I am considering · 8:57am Jun 28th, 2016
Cancelling Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals.
It'll be one less thing I need to worry about updating.
As of right now though, it is on official hiatus until I decide what to do with it.
Apologies in advance, but I'm not in the mood to deal with bullshit.
In fact, I might even remove it altogether. If I cancel it, it will just leave too many questions about the 'verse unanswered. So perhaps it is better if I just withdraw it and forget about the whole thing.
Edit: I am genuinely shocked that a message of treat others with respect even when they have no respect for you would go over so poorly. I honestly am saddened and disheartened by some of the comments and private messages I've received. I honestly think people would be happier if the little chat with Sumac had gone more in the direction of "Hold that filly down and pound her asshole with your dick until she submits to you!" I am disgusted, disturbed, and bothered that a message of tolerance is so hated. I've said my piece and I'm done.
Sorry to hear that you are considering canceling it. Like many of your stories it has been an enjoyable read and mostly the characters have been in character even if the readers haven't always loved thier actions
No, i love that one!
This is very sad news. I hope that you consider continuing it. Personally, it's one of my favorite stories.
Oh wow. Sumac and Pebble are wonderful characters and the entire idea of the school and his magical hypothesis is intriguing. I have to read a chapter every time it updates. Seeing Trixies growth in this and Twilight step into the roll of a principle, the foals interactions, has created a very vivid Ponyville.
Perhaps put it on pause until other story lines catch up time wise? That would make continuity better and might also open the flood gates for more ideas to bring back what you loved about it in the first place.
Perhaps it's just me but it seems to flow well with the other stories in the Weed verse but I can only imagine the frustration of writing future events and having them mesh with past ones.
Even if you do decide to remove per say from the official verse I'd ask you keep it up for us to read and reread. Even as a stand alone story the characters really draw you in and make you want more.
Just my 2 bits. All in all your an amazing author and i will keep reading your world.
Please don't cancel this, it was the Horrendous hypothesis which started me reading your stuff and I've really enjoyed the follow up so far and I want to know where the story is going.
Any progress on the revise of PLSS?
Well, you could throw it on haitus until you finish up like 2 or 3 other things. Or an non-permanent cancelisation...
Sorry to hear about the negativity you have been getting. I'm not really anyone important, if you don't want to deal with the story, then don't. Put it away, remove it, do whatever makes you feel best. I'm sure that there will be all kinds of reactions to that, but that doesn't matter as much as how you feel and what you want. Also, I think this is my first time writing to you in this way, I'm a big fan and I hope you are well.
I say let it be on hiatus until you feel comfortable continuing it... Removing it, even with the things it establishes for the universe, would be a huge loss.
Sorry to hear about the cancellation.. I really enjoyed Sumac and his interactions with Big Mac. I do not much like Olive but I agree with Mac that she while not due preferential treatment is still meant to be treated with respect, especially when she obviously has no respect for herself. I was really enjoying this story and was kinda sad when it seemed to stall, the concept is a good one. It truly is sad how few people seem to understand that this is meant to be a safe place.
As you told me once man, you can't let what others think of the story decide how YOU feel about it. Just keep at it as you feel you need to, and the ones who care will say so. Don't let "the haters" get the better of you.
This was one of the first of your stories I read and it got me into the rest of the weedverse. I would be really sad to see it go, but I understand you have alot on your plate with all the other stories you're writing.
Hiatus definitely seems like the better choice. Deleting a story is almost never the answer. Speaking personally, this one in particular has been helping me get back into your work.
Aww crap, please don't.
I think the negativity to Big Mac's speech was that it felt like Sumac was being punished for telling off a bully who was stronger than him in every way, just because the bully was a mare. All Sumac did was trash talk her after she wanted to use her strengths to force him to do all her work. She'd harassed them in the past, so it wasn't like this was a single incident.
Not like Sumac could jut ignore her, that strategy never works and just makes the bully try even harder to make your life hell. Forget about reporting her too, all that ever accomplishes is pissing them off even more.
As someone else said, this is a filly that gleefully attacks her parents; the "never hit a lady" card kinda becomes invalidated by that point.
Oh wow, I really need to start catching up on this now.
If it ruffled some feathers it has to be good.
