Thoughts on the departure of RealityCheck · 4:40pm Jan 27th, 2016
So! RealityCheck has quit FIMFiction and taken down his stories! I wish I could say that I was surprised but I'm not.
RC always had a hair-trigger temper and an incredibly weak tolerance for criticism or anyone who thought or said anything different from what he believes to be true or wanted to hear. He's shouted at me on his comments threads on more than one occasion for expressing views that he finds politically abhorrent and I can well imagine that being forced into a corner where he has unequivocally been forced to submit to what he regarded as an injustice would have been unbearable to him.
That said, I think that as 'final straws' go, this was a pretty weak one. I'm thinking that this was an excuse for him to do something that he wanted to do anyway. His recent 'Author's Tracts' masquerading as chapters of fan-fiction were beginning to grate on some readers' nerves. His more outspoken blogs on the direction of the show and his perception of what it revealed about the ethics and morality of the production team were also running into some considerable push-back from readers and I think that he was beginning to feel more than a little unwelcome on FIMFiction.net.
What about the issues as opposed to the personalities? I think that direct copy-and-paste without the original author's explicit permission (which should be linked in the story or summary), especially when responding to a story, writing a satire or a counterpoint is a bad idea. I got my fingers burnt over on Fanfiction.net about 10 years ago for doing that and deservedly so. ShortSkirtsandExplosions had every right to insist that their rights over their work be respected and, if they were unhappy for RC to use their text, then he should have changed it immediately and unconditionally. Additionally, if I were a mod, I would have contacted SS&E, sought their view on the matter and only taken action on their behalf. If they were happy for the pastiche to stay unchanged, then so be it.
My feeling is that RC got defensive (as he often does) and instead of attempting to resolve the situation (preferably by dealing directly with SS&E and then presenting the mods/admins with a fait accompli of both parties' agreement) he dug in his heels and screamed about being persecuted by his enemies. When it became plain that he wasn't going to win this argument, mostly because his usual tactics of deletion and spiteful comments weren't available, he took his toys and went home (to AO3, specifically).
I've got to say that I have mixed feelings. RC is a skilled writer and I enjoyed his Nyxverse stories; outside his Pen Stroke-inspired texts, The Audience is excellent and I enjoyed the earlier parts of The Great Alicorn Hunt which were nicely comedic. However, rot was starting to set in to both works as his obsession that he 'knows better' than the show's writing team became more and more pronounced. I never read 'Darth Vulcan', but I understand that it was direct satire-and-mockery comedy and I'm not a great fan of that genre.
Overall, I'm glad that he has migrated his stories rather than just delete them. As I've said, his Nyxverse works, especially "Nightmare Night and Nyx" and "Nyx's Famliy" are amongst my personal favourites. So, I'll doubtless be going over to AO3 on occasion to read them.
I agree. I like his stories too, especially his Nyx stories, Parting Words, and The Great Alicorn Hunt, but his bitching and moaning about the show was grating on everyone's nerves, especially when he dragged his rant blog about Crusaders of the Lost Mark into TGAH. Started to make me think he should've changed his username to RealityOblivious instead.
Out of curiosity, have you ever had an account on fanfiction.net by your same account name? (BenRG) If so, I think I'm acquainted with you sort of, years ago. Nothing bad though.
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Yes, that's me. I don't write (or at least publish it) as much as I used to but the account is still up.
Ah, I thought so. The reason I ask is that an online friend of mine who used go by Pikachu13 years ago (a sister figure to me and still is) I recall following a BenRG and I wondering if it was the same person.
The community keeps losing it's best writers.
I think he is a big loss. I didn't like his stories and didn't care for his attitude but I don't doubt his skills and as a writer on fimfiction he will be missed.
3728144 Agreed... To a point.
As BenRG stated, the rot was setting in. It's possible that he'll go the way of Frank Miller; getting worse and crazier as time goes on.
Personally I don't see it as a loss. Yes, he is a skilled writer, but he's also proven to be unpleasant, unable to accept facts when presented, unable to present facts when asked to support his arguments and has a smug demeanor.
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I also said that I didn't care for his attitude but we need skilled writers.
3739849 There are still plenty here, and I'm sure more will come. I don't think it's that big of a loss in the end.
...
Unless you love drama.
memecrunch.com/meme/3EGZV/drama-free-zone/image.jpg?w=600&c=1
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MLP is ending. It's been declining ever since Lauren's departure so high level writers will no longer arrive.
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That is a subjective viewpoint. I would argue that it is not even remotely reflected by the reality, given that Hasbro are confident enough in the property to green-light a new season for four years since Lauren left the show in any capacity and even green-light a feature film.
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That Hasbro is still milking it doesn't mean it's good. Especially since the newer designs are very questionable.
Also that Hasbro has faith in it proves very little.
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Okay, as you didn't get the hint, I'll be more specific: I don't agree that the quality of the show has declined. Subjective viewpoint? Yes, but so is yours.
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you can feel that the level of writing has decreased. It's a matter if you prefer it that way or not. I don't like very high level series. season 1 is very high level but I don't like it.
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Erm... No, the level hasn't 'declined'. Indeed, with time and the writers gaining confidence, we've had more complex plots, running meta-arcs and quite subtle bits of art and characterisation.
This seems to have gone off topic, given we are talking about RC's Rage Quit.
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Complex plots makes it more difficult but it doesn't mean that it's a good idea. They are very inconsistent with their lore and the characters are becoming more shallow.
What was your opinion of Shorn? Personally, I didn't understand why so many people seemed to hate it. I found it entertaining, I admired the details of the its headcannon, and I felt that it took the concept of an order that supposedly knew valuable secrets about the magic of Harmony yet saw fit to withhold it through multiple cataclysmic events to its logical conclusion. I haven't even read Final Evening Together because I find the very idea behind it ridiculous in almost half a dozen ways.
The only good story he wrote was his Nightmare Night one. While Nyxs family started really strong, it lost what it was to be intended: a story about family. Instead, it turned into something that would dominate his writing. It began to show that mares needed a stallion to show them the right way, that ponies like Celestia were more figure heads, that earth ponies were the only good ones.
In a sad way, it began to look like a PG rated Fall of Equestria