This was fun to preread, AJA! Hit a lot of buttons, including a few I didn't realize I had! Thanks for sharing and I'm glad to have worked on it!

10452287
I had more fun working on this than any of my stories previously. I mean that! Thanks for all your hard work!

Fetishes: ... and Poland.

How is Poland a fetish?!

10452399
How is it not?

(Triton speaks Polish in this story. Forgive me.)

images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/18b611e9-7fe3-405d-83fc-d56fdc18e622/dcmbyrp-ea41f210-587a-42ca-839e-1864bc0001f5.jpg/v1/fill/w_1024,h_821,q_75,strp/kurwa__polandball__by_sotonelucius_dcmbyrp-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD04MjEiLCJwYXRoIjoiXC9mXC8xOGI2MTFlOS03ZmUzLTQwNWQtODNmYy1kNTZmZGMxOGU2MjJcL2RjbWJ5cnAtZWE0MWYyMTAtNTg3YS00MmNhLTgzOWUtMTg2NGJjMDAwMWY1LmpwZyIsIndpZHRoIjoiPD0xMDI0In1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.8K226c8yQYYDPio3M9nyP1KV1fzpl5Jbxan9xoRUK7g

10452405
Ah, that explains it.

You had me at mangoes. L-lewd.

10452584
Te perviest of fruits!

Haven't read this yet, and will be doing so in bits and pieces throughout the week. You've written good stuff before, so I trust it. It'll be fun seeing what you have in store here.

10453205
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I hope you like it.

I recommend taking a peek at the spoilered fetishes before you dive into this one, people!

All right, I'll do that -- and you get a star for using the right form of peek.

Straight sex, lesbian sex, herding themes

Mmm, hmm.

impregnation, interspecies sexual idealization, sizeplay, big dick

Nothing I can't handle.

ear fetish, ear insertion (not the ear canal, don't worry) oral (M/F F/F and F/M)

I -- guess -- that's okay.

Poland

YOU BEAST! YOU FIEND! WHY I NEVER!

j/k

10453826
I almost had to censor the last one twice! I was very concerned it'd be too hot for Fimfiction and Knighty would have to decide on my story's fate.

10456762

Just read through this end to end for the first time -- my editing had taken me to as far along as the first Pinkie/Chesty scene.

Loved it! Definitely a different flavor than my usual clop-tastes, but was such an enjoyable read!

One thing I always love about AJA's writing is how much he loves his source material, he's so happy to dive deep into the world-building and the details that can make a story expansive and interesting, one of his biggest strengths as a writer!

This fic deserved so much more love from the site and readers, just unfortunate it came out around the same time as a couple of big name clop-writers like Leech and others that prevented it from getting more clicks. Being a beast several tens of thousands of words long can make it intimidating too, though I wouldn't change it at all!

All in all, not quite my fetish-style or fav character-setting... but the skill in the writing and the little details won me over, not an easy thing to do!

Great stuff AJA, looking forward to working on the next one with you!

10462056
I appreciate your kind words.

I do want to push back a little about my luck being bad because of new stories. I went a solid 8 hours on a Saturday before Busternutt MK2 posted and glassed the front page using his horse fame IWIN button. That was more than enough time to get established. I had promotion from both you and Firesight meaning word of this story's existence was spread far and wide. There is simply no merit to the idea that I was cheated out of my destiny or anything like that. I underperformed badly, simple as.

What I do think happened is a combination of factors:

* Too long; didn't read.

* Excessive tags/unpopular fetishes. Who writes ear fetish anyway?

* I'm 100% convinced that zebradom is considered a personal attack on white people by a good portion of the site and misogyny/racism by everyone else. See reason 2.

* What even is my follower base anymore? No consistency to my work since abandoning human x pony - HiE; overly experimental and lacking in cohesion. Obvious desperation for an angle.

* Who the hell is AJ Aficionado? Isn't he that guy who used to write Gentlemanverse? He still uses the site? Write human or fuck off already, AJA!

Conclusion: Short of attaching myself barnacle-like to something else like the Gentlemanverse, leeching off a well-liked writer's credibility, I'm well and truly stuck with writing clopfics in 10k words or less and or kissing any chance of featuring on the front page goodbye forever. Despite featuring twice this year, it's earned me no license to expect catching a break for writing unpopular/unconventional stories.

And let's be real; I didn't expect this story to do great as it was more of a writing experiment than a polished and professional horse product meant for mass consumption. It was no DFTB.

