Friendship was magic: How Bronies are preparing for the end of My Little Pony · 11:18pm Aug 28th, 2018
Hello all,
So, uh... I didn't mention this in my last blog, but if you were at BronyCon, you might remember me mentioning that I was working on a project. Or, possibly, I may have asked you for an interview or some pictures.
Well, all that was in service of this:
Once a meme juggernaut, the Brony subculture has largely faded away from the public eye. But now, as the show nears its end, I interviewed dozens of BronyCon 2018 attendees about what the fandom means to them, and where they see it going.
Yeah, I got published on Polygon! I've been dreaming of writing for this site for years, so when I contacted them about my article idea and they asked me to write it, I was over the moon.
I hope you all like it. At least one person has called me a cuck for mentioning anything negative about the fandom, so here's hoping y'all can rise above that level of discourse.
EDIT: Also I just noticed this is my 100th blog! How fitting!
Sweet! Good shit dude.
Someone called you a cuck for saying something negative...
I must be a massive cuck!
Awesome.
It's not confirmed yet.... -_-*
Cuckin' A, mate, that's a pretty decent article! Congrats on getting real-published.
That was a bittersweet read. Still, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. Thanks for the link and the article, and congrats on the publication from the trenches.
Good work! Entirely fair and well reported. Morning Sun pointed me to it, neither of us realizing it was you, and I was like "Huh? Who did I talk to-- ooh, this is what Dubs was doing."
In retrospect, I might not have used "horses kissing" so freely, but c'est la vie!
What a lovely article. I have been a Brony/ponyfan (I wasn't aware that there were people who had a problem with the term "Brony," but I respect their reasons) since 2011, right at the tail end of the first season. I wrote a song, I've written a dozen fanfics, and have been involved in many charities started and pushed by the Brony community, and I don't regret a moment of it. Like some of those you mentioned in your article, the show saved me, too. The world I was living in was pitch black, and I just didn't see any reason to stay. A friend sent me a link with the words "you have to watch this."
That was episode 1 of MLP:FIM. I watched it. Then I watched episode 2, then 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. I was hooked. The show was funny, intelligent, sweet, kind, lacking in cynicism, and it made my heart start to realize something, that there were beautiful things just hidden away, waiting to be discovered, and that I had stumbled upon one thanks to a friend (whom I love and adore to this day).
When I heard the news that the show was (possibly) ending in the 9th season, and then that Bronycon was shutting down, I was in shock. I was saddened. Now, I've never been to a convention, but I do want to go so very badly. The nearest one for me would be Trotcon, so if they'll still have them for a few more years, I think I could manage to finally attend one. I've been a Star Trek fan since 1984, and only attended my first Trek convention in 2010. It takes a great while for me to have the chance to do something I like, but if it's still there, I eventually get to make it happen.
I think your article touches on some of the best, and worst, aspects of the fandom, and I accept them unflinchingly. Our desire to connect with each other seeks out the best in humanity, and our zealousness and hatred at those whom we see as different uncovers the worst in us. Everything else in between are just shades of gray that become colorful hues when we open our hearts and honestly look at each other with the love and kindness we all deserve to experience.
In short, you did a great job, and I hope you continue to speak up about the fading, the forgotten, and the future fandoms.
Kindest regards,
Lotus
P.S. Congratulations for getting published in Polygon!
For me, the fan works community was actually more of a draw to MLP then the show itself was. As long as people keep creating, I'll be right there with them.
Wow, writing an article about horses? What a nerd
Nice job, dude!
And thus proved you right! :D
I've been prepared, not just preparing, for about the last five years. :B
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YES! I had been away from FiMFiction for most of the day, so I hadn't sent it to you yet, but it's just as well that Sunny and you found it on your own. Thank you so much for contributing—and don't feel too ashamed about the horses kissing quote. For a good number of people I showed the article to before publication, that was their favorite line.
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Thanks for the kind words, and thank you for sharing. It's bittersweet for me, too; I downplay it in the article, but this fandom has been a part of my daily life for seven years. If I ever do leave it behind—and who knows, I may just be trapped here forever—it's gonna leave a big hole.
Congratulations and excellent work!
4927533 - Thank you, and yeah, I have no intention of leaving, either. Those pastel ponies got me through some truly awful moments, many of them, because with how my life has gone these past 10 years, without those sweet, loving, trusting ponies, I don't think I would be here. As a proponent of loyalty myself, that means I'm staying.
I'm reading all this stuff, but who said the end of G4 had to mean the end of the Bronies? Hasbro (at least I think) now know they can cater to a larger audience with MLP, so they could still go in that direction. And who's to say that G5 won't spell the beginning of a new Brony generation?
duuuude fuckin rad article, love the holistic look at the ups and downs
I had already seen the article in my feed and read it. It was really professionally done, I had no idea the author was a brony themselves until the end. I thought Polgyon sent a staff writer to the convention.
It's still weird to me that Friendship is Magic is ending. I've gotten so used to it that it feels weird for it to almost be over. Ah well. I suppose that it was going to happen one day or another. Here's to Season 9 and here's to Gen 5! May the writers of it learn from the mistakes of Gen 4 and may it bring joy to countless others.