Friendship is Magic!... plus Goldie
Moonlight seemed to almost blaze through the open window, painting the room in the stark silvers and shadows of night. No paintings hung upon the walls; no dressers hid in the corners; no wardrobes sat stuffed with clothing and knickknacks.
The only furnishings were the bed, simple and lumpy with age; the nightstand, barely more than a few pieces of wood nailed together; and a single chair that itself lacked paint or ornamentation of any kind.
“Your room doesn’t have much stuff in it, does it?” Stasis observed. “All the other ponies I know seem to love to stuff their rooms full of as much junk as they can find. I think even my room has more stuff in it than yours, now.”
Star Swirl chuckled softly before working his big head further into the pillow, magician’s hat awkwardly perched so as to cover his bald spot. “I’ve got everything I need, I think. Now quit stalling.”
Stasis sighed, picked up the magazine, adjusted his position on the uncushioned chair, and lit his horn. He squinted down at the words – not because they were hard to read, but because they were just… hard.
“The results are shown in Fig. 8 where we plot survival vs. development for a series of constant m values. We see that –“
Star Swirl chuckled.
“–We see that in the range of M = 0 .2-0.55, survival depends entirely on the developmental stage of the specimen and is independent of the period of petrification. Only at M < 0.2 is the –“
“Oh. Oh, this is the best part!”
“–is the effect of premature development seen on the survival rate – exactly the same result as the control group. From this we can conclude that petrification should not, in fact, be classified as an illusion proper, but would be better classified as form of… of….”
“Transmutational.”
“…Transmutational magic with a complex temporal foundation and illusionary elements.”
Star Swirl sighed happily. “You know… I think I’m going to take the time to write those punks back at the Academy tomorrow and let them know what I found in my studies, back in the day. Point them in the right direction. That’s an effective use of my time off, eh, lad?”
Stasis shrugged and tilted the magazine around absently, trying to make sense of the images contained therein. He at least hoped that they could read something next that had real pictures, not these plot… diagram… things.
Star Swirl’s brow furrowed. After a few moments, he sighed. “What’s wrong, lad? You’ve not been acting yourself, these past few days.”
“Nothing,” Stasis said quickly. “Nothing’s wrong.” He lifted the magazine right away, trying to find his place. It was hard; the words and numbers had all sort of started to blur together, after awhile.
A large hoof reached out, pushing the magazine back down into his lap. Looking over, he saw Star Swirl looking back at him, one bushy eyebrow raised.
“…I don’t want to talk about it,” was all Stasis could think of to say.
“Is this about me taking a tumble down the stairs?” Star Swirl asked. “Look, lad… it was an accident. Did I tell you about the time I somehow managed to summon a rabid chupacabra in the middle of class lecture? These things happen.”
“It’s not that,” Stasis said, looking away. “I mean, I’m sorry that I wasn’t more careful, but it’s just… I-I can’t talk about it.”
The quiet continued for several stretched-out moments, Stasis refusing to looking over at Star Swirl, keeping his expression passive, trying to force down any stray emotions that would give him away. The curtains fluttered slightly in front of the open window.
“…I think I may have to go away soon,” Stasis said finally. A few more moments passed before he couldn’t wait anymore, and he glanced at Star Swirl out of the corner of his eye.
“Hmm,” was Star Swirl’s only response, any nuances in his expression hidden behind his massive beard. “Can you give me any hints as to why?”
Stasis looked at the magazine, trying to lose himself in the lines and charts as he spoke. “I’m about to get in a lot of trouble, even though I haven’t really done anything this time.”
His cheeks flushed with a spike of anger, and he pawed a bit at the magazine pages. If he’d actually done something wrong – if he’d stolen somepony’s identity, or hurt somepony, or used their love to control their mind and steal their strength – then maybe he could understand Pierce’s vendetta.
But he hadn’t. Barring a minor incident with Major – for which he’d been forgiven! – he’d done nothing worse than what he would have tried to get away with had he remained back with his own family.
As he scraped at the diagrams with one hoof, Stasis wished he had done something wrong to deserve this. He wished he’d done something wrong to Pierce.