This story is me trying to be someone I'm not for the sake of learning and growing as an author.

10462056
An aside to rant about zebradom for a moment. Just when in the hell did the site as a whole decide zebradom is overwritten? It barely exists! Go look at the existing three zebra groups out there. There is barely any talent that's invested into it! Now go look at the thestral (bat pony) group and see how many stories there are. If anything, bat ponies are hugely overwritten but no one ever complains about that. Nor should they. Bat Ponies are best ponies.

Don't even get me started on anon/human.

I know, I'm yelling at a cloud here. It's just remarkable how zebradom is both virtually non-existent and cliche tripe that must be auto downvoted for the preservation of the fandom at the same time.

10462173
Went through the 'big penis folder' because, well, I like big dicks. I was curious about the zebradom scene, and I only wish it was longer. However, it's clear why zebradom gets a bad rep and no, it's not because of 'racists or white people', it's because it can be particularly insidious. It spouts one species' sexual superiority as well as - quite commonly - the desire to breed the inferior species out of existence. It's as simple as that. It's also a fetish that blatantly has parallels to the whole 'queen of spades' thing, I.E. black men are sexually superior to all other men, only have black babies, etcetera. Which, even if you had no knowledge of, you picked up likely via osmosis of reading other zebradom fictions which contain those elements more brazenly.

Colonize my womb, master!

And as for zebra the seeming lack of zebra stories, I think that's mostly down to the visibility of groups. According to the search function of fimfiction, there are 890 stories containing zebras on the site (of which I contributed 4, 5 if you count a collab). Bat ponies take up 910. The gap isn't that big. But considering zebradom stories are 158, which is more than 10 per cent of all zebra stories, people might roll their eyes to see yet another story containing zebras is about their superiority to ponies in the bed.

EDIT: I should specify, when I see zebradom, I'm reading it mostly for the focus on the large equipment rather than the things I said above.

10488636
That all sounds fair to say. Parallel thinking is inevitable in this sticky part of the fandom.

Regardless, Zebra is a very small part of this much larger story. I hope you find something in this disasterously-recieved story you find enjoyable. And I will write zebra again regardless of anyone's hangups about black people.

10488886
Yeah, it can feel like a dartboard sometimes on how well received a story is, even if you put a ton of effort into it I do think you're overthinking a little about the reception to this story. The dislikes are par for the course, even in vanilla stories. If this had gotten featured, I think it would have plateaued at around 15 to 25 dislikes imo, and it's not entirely contingent on the zebradom either. Some people dislike if the fetish is very niche like the ear stuff. And you have to remember, there are reflex dislikers for clopfics in general. A story could be up for less than five minutes and you might already see a dislike. It has happened to me and everyone I know. However, once you hit that plateau of dislikes, you'll only get likes and those red down thumbs won't go much higher. Also, instead of thinking of it as '38 likes to 12 dislikes', think of it as a 3:1 like/dislike ratio. The reaction to the story is ultimately positive and you should feel happy about that. Regarding the viewpoint, it could be a variety of factors, factors which, even to this day, I have no certainty about. It could be anything from the short description to the cover itself. Regardless of the advice 'don't judge a book by its cover' people do tend to do that. From someone who found this story because it had hefty cocks, let me tell you what I would perceive of this story had I not clicked on it:
1. It's primarily about ears. Since I haven't read the tags, I'm going to presume it contains full-on ear penetration.
2. Since it's a rather humorous picture, it's probably light on clop, which I don't want because I wanna succumb to base urges and coooom.
3. I see 'zebra' and 'batpony' tags, is Pinkie going to be flying to distant lands using her ears? That sounds too silly. The story probably doesn't take itself seriously at all.

And also:

A follow up to the events of S1 E15 "Feeling Pinkie Keen". Twilight takes Pinkie Pie to a remote hill outside of Ponyville after augmenting her Pinkie Sense powers with science to observe the results.

The short description doesn't really augment the fact that this is a clopfic at all. There's nothing really here to draw me in.

It's rather stupid, sure but I think it's plausible. The only reason I think that way is because a lot of the featured clop stories tend to have cropped porn or very blunt titles. You might have made the fic an easier target of reactionary clopfic haters but the people who want to beat their meat will come in crowds.

