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Brony Advice: Your Questions Answered #40, 41, 42!

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#40) I'm having a hard time 'coming out' to my parents about being a brony and it's really getting me down. Do you have any advice for me?

Answer: You should definitely stop treating being a fan of the show as some sort of grand event, for a start. At the very least, take a step back and realise that liking the show isn't the big deal that you might think it is. Yes, "Friendship is Magic" is designed for young girls, and yes, people, including your parents, may think that it's unusual that you watch and enjoy the show and its fandom. The real question is, however: why should it be a big deal?

By building up this pressure upon yourself to tell your parents about your interest, you're merely reaffirming that liking the show is something to be ashamed of. It's only a TV show – what parent would honestly make you feel bad about watching it? And, if your parents are strict about that kind of thing, then why not just keep it to yourself? Liking ponies is hardly equivalent to, for example, being a homosexual: coming out of the closest about being gay can be incredibly difficult for people, and for good reasons. The fact that you like a TV show should hardly be cause to have some dawning realisation about your identity.

You like a show made for kids because the show just happens to be good. That's the line that you should stick to. Forget the, 'I'm not alone; there are thousands of bronies' angle, as that won't exactly help your case. Chances are, that would just make your parents think that there are a whole host of unusual people that you've been associating with. Your best bet is to just keep your interest to yourself – not necessarily out of shame, but more because the world doesn't need to know that you like something.

I don't tell my parents that I've become a fan of a particular new band, or that I've started watching a new show. I'm not sure what kind of relationship you have with your parents, but you should be free to watch something without having to tell your parents what you've watched. If that is the case, forget 'coming out' of some sort of social closet; being a fan of "Friendship is Magic" isn't a big deal unless you make it into a big deal.

My advice is to avoid telling them, simply because it's none of their concern that you like ponies. Failing that, if you feel a strong desire to tell them for whatever reason – quite why you would elevate ponies to being some sort of thing that you have to 'come out' about is beyond me – then do it casually and merely say that you like the latest iteration of My Little Pony. Chances are you're having a hard time telling your parents about your interest because you're ashamed of liking ponies deep down, or because you feel that it's unusual. Don't be ashamed to enjoy something that's entertaining. By being reluctant to 'come out', you're creating your own prejudice against yourself.

Tell them and be casual about it, or y'know...don't tell them. Rationalise: you have an interest in a TV show. That's it. It's hardly something to get upset about, nor something to proclaim from the roof-tops.




#41) I'm considering getting a pony tattoo on my arm. Do you have any advice for me?

Answer: Yeah, I have some advice. Let me word this in the form of a short story:

There's a TV show called "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", and it's pretty decent. It started in 2010 and snowballed in popularity. Now I'm going to zoom into the future – it's 2020, and you're in your thirties. "Friendship is Magic" has finished and your average person has no idea that it even existed. Your own interest in the show has dwindled. You occasionally open up that one drawer and have a look at your old memorabilia: the brushable-hair Princess Luna and the shiny Twilight Sparkle blind-bag. You even log into DeviantArt every now and then and look back at some of your old deviations: a tear forms in the corner of your eye as you gaze upon an image of Fluttershy hugging a rabbit.

You push the drawer shut and log out of DeviantArt, wandering into the bedroom. There you pass by  a mirror, and see the Pinkie Pie tattoo on your arm. It's a little bit faded, but you can still make out the party cannon between her eager hooves. So full of life, she appears to be, and the nostalgic memories that fill your mind make you smile for times now lost.

Now it's 2040. You're in your fifties and My Little Pony is in its tenth generation. Nobody remembers "Friendship is Magic" except for collectors of the toys, who are struggling to get the mottled stains out of their browning Princess Celestia dolls. You occasionally email that one guy who you met during the brony fandom; he also remembers it fondly, although his memory is hazy, and he can't quite remember who the main characters were. You pass by the mirror once again; Pinkie Pie still seems eager with her cannon, but your partying days are over: arthritis and a strong desire to be in bed by 9:30 have seen to that.

It's 2070. You're old and grey. None of the youngsters know what My Little Pony is. You dig out an ancient DVD of "Friendship is Magic" and play it to the grandchildren, but they can't appreciate it as you once did: they say that it looks and sounds dated. Your brony friend died a few years back, so you heard, and with him he took the last person close to you who you could discuss the show with. You can't remember if you liked Twilight Prancer the most, or if it was Rainbow Cloud. In your wheelchair you pass by a mirror. The Pinkie Pie tattoo is now lost in a sea of wrinkles, appearing as little more than a pink mass of flesh not dissimilar to an external tumour. You sigh sadly, remembering what it was to once be young.

It's 2090. You're dead, and on your grave you had written, 'Here lies ____, Brony For Life, And Partying With Pinkie Pie Until The Very End'. Your relatives have fond memories of you, although they never shook the assumption that you were mad by the end.

"He got a tattoo of a fad," they would say, shaking their heads. "He branded himself with a character from a TV show that lasted a few years. He must have been mad."

And they were right.

The End~




#42) I think that 'pony maker' images are the bane of the artistic fandom. What do you think?

Answer: The bane of the artistic fandom? Pony makers? Those innocent images made using that one guy's program to help people take part in the fandom, despite not being able to draw for themselves? You want me to sit here and bash a lot of people's creative avenue to taking part in the fandom when they lack the artistic know-how to draw independently? You're asking leading questions that are highly critical of a program that allows even the most shy of people to have an OC pony in the hopes that I'll take the bait and join with you in mutual dissent towards it?

Alright, then. Down with pony maker images! Boo! On the one hand, pony maker images are great, because they let people, as specified above, who can't draw or haven't yet mastered the pony style to create a character. However, the pony maker program sucks insofar as it allows people who can't draw or haven't yet mastered the pony style to create a character. See what I did there? I used the same argument as both a positive and a negative. Really, love or hate pony maker images, they're pretty much here to stay as long as people feel fit to rely on them. And, while they are a bit shitty, it's also a bit of a dick-move to tell people that they shouldn't use the program. For some people, it's their only outlet for taking part in the fandom, and unless you want to be elitist and say that they don't belong, you have to at least understand why people use the program.

That said, the program is limited, and people who use it should be aware that they're not exactly making artistic gold. As long as people realise that the pony maker images aren't exactly the most impressive or original things to come out of the fandom, people can hopefully reach some form of understanding. Mutual respect and all that.
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A new project that I'm starting in collaboration with artists. It's an advice column, in the simplest of terms: I want you to send me notes if you have any problems, secrets or comments on the pony fandom of any nature. It doesn't matter how embarrassing, offensive or vicious they might be: if you want someone to comment on them in an unbiased way, send them over. Maybe there's something within the fandom that you particularly despise, or perhaps you're feeling sad and need to hear some friendly advice? Whatever the motive, send a note with your comment or question.

I'll then respond to them with advice and commentary and post the answers up in future installments. Users will remain anonymous, so you don't need to worry about your feelings and thoughts getting out onto DeviantArt. You may find that some of the things that you've personally been feeling will be addressed.

Feel free to note me if you would like your questions and observations to be answered in an upcoming edition. Every edition will be engaging with three issues. The above three featured today were submitted by anonymous deviants.

Artwork by the mighty *The-Smiling-Pony. Go check out his stuff!
© 2012 - 2024 Cuddlepug
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JenNope's avatar
My parents are okay with that that I watch MLP :D