Trixie is Starlight Glimmer's wife, and Maud is one of Starlight's closest friends. Whenever Trixie is around Maud, she acts very nervous and refers to herself in the third pony, almost as though she's performing on stage.
Starlight wants to know why. Could it have something to do with Trixie and Maud both being transgender?
This story is part of the Pride and Positivity event, which encourages readers to donate to any of the following charities:
- Transgender Law Center
- Palestine Children's Relief Fund
- Sewa International (Indian charity collecting funds for COVID relief)
(The story The Longest Curtain Call isn't an official sequel, but it follows the same characters many years later.)
Chapters (1)
As someone who's currently questioning their gender this honestly really helped me in a sort of projecting-onto-comfort-characters way. Really enjoyed it! Definitely lots to think about and I think that now I'm armed with some neat power phrases from this fic I myself can overcome some of my personal problems. Thanks loads! 💙
This was incredibly sweet. It showcased different aspects of understanding one's identity, and set into perspective the difference between understanding and acceptance. Well done!
:)
10883132
I'm so glad this was able to help somepony.
I'm all for Trixie being trans, and Maud being trans, and Maud being autistic, and Mud Briar being non-binary. And Trixie and Starlight being married, of course.
But I have serious issues with the suggestion of Maud being the eldest Pie sister.
10883195
Is there canon on that? I always assumed she was older than Limestone, but relinquished control of the farm in order to pursue her doctorate (or as Pinkie says, her rocktorate).
10883214
IIRC, Limestone claims to be the oldest in the Apple Pie Hearth's Warming episode. I myself assume Maud and Limestone are twins like Marble and Pinkie.
(Will read the fic later)
10883228
10883195
Ah, nuts. I'll remove a bit of that characterization to be safe. Thanks.
(EDIT: The main reason for that bit was I wanted to characterize Maud as reasonably young i.e. in her mid-twenties without inadvertently casting Pinkie as a minor in S1E1.)
10883214
Hmmmm. Less than I thought. I don't think there is a line in Hearthbreakers that confirms it. The writer, Nick Confalone, stated it afterwards on Twitter, but the link to the tweet doesn't seem to work anymore. But I'd note that Maud is in Rainbow Rocks, not only in the midnight scene with Sunset, but also in the audience at the end, which is exclusively CHS students. So in Equestria Girls, at least, Maud is still young enough to be in school. I figure Maud must be in the very highest year of CHS, and I can't believe the mane cast are more than one year off that. So I don't think there's room for another Cloudy Quartz pregnancy in between Maud and Pinkie/Marble.
Limestone and Maud could be twins I suppose, but they really don't act like it. I'm not sure we ever actually see them speak directly to each other. Whereas Pinkie and Marble as twins have several conversations. And the ages in FIM rather than EQG might be more spread out, but I'd think it unlikely the order of births would change?
I think Limestone being older fits with her insecure reaction when learning Maud has a boyfriend, too. An elder sibling coupling up first is to be expected, and that's why Pinkie and Marble aren't too outraged. But for Limestone, that's just hammering home how she's forever alone on her farm with just rocks for company while her younger sisters are outpacing her in life achievements.
This reply honestly wasn't meant to be half this long, I meant the comment more as a joke than an examination of canon
And I think the story is just fine with that bit left as you wrote it!
god, trying to go for all the woke points here, aren't ya
like, how many times must i say it?: make your own damn trans ocs instead of mangling canon characters to fit that mold
it took me all of a day to make my oc and iron his backstory out, and i'm a creatively bankrupt dumbfuck
>inb4 blocked and reported for heresy
I really enjoyed this story, especially with you showing transgender characters supporting one another and being understanding of any faux pas that one might make. Also that Starlight was so supportive as a partner, too.
I could empathize with Trixie and her idea of not feeling like she was included and in her bafflement at the many new (and valid!) terms being used today that weren't common a few years ago. The general feeling of acceptance and understanding made this a very helpful and hopeful tale. Thank you, Trick! ❤️
what's the matter, Trick? no response?
