#hey remember when I said I’m not a mlp artist

[proxycrit]

Me thinking about honses.

(Are they gods? Or unfortunate magical experimentations? When did the world blink, and they’ve grown— but not old, nor wise?

At least they’re sisters, and they have each other.

At least.

At least.)

Anyways here’s my doodles for a possible luna and celestia! They’re ancient alicorns, ascended during a great war that would later shape equestria as a primarily pony continent. (The modern alicorns are made with love. The ancient alicorns are made with desperation. Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker are not accidents.)

[beastwars-transformers]

@prussianmemes i’m greatly exaggerating because this was more awkward than explosive but I went to a local con for my birthday last year and I wore the megop bag as a crossbody purse and the Soundwave bag as a backpack. Now this con was geared more towards anime so I expected nobody to really care but I wanted to wear them anyways.

While browsing a little Lolita fashion shop in the dealer’s hall, I hear someone shout “is that the decepticon logo?!” (The yaoi bag has one alongside an Autobot pin) so my ears perk up in hopes of a fellow fan. First warning sign: it’s a guy in a suit.

We made our greetings and one alarm bell goes off for me: the only TF related stuff I had watched by then was TFP and Bayformers. Maybe a few episodes of G1. This guy has seen. ALL OF THEM. So now I’m stuck with a fanboy because I’m separated from my friends and I have no idea what to say because I’m way out of my league.

What follows is snippets of conversation I remember for being even more embarrassing. More so for me being stuck in this and having nothing to add than him:

Me: (fuck the yaoi bag is so stupid uhhhh) hey i also have my soundwave ita check it out! *turns around*

Him: cool buuuuuut I wish Balster got more attention he’s way cooler than Soundwave :/

Me: *has only seen blaster on a merch page once* oh um. Sure hehe.

———

Him: do you have any obscure favorite character in the series?

Me: uhh I like Windblade! She’s really cool I hope she shows up more

Him: yeah but she’s so obviously the fan favorite and they make her like win like all the time like how in Cyberverse she was kicking ass while Optimus was struggling it doesn’t make any sense. It’s really dumb.

Me : (oh fucking no) well women should. Always win haha *said in between the ongoing rant*

———

Me: (oh wait if I mention that I’m a bayverse defender he’ll get annoyed and this will finally end!!!) oh uh well. You should know that I like the Bayformers movies hehe *points to my commission button*

Him: oh my god I loved the Bayverse movies too! Especially since…*this keeps going and I just made it worse for myself.*

———

Somehow the conversation started to talk about how distraught children were when Optimus died in the ‘87 movie

Me: it’s kinda funny cuz when I was 7 and watching ROTF I wasn’t upset at all when Optimus was brutally killed by Megatron haha

Him: well that’s because modern media has a lot more death than media in the 80s people back then didn’t expect their main characters to die so they were a lot more shocked than us today *this also keeps going. No matter how times I try to interject I was the same age as those kids in 1987 or the fact I only watched MLP and Disney back then, I am not heard.*

———

The last funny thing was that the conversation finally turned towards TFP, still my favorite so I can talk about it. If I could ever get an edge into this conversation in the first place.

Anyways. He started saying “it’s awesome how in TFP how crazy Megatron is” and it was very clear his next part was going to be “and how he doesn’t love anything” but I swear I saw his eyes flick down to the bright yellow yaoi button sitting on my chest and immediately course corrected and said “and how he’s so destructive and angry”

This was the only time I influenced the conversation probably.

Anyways. During this entire time I was trying to edge away and browse the Lolita shop we were in to escape. It doesn’t work because he keeps following me and keeps talking.

He decides to give me one last jumpscare by asking for my name. By this point I was just kind of frustrated with all of this and I wanted to find my friends again, but now I was straight up panicking. Paranoia sets in hard for me when this happens, when I feel like I’m being hit on. So I gave him my go-to fake name and prepared for the worst. He just told me his name, stuck out his hand. We shook hands and he left. I was free. I crashed at the concessions stand and texted my friends to find me so we could go to the artist alley. All while trying to slow my heart and assert the fact I am not in any danger. This is also stupid because paranoia in an anime con is stupid.

Let me make one thing clear. It’s pretty obvious this guy was somewhere on the spectrum. This was probably his favorite thing and just wanted someone to talk to about it. And I was the worst person to talk to about it because how I like TF was very different from how he liked TF. I should’ve been more forthright about wanting to leave. Maybe mention my friends and how I had to go find them or something. I’m not really mad at him at all. It’s just a funny experience looking back. I wouldn’t mind to see him again if we do ever cross paths. Maybe we could talk about beast wars.

