21
53
248
Joined September 2011
473
1,746
Los Pegasus is the new name of what was once Los Angeles. The Equestrian barrier, now on land, approaches, and with it Inclusion Day, where the city will become part of Equestria. Both converted Newfoals and the last humans all have their own stories to tell as this final event in the life of their city approaches.
It gets dislikes "mostly" (hopefully in this case) for the fact that its a "The Conversation Bureau" story.
Some just plain dislike them 
The rest of the dislikes came from the Dislike Deterers, people who dislike for reasons they will not state! 
I'm indifferent to things/ideas like the TCB. I just read for the story.
And the battle is on! Free Will (real or illusory) vs. Ultimate Benefit (real or intended). This chapter showed one path to heaven. Will the following chapters show other less savory destinations of this well paved road? No doubt we'll pass many sacred cows along the way.
Another great fic and setting for working out some tough issues! I can't wait for more.
It's a TCB story and one from Chatoyance on top of that. It’s no surprise that some people automatically disliked the story. Which isn’t totally unjustified since her usual stories are rather one-sided in favor of the ponies. 
TCB stories always make me feel depressed because most of the time either the humans or the ponies are portrayed as total bastards. Therefore, I’m not going to read this. The cover image, however, looks nice and I like the look of the OC with the flame mane.
… that wasn’t a very helpful commentary, was it? 
People no longer demonstrably able to make their own decisions or even display self-awareness do need help.
The Chatoverse has the origin point of the Barrier starting in the Pacific. In other stories, she's shown that people who refuse ponification and flee constantly from the Barrier will eventually be ponified against their will by the Worldgov. For North America, this event comes at one of the easternmost points, up in Canada, where the impact of their defiance is forcibly denied them. For people unable to answer one way or another, however—especially people living in an area of first contact with the Barrier—they would get unmade by the Barrier where they stood, not even knowing that it was necessary to convert or run. It could be argued that Phoebe's personal guard detail or family would shuttle her along ahead of the Barrier, but given the attitudes displayed by her next of kin, even that may not have happened.
My ongoing reservations about the Chatoverse aside, I think the right thing was done here. I probably would have done the same myself, were I put in the narrator's place. While I believe people should have the freedom to choose to die in defiance, people like poor Phoebe can't even make that choice to begin with, so it cannot be assumed.
The strive for universal salvation is a huge theme in Chatoyance's stories, possibly even the central theme, if I could be so presumptuous. For Chat, ponification is always preferable to death, without exception. If Chato and Celestia had their way in this universe, absolutely everyone would be in hooves within a month of the Bureaus opening, regardless of whether that person had been generally good or evil as a human. To pass into Equestria is to receive unconditional indulgence.
Celestia is in a difficult position, though, in this universe. She wants to respect freedom, but she doesn't want to see people die. Fortunately for her, human leaders have no qualms about being paternalistic and making decisions for others. The problem lies in the fact that they're deciding for people who can decide for themselves, and have. Phoebe cannot, which is why I'm giving this forceful ponification a pass. Absent any other information, we must assume people want to live. That's the stuff of hope.
>>804448 Um, no, I mean Defoloce, the guy who commented directly above me. Also, somehow you conculde my grammar is terrible from a single sentence which I spent a whole six seconds typing while trying to be friendly, and the most you can do is try to be a condescending ass.
Well, that makes perfect sense. Please, tell me if my grammar happens to be flawed here, for I believe you may have made a previously incorrect accusition.
>>804489 Oh, it's fine. I totally wasn't. What I should have said was. "Oh YAY! You are one of the 800 something people that read ten rounds! YAYS!" <or something of the latter. Sorry for taking the defensive side.
>>804354 And so we meet again. I was beggining to think you were dead. I'm just glad that I was your fourth follower. Seven Three was litterally the very first fic I read on this site.
While there are parts to Chatoyance's stories which rub me the wrong way, I still give credit where it is due. Chatoyance can draw about twenty to thirty dislikes on a story simply because the story exists, but I don't play that. In the past I've communicated my concerns with her, and she's responded in-depth, and I can do nothing but respect that. Despite my misgivings, I still find myself reading everything she writes, so I guess she's winning on that front.
