[Shipping] [Sad]
Shipping=Ignore the star rating!
Author: SanityLost
Description: Rainbow Dash and Applejack have been married for four years, they adopted a foal, a red pegasus named Reddawn, and settled down on the farm. However, all is not well. Rainbow Dash's demanding career as a Wonderbolt is threatening to tear the family asunder. Will Rainbow Dash choose to continue her career as a Wonderbolt, or choose to give up her career to stay in Ponyville with her family?D-I-V-O-R-C-E
Additional Tags: Marriage, Divorce, Family, Love, Sacrifice
106 comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, to say the least.
ReplyDeletelame....comeon reddawn... seriously soviet russsian pony
ReplyDeleteYAY! Appldash!
ReplyDelete*Appledash
ReplyDeleteWhoops. Little too eager there.
I guess that law in Equestria is more than liberal :]
ReplyDeleteMmmrrgghnnah...
ReplyDeletethe first inter-mane six shipping in recent memory and it's an AppleDash?
ReplyDelete*sighs*
fine.
@jwil952
ReplyDeleteYou must be from the future!
... I've seen the premise before, but, for some reason, I still want to read it.
@PsychedelicBrony
ReplyDeletewat
NO SPOILERS ABOUT 'YOU KNOW WHAT' AND NO RAMBLING ABOUT 'YOU KNOW WHAT'!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a leak and this place is officially both hasbro-friendly and iTunes friendly (though I''m personally neutral to the first and fiercly hate the 2nd).
Just checked iTunes and got zilch. Guess that's it for me! Not gonna risk being not spoiler-free!
ReplyDelete@SanityLost
I'm so sorry...
I thought this story was pretty good, why was it rated so low?
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand why you'd take MLP, which is utterly escapist and fun, and write a fanfic about divorce - everpresent and miserable. Is it cathartic somehow?
ReplyDelete@f9f402ec-52c4-11e1-a506-000bcdcb5194
ReplyDeletereasons to downrate a shipfic on EQD 101:
- a pairing a person doesn't like.
- said pairing got a fic on EQD before another, better fic of the same pairing gets on.
-another pairing has a better fic than the featured fic, but has yet to be featured yet.
-cause it's shipping.
-cause it's lesbian/straight/gay.
want more?
@Unknown
ReplyDeletewhy would you take something like MLP and write descriptive sex scenes between the characters? cause some people like that.
Honestly? I really wanted to like this. I really did. But I just couldn't.
ReplyDeleteI love AppleDash. But at the same time I can see the problems with it that would need to be overcome in regards to dreams versus expectations, and I was hoping that this story would explore them in detail. And yet, while they were certainly there in the background; the main crux of the matter, the main conflict, seemed forced in this story.
The divorce itself just seemed like something added to add drama. I can almost see where AJ was coming from (as a sort of feeling of betrayal), but I don't think she was justifying it properly or in a way that she would do so based on her character. And the story spends so much time building Dash up to be the bad guy in this, and I have to say that Dash actually had a pretty good point.
And the bit near the end of the first chapter, where AJ threatens to have Dash's ability to see her daughter stripped if the two came to blows after AJ spent the last several minutes pissing Dash off on purpose? I can't believe that at all. No how no way.
Finally the ending seemed a bit lazy. AJ spends the entire story guilt-tripping Dash, and when Dash finally gives AJ backpedals so Dash thinks it is what she wants rather than what AJ wants? That implies a level of psychological manipulation that I don't think AJ would bring herself to do, and it really bothered me to see her do it in this story.
Ultimately, I'm gonna have to 3-star this one. Great concept. Wonderful setting and overarching story ideas. Pretty poor execution.
I just read the description and it sounds weird but I will not judge a fan fic by its cover so I will give it a try
ReplyDelete*Looks at rating*
ReplyDelete.... *sigh*... The starbombers are back....
@TenchiFreak5
ReplyDeletei wanted to read it, but i lost it at the filly's last name. <_<
OMG OMG OMG OMG! Cutie Mark Crusaders song in Hearts and Hooves day!
ReplyDelete@wackypony
ReplyDeleteWOLVERINES!
I won't be reading this, AppleDash is my fave ship, I don't wanna see didvorcing! D:
ReplyDelete>Shipping = Ignore star-rating
ReplyDeleteIf I ever write a story and send it to Equestria Daily, it won't be a shipping story... but it will have the shipping tag on it. BECAUSE WHY THE HELL NOT.
Apparently Sethisto thinks we are incapable of thinking for ourselves. How disappointing.
ReplyDeleteSeth, define quality.
ReplyDeletecause i've read far higher quality fics than this and never seen them get posted. also, i've had the author tell me they submitted it.
It's a shame that so few shipping fics make it to EQD... that's why FiMfic is a better source of stories. And will always be
ReplyDeleteGay. Literally. Have I mentioned I hate apple dash?
ReplyDelete@f9f402ec-52c4-11e1-a506-000bcdcb5194
ReplyDeleteBecause some of us don't like shipping in the slightest. However there are those who one star, where as what we should do is just dont read or rate the thing.
