Paul's Thursday Reviews CCXXXV · 10:13pm Jan 14th, 2021
I had to decide what I wanted to talk about this week. I'm loath to inject anything that isn't horsewords into one of these blogs. But I feel if I don't at least bring the topic up, I'm doing myself a disservice, so here we are. My apologies to all of you in advance for deviating from the norm. That being said:
Can everyone please calm down?
This past year has been one of the most volatile I've ever seen, and that's entirely because of politics. I'm honestly wondering if the people in this country aren't going insane. On this site alone, I've seen people who are normally decent, respectful, intelligent individuals reduced to screaming, frothing rage and saying the most unpleasant, mean, and downright cruel things to others for the simple sin of not agreeing with their worldview. Heck, it doesn't even require that; Americans can be triggered by the most inconsequential things these days.
I'm not here to argue in favor of some faction. I'm not going to tell you you're right or wrong. I'm just asking if we can please, please, be decent to one another? Your hateful rants about the evils of the opposition aren't helping anyone, especially yourself. If anything, you're making the situation worse by giving them even more to be upset about. Worse, I'm seeing calls for people of the opposition to leave, like that will solve anything. It's like seeing a bunch of schoolyard children covering their eyes under the idea that if they can't see it then it's not actually there.
But the "problem" will continue to exist. They'll just go to another place on the internet, one where people agree with them. Then you end up with what amounts to two societies, each existing in echo chambers where the other side is monstrous and terrible and even evil. How do you achieve a peaceful resolution with that? If America is to ever heal from the last fifty years of ever-worsening ideological divide, this isn't the way it will happen.
You want to solve what you think are the world's biggest problems? Talk to your enemies. That doesn't mean mocking them, or calling them bad, or even telling them they're wrong. It especially doesn't mean lumping them all under a buzzword. Figure out what they really think, why they think it, and maybe – if you can stomach the mere possibility of being wrong – see the benefits as well as the problems.
Because what we're moving to right now is disturbing, and if you can't see that, I'm worried you may be part of the problem.
Alright, I've said my piece. Let's move on to reviews, shall we?
Stories for This Week:
My True Self by _Undefined_
“Where Is My Daughter?” by The Sleepless Beholder
Far From the Limelight by Some Leech
Hole In The Wall by jmj
Crystal Waters by SparkBrony
Tiger Bloom by Tundara
King's Puzzle by FerociousCreation
According to Plan! by The Buck It Bros
Risk Aware Consensual Pony by Neon Czolgosz
Highs and Lows by Soufriere
Total Word Count: 214,511
Rating System
Why Haven't You Read These Yet?: 1
Pretty Good: 3
Worth It: 6
Needs Work: 0
None: 0
My True Self
60,104 Words
By _Undefined_
Thanks to her father’s job, Sweetie Drops grew up constantly moving from place to place. That made it hard to make friends, and soon she gave up on the practice altogether. And now? Now she’s come out as gay. Her parents see only one solution to this “problem”: force Sweetie Drops to join the Royal Guard, which should be able to stamp this “weirdness” from her mind.
At first, this is a story purely about Bon Bon. It relates some of her childhood, her break with her parents, her military service as a monster hunter, and her eventual retirement to Ponyville. It’s only after we get past all of that that Lyra enters the picture and we effectively get two protagonists. From there – specifically, that infamous Summer Sun Celebration (you know the one) – the story follows the pair’s developing relationship while events from the show continue in the background.
On the one hand, this is an effective if traditional romance in which two ponies who love one another adamantly refuse to acknowledge that love out loud for a variety of reasons. That will annoy a lot of people, but the pure romantics will adore that part of it. The story almost universally runs on the idea that each mare thinks the other is straight and fears the other will abandon them if they find out.
What’s most interesting to me is that _Undefined_ managed to create this setting without creating a bunch of melodrama around it. Whereas most romantic authors I can think of would have a constant stream of agonizing and worrying and self-pity, this one recognizes the golden rule of a good story: don’t let it all hinge on one topic. So while the whole “I have to keep my homosexuality a secret” thing is a recurring and primary element, we also have to deal with Lyra’s ongoing inability to find a job, Bon Bon’s struggle to socialize and break out of her shell, and sometimes even the events of the show (Lyra being brainwashed as Chrysalis’s bridesmaid comes up, for example). It’s a good way to liven things up.
On the other hand, there are a few issues that keep this story from shining. The very first is this conceit of Bon Bon’s parents being homophobic. I’m sorry, isn’t this Equestria? Do you mean to tell me Equestria isn’t founded on the tenets of Harmony and acceptance and tolerance? I’ll grant it’s just headcanon, but I have a difficult time believing a nation founded under such concepts would have any issues with things like homophobia. If _Undefined_ had pointed out that Bon Bon’s parents are part of an extreme minority, then it may have been fine, but instead they go out of their way to make an expectation of homophobia the primary conflict of the entire story. I’m willing to dismiss it for my rating because, again, I think it’s a subjective issue, but it’s too big a matter for me to ignore entirely.
On to less subjective issues. As much as I enjoyed seeing Lyra and Bon Bon developing a relationship, I can’t help feeling that nothing was… pertinent. Every scene reads like every other scene. It doesn’t matter if the events are happy, silly, sad, painful, dangerous, they all are in the exact same tone. _Undefined_ struggles to generate any atmosphere beyond a general recounting of the events, and it leads to the entire story coming off as… unemotive. Which is the absolute last thing you want in a romance!
This coincides with the parts intended to keep things interesting outside the romance. Take Lyra being brainwashed by Chrysalis. It all just… happens. There’s no direct effect for her in relation to Bon Bon, who completely missed the events. Lyra didn’t learn anything from the experience. She didn’t grow as a character. And the crazy thing is that, with its positioning in the overarching story, this felt like it may have been intended as part of the climax. The whole thing just fell flat to me. And then the story is over.
_Undefined_ could have made this a big moment, one filled with fear and uncertainty for Lyra. They could have avoided going into Chrysalis’s head and giving us three paragraphs of exposition regarding why the changeling queen was there at all (as if we don’t all already know). A great alternative would be to have Chrysalis hit the unsuspecting ponies with her spell and have Lyra know it, fighting to escape the whole time. That could have made the whole thing into not only a highly emotional scene, but also taught her a lesson about trying for something before the opportunity is lost forever. The entire scene could have served as a poignant catalyst to Lyra finally coming out to Bon Bon.
But that – or something similarly powerful – was not at all what we got. How disappointing, and even a little boring.
Even so, I must give this story a nod of overall approval. It stumbles in a few ways, but the author’s effort to make the story about more than just romance is a great start. I’d have appreciated a resolution to some dangling plot threads – Bon Bon at least attempting to reconcile with her parents comes to mind – but what we get is decent. If _Undefined_ can learn to alter the flow and mood of scenes in relation to one another, we may have a strong author on our hands.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
New Author!
“Where Is My Daughter?”
3,541 Words
By The Sleepless Beholder
When the intercom announces that Sunset’s mother is waiting for her at the front of the school, Sunset is shocked. After all, she never had a mother. She rushes to the site, but the person she meets is not at all who she anticipated.
Or, to summarize the summary: Sunset meets herself, except herself is older than her.
