The other day, my older sister found out I write ship-fics involving female characters in the MLP universe. I had introduced her to a few pony things, but always avoided anything that would make her hate ponies--specifically F/F, and M/M. Because I'm a girl too, this realization didn't go over well. I just hope she doesn't tell my parents or anyone I know.

Anyway, has anyone else had awkward moments between family members that had to do with ponies? Or, any thoughts on mine?

1226453
I think I get pretty lucky, my family is pretty internet savvy and they just see Bronies as one of the many things they don't get, so they don't particularly care what I do in the fandom.

1226453 the time in the car when I finally confirmed I liked MLP to my dad. I'm in highschool so it is still awkward for me as a girl.

1226453
My folks don't give a damn.

1226453 Incognito tab in google chrome. Works wonders.

1226453 First person I told that I was a brony in real life called me cancer. Some little librarian girl, we just started talking about the interwebz, 4chan came up and I mentioned I was a brony. She gasped and called me cancer.

I was appaled. "No!" I said to the young, cute blonde chick. "I am in no way cancer. I am actually a Libra."

I had fun.

1226467
I started watching it on TV and my family just came to accept it. Then, I was introduced to the fandom and began writing for it. If I get lucky--which I doubt, cause seriously, sisters will be sisters--she won't say a word. But considering I'm in high school too, if word got out, things wouldn't go so well.

I managed to convince my dad the show was cool with one clip; the Big Lbowski cameo in the bowling allies. He's even gone and watched the first episode though he says he won't have the time to watch more. My sister found out a little bit before but I managed to get her hooked when she was board out of er mind at grandma's house and my laptop with all the MLP episodes was the only thing to watch.

They'd probably be a little disturbed if they found out I'm holding onto some clop I'm thinking about publishing here...

1226483 they can go better than you think.

1226460
That is lucky, in my opinion. I like sharing the things I like with my family, but in this case it worked against me.
1226475
I'm interested.
1226468
I wish I had your folks.

1226497 My folks couldn't care less if I liked MLP or that I'm trying to use GIMP to draw them and write fics about them.

1226497
Hell, my mum got me a Derpy plush for my birthday.

1226497 Get google chrome and do "Ctrl+Shift+N" while you have google chrome out and a tab will appear. With this tab nothing shows on the history and any proof that you did anything on this tab will never appear. All you have to worry about is if someone else is in the room that you don't want to see what you are doing.

1226453

Welp, I wanted to say something wise and deep, but Akumokagetsu said everything you really need to know. Acting ashamed can only make it worse and even if she's your sister she should be able to listen to you. Just tell her why you do it and that you like doing it. After all, you at least let your creativity bloom and do what you want, nurturing your talent. If she's a nice older sister, she should respect that (I know my older brother did).

If that does not help, the edged end of a shovel to a neck can swiftly end things. I do not recommend that though Sibling murder is somewhat frowned upon.

1226499

I honestly had no idea just how homophobic my family members were until that moment; nor did I realize that by 'homophobic' they mean 'hate anything that questions a persons sexuality in any way, shape, or form'.

I know what that's like. While I am straight, and have only written about straight relationships in the past, MLP changed that streak. The characters were way too compelling not to.

However, being a fan of something (especially ponies) has gotten me judged fairly often. Definitely within my family. Knowing my dad, he'd go ballistic if he knew some of the things I write, and I'd rather not go through that. He'd think I was gay for writing things like that.

I appreciate your encouragement very much, though. If my sister does say anything, I'll try my best to be proud and defend myself.

My family knows I'm an animation fan since... always, so I have no problem. I remember when I was 15. I was alone at home and went to rent a DVD. most teens would use the situation to rent a porn, I used it to get... Fievel.

1226513
... If you're trying to make me jealous, it's working.

While I do have my own collection of pony stuff, I don't have any plushies. Wish I did though--they're way expensive, though.

