Another PMV. I’m using Hubby as a creative consultant - he tells me which song to do next.

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My first AMV in forever and it gets auto-banned in Germany before anyone gets to see it 9_9

Please enjoy it while it’s still there.

Come on Hasbros

Your show, and its associated toy line, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic have been out for more than a year.

Selling stuff to girls should be important to you.

Not just important-in-america-important. Globally important.

You are doubtless aware that your show has gone viral. You know that people everywhere are clamouring for your product.

I, personally, would love to own legal copies of the show. And give legal copies to my friends and family.

Alas, that cannot be.

Just like the pitiable collection of MLPFiM toys here in sunny Queensland, the video racks at the shops are kinda sparse.

I mean, I’d love to make some people vomit by subjecting them to Twinkle’s Merry Christmas Adventure or whatever the hell, but I want the cool ponies. I want Ms Faust’s ponies. On DVD or Blu-ray. I’d prefer Blu-ray, but it has been kinda slow to take off.

My money is sparse, this year, and I want to spend it on things of worth.

Such a pity that your marketing department is asleep at the wheel.

Come on, Hasbros! It’s Cashmas! The time of year when every capitalist’s withered heart beats pit-a-pat at the thought of wringing every last cent out of Mr and Mrs Average Householder. You should be pumping product out every-damn-where.

But no.

All I have are foot-wide sections in the Pink Aisle with Talking Baby Cheerilee and Walking Baby Pinkie Pie. And one DVD in the kiddie’s section with saccharine-overload specials of yesteryear.

If I was you, I’d be marketing the living shit out of MLPFiM as fast and as far as physically possible.

I must have more marketing genius than thou.

Who’s Your Favourite?

It’s inevitable, really.

The instant you mention you like My Little Pony, you get asked “Who’s your favourite?”

Isn’t it okay to love them all?

I don’t choose favourites. The things I love, I love equally as much. Love is a fountain that never diminishes, to me. It should be shared as such.

Which is why my imaginary harem contains a shapeshifter, a giant purple talking crab thing, and three different versions of the same fuzzy blue dude with a tail. Oh, and the Lou Ferigno(?) version of the Hulk.

Yeah. I embrace weird. Deal with it.

[For those of you actually interested in such things, that’s Odo from DS9, Pilot from Farscape and the comic, movie and Evo versions of Nightcrawler]

It was the same with the Muppets. Though I had a definite affection for both Kermit and Gonzo, I loved all of them for different reasons.

And now it’s the same for the ponies in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

I don’t have a favourite. I love them all.

I even want some redemption episodes for Gilda and Trixie.

Hell, I’m writing a fic in which the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally discover their talents. With the help of an OC I’ve carried over from a previous fandom.

I embrace weird like all the things I love. With equal fondness.

So, please. Stop asking me which one is best?

Changing Worlds

I thought I’d take a break from OWS for a bit to discuss my writing. It is why I started this blog in the first place. Thinking of something to write every day has had me quasi-geared towards finding material for my blog. Great.

But it’s been keeping me from my indfic.

Thank goodness for fanfic.

I love writing fanfic. There’s so much less one has to explain, keep straight, or look up. An admired writer once told me, “It’s fanfic. You can make [character(s)] purple if you wanted to.” [FYI- that writer is Donna Barr and we were communicating via email of my depiction of her character, Stinz Lowhard.]

But… I like being accurate. Sure, you could make character X purple. Or put them on the moon. Or make them walk across the ceiling for the lulz… but would they still be character X? Or are you making a new character based on the character you love?

This is where cannon meets fannon. It’s also where Movie vs Book tends to raise a lot of fire. When you change the environment that something is depicted in [even if it’s a transition from prose to stage] things have to change.

You can’t always find an actor that looks exactly like X should. And you can’t always write character X walking into world Y and have it turn out to be a good story.

So when my figment, Sara Louise Adrien, wanted to be a pony [I have a strange relationship with my creations] I had to really think about things. The things that made her wonderful in my X-Men: Evolution fics could not translate directly into the land of Equestria.

Verbally abusive mom? Ponies aren’t abusive moms of any kidney. This is a world where ponies are (mostly) nice to other ponies and, if not fully befriending - at least accepting. So I couldn’t put Jaqui in a horse skin and have it work.

So… Jaqui became a dragon. Literally. Who has yet to appear in my fic. Dragons strike me as being a lot more… physical… than verbal, so she’s both a dwarf dragon and obsessed with exactness. And Sara, now Star Wishes, is a lot more high-strung and strung out than her mutant version, as a direct result.

Absentee dad? Er. The story surrounding Sara’s adoption is still unravelling in my head [I’m debating whether or not Dragon-Jaqui destroyed Star’s village in the final act of the Dragon-Equine war and was forced to adopt the only survivor…] so I’m currently not mentioning dad at all. I have another debate as to whether or not pulling a long-lost dad out of my butt at the end would make for satisfying narrative.

Pretty much most of this got thought out before I put finger to touchscreen [I write on an iPad - it goes everywhere with me] to place the first words in my story.

Even if you’re writing fanfic - where the world-building is unnecessary - there’s still a bit of history and continuity to consider. Some you may know. Some, you may draw conclusions for from things mentioned or shown in cannon [that which we see or is stated by Word of God (the creators of said work) ] to create your own or shared fannon [stuff the fans hold to be true, regardless of what the work explicitly states or the creator has said].