The short follows Sunset and her human world clone, Sunshine, as they learn a little about one another. Except that Sunshine already knows a ton. I’m having an extremely hard time believing the background premise that Sunshine learned everything about Sunset – correctly – from a Wikipedia page. The level of knowledge she displays strikes me as absurd for that to be her source. Even acknowledging she followed Sunset around for a couple months, I just can’t believe Sunshine knows as much as she apparently does.
I’m also not fond of how quickly the story resolves and ultimately devolves into a saccharine “let’s talk about how amazing Sunset Shimmer is” therapy session with all her friends. Maybe it would have been different if it hadn’t been handled in this theatrical way that made it all look staged and scripted.
Come on, Beholder. You had 15,000 words to work with. 15,000! This could have been a powerful story about Sunset’s identity and self-worth, but instead we get this overacted 3.5k rush job. For shame.
All that having been said, the idea behind this is a pretty good one. I’d love to see it done justice, with a more complete image of Sunshine, better care in how her appearance and story affects Sunset, and some more evocative growth between the two of them. Seeing the quality of this story as-is, I have no reason to doubt this author could pull it off. I shall be looking into more of their material in the future.
Bookshelf: Worth It
P.S. – @ Beholder: Somehow, I only just noticed that you created an entry for my Them franchise earlier this year. My sincere apologies for missing it. I shall make it a priority read for my schedule.
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
New Author!
Far From the Limelight
3,912 Words
By Some Leech
Times are hard for a struggling Trixie. Ever since she got upstaged by Twilight Sparkle, her reputation has been in ruins. Few ponies attend her shows, and most who do don’t bother to leave any form of payment. Her wagon is falling into disrepair, her larder is growing bare. If this keeps up, she’ll be forced to give up the life of a travelling magician in a matter of weeks just for her survival.
And then a stallion appears at her wagon with a proposition.
AU or a disturbing look at the life of Trixie before she had to resort to rock farming? The implications are dire, regardless. This story sees Trixie fall into the world’s oldest occupation in a desperate bid to buy time, and feeling worse and worse as the situation moves on. It’s a rough story, nicely told in a way that keeps us firmly aware of the horror building in our protagonist.
I know there are some people out there who will be offended by this. The ten downvotes probably have to do with that. There are people who take offense to the idea of prostitution being a shameful practice. Those people, perhaps incapable of channeling the mindset of Trixie’s perspective, should absolutely avoid this.
For the rest of us, this is a dark look at the depths to which Trixie could have fallen as she struggled to make ends meet. My only concern as to the quality of the overarching story is the question of Trixie’s wagon. If things are that bad, how did she afford a new wagon in the first place? Let us not forget that her original one was turned into splinters by the ursa major. (Come to think of it, it would be nice to know how Trixie acquired her latest in-show wagon.)
Aside from that, I have no complaints. This is a sad tale about a pony falling on bad times. Such stories are a dime a dozen for Trixie, but this one strikes me as far more… real, and as such earns more appreciation from me. If I can find another story by this author that isn’t clop and which looks worthwhile, I may be inclined to give it a go.
Bookshelf: Pretty Good
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
New Author!
Hole In The Wall
6,158 Words
By jmj
The CMC, with Babs Seed, discover a breach under the Carousel Boutique letting them explore the foundations. There they find a hole looking into the bottom floor. Scootaloo recently heard some odd rumors about Rarity, and so wants to use this opportunity to spy and see if they are true.
I find myself thinking of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. This – and pretty much all of jmj’s works I’ve read so far, really – is highly reminiscent of that style, with the only real difference being that jmj’s work is more gorey. I’m sure this will appeal to a lot of people, but for me it’s just not a good match. The writing is far too Telly to evoke any sort of emotional reaction, but I’m also fairly sure jmj isn’t trying for one. This isn’t a horror, not really, as its only real purpose is shock value. It’s all the silly nonsense of a kid’s campfire story, but with its violence aimed at adults. So who is the audience supposed to be?
This may work for the casual reader of the most basic level of horror. For an experienced horror fan such as myself though, this doesn’t make the cut. You’re going to have to try a lot harder than a common trope that makes no sense within the canon world it is set in and designed entirely around “look at how shocking and graphic this scene is!”. I’ve seen far too much for this to even be a blip on my radar.
If you’re a casual interest in horror stories and don’t mind a bit of blatant gore and nonsensical twists, then you’ll probably be fine with this. If you’re looking for something truly horrifying? Best move on.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
Changes — Worth It
Rainbow Dash Gets an Abortion — Needs Work
ShanderShears — Needs Work
Crystal Waters
5,326 Words
By SparkBrony
It was supposed to be Rarity’s vacation. Instead, she spent the week travelling all over Equestria fighting monsters and other such things with the girls. But today, today, she has a chance to just relax at a pool and enjoy herself. At least until Rainbow Dash gets into a pranking mood…
Admit it, SparkBrony! You wrote this entire story just so you could use that cover art, didn’t you?
I have mixed feelings with this one. On the one hand, we’ve got a flirty Rarity enjoying both her time at the pool and the hunky lifeguard nearby. I’ve always said that Flirty Rarity is one of my favorite iterations of her. But then we find out that Spike’s at the pool with Twilight, he’s watching Rarity flirt, he feels terrible about it, she knows it, and she’s not stopping. Suddenly she’s gone from being flirty to being downright mean.
So really, she kind of had it coming.
Most of the story involves Rainbow trying to ruin Rarity’s day of relaxation, and I’m okay with that. It got a little extreme at times – a hailstorm? Seriously? – but Rainbow got her own bit of comeuppance and a pretty good final line.
I didn’t fully appreciate the depiction of the characters, but still; it’s a story intended in good fun. Read it with that in mind and you should be okay.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
Guardian Angel — Pretty Good
The Legend of Thunder — Worth It
Tiger Bloom
26,634 Words
By Tundara
A tiger wakes up in the Everfree Forest, hungry and confused. With no idea how it got there, it soon stumbles upon a lost and frightened Apple Bloom. For reasons it doesn’t understand, it chooses not to eat the vulnerable filly, but instead to protect her.
I can’t tell you how skeptical I was of this concept, but it was precisely because the whole thing was so far fetched that I gave it a go. The result is something vastly better than it has any right to be. Told almost entirely from the tiger’s perspective, we watch as it struggles with its own carnivore nature, the vicious dangers of the Everfree, and its own gradually recovering memories of a time in another place. It ends up as a story of redemption and companionship.
I did not expect the ending to be as emotionally strong as it was, either. I actually shed a tear for “Mr. Cat”.
If I had to point out anything wrong, it would be the grammatical issues. Except I’m not sure if those issues are… well, errors. I notice that they are most prominent in moments of the story where a lot of action and, perhaps, high emotions are occurring. This means either Tundara was so excited they rushed through the scenes without properly checking them (I know what that’s like) and didn’t go back to proof, or the author thought these “errors” were a way to intensify the situation. If the former, yeah, Tundra needs a proofreader or, perhaps to go back and proof themselves. If it’s the latter, I’m not sure how to tackle it. I don’t think it worked – at all – but at the same time I’m not above letting authors try experimenting with something of that sort.
At any rate, this was delightful. It’s a grand demonstration of what a talented author can do with a premise that appears crazy on its surface. I loved the interplay between Apple Bloom and the tiger and the constant struggles the former faced to keep AB safe were, at times, riveting. The epilogue is also a great showcase of how to end a story on a high note, even if that note is bittersweet.
