Snails is not the most remarkable of ponies, but he's not much of a troublemaker. He's not overly rude, he's not a loudmouth, he's not a bad student...
Well, he wasn't a bad student. But everypony slips up now and again, it doesn't mean anything. Snails just needs to work harder and study more. A little less time reading comic books, a little more time doing serious schoolwork, and everything'll be fine. He might even just quit reading comic books altogether. It's not like it does anything useful for him.
After all, why do something you know is just a waste of time?
A/N: inspired by true events, not based on them.
Chapters (1)
I should point out that this is not a venting fic, even though it's about the pathology of procrastination and that's something I'm trying to deal with in real life. What Snails is going through is not what I'm getting, not all the time. But what Snails gets all the time now is what I get on a bad day. It comes and goes, and according to the counselor I had it's acquired and often for life. So while the story is accurate in mechanics, it's still an exaggeration in terms of scope and scale. But Snails' reasoning behind giving up comic books is my reasoning for not watching Season 4, and Snails' issues regarding his history report are similar to my issues regarding thesis work. Whether you agree with me or Snails is irrelevant, this just shows what can happen.
With that out of the way, I'd appreciate it if the comments stuck to discussing the story and not how it pertains to my life. There's nothing I hate more than preaching, and as such I'd be a hypocrite if I allowed the discussion to revolve around me and not the story and its characters. Procrastination has its recommended treatments, but these are not addressed in the story, because... it wouldn't be so sad if Snails got a fix, would it? If you've had similar experiences, you're welcome to share, but I maintain the position that the creation matters more than the creator, so I will not respond to personal remarks coming my way, positive or negative. The story is what counts.
And speaking of which, story remarks:
-snails move slow and leave a trail, leading credence to the idea that a snail cutie mark means having a talent for writing down trains of thought. Snails also injure each other during mating, which might be considered symbolic of an artist suffering for his creation.
-Animal Mare is a reference to Animal Man, and Nowhere Claw is a reference to Nowhere Man, formerly known as Molecularly Displaced Man. This character made a cameo in the Animal Man series after the writer responsible for the revamp, Grant Morrisson, was removed from the job. Morrisson's take on it was legendary (Coyote Gospel is one of my big inspirations), and while I don't have the entire series I can say that the things that followed Morrisson's run were not that good in comparison, not that good on their own merits (the divorce thing really feels forced) and a lot more mean-spirited overall. But it's still Animal Man, sorta. I'll see about getting the next issues later... eventually.
-the final tragedy in this story is that Snails is actually pretty good at what he does, so good that he accurately assesses Diamond Tiara's problem. They both have the same basic fear of failing and sense of helplessness, and they're both so far gone they don't reach out to each other. Being as manipulative as Diamond is, chances are she'd understand him. Being used to getting into the heads of characters, chances are Snails has enough empathy to understand her. But neither of them tries.
-the story about pears and apples was kept vague because a) it would detract from the main story and b) Snails doesn't recognise his own worth anymore, so he barely registers the quality of what he writes, even if it's really good and funny. Ditto on the 'funny vs deep' remark: I know some authors complain about the feature box a lot, but that's not the intended message of it. It's more that when you write as a hobby (or make any art), there's always the balance between what you want and what your audience wants. Shift too far towards one side, and you end up forcing yourself to write stuff that others like, but makes you feel miserable for forcing it out.
i.imgur.com/6MrWqNZ.png
I think Snails is not only procrastinating and channeling his problem into emphasising with Diamond Tiara, he's also shifting blame away from himself and onto his friend Snips.
He claims that the other Unicorn basically dragged him down by dragging him along for his asinine ideas. That means that Snails' failing grades are, in a way, his doing. But what can we see Snips do in the story? He asks Snails to go buy Animal Mare together, something he probably knows Snails would enjoy.
And he denies to himself ever having been real friends with Snips. His internal Diamond Tiara even calls him out on it, so he probably knows on some level that he's lying to himself. In a way, his friendship with Snips becomes a similar issue like reading Animal Mare; except it is much more easy to blame another person than yourself. Whenever he thinks of Snips, he's in an angry state of mind, unlike the depression evinced when faced with Animal Mare.
I wonder how much of that anger is frustration at, as it must seem to Snails, his best friend not helping him.
I really liked the interaction with Diamond Tiara, it was nice.
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Partially true. He doesn't take responsibility for goofing off before, but he never mentions Snips being to blame for the failing grades. It wasn't intended, at least, but it is easy draw that conclusion. Huh, didn't think of that, actually. He doesn't say it's his fault, outright. There's definitely some bad blood there, though, you're right on the money regarding it being everything that's a problem. Thanks for the feedback.
Might have enjoyed this more if it wasn't basically a retelling of my college education
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Nice to know I'm not the only one
Snails needs help. Way to suck at your job, Twilight. At least ask Cheerilee for help or something. Geez.
