Let's Talk About Tyrants and Tropes... · 5:48am Feb 15th, 2014
Due to a... spirited debate with a reader in the comments for 'Apple Family Secrets,' it's been brought to my attention that my characterization of Celestia in that story (not in the continuity, mind you, just that one story) has landed on the TVTropes page 'Ron is a Death Eater.' This roughly means that a good character has been shoe-horned into an evil role. The full text is as follows;
"Jade Ring's "Apple Family Secrets" paints her as (underneath a mask of purity) shockingly arrogant and racist, blaming earth ponies for "saddl[ing] the rest of us with your feeble moral code" (i.e. monogamy) and addressing Applejack as a "bumpkin"- despite having just learned that AJ is her illegitimate great-granddaughter. She even briefly considers turning AJ into stone (and it's stated she had done the same to "so many would be radicals in the past") after AJ implicitly threatens to blackmail her with the knowledge of her affair- which verges on this trope for AJ as well!"
Now, my longtime readers will obviously know I am NOT okay with this take on Celestia's character. But you know what? I see where these thoughts are coming from. After all, this is hardly the first time this happened.
'Dear Sweetie Belle' and Date Rape.
When Prereader 37 sent me my rejection notice from EqD, he/she focused a great deal on the fact that, technically, Rarity was date-raped. Believe it or not, this idea never ONCE crossed my mind while writing the story. It was only after the story was released that I really thought about it. Since Sweetie Belle's origins are meant to mirror my own (and my mother was decidedly NOT date raped) I made it a point to explain that it was a drunken mistake on both mother and father's parts. That's why Crescendo gets so pissed off when there's even the idea he would commit such an act.
When one of 37's chief criticisms of the story was the idea of Rarity being date-raped, I was outraged. I ranted and raved that all anyone had to do was read 'Paternally Yours' and they would understand.
That was the issue. Taken on it's own, you can very much read Sweetie Belle's conception as date rape.
Likewise, to those who only read 'Apple Family Secrets,' they have no idea what Celestia's character is going through in the rest of the continuity.
So... I AM okay with this. I see your interpretation, and I can only encourage you to read the other stories to gain a greater understanding of the journey Celestia is on. If you choose not to, (shrug) that's your choice.
And, for the record, it isn't Celestia who considers turning AJ to stone. It's the remnants of the Phoenix Queen, Celestia's version of Nightmare Moon, trying to break through her mind.
Who's the Phoenix Queen? Herein lies the problem and the reason I'm writing all this.
As most of you know, there are three big fics on the way that are going to bring together every plot point of the continuity and close it once and for all; 'The Changelings Have a King,' 'On the Wings of War,' and 'All the Pretty Little Horses.' There is a MAJOR scene at the end of 'War' that will truly show the evils that Celestia has submitted herself to in order to maintain harmony and balance in Equestria while Luna was banished. The scene is something I've been salivating over writing for a long time and will truly bring Celestia's story arc full circle. Hell, we even learn the final fate of a certain ancestor of a certain farmer/goddess.
In that chapter you will meet the Phoenix Queen... and you will tremble before her.
I... I have an idea for a story that would make folks understand Celestia a lot sooner. A little thing I call 'The Sins of the Sun: Diary of the Phoenix Queen.' It's one of those stories I always pushed off because it was just padding.
But, seeing all this confusion over Celestia's character, maybe it's not just padding. Maybe it needs to be written.
The only trade off is that the revelations in 'Sins' would lessen the emotional impact of that chapter in 'War.'
So I leave it to you, my readers. I write for you. Will you wait? Or would you rather I bang this bad boy out before anything else?
On a lighter note, I WAS GIDDY TO SEE MY FICS ON TVTROPES. Check out this entry on Feather Duster in the section 'Monster.'
"Feather Duster, the Big Bad of the flashback portions of Jade Ring's "Dear Applebloom" and "Dear Scootaloo". After being fired from the Ponyville weather team for drunkenly flooding the rabbit holes during Winter Wrap-Up, he takes revenge by "testing" Rainbow Dash (his replacement as captain) with a catastrophic, unscheduled storm which results in the death of Applejack's parents, and he would have let her face the wrath of almost the entirety of Ponyville (since the captain is the only one with access to the storm-generating machines) if he hadn't passed out drunk at the scene of the crime. Later, he lashes out at her again (whether for misplaced revenge or sheer evulz is unclear, as Dash claims he always seemed to hate her even before he was fired) by attacking the orphanage where she grew up, fatally wounding her mother figure Firefly, kidnapping Scootaloo (who had just been found at said orphanage), and forcing Dash to choose between saving Scootaloo and stopping him from unleashing an even bigger storm. Dash, after pulling off both, ends up throwing him into a point-blank Sonic Rainboom just to keep him from hurting anypony else. Even that doesn't put an end to his villainy. In the followup "Cutie Mark Crusaders Dream Warriors", it is revealed his spirit was pushed into the dreamscape, allowing him to haunt the Cutie Mark Crusaders' nightmares years later and feed on their fear Freddy-style then attempt to take over Scootaloo's body to murder Rainbow Dash, before he is finally literally bucked into Tartarus."