I can think of no reason not to recommend this.
Bookshelf: Why Haven’t You Read These Yet?
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
The Longest Night — Pretty Good
King's Puzzle
9,734 Words
By FerociousCreation
Requested by FerociousCreation
Princess Twilight has always wanted to study a broken unicorn horn, despite the practice being considered taboo. There is only one she can get hold of without having to do anything unpleasant, and after months of searching she finally has it: Sombra’s horn. Imagine her surprise when she discovers that the spirit of Sombra is still alive within!
This is a romance, and nothing more. Which will be fine for a lot of people. The vast majority of the story is set in Twilight’s laboratory, where Sombra’s horn is kept in a special device for studying it. The “evil” king doesn’t prove so evil in this story, but rather misunderstood due to him being an ancient R63 version of Twilight. In other words, he’s a total nerd with a passion for research and only a mild concern about such things as "taboo". But since what he was researching was considered taboo… well, that’s how historians create an “evil” king, apparently.
Okay, the background behind this is a little unbelievable. FerociousCreation would have been well served to have described the specifics of how Sombra went from a mere researcher to an evil tyrant. I seriously doubt Celestia and Luna would have attacked him without good reason, but this story presents no excuses. Although the fact he was a tyrant is referenced frequently, no explanation is forthcoming as to why. Was it really just that he was studying things people thought of as forbidden knowledge, or did he actually do something to earn the moniker? You’d think Twilight would have wanted to know that.
This all leans into the real problem with the story, which is that it is a romance and nothing else. The whole “evil tyrant king” thing is vague background info setting up the scenario, when in reality it should have been a major plot tangent.
Eh, I say “should”, but I suppose that’s too strong. As a romance, what we get is perfectly fine. But if FerociousCreation wanted it to be interesting to anyone wanting more than that, then what this has isn’t enough. Perhaps if we had witnessed Twilight opening up to her friends and Celestia or there was some moral conundrum involving Sombra’s past “evil deeds” and Twilight’s interest in him. But no, it’s just “Twilight and Sombra fall in love over a few months”.
All that being said, I do appreciate the bittersweet ending. And again, as a romance it works. It works really well. I know the amount of criticism I’ve leveled at the story makes it sound bad, but in truth I really enjoyed it. Maybe it’s Twilight’s well-presented adorkableness, perhaps it’s the unexpected interpretation of Sombra, or it could be how their relationship is presented. Whatever the case, the story pleased me on the whole, so despite its flaws I’m more than happy to give it a good rating.
King’s Puzzle will serve well for people seeking out a good romance. If you’re looking for something more complex, I’d advise you look elsewhere.
Bookshelf: Pretty Good
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
Just Some Flowers — Pretty Good
Seconds Late — Worth It
According to Plan!
91,052 Words
By The Buck It Bros
Octavia receives a letter from her parents in Canterlot. They intend to marry her off to some random stallion she’s never met, all so as to advance her career. This is a problem, seeing as Octavia doesn’t even like stallions and has eyes for her roommate, Vinyl Scratch. But it’s all going to be okay, because Vinyl has a plan.
If you’re interested in reading something silly and not thinking about, well, anything, then this is the story for you. It’s not an epic romance or a touching drama. It’s just the Buck It Bros making stupid things happen for a lark. That’s not to say this is a crackfic, just that it’s a fic not meant to be taken seriously.
This shows up in a great many ways. The author(s?) throw in countless movie quotes like the entire concept of doing so is going out of style, usually in tasteless ways. This includes but is not limited to our cast boarding the – wait for it – Skytanic, which is on its maiden voyage and promptly crash-lands. Seriously, they call it the Skytanic, as if that’s somehow supposed to make sense even in a ponified world.
Or how about all the moments in the story that would, in a normal and serious one, be treated with gravitas and appropriate atmosphere instead resorting to stealing lines from popular songs which, naturally, completely ruin whatever mood might have been built up.
Not that’s there’s much atmosphere to ruin, because the dialogue is often forced or predictable, and comes with zero narrative assistance. Speaking of narrative, the Buck It Bros have no idea what commas are or how they are used, homophones are scattered throughout the story as if fired out of a shotgun, and what places homophones don’t show up is likely because the author forgot to put any words in the right places at all. The writing of this story is a mess and cements all the more my theory that the authors aren’t taking this seriously and, by extension, don’t expect us to either.
I could say more – I have barely touched upon the plot itself – but I don’t think I need to.
I know all this sounds bad. But here’s the thing: I don’t think the Buck It Bros were trying to make anything serious. The issues are so common and so lackadaisical that, really, it feels like they just started writing, laughing all the way without a care in the world. And as odd as it might sound, I can get behind that. If you’re not actually trying, then I don’t think it’s fair to judge you as though you were.
So if you want to have some stupid fun with Octavia and Vinyl (plus Lyra and Bon Bon), then knock yourself out. Just don’t take anything at all seriously and you’ll probably be fine.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
New Author!
Risk Aware Consensual Pony
6,809 Words
By Neon Czolgosz
Sequel to The Sunday Session
I figured I liked the previous story enough to see if this one might give more of the same. Which is to say, a look at the sexual life of Twilight and Rarity that emphasizes their trust in one another. What we get is… some of that, but also not.
There are two parts to this story. Three, if you count flashbacks. The first chapter has Twilight and Rarity “enjoying” a particularly painful bit of bondage while the latter subjects the former to a sort of willing sexual torture. Amidst that are flashbacks of Twilight joining Ponyville’s local sex club, which includes the likes of Cheerilee and Filthy Rich (among many others) and learning more about the culture of swingers and BDSM.
I liked the first chapter. The sex scene has the unique quality of never being graphic yet feeling so, while also emphasizing the trust and care they go through to keep the events as safe as reasonably possible. Far more interesting was Twilight’s meeting with the club, which could have been a story entirely unto itself. That part felt less about the sex and more about educating the reader to the real nature of these events.
The second chapter… faltered in my opinion. While there is still some consideration made for things like consent and educating the reader on the nature of the scene, it all feels less informative than its predecessor. Basically, it’s a giant sex scene, and it felt like it was there just for the sex. We do get a little bit more about what turns Twilight on and her limits, but any porn could do that. With the focus lost, so too was my interest.
That’s not to say the sex scenes are poorly done. Far from it, Neon Czolgosz seems to know exactly what they’re doing in this regard. But if I was here strictly for sex scenes, I could go to a lot of other “stories” to get that treatment, and frankly, pain isn’t attractive to me. To each their own, y’know?
Obviously, those looking to get their rocks off will love this, especially if they’re into BDSM stories. As a study in the nature of people who enjoy this kind of thing, I don’t think it’s quite as on the level as its predecessor. Still, we all know what most people are going to be reading this for, so have at it.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
The Sunday Session — Pretty Good
Highs and Lows
1,230 Words
By Soufriere
Sequel to Sasha
Walking through the sub-freezing world that is Canterville in winter, Rarity comes across a Sunset Shimmer dressed for spring. And also… dancing. Apparently. Concerned, Rarity makes sure to get the undoubtedly frozen girl indoors.
