So here I was, enjoying some moderately-priced scotch and enjoying my vacation, when I decided I should check in on the ponyfic world. Surely, nothing important has happened in the last few days that-
>EqD eliminates all Star Ratings going forward
Huh. Well, that wasn't totally unexpected, but it does put a damper on the long-term viability of the review format I've settled into.
To be frank, I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that yet. Short-term, I'll keep plugging away at the 6-star stories once I come home. Long-term... in truth, I haven't given it a lot of thought yet. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments, but don't expect me to respond to them right away (also, sorry for not commenting on the last few posts at all. I'm working with an ancient computer and dial-up, and it takes more than five minutes just to load the blogger main page. I'll ever-so-belatedly get to responses and e-mails and stuff once I'm back home). But for now, the plan is to stay the course. Guest posts will continue for another week, and then I'll be back with reviews of Fallout: Equestria (which I'm a little more than two-thirds done with as I type this, so I don't expect any delays on that front), and the Bronies anthology.
So, that's pretty much where things stand at the moment. Now, back to sipping scotch and losing at cribbage.
You could start going through the Pony Fiction Vault and reviewing stories there that weren't six stars. There are some pretty great things in there that just didn't quite get the time in the EQD spotlight they deserved, and it would be interesting to see you take a more critical view of those as well.
ReplyDeleteI would say finish up the 6-star stories as they stand right now, and then go to either the Pony Fiction Vault (like Drakmire suggested) or perhaps just highlight stories you might find interesting. That's assuming the show is still running by that time, and the fandom is still around.
ReplyDeleteThis is the internet. No matter how small or obscure or old or outdated the fiction, there is always a fandom around.
DeleteIt's a fair point. It only occurred to me a few weeks ago that I really haven't been back to watch much, if any, of the show. The idea is so much better than the show itself, because the show can be flawed in ways that the observer's mental construct isn't.
DeleteAs Present Perfect said, the end of the show would probably make writing EASIER, and likely not inhibit the fiction-writing part of the fandom one joy.
I think the authors of the many stories with Changelings, Queen Chrysalis, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence would disagree with you. The inconsistantcy and unexplained mysteries just give more reasons for authors to create their own worlds, and it lets headcanon evolve into even weirder stories.
DeleteBesides, we all know that when season 3 comes out, you'll be watching it and enjoying it with the rest of us. You didn't rewatch every episode of every week either, did you?
-Derpmind (Stupid cellphone makes everything hard.)
Uh, whoops. "You didn't rewatch every episode of (insert show you really liked) every week either, did you?"
DeleteActually, yes, there are some shows I did. Firefly being the first to spring to mind.
DeleteBeyond that, I'm really not sure what you're trying to say. Your tone seems to imply that you're disagreeing with what I said, but the words themselves agree. Those inconsistencies help authors create words BECAUSE the show isn't filling in those blanks and leaves viewers to have their own head-canon (I so want a headcanon. To the FABRATORY!). As such, I think those authors would AGREE with me, for the reasons you stated.
As for season 3, of course I'll be watching, and I didn't imply that I wouldn't.
Just make you up a list of all the star-6's, in case they take away the tag? Not that I think there's any plan for doing so. I'm still hoping Seth will take my suggestion for how to get around star ratings but still keep star tags, but it's always been a sticky wicket.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, After the current crop of 6-stars has been worked through, I'd be happy simply reading reviews about stories that you enjoyed or felt should be kept away from. Maybe take suggestions from others that you trust, if you want to tackle some fics that you otherwise might have kept away from.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for your Fo:E review. Will you include A Mare Worth Fighting For in your review as well?
ReplyDeletePerhaps if you snag top rated stories from another site, like FimFiction? These days, almost every story on EqD starts out on FimFiction as a popular story beforehand.
ReplyDeleteInteresting ideas. One of the things I really like about reviewing the 6-star stories is that it encourages me to read stories I missed before, and to date I've found a number of fics that I immensely enjoyed which I'd never even heard of. Top Fimfic stories, Vault fics, or just going back and hitting some other high-rated stories out of the EqD archives all have appeal.
ReplyDeleteBut, plenty of time to think about that. I've still got months worth of 6-stars ahead of me, and several authors who I already know will be very sad if I stop before I get to their works.