Confused and disappointed. · 6:13am Jun 3rd, 2015
Okay, as some of you may have noticed, my newest fic, The Best of Both Worlds, has been removed from FIMFiction and deviantART after only having posted two chapters. And those of you who actually give a crap may be wondering, “Hey Kirb, why did you remove it?” If you don’t know already, you must have never read or even looked at said fic.
Basically, I removed it because so far, it was the most unpopular fic I’ve created to this date, ending with nine downvotes and only eighteen upvotes. My other stories—or at least the ones worth reading—have had scores ranging from 93% to 78%. And I know this may paints me as a little whiny guy who can’t accept criticism from anybody, but the thing is, I actually do know why I got all this criticism. It was because of the cover art that depicted an anthropomorphic Rumble and Pipsqueak, with the latter looking at Rumble and blushing.
My belief is that people looked at that and thought, “Oh no, it’s a gay fic! Instant thumbs-down without reading!” Yet I promised to them in the description that this WASN’T a gay fic and even said so repeatedly in the chapter comments. But did anybody listen? No, because apparently they don’t know how to read.
I also find it sickening how much of a double standard this is. People are scared and instantly downvote at just the SUGGESTION that there might POSSIBLY be two colts being shipped together (even in my case when I said it wouldn’t have any of that), yet when it’s two fillies, it becomes the most popular fic on the site.
Now for those of you who are still interested in reading this fic, you can send me a private message and I’ll send you the link to the chapters.
SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PART:
I came up with the idea of the fic based on a dream I had, much like how I came up with Spring Is in Bloom, my second most popular story. It followed basically the same plot as what I’ve released so far, only with less detail, of course. Rumble notices Pip attracted to him, Pip being really close to him, etc.
But here was the twist of my fic: Pip corners Rumble up and confesses his love, he takes off his shirt and reveals that he was actually a filly the whole time. The rest of the story would go as you would expect it to, with Pip explaining why she pretended to be a colt all these years, the two ponies making out, maybe a lapdance in there and some screwing.
I had imagined this story to be a fun little piece of comedy clop, with occasional references to Van Haylen, a parody band of Van Halen, which in the story is Pip’s favorite band. Hell, the titles of the story and chapters were even Van Halen references. Zeph and I had worked on it for a few months, planning out the twist so that it would be properly foreshadowed, but at the same time people wouldn’t guess it instantly. It would also take place in the same universe as SIIB, and events from it would be referenced in later sequels to SIIB.
During all this, I was afraid this would happen, that people would instantly jump to the conclusion that Rumble would turn gay for Pip, too, and that it would become a gay clopfic. To these criticisms, I ask the following questions.
1: Have I, a guy who has a girlfriend and has only drawn sexual pictures of mares and fillies, even shown any homosexual tendencies?
2. Has Rumble, who in the fic has shown a liking towards mares and fillies and was shocked and fearful when he found out that Pip was gay, ever shown any homosexual tendencies?
3: Do the lines “This is NOT a gay fic!” translate in ANY context to “This IS a gay fic”? Do they? DO THEY?!
I think I’m beginning to see a problem with FIMFiction. People claim to like originality in fics, but really, that’s a bunch of lies. Originality is scary to them. FIMFiction readers only want something that falls into the norm of MLP fanfics. No twists, nothing unconventional.
To those of you who did support it, thank you. I may repost it at some point, though it will be drastically different and will all be in one chapter, and with a different cover picture. Otherwise, if you still want to read it, please send me a private message and I will send you a link to the chapters on Google Docs.
With much sadness and regret,
-Kirb.
Well, I am trying to figure that out. I just post a thread about it.
3119525 Thank you. Maybe we can see what people have to say.
-Kirb.
3119528 And not even ten minutes and I am asked to take it down. Sorry.
I felt the same way about my first fic. I even tried to rewrite it several times, and now I'm getting rid of a story just to stop the criticisms. Not the same situation, but believe me, I understand.
3119536 Welp, I guess it's against the rules of that group. Still worth a try, though.
3119538 It's pretty damn similar. Only in my case, people didn't like it because they were under the false impression that it was going to turn into a gay fic. I don't know why they wouldn't have liked your story.
-Kirb.
3119542 Yeah, but what really upset me was the fact that all they were saying is in the vein of 'they don't matter, they're idiots, suck it up'. Not that it wasn't good advice or anything, but seriously, if anyone had actually followed that advice, we wouldn't be having suicides because of bullying!
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As mad as I am that they think it's that easy, I'm just as equally sad that it ISN'T that easy. Geez, I wish it were!
-Kirb.
3119558 And honestly, do they have any rights? I don't want to go naming names, but one of them have stories that had critical acclaims! Yet they are telling downtrodden writers to just ignore them.
3119561 Lucky him. The most popularity I've ever gotten on a story was when Of Night and Stone was featured on the front page... which reminds me, I should work on that story soon. If I continue writing fanfictions, that is.
-Kirb.
3119564 Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves. You are probably just frustrated and it must be getting late wherever your are. How about you sleep on it and go from there? You are a good writer, and nothing can change that.
3119569 Okay... though I suspect you might have understood me. I'm going to be moving away in a few months, where I will have to take a hiatus from everything MLP-related while I get settled in with a job and at my new location. This isn't anything new, I'm pretty damn discouraged by this but it alone won't make me stop writing fics.