But. That was a relatively small, local con. I’m going to a big one in March. Peter Freaking Cullen will be there. I’m afraid. Very afraid.

I wanna go to this con nearby and wear my ita stuff but idk if it would be safe to bring the robot yaoi bag since peter Cullen is there

[peachywander]

All asks

Holy shit, this will be so much fun B-) *cracks knuckles*

Ask me: FANDOM EDITION

A - Your current OTP

Uhhh pff,,, skeleton dance I think?? I mean sure, skelley dance is always my current OTP, ngl. They're basically made for eachother, hell, even craig himself wore tshirts and stuff with wander hugging hater ifthisisn'tcannonthenidkwhatitis

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

To be honest,, wander x beza. I used to dislike every wander x girl ship bcs I see him as gae and nothing else. But I have a friend who does lots of art with them so I think it grew on me more and more with time?? Now I think they would look cute together, even if i'm still not super big on it.

C - A pairing you have never liked and probably never will

Wnder x domi. No comment, I despise it with all my heart 😂😂 Like I said earlier, I don't like most of wander x girl ships, and domi really hates wander. Sooo this ship simply doesn't make sense to me,, lmfao.

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t

I think Twi x Flash from mlp. Yeah, I thought twi was cute when crushing on him in the 1st EG movie but they don't seem to have that chemistry I was hoping for. Plus I haven't seen any recent episodes of mlp in a long time, though I heard ppl say that he was mean to her once, if I remember well? Anyways, doesn't work so much for me.

E - Have you added anything stupid/cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

Besides memes/ shitposts, not really. Check @gunxball if you want to see posts of mine back when I was into gumball 2 yrs ago (golly i miss those times)

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

Probably su (2016-2019) or kid vs kat (2011-2014)

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

Why yes, of course I do. cosmo x wanda from fop. They were so adorbs together esp in the first 2 seasons. Don't like how they got so flanderized with time, their dynamic was absolutely destroyed, and my day was ruined when I found out.

H - Do you prefer characters from real action series or anime series

I don't watch either lolol

But I think anime.

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why

Dislike the fandom, not the show itself? Probably hzbin hotel. The show has a pretty neat concept and animation and it had such a big impact on my artstyle when I first watched it. But the fandom? Absolute hell. (pun intended)

From shipping wars, to pestering vivz, anything is possible. Glad I haven't actually interacted with that part of the fandom.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr

Not a show but among us. Back in september/october last year, my tl was FILLED with among us, up and down. Made me a lil tired of it but once I tried playing that game, I couldn't stop. Also the owlhouse, fell in love with the artstyle and story.

K - How do you feel about the other people in your current fandom

I don't have a current fandom. Not feeling in the mood + school + inactivity bcs of school. So I'll say abt my latest fandom, which was animaney. Well, people were really nice, and they seemed to enjoy the reboot. Nothing more to say tbh,,

L - Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for

Ummm I don't really like giving rqs to my fave artists, i don't wanna bother them haha

M - Your favorite fanart or fanartist

I don't know aaaa, prolly toonipi but she also draws ocs, not just fanart.

N - Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor

Anything cute or sappy with skelleydance (NO nsfw)

O - Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of

Lasers and feelings. Skellydance again. It matches sO well-

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

I used to have a skatepark AU ft. su chars but never put anything over here. I still have the sketches from 9th grade lmao.

Q - A ship you’ve abandoned and why

To be completely honest, Amydot. Up until s3 they really gave me possible ship vibes. They interacted a lot, and peri discovered her metal powers thanks to amy. But after s3 they hardly ever interacted anymore (besides that one ep from s5 with the kindergarden). I was so dissapointed, but hey lapdot isn't so bad anyway, right?

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

Back in 2014 I would have said chred from angry birds, definitely. Not many really shipped them, and when I saw some fanart of them on dA everyone would say "ew, gae". Well, 2014 everyone. I was always like "so?? i like that ship, what's the problem??"