10883481
trans characters that could've and in fact should've been ocs instead of canon characters
10883239
c'mon, tricky boy
i know you see these posts
a reply of some sort would be just grand
lemme guess, trick
you're reporting my heretical comments to the mods instead of just talking it out with me like civilized folk do
or perhaps you're ignoring me and hoping i'll leave? a foolish idea to be sure, as even if you specifically don't respond, there's others who will
10883486
One of the wonderful concepts of MLP is that we are shown what the characters personalities are like and how they grow and change over time. But even more, there are many things that we aren't told about many of them; their traits and preferences are undefined. We take them as they are; simply ponies going through life. In our stories, we can use them to help us understand one another and ourselves. And perhaps even help someone else.
As one author here has said 'stories about ponies are stories about people.' The pony in the story is less relevant than the story and how it's told and the message it brings.
Wouldn't you agree?
10883506
i like how you're trying to be all sage and wise, yet you've provided no real rebuttal
very politician of you
where's your actual response?
p.s. why isn't it in the Transgender Bronies
10883523
shoulda only been there, and not added to the fluff group, so i didn't have to see it
10883489
We've interacted before and I'm fairly certain "boy" is an intentional misgendering. Threatening to cause trouble on this forum if I don't respond to you personally is not what the story comments are for. Additionally, you favorite plenty of AU stories with characters that are specifically non-canon when they aren't LGBT.
Please stop spamming this section with demands and insults. You've already shared your feelings and I don't want to block you.
10883532
firstly, i don't know your gender. i kinda just assume everyone i meet online is a dude until proven otherwise
secondly,
what the hell do you mean by this?
if you mean alternative character interpretations, that's vastly different to deciding that a character is trans
ffs, either make trans ocs or make eqg stories
because i'll tell ya this: the world of mlp doesn't have the fucking tech to have trans experiences be even remotely similar
if being trans is even a thing in their world, it's likely as simple as a fuckin spell or a potion, or at the hardest, a talk with Discord
Holy Online Harrassment, Batman! Not that I swim in waters where it happens often, but I don't think I've ever seen a more textbook case...
10883564
wouldn't need to happen if i got prompt responses, or perhaps never even seen this
10883572
So here's where I feel like I don't understand what's going on:
1) Neither you, nor any reader, is entitled to having authors make creative choices you approve of. There are plenty of stories I've read where I don't approve of choices the author makes—usually for aesthetic or structural reasons, though in rare cases (c.f. Terry Goodkind) because I think the author is just flying an asshole flag. But that doesn't make an author beholden to me in any way, nor does it mean they need to respond to my criticisms. They make their choices as an artist, and I form my own opinions as a reader.
2) Generally speaking, unless an author is wildly miscategorizing a story (e.g. calling "Cupcakes" a lighthearted TwiJack romance), neither you nor any reader is entitled to tell an author how to market or promote their stories.
3) Neither you nor any reader is required to engage with stories that are brought to their attention. This would, analogously, be a bit like being forced to buy every product Google Ad Services suggests to you. It's pretty easy to ignore things—Celestia knows I ignore almost everything on this site.
Based on your user summary, I'm going to assume that you're not just trying to troll all the time, because you do mention being non-aggressive being your nice mode. In the interests of the magic of friendship, I just think it's worth pointing out that you don't actually have to engage with things you don't like, and you don't have any special right to the attention or time of anyone just because you saw that they posted a thing online.
Sorry, Trick, if I'm being unhelpful here. I'll stop now.
10883581
this is a buncha kind words and no real substance, moving on
idk how to respond to this without sounding like a karen, so i'll just leave it be
it's more like being forced to watch ads before a youtube video. without a skip button.
i'm never trolling. everything i say and do is serious. and despite what you might think, i don't go out of my way to engage with this kind of content. if it were to be put elsewhere, preferably out of my sight, i'd just leave it be. but nope, ol tricky just HAD to put this in the heartwarming group.
10883509
Well, I can be a bit more direct if you like:
You're a bit opinionated and your opinions here aren't appreciated. If you don't like the story, don't read it and keep your opinions to yourself.
Please and thank you.