Also, just to continue a tangent from the zebras. People don't hate zebras, they hate zebradom. I have written stories with zebras, two commissions, one subverting the cheating wife trope and another full-on gay romance (a double whammy of negativity, supposedly). But zebradom/zebra supremacy has its roots in a very racist fetish as I said. Such stories also tend to be rather grimdark, inferring destruction of Equestrian society, cuckolding, etcetera. Remember Fall of Equestria? Caribous and somesuch. People simply see zebradom as a cousin to that, which ponies being sexually dominated and somesuch (heck, look in the zebra domination folder and you'll see this is true). I also wrote a story featuring what you could say is 'human domination' and before it got its feature it had massive amounts of backlash for much the same reason. Nobody likes seeing ponies getting subjugated sexually to a 'superior'.

You also just said:

And I will write zebra again regardless of anyone's hangups about black people.

Which infers that your mindset is that zebras = black people, and by writing zebradom you see a zebra dominating what you perceive to be a 'white person' by extension. I don't see ponies or zebras as analogues to different races. Heck, the notion that zebras are the world's 'black people' is somewhat debunked by Sapphire Shores, who not only has a black voice actress but speaks in what some would label as a 'sassy black woman' voice. However, zebradom is ascribing a race to them due to its nefarious origin as a 'black men are sexually superior to white men' fetish. You also have to consider why zebradom is its own kink at all, why not just have a zebra story with cock worship, big dicks and a submissive pony mare? Because zebradom is an echo of that kink and is portrayed in a specific way. You can't just have a zebra with an average-sized dick being a 'top' in a situation. Zebradom is specifically 'zebras have larger sexual organs than ponies, and all the mares succumb to that fact'. You might not see anything wrong with it but it is not an inherently wholesome kink.

10489004
You put a lot of work into this comment. It'd be kind of messed up if I didn't reply to it even if I am rather burned out of talking about my recurring cycle of short story wins, enthusiam for bigger projects and predictable failure the more I try to write a deeper narrative into any of my stories.

The dislikes are par for the course, even in vanilla stories.

They are much higher than I'd expect for the pitiful view count but average as far as the first 24 hours goes. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by vanilla, though. What counts as average on fimfiction.net to me is anon X pony, generic anthro porn #333727348, Cringe 6 foalcon, and Spike fucks someone - the latter perhaps getting a higher downvote count then the other 3. What's funny is Human on Pony by the known HiE model seems to have died out. I remember though when I did write Human on Pony back in the day, I got the best ratios imaginable. Still, plenty of clops out there are getting better than 10/1 by successful writers doing hard fetish, just not domination themes.

Some people dislike if the fetish is very niche like the ear stuff.

[Adult story embed hidden]

The ratio on this story was 10/1 on 8/30/2020 with an outstanding score of 96/9 after featuring before sliding to 99/12 in the last couple of months. It has actual honest-to-god ear fucking in it. Ears have nothing to do with this story's failure... though I suspect the cover art of this story may have put people off.

And you have to remember, there are reflex dislikers for clopfics in general.

Not for all clopfics though. There are plenty of clopfics out there with low DV counts. The primary driver of downvotes seems to be fetishes/themes.

[Adult story embed hidden]

If what you say is true and exposure = downvotes, why does this story that stayed on the featured list for a full week merit fewer downvotes than Social Distancing which featured for around 3 days in the middle of the stack? That doesn't follow.

A story could be up for less than five minutes and you might already see a dislike.

I'm incredibly autistic when it comes to numbers. I record the number of votes that come in on all of my stories and when they come in so if there's anyone who knows WTF they're talking about on this topic, it's me.

Let's go to the records on my last 3 stories:

Social Distancing Statistics : Launched 4/19/2020 at 6:40 AM At Launch: 3 likes 0 dislikes | 6 hours 15 minutes after launch: 23 likes 7 dislikes | 7 hours : 25 likes 7 dislikes | 8 hours 28 likes 7 dislikes | 9 hours: 30 likes 8 dislikes | 12 hours 38 likes 11 dislikes | 15 hours 46 likes 14 dislikes | 4/20/2020 24 hours 59 likes 19 dislikes

Don't Feed The Bats Posted 3:30 PM 7/8/2020 20 minutes after posting: 6 likes 0 dislikes | 4:43 PM 10 likes 1 dislikes | 5:58 PM 18 likes 2 dislikes | 6:10 PM 20 likes 3 dislikes |9:00 PM 29 likes 4 dislikes | 10:20 PM 30 likes 4 dislikes |

Fulfilling Pinkie's Dream Statistics Launched 9:21 AM Saturday, September 26th 2020 At launch: 4 likes 0 dislikes | 2 hours later: 13 likes 6 dislikes | 3 hours later: 16 likes 6 dislikes | 4 and a half hours later 18 likes 6 dislikes | End of day: 24 likes 6 dislikes

19/4/6 after one day. Going to my other stories, I can see a story that went 24/1 in its first 24 hours (A Gentleman's Price) so I mean my stories have run the gamut of one-day returns. It just depends on your themes.