I would be very sad to see the story go and wish I coulda jumped in on that brawl. Big Mac was right. I would very much miss seeing more of Sumac. He's one of my favorite characters I've seen you write. Right up there with Tarnished and Noctilucent.
*Sigh* That's why we can never have nice things
I would like to see this finished. If not, please leave up for inspiration for others.
I enjoy all the stories in this 'verse, but this is one of my favorites. I'll be sorry to see it go, but I understand if you need to sort things out. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it comes back from hiatus sooner rather than later.
I truly hope you don't. I enjoy the story and had little issue with the last chapter. Frankly, if it has generated controversy then so much the better. Use that! Explore it as a side aspect of the story. Is Big Mac right or wrong? Why did he feel that way and why did Trixie agree? Does Sumac consider it unfair? Etc. It could be a fascinating exploration or a complex topic.
I'm sorry that you had this experience, Kudzu--I haven't gotten burned like that before, but I can imagine what it feels like. Just want you to know that some people do care about you, and think you're an awesome writer, even if you make a decision that we don't agree with (this coming from one of the commenters who was [formerly] surprised/dismayed that Celestia's love interest wasn't even legal [by human standards??]).
If you'll pardon the self-promotion, this post inspired me to respond with one of my own--something I've been thinking about for a while now. I hope it helps, at least a little.
If this sort of self-promotion is in poor taste, let me know and I'll delete it. Either way, wanted to let you know that at least one person cares.
EDIT:
Jeez... I don't know if you actually got such a message or not, but if that was you, grow up. May I remind you that we are reading stories about cartoon horses on the internet; there's very little in life that is worth so much hatred.
And besides, anal rape is only rarely an effective problem-solving solution, and should be resorted to only if other measures fail to yield favorable results. (/s)
I don't normally comment cause cellphone, but I feel like I should say something. Please excuse any weird auto fills.
Sumac didn't just stand up to a bully and defend himself, he found a weakness and he exploited it viciously. He wanted olive to feel terrible and he enjoyed doing it. That weakness was Olive's self image, her femininity. Not only was that response totally uncalled for it was as cruel and calculated as olives comments about big Mac and applejack. ID be extremely dissapointed in my children if they had ever said anything like that to another person bully or not. Both ponies did terrible things to the other, doing the lesser evil does not make you the righteous one.
Any who that's my 2 cents. Love your stories. Can't wait for the next chapter.
How bout you don't cancel...use this moment to give Starlight to shine by having her make a speech about how equality isn't about putting oneself over everyone else and how that mistake is why she lost twice even when it looked like the world was her oyster, and how Big Mac will get his head on straight or deal with Applejack...and forget due process, AJ is going to give him the Death penalty no matter what his state of mind is...
Because an Insantiy defence only works if You are not in the same state of mind that you were when you did the deed...and Season 5 showed us what Mac though of Gender roles. (If anyone asks it that they are for said gender...hence pretending to be a girl to participate with AB.)
The thing is that your stories are so... real. I honestly can't explain it better than that. When I read, most stories are meant to be tools of escapism and entertainment to get away from the big bad world. There's convenient circumstancrs, good gut always wins, etc, etc. You, you write with the intent of keeping it real. Good guys are flawed, there is no convenient circumstances without hardwork or a price to be paid. Good people get angry and do petty things. Bad people can have kindness and do good things. We do not love in a black and white world. Instead it is an impossible vastness of grayscale. Your stories capture grayscale to a T. To those who are pathetic enough to attack you for writing your version of reality clearly do not know of respect and have none, at least not true respect. You write SO much for almost nothing in return. Your situation in life should have by all rights crushed any kind of creativity and hope you have, both in writing and real life. Yet you're this powerhouse of both a writer and a man. You just do not quit. That is something everybody should respect. Your work reflects quite a bit of struggles we encounter in real life, not the big or magical events mind you, but the internal conflicts and different social anxieties we have.
I honestly can't see why people do not have respect for such a person who can capture this in writing. Don't let these people bully YOU kudzu. You are far above them in many ways. Keep strong and whatever you choose to do is completely in your rights. The only thing I'd have to personally add is to not delete it at the very least. I believe keeping everything you write, even the bad stories as I have a few, show growth in an author and can be used as learning tools. Not that your stories are bad lol, your situation is more so that others can still read your amazing work.