Nope, not dead quite yet! I see you've started getting quite a following yourself. I'll have to check out some of your stories soon!
The first story, City In Gray, is based on my own real-life experiences, one of which happened just yesterday - which inspired me to write. Phoebe is based on several women I have met. The interactions in the markets were real. They bothered me, deeply, powerfully. There are a LOT of people in the world like Phoebe, and I have met many of them, others I see around me every day. Some are homeless, others are just suffering along.
I feel bad for the suffering of others, and I feel very frustrated that there is so little I can do. A hug here, and kind word there, but any real change is impossible - the problem is reality itself. Phoebe is going to happen to all of us. To you. To me. We are all going to end up some kind of messed up and old, waiting to die, and that is if we are lucky. That's how life here is.
In the character of the story using a magical cure-all on Phoebe, I am also suggesting the motivations of the PER, and even the Worldgovernment at the end, ponifying whoever they can scoop up. I know that most humans out there are happy to just let strangers suffer and die. I see it every day, I definitely saw in in the years I lived in Los Angeles and San Francisco. And there is the matter of, well, most of the planet. Throughout history.
I can't accept that, you see. So I write humans being commonly willing to help others. I know it is fantasy, I know it is goofy - but in my stories the elite of the world actually care, they care so much that they are willing to save ungrateful people, just because they are not willing to let them suffer and die. Unlike now, in the real world. Which is why there is a universal ration of food and water, and stuff like that in my works.
I guess, deep down, I really want to ignore things like Chernobyl and Fukushima and New Orleans and believe instead that during a global disaster, humanity would pull together and help everyone survive, even if it meant moving to another universe. I wish I could save all of the Phoebe's of the world, and I wish all of humanity cared about each other.
I know it is not true. But I like to pretend that if the end of the world was nigh, humanity would do whatever was necessary to survive, even if it meant turning into aliens and escaping to another cosmos. Whatever it took, because deep down, every life did matter. Yeah, I am a dreamer.
But it ultimately means that I wish that we, as a people, as a civilization, took care of our weakest, poorest, oldest, and most crippled members. I wish I didn't have to see them living in cardboard boxes around me. I wish the universe wasn't so cruel, or that our science was used to cure people of aging and death instead of making weapons and selling big screens. I wish the very idea of desperate, helpless, suffering people was impossible to imagine. I grew up on the idea of a super-science future where everything is shiny. But that isn't what we, as a species, decided to create.
So I see people like Phoebe, and of course, much, much worse, all the time, every single time I go out. And it just hurts so much, you know?
That is what motivated this first story.
God they just dont grow up anymore do they...
Im 21, I've served 3 years in the US Infantry. You want misanthropic shit? I can tell you real life stories that will make you wanna nuke this planet into a desolate husk. Fortunately, I still believe mankind has the right stuff.
Cool your jets brony. You don't even know me. I am a gunsmith and my house is like a small armory but I have never needed to use any of it for anything other that target shooting and a little bit of hunting here and there, The only reason that I am not in the military right now is because of a medical issue.
Can't we just get along?
I think... I think you missed the point...
I'm saying that I've seen real life. Its worse than this. I've seen 9yo girls married off to 43yo men as their 3rd wife. I've seen men rape their own boys, goats, and eachother. I've seen people walk by a man dying of thirst, not even bothering to help. I myself am not exempt from commiting such horrors either.
And niether are you.
Did you know back in the 60's they did a study on the wickedness of mankind? The result: You could staff a nazi death camp from any medium sized american town. Guess what, they repeated this experiment 2 years ago with drastically worse results. I'm not a fan of Chay's universe either, but damn me if it isnt realistic to some degree.
Fuck this, I'm done.
>>804726 Right, and I am the king of Sweden. But you don't know Chat either yet I don't know why you like to disrespect her and then begin go on about this 'Resistance' stuff. So please tell me how this relates to her story, and I know I am being hypocritical right now.
"Which isn’t totally unjustified since her usual stories are rather one-sided in favor of the ponies."
