Man Cannot Keep It Going Forever · 2:16am May 23rd, 2023
There comes a time in a story's life when it's time to stop and say "The End", and I think for Man Cannot Live On Coffee Alone, I'm there.
Spoilers ahead, obviously, for Man Cannot Live On Coffee Alone. And before you think it: no, I'm not quitting or leaving, lol
I had to debate it a bit. That final sprint to the finish, writing 30,000+ words in two weeks, was a whirlwind. I really think I underestimated how it felt to actually complete the main arc of the story. I've been building up to this point for... well, six years. I knew day one what I was aiming for and how I wanted things to go, and I've achieved that point. I told a story about a human in Equestria, a unconventional romance where our anti-Anon wasn't some weird pastiche of impossible traits all stuck together. He makes mistakes, he learns, he grows, he changes. The character at the start isn't the character at the end, and it's important to find the true line of why things went the way they did, and how they achieved the goals I set out with writing this story.
It all came down to the gun. I had quite a lot of fun creating an anti-Chekov's gun that became a Chekov's gun again at the ultimate moment, a weapon that seemed destined to be used and then was discarded, only to be retrieved by the villain and backfire. I'd always intended for that to be the story, really. A man that has every reason, to our sensibilities, to pull the trigger, only to discover that he'd rather fail than do the unthinkable in the eyes of his new friends. A character that must throw off the clinging bits of another less kind world and embrace one that actually contains real harmony.
In some stories, Jake could have pulled the trigger and been a hero. Sure, there's plenty of those stories where it would happen like that. I've read those stories and enjoyed them to an extent, but it always felt like it was a betrayal of the central motif of what a human would have learned from Equestria. Violence rarely solves problems because friendship is magic. It's always the hubris of the villains and their choice to choose violence that backfires, and it's always the ponies who stand together in friendship at the end. Sometimes they even offer the hoof of friendship to the defeated villain.
I wanted to tell that story, and I did it. So... I think I'm going to call it complete.
I'll honestly consider adding a new story to continue the slice-of-life stuff that I'm interested in, but honestly I'm not 100% sure where to go from here. I have thoughts and ideas, and I might actually shift to focusing on another character that I really enjoyed writing as part of this. There's plenty of opportunities for Jake and more stuff with him, and I might go that direction. Right now I think I need a little time to consider where I'm going with writing more pony fics and what I want to do. So... that's what I'll do!
You did it.
You rescued an already-excellent story from limbo and finished strong with a satisfying conclusion to an entertaining tale.
I hope it feels as good as it sounds.
Thank you so much for making it happen.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
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It does feel pretty good. Hesitation about ending it aside, I'm very pleased overall with it. I still think some of the earlier stuff needed a lighter touch, some of the newer stuff needed more focus and description, but... yeah! It's a good feeling.
Congratulations on sticking to your personal commitment to finish this wonderful story.
Since this was a story about character development, it makes sense to call it over at this point. If there is a follow up slice of life story or two when everything goes pear shaped during their honeymoon, then of course that should be a separate story!
God, these announcement titles are going to be the end of me! Thought you were leaving. If your next work is going to be even a fraction as good as this was, I look forward to it.
Now onto ScopexTempest fics.
I did feel like the gun scene was an excellent way to finish off the story.
I'm just also a sucker for slice of life, and that would still be fun to just have a little side story that just... whenever you feel like it, give us something SoL like between the characters. Be that Jake and Rarity, Tempest and Scope, Twilight and Jake. Really, they all worked well in this, and their interactions felt genuine.
But I can respect that ending it where you did, because it did feel like a ending, leaving it open to the imagination of what their future would bring.
Anyway you do it, glad you're not just up and dying on us. Otherwise I'd have to dig out my 1950's battery charger and bring you back manually, damn it!