“And you’re sure it’s nothing I can help you with?” asked Star Swirl, his tone somber.
“Yes,” Stasis replied evenly. Not without giving the Pierce the chance to expose me right in front of you.
“If you can’t talk to me about it… have you tried talking to your friends?” asked Star Swirl.
“…Friends?” Stasis asked, pausing his assault on the magazine and looking off into the distance. “You think I can use them as a weapon somehow?”
If anyone could figure out how to use friendship as a weapon, surely it was the ponies….
“Eh… that’s not quite what I meant,” Star Swirl replied, leaning a bit close on his bed. “But maybe they can help you with whatever problem it is you’re having. If you can’t tell them what it is, then maybe they can help you in other ways.”
“They can’t,” Stasis said flatly. “I’ve already thought about that. They’re not strong enough, or smart enough, or cunning enough. They can’t help me.”
Star Swirl laid a hoof on his shoulder. “Hey, now. Know how you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach? You shouldn’t be making big life decisions on an empty heart, either. At least give them a chance to give you a little encouragement.”
“I guess,” Stasis muttered. He turned and looked out the window, at the moon slowly eclipsing stars in its path. “What time is it?”
“Eh….” Star Swirl looked out the window as well. “I reckon it’s getting near ten o’clock. Why do you ask?”
“I’m actually supposed to go meet them soon,” Stasis said, setting the magazine down gently on the nightstand.
“…At ten o’clock at night?” Star Swirl asked, frowning.
“We’re going stargazing,” was his reply. That’s what he’d told them to tell their parents, anyway.
“Hmm. Well, I suppose ol’ Star Swirl can’t disagree with a little star-gazing, now can he?” Star Swirl gave a thin smile.
Stasis stared back at his bearded caretaker. That was such a poor joke, it was mind-boggling. The little changeling’s mind was boggled.
Star Swirl’s smile slipped. “Eh….” He stretched his forelegs out wide. “Just… give me a hug, lad. Before you go.”
Stasis glanced down at those hug-ready forelegs, grey and bony and smelling faintly of mothballs, then up at Star Swirl. “…Are you sure?”
Star Swirl nodded.
Stasis walked up to Star Swirl, taking slow and deliberate steps. He reached out his own forelegs and wrapped them about the old pony’s neck, trying not to gouge Star Swirl with his horn as he took a face full of beard. A surprisingly powerful set of forelegs wrapped around his own small body, pinching his wings beneath his masque, holding him close.
“You’re a clever little thing, aren’t you?” Star Swirl said softly. “You’re going to be alright. I know that whatever you decide to do, you’re going to be alright.”
Letting go of each other, Stasis walked quickly away, giving Star Swirl a little wave as he closed the door behind him. Once outside, he stopped and let the cool wind ruffle through his mane, looking up and taking a deep breath of fresh air for the first time since the night before.
Turning, he broke into a brisk trot. He enjoyed the smells blown in from the distant Everfree, the pungent scents of foliage and decay mixing and brushing away the aroma of ponies and industry, if only for a moment. It reminded him of his old home in the forest, of his brothers and sisters, of the sound of them chittering away in Equestrian and the old tongue – such an odd language it seemed, now; of their smell, far simpler and more earthy; of the sight of them playing their simple little games and performing their simple little industry.
They were poor; he saw that now. By the standards of the ponies – by the standards of Equestria, at least – they were poor, and ignorant, and savage. Without roads, they had no means of trading the things they made with the other families; without writing, they had no means of passing on knowledge save by Mother’s memory; without agriculture, they had to spend all their time hunting or gathering or infiltrating the neighboring communities to steal enough energy to survive.
Why was this so? Why did ponies like Star Swirl live in great houses with things like plumbing and architecture – concepts that had seemed almost magical when Stasis first learned about them as a hatchling – but his siblings lived in hollow trees and holes in the ground? Were they not intelligent enough? Were they not creative enough? Was Stasis truly so far beyond them that he could grasp these concepts when he was just a little changeling, but they could not understand them as adults?