Why... why wouldn't a story on FimFiction, TCB or otherwise, be in favor of ponies? It's a pony fiction site, centered on a show about ponies, supposedly for writers and readers who really, really love... ponies.
On a fanfiction site devoted to how much we all love My Little Pony, how much we adore, love and admire the ponies... why on blessed earth wouldn't I write stories completely in favor of... the ponies? Isn't that the entire point, the entire reason for being here?
Did I miss a memo? Is this secretly the "We Hate Ponies" fanfiction site? Is it somehow considered cool to not see the ponies as better, nicer, more magical, more wonderful and all around more celebrity-wow than anything else in the world? Isn't that what being a 'fan' is all about?
Yes, I write stories where, universally, I am in favor of the ponies. Because I like them. Because I like My Little Pony. Because I am a fan, and I am showing my love for what I am a fan of.
OF COURSE I write in favor of the ponies!
It's the entire point of being here.
Okay... is it just me or does every single one of Chat's comment boards on her stories turn into a massive debate about misanthropy and ponies? I can't help but feel like it's the equivalence of going and seeing a movie about the titanic and then arguing in the theater room, where they are showing the movie, how the boat was made. A good topic but in the wrong location... (Of course, I may just be off my rocker here, so who knows?)
Anyway, on to the actual story. I do believe that in this situation, what was done to Phoebe was the right thing to do. We don't have any information about if Phoebe did an equivalent "Do not use resuscitation" form or anything like that, but at the same time; she had artificial organs and enhancements to help keep her alive. So the odds are pretty good that she would ponify if she had the ability to understand, if not for any reason but to get in better health. The main character going through the moral dilemma though? That's what keeps me coming back to read these stories Chat. Heck, even in the beginning, it sounds like she's trying to convince herself as much as Celestia of what she did, only getting personal reassurance at the end. I can't wait to see more.
Hey chay, thought you might dig this:
Hmm, you know, I can't tell if you're giving advice here, or if you're declaring victory. It's good advice, but DBK and Krass aren't trolls, or at least they're not in the habit.
I've had my opinions swayed by discussions in comment sections, and frequently influenced — just not necessarily in the way that they would have meant for them to be swayed.
Wuh? I'm starting to think I've completely mis-judged a lot of the HLF noise going on in the comment sections of these stories. Something that TCB has (unintentionally) done was sparked a great discussion about the status of our civilization, the surprisingly complicated nature of mankind, and the future/destiny of both. I think the bravest and most noble thing to do about all this is to learn to understand ourselves, flaws and all. Dismissing any of them isn't so different than condoning it. Knowing and understanding the whys and hows that authority can be used can help us prevent a future atrocity. Ignorance isn't really bliss, it's aesthetic at best. That's why I think the TCB has turned out to be a good thing, because it's making a lot of readers confront the shadow of our collective selves, which Needs To Be Done. Ultimately, the result will be stronger, kinder people. I think it's worth a few rustled jimmies.
Not too long ago I read a column in which the writer was a bit sad regarding artists. She said that an artistic career is bullshit, that everyone should make one piece and one piece of art (of their choosing) only and stop when it's done. After that, go build trains or something.
On paper (on my, or anyone's screen) this is looking good, but in its bare this story has already been written. By who? By Chatoyance, of course.
On the subject of why humans should rock when ponies try to block. When I was a little kid watching cartoons, I often dreamed that I could go into the show and wow everyone with my mad skills in... I dunno, sudoku? Basically I think it's that but now the cartoon is FiM, or rather TCB setting. Isn't that why we design super cool villains and boring heroes? The villain can wow everyone and it won't make the character bad, since he/she is ultimately going to lose the fight against the good guys anyway.
No problem Chay, I heard what happened. Saw this and thought it'd cheer you up. If'n you ever want someone to talk to, I've had people want me dead too.
Hell, if ya ask me, anything worth doing will have people wanting blood or at least pissed off. I just sit in my corner and write quaint stories and try my damndest to be funny.
>>804857 "you depict the Ponies attempting to exterminate all humankind and portray that as a good thing."
