oh i hope twi gets her fuckin good rarity need the fear of purple unicorn put into her bad
also that comment from rarity about her being generous was a prime opportunity to jam the busted element of generosity in rarities face and say "Yeah real generous" before noping the fuck out back to anons
So yeah, given that it sounds like Twilight is here to test new methods of magic suppression...and from practicality every time Rarity opens her mouth, Rarity's gone full native and is actively participating in suppressing ponies...
So I let my curiosity get the better of me and read ahead in the pastebin and the story is... a bit too stockholmy for my tastes. And not just for the ponies, but the story actually slowly tries to stockholm the reader as well. Which is impressive, as that's not easy to do, but not my cup of tea. Maybe it's because I've read one too many badly written manga that try to justify a protagonist's slavery, but I can recognize the signs here too. Without going into spoiler territory too badly, the story seems to lack a narrative struggle against the slavery. Oh sure, some humans say they don't agree with it, but they're talking about it like someone talks about the problems happening on the other end of the world. "Oh yes, that tsunami in Indonesia is so tragic. Hey, what's on the sports channel?"
Now there is the plotline of Twilight finding her friends, and that would make the story less stockholmy if it was actually a plot that goes beyond just finding them and leashing them to a new master. I get that the purpose of the Slave Pony thread is, well, pony slaves, but it kind of lacks a true struggle to make true the promise of 'how, with a little understanding, most humans would rather help an innocent pony rather than hurt them.' Overall, the story seems less concerned with helping ponies and more about both Twilight and the reader coming to the conclusion that "slavery is alright, as long as the master is nicer than most."
Thanks for reading and I totally respect your opinion, It's certainly one I've never heard before! We've got pretty different interpretations in regards to what the story expresses about the morality of the situation, and that's fine. One thing we can agree on is Anon's a bit of a morally gray character. When I first started writing a lot of Slave Pony General's protagonists really exemplified the 'white knight' archetype crusading to end all injustice. There's nothing wrong with that, I just wanted to try something a little different: a character who has to question what he's doing and come to his own conclusions rather than feeling one way from the start. The idea of "slavery is alright, as long as the master is nicer than most." is also definitely a big point of contention in the story, and one Twilight + others will be forced to wrestle with. All that said the story's far from over, and the upcoming introduction of a few important new characters in act 7 might be just what you're hoping for. Either way thanks for reading.
9252376 Man, I definitely get ya, Keroko, it rightly sounds like you caught it before I ever did. It was probably act 4 or 5 before I kinda thought, “I'm along for the ride, but why?" I have no idea if the ride ever stops... I kept reading because I kinda had to know where this was going in the big picture. I have to see where this goes narratively, not just as a personal tale but as an institutional one.
Fundamentally, the pony-slavery thing is distasteful to me on a personal level, but the way it can be explored as a medium for story telling as an analogue to the chattel slavery practices, displacing at least the collective 'western experience'*, is fascinating. For that, Farenth Vega, gotta give ya some real props. Given the setting's location, I can't help but wonder if that particular era in U.S. history occurred in the same way, or not. Our protagonist has a sort of North and South Orry Maine vibe going on but we're lacking a George Hazard which makes the dynamic even more ambiguous. Because, Keroko, I think you're right about the manner in which the subject's been treated, and in a way... I don't think that's necessarily a failing. It definitely has a slow-build 'soap' element to the acts, at times feeling like it's just a personal story but other times making it seem like there's something moving beneath the surface.
In the end, the only thing I know at this point is that I know nothing, yet seek everything.
oh i hope twi gets her fuckin good rarity need the fear of purple unicorn put into her bad
also that comment from rarity about her being generous was a prime opportunity to jam the busted element of generosity in rarities face and say "Yeah real generous" before noping the fuck out back to anons
So yeah, given that it sounds like Twilight is here to test new methods of magic suppression...and from practicality every time Rarity opens her mouth, Rarity's gone full native and is actively participating in suppressing ponies...
Vega no, don't spay the pony.
So I let my curiosity get the better of me and read ahead in the pastebin and the story is... a bit too stockholmy for my tastes. And not just for the ponies, but the story actually slowly tries to stockholm the reader as well. Which is impressive, as that's not easy to do, but not my cup of tea. Maybe it's because I've read one too many badly written manga that try to justify a protagonist's slavery, but I can recognize the signs here too. Without going into spoiler territory too badly, the story seems to lack a narrative struggle against the slavery. Oh sure, some humans say they don't agree with it, but they're talking about it like someone talks about the problems happening on the other end of the world. "Oh yes, that tsunami in Indonesia is so tragic. Hey, what's on the sports channel?"
Now there is the plotline of Twilight finding her friends, and that would make the story less stockholmy if it was actually a plot that goes beyond just finding them and leashing them to a new master. I get that the purpose of the Slave Pony thread is, well, pony slaves, but it kind of lacks a true struggle to make true the promise of 'how, with a little understanding, most humans would rather help an innocent pony rather than hurt them.' Overall, the story seems less concerned with helping ponies and more about both Twilight and the reader coming to the conclusion that "slavery is alright, as long as the master is nicer than most."
9252376
Thanks for reading and I totally respect your opinion, It's certainly one I've never heard before! We've got pretty different interpretations in regards to what the story expresses about the morality of the situation, and that's fine. One thing we can agree on is Anon's a bit of a morally gray character. When I first started writing a lot of Slave Pony General's protagonists really exemplified the 'white knight' archetype crusading to end all injustice. There's nothing wrong with that, I just wanted to try something a little different: a character who has to question what he's doing and come to his own conclusions rather than feeling one way from the start. The idea of "slavery is alright, as long as the master is nicer than most." is also definitely a big point of contention in the story, and one Twilight + others will be forced to wrestle with. All that said the story's far from over, and the upcoming introduction of a few important new characters in act 7 might be just what you're hoping for. Either way thanks for reading.
9252376
Man, I definitely get ya, Keroko, it rightly sounds like you caught it before I ever did. It was probably act 4 or 5 before I kinda thought, “I'm along for the ride, but why?" I have no idea if the ride ever stops... I kept reading because I kinda had to know where this was going in the big picture. I have to see where this goes narratively, not just as a personal tale but as an institutional one.
Fundamentally, the pony-slavery thing is distasteful to me on a personal level, but the way it can be explored as a medium for story telling as an analogue to the chattel slavery practices, displacing at least the collective 'western experience'*, is fascinating. For that, Farenth Vega, gotta give ya some real props. Given the setting's location, I can't help but wonder if that particular era in U.S. history occurred in the same way, or not. Our protagonist has a sort of North and South Orry Maine vibe going on but we're lacking a George Hazard which makes the dynamic even more ambiguous. Because, Keroko, I think you're right about the manner in which the subject's been treated, and in a way... I don't think that's necessarily a failing. It definitely has a slow-build 'soap' element to the acts, at times feeling like it's just a personal story but other times making it seem like there's something moving beneath the surface.
In the end, the only thing I know at this point is that I know nothing, yet seek everything.
*Trying to be diplomatic.