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| This is officially Cover A, in spite of not saying so on the front |
Saturday, 16 August 2014
Comic review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic issue 22
Friday, 15 August 2014
Manchester awaits!
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| Having a separate processing fee for each ticket seems a little off, though |
This doesn't mean that I'm going to throw any criticism of BUCK out of the window. On the face of it, this year's venue and schedule don't look quite as exciting as last year: from a personal point of view, the lack of a Pony Pub Quiz (because the bar area will be used for the inevitable CCG tournament) is a major disappointment. The performers at the Lunar Eclipse don't seem quite as much my thing, either.
However, this time around I won't be a complete novice at going to conventions, and that has a considerable effect. It should mean that I won't waste time wondering what on earth to do, plus I'll also know more people than I did in 2013. The selection of VIP guests is also great: G. M. Berrow, Heather Breckel and Dave Polsky are all brillliant invitees. So I'm pretty optimistic that I'll enjoy this.
Oh, and yes, I have indeed bought a ticket for the Summer Sun Celebration. I was really unsure about that, as this year's line-up seems more hardcore than 2013's, and that isn't my thing. But as it's not a huge amount extra, and as it may never happen again, I thought "What the hay?" and went for it. I won't be able to stay till the end (trains) but I hope I'll at least find it an experience worth having.
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Ponyfic Roundup 19
Before I begin today, a very warm welcome to anyone who's reached Louder Yay via the City of Doors blog. (And to others, please do have a look at that.) I try to post a Ponyfic Roundup every Wednesday, life permitting, and the calendar now tells me that it's about time I did another one. Some intriguing stories in the mix this time around, although I didn't have too much doubt about my pick of the week on this occasion.
Pick of the fics
So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish by Blueshift
Lyra and Bon Bon
Slice of Life; 6K words; Jun 2014; Everyone
Disclaimer: I've met Blueshift (once, at a meet) and he's a nice guy. This story's position is fully deserved, though. A description beginning "When Lyra finds her old pet fish in the back of the freezer..." may fool you into thinking that this is silly comedy. Don't you believe it. Nostalgic, comic, sad and hopeful by turns. Pretty much impossible to fault, and so it gets – yes – 10/10!
Other stories
The Bet by King of Beggars
Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Lyra, Bon Bon and Carrot Top
Comedy; 2K words; Jul 2014; Everyone
A fun short in which Rainbow is determined to win a bet, but the world seems determined to thwart her. One of those stories which is deceptive in the amount of stuff going on. Button Mash has a great (uncredited) cameo. Loses a mark or so for using "greeted" as a straight synonym for "said", one of my pet peeves. 6/10
Equestria in Human by ocalhoun
Fluttershy
Random/Human; 1K words; Feb 2014; Everyone
Oh, for Celestia's sake, how on earth am I supposed to review this fic? Okay... see that title up there? That's what this is about. Literally. Yes, I know. It could have been a little more rounded, even at this short length, but it works reasonably well as a quick bite of weirdness. 6/10
Perfect for Me by The Equestrian Gentlecolt
Twilight and Twilight [sic!]
Comedy/Romance; 28K words; Dec 2013; Teen
Twilight clones herself to keep up with her busy schedule. Trouble is, she starts to realise just how well she gets on with herself. A hugely enjoyable subversion of the usual shipfic stuff, with the only real blemish being a slightly unsatisfyingly vague ending. Read the extra content (linked from within the story) even if you don't like the sound of it at first. It's worth it. Really. 8.5/10
Return of Evil Belle: The Eviling by Akumokagetsu
Rarity and Sweetie Belle
Comedy; 1K words; Jan 2014; Everyone
Another installment in the Evil Belle series. This time round, the filly criminal mastermind is up against a real adversary: her big sister trying to get her to go to bed! Perhaps not quite as funny as the other two EB stories I've read (see PR 10 and PR 11), but the amusing turns of phrase should still be enough to raise a smile. 6.5/10
Pick of the fics
So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish by Blueshift
Lyra and Bon Bon
Slice of Life; 6K words; Jun 2014; Everyone
Disclaimer: I've met Blueshift (once, at a meet) and he's a nice guy. This story's position is fully deserved, though. A description beginning "When Lyra finds her old pet fish in the back of the freezer..." may fool you into thinking that this is silly comedy. Don't you believe it. Nostalgic, comic, sad and hopeful by turns. Pretty much impossible to fault, and so it gets – yes – 10/10!
