Don't Call Me Cute Voting Ended - Vote Analysis · 4:15pm Feb 12th, 2019
Well, at least it wasn't close.
Have you ever written something in such a way where you want to lead the reader to lean a certain way? This is an example of that mission accomplished.
I don't think it was subtle how hard I wanted to readers to vote for Twilight here. And, of course, she won. However, I tried to present a much more interesting question to the reader regarding filly vs Satyr.
Is it more important to be true to one's self? Is the outer body just a shell for your personality? Or is the external body a representative of who you are?
Well, I have to admit, in some ways, the vote surprised me, and other ways, not. Some readers just want us to bone/be boned by everything in Equestria. Which, I mean, I get it. I'd like to think that this story is going to go places that make the reader think, but I think the vote also revealed something:
Seriousness? In my Anon Filly? Dropped.
I'll admit that my method of trying to stir a little bit of conflict into DCMC was a bit heavy handed. It was a mistake. However, I'd like to think that even if I did it subtly that there wouldn't have been as many folks saying "Dude. this tone shift. WTF. What are you doing? Stop."
But like, In the same way, I feel like it would be a total tone-shift for Anon to immediately try to bone twilight. I'm leading to something with all of this. Or at least, I'd like to think so.
We're going to polish off this story with an ending this year. I can say that with much more certainty than I can say... well. Office Love.
But what I can definitely say is that this vote was planned with purpose, and played in a direction I entirely prepared for. I can only hope that you guys will be happy with the direction it goes.
Thanks God no Satyr abomination.
Anon should shag the bullies and call them faggots for he is a man.
Huh that's closer then I expected with the second vote
Filly Anon? Last I checked Satyr was in the lead. Oh well. Looks to me like Anon is going to be giving into peer pressure and harrassment from ponies to make them less human. Personally I don't think this would make Anon any happier, they're just going to keep ostracizing and hating him.
Really the big mistake Twilight made was having him treated as a filly legally, instead of someone who is under a curse or other disability. Forbidding them from things that would be wildly inappropriate for their physical age (alcohol, intercourse, ect.) is reasonable, but setting the precedent that they should be considered a child for all purposes (even if it was partially recanted later) only really served to harm them.
That said, Anon shouldn't ever leave Twilight, given she's the only person who has been seen to attempt to find a way to turn him back and treat him as a person.
Sigh, you got your seriousness in my hilarious anon filly fic! You got your hilarious anon filly in my seriousness! And then they all had Reece’s together.
Huh... I forgot there was at one shift. Admittedly looking back it's a bit jarring but there was so much I like in the story I was willing to ignore it and have some faith. Wasn't that bad imo, as honestly, the story had little serious undertones peeking through the cracks. All the tantrums that got played for jokes? There were little scraps of serious moments there, particularly with the way Twilight tried to comfort him.
But maybe some criticism...
I think if I were to pick a flaw in the recent updates, it wasn't the tone shift, so much as the believability of ponies being that cruel to someone for their appearance. Ponies are never shown to be that cruel towards strangers. Zecora was regarded as scary, not harassed, for instance. And Diamond Tiara + Silver Spoon, who set the bar for bullies in Equestria, were never that cruel to the CMC either.
I think that makes the conflict with bullies not work well, because it feels inorganic. We can tell you're shitting on Anon and trying to get him some sympathy points, in other words. Having a different appearance is just not enough to justify his treatment, regardless of how shitty kids can be. However, while the bully thing didn't work for me, I do have sympathy for a person who's experiencing body dysphoria. That aspect has been the source of the good seriousness imo.
One angle that might have worked better would be Anon just not getting along with his peers personality-wise, and that leads him to be socially rejected. He's an adult in his head, and he's a particularly difficult adult on top of that. He wouldn't have the same interests or level of maturity, meaning it'd be difficult for him to make friends with fillies no matter what he looks like. From there, you could even give him just one friend who likes him anyways, and that'd be meaningful.
Wait, "burn down Equestria" was an option? Is it too late to change my vote?
Will Filly Anon be a Unicorn this time?
might be funny to see her have to deal with even more problems~
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Wait there was an option of burndown Equestria? Damn, how did I not notice.