Keep strong and stay well Kudzu.
4053282 Same.
No! Don't cancel it!
Well I really like the story for what it's worth.
Bullying is a really sensitive topic for many people. I can understand the frustration that some readers would feel about characters being the better person(pony) instead of getting sweet satisfaction. Sumac has everything you want in that situation, he's smart, has a strong support network, and most importantly he has friends in high places. Olive should be cast down, Sumac vindicated, and we all remember that asshole in 5th grade and how he's probably in jail, the psycho.
The worst bully I had was on my U16 soccer team, this guys job was to fuck with me as often as possible, cardio? fuck with me, drills? fuck with me, scrims? fuck with me ,etc etc. It was never anything terrible, but he figured out that teenage boys aren't gonna give a shit and the coach has 20 other kids to look after so he had free reign for a two hours a couple times a week to do whatever he could get away with. It ended with him physically attacking me from behind.
The point of my story is that this stuff sticks with you. 15 years later, I can't even remember his face, but if he was on fire... I'm really not sure if I would piss on him. Make you own judgement on how nice of a person I am deep down.
i believe Spike speaks for us all here:
orig08.deviantart.net/ab4d/f/2011/170/5/4/spike_nooo_by_physicallypossible-d3jcqgv.jpg
However, i'm a latecomer to the Weedverse and have enjoyed what I've read so far. I can't speak for others, or for you. I am routinely inspired by your work, and would be disappointed to see it diminished by the influence of others. Personally, I'd like you to continue in spite of them, but you must do what you feel is right.
What I think many people want is for Olive to be visibly punished somehow, or for somepony to get through to her in a way that actually sticks. A few will inevitably view Sumac's verbal attack on Olive as justified, choosing to ignore just how vicious it was because it's the only time we've seen Olive getting any real retribution for her bullying. If she were confronted with the full impact of her misdeeds, likely via a Warden or other reform magic, then she might be able to sympathize with others and actually work toward redeeming herself in the eyes of her peers. Twilight and Starlight have to see that it doesn't matter how much potential Olive has if she's going to squander it all on petty cruelty. Tolerance and acceptance IS best, but Olive won't change until and unless she wants to and sees good reason to. Trixie and Starlight are both good choices for those who might get through to her; I dearly hope that you keep writing this story, I, at least, want to see Olive redeemed.
Regardless, I am not alone in adoring this splendid story of yours. I implore you, don't let the haters destroy your own love for PTSSfFF. A strategic hiatus can certainly let you catch your breath, but this is a superb story which has already given us so much amazing character development for Trixie, to say nothing of Sumac and Pebble's mutual growth.
First, I want to thank you for all of the writing that you do. I look forward to reading your work whenever it appears in my feed.
Second, I do hope you continue Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals. I enjoy it very much and would be sad to see it stop or go away. But you need to do what feels right for you, whether that is to continue, put it on hiatus, cancel, or erase it.
Unlike some commenters, I do not assume that the actions of any one character represent the opinions of the author. And I trust that you will craft a satisfying story.
Your stories do an exceptionally good job of having characters act in ways that are recognizable, but that take on more “realistic” issues. Realism is often messier than canon, so your characters often mess up a bit, even when they have the best of intentions. Even the characters I like, who often act in ways that are honorable and heroic, mess up sometimes. That is a testament to the quality of your writing. It is not a weakness.
So do what you need to do to feel good about yourself and your work. But if you are looking for an opinion, I would vote for you to continue School for Fantastic Foals.
And thank you again for all you contribute to this community.
While I will agree with whatever you decide, I will be dishearten to say Farwell to our little apple. If people would like to criticise the way an event happened, please wait. We have yet to see how the whole thing will play out. There can be no light without darkness, sometimes the harshest lessons are those we force ourselves into. Do I personally find fault in Big Mac's talk with Sumac? No, no I do not. I understand his intention, he was not disappointed that Sumac stood up to a bully, just the way he chose to. Words can carry a lot more weight than many realize. Something said in the spur of the moment could cause far more damage than you would realize. But this is only my thoughts. I would love for the story to continue and see how Sumac deals with the repercussions of his actions, but as always I will agree with the authors wishes.