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon

Uhmm, i headcanon darwin from tawog that he likes to yodel lol

T - If you mostly have homoships, do you have any heteroships

I think my ships are 50-50, but here are some examples:

Larsdie

Stevnnie

Blckeye

Fluttrcord

Beeckard

Starc0

Tanyamao

Foxodile

Pennball

Carwin

U - If you mostly have heteroships, do you have any homoships

Same as T. Another examples:

Skelleydance

Wnderingeye

Sylava

Lumty

Rupphre

Pearlmthyst

Badgrmao

Bubbline

Flutterdsh

Patbob

V - Are you one of those fans who can’t watch anything without shipping

Lol no. Tbh, i'm not super big on shipping either. I only slighty like/dislike any ship i listed earlier (with the exception of skelleydance, i'm too in love with that ship)

W - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

wakko warner (animaney)

wander (woy)

fluttershy (mlp)

amethyst (su)

bubbles (ppg)

X - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms

skelleydance (woy)

lumty (toh)

stevnnie (su)

Y - A fandom you’re in but have no ships from

kid cosmic (or maybe I do ship papa g w/ chuck), animaney, okko, gravity flls

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go

That one fan made episode from su called the smothering, it was so freaking amazing. It helped a lot in relieveing the pain of that big hiatus from 2017 (which was the biggest one, i literally turned into a skeleton waiting for new eps). Loved peri's needy personality, as well as lappy's playful one. It was so well written, like it could be perfectly fit as a role reversal episode in the main show.

[marvelandponder]

Seems Like a Silly Question, huh?

It’s not hard to argue that Spike is somewhat effeminate. He’s not a walking stereotype, and he’s got his fair share of more traditionally masculine traits, but the dude’s kinda dainty. 

And that’s cool, so why am I asking about it? It’s not like it’s unusual, and if you start thinking about it, you get to some obvious answers: the target demographic are little girls, Spike is surrounded by lots of female role models constantly, he was raised mostly by Twilight (or Princess Celestia, although that still hasn’t been confirmed), high society like Canterlot tends to produce more prim and proper ilk, etc. Easy answers.

So... why ask?

Well, for starters, the same reason you might ask similar questions about Steven Universe. Stick with me here.

Spike Universe

Someone anonymously sent me an ask comparing Spike to Steven Universe, and the more I thought about it, the more apt that comparison became (thank you whoever you are, all credit for this section goes to you).

At first, it took me a second to see it, because the differences seem so substantial that I thought the similarities might only be superficial. Like I said in the ask, Steven’s had to deal with darker, more complex subjects, and, more importantly, for longer periods of time. 

Spike’s come to terms with the loss of his home in a fire, for example, but we only see him grieving briefly. Essentially, if something hurts Steven, and/or changes his perspective on someone, it tends to have lasting effects because, well, Steven Universe is a story-arc and character-arc driven show. 

But, aside from that, Spike and Steven have a lot in common.

Young boy growing up surrounded by powerful female figures

Doesn’t quite fit into either of the species/races they’re supposed to, but instead exists as a mix of both

Makes allies out of perceived enemies

Complex characters with a mix of feminine and masculine traits that tend to lean towards their more traditionally feminine side

All this, and the question still remains: why?

Again, stick with me.

The F Word

I couldn’t really talk about this subject without bringing up something that everybody’s got opinions on: feminism.

First off, because I know what the internet’s like, I should say I’m not about to argue you should change those opinions of yours---whether they’re positive or negative. For the purpose of the point I’m getting to it doesn’t particularly matter where I stand on it, so yeah, I encourage you to make your own decisions on whatever movements you want to investigate, and support or not support. You do you.

But, with that out of the way, back to Pony.

There is a legitimate reason to bring this up without taking a stance myself. Someone one else has.

Jim “Big Jim” Miller is a storyboard artist/supervisor and co-director of the show. He’s also done a few incidental voices, the most significant roles being King Sombra and Trouble Shoes. Plus, he joins the ‘cartoonists who are known for primarily wearing plaid’ club. 

More relevantly, he’s gone on record backing up Lauren Faust, who considers herself a feminist, in saying Friendship is Magic is a feminist show, while talking about what it’s like the make a show for little girls:

"My Little Pony is fundamentally a feminist show. It's about girls. It stars girls. Girls are awesome. Get used to it. If you feel, as a man, that your gender is underrepresented in this program, welcome to what it must feel like every girl watching the millions of other shows about and starring boys.

Ideally, we wouldn't have to have conversations about the gender identity of shows. And to their credit, Hasbro has recognized the gender neutral appeal of FiM and started branding and marketing that way. But there is nothing wrong with watching and enjoying a show made for girls.

... And until the day comes where it doesn't matter who shows are made for, I'm proud to say I make a show for little girls."

Source (x)

So, maybe that’s our answer. Come to think of it, Discord’s foppish, Big Mac plays with dolls and dreams of being a princess, and Shining Armour, while mostly pretty manly, gets emotional at weddings. Really emotional.

Maybe it’s just because there’s not a lot of masculinity period in this show. 