I could argue the issue that a good writer can take any viewpoint, and let the reader see that view through the eyes of the characters in the story. That a good writer should keep the viewpoint of a story embedded within the world, the time, the place they are writing about. That this is primary duty of a good writer, and how, within the world of the Conversion Bureau stories, I always try to be a Good Writer in this respect.
But instead I will ask you to consider that what you call 'extermination', I call, correctly, transformation. TCB stories are transformation stories, not extermination stories. The only exterminating is done by the TCB main villains, the Human Liberation Front, who kill and mame and, well, exterminate.
The point of a transformation story - any transformation story - is the transformation. That's the payoff, the punchline, the moneyshot. TCB stories are transformation stories, and in them, the basic premise is that humans can be transformed into something else.
All the talk of extermination and genocide is ridiculous. Nobody is dying, except for the murders caused by the HLF. Conversion Bureau stories are about changing, not dying.
Your own baby self is gone. Who you were as a toddler, your wants, you needs, what you felt was true, what you thought was right and wrong - everything about you as a toddler is gone. It has ceased to be. Were you killed as a baby? No. You transformed. You grew up, at least a little bit. Who you are now is entirely, completely, vastly different than who you once were. Did growing bigger commit genocide on you? All of your cells are new, the cells that made you up as a baby are all dead. Were you exterminated by the process of your transformation into a vastly different looking, acting and thinking being? No. Yet you are more different, as a person, from growing up, than any Newfoal is different, as a person, from being turned into a pony.
Newfoals are the same people as they were before, only with a new shape, and a stronger level of compassion.
Transformation is destruction only in the sense that change is destruction, and there is always change.
Transformation is not extermination. Humans are not exterminated by ponification, they are transformed. They become. They grow into a new being.
And yes, on a pony site about loving ponies and enjoying ponies, of course I would consider being transformed into a pony a good thing. It would be stupid otherwise. This is the place to write about how great being a pony is, because ponies are what we are fans of, right? Isn't that the point?
>>805369 Yeah, I know, right? It's just like the Nazis! I guess there's a couple of differences, like, I guess the concentration camps would be more like bed and breakfast places mixed with doctor's offices, and they would be spread all over. Also, the concentration B&Bs would just sort of invite jews in passively, instead. And instead of dying, they would be transformed into healthy Germans. But, anyway, Nazis.
Hmm, interesting.
Tone's great and consistent, and it's an interesting point of view. It's a great look into the possible mindset of a PER activist/pony. Only quibble, you've got one or two typos in there.
Presentation's top-notch, as usual, and I eagerly await more.
(screw it, i'm ignoring my previous post)
True, but then that raises the question of those who don't undergo the transformation willingly. If a change was forced upon you, how would the person be the same afterwards? Their are also some people do define themselves by certain key parts of their personality that would, in a tcb transformation, be wiped out completely. Finally, the kinds of changes you brought up in your examples are slow and usually unnoticeable by the person undergoing the change at the time the change is occurring and those surrounding them,(at least in the short term) but conversion does a major change in a relatively short time span that can be noticed right off the bat by the person undergoing the change. I do agree with your idea of how most of the TCB stories are about transformation rather than extermination(Ten rounds and minutes being major exceptions...), but, there are different kinds of changes in the world and different idea of what constitutes a person true self and who they truly are. That's just my two bits and you already raised those kinds of questions in your other stories, so that's already been addressed. That's one of the things about your stories that I really like Chat. You spend time on the many ideas and conflicts that would come up in your version of the TCB scenario if it happened are all addressed with thought and ideas. There's no slapdash "this happened because I said so" feeling coming from your writing(again though, my personal opinion, so I don't know how much good that does) At the very least Chat, you start the debate with an actual argument rather than a "because I said so" line and mentality.(I'm talking about the stories people. If you read more into that, that says more about you than me)
It's odd and yet interesting how a simple show about ponies would eventually cause a debate about humans and how we act upon a website dedicated to the fiction about said ponies.
Don't let people get you down Chat.
I'd have to agree with you Dark. At the very least, it's getting people to think about themselves and the human race in general. So maybe something good will come out of the internet drama
(Also, and I realize this is kinda of off-topic, but can we please stop proving Godwin's law right?)
