Lack of Fandom for Hitting Rock Bottom · 2:28am Jun 4th, 2017
It hasn't escaped my attention that this is an unpopular story, at under 250 views and a 17 to 7 Up/Down Vote Ratio, and I'm wondering why. From what I can tell, it's for a few reasons.
(1) It's very much about Cheerilee, even though some other canon characters figure in the flashback sequences. Notably, none of the flashbacks feature major canon characters: but rather Big Mac, the future Mayor Mare, and Cup Cake.
(2) A very important series character is due to show herself, but I don't want to spoil the story by saying just whom, yet, so my readers are unaware of this.
(3) A very common Cheerilee comedic scenario, "Younger Cheerilee Gone Wild," is the inciting incident of the plot -- but I'm not playing it even remotely for laughs; this is depicted as Cheerilee falling onto a potentially-dark road, which if she walks along it will probably destroy her, and she knows it.
(3a) I thus simultaneously offend readers who love Cheerilee and may be disturbed that something this degrading has happened to her,
(3b) and those who think that what Cheerilee does right before the story opens is glorious liberation and hence should not be seen in a bad light;
(3c) What's more, as hinted at in the first chapter and elaboroated in Chapter 4 (the one I'm currently writing), Cheerilee wasn't a complete innocent even before this happened: this may scrape away some of my remaining approval on the story.
I mean I could point out that I'm describing Cheerilee as a highly-intelligent, driven, idealistic and rather decent mare in her mid-twenties, whose main problems are a hereditary tendency toward alcoholism and some earlier mistakes about whom she should trust. I think most real people reading this have at one point or another trusted the wrong individuals. It's commonplace.
Her life's just taken a bad turn, and she has to face up to it or risk being sucked into the same vortex of addiction and self-destruction that claimed her mother and sister. Into every life some crap must fall: this is some crap that has fallen into Cheerilee's. She's not embracing her mistakes, she's trying to admit them to herself, avoid making the same ones in the future.
I love my Cheerilee, and deeply respect any real women similar to her
But other readers may have different opnions.
What do you think?
(Shrugs) I'm fine with it.
To be fair, I quite enjoy this fic.
On the topic of downvotes, I wouldn't worry about them too much. Remember: people downvote for many, many reasons. These range from "I read the fic carefully, and found the grammar, plot or characterization to be lacking" to "Flash Sentry sucks, I downvote everything he is in on site" or "The author bugged me one time" or "Eh, I felt like it."
A lot of the time, there is very little to be gained from trying to analyse downvote patterns. They are only really useful when there are overwhelmingly more downvotes than upvotes. That almost always means a genuine badfic.
Hm, I'll be honest, I haven't read it yet for what I'm sure you'll find a terribly superficial reason: I'm not all that interested in Cherilee as a character. I mean, she's fine, I don't dislike her, or anything, she's just... there. So I tend not to read any fics that focus solely on her.
I wouldn't take it as a personal slight, or anything against your writing. People like what they like, and they tend to read about characters they find interesting.
As for downvotes, I'll echo what A British Gentleman said; it probably has more to do with folks who downvote anything with specific tags, or characters, or are simply griefing, than it has to do with you.
Five bucks say that the same warped mind that might enjoy Cupcakes for the shock value would downvote this because it's realistic. They want muck, not someone overthrowing a powerful temptation.
Want me to review the fic?
I'm bored, and while I'm not exactly the best reviewer around, maybe a laypersons opinion would be helpful.
Might be that its the tragedy tag as most associate it with death since thats generally what its used for alog with the dark tag.
I don't know what to tell you. I'm certainly enjoying it thus far, but I like almost everything you write. (I'm sure you never would've guessed, what with my user name.
)
I think just most people don't care about Cheerilee. And after Big Mac getting a love interest, they no longer see any chemistry with him and Cheerilee in fanfiction. She's so undeveloped that you will have more chances writing a popular Zecora story.
For me, it's just...non-engaging. Your strengths are worldbuilding, far-out scientific underpinnings, and Epic Adventure (okay, and darn good characterization); "Rock Bottom" so far reads like a YA novel with hooves. The more adventurous and/or plot-twisty bits are awesome fun (I actually really like "Love Among Monsters"), and I am enough of a geek to absolutely adore the details you throw in based on biology and RL equine behavior. "Rock Bottom", unfortunately, feels like a bog-standard contemporary novel to me. It's not objectively bad, but it doesn't grab me. Love the vast majority of your stuff, though.
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Yeah, it's mostly Dramatic Romantic Slice of Life, with one fantastic moment coming up that, while fantastic, isn't going to be any sort of action-adventure thing. I am writing it mostly in reaction against a certain presentation of Cheerilee as Wild Party Girl when she's not on the job.
I totally don't see that: while Cheerilee is most definitely cheerful, she's also a self-controlled sort of mare, restrained by her desires to do good and avoid harming other Ponies. She has a very strong sense of responsibility, especially toward younger Ponies, which I provide an explanation for in Collateral Damage and Hitting Rock Bottom.
If she did have a past including alcoholism and promiscuity at any point, she would not be happy about it. Indeed, straying into that sort of behavior might well have been part of a wake-up call that her life was going down the wrong path.
And yes, I suppose that's very YA-novelly. (*sigh*)
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Given that the Show is already on season 7 and tends not to focus that much on romance anyway, I think you're right, that Big Mac will at least be left by the end of the Show with Sugar Belle. Also, I don't think that the extreme idealism of the Show -- more idealistic even than my Equestria -- would let them explore the "They just weren't that right for one another" resolution, evne though I don't think Big Mac and Sugar Belle actually are all that right for one another.
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I tagged it "Dark" because it shows a nastier side of Equestrian society (particularly in Canterlot). The "Tragedy" -- well, not all tragedies require Shakespearean death counts. And, actually, one character is going to die. At least in flashback. Aside from the fact that Cheerilee's father already has died.
I quite like the story and am waiting for more. After all hitting rock bottom the only way is back up. And evidently she is coming back up. A character is more interesting with a good back story and some dreadful weaknesses after all.