How do fanfics affect your veiw of equestria?

[Crispy 5,563]

I keep my canon and my fanon well seperated. While FO:E and Pony Psychology were beautifully written and part of me wishes they could be canon, they aren't.

 

Also, there's the tumblr pony fanon to be concerned with, and we all know how that can get.

Edited March 20, 2012 by Crispy

[Magnus 69]

Ponies aren't perfect. Just because we haven't seen a war doesn't mean they haven't happened

 

Have thought about that actually, and I have no doubt there is war in equestrias past when you read into things.

 

I have read a few fanfics(I stay away from cupcakes etc)usually when they follow canon.

[FedoraMemes 582]

None of the fics I read have affected me in anyway, or maybe for a short amount of time. Out of all the fanfics I've read, I seem to think Rainbow Factory is the most realistic, as we never get to see what rainbow's are made from.

[Marcato 2,143]

Dangit cupcaaaaakes aaaaaaaugh!!!!!!!!

 

Cupcakes ruined everything for me. I used to love cupcakes and Pinkie Pie. Now everytime cupcakes are mentioned i immediately see pinkie, holding a bloody knife, approaching some helpless person tied to a wall. DANGIT CUPCAKES YOU RUINED MY LIFE.

[Guest]

I don't really let my view get altered too much by fanfics. Some do, but really I see them as fairly seperate entities.

Edited March 21, 2012 by Guest

[Crimson Eclips 0]

im creating one about how i distroy my home town and loos my memmory when i crash lamd near pony vill and when i finaly find out who i relly was.

 

and i havent made it past that

[Marshmallow 1,137]

They don't.

I hardly ever read fanfics anyway, but when I do I am able to differentiate it from the actual show and to understand that what's in the fanfic isn't really related to Equestria.

[Spartan-Dash (MP117) 26]

They're not much of a difference for me

 

THOUGH!

 

I will admit that before I read My Little Dashie I didn't care much for RainbowDash, but now

I really like her because I associate her with it now.

 

That's exactly what I thought!

[Discovery Dream 592]

Cupcakes didn't change my views at all.

Loved My Little Dashie, part of my headcanon.

 

Those are the only notable two. Fanfiction is hard for me to read, as it's often really bad. Luckily, I haven't come across any horrible fanfics in this community yet.

[I used to be a stranger 7,994]

"Fan conjecture until otherwise stated".

Apart from that, they're just engaging yarns that loan characters and settings, and pay back interest of possible development.

[joeyh3 153]

I do know how to separate fanon from canon, but sometimes a fanfic can affect my view of a certain character/event. Usually what happens is that I read something about a character, and find it to be very in-character/believable for them (such as something that could be/fits in with canon), and that can strengthen my views on a character because they provoke me to think about a character in a new way.

 

To paraphrase, what I mean is that if I read a fanfic, I don't say "wow, I think this really did happen off-screen", but instead, it causes me to reconsider a character and think "would they really do this/be like this" or "wow, I never thought of that, but it does seem like something they'd do", and that can affect my view of a character.

 

Rarity's a perfect example - when I first started watching the show (before I joined any MLP community), I just didn't like her at all - I kinda thought of her as being self-centered and unable to focus on important details. However, several Rarity-centric fanfics caused my to rethink my original opinion and realize that she actually is a caring, selfless pony who is always concerned for the well-being of her friends.

[Kittens 1]

Well most fanfic happen to be clopfics and that scares me....

[~Chaos~ 3,969]

It doesn't effect me in any way. Then again i haven't read much fics

[Tukr 21]

I've read:

 

"My Little Dashie"

"Cupcakes"

"Sweet Apple Massacre" ~~~~ only part of it because it became too much to handle when the big R came into play... *shudders*

"Rainbow Factory"

 

I gotta say out of these, S.A.M. was the absolute worst and I never want to finish reading it. It was just sick and wrong.... poor scootaloo

I can't stop re-listening to Cupcakes for some reason... it makes me so sad and feel so horrible because Rainbow Dash is my favorite pony... But the story just.... idk i can't explain it.

 

And then Rainbow Factory was very well written and painted a perfect image in my head that made it seem like i was watching a movie, but I never ever ever want to view Rainbow Dash like that... I can't... I just can't accept it in my head that she would really do such a terrible thing... But then again... it's plausible... Does Dash really have that deep, dark secret, hidden within her?

