Observations · 6:06pm Sep 21st, 2019
Is it just me, or is there not a lot of imagination these days, story-wise? I mean, I know Sturgeon's Law is a thing, but... It's like every time I sign into FIMfic, there's almost nothing new that one could call 'good'. I'm not alone in this right? More after the break.
I mean, look at the new stories box. It's like nobody's either bothered to put in much effort. I'm sorry if I sound like I've just venting, and I probably am a little bit but I'm making observations here. A friend of mine, Whinnifree or Firedance as I know her better pointed out that because G4's ending and G5's on the horizon, it's hard to sell a G4 story and I think that's led to... I don't want to call it depression, but I think I will. It's like a certain portion of the fanbase knows that the show's ending, and most other people want to see G5, so they've pretty much stopped bothering with G4 as well. It's really telling that a lot of the popular stories go after the end of the story, like a few I've seen with Rainbow Dash realizing how old she's getting and learning to deal with that.
It's kinda gotten to a point where you get the feeling not even sex sells. Okay, yeah, sure sex stories are meant for a quick one, but there's not even any new clopfics.
I think there's another reason, for every story that the fanbase has come up with, it's either been done to death or canon episodes have squashed the possibility of ever being true in some form. I mean, look at the episode with Scootaloo's parents. Yes, I'm happy that she's no longer an orphan, but it also squashes a lot of story telling potential for some people. However, it also opens up a lot of new stories. I mean, what is life like for Scootaloo when she's being handed around to the town, if you will? What is life like with her aunts? Also, what are her parents like outside of work, actually what are they like at work? What adventures are they on? I mean, come on guys, pick up the pace! There's some stories there to tell surely!
And for those of us who've seen the finale? I can tell you that there's quite a few stories you can create from that alone. Like, I can.
You get my point.
I'm curious to see if FIMfic will host G5 stories, and it probably will as this is Knighty's big moneymaker really and I doubt it's going away anytime soon. Till then, I'll just sit here observing.
This site has been dead since season four.
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Has it? I came around during season 6 I think it was, and it seemed to pretty active back then. I wouldn't call that dead.
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I wouldn't call it dead either.
I'm sticking with my epic longfic until it's over. No matter what. That deserves a proper ending. It means too much to me.
I do wish the sex stories would be cut down. I had a hard enough time with porn as it was before this site, and this doesn't make it any better.
I am sticking around here for good going to finish all my stories.
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Yeah, that part I do wish would happen, or at the very least they'd be done more... classily. I mean, instead of just sex or god forbid foalcon, why not write something like Lady Chatterley's Lover. Romance/Erotica? I mean, we see plenty of good romance stories in the fanbase, it's not hard to just do romantic and sensual stuff, is it?
So you mentioned that some ideas people don't write because canon came along and made the ideas impossible to be true. My first reaction would be to just say "that's what the AU tag is for." But one of the things I think makes a story great is how they can reconcile contradictions from canon that comes after the original idea with the story itself. A shame that so many stories just fail in that aspect, either completely discarding the canon (not that that's always a bad thing) or doing such a bad job integrating canon it more or less ruins the story.
This site is still alive, I'd say. We've hit a plateau, not a downhill slope.
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Exactly. To be fair, this goes back to Sturgeon's Law, and that 90% of the time, people cannot think of anything... well, interesting, or are able to reconcile canon from fanfiction. I mean, take Daring Doubt. If you've seen that, you'll know what I'm talking about.
It's interesting, Daring is simply Indiana Jones as a pony, and yes she has good intentions and wants to keep history chronicled but when you get down to it, she is a thief. But unlike Indiana, someone's actually there to offer a different perspective aside from the chaotic villain. AKA Ahuizotl to show his side of the story. It actually makes a lot of sense, in some ways, if you consider history is generally written by the victors. I'm not saying the episode's good, I'm just saying it raises some interesting thoughts.
I'm sure a few genius authors could make this work in a fanfiction. As a rule though, I like to put the AU tag on every story really, if I can help it or be bothered, because it'll likely be contradicted by canon soon.
True, there is some kind of a drought in terms of okay to good stories for a while, though I wouldn't say it started all back from season 4. In fact it was around that time I joined the site and I would say it was at it's peak with the introduction of EQG and Sunset Shimmer.
And I don't if it's a me, a coincidence or actually related, but it seem this slow down came right after the passing of MithrilMoth.
Nonetheless, I'm also still staying here even after the final. I still have ... checks library ... 2645 stories to read and 134 tracking.
It is sad but I agree that with series 5 on the horizon the fandom is winding down. I hope we can see more people on the site star to branch out a bit more and do more crossovers. As for adult stories I got nothing as many just are all about the act with little else.
This show has gone on for too long and has made too much of an impact to just simply fade away after the finale. I'm sure we'll will lose a portion of the fandom, but hardly anything devastating. The end of a show hardly ever means the end of a fandom.
Of course, I could be bias here. I'm still writing my story that is definitely going to be a long one, and it's slowly gaining traction. Now, some would say that the show is ending and that I should stop wasting time writing for it, but I don't that would be very satisfying for me.
I can't tell you that you should like everything that comes from this site, but I at least implore you to hold on to a little faith for the fandom.
I think the key factor is that, in the old days, there were enough canonical gaps where a personal interpretation could be put in. That directly connects your story, that you wrote out of appreciation for the show, with your favourite show itself. People don't (always) write fanfiction as an academic exercise; it's how they enjoy the relationship.
Scootaloo's a good example; nothing was confirmed in canon before, so people could interpret her family and friend relationships any way they pleased and still feel connected to canon. There were dozens of ways to feel connected to the show, and her specifically, as a result, so lots of people could try their luck.
Now, there's one canonical version and any tweaks and variants thereof; anything more adventurous, and they have to do it in the teeth of canon. The same story they wanted to write now goes from personal connection to going against the grain. For some people, that's just not as fun, regardless of whatever logical alternate universe tag they could slap on. They don't want an alternate universe, they want that universe. Especially if enough of the fanbase don't like how canon dealt with it, end of story for them (figuratively and literally).
Whatever merits or weaknesses there are in that outlook, I do think a lot of it is down to that desire to put their own stamp on canon while simultaneously showing their appreciation for it. Hence knocking either will knock their interest down accordingly.
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Yeah, I'm sticking with my magnum opus until the end as well.
And I'm pretty sure Fimfiction will allow G5 stories. If anything, depending on how well it's received, the fan creators are gonna have a whole host of new content to play around with once it drops.
Maybe...
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Stats of the site have been dropping since the end of season four.
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Okay, That I admit will be true. But is it dead? No. Clearly not.
I love fanfiction a lot now from this website and other websites two.