my last blog! And even the ones who didn't! You're all sweethearts. 
My original plan was to reply to your answers the best I could, but not the second I wrote that post, orders came down from on high:
Work: we've gone into crunch with a brand new non-negotiable deadline! We need you to work 17-hour days until further notice!
Bookish: no
Work: your job depends on it
Bookish: fuck
What happened was a complete blur but I managed to make it out of that tunnel alive. You all gave me a lot to think about during the deathmarch, though, and I apprecate that. A lot of what you've said has been incorporated into my writing plans. ~_^
Anyway, with everything behind us, let's get into today's topic, brought to you by none other than Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, and what it's done to my feed which has been showing no small amount of apprehension lately in consequence:
Drawn when the Magic Duel synopsis hit, but in truth, Trixie stalks and snipes fanfics all the time.
Also, she's never sorry.
In just the time I've been in this fandom, I've gotten repeatedly Jossed, with (IMO) the canon alternatives being markedly inferior.
* Unicorns can't walk on clouds.
* No one got what they wanted from Grand Galloping Gala.
* Twilight's character destiny got changed completely and she'll never be an awesome neurotic unicorn magiscientist.
* No one knows if Scootaloo will fly or not.
* Trixie remains largely undefined as a character, since her return episode had all of twenty seconds of the actual Trixie in it.
Yeah, seriously, this has been happening to me since Sonic Rainboom. I've been at this for a while now.* This is just the stuff off the top of my head, and doesn't even take into account the concepts I've been blocked from writing due to canon.
Oh, and lest we forget: by sheer dint of its nature, my biggest story to date absolutely WILL be Jossed in the future, 'cause come on. They're not going to not do another Trixie episode. Lulamoon's Castle is a ticking time bomb.
Finally, to the shippers reading this, and I know there are a lot of you, it's time to address the truth we don't like to think about.
Somewhere along the line, at least one of the Mane Six are going to get boyfriends. Boyfriends. The other mares on the show will also invariably get boyfriends if the subject of romance is ever addressed further. They're never going to get girlfriends. Never.
Why? Because to paraphrase the inimitable Wu-Tang, cash rules everything around us. So they're going to get boyfriends because, as subversive-to-a-fault as this show wants to be, Hasbro going in the opposite direction or even verbally compromising would be business suicide given the society we live in.**
I've had to deal with this fact for fifteen years. To live the life of a yurishipper is to live a life of constant disappointment. I suppose I'm a bit intellectually battle-hardened, but again, it always comes down to perspective. As fans, we're forever playing with borrowed toys in a sandbox owned by an entity that owes very little to us. You have to know the risks going in, is all.
Why am I saying all of this defeatist claptrap?
Because I get it--and right now I'm talking mainly to you, fellow Equestria Girls fans, but no one is exempt, I'm sure.
You've spent Celestia knows how many hours on your magnum opus fanfic. Some of you have written novels detailing Sunset Shimmer's redemption, defining EQG Trixie's character, writing shipfics that flesh out the Equestria Girls world in the process. You've invested Cadance knows how much time even in stories that haven't been released yet.
Meanwhile shorts have been released over the past few months that have been sniping theories and headcanons and interpretations left and right, and now a new movie's here that could potentially divebomb a whole bunch of stuff. It sucks.
I've seen the panic, it's all too familiar, and it's always the same. And even after it's aired, it's never over. The bitterness lingers for some people. Extra undeserved vitriol gets tossed towards things that demolish "headcanons." Canterlot Wedding, MMC, Magic Duel, Daring Don't, the list goes on. The amount of frustration increases proportionally to the amount of time invested working on what just got torpedoed, or may well soon be. (Really, it's why I try to keep my personal headcanons as minimal and fluid as possible.)
But there's hope, and the good news is that it applies to everyone reading this, because that hope comes from within.
When all else fails, when I find myself getting frustrated that canon doesn't go my way despite perspective, there is a single fundamental question I always ask myself, which I've found works wonders, and I thus invite others to ask themselves the same:
Do you believe in your fanfic?
Never write a story that you don't believe in. Never write a story that you don't feel augments the source material in your eyes, a story that you're willing to replace the source material within your own mind if it comes down to it.
Because really, sticking with what we enjoy is all we have.
Your fanfiction was never canon. My fanfiction was never canon. Yes, I know we took great pains to make it so that it could fit into the canon to date, so that we could live the happy delusion that it indeed was part of the lexicon, but no. Our fanfics have always been AU and always will be. They mean nothing. But they're all we have.