I'm not gonna one star a ship fic even though Dash ones kill my emotional soul. these are reasons
@Dusty
ReplyDeleteJoin the club
@Dusty
ReplyDeleteThink you're commenting in the wrong post there, chum.
It doesn't have a 4.6/5.0 star rating on FimFiction for no apparent reason. Stop this silly auto-one-starry-ness!
ReplyDelete@wackypony
ReplyDeleteThe answer to that is simple, and seth told it in bolded red: "All stories are checked for quality by a staff of exceedingly strict pre-readers beforehand"
That means that if they were unlucky enough to get into the hands of a shipping hater pre-reader, it got rejected. I've personally seen rejection letters for fics written better than some romance novels I know, and said rejection letters seemed to be written by 4chan haters.
@Unknown
ReplyDelete"utterly escapist"
which is why there are con artists, hospitals that need security guards, apparently cancer, money woes, and harsh social strata.
at the same time there is a strong sense of community in ponyville to help with the money problems, and they may have better medical technology than us as well as possibly public health care, so it is still a world to escape to... but "utterly" escapist? far from that.
@Alexaroth
ReplyDeleteisn't the solution to a ship hatin pre-reader to resubmit it?
i know that you'll get two different pre-readers, unless you have shit luck.
also, are you talking about trashy dime store romance novels?
@Alexaroth
ReplyDeletemaybe seth needs to look into streamlining the pre-reader process so that prereaders can specialize in the types of fics they are most comfortable with.
@Unknown SPOILERS
ReplyDeleteyes :)
@Unknown
ReplyDeletealso, I see divorce as potentially just a big disappointment. on one hand, it sucks a lot and the logistics of it are brutal, but on the other hand, if it is a clean divorce, it can lead to a happier ending for everyone involved.
It would be far worse to just stay in a marriage that nobody wants to be in just because they don't like the stigma of divorce.
@wackypony
ReplyDeleteNope, I'm talking about real, good romance novels :)
It's just off putting to be rejected without any viable non-personal reasons, knowing that you have a pretty 'decent' story. That's @ 80% of the best stories this fandom has to offer (IMO) are NOT on EQD.
@Karl N. Hauber
ReplyDeleteI believe what some are incapable of is seeing the word "shipping" or "divorce" and going on their merry way without opening a post just to one-star a story. Or maybe drop an inane comment on how their dislike for the subject matter is so strong they felt compelled to do so. You know, instead of just ignoring it.
@Anonymoose
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, everything that's even remotely decent ends up with a 4 point something on FiMFiction. The star rating system doesn't really work with an enormous and anonymous audience that doesn't have to justify the score.
@Adrian Brony
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the pre-reading process needs to be changed. This site is missing on a lot of GOOD stories that are out there. Most authors don't even dare to submit their fics, scared by the ridiculous high standards some pre-readers impose. This is not a Literature Hall Of Fame after all, this is a site dedicated to the fans of My Little Pony, a cartoon show for children.
And about the actual story we have here, although the context and terms involved seem alien to the Equastrian world, it does fit quite nicely in the end.
@Alexaroth
ReplyDelete<_< so, wait, are you saying the romance novels wouldn't make it to EQD or that the letters were just written better?
As usual, the internet is incapable of using a rating system properly. I'm not sure why we bother.
ReplyDeleteThe story was good and emotional towards the beginning and end, but it dragged on a bit in the middle. It felt like a very realistic argument, it just carried on making the same points for just a teensy bit too long. Only a small criticism, though.
@Sciz
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I've read a LOT of fics on FIMFic, and the actual rating system is like: 4.0-4.9 where 4.0 is a minimum (with few exceptions, stories that even if written well, attract a lot of controversy from certain people but are loved by other) and 4.9, which is perfect (every type of brony loves it). And yea, 100 ratings minimum to get clear results
@wackypony
ReplyDeleteWhat I am saying is that certain (high quality, well written) romance stories (not mature content!) do not make it to EQD due to being rejected by ship-haters or the fears authors have towards the pre-readers.
Sorry if I didn't make my self clear, it's 4 in the morning here :(
@Alexaroth
ReplyDeleteis the system anonymous?
cause it seems like EQD could stand to shave some pre-readers.
if i was a pre-reader, i'd just opt out of non-ship fics, because i only read shipping.
Also, another misconception I often see in this fandom: getting featured on EQD is not, in my opinion, a highlight in your 'MLP fic writing career'.
ReplyDeleteThose that love reading fictions and love the feeling of imagining new worlds, that like being completely engulfed in the story, those guys are already on FiMfic/fanfic more than EQD, spending sleepless nights devouring chapters upon chapters filled with epic adventures, tragedies and love.
For them, most of the times they see a fic featured here they are like: "That was a good one... but X was kinda better, didn't see that one ahhh... the pre-readers".
@wackypony
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how the system is but seth tries to convince us that it's more like a single organism, by using the term "team" all too very often when talking about them. It's not really like that... it all depends on what pre-reader a story gets to.
You can have a lucky day and get that one single pre-readers out of all hundreds(or less) of them that would like your story, and it gets passed.
@Alexaroth
ReplyDeletei've been led to believe there is a team of 30-40 pre-readers.