1226510
So far, my family hasn't exactly disapproved. They've judged me, though. If they figured out I ship characters not different genders, that'd change real fast, I'm sure.

1226522
I'm guessing you've used this before. I'll have to try it later, when I'm not on Firefox.

1226530
I hope you're right. In the past, she hasn't exactly been the best older sister figure. The only reason she saw my stuff was because she decided to make a fanfiction account and was exploring my profile... I'm proud about what I like most of the time, but I cave when the other person starts taking it up a notch and personally attacking me about it. My dad overreacts all the time, so that alone makes me nervous.

1226579 Why... whatever makes you say that?

>.>
<.<
e-e
You win... damnit.

My dad pretty much became a convert to the Church of Bronyday Saints when I first introduced him to both the show and the story I was writing. He even became a Derpy fan not one minute after introducing her. My dad is a bit of an oddball but I consider myself very fortunate for it.

1226492

What do you mean? For me, my friends are really homophobic, so it'd be terrible if they found out. And high school being high school, I just hope I can find local brony/pegasister friends where I can be completely honest.

1226537

I've always been a fan of things that remind me of when I was younger. Usually, that involves anything 90's. But if it doesn't have good plot or characters, I can't watch it. That's probably why MLP struck a chord within me.

1226491

I've tried getting people I know into ponies--admittedly leaving out some details of the fandom--but everyone's so conscious about being judged. I know one person that's into ponies, but the other aspects of his personality annoy me to death. I don't think I'll write clop, but once upon a time I said I'd never write M/M or F/F.

1226593

My dad's more reserved and old-fashioned, so he'd probably kick me out if he figured out. Unluckily for me, he's already made my other sister live with my mom, so my fate is uncertain.

1226590

Bahaha, knew it. Time to switch to Google Chrome, then. I don't want anyone browsing through my history.

1226480

The only experience I've had like that was when I went to see EQG in theaters. I wore a Doctor Whooves shirt, and a random girl wearing a Rainbow Dash hoodie with wings attached ran all the way over to me from the other side of the theater just to say she liked my shirt. The popcorn she'd been holding had spilled over while she was running, too.

Needless to say, I was proud to be into ponies that day.

1226627 I'm using icognito right now.
Betcha' didn't know that.

1226579

Standing up to your parents is always difficult and pretty often leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth. My parents are fortunately very fair and since I have now left their care by moving into another city, we are on pretty good terms, since they don't have to deal with my shit on a daily basis. That's something you can look forward to when you get around that phase of your life!

Another possible solution for keeping your sister's mouth shut is, of course, always blackmail. If you have dirt on her, threaten to tell your parents about it if she blurts out your fanfiction activity. Not the nicest thing to do, but it can be effective. I wouldn't recommend it though, falling out with family is always dirty.
Apart from that I can only repeat myself like a poorly placed vinyl record: talk to your sister. If she has a fanfiction-account, she should appreciate fics just as much as we nuts do. If the sexuality is the biggest problem, just explain to her you're not 'swinging that way'. Can be awkward, but before your father yells the roof down you should clear that up. There are just some things parents don't need to know about anymore at a certain age of their children.
That's really all I can say. Hope you'll survive it and can keep on writing! I know some of your stuff looks very intriguing to me and it would be a shame if it were left unfinished

My younger brother knows I'm a brony, and he seems to be pretty cool about it. Dude's a comic book artist and likes animation just fine. Plus, he apparently has a lot of LGBT type friends, so I doubt he'd mind me writing shipfics. If anything, he's opposed to fanfiction in general, but probably doesn't care what exactly I write fanfics about otherwise.

He even tried FiM himself, but didn't quite see the appeal. Heck, neither did I the first two years - I actually got into it on purpose fairly late, because everyone seemed to be having so much fun with it.

