Alternative title: Dan's 2 AM "fuck you" post.
One of the most important parts of writing is how you describe things to your writers. If you write with bland, nondescript and "bonesy" sentences, you should be an engineer. On the other hand, you could have overzealous, powerful and (almost tediously) long descriptions. Then you could be in marketing.
However, most good writers are in between like Goldilocks. There is, however, a problem within. You see, young people, that "bronies" have created their own reference dictionary containing words and phrases related to Friendship is Magic. Some examples include "20 percent X-er", "ten seconds flat", "New Lunar Republic", "wingboner", "plot" among others.
Here comes the problem (ominous music).
Some time ago, a couple of writers thought it would be a wonderful idea to use those words within their fan fictions.
Supposedly, it would be "so awesome" because it would be a secret code lexicon "for-EVER"!!!!one!
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Some people (read: morons and chuckleheads) think these "brony" words are "so so so FUNY XD /)o3o/)" (s.i.c.) because they are unique to the subculture of "bronies". But when you go so far as to believe the actual characters
of the show will use your memes in every day dialogue, that's stupid. Some (following unedited) quotes include:
-
"Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy started,
stalling for time. "... has the best plot in the world..."
-
Apple Jack put down the barrel and sighed, She thought that everything was to hard on her this season especially this season. Everything needed to be about
20% less stressful.
-
Aurora Blaze was in Pony Ville when he saw twilight Sparkle looking sexy reading a book buy herself in the park very close. Well she was so sexy that Aurora Blaze thought about having Twilight as his marefriend and being itimate with her all night. Well that gave him a wingboner really fast so he had to hide it.
-
Honestly, people? Don't ever think it's acceptable to put slang, whether fan-dumb speak or not, in your book.
Post Script:
One of the biggest ofenders is the term "mane 6"
A THOUSAND FUCKING TIMES NO
MANE IS HORSE HAIR
MAIN IS SUPERIOR TO SECONDARY
IT'S FINE IN CASUAL CONVERSATION BUT BY THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST ON A POGO STICK THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGABLE, NOR ARE THE MEANINGS SWITCHED
ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS GOT CONFUSED DURING A WRITEATHON AND WAS DISQUALIFIED BECAUSE HE THOUGHT MANE MEANT MAIN
FUCK

TL;DR? Type a pony fic like you would any other.

that sure does seem like something Fluttershy would say

which she did

because it's an unedited quote

385199
but it's headcanon

There are some fics where I can accept it but it's still iffy.

Yes, hell yes. Unless a ponyfied word is canon it should be avoided like the plague!

385320
Such as?

385379
By that I mean the very few decent BiE's where the person explains the show and such.

385381
Ah, yes - the meta world. Sadly enough, the APG BiEs are few and far between.

385383
APG?

385385
A - Actually
P - Pretty
G - Good
In reference to something that usually has a negative connotation, but the one in question is in fact not a steaming pile of shit.
-internet dictionary.txt

385387
Ah.
Indeed they are.

I think a lot of writers use 'plot' because they don't know it's a meme and think it's actual anatomy

Use 'flank' instead of 'plot' for crying out loud, people. Plot is storyline, not an ass. Flank is when something's behind something else. Aka, their behind. Flank is a term used in-show, and that's the only term that the characters would say.

Darn it, why do people do this? I don't even approve of the term 'alicorn' on the grounds that it sounds awful. And yet people use it in dialogue. Fan-dumb indeed. Well, some things just do not have a name, I guess, but still.

Oh, and those little examples brained by hurt.

And that's why I hate fanon.

And seriously? Why are people still using Time Turner (check MLP Wikia) as Doctor Whooves, which it is getting way too old for a story idea.

I like a still-human Doctor Who story set in the MLP universe someday. Not being ponified to Time Turner

385839

Because some stories have done fantastic things with Time Turner as Whooves, like Beating the Heat and A Stranger in Ponyville. Besides, Whooves is practically ascended fanon, since the creators went and made ponies based on every other doctor and stuck them in the show as easter eggs.

I'M AWAKE YEAH
385513
It would be amusing to see that in a book about horse anatomy.
385683
Actually, the flank is the part of a horse wherre th- okay, it's where a pony's cutie mark is.
385694
I always wondered why the term was alicorn.

385981 That's what I said. Their behind.

386003
Ah. I mis-understood your post. Perhaps I am not truly awake after all.
brb coffee

If you're now talking about proper names,
I think this is now relevant

385194
Haha, this was a refreshing read. It really does annoy me when I see memes and brony slang in fics. Nothing takes me out of a story faster than "20% cooler" or "the Mane 6". Even non-pony memes are horrible. I once read a fic with a serious battle scene, and the author decided to include the "and my axe" lord of the rings reference. Took me right out of the story and ruined the scene for me.