It couldn’t be his siblings fault, he decided. The ponies may think of them as mindless monsters like any other kind of creature to attack from the forest, but he knew how clever they were; he knew how hard they worked on every task to which they were assigned. Though they numbered only a few hundred, he was certain they could erect a city of their own in a fraction of the time it would take the ponies – and for no greater reward than Mother’s approval.
Was it Mother’s, then? The thought made him falter a bit, slow down to a walk, but he continued on.
…It couldn’t be Mother’s fault, he decided. Perhaps she didn’t hug, or kiss, or coddle like the ponies did – but even now, to Stasis those seemed like foolish ways to show affection. She never withheld her love from those of her children who were hungry; she never withheld punishment from those children who deserved it, not even Stasis; she never hesitated to fight when her underlings simply weren’t enough, like when the ursa attacked.
And had she not led the family here, once Stasis was old enough to make the journey? She must have heard the legends of Equestria’s incredible wealth and prosperity, and wanted that for her family, now that she finally had her son. There was no way she could have known how well-defended its perimeter, that the terrible pony god Celestia herself would defend even a border town with fire and light.
Mother would never have knowingly led her family to such destruction as this; the destitution of her race could not be her fault, or the fault of the other queens. Stasis knew how much Mother loved all of them, and how wise and cunning her rule.
But… there was one who should have known the folly of attacking Equestria directly. One who was said to have ruled a thousand years and more before the Sisters ever appeared and seized the heavens back from the mad god; one who probably remembered the days when the old Unicorn King raised the sun and the moon each day. One whose task it was to watch over his thousands upon thousands of children, and ensure that no part of his family should come in conflict with another, or the families of other athelings.
Stasis wondered if Father had warned Mother of what she was about to do, and she had ignored him… or if he had decided to let her learn from her mistakes, like a pony mother who let her child touch the stove. He wondered if Father was content to watch all the other races of the world, all the ‘prey,’ build their cities and their armies and spread across the whole earth uncontested, because he thought changelings had no need of such things… or because he truly did not care about his family at all.
It was all Father’s fault, Stasis decided. Father was a terrible father. He and all the other athelings had let the whole world pass them by; while true gods like Celestia and Luna forged the greatest nation-state in history, slowly expanding their reach across the whole world… the athelings slept through history like their supposed ancestral enemies, the dragons.
…And now Stasis was going to become just like them. If he returned to her now, what were the odds that Mother would ever let him get near a pony settlement again? And in a few short years, he would reach puberty, and Father would cast him and a few queens off to whatever desert or wasteland would pose the least competition to the established athelings.
Even if somehow Stasis could then find a way to gain the knowledge and power of the ponies… to grasp history, and science, and mathematics, and politics; to become a master magician, like Star Swirl; to learn how to beat the ponies at all their own games. Even if he could do all that, even if he could become as great as Mother seemed to think he would… he would never get to see any of the ponies here in Trottingham ever again.
Most of them, he probably wouldn’t miss much. Ponies like Mr. Strudel and the other shop owners, or the teachers and staff at the school, or the other students at the school, or… well, pretty much any pony Major had ever introduced him to, were all pretty boring. Ponies like Jack were just weird and made Stasis uncomfortable. Ponies like old Codger deserved to have every ounce of their love sucked dry, but never would, because they had no love.
But now Stasis had this freaky little triumvirate of ponies who weren’t terribly boring, and who were only weird in ways that Stasis liked, and who he hardly hated at all. Stasis missed his family, and figured he must love them too, but he would rather share with them his own strength than let them feed on this unnatural little pseudo-family he had here in Equestria.
…There was a duo of unicorn guards coming towards him now. Stasis shunted his thoughts aside and lowered his head, keeping his eyes on the cobblestones beneath his hooves. The guard seemed to have stopped their random testing of passers-by, but they hadn’t left the town entirely. He wondered if they would be the ones to capture him when Pierce revealed what he was.
The houses had thinned almost to nothing now; he could see the Everfree, a dark mass hugging the horizon. The area between was sensibly wild, with long, uncut grass and trees sprouting up here and there, bits of nature trying to encroach on the world the ponies had crafted for themselves.