Other stories
The Bet by King of Beggars
Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Lyra, Bon Bon and Carrot Top
Comedy; 2K words; Jul 2014; Everyone
A fun short in which Rainbow is determined to win a bet, but the world seems determined to thwart her. One of those stories which is deceptive in the amount of stuff going on. Button Mash has a great (uncredited) cameo. Loses a mark or so for using "greeted" as a straight synonym for "said", one of my pet peeves. 6/10
Equestria in Human by ocalhoun
Fluttershy
Random/Human; 1K words; Feb 2014; Everyone
Oh, for Celestia's sake, how on earth am I supposed to review this fic? Okay... see that title up there? That's what this is about. Literally. Yes, I know. It could have been a little more rounded, even at this short length, but it works reasonably well as a quick bite of weirdness. 6/10
Perfect for Me by The Equestrian Gentlecolt
Twilight and Twilight [sic!]
Comedy/Romance; 28K words; Dec 2013; Teen
Twilight clones herself to keep up with her busy schedule. Trouble is, she starts to realise just how well she gets on with herself. A hugely enjoyable subversion of the usual shipfic stuff, with the only real blemish being a slightly unsatisfyingly vague ending. Read the extra content (linked from within the story) even if you don't like the sound of it at first. It's worth it. Really. 8.5/10
Return of Evil Belle: The Eviling by Akumokagetsu
Rarity and Sweetie Belle
Comedy; 1K words; Jan 2014; Everyone
Another installment in the Evil Belle series. This time round, the filly criminal mastermind is up against a real adversary: her big sister trying to get her to go to bed! Perhaps not quite as funny as the other two EB stories I've read (see PR 10 and PR 11), but the amusing turns of phrase should still be enough to raise a smile. 6.5/10
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
New story by me: "We Who with Songs Beguile"
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| This actually looks somehow very disturbing... |
We Who with Songs Beguile by Loganberry
OCs, Twilight and Rarity
Comedy/Slice of Life; 3K words; Aug 2014; Teen
Fluttershy's songbird choir is renowned throughout Equestria, in demand by ponies everywhere. Looked at from the other side of the perch, though, it's not always the life it's cracked up to be. If you want to hear the real story, straight from the bird's beak, Mazarine is your jay. Though you may have to set aside most of an afternoon... (Set during latish S3.)
Whether you like the story or not, I hope you'll at least acknowledge that I've tried to do something a bit different with this one. Give it a look!
Monday, 11 August 2014
The B-word: Why it's fine to be a brony
If you look at Louder Yay's little "ABOUT LY" section, tucked away in a corner of the screen, you'll see that I've written this:
The other main problem was that I didn't really like the word itself, given the way it seems to imply that only male fans can be bronies. You know and I know (now) that this isn't the case at all; that large swathes of female fans actively choose to be known as bronies and dislike being called "pegasisters" instead; but I didn't know that back then. Many otherwise neutral mainstream media outlets still don't, it would seem.
Now, though, I'm much more comfortable with the word, to the extent that I actually feel rather irritated when I read a piece arguing that "we" (the fandom) should drop it entirely in favour of something else. Quite apart from the fact that it would be impossible to enforce, is there really a better term out there? "Fans of MLP:FiM from outside the show's target audience" isn't going to fly; bronies it is, and bronies it will stay.
As for reacting to criticism of the fandom? In a lot of cases, the best course is simply "Don't". If a writer is spending a whole piece telling us that we're all pathetic manchildren, evil child stalkers, active bestialists, incapable losers or any combination of the above, they're probably not likely to react even to reasoned argument. They're not going to go away, so it might be better if we spent our time on more interesting things.