10883617
thank you for dropping the sagely facade and being direct, but that's still not a rebuttal
it could easily be interpreted as you just telling me to go away because you don't like that i'm right
not that i'm interpreting it as such, but it could be seen that way
now, if you wish to reply to me again, it must have a proper rebuttal to my points
This was really good, thank you for this. :) I appreciate you going into the nuances, it helps me a lot as someone who still has a tendency to see trans issues in ways that are a bit too black-and-white sometimes.
Also, wow, I see someone actually openly harassing you in this comment thread. I'm really sorry about that - I just want you to know that I do see it, and I can see that they're choosing their words intentionally to bully and to hurt you. (I know that you get harassed more often than this - it's just that this instance is blatant enough to be seen for what it is). If you want to vent about anything or just chat about stuff, feel free to ping me here or on Discord.
10883523
You can try to add it if you like, but I'm not asking you to do so on my behalf. I'm a member of the group and have many trans stories, but I don't think most of them are on there. I had a bad experience with one of the LGBT groups when I first arrived here and have been bullied by one or two of the moderators on a couple of the LGBT groups, so I suspect my submissions are not welcome.
10883655
oh.. sorry to hear that
10883621
Readers are not obligated to debate you. The comments section is for discussing details of the story, not for insulting other users or making demands on their behavior.
I'm probably one of the most tolerant people you'll ever meet, but I can't let you hijack my story thread when other readers are using it to share personal stories and discuss events related to the actual story.
If you cannot act like a polite and civilized adult, then stop commenting altogether or I will have to block you. Please don't make me do that.
10883674
how am i not being civil and polite?
please elucidate
all i'm asking for is proper responses to my statements
10883680
The past few responses you made were fine, for the record.
There isn't really anything here to debate or discuss. You don't like it when an author casts a canon character as transgender, which is your personal opinion, not a right-or-wrong factual issue. You think we should be forced to make up OC characters in order to write a story on transgender issues because none of the characters in the show are "directly" confirmed to have been trans, which is the case because Hasbro was trying not to offend their wide toy-purchasing base, leaving authors with no trans representation from the show. You feel this way specifically about gender identity, even though filling in characters from a kid's cartoon with additional details and non-canon character development is how fanfiction works. Some readers feel the same way about gay representation: they are upset if, even for a moment, they have to imagine one of their beloved characters being gay.
Very few readers, however, are so upset by the idea of a canon trans character that they feel it necessary to harass authors and readers on a story thread for a story that doesn't interest them. I don't know and won't make assumptions about why exactly you always do this on trans stories, but it's weird by definition because it's rare, and I think it is probably the case that nopony here cares what your issues with transgender representation are. We all know what you think, we just don't care.
10883738
"we just don't care"
and that quote there is part of your trouble
because you "don't care", this dance is gonna keep fucking happening
despite what you may think, i don't want to do this
i don't want to have to keep getting into fights because people won't just fucking listen to me
for a sizable portion of my whole goddamned life, nobody fucking listened to me, so i kinda have a big issue with being ignored
10883792
Last i checked Fluttershy is canonically fucking Discord and not your OC. Please change your avatar to adhere to canon.
10883913
shit b8 m8
0/8
10883923
i'm just saying she wouldn't settle for some bifocaled beta bitch boy like yourself. You know why people ignore you it's because you have nothing of value to add to the conversation champ. And judging by your zero published fics you've got nothing of value to add to this community.
10883934
ooh, goin for the personal digs now
watch out, we got a badass here
in all seriousness, i highly doubt there's anything you can say to or about me that'll even compare to what some certain individuals have said
you're welcome to keep trying tho
maybe you'll get banned eventually
10883937
i'm as likely to be banned as you are.
But since others already went to all the work to insult you, i guess all i can do is blindly endorse whatever they said about you because it was likely right.
10883959
aww
givin up so soon?
they don't make bullies like they used to i guess
Thank you for writing. :)
Particularly on topics like this. I mean, not to say that other writing of yours is bad, just... well, this sort of thing can be important, and you have a useful perspective. Sorry, not sure how well I'm expressing myself here, and among other issues I'm currently low on time. But thanks.
I have never felt so Maud until now.
Thank you for this, Trick.
