That moment...

...when you finally make a breakthrough on a scene you've been fighting for the past month. It's better than watching a new Rarity episode with a Tom Collins in your hand.

Okay, not quite that good, but close.

Comments

[Cold Spike]

[TheGreatEater]

Cool.

...

Just saw your "Really?" Blog and feel like a massive dick for letting it escalate like it did. Anywho, my reply to Really was the last comment on that subject [hopefully ever].

Are we cool? Or what can I do to make it up to you? Because I really do like your fics, and commenting on the bits I like / rediscover, and I really do feel bad for letting shit get to the point that it ruined your enjoyement of writing. That was seriously uncool of me, yeah my reply to Jetstream for being a troll was uncool as well, but still.

Anyways, when you get to this. I want you to know that you are an epic freaking writer, that captures characters and emotions well. You have good deal of world building, and your interactions are superb. When your fic updates it's the highlight of my month. Even more than when The Savage Skies Series updates.

[KiroTalon]

3374042

Honestly, we were never not cool.

Here's the thing. I love my commenters. I love my followers and all my readers, because they remind me that I'm not just wasting my time and energy writing ponyfic that no one else will ever read, but my commenters are my favorites. Clicking "Like" or "Favorite" takes half a second, but writing a comment--even a short one--takes actual intent. It means a lot, even if all the comment says is "D'aww!" I love those comments, because it suggests people were so moved by what I wrote that they actually wanted to tell me so. To that end, I get really excited when I see a notice that I have a new comment on one of my stories, but to go and read it and find out it's yet another comment on a topic I already thought I'd put to rest, or a snarky riposte to someone ELSE'S comment on the same topic is hugely discouraging. It makes me feel like the story is less enthralling than the style, and that sucks a lot. Especially since I really like your comments. You're usually very astute and conversational, and to see your usually excellent comments tainted by the inclusion of an element I'd repeatedly tabooed instantly negates whatever pleasant feeling the rest of the comment might have elicited. And I hate to have to go scorched-earth on my comments section, but I can't edit them, I can only remove them.

In the end, this whole blog post was a response to the fact that the argument continued long after I made several attempts to forestall it as kindly as I could. It was a visceral, emotional response to reading yet MORE comments on the same topic after I'd explicitly asked people not to discuss. In truth, I'd actually hoped my previous blog post on the topic could serve as a place for people to hash it out if they simply couldn't resist, but doing it in the comments section just wasn't an option. It's distracting to other commenters, it's frustrating for me, and honestly, trying to maintain the motivation and the desire to keep writing this mammoth story is hard enough without having to wade through irritating minutiae of repeatedly justifying my stylistic choices.

For what it's worth, there is no one or two specifically responsible parties. The argument encompassed a lot of people arguing from a lot of different places, some kindly, some spitefully, some intelligently, some rudely, and it just got too big for me to worry about. Instead of calling specific people out anymore, I just decided a slash-and-burn campaign was the best solution. I will be extremely strict about it, too. If I see a single hint of someone referring to the "singular y'all" in a comment, that comment is toast. If it happens three times, they'll be blocked.

I don't come to Fimfic to be annoyed, I come to write horsefic and relax, and that whole relaxation this is way harder than it seems, especially if I'm trying to write. And I only do it here because I know other people enjoy it, because truthfully, I often don't. I have written horsefic for myself, and that is a hell of a lot easier. I don't have to worry about the quality because it doesn't have to meet anyone's standards but my own. Here, though, it's crucially important to do my best, because--despite several people telling me how good I am--there are always a few dislikes and negative comments on everything I do. I can always improve, but I typically feel like I'm either stagnating or getting worse.

So I guess the biggest issue is that I rely on some of my commenters to buoy my spirits when I see OLOL get another comment on how it's interesting, but not well written, or how NLL is super rushed and has an OOC Scootaloo, or how LW isn't really as good as TMUP. Having those same commenters nitpick minutiae just makes me feel like people don't actually get how hard this actually is for me. These chapters don't take a month to come out because I can't write them, they take a month because that's how long it takes to get over the fear of writing so poorly that people are disappointed in me.Granted, I probably take ponyfic too seriously. It wouldn't kill me to have an average 20:1 like/dislike ratio instead of 49:1 (I take these ratings very seriously indeed), but a lot of people like what I've done, and I don't want to let them down.

So yeah. I was in a really bad place when I wrote that blog post. I wasn't kidding when I said I was tired at the end. I know it shouldn't be, but writing fimfic is exhausting for me. I like to do it, and I love that people enjoy it, but it really does take a lot out of me. I was just trying to make it less so. Please don't stop reading or commenting, because it helps keep me going. Just be mindful that I don't usually ask people to do something until it really starts to get to me. I hate having to get mad about something so trivial, but it happens. Anyway, stick around, cuz there will be an update to TMUP soonish.