I understand how hard it can be to hold your tongue when you see a writer who says that they wouldn't trust bronies with their kids. (Goodness knows what they'd make of those bronies who have their own kids.) It's a very emotive charge, for obvious reasons, and so naturally it's upsetting. But if a writer won't allow any form of disagreement with their point of view, why do they enable comments at all?
The one place where I might make a slight exception is if a writer has made a clear error of fact. For example, claiming that cons like BUCK were originally aimed at little kids, or stating that there's explicit fanart on the first page of Google results for pony names. Both of those are demonstrably untrue. But it's so easy to get off the point and start giving opinions. If you do correct facts, only do it if you can link to a strong source proving you right.
What we have here is, I firmly believe, a fundamentally good and decent fandom. There are bad bronies who've done bad things. We shouldn't shrink from calling those people out any more than we would if we came across them outside the fandom. But that's a far cry from saying that what we're part of is an utter cesspit of moral depravity and filth. No. It's really not. No more than any other subset of this strange and wonderful thing we call life.
Bring a brony doesn't magically make you a better person. It doesn't give you a free pass to hurt people by word or deed. And nobody should be pushed into identifying as a brony unless they freely choose to. But if you want to call yourself a brony, if you like the idea of being part of this crazy group of people, then go right ahead and do it. Do you have anything to be ashamed of? No? Then you have nothing to be ashamed of by calling yourself a brony.
Vague thoughts and ramblings from a British bronyIt's that last word that I want to dwell on here. When I first came into the MLP:FiM fandom, in the spring of 2012, I wasn't entirely comfortable with using the word. There were a number of reasons, but one of them was that I worried that it tended to imply the sort of fan for whom My Little Pony really is everything, the type of person who really didn't have any other interests at all – and that's not something that I wanted to be a part of.
The other main problem was that I didn't really like the word itself, given the way it seems to imply that only male fans can be bronies. You know and I know (now) that this isn't the case at all; that large swathes of female fans actively choose to be known as bronies and dislike being called "pegasisters" instead; but I didn't know that back then. Many otherwise neutral mainstream media outlets still don't, it would seem.
Now, though, I'm much more comfortable with the word, to the extent that I actually feel rather irritated when I read a piece arguing that "we" (the fandom) should drop it entirely in favour of something else. Quite apart from the fact that it would be impossible to enforce, is there really a better term out there? "Fans of MLP:FiM from outside the show's target audience" isn't going to fly; bronies it is, and bronies it will stay.
As for reacting to criticism of the fandom? In a lot of cases, the best course is simply "Don't". If a writer is spending a whole piece telling us that we're all pathetic manchildren, evil child stalkers, active bestialists, incapable losers or any combination of the above, they're probably not likely to react even to reasoned argument. They're not going to go away, so it might be better if we spent our time on more interesting things.
I understand how hard it can be to hold your tongue when you see a writer who says that they wouldn't trust bronies with their kids. (Goodness knows what they'd make of those bronies who have their own kids.) It's a very emotive charge, for obvious reasons, and so naturally it's upsetting. But if a writer won't allow any form of disagreement with their point of view, why do they enable comments at all?
The one place where I might make a slight exception is if a writer has made a clear error of fact. For example, claiming that cons like BUCK were originally aimed at little kids, or stating that there's explicit fanart on the first page of Google results for pony names. Both of those are demonstrably untrue. But it's so easy to get off the point and start giving opinions. If you do correct facts, only do it if you can link to a strong source proving you right.
What we have here is, I firmly believe, a fundamentally good and decent fandom. There are bad bronies who've done bad things. We shouldn't shrink from calling those people out any more than we would if we came across them outside the fandom. But that's a far cry from saying that what we're part of is an utter cesspit of moral depravity and filth. No. It's really not. No more than any other subset of this strange and wonderful thing we call life.