This story depicts Sunset as occasionally going through extreme bouts of mania, including brief highs and long lows. Right now she’s in the middle of a high, which makes her kinda silly, a bit nonsensical, and very frank. It’s that third part which is important, as the unstable pony-turned-human reflects on how much she used to hate Rarity and how destroying her reputation in the past brought her no joy.
There’s a severe contradiction within this story. What Sunset is going through is, without doubt, sad. Yet her behavior throughout it is honestly kind of humorous. The contradiction can make a reader feel a little guilty about enjoying Sunset acting so silly when the underlying reasons are not silly at all.
A curious story. I liked it, and I wonder all the more what else this author will do as the series continues.
Bookshelf: Pretty Good
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
Sasha — Pretty Good
A Midsummer Day's Quest — Worth It
Stories for Next Week:
Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns by Novel-Idea
Incomplete by Dark_Soliloquy
The Drunken Ramblings of Vinyl Record Scratch by The Autumn Princess
Why Are You Here, Your Majesty? by forbloodysummer
The Lightning In Your Teeth by Meridian Prime
You Betcha! by The Cloptimist
Final Thoughts by President Dead
The Death of Daring Do: The Engine of Eternity by DuncanR
Sanguine Kindness by Rated Ponystar
Masquerade by McPoodle
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That first fic is on my RIL. Looks like it'll have to be bumped up a few slots.
I know most people want to ignore the first part of this blog post, but I need to voice my agreement before someone else can go all radical mode.
I appreciated what you said about the political imbalance. We have lost our ability to have respectful disagreements with one another. While it is a tough topic that unfortunately leads to hot heads screaming at one another, I agree with what you said and am glad you had the courage to address such a tense situation.
On a lighter note, I have only known about your reviews for around a week, but they have been fantastic! I love reading them and trying to search for new stories to read. Idk how you do it all the time, but its fantastic.
I agree with your assessment of the political situation. Yelling at eachother, when neither side is willing to budge, is a waste of time. It's the institutions that are the problem, and they're what we should be fighting to correct.
However, I don't seem to share your opinion on The Celestia Code from last week. Your review prompted me to try giving it a read, and I was disappointed. I barely got to the point where they reached the ruins before I put it down. It was a lot of little things. The emotional beats really fell flat for me, the pacing was weird, and the prose used fancy vocabulary while barely describing anything. It felt more like the novelization of a video game than a story. Not to mention that Twilight was out of character, prone to threats of force and reveling her magic, closer to Sunset, really. You're in for a treat with The Death of Daring Do, though. That's an example of a thrilling adventure story, in my opinion.
That’s because it takes something more than intelligence to behave intelligently.
Haven't read any of these, but on the one by Some Leech, I think you'll find more of their stories to be up to that quality. I've read 2 or 3, and I had pretty much the same reaction to them that you had to this one, so it sounds like they're consistent. I did enjoy the plot and characterization of the ones I read, but I was put off by the amount of stylistic/grammatical missteps, which, sadly, don't improve in the newer stories, even though I know they've been pointed out before. Still, if you're rating a story as Pretty Good when you're not really on board with the treatment of it, then I'm confident you'll find some more Pretty Good ones by continuing with that author.
Thanks for the review! I acknowledge that my writing style is very straightforward, and effectively evoking emotion is not one of my strengths. And I do agree that the diversion into Chrysalis's head was an unnecessary distraction that I should have avoided. Believe it or not, it was even worse in the first draft.
If I may defend a couple of my decisions: I did try to make it clear that the attitudes of Bon Bon's parents represented the minority -- early narration mentions a different high school student who came out and received widespread support and acceptance, and that if Bon Bon's father hadn't scared her into keeping her sexuality a secret while with the Royal Guard, she would have learned that he was the one with the mistaken point of view. But her isolated upbringing and introverted personality kept her (and, as I'm now learning, possibly the reader) from learning what the truth was.
Lyra's brainwashing was intended to be the catalyst for the climax. It's just that Lyra didn't learn the lesson on her own -- she needed Lemon Hearts to spell out (or more accurately, almost spell out but then stop herself because that would have been kicking her friend while she's down) that if Lyra hadn't been trying to keep secrets, she wouldn't have gotten herself into a situation that endangered two of her friends.
Lyra regretting not getting a chance to tell Bon Bon the truth about her would only be dramatic to the reader because we know what Bon Bon is hiding. From Lyra's perspective, a near-death experience would have been a relief -- she almost got to avoid having the awkward conversation entirely!
Admittedly, that perspective makes for a less dramatic story overall.
Ah... I saved that for the sequel.
Ah yes. I can't wait to 'come together' and 'heal'. I should totally be civil and try to 'meet in the middle' people who support a coup of the government because dear-leader lost the election. I should totally come together with people who want to exterminate folk like me for not being cishet. We should totally humor people who stormed the capitol to murder our elected representatives, and those who supported the stormers.
5436179
Except for the fact that most of those people agree with you on the attack, but you can't get over which political candidate they support, so you belittle and ridicule them by calling them racists and bigots with toxic intent.
But this isn't the place for this sort of thing. I apologize, Paul, I felt it needed to be said.
I got death threats and iisaw's userpage got shut down for an FBI investigation while a certain group on this site fundraised for a nazi porn art pack and one big-name author charged a group of people with a sword after tweeting zealot shit. I have also been told I should be hanged for coming out as bisexual because "faggots ruin everything they touch" in this community.
A large portion of this community - or former members of it - are trans or non-binary, and yes, their right to identify as such is a political issue, one that does not benefit from a polite and civil debate.
Foodbanks are running out in places, and there are record levels of people shoplifting pasta and baby formula. 40% of US citizens are at risk of eviction or housing insecure. There are quite a few porn alts on this website I'm personally aware of that were made to pay a grocery bill.
Many big authors in this community have had loved ones die or been bankrupted during their time on this site due to the costs of healthcare in the US. Some were unable to get mental health treatment because of the costs, and took their own lives.
People are dying. People in this community. That is why other people are angry.
The least the site could do would be to ban hate groups and fascists and anti-vaxers, and it doesn't. Not even the people who look you dead in the eye and say "Yes, I am a fascist, I know what I believe." and link you a BlackPidgeonSpeaks video. We get hostile because it's the only way to tell those people they are personally unwanted in our space, when we have no other way of keeping them out otherwise.
And it is a problem when you say: Actually, let them into your space, listen to what they have to say, and learn from them. This is how we grow as people.
Sure, Paul, they think I'm a cult leader degenerate who should be killed, and nobody's ever gotten so much as a temporary ban for messaging me to kill myself, and those same people will stay civil and polite in the public-facing sections of the website to make their ideas as sympathetic as possible.
5436251
Yeah they'll agree with us on the attack because it was too blatant. All those republicans who aren't Trump just want to go back to quietly exterminating minorities rather than trying to be overt about it. You know, the Ronald Ra*gan method.
If you're just going to say "I don't approve" but "lets meet in the middle and heal" and not fix the problem. Then you're part of the problem. If one third of the population wants to exterminate the other third while your third just stands back and watches, you are also part of the problem.
You don't negotiate with terrorists.
I'm sorry, Paul. You are an erudite, fair-minded individual. Your opinions are always presented with clarity and respect. But that attitude is completely misplaced in this situation.
Racism and bigotry are evil. Tolerating such ideals allows them to hurt others. It is called the "paradox of tolerance" for a reason.
