YMMV / The Lost Element

• Archive Panic: Having been in development of 9 years since 2011 and being over 2 millions words, newcomers will have a lot to cover to get caught up to modern events in The Lost Element.
• Bizarro Episode: In early May of 2020, the author uploaded a hilariously short chapter appropriately titled Now For Something Completely Different out of annoyance with the coronavirus pandemic and its resulting lockdown causing him a nasty case of creative stagnation and lack of drive. In it, James and Pinkie Pie have a conversation complaining over the lockdown.
  Author's header: I was bored.
• Catharsis Factor:
  • Considering that they never got what was coming to them in their original story, seeing James dice up all the Blanks in a one-sided brawl after finding out that they had murdered Ruby.
  • Anyone who can't see past the problematic characterization of Starlight Glimmer most likely got a kick out of her getting killed by Nightmare Moon on top of receiving a scathing "Reason You Suck" Speech from the Princess of Dreams. Bonus points with Nightmare Moon going out of her way to insure Starlight's legacy will be completely forgotten by history.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Shortly after her proper introduction into the story, Smolder has become something of a fan favorite among many readers due to how she still retains her canon personality to a large extent while showing shades of depth and maturity that could only be applied through playing the implications of dragon culture completely straight. Smolder's realistic hesitation in accepting unconditional hospitality from others after two years as a wandering outcast combined with her self-imposed discipline for the sake of survival and her complicated and endearing growing relationship with James has made her a very compelling character.
• Harsher in Hindsight: A particularly emotional moment in “Birds of Paradise” involves James confessing to Terramar that he has a strained relationship with his own father. Roughly two years later, the author revealed in a public announcement that his father is dying of ALS.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Smolder states early on that her birthday is the 11th of November. Guess which other dragon heavy property was also "born" on that day?
• Salvaged Story: One of the most common and earliest criticisms of The Lost Element is when James punishes Diamond Tiara for harassing the Cutie Mark Crusaders by using a prank tool to hide her cutie mark. In the 100th chapter, scenarios are shown to James where he could have been gentler or much harsher to her instead. The chapter also further explains how James' choice at the time was necessary since it resulted in a chain reaction that set the stage for his connections to Nightmare Moon in Volume 2. Had Diamond Tiara not had a reason to seek revenge on James, the story would have gone in a vastly different direction.
• Signature Song: In the Fimfiction versions of the author’s work, certain music tracks tend to consistently pop up during scenes with specific characters.
  • Momentous scenes focusing on Nightmare Moon often at times are set to occur to the presence of songs by Nightwish.
  • When Ember spends time alone with James, the romantic tension that often develops between them is usually serenaded by songs from Samantha James’ discography.
• Slow-Paced Beginning: Few will deny that the first volume of The Lost Element is a bit low on stakes and lacking in deeper plot development aside from a few exceptions. Even the author admits that the first thirteen chapters are the story's weakest link, even if it was necessary. Volume 2 does not take long for the real meat of the world's plot development to begin with the return of Nightmare Moon and the revelation of the titular "Lost Element".
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Lampshaded in-universe in The Lost Element in regards to Mitta and Ruby. While both received strong characterization during the Sunny Town subplot, both characters have become increasing sparse in their appearances as the story has gone on. While the nature of Ruby’s existence may explain why she’s hard to keep track of, Mitta is the more unfortunate example. The author himself has lamented her increasing irrelevance in the story, claiming that while he included the setting of “Story of the Blanks” as a means to finally give Mitta and Ruby their happy endings, removing them from the setting that made them interesting in the first place made them less compelling and vastly more difficult to work with.
  • Spike seems to have fallen victim to this trope as well, having gone from a prominent member of the main cast to a minor recurring character. While it makes sense to keep him out of the major conflicts due to their increasingly heavy subject matter that is no place for a child, some readers may find his general absence when compared to the Mane Six a bit disappointing.

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