[TheGreatEater]

3375106

While I do have to say thanks for your comments about my comments, I agree that those inclusion ruin the thing. Heck I usually see a reply and feel a sense of dread and annoyance that makes me want to just give up on the fic. Then I go and reply anyways [even days after I have wanted it to end]. But yeah that subject is dropped from here on out.

As for how hard it is to come out with stories. Heck, it takes ages for me to come out with stuff, and even then it usually comes with more than quite a few revisions and my horrible punctuation needing an editor to several just so it doesn't look as bad as my first fic on the site. But yeah I'd kill to have the ration that you have on your fics. As for NLL rushed, nah, for what it had, it flowed well enough. You didn't introduce things that weren't to far out of the blue. Even then if it wasn't foreshadowed [Carrot Cake], it had a reasonable pace.

It had Scootaloo's introduction [which wasn't OOC. It fit plenty of fanon, and had her canonical love of Dash, and had a good bit of speed on her. So there wasn't any OCCness, as for her running away. Again, plenty of fanon, and nothing that is out of place for canon Scoots.

Now on TMUP, Scootaloo is smart, while AB is the one who does lot of the engineering for the CMC, but I can see Scoots with her drive, and flight problems going to science to solve it. After all it wouldn't be too different than what she did with Twilight in Twilight Time. Technically she was looking at how to take something apart and putting it back together, but it's a step in the right direction. So yeah I can't see how anyone can say that she's not IC.

I'm going to have to read LW, after I re-read NLL. It seriously looks like it'll be a good lead in between fics.

And yeah ... cool was a bit over stating it. Hell I'm not even cool with my bro as much as tolerated, and we're family. XD. I should have asked something along the lines of 'Are you not pissed off at me?'. And I eagerly await the update. After that Glittershell scene [btw. Good job handling that character.] I was looking forward to what happened next.

Anywho, have a good day, and the work you put out is amazing. Just wished that it didn't come with a sense of fear. But yeah, you haven't stagnated / gotten bad. Even though that probably doesn't do anything to help, still, this series is one of the few [well, this, The Savage Skies Series, and occasionally 'Who Rules:' are the top series I recommend to basically everypony.]

[KiroTalon]

3375178

Perhaps I misspoke. When I said "we were never not cool," I meant it was never a major issue. More than anything, I was concerned that you might be mad that I was upset, but that was a risk I just had to take. It takes a lot to actually make me angry, rather than simply annoyed, and annoyance will bleed off over time.

In short, no, I'm not pissed at you; I never really was.

Fanon note: I originally did imagine Apple Bloom to be the more engineer-y type, but "Twilight Time" kind of threw a kink in that, showing her to be more of a botanist/chemist than engineer, which seemed odd, based on the subtext in "Call of the Cutie." Now, I think she's probably just a broadly defined 'farmpony', with a varied skillset ranging from general construction and repair to botany and so on. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, is both agile and quick, but--assuming she stays flightless--is unable to really live up to her dreams of being just like Rainbow Dash. So while engineering may not be her talent, it's something she threw herself into to solve the problem. Interestingly, she's smart, but her common sense is...lacking. Rarity would say it's a pegasus thing, but that's probably mostly because all the pegasi she knows aside from Fluttershy are pretty slim in the common sense department (Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane, Scootaloo, Derpy, Bulk Biceps, etc.). Anyway, as I've mentioned to other folks with similar queries, Scootaloo isn't brilliant, she just seems that way to Silver Spoon. Scootaloo still struggles with writing and language arts, and isn't much of a visual artist, either (although she is a rather talented guitarist, thanks to her mothers' influence).

[TheGreatEater]

3375240

That's good then .

As for Apple Bloom, for plenty of seasons Apple Bloom has been built up on two things. Advanced Potions with Twilight and Zecora, and design. But yeah, I can totally see her learning to use potion work to help around the farm, and either mastering the magical rituals of the Apple Family. Although I do wonder just how far the show will take her potion studies. I mean the Doom and Bloom episode showed that her family would love her no matter what. I'm just eager to see what Twilight Time's training turns into.

And on the topic of Scootaloo. Yeah, the phrase feather brain came about for some reason. Kind of like "Drunk Luna hath stupid fun. Morning-after Luna hath stupid." For drunken Luna's shenanigans. So yeah, most Pegasi aren't high on the common sense department. Fluttershy is more earth pony than pegasi though. So she has more common sense than usual for her tribe. But it's cool where math and science are involved she's great, but enough flaws in other fields / places in her life. Gives her some depth to her character.