Are You Affected By Fanon?

[HushedWren 33]

Has fanon, fanfiction, and fanart affected how you see the show?

 

By this, I mean have you seen anything that has influenced you in such a way that it changed your opinion or vision of a character, creature, or part of the MLP:FIM world in general. For me, I know that the 'Equestria's Best Mother' tag on Derpibooru has changed my opinion of Derpy/Ditzy. I used to think she was just an adorable meme before I found all of the pictures and fanfiction of her being a devoted, though somewhat disabled mother. 'My Little Sweetie' didn't help at all with this, I am now in love with Sparkler being Derpy's adopted daughter and Dinky's protecter. 

 

I'm a person who is greatly influenced by fanon, growing preferences and OTP's at the slightest fic or fanart. It doesn't matter if there fleeting interests for a moment or a ship I will go down with, I'm hooked.

 

So tell me, has something the fandom generated changed your opinion on something or made you ship it?

[Undyne 1,483]

To be honest, I really don't pay attention to some of the fanon couples in the fandom. Sure, there might be one that could catch my eye, and I'm like, "Oh, hey, this is pretty cool.". But other than that, I see them as a amusement.

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Not for the most part. I get a little excited when I see Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth appear in an episode or if I see something vaguely Pinkiedash-esque in a scene, but for the most part I like to keep fanon and canon as two different things and to limit the effect fanon has on my enjoyment of the show.

Edited January 19, 2013 by DashForever

[Sarajevo 124]

No... but I think it's because I know it has the word "fan" in it, and that means that it's not really official to what's happening, and besides, I think of them as interesting takes on what could happen in a show; a sort of alternate history if you will

[Lightning Fluttershy 1,844]

Not really. I separate what I see in the show as opposed to what I see outside of it. For example my favorite ship is FlutterDash and I have an entire folder dedicated to FlutterDash images but that doesn't mean every time they touch each other or talk in the show I'm going to go "OMG LOOKS LIKE FLUTTERDASH IS CANON HURR".

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

I enjoy them, if that's what your asking. It doesn't really affect my opinion of the show in methods other than that, however. So no, not really.

[Zygen 6,066]

Not particularly. I mean I don't have any serious opinion changes. I don't pay attention to much fanfic, and It doesn't effect my opinion anyways. And fan art certainly doesn't.

 

Only thing it effects for me is that I have names for the Background pony's to go off.

 

But no it doesn't effect me in any serious way as of now.

[silvadel 1,393]

Background Pony definitely warmed me up to Lyra as an example.  As for fanon/canon, I can say that since I have read about 15-20 million words of fanfiction, and there are only about 24 hours of actual MLP footage, I have to believe that my views on the ponies are at least somewhat swayed by fanfiction. 

[Tall_But_Short_37 233]

There was a period of time where I watched a ton of Friendship is Magic. Then when I watched the real show, I found my brain sometimes mixing up facts from that as canon. I kept thinking of Pinkie as a gypsy and Sweetie as a robot...

[Moog the Kvlt 1,460]

The fanon world has not changed the way I think of any character from MLP

Mostly because the world of fanon is completely fan-made

The fanon world is just meant to be fan-made versions of things

Smetimes in fanon the only thing that is based off of MLP

Are the characters, or maybe someone used the characters of the show

In a completely different type of context.

So overall I don't change the way I think of any character due to the fanon world

Just because in fanon world you can make the characters completely out of context

From their original character in the show.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Not a problem. I have no issue with Fanon since fans of MLP write OC ponies or make pony art, nothing bad at all.

The truth is, fanon is the best creation the fans ever made.

[SørenWolf 227]

In a way the answer is both Yes and No. Yes I am affected, While reading fanfics and looking at art I will always remember previous things I have seen or read (This is the main reason I avoid clop) and No because when it comes to the actual show, as in watching new episodes i don't usually think of other things

[cmarston1 5,959]

the only part of fannon that actually changed me was scootaloo being an orphan. For a while I felt like I couldn't read a single fanfiction without scootaloo being depicted as an orphan. So subconsiously I started beliving that and so now I can't think about scootaloo without her being an orphan. It's kinda sad really.

[Snowfeathers 43]

Oh, yes.

A thousand times yes. I'm really, really big on fanon. Headcanons, pairings, alternate interpretations, woobies, alternate universes, you name it.

I think I do a fairly good job of separating it from canon, though. Hard not to, really, when you're constantly reminded that your flawless theory explaining everything will never actually be confirmed.

[Jack Durango 119]

Noop.

 

For me, it'd be pure insanity to take most, if not all, fanon seriously and let it affect my enjoyment of the show. There's just too much of it coming in from all angles. I made a specific point when I started watching to sit down and watch all episodes--in order, I'm kind of big on the chronology part--that were currently out (the latest episode that had come out when I started watching was A Friend In Deed) before I even ATTEMPTED to get into fanon and fanwork.

 

I dislike having preconceptions about a show based on what a community around it says and does before I actually watch it and get into the fandom myself. Sure, in the YouTube comments sections, people were making meme references that I picked up on pretty quickly while getting into the show, but other than that I wanted to keep it in-universe only. What I mean by this is:

 

Example 1: People were saying things like "20% cooler" and "10 seconds flat." I knew these must be references to dialogue in the show, even if I hadn't heard the dialogue yet. Well, that's more in the case of "20% cooler," but you get my point.

