6691518 I actually find it rather refreshing when authors do something like this. Though I have always had more of a live and let live attitude towards others. Up to a point at least.
And lets be honest here. Something like this could be seen coming a few chapters ago. We might not have known how exactly it would happen but there were clear signs everywhere.
And lastly. I honestly can't see myself getting tired of this story anytime soon. Great humor and one of the best descriptions of pre–Equestrian world that I have ever read.
I'm sure some readers did see it coming, but I figured it would be a bit of a surprise once Tamara revealed that Winter's last words were a possible name(s) for their second foal.
Of course, as far as 'representation' goes, Tia and Tamara aren't the only ones in the story so far that you all have read about...
I don't mind negative marks from readers who don't want to read about 'that sort of thing'. I expect it. Which is probably a little sad, but... yeah. I just wish fimfiction made you fill out even a one-line reasons box for downvotes. Single lines like 'bad grammar' or 'Too OOC characters' would be more help to the writers than a simple 'didn't like'. It's why I might leave a critical comment, but not a downvote. Nobody goes back to read a story they didn't like, just to see it their issues with it were resolved enough to take back that downvote, you know?
I can't claim to be an expert in psychology, especially on matters like this, but I can't help but think that she might have rushed Solar/Celestia's gender issue, especially since it's iffy if the kid was even old enough to understand the concept. Then again, for all I know it may have been better to go ahead and get it out of the way. *shrug*
I'm not really a fan of the abrupt resolution of the trans Celestia subplot. Some ambivalence would have been nicer.
"So... you really aren't..." The thestral paused, staring at my eldest. "How?"
"Magic," said Celestia, giving the enigmatic shrug I'd taught her. When in doubt, I'd said to 'blame magic' or say 'ask my mother'. And if she changed her mind, having a mad witch as a mother would be excuse enough to declare herself a damned cactus, should she prefer it.
'Please don't declare you're a cactus,' I mused. 'It's hard enough for some to tick the right damned box on medical forms.'
6691916 You'd be surprised at what kids are aware of. Especially since I figure ponies develop faster, not having to make their brains grow a full year after birth like humans do as opposed to most creatures, given the way human hips developed for bipedalism. And given I'm going off of personal experience...
And, as you'll figure in the next chapter, Tamara figures she and her little herd are weird enough to claim the kid's whatever she wants to be, whenever she wants to be, and have it passed off as the witch just being the witch.
Wow, that was fast. It was indeed foreshadowed a long time ago, but still hilarious. These things (like adding Flash to herd in your other work) always come to me out of left field. But it's because I am just poor old me. One question and Firstborn.Name := "Celestia"; Firstborn.Gender := False; (Do you see what I did here? ) Because there were two sisters, not sister and brother.
Otherwise, go on. You have pretty interesting style and good imagination.
I totally expected Tham'ra to be Tia and Luna's mom, but then she had a boy and I was like ok, so what, does she find them orphaned on the road? But nooooo, Tia is transgendered. I can honestly say I did not expect that. Congratulations you have stupefied me. I wish I could like your story twice.
6691796 I can definitely say that I mostly called it with a couple of the theories that I posted on the chapter before last. I very eagerly look forward to more!
That was an...odd resolution for the sisters. Still, I like the story over all so far. You do well with character interactions and byplay. Very enjoyable to read.
... I have only one question... How does these ponies evolutionary path work. If they're able to eat grass and all that then that means they would have no need for the ability to eat meat so why would they have evolved the ability... Did ponies use to be carnivores?
6737890 Most everything is an omnivore under the right circumstances. 'Our' equine species are fed meat in some parts of the world, such as in areas with little vegetation, and they adapt fine. It's a nutrition game- you have to eat more of 'nonstandard' foods if they don't have all the nutrients you need. A school friend of mine once calculated how many twinkies he'd need to eat per day to get all his nutrition. Unfortunately, it would have exceeded his own body weight.
Twilight adjusted herself in the next chair over, making herself comfortable in the human-built chair before asking, "What about you?"
