Cover Art Poll! · 1:39pm Mar 10th, 2017
I've commissioned two pictures that I enjoy a great deal that could work as the cover for my upcoming Limestone X Flash story, Heavy Rock. The thing is, they work for very different reasons IMO, and I'm not sure which to choose. Would you be willing to vote in the comments below? You can just upvote the comment corresponding with your choice if you don't feel like leaving a comment of your own.
First, let's set the stage with the current short and long descriptions (which are also open to feedback):
Limestone Pie and Flash Sentry find unexpected love and unimaginable loudness as they navigate a path through social anxiety, heavy guitars, and the occasional love triangle.
Limestone Pie: a 20-year-old homeschool graduate who can't imagine life outside of working her father's quarry.
Flash Sentry: an 18-year-old senior at Canterlot high with no bloody clue what he wants to do in life.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a less likely pairing than these two. But when a chance encounter over heavy music pulls them into an unexpected love triangle, the pair find a spark of attraction that rocks.
Here was the original piece that I commissioned a year ago (!) from Captain Wuzz. I like Limestone's punky look here and I love the bass she's holding. I think this conveys a ton about her character. This has literally been the picture in my head for the last year:
#NotTheFaceOfMercy
But here comes a new challenger! Bluegrass Brooke finished the digital version of this just yesterday. To me, this is all kinds of d'aww/squee inducing, because I've spent a year and a half (!) of working on this story and I believe these two make for a seaworthy ship. My hesitation about using it is that I feel like a big part of what the story needs to do is persuade people that it's seaworthy, whereas this just sets sail with its flag flying high and my nautical metaphors breaking down rapidly:
#Hnng
Please take a moment and let me know what you think by voting below! 
Upvote for Option #1: Punky Limestone Pie
Upvote for Option #2: FlashLime Hearts & Stars
I know that option 2 will make downvotes happen faster, but I have to upvote it.
4450291 Hmm, I guess that's the other thing: to what extent is Flash himself an auto-downvote generator? Not that I'm willing to change his role in the story at all, but it's worth being aware of if it's a factor.
IMO it's sad if that's the case. I see nothing wrong with the guy other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong waifu. Hopefully Legend of Everfree sets him up for a strong canon future.
I'm going to have to side with grumpy-bassist Limestone on this one.
4450295 Well, its more of just a downvote factor due to the character. Not your writing, not the story, just seeing his tag/picture. There are some great stories that get tons of downvotes with that as the explanation.
I personally hate it since I'm a big Flash Sentry supporter.
Also, they recently did a EQ poll for most hated character and he beat Cinch by one vote. Its sad...(It was like a month ago.)
Personally, I prefer #1. And it's not because of Flash's presence in #2; it's that #1 is, frankly, a bit better drawn and gets Limestone's attitude across more effectively.
And yeah, #2, while cute, is a bit too sappy for what the story is. Those two go through a lot to get to that point. And I don't know how potential readers would react to seeing Flash inside a love-heart with any character. Poor guy gets such a bum rap.
4450295 - You know, I wondered the same thing when I wrote Exes Meet -- would the fact that it focuses on Flash earn it automatic downvotes? The answer turned out to be no. I don't know if that's because he's the technical antagonist or because enough people have gotten over their automatic Flash-hate to give the story a chance. Either way, readers liked it.
As much as I love BBB's work, I'm biased towards 1 due to lack lack of Flash Sentry.
I think it's a brave ship, Flashstone
SenpieSenpaiThey both work and don't. The first captures Limestone Pie jamming on her axe but has nobody else in it therefore symbolizing that it's a story about Limestone jamming out and being a rebellious music chick. The second captures more of a desired end result between the two but, lacks what draws them together which is the heavy music. Also where is the third person? I mean, if it's a love triangle the third person should be in there.
This image of Secret Admirer shows your three principle characters. In it C. Thomas Howell is clearly into Kelly Preston who is flirting unabashedly with Howell. However Lori Loughlin is off to the side there looking at the two of them like, "Uh oh hang on a second," thus setting up the triangle.
This image of Reality Bites does similar and establishes some of the personalities of the characters as well.
In this case what you need for a love triangle are all of the elements. You need your principle characters positioned somehow indicating who the participants are and what the conflict is. Then you need to show the force behind what has made this happen which is heavy metal, punk rock, whatever.
Ultimately, I can't vote on this because to me it's just a push. Both images work and don't work all for different reasons.
4450303 Egad. That's plain crazy. So he's hated more than Abacus Literally-The-Worst Cinch? And evidently he must also be hated more than Timber Skeezy-Lame-Joke-Vomiting Spruce? I can't even.
Heh. That gives me an idea. Imagine a crackfic titled Literally The Worst that would ship Cinch with Timber, and cast Flash as the defender of human/ponykind whose sacred duty is to stop them before they give birth to the ultimate unlikable character trainwreck hellspawn.
4450618 I think you make a good point about the journey they go through. In my head, #2 is is what happens after the story ends, and I've been working on the blasted thing for so long that I'm keen to see it. But it also jumps past everything that gets them to that point.
4450883 The canonical term is "FlashLime", Kohai.
4451041 Man, this is the deepest and most educational answer of all. Thank you for those examples of how to do the cover for a story about a love triangle. I suppose neither of these quite nails that, which is no fault of the artists; they did what I asked 'em to do. But I suppose the Punky-Pie picture keeps things more ambiguous.
4450296 It does appear she's the winner!
4451547 Timber Spruce was somewhere in the top, I honestly don't remember. I just hate that its like this for a character that there is no real reason to hate. There's reason to hate Cinch and he's hated more. Ugh...
4451547 Actually the one with JUST Limestone is the easiest to tinker with. Add Flash to the right kind of looking back at her with a slight grin while (since you said it was a love triangle) the other girl (I'm assuming Flash has the other girl there) is trying to drag him off. Throw in a back drop of some bricks like a club stage with the some easy graffiti on it it can say stuff like "Love on the rocks" or something like that... I dunno.