My older brother would probably ridicule me about it, but he does that about nearly everything I like. I don't think he even means anything by it, it's just the way he is. On the other hand, my sisters probably wouldn't give a damn. And while my parents can be kinda narrow minded, they're not narrow minded as in: "What is this? We hate this because it's different!" but rather as in: "What is this? No, really, we don't get it."

Anyway, I'm 29 years old, so it's really nobody's business what I'm into.

1226676

So spoke the samurai unto the blue dude with a pikachu hat, and a firm friendship of buttocks was formed.

1226453 I just finished my fic a few days ago. A good buddy of mine (known him for almost 15 years) he comes over. This is the conversation we had.

Me: "So I finished a story I had been working on."

Him: "Word? You mean that novel you have been writing?"

Me: "Nah, nothing like that. Just a fan fic I have been doing to get some practice in."

Him: "Right on. Give me the site. I want to check it out."

Me: "Ehhhh...I dunno. Not sure you would get into it. It's kinda for people of a certain fandom."

Him: "Oh come on. As long as it isn't like some weird My Little Pony thing."

Me: "..............."

Him: "You're messing with me?"

Me: *starting to laugh* "........"

Him: "Aww man! It is isn't? Does have sex in it?"

Me: *busts out laughing*

Him: "That's messed up man. My kids watch that show you know."

Me: "Still want to read it?"

Him:".........yeah."

This guy and my room mate are the only people IRL that I have let on to the fact that I am a rather dedicated Brony. My immediate family, while are a group of wonderful people for the most part. Well let's just say they are kinda back woods, and have a lot of red on the neck. I doubt I will ever tell them.

1226642

Actually, nope. Seems like a lot of work for secrecy. Is it worth it?

1226645

That's terrible... I was raised half Jewish half Christian (don't ask me), but since I was the youngest out of six, I didn't exactly get a lesson on religion. Basically, everyone in my family but me is super religious because of that, and if I ask about it my dad'll say "You should know this." I avoid any discussions about religion though, since everyone's sensitive about it.

Back in the day, I used to follow whatever my dad said about everything. Now that I'm older and wiser (hopefully), I have my own beliefs. Gay rights specifically, are one of the things he will not talk about.

My grandparents are worse than that. I shudder the thought of visiting, because they live and breathe religion. I have nothing against the religion itself, but if you have a different belief than them--oh boy, you'd better be ready to walk across three states to get home.

Even if my things get taken away, I'll find a way to keep going. Be it pen and paper, I'll keep writing. If it gets bad, I'll just move in with my mom or something. She's not quite so judging.

1226646

Yeah, I've always avoided any confrontations. I'm looking forward to moving out and achieving independence, but for now I have to do what I can.

I'd rather not resort to blackmail, but I do have something I could use against her. I've talked with her before about what her opinion on gay rights was, and she seemed indifferent about it as long as "she didn't have to see it." However, that's kinda what happened, and I'm sure she thinks less of me for it.

I appreciate the comment about my writing, though. I've always been a sucker for romance, even if the characters aren't human and aren't different genders.

1226741 Yeah. It really isn't that hard. ctrl + shift + N. Done. Was it that hard?

My family doesn't really care, as long as it encourages my passion to write. Heck, my two younger sisters berated me for it at first, and now I've successfully converted them and a few of their friends to the show.

Join the herd: resistance is futile.

But seriously, nobody else outside immediate family knows this, because as a straight male about to finish 4 years of college, I have enough on my plate to worry about.

1226453 My parents and family really don't care too much that I'm a brony. But then again, I've always liked cartoons/anime since I was a kid so it didn't surprise them too much. I own at least seven pony t-shirts and wear them often. Hell I even wear a Rainbow Dash sticker on my name tag at work. My point is: If you truly like something, go at it 100%, Don't half ass it. People will think you're weird, they might even hate you but you'll always have fellow bronies/pega-sisters to back you up.

1226535

Have you considered just asking your sister to keep a lid on it? Like, explain that you're not gay and that you kinda don't want people to think you are, what with the apparently rampant homophobia in your parts?