He turned and saw two shapes huddled across the street, brightening and darkening as clouds passed across the moon. He pulsed magic through his horn, sending flickers of light at them.
“Hey, Stasis! Is that you?” Major said, trotting over.
“We’re not really going stargazing, are we?” asked Goldie, her tail swishing irritably. “Because, I wanted to go stargazing, but since that’s what we’re supposed to be doing, I’m sure we won’t be.”
“I’m sorry, guys,” Stasis said, looking out towards the forest. “I guess I just wanted to see my friend and… um… you, Goldie.”
“On the edge of town? At night?” asked Major.
“Are you going to rob us?” asked Goldie, her eyes narrowed.
“No!” denied Stasis. “It’s just… I don’t think I should go around in the daytime anymore. I don’t want the guard or constabulary or anypony else to see me. It’s not safe.”
“I knew it!” Goldie exclaimed suddenly, startling him. “You’re on the run, aren’t you?”
Stasis frowned. “What?”
“Um….” Major scratched the back of his neck, looking shifty. “Goldie has an idea that maybe you’re not an orphan, but actually you’re a bad guy who broke out of jail and is wanted by the guard.”
“It explains a whole lot of things,” Goldie reasoned, jabbing him in the chest with one hoof. “You’d better fess up, mister! Star Swirl may have decided to take you in, but Major and me are still on the fence.”
“We can be friends even if you are on the run, though,” Major assured him. “Goldie thinks we can’t, but I like that old saying, ‘friendship conquers all.’”
“What made you think I was a criminal?” Stasis asked, feeling huffy. “I don’t think there’s a single thing I’ve done that the guard knows about.”
“Well, then, why are you staying inside so much?” Goldie said, getting in his face a little. “And why did you ask us to meet you out here in the middle of the night? And why don’t you want to be seen by the guard or anypony? Only bad ponies need to fear the law!”
“It’s okay to be a little afraid, though,” said Major.
“I was getting to all that!” Stasis said, pushing her away. “Anyway, I’m having a really tough time right now, and you should learn to be more sympathetic.”
“I’m sympathetic, Stasis,” said Major, coming around and patting him on the back. “So is Goldie! She just doesn’t know how to show it very well.”
“You’re having a tough time with what, though?” said Goldie, dragging one hoof down her cheek in exasperation. “I know you’ve been really quiet ever since Star Swirl got hurt, but I don’t want you to lie this time, or, or, not tell us anything like you usually do! Don’t be tricky!”
“Friends don’t trick friends, Stasis,” said Major.
Stasis’ jaw clenched, and he turned away. “Well, I was going to tell all, but now I don’t think I want to anymore. You’re both so suspicious all the time; you don’t trust me at all. I don’t see why you care so much anyway.”
“We’re your friends, Stasis! Of course we care!” declared Major, who seemed to unconsciously strike a valiant pose.
“It’d be nice if we knew what we were caring about, though,” said Goldie with a little eye roll. “Sometimes, you’re like a mystery wrapped in… um… no, sandwiched between two slices of riddle, and… um… when you take a sniff of it at lunchtime, you decide to trade it with somepony else. ”
“Goldie!” gasped Major. “…You do that?”
“Only when I don’t know what’s in the sandwich!” she said, ears flat against her head. “And I’d only trade it with some stupid jerk, like Stasis.”
Stasis felt the conversation rapidly spiraling out of control. It was time to take back the reigns from these crazy ponies.
“Look, guys,” he said. “I am… kind of sorry that I’ve maybe, possibly been… a bit less forthright than I potentially could have been… I guess.”
“What?” asked Major.
“That’s the best you’re going to get,” he warned, shaking his hoof at them both. “And I’m not saying it again, either.”
“Why did you even bring us out here, anyway?” asked Goldie, shivering. “It’s cold, and dark, and scary, and… oh.”
He looked out towards the forest again, and shrugged. “I guess it just reminds me of my old home, and… I might be going back soon.”
Goldie gasped, and Major almost managed to stumble back from a sitting position as he asked, “What? Why?”