For every dissenting voice, there are many people who love your story. It's a shame that the dissenters are more vocal, but that's often how it is. The vast majority of your readers love this story, including me. I know that it would be rude of me to tell you what to do in terms of the story but... I'd just like you to try and take that into account when you decide if you're going to cancel your story or not.
Sad to hear about the decision. But if you think it will give you more freedom overall, go ahead.
Also people are definitely overreacting to your latest and perhaps final chapter. And in a bad way.
However i understand why people do. Bullying has always been an issue and often enough, being chivalrous in the real world does nothing to help it. Can cause a lot of damage in fact. When i was younger, telling others that i was being bullied was useless. Utterly useless in fact, cause th teachers refused to do a god damn thing about it other than to tough it out or ignore it, even when the bullying was physical.
Me directly reacting to the bullying made it stop. First guy to bully, hitting me with a pencil over and over in the hallways, i punched square in the chest cause he had been doing it for weeks by that point. He stopped. Another guy put a kick me sign, albeit it saying faggot instead, on my back.
I threw it in his face and he never did it again.
Ultimately it all depends on how people ahve experience it. Big mac telling the kid to be chivalrous might sound like to a lot of people as the same thing that theri parents and teachers told them to do when dealing with bulliess in their youth. Something that likely did not work.
Pony is a bit differently cause i would imagine ponie would respond to it more with reasonable repercussions and greater belief that the bullying is happening, rather than pretending it isn't.
I did get in trouble to retaliating against bullying, that is true........ But they stopped non the less, because they knew i at least woudl give them repercussiosn. That is not how it should be but that is how it was like for myself.
Personally, big make has a point here. I have suspicions that chivlary will not be enough, but at least it is saying to have a higher moral ground rather than just ignoring it or toughing it out.
Just being told things like that has never benefitted me in any way as a kid.
I am sorry to hear that kudzu. Though I understand you are saddened, for a large amount of people you have opened eyes for with the dialogues you create with your story. I believe that a large amount of the feed back on the story is about people who believe that the world should not give you anything, and that you should work for what respect you have. Personally that is not a good thing when there are several stories on this site dealing with this sort of thing, I believe some may have been written by you. Whatever happens, remember that you prompted a dialogue, and that can go along way to opening people's world view.
Put it on Haitus, but don't Cancel or Remove. You'll never know if/when you'll feel the urge to come back to it. Also, you should never let the comment section overly influence you decisions for Your story.
Dude, don't withdraw it. Sumac has been an *excellent* incentive for me to write Turpentine better and more 'kid-like' in Drifting Down the Lazy River. While writing, I find myself thinking "Have to make the characters as alive as K manages."
Put it much more simply.
They are directing long buried angst and hatred towards the filly in your story as an outlet agaisnt the people who made their young lives a living hell.
Which is rather inappropriate honestly. Cruel as this filly is, she ain't as bad as something in RL.
Why i always did not entirely get why people so utterly despised diamond tiara and silver spoon. LEast in the sense they wanted them hurt in some way.
Basically everyone is getting extremely emotional over it because it is rubbing very old wounds. And dat childhood trauma stick with ya.
While I hope that you do continue PTSSFF, I can't fault an author in loosing the inspiration to continue a story (having done so on a lot of my own). What I hope is that if you do end up putting it on hiatus or canceling it out right, I have to request that you don't delete the story. It seems like a waste to put forth the time and effort to showcase this heartfelt story only to take it back and leave your readers hanging.
As always, I'll keep reading regardless.
Ugh.
I've been enjoying the story, and I wouldn't want you to stop writing it. I wasn't trying to insult you; I thought Big Mac was being a jerk on purpose. Just... such a huge jerk that --
...yeah, it's hard for me to think about that scene without getting angry. Sorry.
It wasn't Big Mac's message, which I disagree with but would just make me dislike him if it was delivered in a sane fashion; it was the way that he decides to go pile on the abuse while Sumac was already suffering. It doesn't seem like the sort of thing you'd do to someone that you love. Or... don't hate. Or respect in any fashion.
