YMMV / The Vinyl Scratch Tapes

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• Broken Base: The aforementioned Author's Saving Throw. Some felt it was deserved, while others... didn't◊.
  • If it helps, this is what the author has to say about it.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Many fans like to pretend that Season 2 never happened, which is made easier by the original Audio Adaptation ending shortly before the point when Season 2 got controversial.
• Fridge Logic: The story casts Luna in a very positive light, but Octavia freely calls Vinyl a lunatic. Considering the root word and original meaning of that word, it should be very taboo in Equestria.
• Harsher in Hindsight: "Ponyville Confidential" had a town was shunning three small fillies for a single day when their insensitivity caused problems. Now imagine pretty much the whole of Equestria openly wanting their deaths and attacking them wherever they go, for months on end. That's Blueblood, except without two additional ponies to share his pain with (at least at first).
• Hilarious in Hindsight: In Season 2 Episode 4, Lyra's comment about Celestia hiding the existence of humans becomes that much funnier with EQUESTRIA GIRLS coming out.
• Jerkass Woobie: Blueblood. He does some bad things, but he suffers so much for them, from without and within, that even Vinyl comes to feel sorry for him, which triggers his Heel–Face Turn.
• Les Yay: Vinyl openly flirts with Octavia every chapter, and apparently Spitfire was her first kiss.
  • Season 2 takes it up to eleven now that they may be in an actual relationship.
• Seasonal Rot: Let's just say Season 2 is somewhat contested for a few completely fair reasons.
• Tear Jerker: The end of Season 2 Episode 2. Blueblood tries to ask Trixie out, but winds up accidentally offending her, driving her to storm out of the station. A lot of the time, he's a total jerk, but here he's really trying to be nice. When it fails, he goes into such deep sadness and self-loathing that he spends the whole night getting drunk and repeatedly puts himself down over the next few days.

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