I love this so much ❤️ My gender has been a question of mine most of my life, and it was only within the last few years that I figured things out. I remembered the struggles I felt identifying with cis boys and men, and the pain of having a reflection that I hated, a voice, a name, that never matched or felt quite right. Sadly, having been raised in a small town in mid-Ohio with a largely conservative population, I was told to ignore those feelings, worry more about my schooling and work, to push those feelings down, to the point where if I had a single Gender Thought™️, I would undergo thermal runaway and crash horribly. I distracted myself constantly. I gaslighted myself into thinking everything was okay. I pretended to feel anything, when really, I felt nothing, until one day, I decided to push through the pain, and do some serious research and consideration. I enjoyed roleplaying as a girl, as a woman, and a friend of mine drew my non-pony OC as a girl. Unfortunately, before I could go any farther, I entered an abusive relationship with someone who forced me into a role I didn't want, so I didn't have the time or energy to Gender, so that fell short, until 4 years after I broke up with that person. I lost weight, I started taking care of my body, and myself, and though the weight loss helped my body issues somewhat, there were still those nagging thoughts. Finally, after some hormone experimentation (Do NOT DIY unless you have no other option!) I came out to my doctor, who was understanding, and she directed me to the local pride clinic, where I saw a doctor about starting psychiatric treatment, and potential hormone treatment. I was expecting the process to take 6 months or more to get on hormones, but in a stroke of luck, my clinic followed informed consent guidelines, and 1 and a half years later, I'm living as Jenna Nicole, and I've been living a life of joy, and love. Love for myself, and love for others. I can feel actual emotions again, and despite the struggles and the hardships, transitioning so far has 100% been worth it. I'm crying tears of happiness as I write this, and I hope that one day, every trans and non-binary person can feel the same joy I feel. Thank you for reading. ❤️
Jen, she/her ❤️❤️
10884641
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Jen.
10884827
misreply kek
10884641
There are times I've been left wondering about certain matters regarding my own self, both for reasons related to those you mentioned, and for a number of others. I never used to wonder about these sort of things when I was younger, but as I've gotten older, the mind just can't help but speculate during quiet moments when you aren't focused on other matters.
The are certainly times where I haven't felt "right" but been unable to explain why that feeling is experienced. It's like experiencing the mental equivalent of an itch that just won't go away even if you scratch at it. If it goes on long enough it can make a person feel desperate for relief. And is a person becomes desperate enough for a long enough period of time, they'll charge headlong towards anything offering hope of that relief becoming a thing.
The idea of surgery or hormone therapy as courses of treatment makes me uncomfortable. Really, really uncomfortable. Because I know that even if such routes did provide a sense of feeling "normal" it would require a lifetime dependency on medication to maintain that feeling. Basically becoming a slave to the medication itself. And if you're in an area struck by natural disaster that can disrupt the local infrastructure for months on end, like New Orleans after Katrina, that's not going to be a viable option for a long while. That sort of idea just plain scares me.
My coping technique for thoughts like these has been unconventional, and it probably borders on aspects of denial and paranoia, but for me it helps. I reason that if I don't feel "normal" or "right" there's probably plenty of others who feel that way. And if there are others who feel the same way that I do, it might simply be an integral part of the human species to feel this way to drive us to strive to better ourselves and become more than what we are at any given moment. maybe feeling "normal" is nothing more than a mere pipe dream that our species has cooked up because it makes us feel better to think it's possible.
10883427
Trixie and Maud are canonically trans, though. Not sure what your problem with the fic is, exactly.
10884844
I think the best way to know what's right for you and your path is usually to speak to a qualified therapist with experience in the issues you're going through.
I don't take hormones, mainly because I'm happy with what I have downstairs as long as I can present as female and be treated that way, and there are a few negative side effects I don't want to have to worry about. I've had surgery to my skull and breast implants (twice: the second time to upgrade to my 36 D's). But there's really no getting around being tethered to and dependent upon society in this day and age, and I don't think the extremely rare event of an isolating disaster like Katrina is an essential part of a rational outlook on what to expect.
That said, for the non-hormonal medications which I do take, I always save up an extra month's supply because I'm not a risk-taker, either. I've also considered taking high doses of hormones if only for the off-chance they may help with treatment-resistant depression.
10885032
shit b8, 0/8
also you're l8