“Is… is it because of what happened on the stairs?” asked Goldie, looking slightly haunted. “Because I can talk to Mr. Swirl, and –“
Stasis felt a tightening in his chest, and he waved his hooves dismissively. “No, no, not… that. I mean… why would you think that I’d have to leave? Who’s been out to get me ever since I moved to this town? Who’s been a thorn in my side since the very beginning? Besides you, Goldie.”
“Is it… Abra?” Major posited tentatively.
“Pierce?” Goldie suggested, sounding skeptical.
“Both,” Stasis affirmed. “My greatest enemies have teamed up against me, to paint me in a most hideous light!” He felt the energy seep out of him, and slumped a bit. “I don’t know when or where, but one of these days, Pierce and Abra are going to use a spell to make me look like a dreaded, monstrous changeling. And I’ll be dragged off, and….”
He paused for a moment and quelled some particularly vibrant memories. “…And you’ve seen what they do with those around here. If I didn’t have holes before, I’ll certainly have some by the time those guards are through with me!”
“But….” Goldie shook her head. “But… I just can’t believe that Pierce would do something so terrible! I mean… I know he’s gotten into fights and things with bullies before, but he’s never really done anything bad.”
“Not Abra, either,” said Major, looking troubled. “She would never do something wrong; I’m sure of it.”
“Yeah, well, you can tell him what a great big hero he is when I’m dragged off in chains,” Stasis grumbled. “He can be your replacement-Stasis. I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.”
“You’re not really going to go back to… wherever you came from, though, right?” asked Major. “I don’t think the ponies there could miss you as much as we would miss you.”
“And what about Mr. Swirl?” added Goldie, tail swishing in agitation. “He would be so lonely!”
“What do you want me to do about it?” Stasis rejoined. “I’m not going to prison for you guys! And I can’t take on Pierce alone; he’s too powerful!”
“We could help, though!” said Major, wearing his most triumphant smile.
“How, though? How can you help?” asked Stasis. “I can’t think of a single plan that doesn’t involve beating somepony up, or foalnapping, or prevaricating all over the place. These aren’t things that ponies are good at! Other than me, I mean.”
“Have you asked Mr. Swirl to help?” asked Major.
Stasis made slashing motions with his hooves. “No! Never! He couldn’t possibly understand!” He gave them both a serious look. “You guys can’t tell him, either. This isn’t an old geezer problem; this is a Stasis problem.”
“We’re your friends, Stasis!” Goldie said, eyes narrowed. “You can’t just… leave us! I’ll make Major sit on you first!”
Major stared at Stasis’ horn fearfully.
“You need to let us help, Stasis!” she continued. “You need to let us help, or I’ll tell Star Swirl everything.”
“Everything?” It was Stasis’ turn to narrow his eyes. “You don’t even know all that much, do you, Goldie? You’re bluffing!”
“I bet I know more than you think I do!” she replied, glaring back. She was a good glarer. “I know ponies call me a tattle-tale a lot, but I don’t always tell what I know. Sometimes, I save things.”
“…Could we help him nicer, though?” said Major from the sidelines. “This doesn’t feel like helping.”
The glaring contest continued for a few moments longer before, to his shame, Stasis broke first. He looked towards the forest one more time and blinked.
“…It’s not like I want to go,” he said, his throat hurting a little. “I don’t want to go. I like being taught everything there is to know by someone who actually likes me; I like having friends who like me and want to play with me instead of just….” He gestured with his hooves, struggling to think of what he was trying to say.
“It’s okay, Stasis,” Major said, draping his foreleg over Stasis’ shoulders in a half-hug. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I like you a lot. You’re really smart, almost as smart as Star Swirl; you’re a great friend, and very loyal, and you like to laugh a lot, even if your laugh is kind of scary sometimes, and, um… you’re a lot kinder and honester and more generous than you used to be! Isn’t that right, Goldie?”
Goldie hesitated for a few moments before slowly walking around to his other side, and lightly putting her hoof around his back as well.
“Well… you’re really brave, too,” she said finally, “maybe even braver than Major and me. I don’t think you should run away when you’ve got both of us here to help. I know you can figure out a way to beat Pierce.”