I agree that these are better for social media memes and comments but don't belong in fan fictions.

Well the exception would be that Rainbow Dash does actually use x% cooler, and ten seconds flat in the show. But only those two and only from RD, none of the others.

6776813 But aren't MLP fanfictions meant for bronies? If this is the slang of bronies, what's the harm of putting it to writing?

Also, you do realize this thread is almost a decade old, right?

6776849
Yes, I know it is an old thread but I only just got here to see it now. And clearly someone was around to see my comment since you replied xp.

Anyways, it's about what your story focus is. If you are writing a story about Bronies who fans of the MLP series then yes these phrases make sense to use. But if you are writing a story about ponies then these are not pony phrases. These are people words about ponies, not pony words about each other. See the difference?

6776857 Yes, I see the difference. But still, there is such a thing as a head-canon. The show can't use certain words (like a boner) but that doesn't mean wing boners aren't a thing and an actual expression among the ponies.

There aren't many things that will annoy me more about a fanfic than the incongruous use of fandom memes in-universe. Yes, BiE it makes sense, but otherwise, hell no. No, there's another exception, crackfics. A good crackfic can get away with using them, because it's not intended to be serious or faithful anyway. Mind you, good crackfics are just as rare as good BiE fics.

The one that bugs me the most, more than "plot" or "Mane 6", is using "buck" as profanity. If you're going to make up a swear word, be creative (that's what we're here for, after all), make up something that actually makes sense in-universe. Even better if it's specific to a tribe. I like having pegasi use "broken feathers", and unicorns use "hornrot", 'cause those both make sense as (fairly mild) swear words. "Buck" already has a meaning in-universe, and using it as a thinly-veiled substitute for "fuck" goes so far beyond making sense as to be profoundly stupid.

As an aside, I've just realized something odd... A number of ponies (mostly Earth ponies) use "ponyfeathers" as mild profanity. Given that there actually are ponies with feathers, this strikes me as a bit racist. Maybe a left-over term from the time the tribes were still in conflict.

6776939
It can refer to feathers lost by pegasi, which, if they don't molt naturally, would be a bad thing

6776849
As long as someone has something of substance to add to a thread, don't fret too much about the age of the thread. SFNW especially treats threads as "lessons" which don't have an expiration date naturally. The person you tagged also did not tag any of the older participants in the thread.

"Thread Necromancy" is when someone revives an old thread in an unwelcome manner. Not simply posting in an old thread. Learn the difference.

6776813
I'd still be leery of using those two even for Rainbow Dash. EqG aside, Rainbow Dash hasn't repeated either of those. She isn't a character with "catchphrases."

The basic idea of the lesson presented is to actually think of the tone and aesthetics of the show. It's a mix of setting and characterization. These things are hard to get right, and no set of rules will, if followed, work for every story written. But if you are writing a story, and you think brony slang is perfectly acceptable, even expected, regardless of story style, then you're probably making an error. You need a good reason to use those things as you need for everything you include in any story you write ever. Put things in with a purpose, not simply because you think it's needed to fit in. That's the error the OP is pointing out: using things simply as some kind of secret subculture jargon, rather than trying to tell a good story.

6776939
I think the thing that most folks seem to mess up is that ponies tend not to swear much at all. Our culture in modern day has led us to use very short expressions for things. Swearing is a product of that. Rather than to think about being angry, the source of that anger, and speaking at length upon that topic, a modern person will simply cuss.

In contrast, watch a character like Fluttershy. She gets mad. Rather than swear, she expresses herself. Often in an adorable and comical way, but instead of firing off a cussword or three, she's much more likely to express a lot of body language and facial expressions, tone of voice, and so on. The episode "Sound of Silence" has many great examples of her getting angry and how we should be portraying ponies (especially Fluttershy) in stories.

6777330

She isn't a character with "catchphrases."

One of the things I like about the show is that none of the characters really have catchphrases. It's a lazy approach to characterization and comedy, and the show has done a good job avoiding them. The closest they get is Trixie's self-referential "great and powerful", or the exasperated growl that Twilight is so fond of.

I think the thing that most folks seem to mess up is that ponies tend not to swear much at all.

Yeah, they tend to avoid regular swearing too for the most part. The only characters that seem to do it regularly are Applejack and Granny Smith, and that's more a part of their "countryisms". Although there is that one incident with "new Fluttershy" in "Putting Your Hoof Down", using a distinctively pegasic form of profanity.