interview:Muggonny · 2:05am Aug 1st, 2021

Interview: Muggony
by Nailah

1. What inspired your username?

Muggonny

I was 14, alone in my room. I looked toward my TV stand and on it sat a mug. The word, "Mugon," immediately came to mind. I knew this word was nonsensical, but it clearly stuck. I would use it as a username in a few places, but I always pronounced it "Muggon," thus the extra G was eventually added. At some point in the later future, I was at a crossroads with what I wanted my username to be. It was initially "Savoured Thoughts." This name was boring, uninteresting! I wanted a name that would define me as a writer. So, I slapped -ny at the end, and the name became "Muggonny." I went with the name because, as a writer, it defined me as my own thing.

Nailah:
I see. Fascinating!
2. How did you get into MLP?

Muggonny

I actually got into fanfiction when I was 12-years-old. I would get on my Nintendo DSI (that's an old-fashion statement) and read stories about my favorite Pokémon until 4 AM on a school night (I remember that by doing this, I would inevitably learn that a "Lemon" in fanfiction terms does not imply that a small yellow citrus fruit will appear in the story. shivers at the memory of the trauma) Some of it would be Pokémon, some of it would be Spyro. However, once I started to look into an author's other work, I would discover MLP fics in their catalog. Being the testosterone-filled preteen that I was, I telepathically communicated to the author that they were stupid for writing such garbage.

Eventually, I caved in, and late one night I got on the Wii (another old-fashion statement) and watched an episode on YouTube. The episode was Look Before You Sleep, and it was closely followed by some episode where Rarity was in Canterlot or whatever. This put me in a stage of denial where I questioned every aspect of my masculinity. Deciding that there was no masculinity to begin with, I shut up, sat down, and ate my food. The food was good. I this scenario, the food was a TV show, and I ate it with my eyes.

Also, I arrived into the fandom during early season 4.

Nailah:
Interesting. (I didn't get here till 2017 but this isn't about me. So I disgress)
3. Who is BEST pony and why?

Muggonny

So, sue me if you hate me: I lost interest in ponies in, like, 2018. Going to Bronycon in 2019 (RIP) reinvigorated some interest, but I had more interest in the nonpony characters. So, like, you ask me who best pony is, I'll say either, "Ember," cuz I'm a scaley or, "Ocellus," because I relate to her. I'm sorry for uttering such blasphemy. If we got into OCs, I do like Blacjack from Project Horizons an awful lot! Go ahead FO:E fandom, reign down on me for not preferring Littlepip.

Nailah:
Best pony can be a non pony. Perhaps I should change it to who's best creature for the future.
4. What inspires you to write?

Muggonny

I have ideas I want to express, and I want to do so in creative, entertaining ways. I'm not really motivated by building an audience off ideas that please everybody. I'm interested in exploring high concepts in ways that make them more appealing to others without making me come off as a pretentious fanfiction writer. It is my legit belief that fanfiction could be an artform if utilized correctly. So, I only write concepts that I'm interested in. I never bought into the whole, "OwO ponies are so adorable!!!" thing but I'm still interested in the challenge of making the story entertaining for the reader.

I've always been a really creative person, so creativity is something I need to survive. There is something really cathartic about writing a story with a base idea and watching it grow into something that you didn't expect. Even if I had nowhere to publish my work, I would probably still write it.

That or my ADHD will get the best of me, and I'll procrastinate writing the thing nobody will ever see.

Nailah:
5. What advice might you give to a new author?

Muggonny

Take everything you know as a writer and pretend you don't know it. Why? Because there is so much advice that it could be overwhelming to decide which to follow. Your best bet is to take the advice in and follow the path that seems more logical. But, be willing to give the other path a shot. Everybody writes a little differently, and your first job as a beginner is to find whatever it takes to get words onto the page. My beginning process went a little like this: I wrote a fic nobody liked, and I wondered why nobody liked it. After a few failures, I decided to hang in the background and examine what made good writing. What did I find? I discovered that my original perception had been arrogant and that in order to grow, I had to be willing to accept that all forms of writing are acceptable.

After that, I began to see how good stories came together. If you were to ask me what piece of pop culture truly transfigurated me as a writer, I'd tell you about a little Netflix series called Bojack Horseman. I found the show when I was 16, which is the perfect age for someone still developing themselves as a writer, and it was the most surreal thing I watched at the time. I've seen lots of other stuff now, but this was groundbreaking for me. I watched that show so many times that I began to notice beats in the story. I realized that the more I examined a piece of work, the more I'd recognize the pieces that make it whole. That led into me experimenting with some stuff, and that eventually led into my modern writing style.

Nailah:
6. Care to tell us a bit about the man behind the pony?

Muggonny

6. There's not much to say. I'm a simple man who really enjoys a nice story. I have a fascination with martial arts. I don't have an interest in watching it, but I do enjoy doing it. I think this stems from my stepdad teaching Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu at the back of my mom's thrift store. The thrift store had some traction, but the classes were fairly popular for a town with an average populace. I also really enjoy comedy. Like, really, really enjoy comedy. I don't even care if people find any of my jokes funny. I have a playlist on YouTube dedicated to every single comedy video I've watched, and it already has over 2,335 videos. I'd really like to dive into the history of it someday. I still have to look into some of the earlier comedians, but I can name many you most likely haven't heard of.

7. What story has inspired you the most? It doesn't even have to be mlp!

Muggonny

7. Story, story... really, it's hard to say. I keep myself open to new influences all the time because it warps me as a writer. Really, I look for something I really enjoy and base my writing around that. I guess to name some influences that inspired my style though: Bojack Horseman, as previously said. Bo Burnham's comedy specials. He's a really smart, quirky comedian that has taught me the importance of introspection. There's also a movie called Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I don't know what it is about that movie, but its energetic style and narrative really helped me tapped into a new part of my writing. Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson, introduced me to the indie film industry, and from there I discovered a side of storytelling that I wasn't use to seeing but was still very pleased by. Icarus is a wild documentary on Netflix that you MUST see. It taught me how a simple story could escalate into the craziest thing you've ever seen (Somebody at the end of the documentary goes into hiding. I highly recommended you pick up their book, because as of right now they're still in witness protection. Yes, the documentary gets insane.). Let's see, what else... Antkind was a really wild book that I listened to on Audible recently. I'm not going to describe the plot. I'll let you find out yourself. Hmm.... Crazy Steve in Equestria is a really tragic story about Crazy Steve from Drake and Josh ripping a wormhole in space time, traveling to Equestria, and having to learn to control his sanity in a world that won't accept him. Mr. Robot is my favorite TV show, and that provided some inspiration for my fic Project Rita. I'm going to stop there. I have a wide list, as you can tell. I don't limit myself to taste per scenario. I just want the story to be good. If I get that, my quest has been fulfilled.

8. Is there anything else you'd like to say?

Muggony

8. Yeah, my mom's thrift store is having a going out of business sale. If you live in the Texas Panhandle area, PM me. Otherwise, there's pizza in the break room. Take only one slice.

Author's Notes: Hey everyone, Nailah here. Now, I know I've done these interviews for a LONG time, but I'm at the point in my life where I feel like it's time to move on. I'd rather not be known as that "mare" that interviews ponies, and actually known for my stories, or heck even the Reviewer's Mansion. I am glad that I've been able to help so many author's over my I've lost count how many interviews I've done. Granted, this doesn't mean I'm done with Fimfiction. I still have stuff I wanna do, I'm just gonna be more focused on me, and is that selfish? Maybe. But everyone is allowed to have a little ego right?

You can find him at: Muggony

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