Bring a brony doesn't magically make you a better person. It doesn't give you a free pass to hurt people by word or deed. And nobody should be pushed into identifying as a brony unless they freely choose to. But if you want to call yourself a brony, if you like the idea of being part of this crazy group of people, then go right ahead and do it. Do you have anything to be ashamed of? No? Then you have nothing to be ashamed of by calling yourself a brony.
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Ponyfic Roundup 18
Time to get back into the world of ponyfic! Three stories were in the
running for my overall pick this week, which was pleasing. I don't
think I'll bother with a long intro paragraph this time, so let's get
galloping:
Pick of the fics
And We Are Not Yet Saved by Grey Heather
Chrysalis and Changelings
Slice of Life; 1K words; May 2014; Teen
A really rather remarkable shortfic dealing with the aftermath of "A Canterlot Wedding" from the perspective of the vanquished changelings. Excellently written, with good insight into both Queen Chrysalis and those she leads – or, perhaps, led. An interestingly ambiguous ending, too. 9/10
Other stories
As a Mother by The Descendant
Celestia
Sad/Slice of Life; 7K words; Apr 2014; Teen
Many years hence, Celestia has a new student, who asks her to tell of the War of the Witches. Initially reluctant, the Princess agrees, and the story she tells is a moving one. Written in very flowery language which may put off some readers, but with some haunting ambiguity. Excellent worldbuilding, too, especially for such a short fic. 8/10
As You Fancy, Minister by The Usurper
Fancy Pants and OCs
Crossover/Slice of Life; 10K words; Mar 2014; Everyone
A My Little Pony/Yes, Minister crossover? My life is complete! Fancy Pants takes the Jim Hacker role, and considering that the author is not actually British, they make a very good stab at this. The story starts a little bit iffily, but the characters grow into it well, and by the second half you can really feel that Yes, Minister atmosphere. A shame that an otherwise nice story has basic errors in speech tags and a few errant Americanisms. 6.5/10
Tiny Wings by DeadParrot222
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo
Sad/Slice of Life; 36K words; Jun 2012; Everyone
One of the older ScootaDash friendshipping stories around, but still among the best. The story follows the two through many years, and their friendship develops in a convincing, interesting way. One slightly surprising violent scene, but I don't think it warranted a Teen rating. Might even have rated a 9 if not for slight overuse of "the mare", "the filly" etc, and an irritating stylistic choice right at the end. 8.5/10
You Really Bug Me by BronyDad
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy
Comedy/Slice of Life; 2K words; Jul 2014; Everyone
Rainbow Dash, having been dragged along to the butterfly migration by Fluttershy, is determined to make things more interesting. So, she challenges her friend to a contest to see who can catch the most of the insects. Her opponent is a little tougher than she'd bargained for... a really nice friendshipping story for this fantastic pairing, and one with a lovely, sweet ending. 8.5/10
Pick of the fics
And We Are Not Yet Saved by Grey Heather
Chrysalis and Changelings
Slice of Life; 1K words; May 2014; Teen
A really rather remarkable shortfic dealing with the aftermath of "A Canterlot Wedding" from the perspective of the vanquished changelings. Excellently written, with good insight into both Queen Chrysalis and those she leads – or, perhaps, led. An interestingly ambiguous ending, too. 9/10
Other stories
As a Mother by The Descendant
Celestia
Sad/Slice of Life; 7K words; Apr 2014; Teen
Many years hence, Celestia has a new student, who asks her to tell of the War of the Witches. Initially reluctant, the Princess agrees, and the story she tells is a moving one. Written in very flowery language which may put off some readers, but with some haunting ambiguity. Excellent worldbuilding, too, especially for such a short fic. 8/10
As You Fancy, Minister by The Usurper
Fancy Pants and OCs
Crossover/Slice of Life; 10K words; Mar 2014; Everyone
A My Little Pony/Yes, Minister crossover? My life is complete! Fancy Pants takes the Jim Hacker role, and considering that the author is not actually British, they make a very good stab at this. The story starts a little bit iffily, but the characters grow into it well, and by the second half you can really feel that Yes, Minister atmosphere. A shame that an otherwise nice story has basic errors in speech tags and a few errant Americanisms. 6.5/10