Do you believe in your fanfic?
Provided it's not sold out tomorrow (I can't buy tickets online because the website for the theater I'm going to has a borked security certificate), I'll be seeing Rainbow Rocks within the next 24 hours. I fully expect Twilight to once again be into boys, destroying more of what I've written fanfic-wise and even further removing her from the lovely character I fell in love and used to completely identify with. I don't expect Rainbow to live in a high-rise apartment complex. I expect Diamond Tiara to not get any more depth. I expect the magical girl gimmick to be handled in a far less sensible way than what I have planned.
But it's fine, really. I've been here before. And I enjoy my version better. Enough to stick with it. So I'm also going to pay meticulous attention to how Twilight, Rainbow and the communication between the two worlds are handled in this movie. 
Enjoy your version better, too, if you're so inclined. No one should have the power to take your imaginative fun away from you but you.
Do you believe in your fanfic?
If the answer is yes, then allow it to exist--and once you're sure you do? Move on without letting canon discrepancies consume you. It's the best way to avoid an aneurysm. And if the best possible outcome happens and you like what canon brings more than you wrote out? Well, canon hasn't crapped itself and you got some rockin' writing practice out of the whole thing. That's a win-win. 
Fandom is loving the source material, but also not being afraid to say what doesn't work for you--in a non-obnoxious manner of course. But the latter is material for another post, so I'll end it here.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to outline a story wherein EQG Babs isn't the terrible-acting eyesore of a bully that comics canon dictates. 'Cause it might finally be time.
~B
*On the plus side I did call Luna's dreamwalking, so hey, I'm on the board!
**And even if they got girlfriends, odds are it wouldn't be everyone's choice. The shipping wars I see around here boggle me sometimes.
Well said. Canon should be seen as source material, not as an uncaring devourer of hopes and dreams. As you said, every fanfic is an alternate universe; the only question is how alternate.
(And believe me, when your favorite pony is She Who Knew Not What Went Wrong, you learn to be willing to be very alternate indeed.
)
Thanks for the bolster, Bookish.
I agree with everything you said here.
...But one day Dawn will return in the anime again, with Zoe in tow, announcing that they got married.
One day.
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/implying they haven't already been married since Snowpoint City
Bisexuality will save us! Bisexuality and denial! "Daring Don't" was totally just a fanfic Rainbow Dash wrote in her journal! La la la can't hear you!
Words to live by. Seriously. I tend to get a little obsessive about canon--not for other people, but for myself, so I probably needed the pep talk.
Yeah, I don't think it's fair that they're likely to get boyfriends, or that more specifically, none of them are likely to get girlfriends. Even leaving them ambiguously unpaired is sad (although, come to think of it, the idea that if you're not romantically paired, you're miserable is not that great either). I know I can't write an all-het world. If CheesePie gets torpedoed, I will be
colossally depressedslightly bummed, but chances are that I won't be angry at the writers. That's just not my thing.I feel a bit better about having gotten LGW out there, because now whatever else I write is canon to IT.
Yes, I will go ahead and be that cynical if necessary. And darned SKIPPY I believe in that fic. I am PROUD of the Cake Festival of Doom. It took months to line up the chess pieces for Maximum Cakemageddon. But I was wondering if I would HAVE to sideline it, and I'm glad to hear your opinion that I don't.
I liked your high-rise living Dash. She's never going to go away for me, and even more so, your Principal Celestia isn't. I'd say she (and thus, you) strongly influenced the way I wrote VP Luna.
I feel you on Comics EG Babs. That was a big hunk of "huh?" It didn't ruin my day, but it also didn't convince me, either.
Anyway, I actually look forward to it. I think there are going to be things to enjoy and I plan to enjoy the heck out of the ride.
Oh my god!
Did Bookish Delight seriously write the word "fuck"?!
That
She
I
...
You know what? I prefer my headcanon where Bookish Delight is a soft-spoken, cardigan-wearing, bespectacled bookworm who never uses coarse language, no matter how much the company says otherwise.
I personally ascribe to the school of thought that canon should be a starting-off point for fanfiction, and whatever happens after that just sort of happens. I have no qualms about slapping the "AU" tag on a fic because the show itself went in a different direction. Canon is a source of creativity, not something to be adhered to religiously.
