Unsure About a Prequel / Sequel · 10:49pm Jan 18th, 2017
So, as some of you might recall, I wrote a little clopfic about Sunset and a trans version of Twilight as sort of a grump-inspired rebuttal to the low effort and at times uncomfortably insulting futa fics that flood this site. Which, just to clarify again, I do not have anything against futa or those that enjoy it. Heck, I enjoy myself at times. What I'm against is the low effort writing.
My question here though, is should I write more of that when one of things I specifically spoke out against was fetishizing the sex aspects? Like, what I would like to write is a prequal where Twilight gets help from Dean Cadance in starting the medical portion of transitioning...with some sexy bits in between. (Which, funny fact, is partially where the idea that developed into Scary Butt Fun started. I was working on something with Twi x Dean Cadance, that got stalled and I started on a thematically related thing for the futa Twilight group collab ((which is where the aborted short "Science Dungeon" in my Fuzzy Fables collection comes from)) which ALSO got sidelined and then picked back up later to evolve into Scary Butt Fun and was the reason I included the couple of lines about Cadance already being in on the know about Twi's situation.)
If I do that, I feel like I'm running the risk of becoming the thing I spoke out against. But at the same time...a lot of people called for a follow-up and liked what - and how - I presented things.
So that's my question to all of you: Should I write more about trans!Twilight and sex/gender acceptance issues, or was once enough? Would it be 'more okay' if I left out sexy stuff, or would that still be welcome?
I very much wouldn't mind seeing more. You did your best to be honest to the reality and it was really genuine and I appreciated that.
Which story you talking about?
I would like to see more, it was well written and had a good balance of things to make it a fantastic read. As far as any sexy stuff, I welcome it, however I'm not opposed to if there isn't any. Your work can do well either way, in my opinion.
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This one.
tl;dr: Twilight is trans and hooks up with Sunset who is a lesbian.
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Ugh...I had a whole long response typed up when I noticed the typo in the blog title and went to edit it and lost what I'd typed...
I''m a professional, I swears. Gimme a minute to reorganize my thoughts here.
Okay, so when I first started entertaining the idea of a follow up of some sort, my initially thought of something where Sunset and Twi sort of drifted apart and had to face some conflicts each was experiencing before ultimately coming back together.
For Sunset it would weighing her identity as a lesbian against her growing attraction to Twilight's remaining male anatomy. While yes, it is a handwaving of the whole different specie thing, (I'm actually going to be touching on that in the upcoming chapter of Dazzling Sunset, so there's that) I kind of wanted to have her exploring whether her preferences were natural or something she consciously chose and what a shift in that attraction, even if limited to just Twilight, meant.
For Twilight is was her questioning her desire to become fully female. If her sudden want to actually use her male parts was a simple biological response or something buried inside her personality that she'd always ignored or assumed to be dormant? I was also thinking of potentially playing off the little teaser in Legend of Everfree where she still dreams of, and fears, Midnight Sparkle. That Midnight IS fully female and Twilight wonders if Midnight is her inner female self and if that self is as evil/callous as Midnight was at the Games. So she starts to question if her quest to finish her transition is the good thing she's always assumed.
Otherwise, I'm leaning toward a prequel set sometime before the Friendship Games when Twi was still early in her research into the 'mysterious energy' coming from Canterlot High. Basically, Dean Cadance was Twi's babysitter way back when and has been a friend and ally ever since. Cadance was the one that got Cinch to allow Twilight to attend Crystal Prep as a female and wear the girl's uniform, etc. So when Twilight hits the point where she's ready to start on hormones and all the prep she'd need to do for the actual transition surgery, she goes to Cadance for support. Maybe Twi's parents are leery about it, and she needs someone to give guardian approval in order to enter the program? Meanwhile Cadance is dealing with her own body images issues, which while not gender related, are certainly body positivity/self worth issues that are related to acceptance on a personal and social scale.
Sorry if I'm rambling here. I'm still trying to gel my thoughts together.
Which could still involve sexy stuffs. Twilight looks up to Cadance. Despite Cadance's personal relationship with her own body, she's Twi's ideal for "how to female". Plus there's plenty of evidence in Scary Butt Fun that Twilight likes girls, and in EQG canon, Cadance and Shinning Armor never really got together, so there's nothing to worry about on that angle.
I'm not sure.
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As someone who identified with some of your Twi's insecurities, I think I would like either. Sunset figuring herself out as well could be interesting--sexuality is confusing and kinda messy.
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Confusing and kind of messy is how I roll. I'll keep thinking about it. Oh, and if I haven't said so before, I appreciate your appreciation.
All I can say is that scary butt fun is one of my favourite stories on fimfiction. I would love to see more. With or without sex scenes.
I think you would have to try really hard to write Cadance/Twilight sexual interaction in a way that wasn't super problematic from a power and age perspective. Like, she's a dean of her school and also presumably at least twice her age?
I would definitely be up for more very well-written and well-considered sexuality-exploring fic though. Personally I'm not super invested in the actual sex bits, but one can always skim.
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That power disparity dynamic is a prickly beast, but one I've tangoed with before. Not terribly sure I want to do that again. Age-wise, I'd say that if Twilight was at a minimum consentable age, that would place Cadance at least 12 years older, but twice Twi's age is not out of the question.
As I've thought more on it, I'm thinking the exploration would be the better option.
I'm not the biggest fan of futa, but story is very good written and it was a pleasure to read it.
So, definitely yes, it would be very nice to see sequel or prequel.
So mebbeh staph playing Skyrim?
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but muh Viking Simulator 3000!
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My reading of Sunset was that she was full, 100%-only-girls lesbian. Her discomfort wasn't with Twilight being human, but Twilight having a penis. Driven largely by Sunset's rather pointed no-touching deal with Twi's dick. Also apparently confirmed by Fuzzy so maybe I'm on the money there.
Which isn't to say that exploring the dysphoria that either of them might be experiencing is a bad angle, or that the new intimacy can't bring a level of drama to their relationship.
Anyway, to you, Fuzzy. I'm obviously all for more trans!Twi because I thought she was super adorable. If you the prequel route, I'm less comfortable with sexy things going on with her and Deandance. If you go the sequel route, I'd like to see Twi open up to more of the Humane Six. I think there are a lot more options to explore and character moments to be found in a sequel, because it just winds up being more open ended. A prequel is going to have to lead into the events of its "parent" fic.
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Yeah, Sunset's response was more about the penis being there at all, rather than the human bit. I mean c'mon, Sunset's had four to five years of humans and her own human body to have acclimated her attraction from quadrupeds to bipeds. MY headcanon is she got over the whole "ew, no hooves" phase pretty quickly. And sort of another response to the slew of Sunset-on-horse clopfics that hit the site a while back.
I agree that going the prequel route is limiting, and the more I've thought on it and discussed it with other folks, the more I think a proper sequel is the way to go. I have written a good bit for that possible prequel so maybe I'll publish it in my Fuzzy Fables collection or something later on.
As for a sequel, I think I certainly do want to involve the other mane characters, at least a little. Like I can easily see a scene with Sunset trying to explain to the others that Twi "isn't like other girls" only to have the comical misconception (probably from Rainbow Dash) that she means Twi is a former pony too. Maybe not come out and say Twi is trans? Just sort of get them in there to show support until Twi is ready to let them know? Not sure. I'll probably start on a real draft tonight.
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As I've said, you're always welcome to pick my brain when it comes that kind of stuff.