Regardless, I respect your willingness to discuss it at all. Politics have become a taboo in our society for the strong emotions they create. But discussing them is the first step to lessening that taboo.
I wish I had read one of these stories, that I might temper this sombre comment with some other content.
5436251 Except 45 percent of Republicans supported the attack.
5436277
Based on this poll? I've been trying to find the specific study or poll.
5436283 No, it was this one. Forgive me: I thought the Newsweek article sourced it somewhere. They also incorrectly note the poll was published Thursday morning (Jan 7): the timestamp is for Wednesday afternoon.
5436308
I don't put much stock into statistics and, while I will concede that there might be truth in that poll, even if it was 55% that supported them, it's still too generalizing to say that all republicans or Trump supporters are racist and bigots.
5436343 That's the same issue as "a few bad apples" brought up in the argument about bad cops. Allowing these people to associate themselves with your group poisons the whole. It creates an implicit approval of their behavior. Any amount, let alone 45 percent.
I've known decent Republicans. Hell, my father was one. My mother was one, until the terrorist action at the Capitol finally changed her mind.
But where are all these decent conservatives now? Where were they when Trump was being impeached the first time? Where were they when Trump was whipping the country into a violent frenzy?
The Republican party radicalized itself. It is radical, violent, racist. That is objective fact, and we have countless videos of it now. If someone is not a bigot, is not violent, then they would stop supporting the Republican party. And we have seen exactly that: lots of people renouncing their allegiance to it.
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I appreciate the responses, that some people feel so strongly about this, and that they're willing to talk about it here... even if some of them are just spouting hatred in response to hatred.
But beyond this, I have no intention of continuing the conversation, if only because I don't see any benefit to doing so. Some of the things said in response to this blog alone demonstrates how some people aren't interested in what I have to say, and I won't waste my time or theirs indulging the toxicity. I only hope that cooler heads shall prevail before things get even worse, but I won't be crossing my fingers.
5436423
media.discordapp.net/attachments/386227514680410113/799484645208883210/image0.png
Edit: I get you just wanna grill Paul, and that politics must be some big scary enemy that you don't like to think about because it makes you feel uncomfortable when you're laying in bed.
The rest of us don't get to have that luxury. Politics is interested in us.
To compromise with Trump, his enablers in the GOP and whatever FOX-fucked followers he still has left. Means compromising on our rights as human beings. Especially if you're not white and a dude, and especially if you're not cishet.
I figure you being from the deep south, you'd recognize that you don't compromise with the Klan. Or people who shout "its heritage not hate!" as a thin veneer to live out their Dukes of Hazard rebel fantasies while fuming on social media about how they're discriminated against because of affirmative action. But evidently I assumed too much from you.
If you still just want to grill and ignore politics even despite the looming threat of right wing donestic terrorism. That's fine. Just know that the scent of bodies strung up on tree-limbs will ruin any appetite you might have.
5436427
It's against my better judgement, but I suppose I should at least respond to this.
I'll admit it: I'm white, male, and cishet. But I was also born and raised in the south – Louisiana, to be specific – and you'd think that if the rampant racism and hatred that people claim exists here were real I'd have seen it all the time growing up. Heck, merely going to a public school in a low class neighborhood with a 40-50% black student body should have introduced me to the concept. On the contrary: I almost never saw it.
Maybe it's not as widespread as people want us to believe.
That being said, I did see some overbearing religious elements, and I can think of a few encounters with homophobia.
But it defies logic and reason to believe that roughly half the country is racist, homophobic, and trying to kill anyone who doesn't look/think like them. That's nonsense. You want to stop the bad guys? Fine, Target them. Specifically. That means identifying them, not just throwing our hands out and saying "All you people, you people in the vicinity? Get in line for the gas chamber." If this is what you're doing, you're no better than they are.
I'm not asking people to ignore and make peace with the bad guys. I'm asking them to think rationally and know who the bad guys are before getting into the whole condemning bit. Because right now all I'm seeing is carpet bombing the neighborhood to kill an elephant.
5436447
Paul you're just talking about people getting angry without talking about what they're getting angry over. I'm pretty mad over people explicitly posting Nazi shit, and photoshopping me into a washing machine labelled 'gas chamber' while Aryanne pulls the lever. I think that's a rational thing to be angry about.
What it sounds like you're really upset about here is that you want to personally identify as a conservative without being called a fascist for it, right?
5436262
Do you mean messages sent by Fimfiction PM where the moderators can confirm it happened? I'd be very upset were that the case. That borders on illegal activity and Fimfiction could be held responsible if they're notified about it and do nothing.
That said, I've seen some horrible things appear in public spaces and no action is ever taken. I've been meaning to blog about it, but emotionally I've been a wreck and ME/CFS makes it next to impossible to exert myself emotionally anymore.
They should probably just remove the parts of the TOS that claim you have to treat users with respect because it certainly isn't true.
5436447
Hope that helps.
5436453
I do. I have screenshots - of the messages, of the reports, and of showing both screenshots of the messages and the reports to the site staff in the Discord.
5436447
Did you not see it, or didja just not pay attention in high school? They're not going to say the 'quiet parts' out loud for fear of getting their asses beat. Especially if they're not some overwhelming majority. Hell Trick made my point better than I did
I was finishing High school when Trump got elected. I've heard plenty of slurs and other foul shit like that. Racism never stopped being a problem in this country. If you think it stopped being a problem. Give me a year, hell, give me a decade. You think any of the cops that burned crosses faced any consequences? Who'd'ya think trained the next generation of wife-beaters and road-pirates?
It doesn't matter if they're not racist, homophobic or wanting to kill people. What matters is, are they just going to stand by and let the radicals do their thing? Oh they're just good upstanding folk, they're not like them radicals who are out putting bullets in queers. Why they're good upstanding folk who ignore the injustices and wash their hands of it.
And what kind of radical centrist take is this? We know who the fucking enemies are. We're not going to come after you for whatever opinion you have on tax policy or whatever. Violent white supremacists and fascists are our enemy. What is going on in your head, that you associate with them so much, that you think you're going to be targeted alongside them? Why are you worried?
Thank you for the review. I do appreciate the critical eye and made me understand what, as you put it, could have been. Of course, the story is what it is, but I am one who likes to explore the "why" regarding characters. The thing is, the story was submitted for a contest and was limited to 10k words maximum; this is my only defense because I had a limit as to what I could write.
Regardless, I'm glad for a critical eye and honesty. At least you liked it.
:3
Oh hey, my Dad's family is from Louisiana! I lived in New Orleans for a few years growing up. I actually understand where you're coming from here - I didn't see the racism often either. It was still there, I just didn't see it. A lot of it was just that I was a kid, you know? When you're young you think racism is saying the n-word and lynching people, and you're told things are much better now and people are more civilized. You grow up with something and it's normal, and you're not racist, and you know your Uncle Bob (I really do have an Uncle Bob - he's a cop in Baton Rouge) is a good person so he can't be racist because good people aren't racist, and he's just joking, and of course there are bad parts of town where it just happens to be almost all black people, and those are just thugs in a gang it's not racist...
Basically what I'm saying is, it's really easy to be wrong about what racism looks like, and if you can't recognize it you think it doesn't exist.