“I can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t even know what exactly his plan is yet. How can I beat that? I can’t! I can’t beat him!”
“We’ll beat him together!” Goldie said, vengefully shaking her hoof in a way that seemed very familiar to the little changeling. “We’ll… we’ll go in front of the whole town and tell them that you’re not a monster at all!”
“…In front of the whole town?” Stasis asked, his mental gears beginning to creak and groan as they came to life.
“Yeah!” Major said excitedly. “We can do it at the play next week! I know you missed some rehearsals, Stasis, but this is more important. We’ll tell everypony what a good pony you are!”
“…Right,” Stasis replied absently.
He could feel the ponies’ forelegs wrapped around him still, hear them talking in his ear. His friends.
He missed Mother; his chest would ache sometimes when he thought of her. But he didn’t want to go back; he didn’t want to give up his friends’ encouragement for his siblings’ tolerance, or Star Swirl’s bushy swirliness for Father’s distant judgment. He felt like he could be so much more if he stayed here amongst the ponies for a while rather than living out his life the way he was supposed to.
And the one pony standing in the way of that was Pierce. He was sure he’d figured out Pierce’s plan; now he just needed one of his own.
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5233126
Weeeeeeeeeeeeell... alright.
5234384
You glorious thing you
I knew this was going to be a good day
Thanks for the update. That was sweet. I love the truth turned lie. That Pierce would make him look like a changeling. Good luck with the next chapter. I was happy to see this story update.
...And it was good, and the Pony's rejoiced.
Awesome
A very unique update, and certainly balanced well. Bravo!
A tragic comedy? Interesting combination, I shall check it out!
It's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEEEEEEE. I missed this story. If Stasis survives this ordeal with his sanity intact, I think we might have a changeling reformer or great leader, like Caesar or Bismarck............... or fall flat on his face, which is more likely.
5235016 The same color as fun.
Sqweeeee!!!
Thank you for update :)
Very amusing story. Little calamity (protag) is most amusing foal on this site. I like your Starswirl very much.
I suppose SW alrdy know what his apprentice are.
update?
5360283
Hahahaha Well, this review didn't make me weep NEARLY as much as I thought it would. I think you went pretty easy on me, considering just how bloated the middle got. All those expo-dumps... argh... such regret....
And I can't for the life of me decide if you were being serious about the Stasis=pony thing. That would be like carving out my own heart, man. I would never do that to him. Not unless I was, like, sending him to changeling hell or something. (He probably deserves it... new ending, courtesy of Dr_LaZer? Hmm....)
I agree that the "plot" - when it's not rambling off down rabbit trails - is pretty straightforward. I was actually a ways into the story before I realized I needed an antagonist - plotting an antagonist-less story was just beyond my abilities at the time. To be fair, though, now that I've reached the endgame, I think I'm doing a bit better in that regard.
As for the Nix thing... eh. I HAVE read Past Sins, a good while back. I don't even remember a play. But, in my opinion... you can pretty much draw parallels between any two stories if all you look for are similarities. If you boil it down to "little monster gets raised by good guy," sure, but I personally can't think of any characters I've read that quite fit the mold of Stasis Silvertongue. I sort of feel that he IS the story, for the most part, but others may disagree.
I'm in the process of writing the story's climax now, and I'm actually pretty pleased with how it's turning out. I'd be very interested to hear your opinion on it once it's published; if you eat your hat, please post on youtube.
Anyway. Thanks a bunch for reading my 150k monstrosity and taking the time out to write a clever review; I know as well as anyone that it has its flaws, and it always makes me a little giddy when people - somehow! - manage to enjoy it anyways. ~ Sable Tails
5235120
Or he could become the best possible thing, Mordred. Think about son hated by his father magical mentors, pretending to be someone there not and killing the pseudo god of their people. Yep we root for the black knight kill Artur ahem I mean Fathers chitin.
Also nice to meet you.
On the other hand Sable Tails thank you for writing this I rather injoy the social nature of this story it's refreshing. My only complaint is opinion based in that I wanted him to be evil.
Are you still writing the story?
6195550
That post was literally a year old.