Is it nice if something you wrote remains "canon"? Sure! But I don't think it's the end all be all of fanfiction. Quite the opposite in fact. We write what we write because we have decided on some level that our great love has missed out of giving us that certain something, whether that's black and red alicorns or lesbian horses. So we take it upon ourselves to construct that similar-but-not-the-same realm of fanon, in which all of our wildest dreams are possible.
As for actual same sex relationships in the show, well...maybe it's just not the right time yet. I think that sometime soon in the future, we might be able to handled that kind of thing on network TV, but for now, we as a society have decided that it's not something kids should be exposed to. I think it's a shame, but then, I'm just one person. Plenty of people think otherwise.
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~Bookish
~FanOfMostEverything, emphasis mine.
This is basically the crux of the matter. It's easy to get stuck in the holes when they narrow or fill in. A lot of people write in the spaces the canon leaves inevitably. Even if you don't get Jossed, you're still writing AU. A lot of people forget that.
I think I personally came to something similar of a realization some time ago, but it didn't feel like something noteworthy to me. Rainbow Rocks is proving to be something of a validation of the thing for me. I'm fully aware that these new villains are going to end up totally different than my expectations. Sunset isn't going to match up to my vision, "Twilight and Flash" is going to be aggravated, the list goes on. Already the hippocampus images have sniped some of my ideas.
The thing is, I do believe in my stories. Rather than live in the holes of what canon hasn't gotten to yet, I treat canon as a buffet. I take what I want to use. Canon does not set limits; canon gives inspiration. EqG has terrible designs, but is responsible for inspiring uotapo to draw beautiful things. We as writers can do the same.
P.S. I do what I want.
Hope springs eternal!
But yeah, I know how this will likely end, even if I would like for the show to have one homesexual couple, even just a background one, in order to show kids that such a thing is not wrong.
Of course, I kinda think the show itself should not really get into romance in general. Fanfics are fine, because we are getting to play with ideas and concepts the show either will not or should not go into, but I kind of like that the show itself has stayed away from that for the most part.
Still, if it's going to happen, I can live with it as long as it's done well.
See me and Jake Long "Homecoming". Oh Sweet baby Celestia, me and Homecoming. Did I already talk about how I made an entire alternate UNIVERSE out of how much I hated that episode? Yeah, it was that bad. And you know what? I still prefer everything I wrote there compared to the cannon.
Heck, I know that this won't match up to what I had planed for that little W.I.T.C.H send-off. But I don't care, heck...my fave Power Rangers fanfic is all about "Tommy never married Kat and Dino Thunder happened with Tommy talking to Kim the entire time. Also, the finale was better withoiut them all losing their powers"
We're fanfic writers, let's live it. Let's have fun with what we got. Prefer Dash to live in a high rise? Why not?
Heck, I can still enjoy fics where Twilight is not alicorn and I still love it. Heck, I am going to love Lunamoon castle (note to self, live read that sucker) no matter what Season 5 may bring
(at least we got a 5th season...DARN YOU EXCUITIVE! I mean, come on...what was not to like about the premise.)
Twilight is still Twilight to me, completely relatable in every way. Dash is still awesome.
But hey, that is what is great about us right?
Ps. If you review it, can you pwease not spoil it
, but just put in if Sunset is awesome
Pss:
Yeah and Rei was going to end up with 'chad' on Sailor Moon and Irma 'supposedly' had a crush on Andrew...still doesn't stop this yuri lover. Minako/Rei forever!!!!!
Personally, I've never experienced that show canon has ever taken anything away from my interpretation. If anything, it's added to it. People complaining that Twilight is an alicorn princess? Nothing has been taken from her; everything that was her (neurotic OCD, loving books and magic, hanging out with friends, etc.) is still there, only siding with her new stuff like being able to fly. Trixie is now redeemed and no longer a one-dimensional 'villain' who wants to attack Twilight like a bull charging at a waving cape? Perfectly okay, she's more interesting as a many-layered neutral-goodish character who can be a source of conflict while remaining likeable.
As for the idea that Twilight's destiny as a magiscientist is forever supplanted by her becoming a pretty pretty princess... I really have no idea where people are getting this from. For one, she's now one of the highest authorities in the land; who's saying that she can't be whatever she damn well pleases? It's not like Celestia is going to order her to put aside her study of friendship so she can don her pink dress and wave at the populace from her balcony and wait for a handsome prince to marry her (as is the duties of more 'traditional' princesses who aren't deity-figures).