At my school, I still have the kids say the pledge of allegiance every day. It's not required by law anymore (even when it was, it's not like anyone was checking in to make sure teachers were doing it), but my class does it, because I want to reinforce to my kids that America is a great place, and that even if it's not perfect, we should be glad for it and should strive to live up to its ideals. I proudly call myself a patriot. I love America, I believe in the principles it's founded on, and I want to see it continue to thrive and advance.
At the risk of sounding incendiary--although I really don't believe what I'm about to say is or should be at all controversial--any American who isn't enraged by the Jan. 6th attacks is not a patriot. Now, can you be a good person without being a patriot? Sure, there's nothing about "patriotism" that is inherently ethical. But the number one requirement for patriotism--really, the only requirement--is to love your country.
So if you (the royal you, here, not you, Paul) can look at a group of people attempting to destroy America and say, "hey, big feelings on both sides, be nice if they'd all calm down a bit," that tells me you don't love America. Maybe you like it, maybe you think it's convenient, but you don't really care about my country. Which, again, doesn't make you a bad person. But... well, I was raised to believe that America is something special. Founded on the principals of cooperation (bringing 13 separate governments together under a United banner) and striving to more fully fulfill the highest human ideals (the Bill of Rights and the amendment system are the Founding Fathers' call for us to continually seek self-improvement), America has never been perfect, but it's always striven to be better, and is an experiment worth defending against any extreme.
If your response to people literally--and I cannot emphasize that enough, literally--attempting to overthrow the American government and to hang the outgoing Vice President is anything other than to feel "strong emotions," then you are not a patriot. Plain and simple. You may well be a good person, but you don't care about America, not really.
Anyway, I've been using the royal you so far, but since this is Paul's blog, I'll bring it back to address him. Paul, I have no doubt that you are an ethical person. I entirely agree with you when you say, "what we're moving to right now is disturbing, and if you can't see that, I'm worried you may be part of the problem." I don't know what your feelings on America are, but from your previous blogs, I'm guessing that you, too, are a patriot. If that's the case, I know that you're sickened by the attempted insurrection. You and I are feeling the same things.
Paul, you told us to "Figure out what [people you don't agree with politically] really think, why they think it, and maybe – if you can stomach the mere possibility of being wrong – see the benefits as well as the problems." That's good advice! And there are people in these comments who are hurting, just like me, and I believe just like you. People who love America, just like me, and I believe just like you.
Please don't tell them that they're "saying the most unpleasant, mean, and downright cruel things to others for the simple sin of not agreeing with their worldview," or that they're "triggered by the most inconsequential things these days." Follow your advice. Listen to them, figure out what they actually want, and I believe you'll discover that they are hurting the same way you're hurting. I believe that you, and I, and they, are all on the same side. We're on the side of America. And when America is being attacked by those who would see it destroyed, of course people won't be calm. No patriot can be, at a time like this.
And anyone who is calm? Well, I said it already. They may be a good person, but they're not a patriot.
And right now, America needs patriots.
5436457
Within a few months of arriving at Fimfiction, somepony used a sockpuppet to attack me. They were angry I deleted a comment on one of my own stories and even angrier that I didn't agree with them that I should be required to leave all comments up. (At the time, I didn't know it was "forbidden" to delete any comment, no matter how rancid.) They did get disciplined, so the system seemed to work.
A little over a year later, I encountered an incredible amount of hate on one of my stories, which is one reason I won't submit my stories to LGBT groups even when they contain trans or gay content (I let other people do that if they want, which usually happens). One user in particular openly said they would try to get me kicked off the website because they didn't want autistic people like me on it. They used a slur rather than the word "autistic", and the reason they thought I was autistic was because I was furry and enjoyed Homestuck. They also bragged about downvoting my story without reading it and attacked other users for downvoting the previous attacks. This user kept going and going for many posts, and I felt like I wasn't allowed to delete any of the horrible comments without making it worse.
So I told a moderator. After all, this was clear harassment. I was immediately informed "that's what the block feature is for".
That's how I learned that any "treat others with respect" stuff in the TOS was a sham. This happened years ago, but I don't think anything in unspoken policy has changed since then.
The suggestion didn't help me. I didn't want to block the user because that wouldn't do anything about their previous comments. I just wanted them to stop using slurs and insults against me, and to stop posting comment after comment that had nothing to do with the story. But after my early experience on the website, I knew I couldn't delete comments without other people attacking me, so I just did my best to ignore them as they started a flame war with everypony else. Fortunately, the story was so incredibly controversial that their trolling comments were eventually buried by pages of legitimate ones (some angry, some not).
All of the comments on that story ended up getting deleted when I rewrote it and replaced it with multiple chapters. The loss of comments was probably an accident (I don't remember, blame ECT)—I know I accidentally deleted the comments to another story I wrote doing the same thing, and I think I edited the story in question first so that would make sense. I guess it would also make sense for me to have intentionally deleted that toxic nightmare, except I really liked the depth of discussion that followed it.
Personally, I don't think a block feature absolves a website from all moderation responsibility, especially not if you want it to be a place that mirrors the values from Friendship is Magic. However, that's only my opinion, I don't moderate this website, and I'm still grateful for those who do.
5436458
Racists have a tendency to test the waters. When somepony is racist they'll do something like tell a slightly off-color joke, or maybe use the n-word and then correct themself. If you're like me, you can't hide your shock, so they figure out you're not like them and they tone things down.
But if you respond pleasantly, they go a little further, and a little further, until they can be completely open with you.
The process itself is not insidious, or even conscious. Opening up to people is always like this. You don't come out of the closet on any issue without making sure you're safe. But what they're hiding is pretty awful, and it's pretty common everywhere around the world. In the case of the South/Midwest/Rockies, it's not more rampant than it is in the North/West/East—it's just considered more socially acceptable.
5436491
Hello again mysterious downvoter! Sorry about giving away your secrets.
5436467
Ah, wordcount limits. The bane of my existence.
Also, I'm curious as to why anyone would downvote your comment.
5436499 The reason is beyond me. Oh well.
Whoever is downvote bombing isn't being very conservative with their votes
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Some people are angry and it makes them feel good to hurt other people, but they have to do it anonymously because they are cowards.
Basically.
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Now these are much more like it.
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I'm willing to acknowledge that, since I was at that age where the only thing important to me was those girls who wouldn't touch me a with a 9-1/2 foot pole and beating Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts, I may have missed things of that nature. Perhaps I was surrounded by racism and just didn't notice it. And maybe, as 5436491 suggests, the people I was around simply didn't want to say anything overt because they figured out I don't share their unwholesome views and didn't want to offend me. It's a legitimate point that I hadn't considered in my previous comments, so thanks for that – both of you.
5436488
Am I a patriot? I would consider myself to be. At the same time, I'm still calm about all this. But that's a psychological trait; I'm calm about just about everything. Most people in my family can count on one hand the number of times they've seen me genuinely upset about anything at all. It's not because I don't care, it's just that I don't see the point in getting worked up over it. I don't approve of the Capitol riot on the 6th. It was absurd, if not outright stupid. But at the same time, I'm not going to get upset. Sure, it was a shock that it happened at all, but it did happen, there's nothing I could have done to prevent it, and the focus now should be on what to do about it.
(Apologies to all, I don't have time to go through this comment and correct myself. I usually review these things four or five times before posting out of habit, but I'm on lunch break and don't have time to do that if I want to be back on the floor in time.)