I mean, she'd have to be a pretty terrible sister to get you in trouble on purpose.

1226654

I'm looking forward to being out of the house for those reasons. My family's of the former category, so they jump at the opportunity to tell all of our family friends that I'm weird enough to watch MLP.

"I'm 29 years old, so it's really nobody's business what I'm into."

I look forward to the day I can say this.

1226732

I've actually discussed yaoi/yuri with my friend who's into anime. She's not into ponies--hates them by all means--and only accepts yaoi. She thinks it's weird for a girl to read/write about anything yuri, so I have yet to say anything about what I write to her. Sounds like your friend's pretty cool, though.

1226749

Surprisingly, no.
This will help in my plans for world domination...

1226753

Sounds like you do have a lot on your plate.

I don't have any luck getting people into the herd. I'm glad there's places like FiMfiction for me to talk all things pony, as I certainly don't get to IRL.

1226756

I'm pretty sensitive, so I've been hesitant about wearing my merchandise openly. However, MLP's been pulling me out of my shell more and more. Now, I even wear my t-shirts in public. Hopefully, it won't add to some people's "nerd" image of me, knowing the prejudices against fans of the show.

"...you'll always have fellow bronies/pega-sisters to back you up."

This gives me a lot of confidence. Thanks.

1226774

Well, my sister's been surprisingly cruel. Once, she locked me in the trunk of a car and left me there. Though, not without telling me "the ants are gonna get you!" This led to me fearing the dark and ants for many years to come, and I still get a jolt of nervous energy when walking down a dark hallway alone. I was like a personal slave in my pre-teen years, and if I didn't do what she wanted me to I'd definitely regret it. Not to mention she slapped me for cursing--and keep in mind, this was when I started high school.

/End rant. She does stuff like that to me all the time, which is why I have serious trust issues about her.

1226453 yeah, I've been there. I told my mother about it since she asked what I was doing and watching while at uni. I told her about MLP and mentioned all the voice actors and stuff that are from other shows I watched. Then I showed her the episode (sisterhooves social i think) where Rarity has that gone with the wind moment... "AS CELESTIA AS MY WITNESS, I SHALL NEVER BE SISTERLESS AGAIN!" and that won her over... my father on the other hand checked the mail one day and found out i had ordered some comics and gave me the most disappointed looks ever... oh well... I told him about it and he just shook his head and pretended it didn't happen.

I'm a closet brony, so aside from that I don't stand to gain anything from revealing my love of the show.

1226888
I love that episode.

I've tried getting my mom into the show, too. However, she won't give it a chance. Haha, she's into documentaries and army stuff--since she's serving. Naturally, I tried to show her Ballad of the Brony, but she still only criticized without watching.

Personally, I've told most everyone I know that I like the show, but only to a certain extent. Definitely not that I ship characters together. It feels liberating, but it sucks at the same time knowing that out of everyone no one's truly interested.

Not a single friend or member of my family knows that I watch MLP, much less that I write fanfiction for it. Personally, I don't want any of them to ever know, and I will happily keep it a secret for the rest of my life. I see no reason to tell them.

First person I told was a friend of mine. He loves giving me shtick about it but he doesn't seem to care. Then I told my mom. She laughed at me and still does because she thinks I make it a big deal and she said she doesn't care (probably cause I'm a huge PowerPuff Girls fan). The rest of my family found out from my mom but have never really said anything. I'm still worried about my Dad's feelings about this cause he's a Marine and well need I say more. Other than that the only other person that knows is my cousin and she's supportiveish. It gets much better once you get to University I've made a small handful of brony friends and have seen MLP stuff on campus. People don't seem as bothered by it. A friend of mine did a MLP speech for his Communications class and everyone, including the teacher, liked it. He even had a football player in his class and the two of them chatted about it afterwards. High School could be different but if you don't let it bother you then it shouldn't matter

1226579 In my opinion, it is what you want to do and you should be left to do it if it makes you happy. I understand it is family but they should support what you do. Whether it goes against their opinion or not.