(Sorry if I offended anyone. That was not my intended idea when writing this post)
Aging, from child to adult to old age is change forced upon us all. We have no say. We have no choice. What we gain and what we lose makes us different people and we have no choice at all.
The PER side of the Bureau mythos shows us this side of reality. Splash! Oops, now you are different.
Tick! Tock! Older! Now you are different.
I'm not saying it's not relevant but I admit, it's getting pretty old pretty fast. I guess my point here is that its starting to feel almost like a common trope to be pulled out in all cases instead of examining and going into detail what your exact problems are with Chat's stories. You can mention Genocide(though I do disagree with that idea on some levels. Although, by strict definition... Damn, getting off topic) but its quickly becoming the run to thing for general dislike on TCB stories, it seems. You have done explained your position somewhat Bored, so I'm not going into that debate, but I really would like it if instead of basically people just using the word Nazi, they would instead actually say what they dislike more specifically and in a more formal tone.
That's all I wanted to say, so take it as you will. Again, not trying to offend people.
You know, maybe it's just me being silly again, but the majority of these comments don't have anything to do with this story. Maybe this train of discussion can be taken elsewhere? I respect and welcome everyone's right to free speech, but it doesn't seem fair to Chatoyance for this story's comment section to become a discussion ground on the overall pros/cons of The Conversion Bureau concept, or for people's opinions on the pervading themes across her stories.
EDIT: If you want to have that, you have a group dedicated to the deconstruction of TCB that's the perfect venue to do that in
While it's true we do have a group dedicated to the deconstruction of and discussion of what we see as wrong with the Conversion Bureau concept as a whole, Cloudhammer, we also have the right to critique stories on this site. It's why the comments section is here. It's also why the comments section is an open one, instead of one that is screened, because we're supposed to have the ability to give instant feedback. And so far as I can see, most of the criticism so far has been leveled on the acts of the potion and the moral ambiguity of whether or not one should be forcibly ponifying someone who doesn't have the proper mental capacity to understand what's being done to them or even what they're supposedly being 'offered'. Admittedly, it has sparked some actual debate, but debate isn't a bad thing.
Except a good 50% of the "criticism," have solely been flaming "This story sux" type comments, while most of the other half consists of the same griping that have been rehashed and beat to death in the comment section of the most likely every Chatoyance story written to date, therefore being complaints that have been thoroughly made clear and stated, meaning they are unneeded to be said again. You don't like TCB, we get it. The fact that some people state they dislike a story concept then insist on going to every similar story just to write the same criticisms over and over again gives this entire "debate," a very hilarious and monotonous feeling.
Bear in mind, repoman (Love the name by the way. I immediately thought of Barry Darsow, and it put a smile on my face. ) that many readers both pro- and anti- TCB have the right to read and comment on fics. Even though it does mean they might be rehashing things that have already been said, it is the right of those commenters to say what's on their minds. Bear in mind also that newcomers to these fics may be seeing these comments for the first time, and thus will add their own points of view. Thus the debate would be renewed.
>>806339 "The fact that some people state they dislike a story concept then insist on going to every similar story just to write the same criticisms over and over..."
You are absolutely right. And these same many only do this to me.
It is a truism that "love and hate are two sides of the same coin", and this is demonstrably true in terms of obsession and emotional attachment. There is a lot of obsessiveness going on with regard to my work here - each time I post a story, droves come out just to post for me.
So, I guess, thanks everyone for the... fame. You certainly are putting a lot of effort into it. I seem to be very important to you, by your actions, you 'detractors' you.
Considering the amount of sheer attention you are willing to spend, despite my constant pleading "Hey, just go read something you DO like!" I have to conclude that you already are. Otherwise you wouldn't care what I wrote, or what I had to say. I would be uninteresting. Clearly you find me very interesting. In your own way, you apparently love me. It's kind of a foul-mouthed, dysfunctional, put-down kind of way, but... effort is effort, obsession is your time being used on me, and there is no denying that you are drawn to me... if not my stories. I kind of wanted attention for my stories, honestly. I don't mean that as a discouragement, only that I never figured I would be the star here instead of my writing. It's a bit strange is all.