But thanks for the encouragement. I'll get some sleep now.
-Kirb.
3119575 Okay. Trust me, I'm sure it will pass. And it's a shame we won't be hearing from you in a while.
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Gotta be honest, never been linked to a conversation by someone who shit talked me in the same conversation. I'll chalk that one up to anger and let it go.
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The point I was trying to make is actually central to any writer. You will have critics, sure. You can't ignore criticism, because you don't grow by doing that, and you identify yourself in a negative fashion by doing that.
Then what do we do?
Think about their complaint, if they vocalized it. Is it something you can fix? Is it something you should fix? The person who feels that the story is poorly paced is a lot more valid than the person who wishes there was a sex scene.
When people say you need a thick skin, it is us acknowledging that no writer in this world can please everyone. I have people who follow me strictly to downvote all of my stories as soon as they come out. My most recent was sitting at 3/5 Up to Down for the hour it was published.
So what? Do their votes make my story bad? Do they matter in the slightest? You need to understand why people voted. If they voted because of bigotry or ignorance, then what do their votes matter to you? If they voted for a legitimate reason, chances are they are going to say something about that (we writers are opinionated brats like that).
So, while the tone of the message might be harsh, the meaning is very much valid. You need to develop a thick skin to write. You are creating something and providing it for people to tear apart anonymously. People are dicks when they are not held accountable for their actions. If you think you are seeing it a lot now, wait until you get your first feature.
You haven't seen anything yet.
-Lumino
Well, people are hypocrites. I myself wouldn't mind reading it if I caught it in time - good story means more to me than the actual pairing to be honest. It is true that I'm not a fan of m/m pairings, but I've read a few and I liked them because they were actually written well.
So (unless it's outright m/m clop) I don't really mind, and as you said in the description of the story, it wouldn't have been m/m anyway... Oh people, you dunces. Descriptions should be read before the story to know whether there will be any triggers
Any chance it will appear somewhere later for those who are still interested in the story?
3119579 I wasn't trying to shit-talk you, I swear, I was trying to make a point that not everyone can just take things like that. I mean, look at you, all your stories are nearly completely green with upvotes. Sure, some like your recent stories might had started off with more downs, but that changed didn't it? Kirb didn't get that luxury.
Maybe your comments did irk me, but I was just trying to help a friend in figuring out why people would not read a sentence in a description and not downvote it.
3119608 Do you think I was born a good writer? I've said this before, I'm pretty sure to you as well, "You first have to suck to get good." I can give the advice on needing a thick skin because I've been here before. I've seen my older stories (not in this fandom) get ripped to shreds. I've seen pointless downvotes because I violated someones head canon.
I've been attacked by a very outspoken bigot on this very site for daring to suggest that Scootaloo was handicapped. So? We read it. We judge the criticism. We take whatever action we think is needed. We move on.
The issue so many novice writers have is that they get so caught up in making everyone happy. Never gonna happen. YOU need to be happy with your story, nobody else. You don't have to justify yourself or defend your actions to anyone. They are yours, and you have the right to make them however you wish.
-Lumino
3119615 I am sorry if I had offended you in any way. I do respect you as a writer, I had stated that many times (heck, my avatar is like a testament to your work). And I know bigots all too well. Like IncinerateChicken...god, I hate that guy.
It's just that it makes me mad that people like Kirb gets downtrodden because of downvoters. Like why do we even have that thing in the top right corner of our story?
I'm sorry to had wasted your time with me prattling on about this.
3119621 I wouldn't have replied if I didn't think there was some value to be had here.
-Lumino
3119627 Okay. Thanks anyways. But the story in question was good, and if you did enjoy clopfics (which I know you don't, if some of your comments in M-rated fics with the gif of a guy jumping out a window was any indication), you would had liked it.
3119542 I was only two seasons into the show when I started on the fic, so that might've had something to do with it. That, and I wasn't used to writing pony fics at the time. Chalk it up to experience, I guess. The rewrite should be better, in due time. I hope you get the chance to repost your story, too.
I'm interested in reading it. Sounds good.
18 votes and 9 downvotes?
I'd read it
3119628
If that was a Rainbow Bob story, it has nothing to do with the story itself. He dared me once, claiming I couldn't post that gif in all of his stories (at the time).
Challenge fucking accepted.
-Lumino
3119974 Yup. Though apparently one more person upvoted it before I took it down... hm...
3119579 I think I see what you're saying. Since I'm only just now starting to become well-known as a writer, I guess I have to develop a thick skin when it comes to this, and I suppose that the haters will only increase. Doesn't make it any less hard to deal with at first, though.
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Good news for all of you: I've resubmitted it as a single chapter story! It should be coming soon, so I'll link it to you when it does.
-Kirb.
3121227 Great! I'll be sure to give it a look when I can.
3121227 That's the spirit, man. Don't let those hating f*ckers get in your way.
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I reposted it! If any of you are still interested in reading it.
-Kirb.
3121491 Already checked it out. And it is still good.
3121499 I'm glad one person thinks so, though so far, it's not looking good. One minute in and somebody already gave it another downvote. Do I have a secret army of haters or something?
-Kirb.
3121514 Just give it time.
3121491 Ultra
!