For instance, back when I was running Realm of the InterNutter [it’s down and out for the count, until such time as a sufficiently large mallet can be found] I had the fannon town of Heirelgart for Evo!Nightcrawler to grow up in as a well-rounded individual. It also had centaurs in it, which explained why an entire town could be so casual about a kid with blue fur and a tail. I was happy to share Heirelgart with anyone who asked - or gave credit - and it was entirely up to them as to whether or not they wanted the centaurs with it.

Give it a decade or so and Nightcrawler’s home town may be mentioned in cannon as being Heirelgart, just because it got around :) I like that idea. I’m not going to squeal “copyright” or sue for millions. I’m going to grin like a smug little bastard ‘cause something I made up is Out There. But I digress.

Fannon or cannon, I like to stay as consistent as I can to make the story read true. And I’m an obsessive-compulsive, sometimes. Which is why I sent Laura Faust a note asking if there was a Cutie Mark Code writers as anal precise as me could use.

Of course I’m going to share any reply. I’m not selfish.

Anyway. I was trying to make a point, wasn’t I?

Um.

The point I’m trying to make, I guess, is no matter what changes you make when writing something, the work comes out better for those changes making sense. If only sense to you. You are your first audience when you write. That’s why so much writing advice boils down to, “write what you love to read”, because you’re going to be re-reading that sucker ad infinitum to make sure it’s all good.

And if you can’t please yourself with what you make, how can you find anyone else who likes it?

I did the quiz

http://www.bronyland.com/pony-personality-test/?q=MTg0M3wxMjU1

Apparently, I’m most like Twighlight Sparkle.

So… why is Hasbro stepping on free advertising on youtube via various people already spending money on their stuff…

…and not going after the people ripping off their product like these two examples I found in a dollar shop?

Nostalgia For Never Was

Remember all those sitcoms where people helped people out? The dream worlds like The Waltons or Leave It To Beaver? If a Neighbour was experiencing trouble, the whole neighbourhood pitched in to help.

I’m more convinced than every that it was just a dream. An impossible utopia that everyone pretends was real so they can say, “things were better when…”

In the real world, some busybody Neighbour would have reported the Cleavers to CPS because their kid was out of control.

Yeah, I’m still a bit bitter about the fence thing.

I watch some shows for fun. I watch one to escape my worries. That one, I wish was even a little bit real.

That show is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

It’s the same kind of dream world, where mean people - narrow minded people - are rare, if not nonexistent. A place where anyone can find employment based on skill and aptitude, rather than academic qualifications. A place where any personal quirk is accepted and tolerated.

If everyone on the planet actually worked towards some kind of mutual acceptance, mutual help, etc. then the world might just be a nicer place in which to live.

I guess that’s why they had to destroy the OWS camp. OWS were showing the world that they didn’t need the infrastructure we’ve been told we depend upon. They were living outside of The Holy System. Thumbing their noses at Authority and not backing down, giving up, shutting up, or going away.

If we lived our lives like the never-was Cleavers, Waltons(disregard the anti feminist stereotypes, please), or even ponies, there wouldn’t be a need for OWS in the first place, because people who got too greedy would be condemned instead of praised.

I’m not saying it’s perfect. I’m saying it’s something to strive for. Act better towards each other. Act with compassion, empathy and tolerance. Think a little about what other people might want before you take for yourself.

OWS made a functioning city within a city. We can make a functioning society out of the tattered remains that selfishness and mean minds have left us. It all comes down to three words:

“Need some help?”

Practice using them for a better tomorrow.

Help Out a Pegasister?

We interrupt my quasi-regular wall-street themed rant to bring you: ponies.

Or rather, the supreme lack thereof.

Here in Queensland there seems to be an amazing dearth of toys based on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I was under the mistaken assumption that Hasbro wanted to make money out of this.

And yet…

There are absolutely

positively

NO

moulded-hair show-accurate figurine sets anywhere in my area.

And since my daughter loves Rainbow Dash [She’s pretty heavily ASD and this is one of the few things she talks coherently about] I went looking for one.

All they have is the RC-Car Rainbow Dash.

What next, Hasbros? Princess Celestia on a motorcycle that shoots things?

[FYI, characters on motorcycles that shoot things is my hallmark of crap merchandise. Especially if it makes no sense. Marvel used to excel at this. Most recent sighting: Buzz Lightyear on a motorcycle that shoots things. Two years ago.]

Sorry, Hasbro. Much as I love your show, your toys are absolute shit.

Visible hair plugs - 10 fail points. Girls love hair play and love it better when the hair looks, you know, at least quasi-realistic.
Limited motion - 8 fail points. Yes, I know the all-plastic show-accurate figurines are completely motionless, but they get that much of a pass for being accurate.  As for the brushable figures, about all you can do to pose them is move their head 360 degrees. Girls also like to pose their dollies. Sit them down, lie them in bed, make them climb a tree… everything they do in the show.
Butt-fuck ugly - 10 fail points. Have you looked at the brushable figures? Gyah. And the ones they deign to put dresses on. Yikes. No. Fucking. Clue. C'mon, you can at least make something pretty, for crying out loud. 
The Princess Celestia doll - 11 fail points out of a possible 10. There is just too much fail for one parcel. Having seen the dollar shop knockoff photos and the genuine article, I’d have to say there is very little difference.

If you want to make more money from picky fans like me [and possibly my daughter] put out some decent merch!

…sigh…

Wow, that was a world class digression.

Anyway. I’m looking for at least a halfway decent Rainbow Dash and the only one I can find comes with a RC car. I’m pretty limited to the Brisbane/Caboolture area, so keep that in mind when I ask:

Do they have ANY show-accurate Rainbow Dash dollies out there, or any halfway decent Rainbow Dash dolls? And if so, where are they?