Okay, I admit it, I'm probably not your mom. But odds are I'm old enough to be. Now with Patreon account (under alarajrogers) and short stories on Amazon (under Alara Rogers).
Not The Hero has officially acquired more likes than any of my other fics, including my former front-runner Hit Me.
It also has almost as many dislikes as my most "disliked" fic -- it currently has 8 and "Discord in Hell" has 9. Nothing else is even close.
I never expected this story to be this popular. I wonder what happened?
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It's pretty awesome.
I haven't had the chance to comment on the latest chapter yet, but it's really great: lots of cool mythological detail, nice breezy narrative tone coming from Discord, who is beautifully in character, and the pacing is nice, too. It doesn't bog down, and nothing feels extra, even when Discord reminisces about stuff from his past.
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I shall echo scoots here and add two other things to the stack.
Its an interesting concept for one. How the villain sees the arrival of a Gary Stu type. How he views a creature that has, arguably, done things much worse and much more insidious than he ever has.
Plus, there's the big question running around in my head. "Does Anon actually know what he's doing, or is this somehow being caused subconsciously?" And that question is a really interesting mystery to chase.
Agreeing with the previous comments and adding that I'm fascinated by the way discord seems to be growing and learning and doing some serious self evaluation by merit of having an even worse example of conduct running around than himself. It seems to be forcing him to define his own morality, even if that's just "well shit, I may do some horrible things but at least I don't do x, y or z the way THAT shmuck does them".
Or maybe I'm confusing the author defining things for their reader with the character defining things for himself. But at least in the latest chapter it seems like discord is discovering more and more lines he won't cross, reasons to hold back, following more and more aultruistic lines of thought. If he's not careful, he'll end up reforming just as much as he might in a KCaFo timeline!
(If that's what you were aiming for than I applaud your command of subtlety and pacing, or maybe I'm giving you way too much credit or putting too much of my own wishful thinking in there in which case ill just slink back to my corner now)
I'm pretty sure it's popular because it takes a concept that's in the minds of many people on fimfiction, whether they agree with any parts of it or not, and turns it on its head. In that way, it's both familiar and original.
When juxtaposed with both most Discord fics and most Anon in Equestria fics, it has the unique differences of Discord being a protagonist that is weaker than the main antagonist, which is new, and of being from Discord's point of view instead of Anon's.
If you want fast attention, you can work backwards from those sorts of things, but I don't think it's worth it. Just having consistency over the months gains much better forms of attention in the long run.
It was also featured in Obselescence's new group, The Last Roundup... At my suggestion.
That might have helped a little?
Edit: it also hit the feature box with your latest update, too.
I was looking for serious "herd" stories (one male to multiple females) because it's something that caught my interest. I found this instead. Your story is written by an adult. Which is you. Not an elegant way give a complement. Sorry about that.
Don't have anything witty to say.
Also, your story is nightmare fuel. Not often the mirror stares back showing what kind monster we don't see scares the monster we do see. If I was younger man, Not The Hero would be making me shit myself.
The fandom seems to have what I'll call pressure points, topics that are particularly sensitive, whether for good or for ill. Intentionally targeting will work for those who can't perceive what the author is doing, but stumbling on one? Then comes the cascade of views.
At least, that's my theory. "Discord vs. Gary Stu" plus your usual quality of writing equals popularity.
I'm surprised you're surprised. You're one of the most talented fanfic authors I've ever met!
Part of it stems from the fact that Present Perfect did a review of this, and loved it to pieces. The rest of his followers, me included, took a look and liked what we saw.
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Really? I can't find that review...
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... okay, this is bothering me. I KNOW he talked about it, but now I can't find it either!
It's new, refreshing, very well written, immersive, has the same kind of addiction as any good conspiracy novel/show, and parodies a popular cliche extremely well.
And Discord's the protagonist.
And you have Alara in your name.
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I don't recall seeing it over at PP's, and City of Doors' master review list only shows it covered by The Last Roundup.
Not surprised at the attention it's getting, though. A good Gary Stu deconstruction is pure gold.
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True dat!
Anti-Hero Discord with a decent backstory and good understanding of Chaos Magic? Combine that with amazing satire pertaining to lots of Fanfics, especially those who's author's can't take critique? Add that together and you have an amazing story.
I think the best part, in my opinion, is where Discord is taking the time to explain the intricacies of Magic, particularly Chaos Magic and Harmony Magic. I'm a sucker for these kind of well thought out and detailed understandings of the fundamentals of this world, and apparently other worlds as well. You put so much time into detailing the major aspects of Harmony and Chaos and their respective avatars and power, and describing how the balance is so far shifted by the "Human's" presence and power.
The way the Foe is portrayed as well gives a great view on just what is wrong with so many fics out there, especially those that are just Power Fantasies and Sexual fantasies that don't even try to be realistic (as far as FiM goes) and doesn't care about established canon and understandings of the world within this show. Discord is just the perfect creature to pull back the curtains on why these types of fics just don't work, and illuminate the fundamental flaws in these supposedly perfect characters.
Pretty sure I found it through the Last Roundup group's reviews. Your Discord characterization is spot on perfect, you've got a great, interesting antagonist in a subconscious reality-warper, and you're gently ribbing and generally poking fun at the most ridiculous and widely used concept on fimfic--but in a fun way instead of maliciously. So, yeah, expect this one bring in some new readers, for sure.