However, once you hit that plateau of dislikes, you'll only get likes and those red down thumbs won't go much higher.

Fact check: Mostly true. There are some notable outliers out there like my Loving Submission story and the most dramatic example, Firesight's "The Lawyer and The Unicorn". There are some stories that just really piss people off.

Also, instead of thinking of it as '38 likes to 12 dislikes', think of it as a 3:1 like/dislike ratio. The reaction to the story is ultimately positive and you should feel happy about that.

I do look at the story as a 3/1 ratio and that ratio is terribad. I've seen forcible rape fics with better ratios than that.

The reaction to the story is ultimately positive

The comments on this fic are the platonic form of apathy. The most upvoted comment is having a go at me about the Poland fetish joke. In terms of reactions, only Fertile Ground: Earthmother has garnered a more bemused reaction than this thing. But I don't even want to talk about that story. That story is such a mark of shame, I refuse to even read the comments anymore.

1. It's primarily about ears. Since I haven't read the tags, I'm going to presume it contains full-on ear penetration.
2. Since it's a rather humorous picture, it's probably light on clop, which I don't want because I wanna succumb to base urges and coooom.
3. I see 'zebra' and 'batpony' tags, is Pinkie going to be flying to distant lands using her ears? That sounds too silly. The story probably doesn't take itself seriously at all.

Agreed on all points. I put too many themes into this story. Hell, I think you just cracked the code, my dude. I've suspected the same thing but hearing you say it, cinches it. I could stop right here but you have more interesting things to say...

The short description doesn't really augment the fact that this is a clopfic at all. There's nothing really here to draw me in.

Real talk: Few people on this site are worse at selling a story, any story, than I am. I'm so terrible at it, I have Firesight edit my long descriptions. No shit, I'm really that desperate.

And I will write zebra again regardless of anyone's hangups about black people.

Which infers that your mindset is that zebras = black people, and by writing zebradom you see a zebra dominating what you perceive to be a 'white person' by extension.

Is this some sort of Jedi mind trick you're pulling on me? If other people see it that way and I acknowledge that, that doesn't make me complicit. At what point in history have black people conquered white people through military invasion? This is actually offensive how you're persuing this line of reasoning. Do you have some sort of beef with me for writing Zebradom?

Zebradom is specifically 'zebras have larger sexual organs than ponies, and all the mares succumb to that fact'. You might not see anything wrong with it but it is not an inherently wholesome kink.

I'll grant you that. It isn't. Neither are most kinks if you drill down to science, biology, health, and social interaction.

I appreciate your comments and I agree with a lot about what you said, but I will request you say no more on this Zebradom thing in this comment section. You don't like it. That's fine. I don't like all sorts of things I see on this website. I don't go around to the people who are making these things and tell them what they're doing is wrong because I assume they don't care what I think and that's a cross you'll have to bear when it comes to me and Zebradom.

Excellent story so far I give it a 10 out of 99

10731298
How does your scale work?

10731306
What do you mean scale

10731310
You gave it a 10/99. What does that mean exactly? What does the 10 represent? What does the 99 represent? Inquiring minds would like to know.

10731313
Ah . That's how the story is so far.
I will mark it huyar if you wirtI more Chatters.
And if yor interested I have some ideas for fanfics you mite like to write in the future

10731317
The story is complete. There will be no more chapters. And I'm afraid I still have no idea how your scale works. Are high numbers good or bad? How much did you read? What are your standards for grading? It all just raises so many questions.

And please don't recommend any stories to me. That's just commissioning me for free. I write what I love and ask no money in return.

10731328
My grading go's by grammar and Chatter numbers

10731332
You're a troll account. Got it.

10737553
How very dear you I not a troll I'm a fanfic critic and reviewr .
And I help fanfic witers who looking for ther next story to write

10738336
lol

Reviewed.

11196168
I'm too scared to look now. I'll check it out tomorrow. Thanks for the effort you put in!