So, TheCrazyMan, Warwolf, Starman Ghost, Velkaden, NoMoreSanity, my loong time, obsessive story stalkers, and you vociferous newcomers boredhooman, SCP-682, mau5!, guardian10, Yonasomun (I'm sorry if I overlooked anyone), I guess I should thank you for your strong passion with regard to me. You really have shown me some serious commitment, following me, paying such attention, posting so faithfully whenever I publish, just generally being so deeply involved in me. It is absolutely love... of a sort, so, thank you! You have demonstrated a lot of investment in me. Attention is attention, and fame is fame. So, thank you for your personal attention. I appreciate all of my fans.
After all, the overwhelming majority of people on FimFiction just ignore me. I and my works aren't even on their radar. It isn't even worth their time to send me a note. It isn't even worth their effort to seek out my works and downvote every single one. Not like all of you. That is some form of love. Thank you.
I guess I'll just keep doing my best to keep you entertained. I'm working away on my second chapter of this new work, and it deals with earthponies and how they change Los Angeles. I don't think they get enough love and are too easily dismissed. I'm also dealing with the concept of how community is built, so you might find a lot of stuff to... ahem... be 'upset' about when I get this one done. Don't fade away - I've got more coming.
*shrug* Fair enough.
You've never understood the points we've been trying to make, Chat. I don't know why you would start doing so now, but let me try, for pretty much the hell of it by this point, one more time: We don't hate you as a person. (We also don't love you either, so you can put that thought out of your head.) We don't necessarily hate your writing. You certainly have skills in that regard. What we dislike is your message which itself contradicts the message in the show, and I guess you can consider us like those who are there for the purpose of showing the other side of the coin. We're like those people in any group of critics who will point out the negatives when we see them in order to give people a view that isn't one that simply lavishes praise on something. We want people to THINK about the things they read. It's a lost point in reading fiction these days. It's fine to like a work. It's another to do so blindly without really putting any thought into it. We want people to realize there's a very dark and negative aspect to what you propose and we want people to hear both sides of the issue. As long as something like The Conversion Bureau exists, there are going to be people on both sides of the concept, and seeing as you are the most prolific writer of the subgenre since Blaze disappeared, this means most of the focus on the negative aspects of the concept will manifest in your fics, so that's why we're here. So no, we don't hate you, and we don't love you. We're here because we want to make sure all sides are heard about a fiction subgenre we feel is a disturbing concept.
^Nuff said
Let all the idiots rage but you'll know that Captain Slinky will always believe in you, no matter what.
>>806676 "We don't hate you as a person."
Uhm, be careful, dear friend, with that inclusion. It's best that you speak for yourself: you seem to have a better head on your shoulders than some of the people that you're including yourself in. Some of the others that you're including in that 'we' do hate her, and several other TCB authors. She gets some of the worst of it, though.
I kinda feel bad for thinking something would go horribly wrong while reading through this. I guess I'm sort of jaded that way about most TCB fics. Still this was a very nice Daaaawww
chapter.
Question though: So did Manny get the potion from a bureau and just keep it or did he get it through other means?
>>807352 "Would you really want to give your right- nay, your ability to free will and thought?"
If you actually read my stories, you wouldn't keep making this error. And it is an error.
What changes in the brain, in my fictional transformation is the following and ONLY the following:
► Adjustment of internal 'body map' and proprioception system
► Development of magic control and extrasensory regions
► Increased compassion and motivation to help others
► Expansion of the 'Monkeysphere' the number of unique individuals that can be remembered and seen as 'people'
► Increased empathy and concern for the feelings of others
► Elimination of the capacity for murderous rage
► Increased stability of cognition and mood
► Elevated mood
► Increased social awareness and social responsibility
► Enhanced 'mirror neurons' that permit theory of mind
► Herd instinct, including an innate drive to cooperate and work for mutual benefit
► Repair of all mental illness, neurological damage, or other injury or sickness.
► Total loss of the ability to kill, torture, maim, betray or revel in the suffering of others (byproduct of the above)
And that's all.