I gave a little snort. "Not dating, won't be dating anytime soon, dead set on females and unlikely to find more than one -if that- who could put up with me. Your turn."
The pony quirked her brows up, but didn't look up from her papers when she replied. "Golly, Tamara, don't be so optimistic. You're making me feel bad about how disappointed you'll end up being." She grinned. "No stallions at all, then?"
"Not in a hundred years," I replied. "You know us silly humans- most of us are ridiculously monosexual."
Im going through this story. And i should say that there is few storys that cover character of Fausticorn well, and this story is one of them. I had only good impression about it until this chapter. Fact that your Fausticorn was made from human with genetical defects (transvestite) can be ignored, but not the fact that in this chapter a mother convinces her son that he is not boy but a girl. Knowing importance of said boy, i can say, that you are justifying such behavior and trying to make it look normal. If so, than you need medical attention.
"Want a girl name? It's a special one. It's fit for a princess." A nod. "How about 'Celestia'?" A quirky little Spock-brow, which she'd copied from me. I smiled. "But we can call you 'Tia'."
Excellent story so far, awesome work. I must admit that from the moment Winter came into the picture I thought she would be the mother of the Princesses, but Solaris being male threw me for a loop, my theory then was that HE would be the father of Celestia, to make him turn into her was a very clever plot twist.
That explains the comment someone else made on the blog that linked me to this, and well - I'm gladdened to see it. It only makes this story better in its weird, wonderful way.
I'll admit I have no idea why you had Celly be born a boy or anything, but hey ya wanna have the sun princess be...erm...born the wrong physical gender. -not sure how to word it without sounding like a jerk, cause I don't want to be a jerk- But then adjust it to be the right kind, then more power to you. Confuses me a bit, but I don't hate it I just left with the whys is all -shrugs-
The whole controversial gender thing seems totally unneeded. Really. We hast been fine with everything in this story so far, but...we do not care for this aspect of the story. We will not delve into controversial matters and start hateful comments. But we will say that this felt very unneeded, and....we don’t like it. Sorry, we just don’t. We will continue to read and see how the story progresses.
I figured this outcome as soon as Tamara showed up in past Equestria and mentioned her colors. What I didn't expect was the thing with Celestia. It honestly just feels... unnecessary. One of the two big problems I've had with this story so far is that it doesn't explain itself very well. There are a lot of little things that are explained either poorly, or so out of order that it makes the story really confusing at times. It's gotten better as things have gone on (I think), but not enough that I can really be happy with this development.
I mean, it took so long for us to be told that Tamara is (was?) trans, that the first two chapters left me scratching my head in confusion more often than not because none of the details added up to what you were apparently portraying. It almost made me drop the story entirely simply because it made no sense most of the time. It feels like this was just another unnecessary layer in a story that's already having trouble sorting out the ones its got.
I've gotta add to the pile of "the trans thing is unnecessary" comments. It doesn't seem to add anything to the story and comes off as authorial wish-fulfillment.
9276744 It made for a really good bait and switch though, and sometimes the unnecessary can add spice if you aren't bring too gratuitous about it. Honestly, it hasn't played a major role, and it helped the story move along, both for why she was shunned, and for the moment of realisation after it was already too late. So it's a non issue in the end, if not legitimate plot.
7149425 I agree, I immediately went to the comments to see if any shared my sentiment when I got to that part. Not surprised you got hit with so many down votes, though it's a shame so many people blindly support actions that can so do so much psychological, and possibly physical, damage to a growing child. For those who would jump down my throat, I say this as a gay man who once confused his feelings for gender dysphoria, and I shudder to think of how messed up my life would be if I had parents who so readily embraced my misguided wishes at a time where I was a deeply confused teen. While I sympathize for those suffering from gender identity disorders, and hope they can finding happiness, this isn't a decision that should even be offered to a teenager, let alone a child so young. To be clear I don't have a problem with the idea of celestia being trans, just that Tamara is pushing the idea on Solar at such a young age and the personal views on such actions that this inclusion implies the author has. It's a way of addressing the possibility of one's child being trans that I have strong personal reasons to be against, and that has really put me at odds with "the community" for so readily embracing it. Sorry if that upsets people, but I'm not sorry that I feel this way about it. Inb4 someone tries to convince me that I'm a closeted trans now.