Ah the perils of blogs. You even have a little rat downvoting people for the sake of it. Nice.
Anyway, Paul... dude I know you and and I know what you mean by this. Like others have said, people are hurting. I'm just glad that knowing you, you'll give them the chance to talk if they want to, and see their point of view. I can say that because I know you, personally, and I can say you're someone I'm proud to call friend.
The only piece of advice I can give here is that people that have suffered discrimination and threats and attacks for so long are tired of explaining their point of view. Why they hurt, or why they've grown up targeted or victimized, while the people that celebrate the side that has systematically bred hate are essentially just getting a slap on the wrist for the first time in a long, long time.
If/when you get the chance to talk to any of them, remember that their story is going to be different, and that as others have mentioned, we don't always see what the other side is going through because our lives have thankfully been blessed by lady luck to not have to go through that.
They might be angry, but they've also been scared into silence for decades... I hope those that are quick to judge them remember that bit too someday.
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>Reads the opening, checks the comments:
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/504/461/86e.png
That aside, I've actually read one of these! That never happens, because I'm pretty sure I'm illiterate.
Anyways, I'm pretty sure I preread the King's Puzzle before it went up on the site. I think I had similar problems/feelings toward it, but I'm even less inclined to romance. I did like the ending, but the details of what happened are murky since, uh... I'm pretty sure 2018 was like two centuries ago.
On a different note, I'll definitely be reading "According to Plan!" that looks pretty fun!
I'm going to (try to) keep it brief, but two things here caught my eye.
From 5436447:
The singular of "data" is not "anecdote", and I can't help but think you've extrapolated an incorrect result from your personal experience. Louisiana is widely regarded as one of the most racist states in the Union -- to the point where it's caught the UN's attention -- so my extrapolation from "Paul almost never personally witnessed racism" is "Paul wasn't looking for it and/or lived in a bubble", not "this whole 'racism' thing is overblown".
Edit: I know you're a tech writer, so on the off chance you work in software, maybe this metaphor will resonate with you. "Well, I've never seen it" is to racism as "well, it works on my machine" is to programming, and just because a bug isn't reproducible on the developer's machine doesn't mean you close the ticket.
And from the original blog post:
I mean, if "their worldview" is, say, "trans people don't deserve the same rights and respect I do" or "Jewish people don't deserve the same rights and respect I do" or "black people don't deserve the same rights and respect I do"? Then you're goddamn right those of us who do believe in equality are going to say some "unpleasant things."
You have to be able to look past the very surface level of gosh these angry people! anger is bad >=( and consider why they're angry. If two groups are rioting, but one group is rioting because they've spent their entire lives being disproportionately beaten, arrested, incarcerated, and murdered by the people that are supposed to protect them, and the other group is rioting because they don't like the results one of the most heavily watched, audited, analyzed, and verified free and fair elections in history and they want to literally overturn democracy, and your reaction is "both groups are rioting and rioting is bad so both groups are bad", well, then I don't even know what to say to you, but I sure don't want to know you.
5436579 It was, Koren
5436447
I wrote a blog post about the recent event, and it may also apply here. Some people don't have the luxury of pulling back from the exercise or effect of politics. Reconciliation doesn't work when you're confronted with people who will defend that you're not worth the air you breath. In this condition, asking for decency from both sides will solve nothing, and enable people whose ideas will likely lead to death, like the five last week.
If you got the time to check it out, it's here.
No, I just need a proof reader!
Thank you so much for the glowing review though! I've always felt I could have done much better with Tiger Bloom, that it didn't live up to my own expectations of myself.
5436179
Woah, someone linked me to this comment, I must say that this is the kind of radicalism that I would refer to as not based, this sort of division is what ruins a country, this complete polarisation, all the OP asks for is calm, and you then you just completely prove the merit of what was said by seeing the entire right in support of the Capitol riot, I have seen many more right-leaning people detest what happened there than the contrary.
Heck, I've even seen more anarchists support the rioting than actual hardline Republicans.
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Like clockwork. Just got sent this.
The beauty is, the total anonymity of 4chan means that whenever this happens, I'm immediately accused of sockpuppeting it myself for sympathy. You only get outed if you post screenshots of your Discord where you're ping highlighted, or something equally self-immolating.
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Hey, so, not to get all off-topic in Paul's blog, but I went and looked at the place you got linked here from, where you told everyone, and I'm quoting you here (5436997):
Which, okay, your right to believe what you want and all, but maybe you aren't the right person to lecture someone else on what will or won't ruin America, you know?
5437135
Huh. That's a neat trick. I had no idea you could link/preview comments from other blogs that way. Obvious in hindsight, but still: I learned a new thing today.
A pity it won't let you click it to go to the origin of the comment, though.
Okay, I have some things to say that nopony will like. As with many of my stories, unless everyone in the comment section is inflamed at each other and even more pissed at me, I haven't done my job. So I presume there will be lots of downhooves on this one. Don't disappoint me, Fimfiction.
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When you-know-who does the sockpuppet thing, it's obvious not because of some subtle Discord thing but because it's a literal Simplicio argument between two people where the "other side" agrees on bizarre things and directly threatens you-know-who to their face not over difference of opinion or anything specific but just because they're (insert political leaning). Plus they both use the same grammar, and the discussion is so far beyond ridiculous you have to be kind of dumb to not realize what's going on. That isn't really what's happening in this case. I don't think anypony would believe you sockpuppeted the conversation you just posted.
Now the following is a bit harsh, so I want to preface it with two things. First, I'm socially dense, so it undoubtedly sounds much worse than I intend it to because I'm really, really bad at this. Seriously, I don't intensely dislike you or anything. Second, I think we share very much in common philosophically in terms of what we think are the worst social ills and what's most important to the improvement of society. I don't think hate speech is simply another form of free speech; I would agree that some of the policies conservatives have enacted out of fear of political correctness are unwarranted, hurt LGBT and poor people, have inflamed prejudice toward marginalized groups, and have even caused needless deaths; and in general I think we agree more often than disagree on these sorts of topics (though the same could be said of a lot of people who don't realize it because they focus so heavily on differences rather than commonality). That said:
The thing from 4chan you posted isn't actually awful (and it's rare I can say those words in that order). It's a legit gripe to say "they all but accuse Paul of fascism", and in fact I'd go further and say that you personally did accuse Paul of fascism in your comment. And while I don't concur that the problem we face is one of true equivalence between two sides of a polite discussion, particularly when the flashpoint is truly repugnant behavior on the part of actual fascists and White supremacists at our nation's Congressional Capitol, Paul's call for calm and listening to the opposition is not in any way, shape, or form a fascist take.
Even if you hate and immediately reject everypony on the political right, at the very least for utilitarian reasons you hopefully realize that preventing another Trump is not likely unless we can better understand why people voted for him, and that requires listening. Labeling those people fascist or racist, although some of them may very well be, is smearing a surprisingly cosmopolitan group with a broad brush of prejudice. Coming up with a simple explanation for everything might feel satisfying if it reinforces the dogma you want to believe is absolute, but it isn't useful for predicting or modifying social outcomes because it simply isn't accurate for most people. I personally know people who voted for Trump, even in 2020, whom I wouldn't consider highly prejudiced—despite how foolish I may think they are for doing so, and despite the fact I don't think the trade-offs they envision are worth the lives of marginalized people. Here's the kicker: they each voted for him for very different reasons. And all of those reasons came from legitimate concerns and worries that they felt were being addressed somewhat by Republicans but not being addressed at all by Democrats.