But hey, for the record, Rebecca Sugar, the creator of Steven Universe, wrote something similar (although not quite about any feminist aspect of the show) on the subject of whether Steven Universe is a boys’ show or not:

“My goal with the show was to really tear down and play with the semiotics of gender in cartoons for children because I think that’s a really absurd idea that there would be something radically different about a show for little girls versus a show for little boys.

It’s exciting to me to play with a lot of that language [”boys’” show or “girls’” show], because everyone’s very familiar with it but it really doesn’t make much sense. I used to really enjoy shows that were aggressively targeted to boys when I was a little girl and I know the same can be true the other way around, so why not have something that everybody can watch?”

Source (x)

And since I’m trying to stay neutral, I’ll say again we don’t need to get in arguments over different kinds of feminism, but we can at least acknowledge there’s some kind of feminism around here (or at least in Pony), that tries to build girls up without necessarily tearing anyone else down.

Why is Spike So Not Girly?

In general, yeah, he’s got some traditionally feminine qualities like his supportive, emotionally open nature, but for a while there, before Discord joined the Mane Cast (if a character gets their own episodes, their a member of the main cast, so CMC’s and Starlight included), Spike was our token little bro.

And despite being the butt of a few slapstick jokes, he’s not typically looked down on for being a dude or having manly qualities. He’s allowed to have his guys’ night and burp up scrolls when necessary, as stereotypical guy stuff goes.

The closest we come is in the comparison between fierce, warlike dragons and friendship-loving, sing-songy ponies. Spike’s initially told he isn’t like those other brutish dragons, but when he goes to hang out with them, he greatly enjoys himself up until they start getting into some morally wrong territory. He wanted a dragon role-model in his life, and just couldn’t find one. At which point, he starts to consider himself a pony.

Although, he does try to think of himself a “noble dragon,” he’s still far removed from relating to anyone of his kind. 

Later on in the fandom-darling episode Gauntlet of Fire, however, it’s working with Princess/Dragon Lord Ember that ends up winning the day---Spike’s expertise in girly pony-like friendship-making ultimately make the difference, but Ember’s brute force and fighting ability helps, too.

What’s exciting is that Spike finally has a dragon friend he can relate to. That he can learn what it means to be a dragon without sacrificing the pony ideals he grew up on.

And in the dragons = dudes, ponies = chicks metaphor, it means the “brutish” ways he just had to abandon to stay morally upstanding in previous seasons can be embraced and better balanced with the feminine relationship-valuing (yeah, that’s totally a phrase people use: relationship-valuing). 

I like this a lot because that’s how the show generally treats masculine qualities. Even when he was one, I don’t think Spike ever felt like the token guy---and not just because he can be effeminate, but---because in-universe there’s an acceptance and embracing of feminine traits without denying masculine ones.

For one, take a look at Spike’s heroes---or at least, who we can guess are his heroes. We know he’s had visions of being a strong, noble knight able to save a damsel in distress, but also loves to role-play as an absurdly powerful magician. You could argue I’m seeing things, but you know who those look like to me? His older brother and sister.

If Garbuckle there wasn’t Twi enough for you, what about “Princess” Spike? You might say ‘oh, calling himself a princess was just a gag for the audience’---and sure, objectively, that might be true, but in-universe, I mean, Spike knows what a prince is. Prince Blueblood exists. Instead, he chose to be a princess.

You can’t deny that he admires his older siblings, and this is perfect example of what I’m talking about: one the one hand, you’ve got the knight in shining armour, who rose up the ranks of the royal military guard. On the other, you’ve got the Princess of Friendship, who rose to that position not just because of her academic merit, but her love and compassion. As traditionally masculine and feminine role-models go, that’s pretty clear cut.

And, we get to focus primarily on Twi and stereotypically girly stuff like, I dunno, friendship or something---but that doesn’t stop Spike from looking up to Shining Armour, too. Embracing and, hell, championing the feminine side while also enjoying the masculine. 

The coolest thing about that is, well, we never have to question it. I know that’s what I’m doing in this post, but only to really highlight how great it is to have this caring little guy look up to who he wants to, and be who he wants to be. No questions asked.

If you want more MLP editorials, I’ve got them here, and the last few right here (you can also check out the other Spike editorial I did that goes over more of his accomplishments):

*Spike, Twilight, and Top 10 Things to Look for in S7 Editorials

Year of the Pony

Header Image Only Possible Thanks to...

Canterlot Castle Background by Zapheroc

Guilty Spike Vector by MasemJ

Check out these talented artists and the kickass work they do! Always remember to give credit and check to see if it’s okay to use a specific vector, but feel free to browse and tell ‘em how cool their stuff is.

Let’s Hear it for the Boy!