Filly Friends - Extended Author's Notes · 4:11pm Aug 11th, 2020
Before I get going, I want to thank everyone, again, for reading through. I was honestly not expecting much in the way of reception for an author who has been gone for years, but I was so pleasantly surprised. You guys have chucked my iffy words back into the featured box multiple times over the course of posting, and I don't think any amount of thanks will accurately convey how much that means to me.
I'm going to take a week off of everything to rest and reset and clear all the new content in XIV before I start in on outlining my next project. I'll keep you guys in the loop, though, keep an eye on my blog feed.
This is the complete extended author's note for the entire story. Spoilers be ahead for the whole schabang, the entire enchilada. I'm also open to answering any questions you guys may have in the comments either here or the story itself. Just make sure to spoiler tag spoilers in comments just in case, yeah?
Filly Friends has been in the back of my head for literally years. You can go back to when I finished... I think it was Death? I posted a blog in that really annoying way I did back then asking for my followers to vote on what I wrote next. In that blog was the link to a doc. Hold on, I might still have it around here... Nope, it's gone.
Anyway, that doc had a scene that you all may find familiar, as it appears in the description of Filly Friends, and is in one of the last chapters before Vinyl leaves when they are foals. The story didn't win, and I wrote something else, but that little taser and the concept never really left my mind. Fast forward a few years, to last year, when I was in a really bad spot. I started writing again, and that story jumped out at me.
The actual fic itself started in late October, I would write a bit before I went to work, and then again some more before I went to bed at night. I wasn't doing much, maybe 200 words per day. Then I moved in with quick, my ever excellent editor and friend, and that jumped from 200 to at least 500, often more like 1000. Ignoring some personal trouble around moving, and my birthday, I always made sure to get a chapter out every week. That was my goal, and honestly one of the things that has stabilized my mental state since last year.
I do have some regrets. Quick has defended this every time I bring it up, and I half expect him to do so here, but I really disliked how i handled the actual content of the story in a lot of ways. I think I touched on it in a previous A/N, but I really dislike how Octavia is more of a passive observer to Vinyl's story in earlier parts of the fic. It's actually the reason why the last third of the story is entirely about Octavia. She may have realized her worth thanks to a meddling marefriend and aunt, but it was all her in the end.
Which brings me to another point: Hazelblossom. I decided early on that the story wasn't going to have a big show of affection to sway Octavia towards Vinyl. It... kind of did, but not really. I also didn't want a third party external main conflict. Hazelblossom was always more of an embodiment of the time Vinyl was gone, and of Octavia's own insecurities towards Vinyl. This is another point I don't think went super great, but also wasn't terrible.
Lets see... Oh, in the original outline, Vinyl's roommate actually had a purpose in the story. She was mostly just to be a Symphonia to Vinyl, but ended up getting cut for some reason or another. On the topic of Symphonia, quick likes to tease me that Rosin was an author insert, and maybe she was. But if Rosin was in part modeled after me, Symphonia was in part modeled after him. So ha, betcha didn't see that one, didja?
I think that's about all I have, so feel free to ask any questions you still have in the comments, I'll answer as fast as I can.
I'm off to go play the new content in FFXIV. If anyone here plays on Crystal, I'm Azami Tatewaki on Diabolos, hit me up to punch primals or something, I'm always looking for new people to play with.
--thehalfelf
I am actually going to say that the choice of having Octavia be a casual observer helped the story in the long run. For two potential reasons. 1). It outlined her character well. As we've seen Octavia is a roll with the punches gal, and as a child that's what she did, when she got older she stepped into the "alright time to make shit go the way I want it" a bit better, and we see her character growth. (which is always nice) and 2). Because it grips the reader. (you already know this but it helps t have somebody say/type it out anyways) nobody super enjoys a perfect character, sure they have their places, but it isn't here. I know for me that watching Octavia not jump on Vinyl and cry over her and want her friend back and whatever other drama could've fit in there, it pulled my heartstrings and made me want to see what happened next.
#thattagmademelaugh
5333730
I've been making more and more ridiculous tags in almost every blog. It seems like fun.
Thanks for the fantastic story and for letting me help with it, even if for just a little bit. Easily one of my favorite reads in awhile!