Anon referred to "the Numbers cult" when honestly it would have been fair to call you out specifically rather than refer to your entourage, and I understand the use of that admittedly rude term. There are multiple authors we both respect (I suspect you don't know who all of them are), both conservative and liberal, who have confided in me that they won't talk about politics on Fimfiction because they expect to be treated with prejudice by you and the people who most frequently comment on your blog. They've shared with me examples of you saying "this point of view is awful" and a friend of yours saying "but I believe that" and then you saying "no but you're an exception" in much the same way as racists will say to a black person "when I say n-word I'm not talking about you, you're not like them". And while in my view you are not remotely as prejudiced or awful as a racist using the n-word, it is fatiguing for some of your friends and colleagues to hear you say things that they feel label them as terrible people for beliefs that are not supporting racism or a racist social structure, when you lump together conceptual ideas in a dogmatic way without recognition of any nuance to the concerns people have or the differeneces between them. I've seen some of that behavior myself. I was very disturbed by a blog post you wrote which on the surface appeared to be a smart "hay let's try to write porn better" piece that all my friends signal boosted, but upon closer inspection contained a ton of condescension and direct kink-shaming of people who enjoy unrealistic fantasies (despite being prefaced with "I'm not kink-shaming").
This is not a snapshot of how I view you as a person. Most of the time you're polite, intelligent, and contribute a great deal of important discussion and ideas to this website, and I think Fimfiction is better off for your contributions. The fact that you engage in open dialogue is a good thing. But I think maybe you are sometimes unaware when you respond to people with prejudice (i.e. pre-judgment of somepony on the basis of unrelated core characteristics), because I refuse to believe you actually intended to call Paul a fascist the way it came off. And I honestly believe when you wrote that blog, you actually didn't think you were kink-shaming.
Most people aren't stupid or awful and the political differences dividing the country are not simply due to stupid and awful people populating one side of the discussion. Very few people are represented by the extremes that we naturally, as humans, gravitate to imagining in a prejudiced fashion. So while I would have said it with a lot more hedging than Paul did in order to clearly explain what I think is repugnant and a false equivalence about the current state of affairs in the United States of Dumpster Fire, I agree with the general gist of his suggestion. We live in an era where people communicate by soundbites and copy, paste, and retweet information without checking it first just because we trust anypony who agrees with our point of view. We live in bubbles by choice where only friendly opinions are permitted. There needs to be more listening and less labeling. And none of that, absolutely none of it, means the current state of affairs is okay, or racist behavior should be tolerated, or that it isn't a moral imperative to fight like hell for the marginalized and those who suffer most.
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To start: I agree racism and bigotry are evil, and hate speech is not the same as free speech. Saying things to intentionally hurt somepony can be much worse than throwing a punch and have longer-lasting negative effects.
However, the Wikipedia entry on Paradox of Tolerance unfortunately leaves out a very crucial point (which I would source and add, if I didn't have ME/CFS about to drain me dry for the next few days due to making this one difficult post). Whether or not you agree with him (which is an important debate to have), Popper did not support intolerance toward "ideals", ideas, or speech. In fact, he explicitly used the example that it would be wrong to enforce the suppression of Nazi speech. According to Popper, the necessary intolerance for a tolerant society is to prevent intolerant idealogues from coming to power, specifically because those idealogues will shut down freedom of expression once they have enough power to do so, and then you no longer have a tolerant society. Any attempt to silence by force ideas, no matter how objectionable some of those ideas may be, is not an example of what Popper meant by necessary intolerance.
I'm mostly with you on your take, but let me play Tirek's advocate for a moment. When people talk about "the intolerant left" they're usually full of horsecrap, but there have been specific occasions where well-intentioned people on the left have gone too far in trying to silence ideas and views they find most disagreeable, and it's worth paying attention to when it happens. Fascism may be always right-wing by definition, but authoritarianism, while correlated with the right, is still separate from the political left-right axis and it is something for which we must always be vigilant. It can spring up anywhere. When people define "Nazi" broadly enough to encompass people who aren't racist, and then try to silence them or get them kicked out of spaces, not only is this immoral, it's an excellent recruiting tool for actual Nazis. Furry fandom has had this problem for a while, and brony fandom has it now too. The hook they use to catch new users is always "we're more tolerant and accepting", because they know numerous people in our communities have been kink-shamed, attacked for being conservative when they aren't racist, or for having a police as a family member and objecting to "ACAB". They fake a dedication to diversity and tolerance on the surface. They might even have Black or Jewish members who never get very far in the organization and get talked about in horrifying terms behind their backs. But once they have you, if you're White, they'll slowly convert you, starting with "irony" and "jokes", and then gradually making the case that some of what they're joking about is legitimate.
This is not made up. We know they do this because we have actual chat logs of Nazi bronies and furries discussing this exact strategy. It's also been discussed in places like Stormfront. It's a very effective strategy, and it's working. Their numbers are growing. When we use litmus purity tests to exclude people from our spaces who may be conservative but not overtly racist, rather than invite those people in and open a dialogue, it plays directly into their hooves.
All that said, I do agree with deplatforming people with terrible views when those platforms are selective and noteworthy. I don't think it was right for Politico to post that recent piece by Ben Shapiro given the extreme and unambiguous racism and sexism he has publicly espoused and never retracted. He hasn't earned the right to have his opinion in Politico any more than you or I have, and in fact he's done things that are disqualifying. It doesn't matter if what he has to say at one specific moment happens to be interesting or correct. But I don't agree with kicking him off of Twitter until he incites violence, or attacks somepony with racist slurs, or does something else that isn't just expressing an awful opinion.
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Two things.
First, I disagree with Cleverpun's Newsweek poll due to timing, but it's still not far off the mark. The dust has settled, and polling now shows a total of 18% of Republicans currently support the riots, which is still millions of Americans. Sadly, most of them support insurrection because they actually, literally think the Presidential election was rigged and they have no other recourse if they want to save millions of kidnapped children who are being eaten by the people in Hollywood and Democrats who are secretly lizard people. Anarchists may be more likely to support the riots, yes, but there are many more Republicans than anarchists, so it's the Republican crazies I would be more concerned about.
Second, you have "White-supremacist" in your bio. That's not a political position or an opinion. It's overtly racist, and intended to intimidate minorities. Putting that in your bio is not merely expressing yourself. It is explicitly an attack on other authors who use Fimfiction, telling them that you think they're genetically inferior to you. That's what "White supremacy" means. I've reported it, for whatever good it will do. As long as you feel that behavior is acceptable, I don't think you belong on this website.
So, yes. There are limits to free speech, and those limits are when speech becomes intentionally and objectively harmful to others. I have a lot of tolerance for different points of view, even ones with which I strongly disagree. I think this enormous post has confirmed that. But I sincerely hope the mods remove you from Fimfiction, and unless you have an epiphanic change, you never return.
If the mods are already aware of this, then maybe Mr. Numbers is right about the severity of the problem.
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Woah, calm down, it's just something I thought would add to my shit-posting meta-irony, I'm not even completely white myself, I get classified as an Asian more than anyone European. Although, mayhap it was about time to overhaul my profile.