Considering Anon-a-Miss · 6:22pm Sep 30th, 2017
As promised, this blog is about the Anon-a-Miss comic and the interpretation I chose to use in Finding a Place. It's been a pretty major headache for me and the main cause of my writer's block over the summer. I suppose that makes it worth examing, especially since it seems to be a somewhat controversial story.
Warning, there will be potential spoilers for those who haven't caught up on the story but I've placed those parts in tags. More after the break!
Let me start with some non-spoiler thoughts on the storyline I personally feel that Anon-a-Miss is just a mediocre storyline. It almost barely makes sense if it were to happen before the events of Rainbow Rocks but afterward? No way. The human five are so far out of character, it's almost painful to read the middle part of the story.
The whole arc is predicated on an improbable combination of means, motive, and opportunity on the part of the Crusaders. That doesn't even begin to cover the complete mess the ending is. Seriously, after all that, there's one quick apology and somehow the school and everyone's lives go back to normal. I just don't see that happening given how many secrets were dumped out there. It's simply too neat and tidy, especially when you look at how united the school is during the Friendship Games.
Don't get me wrong, there are some impressive fan stories that use Anon-a-Miss as a foundation. The fanfics where these events drive Sunset to do something drastic ring far truer in my mind. In spite of her outside strength, Sunset Shimmer is still healing at this point. To have her entire support network not only vanish but viciously turn on her would be devastating. I doubt she'd be willing to trust the Human Five after that betrayal.
On that note, I'd like to quickly go over how this all plays into my story. So without giving away too much, here are some ideas I did consider for Finding a Place. Ok, this is my final warning about potential spoilers for both the current chapter and previous storylines!
1: The Crusaders: The first obvious move would have been to stuff it in as written. The events of the Halloween arc and the movie night established a solid relationship between Sunset, Silver and the Crusaders. There simply isn't a motive for the Crusaders to attempt to frame Sunset in this universe.
2: A Different Culprit: I briefly contemplated handing responsibility for the events off to one of the other villain characters. Gilda, Diamond Tiara or some other random student with a chip on their shoulder all came to mind. At the end of the day, every option simply felt forced in my mind. Plus, everyone else lacked the opportunity or even the knowledge to get the photos that were the key to Sunset being accused. The Dazzlings were even considered but the actions of Anon-a-Miss wouldn't get them what they want.
3: Just dump it: I was pretty close to just ignore the existence of the story arc but there is a problem when writing EQG fanfics. There is a shortage of official materials available to build the story around since we only have four movies and a handful of youtube videos. The comics are a resource that it's hard to pass up on. I actually need to read some of the others to see if there is anything useful.
4: The final choice: When it came right down to it, some of the fanfics I've read using the Anon-a-Miss storyline could be considered more like a nightmare than anything potentially real. Once that clicked in my brain, the rest of the arc just kind of fell into place. I'm actually pleased with how it has come together since it has added a nice little bit of drama into an otherwise slow part of the story. More importantly, the way I've handled it won't leave me handwaving away the aftereffects of cyberbullying on that scale.
Anyhow, that's really all I have to say for now. If you have any questions this post failed to answer, please don't hesitate to post them below! Thank you for reading!
Hey, Battlecat- really enjoyed your work over the past year, and looking forward to the next installment- and the possible result of round two against the Saikitan Spirits. My prediction to the aftermath is spoilered.
Is Silver Spark going to kill and absorb this spirit? I think he might- and get a power-up out of the bargain. That's what I think has allowed him to spirit walk and use the RCV.
Beyond that, I'm working on my own Anon-A-Miss piece that places the actions of the Maine Five back in character- and explores the issues which arise from anger. Take a look if you'd like: I'd appreciate any critique!
4683124
I've been reading your story, it's fantastic and a real breath of fresh for someone who was getting sick of the same old story from every other Anon-a-miss fic.
4683220
Thanks!
Does this mean that you'll be doing the comic's take on how the Dazzlings got banished?
4683124 - Thank you so much, I'm glad you've enjoyed it! You have an intriguing theory about his magic and the Sakitan Curse there. I don't want to spoil the outcome of the next chapter so I'm going to have to beg your patience.
I've actually been enjoying Myriad Thoughts ever since you released the first chapter. I do most of the story reading on my phone and I'm terribly clumsy with the little keyboard so I don't comment as much as I should.
I really have to make a point of fixing that. I'll say more in a more appropriate venue, especially given your most recent chapter.
4683422 - Assuming you're talking about the Starswirl vs Dazzlings music battle, no I'm not using it. The past plays a role in the story and I've written quite a bit of my own to fill the gaps. The Dazzling's backstory in my universe doesn't exist in isolation as you'll find out in the future but I've seeded a few hints here and there. I am following the Legends of Magic comics carefully since it's apparently full canon thanks to recent episodes. It looks like the next one might involve the Dazzlings if one of the covers is to be believed but I'll have to wait and see what comes of it.
4683503
Ah yeah that's true, there is a possibility they might end up changing how the Dazzlings were banished in the first place with that comic. Though I'm just excited to see the Sirens again as its been years since they've appeared in any official mlp material.
4683699 - I'm hoping they will as well. The whole Legends of Magic series seems to be quite solid and if they actually redo the Dazzlings official backstory I'd be quite pleased. Even more so if I can make it fit my lore.