I can't really talk. I did the same thing as Snails.
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That's the thing, isn't it? Does he get help once the Republic of Plastic Ponies is saved? Maybe, maybe not. Is it Twilight's fault she doesn't see his distress in the mere seconds she can spare before another crisis rears its ugly head?
And yeah, about asking Cheerilee: she's the one failing him. She's the one scaring him, just by doing her job. If he had it in him to ask her for help, he wouldn't be having this problem in the first place. Or, if you mean Twilight: again, the world needs Twilight Sparkle, and if any one pony happens to need her too, there's a waiting list.
I'm starting to think this story is going to tank, but with a lot of responses saying it's familiar territory. I'll take that, gladly
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My problem with Twilight is that she is living in a public library as the librarian but sucks at being a librarian.
Maybe Cheerilee could at least keep Snails after school and dig into what's eating him.
But then, canon Cheerilee has been shown to take a very hooves off approach to her student's problems.
I don't read a lot of Sad stories, but I'm glad I read this one. I'm a big fan of Snails, I'm kinda a fan of Good DT and SS, and I really like your symbolism, not just because I could relate to the story (I think many writers on this site could).
If I had to find some point of criticism... I would have liked to get a little more on that "turning grey" part. Maybe it's just me, but that seems like it shouldn't just get one mention.
P.S.: Does that mean Snails is Equestria's second "dictator"?
(interrupts reading) Why do I suddenly get the feeling that you're going to show up in the story at some point?
...
Ah. Never mind, then.
In any case, it pains me to see Snails struggle as he does. He's trapped in viciously circular logic, and even when he sees a way out, he's too depressed and resigned to take advantage of it. If he would just talk to someone — ask Cheerilee for details about the assignment, explain his feelings to Snips in the hopes of reconciliation, talk to Twilight when she isn't distracted by polymer pony pluralists — he could get so much done...
Also, a fascinating take on Diamond Tiara. No one said holding the villain ball was fun, especially since a designated minor antagonist always loses.
You didn't want your life analyzed, so it'd hardly be fair if I expounded my own in the context of the story. Still, this definitely struck a chord with me. Thank you for it.
If I had a nickel for every time I did this when I was in school I'd be a wealthy man. Good job capturing the debilitating fear of failure sir. I do however have to wonder why this is in the M/M shipping category, maybe I missed something?
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Daflarg? Thanks for pointing that out, I'll get that fixed right away. I only added this to the Procrastinator's group, so I don't know what categories other people add it to.
Edit: which one are you referring to? I'm scouring the groups and I can't find any M/M shipping folder.
This is very deep. it gave me a food for thought and made feel for both Snails and Diamond Tiara. I've never imaged that any of them can feel like this and that all of this can be so complicated. Am really grateful that you wrote this, I do like fics about background ponies, especially those, who normally don't get much attention nor in the show neither in a fanfiction. And Snails is definitely lacking attention. It's impressive how you managed to draw out his personality, making him an interesting person with a decent writing talent and quite serious inner problems. Now this is my second beloved story of yours, after the famous "Changeling blood" of course.
A few words of criticism: this story is way too short...
... I know, I know but I just enjoyed it so much, and the unusual combination of Snail and Diamond just made me wish to read more of it...
And now seriously: you story is lacking small details, which could help a reader to live into your character and to understand what does it feel like to be into his skin. To be a tall orange procrastinating moody isolated and lonely unicorn colt. It's not that you don't give any details at all, it's just there is a lack of them which makes Snails vision be vague and hard to interpret. Well, you know, how he reacts at his daily routine, his gestures, small habits and other stuff which doesn't directly talk what he thinks but instead shows his attitude to situation as a whole. It may sounds unimportant, but if done correctly it can be a blast.
In any other aspect the story is nearly perfect.
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Thanks for the critique. I did try to add to it, so it was worse before publishing, but I agree it can do with a bit more. It's something I might edit further in the future, and am trying to add to later stories. There's always something to improve on, after all.
Glad you liked it
Nicely written, I like how you've given an insight of how the minds of ponies we usually wouldn't give a second thought about.
This is amazing
! Could you write another one of these about a different pony? Maybe something about twist. I would love to read that!
This cuts deep, man. How are you writing my life like this?
...
There's a distinct lack of Snails emotes for this feel.
(But seriously, great job)
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Thanks. It's gotten better by now, but there's always some hint of that aversive behaviour going on. Like right now, for instance, when I'm Youtubing when I 'should' be working on any number of projects.
It helps to write down a schedule on paper, with set goals and deadlines and expected time spent. As for depriving oneself of enjoyment, I... don't really know how to tackle that. Stuff just stops being fun, and when it does, it's easier to find fun elsewhere than to keep trying to force it.
Been on a bit of a Snails binge lately, and this was probably one of the better ones. You being one of the innovators of characterization on the site really helps in that regard, I think.