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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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i can understand twilights though questioning to make sure that rainbow is telling the truth because this is a searias matter hell Id be suprised if she didnt ask all those questions
8655555
I'd say worse. Grannys way old fashion. I wouldn't be suorised if she goes and picks the tallest tree and give Mac a rope
8659208
I agree that Twilight's reaction is the most logical, and perhaps the most responsible, reaction to the situation thus far. That said, it may not be the most appropriate or helpful reaction, even if it makes good sense.
8655299
Just wanted to say thank you for your comment and for sharing that link. I actually looked around https://www.rainn.org/ quite a bit as I prepared to write this story.
I think you're right about the Mac thing. It felt like no matter which stallion I picked I'd have to reimagine the character quite a bit because someone was bound to look at any stallion I chose and say, "No way! He'd never do that!"
I knew that I wanted it to be somepony RD was a little more familiar with because, as you mentioned, that's the reality in most sexual assaults. So, for me, Mac was an obvious choice (even though I knew some readers might reject the story based on that character choice), but I also understand that some readers just can't see Mac that way because this is such a deviation from his canon behavior.
8655299
My two cents: After the events of 2017 and so, the concept of Mac as potential rapist and the rest of the world going "he'd NEVER!" is pretty realistic when you just look at it as an idea. However, wheter it is presented or read as realistic is up to you as a writer and... this is a sentence I never expected to write but... a believable rape needs as much build-up as a believable romance. And I use the word believable as "working in a story". So I don't think you need to change his character, you just need to give them time to interact before it happens.
8660225
You make a good point a very good point. I'm sure that character choice would go over better and the entire beginning wouldn't feel so abrupt if there was more build-up to the assault. I tried several times to write a chapter before this one for just that reason. What is now chapter one was actually a flashback in the very first draft, but I found that I wasn't very good at switching between past and present tense. So, I got rid of the flashback aspect.
As for the other introductory bits that I ended up deleting. It never felt right. There was always way too much exposition, and one of the big things I wanted to maintain was that the assault was a total shock for RD. So, trying to write in things that made it make sense didn't fit with what I was trying to do.
That said, if I was to try writing the story again from the ground up, I think I'd try harder to make that pre-assault chapter work.
Big Mac is a rapist...
OK, BUT WHY THOUGH?
8671105
That is a very good question. One that RD just doesn't have an answer for at this point, but that will be addressed in due course.
8671689
Well I was more referring to why you as an author would turn Big Mac, of all ponies into this horrible rapist, even though that is something he would never do. He's one of my favorite characters, and seeing him like act like that in the first chapter without warning just felt wrong. I DID NOT like your interpretation of him at all, and everypony else in the story just felt off, but that's just me.
8672851
I apologize for misunderstanding your original comment. Thank you for clarifying.
First, I want to say that I don't look Big Mac and automatically think, "Now, there's a rapist." In general, I like Big Mac as a character and casting him in the rapist role wasn't something I did lightly. Before I answer your question, I also want to acknowledge that I am a discovery writer/pantser. So, when I made the initial choice I didn't have all of Mac's motivations full formed in my mind. Although I did know that I wanted there to be some sort of explanation eventually.
I've been immersed in this story for more than a year. So, I've had a lot of time to come to terms with the decision. One of the main reasons I keep coming back to is that it's supposed to feel wrong. Even if I'd managed to successfully write more preliminary events (which I tried several times to do, but none of them felt right), I still would have been careful not to foreshadow the assault. If Mac had given anymore warning, then RD wouldn't have been as surprised and therefore not as vulnerable. I feel strongly that the sense of randomness and wrongness that comes from having Mac as the assailant serves a functional purpose in this story, which is why I've never changed it, even after one particular pre-reader aggressively challenged the choice.
The first factor I looked at in casting the role of rapist was who were my options for the assailaint. In the original draft there were basically three choices Mac, Thunderlane, and a random pony. I excluded the random because, to better mirror real-life assaults, I knew I wanted the charcter to be somepony RD knew relatively well. So, that left me with either Thunderlane or Mac. Thunderlane is a blank shirt of a character for me. I know the name, but that's about all I know. I remember seeing him in the show and I've read several stories with him, but none of them made a big impression about his character. When I thought about the context of this story, Thunderlane seemed too close to RD. The little bit of him I'd written made it clear that he and RD were friends that had just spent a tensionless evening hanging out. That left me with Mac to consider.
My first thought was that if I put Mac in that role, then I'd get push back. The part of me that thinks of Mac as an all around good guy and the part of me that really wants more readers to like/agree with my story kept looking for another option but couldn't find one that made any sense in the events of the story. The rest of my mind was set that Mac was the right choice. I already knew that there is no profile for rapists. They come from every social class, educational background, race, and economic standing. Many rapists are instantly defended with "But he's such a nice guy!" which would absolutely fit Mac. Mac's tendency to be taciturn also meant that for me as a writer there was a lot of opportunity to fill in some of his thought processes. He was an established character with enough backstory in the show I felt I could draw on when the time came to flesh out his motivations. Also, at that point, one of the major thoughts I kept having was that of the options for the assailant, RD would feel the most violated by Mac's betrayal of trust, which became another reason he felt like the best option.
All that being said, I can't blame you for disagreeing with the character choice. Outside of this story, I like Big Mac a lot. I like his presence in the show. My intention in using him wasn't to attack the character in general. In thinking about this story and what I was/am trying to achieve with it, I still firmly believe that he was the right choice. At the same time, it's easy to understand why many readers disagree with me.
8673092
Huh, didn't expect such a detailed reply...
Either way reading this twice, I can understand what your thought process was. Especially since I realised that in terms of male characters in Ponyville, you may not have much to work with. And there's also the fact that I generally don't like stories like these, but I can see that you care about making this story and making it as great as you can. You put in so much effort in a story that while many won't like, those who do really appreciate the effort you put in.
I may not like stories like these and may never write anything like this, but seeing your comment gives me a nice new perspective on why people write these.
I may disagree with this story, but I can at least say that I respect this story.
Big Mac you are so screwed.
Pinkie is gonna murder somepony....
8885624
Agreed
Trauma has to be approached carefully if you want to ensure no possible damage, you did the right thing Rarity.
I find the reactions of each of the characters beliable and fitting with who they are. Twilight is thining with her brain instead of her heart...but...considering how much she upset Dashie, I can not imagine what mess she would have caused if she had been the first.
...I am not looking forwards to Applejack.
I mean, what can you do after this? How can you not look at your friend and be instantly reminded of...what happened?
-Sigh-
This is the second time I've read this story and it is haunting to see what's going through Rainbow's mind as I've known several women who were the victims of rape and they described the same feelings of fear and powerlessness for years after the event. I've seen a few comments on the various chapters of people saying that they couldn't see Big Mac do something like this and the only thought that went through my mind is you never truly know the darkness that lives in someone's heart. I'd like to see this story finished, I understand if you've been busy or if you've lost inspiration or if this story got too real.