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FanFic and those who follow
12 years ago
Let me start by saying that I'm an avid reader of fiction and to a slightly less degree, a writer of the same. One of my last vacations from work was 2 weeks off sitting at home and writing a chapter of a story I'd not touched in a while. It was a great feeling getting those pages upon pages worked out. And knowing what kind of hard work goes into a good story, when I find the proverbial "gold mine" of stories, I start digging.
Authors like Greg Howell, Jim Lane, and Ted Blasingame quickly come to mind as their hard copy books line my shelves. These are "anthro" themed story writers that are amazing to read. But what about those individuals that aren't published? Those that are content to post their work on a website and all they ask is honest feedback to make them better...
I've read some Fan Fiction before but wasn't really impressed. When I joined FA a few years back it was just a simple way to share some photos and post some of my own stories for others to enjoy. And there were stories to read on this site already! But I was disheartened but what I saw. So much trash that was not meant for the entertainment of the audience but rather the author who penned it. Surely someone else knows what I mean- those stories that derail your interest just a few paragraphs into it. Whether it is immature content, some fetish tangent or hate/spite/malice just poured onto a page... and in the middle of it is our beloved hobby of "furry".
This brings me to a point about FanFic where I must add this disclaimer for non-bias, I don't consider myself a furry nor a brony- although I found myself watching the FiM (friendship is magic) series for character backgrounds. *shudders*
The idyllic life of Equestria rivals Thomas More's "Utopia" in a sense and has everything our universe does not. Low to non-existent crime rate, perfect weather, no cavities and (no prizes for guessing) talking technicolor horses. The last time I saw anything close to this was the show "Mr Ed" re-runs on classic TV from the late 50's early 60's. Good show too. Move up a few years to the mid 80's to "My Little Pony" and the "Care Bears" era, and huh, seemed good then too but I watched more of the Care Bears than MLP back in the day, dunno why either, I was too young to remember.
Now let's move to the present day and the incredible following that is MLP FiM. I can't remember a time when I found such an outpouring of stories based on a fiction work that was worth reading- let alone based on a 6 year old's TV show. Really? Did I miss something? If you have time to visit the FiM FanFic website, give it a once over. There are over 4,500 stories in the "Human in Equestria" folder alone! Seriously?
So my first visit to this site I'm thinking- huh, so out of THAT many stories... surely a couple might be worth my time? They are anthro themed stories after all.
I began to browse with no real direction in mind until I happened across one particular work, "A Dark Knight in Equestria". Curious... The play on words was no mistake, this was a FanFic based on Batman in a gaggingly bright pastel world. This caught my attention since I've watched Batman since the TV series with Adam West.
Ok, I thought, 234 pages isn't THAT long. If it sucks I won't loose too much sleep over it.
I remember looking at my watch a few pages into the story and blinked in surprise... 4 hours later! What just happened? Was the story "that" good? You bet your sweet batarang it was. A day later I finished it and made it a point to write a review to the author. But it didn't stop there, something was drawing me to read more of these stories and I quickly found another... and another... and another.
The interactions were classic, fresh and slightly endearing. Although I could clearly see through the pages that the "Mane 6" would typically stick to their TV show characterizations, the extra human elements added in were at times humorous, sad, dark or plain wrong... Dropping a human into the Equestria world seemed to be the norm but with little qerks that made each reading worth the couple hours invested.
So I ask, is anyone else absorbed by these FanFics? Whether based on Marvel characters, past movies or classic books- when did FanFic become such a huge deal? Especially in the MLP FiM universe?
I'll be around, drinking coffee and no doubt reading yet another FanFic today, anyone have thoughts to share?
Authors like Greg Howell, Jim Lane, and Ted Blasingame quickly come to mind as their hard copy books line my shelves. These are "anthro" themed story writers that are amazing to read. But what about those individuals that aren't published? Those that are content to post their work on a website and all they ask is honest feedback to make them better...
I've read some Fan Fiction before but wasn't really impressed. When I joined FA a few years back it was just a simple way to share some photos and post some of my own stories for others to enjoy. And there were stories to read on this site already! But I was disheartened but what I saw. So much trash that was not meant for the entertainment of the audience but rather the author who penned it. Surely someone else knows what I mean- those stories that derail your interest just a few paragraphs into it. Whether it is immature content, some fetish tangent or hate/spite/malice just poured onto a page... and in the middle of it is our beloved hobby of "furry".
This brings me to a point about FanFic where I must add this disclaimer for non-bias, I don't consider myself a furry nor a brony- although I found myself watching the FiM (friendship is magic) series for character backgrounds. *shudders*
The idyllic life of Equestria rivals Thomas More's "Utopia" in a sense and has everything our universe does not. Low to non-existent crime rate, perfect weather, no cavities and (no prizes for guessing) talking technicolor horses. The last time I saw anything close to this was the show "Mr Ed" re-runs on classic TV from the late 50's early 60's. Good show too. Move up a few years to the mid 80's to "My Little Pony" and the "Care Bears" era, and huh, seemed good then too but I watched more of the Care Bears than MLP back in the day, dunno why either, I was too young to remember.
Now let's move to the present day and the incredible following that is MLP FiM. I can't remember a time when I found such an outpouring of stories based on a fiction work that was worth reading- let alone based on a 6 year old's TV show. Really? Did I miss something? If you have time to visit the FiM FanFic website, give it a once over. There are over 4,500 stories in the "Human in Equestria" folder alone! Seriously?
So my first visit to this site I'm thinking- huh, so out of THAT many stories... surely a couple might be worth my time? They are anthro themed stories after all.
I began to browse with no real direction in mind until I happened across one particular work, "A Dark Knight in Equestria". Curious... The play on words was no mistake, this was a FanFic based on Batman in a gaggingly bright pastel world. This caught my attention since I've watched Batman since the TV series with Adam West.
Ok, I thought, 234 pages isn't THAT long. If it sucks I won't loose too much sleep over it.
I remember looking at my watch a few pages into the story and blinked in surprise... 4 hours later! What just happened? Was the story "that" good? You bet your sweet batarang it was. A day later I finished it and made it a point to write a review to the author. But it didn't stop there, something was drawing me to read more of these stories and I quickly found another... and another... and another.
The interactions were classic, fresh and slightly endearing. Although I could clearly see through the pages that the "Mane 6" would typically stick to their TV show characterizations, the extra human elements added in were at times humorous, sad, dark or plain wrong... Dropping a human into the Equestria world seemed to be the norm but with little qerks that made each reading worth the couple hours invested.
So I ask, is anyone else absorbed by these FanFics? Whether based on Marvel characters, past movies or classic books- when did FanFic become such a huge deal? Especially in the MLP FiM universe?
I'll be around, drinking coffee and no doubt reading yet another FanFic today, anyone have thoughts to share?