 

Example 2: I would see comments like "Fluttershy is a tree" on the episode where Fluttershy actually says "I'd like to be a tree." I thought it was funny at the time, but it wouldn't be until later, when I really go into the fandom, that I would discover it was a pretty well-circulated, in-universe minimeme.

 

In both cases, I put two and two together and figured what would be heavily used or expressed in fanon. There's actually a pretty predictable nature to the internet and its users.

 

Of course, I start reading people's mentioning and discussing of things of fan-labor nature like "Cupcakes" and "My Little Dashie", and admittedly it's tempting to go check these things out. I did check them out, but only after I finished watching all the episodes, all things that had to do directly with the show. I wanted to know what the show meant to ME, not what it meant to others. But boy, lemme tell ya, after finishing those episodes I was DAMN excited to go check out all the unique fanwork based around the show!

 

Except that's the thing. One cannot check it all out. I've been watching the show for almost a year now, and within that time I've become a pretty seasoned brony. Even now, I find it would be madness to try and memorize EVERY part of the fandom.  There are hundreds, if not thousands of people discovering and contributing their creativity, knowledge, and emotions to the MLP fandom each and every day. To stay on top of it all is a near impossible task. It's easier to pick what you like and ignore what you don't. Not every word is the Holy Word of Friendship is Magic.

 

There's some cool stuff in the fandom, and some not-so-cool stuff. There's huge successes, acceptable successes, and bitter failures. It's all about what one is seeking from the fandom, and how they respond to what they find. The way I see it, most people on the Internet aren't really as stupid as they're made out to be; the Internet is a place to go for people who are seeking more than what they can currently get in real life.

 

Anyways, that's my thoughts on fanon.

 

I'm reading back over this post now and it seems kind of random and wandering with the point.   Sorry. It's more a pacing of my thoughts than it is a well-constructed response.

[Emerald Flame 381]

Nope, while I enjoy quite a bit of fanon, I make sure to keep it separate from canon, because one of my pet peeves is when people get the two mixed together.

[Stary Dreams 87]

No, not really. I usually just see the show for itself, then the fanon things as a whole new world that has a bunch of opportunities and secrets that lie deep within. I personally love the fanon and canon work but being a brony since practically the beginning of FiM, the fanon has grown to have deeper meaning to me. And I love it

[kirbyboi 588]

Well, first off, I don't read much fanon things. I read My Little Dashie, but it didn't make me look at RD differently (however, it was a very touching story! ). I still see her as the awesome loyal pegasus who cares for her friends a lot! Same if I read Cupcakes. But I'm not really a fanon-reader. Even if I was a regular fanon person, it wouldn't change my views or opinions on the show. 

[PoniesPlease 365]

I'll search for a wallpaper on Google and be met with a seriously graphic image concerning some characters of the show. Doesn't change how i perceive the show, just how i sleep at night. 

 

JK, i'm not affected by anything like that. Whatever floats your boat.

[Faceless 101]

I've read many stories where it does this, and many other pictures. I think it's quite hard to imagine a fan-ficition in a show. Pictures are a bit easier to me.

[Winged Anomaly 47]

I'm mostly affected by the fanon I invent.
Since I wrote Dawnstar, I simply can't accept the story of Luna just 'turning jealous' as truth because I examined it with a spyglass for the story, that sort of thing.

But other fanfictions and such really haven't impacted me much, probably becuase I wasn't the one who spent so long contemplating the facts presented by the show and the characters involved in the story written.  All I get to see is the end result of all that scrutiny, so the impact is muffled.  That personal hell of renewed perspective is reserved for the author XD

[Aaramus 449]

I like to keep fan made ideas and the actual show seperate, almost as if they two completely different universes. Fanon is a great way for people to elaborate on the stories of background characters and introduce new relationships between the ponies but it doesn't change how I see them in the show.

 

Sometimes people come up with good reasons as to why certain characters do stuff in the show but even then since its not actually in the show I feel that's its a separate concept to whats really happening. 

 

Basically, the fanon world is a parallel universe!

[Bendy 1,821]

Not at all, as far as I'm concerned almost anything fanon takes place in other parallel universes. 

 

At the same time there are some things I like with fanon, Lyra being crazy about Humans for example.

 

I will say the show shouldn't dig too much into fanon, but it's kinda nice if they do little hints. 

Edited January 20, 2013 by Rush

[Dr. Vojislav Seselj 691]

Nothing affected my views of MLP itself or the characters. 

 

But one thing that affected me was the infamous My Little Dashie by Robcakeran.

 

Oh god.

 

Manly tears were shed that day night.

 

I wouldn't re-read it today, since I know that I would cry like a fucking baby.

[Jessper 735]

Similar to what you said, I really started to like Derpy because of what the fans did. Especially Doctor Whooves stories, some of the more emotional songs and the "Isn't it great to be different?" letters. Actually made her to one of my favorite characters, even tho as far as the show goes, it was just the "funny BG pony hidden all around episodes".

 

Other than that, some of the speculations kinda creep me out. Especially about where do the old ponies go, lifespans and similar stuff.