FMF 21: 19 May 2017

Hey guys, and welcome back to another Fandom Music Friday. These past two weeks, I haven't put up an FMF. Part of that was me packing up my stuff from college and trekking a quarter of the way across the U.S. Part of that was me psychologically crawling into a hole and not wanting to come out. Grades this semester were... less than great. Less than good, even. But wouldn't you know it, I stumbled onto the exact song I needed at the time. I found "Isn't It Great to be Different" by Forest Rain and Decibelle.

Derpy Hooves's entire existence was a mistake. An animator was supposed to put a pony in front of her, but forgot. Pre-edit, Derpy was voiced by a VA who thought she was voicing a male character. Derpy never had a chance to develop her own identity and character; the fandom created her identity for her based off her appearance and a single line of dialogue: "Muffins." She was probably only intended to be bubbly and, well, ditzy. It's a sad tale, really. Or at least it would be if it ended there.

The story behind this song goes like this: A few years back, Forest Rain was manning at Bronycon, but stepped away for a moment. Upon returning, somepony cosplaying as Derpy Hooves had left a white envelope on Forest's table. Inside was a simple note that read, "It's great to be different." From this simple act of kindness came a song and a PMV that has inspired countless people (just judging by the comment section of said videos). People who have come out of depression, people who have been given a restored outlook on life, people who have been contemplating suicide all were affected by this song, and by extension, that note. First lesson: You never know how far a tiny act of kindness will go. Second lesson: You don't have to be perfect to not be a failure. I recently rewatched "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" Guilt is a powerful motivator, but excessive guilt hinders forward progress. I'm not afraid to say I cried upon hearing this song. This song broke me in the best kind of way. It gave me hope and a promise that I wasn't going to be done in by this one failed semester. Ultimately, this kind of powerful song is the very reason I started these Fandom Music Fridays. I hope this piece of music has been as much of an inspiration to you as it has to me.

(Now if you'll excuse me, I have 400+ notifications to read through here on FimFiction. I'll be back in a few hours.)

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Star Wars: Clone Wars crossover/colab: (priority--high)
Blog with link to the story
Goal: 10K words
Progress: 7.1K words
Remaining chapters: 1

History Lesson Bonus/Cut Content: (priority--medium)
Projected: ~3-5K words
Progress: 1.6K words

History Reimagined: (priority--low)
Goal: very approx. 55-65K words
Progress: 6.2K words (mostly a rough outline of characters and key events.)
Projected chapters: approx. 10
Release date: Fall 2017