Yeah, some people say that she won't have time for serious studies because of her royal duties. What duties? The ones she never attended through all of fourth season? (Aside from judging at the Trade Exchange and unfurling that banner. Woo, time-consuming.) Some fanfics even give her unspecified paperwork and royal duties to deal with to justify this, despite the fact that Equestria would be unlikely to just spontaneously generate 50% more issues to counter 50% more princessness. Heck, Celestia was able to keep the country rolling when she was the only princess on duty, and she's got Luna to shoulder the workload. Why should Twilight have to cut her friendship research schedule, given how much importance Celestia puts on the project. Princess Twilight's royal duty is to spread friendship, not file zoning permits or argue with petty diplomats.
Sorry, I digress. The hangup just baffles me.
Anyway, I don't think the producers want to introduce any love interests for the Mane Six, at least nothing for certain. And not just because the formula for the show is 'friendship', and that formula is winning enough for them not to mess with it. It would just limit things too much, and risk catching flack. Flash 'Waifustealer' Sentry was just a nice friendly guy who stood there, and fans hated him. How would they react if a canon relationship was forced in? There's no money in a risk move like that.
And I really, really hope that Trixie returns to the show in Season Five, acting like an interesting, contributing character and not a one-dimensional villain. I'm certain she will not prench-kiss Twilight Sparkle on-screen, because the writers avoid
obviously true lovecontroversial issues. But whatever happens, it will not lessen my appreciation of Lulamoon's Castle, or any other fanfics I like. Instead I will simply consider it and, if possible, use it to fuel more fanfics.Darnit, Bookish Delight. Now you're going to *force* me to write a story where Twilight and the girls come home from another exciting adventure to find the Crystal Treehouse has a new sign out front that reads "Trixie Lulumoon's Castle. No tresspassers."
Trixie: Like I said. It's mine. I bought out the deeds of the land that it sits on and had it registered in my name. As an unauthorized structure on my property, it's mine, all legal and everything. You really should have constructed your castle on your own property, Sparkle.
I'm glad to see someone else preach this message. "Alternate Continuity Until Further Notice" has saved many a fanfic, including my own.
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Re: Twilight: check your PMs.
I agree with you on the reasoning for Hasbro not wanting to touch canon romance, but in my line of work I've seen corporations grasp at the silliest straws imaginable just to see if they'll stick business-wise. I give Hasbro more credit than most people, I think, but I never count marketers and the allure of "wider audiences" out. Ever.
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And I invite you to! It's much better than the canon.
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i like to think of myself as a fandom Robin Hood.
Rob from the bountifulness that is canon! Adapt its ideas into something to give to the starving friendshippers/femslashers!
Then retreat to forest hideout until it's time to do it all again.
Please tell me everything in Rainbow Rocks. There are no theaters in my areas so I can't see it.
Every last detail! 
As for the headcanons, I've had several derailed from the leaked images already.
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Just throwing this out there, but why not make a group where the whole point is just one giant activity where we’re assigned a fellow member, look through their comments, blogs, stories, etc., and make up head canon about them to share with the rest of the group?
Yup, that's the joy and terror of writing fanfic for a living, breathing, growing, changing series! I bet people wrote quick fics based on Friendship is Magic, Part 1, and those fics got demolished as soon as Part 2 rolled out.
On the yuri thing - I think you're probably right, but the GBLT rights have been advancing way, way faster than most people have assumed. So while it's unlikely, I wouldn't consider it impossible that we get queer ponies in the background - I'm holding two hooves up for Lyra & Bon-Bon, of course - especially if the show runs a couple more seasons. Not the Mane Six, though, I think you're right about that.
On the comics: I've decided to treat them as deuterocanonical. I take the stuff that fits my conception of Equestria, and cheerfully ignore the rest. Case in point, I thought the story about how Shining Armor and Cadence got together was hilarious, but I will never in a thousand years accept it as part of my headcanon of how Equestria works.
2487350 I'm going tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly what I'll post or where, but I guess if you put up a review/spoiler thread in the EG group, I could add to it without worrying that it'll ruin someone's experience.
2487632 2487350
I was just musing over the same concept. I'm for it so long as the thread is very clearly spoiler-marked.
2487633 I'll go do it.
I can only imagine how a young Bookish Delight responded to the truth about Haruka and Michiru (SM:S). Which by the way:
"cousins" 
The only thing I have to add is even if Hasbro decided the current climate of homoesexual acceptance is good enough to risk making one of the girls gay, it would still only be only one, because there is no way they wouldn't take the option that let them make a new toy.