So it looked like what we were supposed to get out of it was 'the Apples don't really have any respect for Sumac; they're just trying to keep up appearances while waiting for his inevitable turn to darkness'. Which makes them the villains. Generally, people hating on a story's villains means that the author is doing it right.
Wait, really? Oh. Shame, I really like that story. I may have slightly disagreed with some of the chapter, but what happened down there?
Hm. Hope you continue it eventually.
...Hope you don't drop it. Entirely too many stories get ruined by fucking whiny/bitchy comments.
Kudzuhaiku, you took on a very sensitive topic, expressed your viewpoints through the characters, and the readers brought forth their own opinions on this topic. Weeding out the ones that will immediately throw hate, anger, and bile... in fact, ignore them completely, there might be topics for discussion, or valid points, but if it can't be expressed civilly then it isn't worth your time. Focus on those that are opening a civil discourse, broaching dialogue, or what have you, on the topic. If too much emotion is flying around, feel free to step back and take a breather. In fact, that is the best thing to do, allow your emotions to cool before proceeding.
Ultimately you need to figure out whether you can cope with this. If you are going to express your personal opinions and/or approach controversial topics, then you need to discover if you can tolerate the opinions of others, discussions of the topics, and such. If you express your opinion on something, then others will respond with differing views (they will, some roam around these stories just looking to argue even), the discussions will become heated, and some others will type without thinking, etc. If you find that any of this is too much for you to handle, cannot tolerate other opinions, believe that the topic is not up for debate, don't want to see others arguing, or what have you, then yes, you need to step away and focus on things that aren't going to be controversial, confrontational, or debatable.
Bullying and opinions around this topic, especially as they relate to gender, are very sensitive to people. This fandom especially is chocked full of those that are, or were, the lowest common denominator of the social hierarchy growing up. So for many, they are very close to the issue, and have not managed to work past it.
Ah, darn timezones, all of this always goes down without me, I'm either asleep or at work these times.
I read through the chapter and while I expected more or less heated discussions, since this is a sensitive topic, I did not expect such hatered. I would understand if you take the story down. I wouldn't be exactly sad in case you reconsider, but it is ultimately your choice. It is hard to do art if you have galled thoughts about the project.
Sorry to hear that your thinking of canceling the story, I do enjoy it even if I might be lumped into that group of people for commenting as I did on the last chapter. I won't apologize for it however. Tho I don't think my comment was as extreme as what some seem to have said to you, cause if that's what someone actually said... damn.
I would be sad to see it end, as I am interested in seeing where things go and Pebble and Sumac's 'friendship' is adorablizes.
However as some have said, it's a somewhat hot topic, not as bad as politics, religion or guns (if you live in the US) but up there from what I've seen in other stories or news articles about it. If you feel it's something you need to talk about (or write about in this cause) then do so. Don't let anyone stop you from doing what you think you should in regards to this.
That said, at the end of the day it's your story. Either keep going or don't, it's your call.
You touched on a really hot topic, and did so in a way that was controversial. People responded. Inappropriately? Some did, yes. But others expressed viewpoint that were valid. There was debate and discourse. It's interesting to see how you took characters and each one had a very different reaponse. Big Mac taking a chivalrous stance on the situation is in keeping with his character, and even though people disagree with his view, it is the character.
I dislike it when people see a controversial statement made by a character and IMMEDIATELY jump to ,"Author Mouthpiece" as their reaponse. It's frustrating, because accusing the author of using a character as a platform is extremely narrow minded of a viewpoint. I would be angry about that, too. Hell, as a fellow writer and author, I HAVE been angry about that. Sometimes you make a decision to do something with a character or you take a risk and some readers will dislike or even hate it. You can NOT let their reaction dictate how and what you write. Stick to your guns. Heck, even if I disagreed with what Big Mac was saying, I don't think it's a bad viewpoint to have. It's in keeping with the character. I enjoyed the chapter!
Please don't let a loudmouthed minority rule over your (amazing) work. There are many readers who really enjoy your work as it is!
4053740 Pretty much, yeah.
I have to agree with what the others are saying here. All I ask is what ever decision you make I will respect it. Now all I ask is whatever you do don't delete this story. But like I said and others have said it's your choice and your choice alone.