1226967

I'm starting to wish I'd kept that kind of secrecy from the very beginning.

1226974

I loved Powerpuff Girls as a kid, and still do. My mom's in the army, so I kind of know where you're coming from. I have a while to go in high school... I just hope the fandom stays alive for a long time yet. I'm sure I'll be a fan for an extended period of time. Maybe a part of me will always love it.

1227021

Fandoms last forever. I still watch PowerPuff girls with friends from time to time. I know one fandom that will never die and that's Pokemon, which I have been a fan of since day one .

It's been 1 ½ years and nobody knows nothing about me and my interest. Hah, what do I win?

My family is very accepting, and as nervous as I was to admit being a fan of My Little Pony, I really shouldn't have been surprised that they found it odd, but didn't really care. My dad doesn't understand why My Little Pony, but he's not actually against it.

They know I've taken up writing fanfiction, but I just can't bring myself to introduce them to my story since I've decided to make some of the future chapters truly mature.

1227002

I suppose so. I really do enjoy being a part of the fandom, and hope that my family and friends can understand that it makes me happy, even if it includes things they dislike.

1227046

That's true. I'm a fan of Pokemon, admittedly of the older generations. Not so much for Black/White ones, though. I feel like I'll always be writing for fandoms I enjoy--and I know I'll enjoy the MLP episodes long after they stop airing.

1227073 I hope so to.

1227062

You've earned my respect.

1227064

I made the mistake of pointing out that I write stories, and that I've been semi-successful on Fanfiction.net. However, now they are a bit interested in what I write and I have to come up with excuses.

1227114

Thanks

1227198
It's not about ponies, but it is my most popular fic. I found FiMfiction on a whim, to be honest. Looked up MLP stuff on the internet, got curious enough to look up shippings, and ended up here.

Ah, so you're on Fanfiction as well? What's your username?

1226453
Oh, yay, another fan of Pokemon!

My RL best friend got me into the show a little over two years ago, and after getting over my "what even is this" stage, I was hooked. It's really made me happier, more optimistic, and rekindled my creativity to an insane degree. I've got eight or nine story ideas floating around my head, all begging to be written. It's quite fun.

Then, I kinda made the mistake of telling my parents about it. Their first impression? "... It's gay." Their second? "Actually, it's kind of creepy for a grown person to be watching a little girl's show." Since they're normally rather open-minded, this caught me completely off-guard. I told them to watch an episode of the show, and they watched all three I sent. They thought it was good... for a show for little girls. Their mind is set that only little girls can enjoy it, that guys can't enjoy girl things anyway, and "that's just the way things are, even though it shouldn't be." Considering they backed up my older sister when she wanted Hot Wheels instead of a Barbie at the drive-thru... I dunno. Double standard, much?

Don't get me wrong, my parents are otherwise awesome, and they've done more to help me than I can ever understand or thank them for. I still respect them a great deal. At this point we've pretty much agreed to disagree, and we get along fine. I haven't told any other family about it.

The bright side? I moved out shortly before getting into the show, no roommates, so I am going to hold all of these ponies, and nobody can say shit about it.

1227244

Heh, my Pikachu/Fluttershy picture was enough of a clue, then.

I'm afraid my parents hold the same values, but unlike yours, won't give it a chance. All I can get is "It's a show for little girls! I won't watch something as degrading as that!" Even though I've stopped pushing about it, I still get off-hand remarks about my childishness.

Yeah, I respect my parents, but they annoy me a lot. The show's made me a lot happier as well, so that's a plus.

...If this thread's taught me one thing, it's that I'm seriously gonna enjoy living independently.

1226453 My family is totally okay with my pony obsession, my sister and I watch the show together, and I'm going to BronyCon - my experience with being a Brony has been good!