[Bunni 1,075]

Luckily they haven't changed my view on Equestria at all.

And that's because I have this litte line in my mind that seperates official content and user created content and such. Nifty little thing I must say ^^

Edited March 23, 2012 by Woona

[83awsm 234]

I have this litte line in my mind that seperates official content and user created content and such. Nifty little thing I must say ^^

Gah! I wish I could do this... somehow fan content just seems to change some views whether I try to divide it or not. My simple solution is just not to read most fanfics Although not having alot of time to read them is also a large factor.

[Hatguy 38]

I can only separate canon from fanon through conscious effort and weather or not I do depends on weather or not the fanon fits with the vague blurry thing I call headcanon, that is to say if I read a fanfic and it feels like it fits with my headcanon or feels like a better explanation than my headcanon it just sharpens and details the vague ideas I already had and makes my view of equestria richer while on the other hand if I feel like it contradicts my headcanon I remind myself that it is purely non-canon (sometimes audibly by shouting the phrase "I declare this non-canon, and thus I refute thee!" which is really fun).

 

A short rant about turning actual canon into non-canon

I also use my non-canon shout on endings of series that I found particularly disappointing (I read 4 multi-hundred page books to get here the least the author can do is write an ending I approve of) and thereby declare the canon non-canon and replace the events with my headcanon, of course this only works with endings and there is nothing I can do about what the writers create leading up to the end.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Hatguy

[Palm Leaf 2]

I'm usually able to tell the difference between canon and fanon, but there are times when stories change my opinion.

 

Ditzy Doo: Muffins: She has a fierce, dark side that she keeps hidden. She will do anything to protect those she loves. She has a forgotten past that returns, revealing where she came from, how she came to raise Dinky, and what her cutie mark really means.

 

These are just a few examples. I still prefer fanon Luna to canon Luna.

 

I think fan fics are wonderful, but I dont like it if they try to press their views into being canon. In my opinion, Derpy wouldn't be a mother at her age keeping in tune with the show canonly. I don't know why people are trying to push that Dinky, is her daughter.. its really kinda blah and ruins the image of Derpy for me. Fans gonna do what fans gonna do..

[PegasisterTaco 318]

I usually don't read fanfics but every once in a while I do. I pretty much know what canon and fanon is by now. Fanfics don't usually affect me in any way since I know that it's just made up stuff. But if a fic that's really cheesy and keeps the characters in their place, I usually start to have a different view of a pony. It usually takes a while to reassure myself that it was just a fan-made thing and that it's not canon. Eeyup. That pretty much sums it up.

[NavelColt 22,883]

Fanfics are fanfics. One person's ideas cannot alter my view of what is canon. That said, they do give me an endless amount of things to compare, contrast, think about and look over. Some fanfics will provide me a way to look at things that I never did before. In other words, if I wish, it adds to my possible views, but it doesn't alter what is fact, or take away from that. As it should.

[Mcayon 24]

I haven't read many fanfics... but the ones I've read haven't changed my view of Equestria... I need to read more though! I love reading them!

[Jokuc 8,174]

Nothing at all. I try to keep the fanfics away from the actual show. If you know how I mean. I don't really read many fanfics though.

[Juggler 345]

Not really... I have been quite good at separating the fics from the series.

 

But I can't listen to Pinkies Cupcake song anymore...

[Slendermane 477]

I think fan fics are wonderful, but I dont like it if they try to press their views into being canon. In my opinion, Derpy wouldn't be a mother at her age keeping in tune with the show canonly. I don't know why people are trying to push that Dinky, is her daughter.. its really kinda blah and ruins the image of Derpy for me. Fans gonna do what fans gonna do..

 

In many of the fanfics I've read about Derpy and Dinky, Dinky is adopted. Muffins is one example of this, as well as the Words are Louder series (part of a much larger series called Sunset.) I prefer this version of the Derpy/Dinky relationship.

 

There are plenty other great examples of fanon, like conspiracy theorist Lyra or Doctor Hooves. I pretty much just choose what I like. But sometimes a story can seem so outrageous or out of character that I just can't enjoy it. One example of this was a story about Luna being Schizophrenic. I both like and hate the story at the same time.

[000 206]

Thank goodness that I only read one a month and the only ones i read are funny and not "erotic" or grim.

But yeah, it sorta does change the way i look at equestria. But in a cooler way.