To understand what this means, consider two famous tests of human morality and responsibility, the Milgram experiment and the Prisoner's Dilemma.
The test results would be dramatically different: in the Milgram experiment a Newfoal would not submit even to the authority of princess Celestia herself if asked to harm another being, because the Newfoal would feel kinship and share in its suffering too much to do so, unlike humans.
In the Prisoner's Dilemma, no Newfoal would ever defect, it would be unthinkable, because they would have too much empathy and trust in their companion in the test.
So the only thing that is 'lost' is the capacity for self-serving betrayal and murderous cruelty, whether banal or impassioned.
If the loss of these things is what you consider a loss of free will and thought, if this is what you consider too valuable, too precious and too desirable to give up in exchange for a 150-300 year lifespan in perfect health with magical abilities in a paradisaical land of beauty and kindness, then frankly, I would prefer you never read my stories, leave me completely alone from now on, and never comment to me, write to me, or bother me ever again.
I don't want any person who would consider the capacity for selfish betrayal or the ability to torture and murder to be desirable and important parts of their brain anywhere in my life. I don't want people like that to even exist at all, ever.
I definitely don't want such a person bothering me here, in this place.
So decide: do you truly support murder and torture, or will you stop making the error of imagining that my fictional ponification process takes anything valuable away from human beings?
Because those are the two choices. I have made it clear what my fictional process does. And that is all it does.
I think she gets the playful side of your comments - at least I hope so. I'm all for play-acting in the comments, I can also totally understand not wanting the government to decide things like your life for you, and I can understand seeing the Chatoyance-version of the potion being someone's very own private version of hell. I can't understand those who do not know where fantasy and world-building end. Thankfully, you seem to.
Let's sit down and have a drink and talk it over. Grape soda, anyone?
Question: A person who has been 'Ponified', can such a person enjoy violent videos games for example? Would they still enjoy a round of Call of Duty, and would slaying Dragons in Skyrim still hold appeal? How about movies that contain violence? The new Avengers film for example? How about the movie Avatar?
On another note, the removal of technology is a big no-no for me. The removal of scientific and human progress seems silly and wholly unnecessary. Frankly, for a lot of people (including myself) It would also be a world that would royally suck. No Internet? No Computers? No Television? Gadzooks! A longer life-span would be nice though.
I've been feeling burned out on TCB. Not because it's the same old story, but because of all the neigh-sayers. I thought about removing my TCB stories, deleting them, making them invisible. Vanishing them, unpublishing.
And then I read this. For the want of a better explanation, I am unsure how to hold all these feels. It is painfully wonderful.
Maybe I won't delete everything. Maybe I will write again.
My understanding is that the bans weren't from the disagreement but because there were individuals in a group specifically dedicated to downvoting all TCB stories with prejudice.
Anyway: Seeing all of these comments on every story Chat posts... It's like these people haven't actually read her work. Yes, people change, but losing their free will? Far from it. Chat's character's have consistently expressed that ponification is not mind control, but rather just a new start with many deep-seated problems and traumas gently resolved so that the individual can then CHOOSE what path to take free from that former pain. The baser instincts are changed but not the will, not conscious thought. That most characters find that being a pony is ultimately preferable to their former human state is not forced upon them but rather a result of the opportunity to have some deep introspection during their conversion dreams. We see ponies (for example, the RADWICKINS) that AREN'T immediately happy to be ponies, but eventually do discover that it's worthwhile.
The exceptions in Chatoyance's work are for comedy or horror value, or were written prior to her figuring out exactly how she wanted the mental processes to work in her fiction.
I encourage Chatoyance's critics to read "Reasonably Adamant Down With Celestia Newfoal Society" with an open mind. It really does discuss this whole matter quite frankly.
Reset Password
Resend Verification Email
1,746 ( 10,196 )
More
Less
Post Comment
Refresh
Image: http://us6.memecdn.com/die-pony-die_o_453142.gif
Image: http://www.asofterworld.com/clean/grimace.jpg
Yep, definitely having Harold and Maude flashbacks
Cancel
Send