Random Ramblings CCCLXXXI · 2:45am Aug 28th, 2019
IN WHICH I GREET MY HATEDOM
You'll have to pardon me. I just ate supper and have a bit of The Itis going on. Have some Shat.
Confused yet? Think about how many of these I had to go through to find the right one. If you'll follow me…
Even though there's only one entry left to write, I wonder if I should insert Shatner into the Burritoverse. Nah. I don't think I could do his unique diction justice.
Anyway, the reason I'm writing this blog is because of this comment from one of my readers.
I really doubt it’s the revengeporn or Sunset abuse fans that are downvoting [Anon-A-Fix]. Every time a new “different” take comes out, usually talking about how different it is, as long as it’s legible, it stays at an 80%+ rating. I do wonder where all the downvoting came from, especially with the lack of comments.
Well, as I was filling my brain with William Shatner, that same reader read the story and had some critiques and theories, some valid, some not. I'll go through them one by one. I don't normally do this, but this particular reader is one of my regulars who deserves a response.
First, iirc, there was a non-con tag on this story before. I could be misremembering, but I’m pretty sure it was there. If it was, an Anon-A-Miss story with non-con will almost certainly get automatic downvotes
There was in fact a "Non-Con" tag originally. The reason is because of Trixie molesting Sunset in Chapter Six. I removed it after a PM conversation with another reader plus looking up what the tag actually means on this site. Trixie's treatment of Sunset did not rise up to that standard. That one's my fault and I'll own up to it.
Second, it’s an Anon-A-Miss story that’s part of an established fic universe. Plenty of people can’t stand Anon-A-Miss at all and suddenly slapping it into a multi fic long universe is probably going to ruffle some feathers.
I won't deny this either. Funny thing is I've actually been planning to add Anon-A-Miss to my EQG universe since 2016. Like I said before, the only reason it wasn't part of Sunset's Recovery Arc was because there simply was not any time to fit it in while also doing everything else I needed to do with SRA.
So, I pulled a Zelda and split the timeline.
Third, it does the whole thing where it’s an almost exact retelling of the original content, with little extra stuff added, none of which affects the plot (at least in this fic). That particular style, especially with a lot of the fic describing the visuals in detail and directly ripping much of the dialogue (with little explanations and expansions), may attract some downvotes as well.
I made it clear from the start Anon-A-Fix was a retelling. It was never meant to be anything else. So, guilty as charged.
I actually did make an attempt to alter and expand the dialogue. I don't think I'm given enough credit here. Of course I COULD have expanded things even further, but it would have dragged the pacing down to a level I would consider tedious. If you're going to world-build, it's best to try and weave it into the story naturally instead of giving readers an infodump. Rest assured I have every intention of giving more details in the follow-up story.
This story's entire purpose is to set up Apple Bloom as a character. Speaking of which:
Apple Bloom … felt a bit forced
Maybe. But in that case I had to work with what I was given. At least I justified it better than Ted Anderson did (which was not at all).
Edit: Forgot to mention the Trump joke, that may have triggered a downvote or more.
I don't think that was even a "joke". That was world-building, showing that we're still at the point in the timeline where he's alive.
It's definitely true that as soon as I so much as mention Orangeglow, certain folks on this site who mostly prefer to be anonymous (cowards) lose their shit. The more I've come out against Trump, the more downvote fairies I receive. His fans really hated it when I rewrote Aria's Burritoverse story and ensured every word that came out of Orangeglow's mouth was a genuine Trump quote -- that was an interesting couple nights of research, lemme tell ya. I know and understand that a lot of people want to keep their politics and Pony separate. I actually agree with this. However, Orangeglow - originally intended as a one-off - proved too useful for me NOT to insert into appropriate stories.
It's like Charles "Sparky" Schulz and PEANUTS. Sparky hated Lucy Van Pelt, but kept using her because he knew she was a good character who worked in the context of the universe he'd created. It's why she hung around for over 45 years when other 1950's-era characters (not named Charlie Brown or Snoopy) gradually disappeared.
Anyway, the Orangeglow posters along the fence are actually an obscure reference to the original Underdog cartoon in which regular villain Simon Bar Sinister decides to try to take over the city legally by running for Dictator. He even does his own canvassing. He fails.
PS: As I've mentioned before, Sunset is literally an illegal undocumented immigrant. And yes that's a plot point that has been brought up more than once already. Spoiler! Sunset's absolutely right about it being personal against her. However, Orangeglow is simply the mechanism. Someone else is pulling his strings on this one.
Anyway. I think that's everything. I'm glad that more people were willing to give AAF a chance after my original blog last night.
I'm tired now.
Peace out.
People will down vote stuff without rhyme or reason. I'm pretty sure a large chunk of mine come from people who never even bothered to read the first paragraph.
The thing is don't let it get to you. Write what you want and screw everyone else.
Unless you stayed up all night writing a story in an altered state of mind and just threw it on the internet *cough* my first story *cough*. Then, maybe you should go back and edit.
Also, I see your Captain Kirk and raise you a Spock.
It genuinely bothers me anyone can still support Trump and not at least laugh at him and his idiocy.
Also I'm sorry to say but I haven't read any of the story yet, and tbh I don't know if I'm going to be able to bring myself to read it any time soon. I feel so bad about it, but I just don't have the energy lately. And it's so many chapters. Even if it's just 15k words, there are a lot of chapters to review, and I just don't know if I can do it with content like this. I hope you can forgive me. I've been going through a lot of stuff atm.
I almost broke down when I woke up from a nap today because I accidentally broke my blinds while trying to open them. That and everything that's been building up lately just hurt so much I almost cried.
However, I did dutifully upvote the story so that hopefully some other people will read it.
5112913
You mean like this? Or the first part of this?
That link had better be "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins". {clicks it} You did not disappoint.
5112973
I hope things improve for you. But, dude, you don't need to review. Just read and try to enjoy when you feel up to it. This isn't something I've sent to you for prereading. Of course constructive feedback can be useful, but you don't need to do that for every story you see. Why do you think I mostly read trollfics when I read other fics at all? Because they're fun and I don't have to think.
Why do think I write stupid stories involving Spike and sometimes the Mayor? They're fun. The Mayor stories are SO silly they're almost a farce at this point. Every time she and/or Spike get involved, something explodes.
My take on Anon-A-Miss is more lighthearted than most on this site BECAUSE the darker routes have been done to death from the moment the comic came out. I couldn't give less of a shit about exploring that. I'm interested in exploring how Apple Bloom deals with the aftermath. That's why -- like how I had Sunset's Recovery Arc -- this is sort of the start of Apple Bloom's Recovery Arc, and I've had the end of this arc sketched out for years. Actually, my plans for this timeline predate my finalization of SRA.
5112992
Thanks man, I appreciate that a lot. :) I just know it's only fair to give at least a little feedback since I'm always hoping for it on my stories.