I love your story. I am pretty certain you will get crap about Celestia but I for one applaud you for it. It's nice to see representation in stories.
6691518 I actually find it rather refreshing when authors do something like this. Though I have always had more of a live and let live attitude towards others. Up to a point at least.
And lets be honest here. Something like this could be seen coming a few chapters ago. We might not have known how exactly it would happen but there were clear signs everywhere.
And lastly. I honestly can't see myself getting tired of this story anytime soon. Great humor and one of the best descriptions of pre–Equestrian world that I have ever read.
6691518
6691589
I'm sure some readers did see it coming, but I figured it would be a bit of a surprise once Tamara revealed that Winter's last words were a possible name(s) for their second foal.
Of course, as far as 'representation' goes, Tia and Tamara aren't the only ones in the story so far that you all have read about...
I don't mind negative marks from readers who don't want to read about 'that sort of thing'. I expect it. Which is probably a little sad, but... yeah. I just wish fimfiction made you fill out even a one-line reasons box for downvotes. Single lines like 'bad grammar' or 'Too OOC characters' would be more help to the writers than a simple 'didn't like'. It's why I might leave a critical comment, but not a downvote. Nobody goes back to read a story they didn't like, just to see it their issues with it were resolved enough to take back that downvote, you know?
Next chapter is going to be awesome as hell.
I can't claim to be an expert in psychology, especially on matters like this, but I can't help but think that she might have rushed Solar/Celestia's gender issue, especially since it's iffy if the kid was even old enough to understand the concept. Then again, for all I know it may have been better to go ahead and get it out of the way. *shrug*
I'm not really a fan of the abrupt resolution of the trans Celestia subplot. Some ambivalence would have been nicer.
I am cactuskin, this triggers me.
What exactly is the thestral reacting to?
6691916 You'd be surprised at what kids are aware of. Especially since I figure ponies develop faster, not having to make their brains grow a full year after birth like humans do as opposed to most creatures, given the way human hips developed for bipedalism. And given I'm going off of personal experience...
And, as you'll figure in the next chapter, Tamara figures she and her little herd are weird enough to claim the kid's whatever she wants to be, whenever she wants to be, and have it passed off as the witch just being the witch.
Wow, that was fast. It was indeed foreshadowed a long time ago, but still hilarious.
These things (like adding Flash to herd in your other work) always come to me out of left field. But it's because I am just poor old me.
One question and Firstborn.Name := "Celestia"; Firstborn.Gender := False; (Do you see what I did here? )
Because there were two sisters, not sister and brother.
Otherwise, go on. You have pretty interesting style and good imagination.
(SPOILERS)
I totally expected Tham'ra to be Tia and Luna's mom, but then she had a boy and I was like ok, so what, does she find them orphaned on the road? But nooooo, Tia is transgendered. I can honestly say I did not expect that. Congratulations you have stupefied me. I wish I could like your story twice.
6691796 I can definitely say that I mostly called it with a couple of the theories that I posted on the chapter before last. I very eagerly look forward to more!
That was an...odd resolution for the sisters. Still, I like the story over all so far. You do well with character interactions and byplay. Very enjoyable to read.
... I have only one question... How does these ponies evolutionary path work. If they're able to eat grass and all that then that means they would have no need for the ability to eat meat so why would they have evolved the ability... Did ponies use to be carnivores?
And don't you dare say magic!!
6737890 Most everything is an omnivore under the right circumstances. 'Our' equine species are fed meat in some parts of the world, such as in areas with little vegetation, and they adapt fine. It's a nutrition game- you have to eat more of 'nonstandard' foods if they don't have all the nutrients you need. A school friend of mine once calculated how many twinkies he'd need to eat per day to get all his nutrition. Unfortunately, it would have exceeded his own body weight.
that would be heterosexual, i think.
pardonnez moi?