I really don't have the inclination to discuss in detail a review I wrote some seventy two weeks ago, so I'll leave this. A story should engage the reader in one form or another. It should provide some sort of literary sustenance for a hungry imagination.
This story came to me with the promise of Star Swirl and a Changeling doing a mythological version of The Odd Couple. It did not deliver on that premise. Instead we're treated to page after page of dreary exposition that moves the plot nowhere and is tailored only to make the reader care for a character who has no redeeming qualities some several thousand words in. They do not have a jaded sense of humor or cynical but well meaning morals, they're merely moping about whilst waiting for the chance to backstab their benefactor. The time is not filled with intelligent wordplay or interesting world building, but rather woe is me sob stories and meandering internal evil monologues.
That isn't interesting, and it certainly isn't engaging. What world building there is remains unfilling at best and rotten at worst, with many inconsistencies that I've already outlined in my original, long-buried review.
You claim that my position is unfair, yet agree with the issues at hand. Perhaps I am harsh, but I only have so much time on this rock and I intend to spend it with something a little more filling. Perhaps it is instead you who needs to refine their tastes so that you can see what well-paced and balanced exposition looks like, to witness how one establishes a scene with character mannerisms and detail dressing. Do not present me with the old, half-eaten Big Mac I discarded some time ago and ask why it wasn't good enough for me when I'm in the middle of biting into a rack of lamb ribs.
img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120411051933/disney/images/3/35/Anton_Ego_Typing.jpg
6195754
I'm sorry, but I prefer light and interesting fanfic reading instead of heavy, boring "acknowledged" literature that you implied just enjoy reading. Don't try to impose your "refined" taste upon us.
6480705
I like how you took one part out of context and twisted it to mean exactly the opposite of what I said, which was that the story moved nowhere fast and was boring while doing so. I have no interest in the War and Peace or Lord of the Rings-type novels. I aim to be entertained , and there are both stories that are a mere hundred words and ones that are a million that are more successful than this story at it.
Have you considered a career in politics? You seem to be a natural at the task of misleading through doctored evidence.
31.media.tumblr.com/c0261a0d1035017a03246353b6799ef9/tumblr_inline_n232ueMNy41rri91h.jpg
6481667
The positive facts are that it was well-edited and had a promising premise. The negative was that it failed to deliver on the idea and didn't present any compelling reason to continue after my initial interest has waned. You bring up my earlier comment but fail entirely to address my original review, which did in fact point those out and even came with a suggestion for reading material to improve.
3985146
The later reply was because, as I pointed out, they were gravedigging a year-old comment looking for a half-decomposed bone to pick with me. Naturally, I did not feel particularly inclined to be courteous in my response by that point, just as I do not to you for walking into a long dead conversation while only knowing half of what was discussed.
6481824 Eh, thanks for replying. I'm tired and sleepy now, maybe I worded it wrong? I take it back if sounded wrong. I only mean your "sensational" tone. I still stand for my first post, though, even if you think that I have a finger in every pie. It was basically you saying "if you enjoyed this story, you have a bad taste, period". I reread both of your posts, and it still sounds like that.
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I never said "Others should like what I like." I said "I don't like this, why are you insisting on force-feeding me it when I've listed all the reasons it doesn't appeal to me." Perhaps my Big Mac analogy might have given that impression, but it was meant more as an eloquent way of saying "I don't care for your taste", strengthened by the remarkably late reply.
The 'sensationalist' aspect is merely a byproduct of what I'm looking for. If I want an entertaining, original story, then by golly I should make sure my critique (or insults) are worth reading too. Plus, I like to use food analogies, considering my picture choices, with the humble potato being a personal favourite.
Have yourself a good sleep, and remember: A good writer is a better reader.
I'm looking forward to the next chapter.
One wonders just how much Goldie and Major actually know and don't let on otherwise, and how much that they too will be surprised if/when Stasis is outed. It sounds very much like Stasis wants to stay in Trottingham, and it's only when he's at the risk of being expelled or killed that he realises how much he would miss it. Of course, in true Stasis fashion, he won't solve everything by making up with Pierce: it sounds like he'll do it by ruining Pierce entirely