Tiny Wings by DeadParrot222
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo
Sad/Slice of Life; 36K words; Jun 2012; Everyone
One of the older ScootaDash friendshipping stories around, but still among the best. The story follows the two through many years, and their friendship develops in a convincing, interesting way. One slightly surprising violent scene, but I don't think it warranted a Teen rating. Might even have rated a 9 if not for slight overuse of "the mare", "the filly" etc, and an irritating stylistic choice right at the end. 8.5/10
You Really Bug Me by BronyDad
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy
Comedy/Slice of Life; 2K words; Jul 2014; Everyone
Rainbow Dash, having been dragged along to the butterfly migration by Fluttershy, is determined to make things more interesting. So, she challenges her friend to a contest to see who can catch the most of the insects. Her opponent is a little tougher than she'd bargained for... a really nice friendshipping story for this fantastic pairing, and one with a lovely, sweet ending. 8.5/10
Sunday, 3 August 2014
Twilight's Library double success!
Time for me to do a little more shameless self-promotion... within the last 24 hours, I've had word that both the stories I submitted to the Twilight's Library group on FIMFiction – "For an Angel to Pass" and "This Fragment of Life" – have been accepted. Needless to say, I'm very happy about this. I've only ever submitted three stories to that group, and this means that they've all made it past the reviewers. (The other one was "Clouded Minds", quite some time ago.)
Oddly enough, I wrote my two new inductees within ten days of each other, although they're very different in tone. Here's a little bit more detail for you, in my usual format and with descriptions instead of reviews:
For an Angel to Pass by Loganberry
Angel, Fluttershy and Rarity
Sad/Slice of Life; 2K words; Mar 2014; Everyone
I know few of Ponyville's inhabitants ever really came to terms with the idea that a gentle pegasus mare should form a lifelong bond of friendship and understanding with an irascible pet buck. It was strange, I'll admit, but it worked – and we always knew that it was right. I didn't like to think about the march of time, about what the passing years might mean for a rabbit. Now, though, I have no other choice. As memories crowd in, the future looms before me, demanding an answer.
This Fragment of Life by Loganberry
Twilight and Rarity
Romance/Tragedy/Random; 2K words; Mar 2014; Everyone
Rarity knows her way around the landscape of romance and heartbreak, and that includes being there to help out when a friend's relationship falls apart without warning. She can deal with the fact that it's Twilight who's sobbing wildly on her shoulder, even if it is a bit on the damp side. She's rather more taken aback when she discovers just who the new Princess has been getting herself involved with...
Oddly enough, I wrote my two new inductees within ten days of each other, although they're very different in tone. Here's a little bit more detail for you, in my usual format and with descriptions instead of reviews:
For an Angel to Pass by Loganberry
Angel, Fluttershy and Rarity
Sad/Slice of Life; 2K words; Mar 2014; Everyone
I know few of Ponyville's inhabitants ever really came to terms with the idea that a gentle pegasus mare should form a lifelong bond of friendship and understanding with an irascible pet buck. It was strange, I'll admit, but it worked – and we always knew that it was right. I didn't like to think about the march of time, about what the passing years might mean for a rabbit. Now, though, I have no other choice. As memories crowd in, the future looms before me, demanding an answer.
This Fragment of Life by Loganberry
Twilight and Rarity
Romance/Tragedy/Random; 2K words; Mar 2014; Everyone
Rarity knows her way around the landscape of romance and heartbreak, and that includes being there to help out when a friend's relationship falls apart without warning. She can deal with the fact that it's Twilight who's sobbing wildly on her shoulder, even if it is a bit on the damp side. She's rather more taken aback when she discovers just who the new Princess has been getting herself involved with...
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