Im going through this story. And i should say that there is few storys that cover character of Fausticorn well, and this story is one of them. I had only good impression about it until this chapter. Fact that your Fausticorn was made from human with genetical defects (transvestite) can be ignored, but not the fact that in this chapter a mother convinces her son that he is not boy but a girl. Knowing importance of said boy, i can say, that you are justifying such behavior and trying to make it look normal. If so, than you need medical attention.
Oh, the future will be interesting. I hope Tham'ra gets to return to Equestria.
Oh you clever son of a...
So...uh...Did Tammy just used her magic to switch Solar Wind's gender around and fully became Celestia?
Excellent story so far, awesome work.
I must admit that from the moment Winter came into the picture I thought she would be the mother of the Princesses, but Solaris being male threw me for a loop, my theory then was that HE would be the father of Celestia, to make him turn into her was a very clever plot twist.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
:sadluna:
ferally
So, she turned her son into a filly yet, or that can wait for later?
That explains the comment someone else made on the blog that linked me to this, and well - I'm gladdened to see it. It only makes this story better in its weird, wonderful way.
Worth it.
I'll admit I have no idea why you had Celly be born a boy or anything, but hey ya wanna have the sun princess be...erm...born the wrong physical gender. -not sure how to word it without sounding like a jerk, cause I don't want to be a jerk- But then adjust it to be the right kind, then more power to you. Confuses me a bit, but I don't hate it I just left with the whys is all -shrugs-
The whole controversial gender thing seems totally unneeded. Really. We hast been fine with everything in this story so far, but...we do not care for this aspect of the story. We will not delve into controversial matters and start hateful comments. But we will say that this felt very unneeded, and....we don’t like it. Sorry, we just don’t. We will continue to read and see how the story progresses.
8727642
I disagree.
Do not speak for me.
That is all.
I figured this outcome as soon as Tamara showed up in past Equestria and mentioned her colors. What I didn't expect was the thing with Celestia. It honestly just feels... unnecessary. One of the two big problems I've had with this story so far is that it doesn't explain itself very well. There are a lot of little things that are explained either poorly, or so out of order that it makes the story really confusing at times. It's gotten better as things have gone on (I think), but not enough that I can really be happy with this development.
I mean, it took so long for us to be told that Tamara is (was?) trans, that the first two chapters left me scratching my head in confusion more often than not because none of the details added up to what you were apparently portraying. It almost made me drop the story entirely simply because it made no sense most of the time. It feels like this was just another unnecessary layer in a story that's already having trouble sorting out the ones its got.
I've gotta add to the pile of "the trans thing is unnecessary" comments. It doesn't seem to add anything to the story and comes off as authorial wish-fulfillment.
Solar and Luna, how did I not notice that?
9276744
It made for a really good bait and switch though, and sometimes the unnecessary can add spice if you aren't bring too gratuitous about it. Honestly, it hasn't played a major role, and it helped the story move along, both for why she was shunned, and for the moment of realisation after it was already too late. So it's a non issue in the end, if not legitimate plot.
7149425
I agree, I immediately went to the comments to see if any shared my sentiment when I got to that part. Not surprised you got hit with so many down votes, though it's a shame so many people blindly support actions that can so do so much psychological, and possibly physical, damage to a growing child. For those who would jump down my throat, I say this as a gay man who once confused his feelings for gender dysphoria, and I shudder to think of how messed up my life would be if I had parents who so readily embraced my misguided wishes at a time where I was a deeply confused teen. While I sympathize for those suffering from gender identity disorders, and hope they can finding happiness, this isn't a decision that should even be offered to a teenager, let alone a child so young. To be clear I don't have a problem with the idea of celestia being trans, just that Tamara is pushing the idea on Solar at such a young age and the personal views on such actions that this inclusion implies the author has. It's a way of addressing the possibility of one's child being trans that I have strong personal reasons to be against, and that has really put me at odds with "the community" for so readily embracing it. Sorry if that upsets people, but I'm not sorry that I feel this way about it. Inb4 someone tries to convince me that I'm a closeted trans now.