Love it. LOVE IT.
Is there more I can't find? PLEASE SHOW IT TO ME IF YOU SEE IT.
You mentioned continuity... I would not know the order of the fics in this verse, and I would like to know the proper order, so I may read (or re-read, if need be) them in proper order.
Thank you.
Ok then So what's the chronological order of this thing...
Still don't really want to read What's Done in the Dark mostly because I'm tried as fuck about Luna stories. There's 60 billion Luna stoyies
I just realized you had a sequel to Dear Applebloom... I'm way behind here.
1836330
1836344 There are three boxes on my Author page labeled 'the Dear Sweetie Belle Continuity.' Let that be your guide.
Keep in mind that many stories run concurrent. I'm always open to questions
1836395 Thank you for that info... good fics is what keeps me (somewhat) sane right now.
Okay. First off, I'm responsible for both of those entries. Besides that, I've only done an entry for you under FanficRecs- Authors and Websites, and I haven't seen any other references to your works there, but setting up a page for the continuity has been on my back burner for a while.
And then, as giddy as you are to see your work referenced, I will admit to being giddy on seeing you quoting mine.
As you noted, I did specify "Apple Family Secrets", not the continuity as a whole, because I can appreciate Celestia having to have made some nasty choices over the centuries. I just got jolted out of the story when I heard Princess bucking Celestia talking down to Applejack like she did, in the specific ways I cited. "Arrogant and racist" was simply the only way to describe it- though I suppose I could ascribe that to the Phoenix Queen too. Still, after she shows buck-all in the way of repentance regarding her past actions, and she goes back to acting as benevolently as she does in the show, she has the gall to act disappointed in Luna for doing the same thing- not that Luna didn't (ahem) screw up royally, but hiding her own guilt by piling on the guilt trip for her sister only makes her seem more detached and manipulative. So I have read all of the stories, and I look forward to continuing to do so, at the risk of any further misinterpretation.
(I would also like to note that I originally stated that this was a mild example compared to other incarnations of the character listed there, but that got "cleaned up" as word cruft or something. Check the page history if you don't believe me- actually, that of the main "Ron the Death Eater" page, since this was before MLP got its own subpage spun off.)
I'm glad to know at least one reader found your work through my efforts. To an extent, that was the point, along with seeing what reactions/discussion it might provoke. Mission accomplished, I suppose.
Other commenters, chronological order is on Jade's front page.
And finally, to your question... heck if I know. I could personally do without "The Sins of the Sun", or even see it as an extra after the main stories have wrapped up, since (my filibuster here aside) I do see Celestia's character now as more balanced overall than it was in AFS, but I can't speak for other potential readers.
I'm honestly surprised someone would be as petty as to try to cut down your abilities as a writer with nonsensical jargon.
Apple Family secrets was extremely well done, I say stay the course voyager!
I cannot find. Link, please?
1837140 They, uh, aren't written yet.
1836504 Knowing those entries were written by a dedicated follower like you just makes it better. I owe you something special.
And, uh... if you make any more entries like that, let me know. I love reading them.
1837250
Oh...I was under the impression otherwise, but I'm bad at English in the morning.
To be honest don't bother.
I know what she's going to be. Its just the run of the mill tyrant stick after all. Rain fire balls on towns, public execution seen you them all before a dozen times.
1839031 You are the most shallow, high horsed person I have EVER had the displeasure of dealing with. You have NO IDEA what the story could contain, yet you brush it off BEFORE I'VE EVEN PUT PEN TO PAPER. You are the very worst kind of reader. You are impatient, know it all, smug, high and mighty... frustrating!
You have taken advantage of my patience and goodwill for long enough.
Take a peek at those numbers on my page. You see all those followers? All those page views? You think any of them has never questioned where the story was going? Of course they have.
But they LISTENED to me and had PATIENCE, something you obviously have no intention of doing.
It's obvious that this is not your cup of tea, so kindly leave your down vote and read something else. I make it a point to not delete comments, but keep yours up and I will have no choice but to make an exception.
1839345
hey man I'm trying to give this a chance you're other Fics are good but this verse. No I don't like it
I stand by what I said.
And maybe the things I said would make to Twick your stories in the better
Or something
Hmmm.... Wait. That's my opinion. Wait.