<_<
@wackypony
ReplyDeletehehe, you used the term 'team' :D
And yea, I kinda exaggerated on the numbers to emphasize the luck factor :P
@Alexaroth
ReplyDeleteAre you sure? Now, I admit when I did mine it was quite a while ago (back when the amount of fan content was still fairly small) so perhaps things have changed since out of necessity, but I'm pretty sure several people looked at it before it was approved.
Bucking AppleDash. Make it stop.
ReplyDelete@Alexaroth
ReplyDeletePre-readers only pick what they like to pre-read, unless the pile starts heaping, in which case they will try to read each in the most fair manner possible. Shipfics get through for a reason, hence, we can theorize that there are pre-readers who like shipfics.
I beg your pardon, but something riles me whenever people start complaining about the pre-reader system without sufficient knowledge of how things go on in there. Then again, I have no idea how much you know about the system, so... =\
okay, i read it.
ReplyDeletecliche ending, meh.
actually, the entire thing felt cliche.
why'd this get featured? it's not bad, but cliched as fuck, as far as divorce stories go.
would've worked better if it had been part of a larger fic.
I just want to mention how hilarious it is that in over 50 comments, only about three people have made comments about the story's content rather than general premise. Mostly this has turned into a discussion about the prereader system and a few people complaining about Appledash. Sorta like the comments on that Triple X story turned into a discussion on EQD's maturity judgements.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, despite the notice saying to ignore the star rating, I kind of have to agree. The whole fic just felt awkward in my mind, and I'd say 3 stars is actually an accurate score.
@TenchiFreak5
ReplyDeleteI dunno. I personally think that many of the issues you point out are well explained as ongoing stress. It the two were not arguing entirely rationally I don't think we should be particularly surprised.
I liked this fic, as it is rare that fics even try to deal with issues of a shipping going into the future. I guess my biggest complaint would have to be that RD was willing to give everything up. I mean, I know that her element is loyalty, but given her cutie mark, she literally had to give up "what makes her special". I think that her argument was fairly justified, really, though I can, of course, see why it turned out the way it did.
I suppose I also like this fic because I am a bit biased against appledash, and I thought this fic did a splendid job of showing why the ship has fundamental issues (I.E. forcing a character to give up their most defining characteristic) Either way, bravo, and I am glad that ratings are being ignored
@Alexaroth
ReplyDeleteHey bud. Just figured I'd pop my head in to clear something up.
There are ~30 of us, not hundreds. Though, that would be awesome as it'd help things get done quicker.
We each have our own preferences and only read what we like. I don't like sadfics, so I don't read sadfics. Some don't like Grimdark. Some don't like Shipping. Our personal preferences have nothing to do with whether a story gets passed or not. If they did, we wouldn't be pre-readers anymore.
So, yeah. Just had to add my two bits. Carry on.
@Alexaroth
ReplyDeleteI've been on FimFIction, Fanfiction.net, PFA, and DA.
I've read all genres including gluefics and clopfics.
I've read fics that are considered "great" on the sites that host them but never make it to EqD.
I've read fics that are not on EqD by an author that has multiple other fics on EqD.
I have never found a quality story that DIDN'T make it onto EqD for reasons other than content, editing, or author's lack of trying.
On EqD I like about half the fics and dislike the others usually due to story rather than quality.
On FimFiction most of the fics are TERRIBLE and the ones that are not are either on EqD, will be soon, or can't be due to content.
As for this story itself, I doubt I will read it since it contains themes I am not interested in and a pairing I am very rarely a fan of.
ReplyDeleteYou know... I honestly don't like it when something is granted a five star, even though it's actually a three star, simply because Seth or the pre-readers "MAKE IT SO!"
ReplyDeleteThis is a relatively new phenomenon among EqD and it really feels very very wrong. Honestly, it's up for the readers to decide this sort of thing. At the moment I have no idea whether this story is really five star worthy material or not because the mods are just countering a rating they don't like, and it bugs me. I'm more inclined to believe that this is actually a three-star story here.
See, the thing of it is... I know that some people like to auto-one star... but this reveals a double standard here. You know how when Pen Stroke puts something out so many people auto-five star? (which is just as bad but in a different way) Well, if you were going to counter auto starring then you should really basically tell everyone on his stories to "ignore the star rating and it's only one star."
But really, come on. Shipping is not my favorite. In general I hate Grimdark. But that's not really the point here. If a story is good enough to stand on its own legs, then it'll gain enough stars over time to reveal the true star rating. Take Vinyl Scratch tapes for example. It's shipping, but it managed to get a 6 star rating (I think?) all on its own merits, without being granted one by the Mods. It was a good story. It earned it.
This story... I don't care if it's good or not, it officially did not earn its star rating. It was given one. And now, I can't trust either the star rating in the little stars, or the one in the tags. If you had let it be and let it accumulate true stars over time, then that would be the way to see how good it is, but just granting it one as a counter measure? That's no good.
I'm really tired right now so that long winded comment might have made less sense than I wanted >_<
I agree with the appledash haters. Most of the stories I've seen about them sucked hard. I really prefer friendshipping, where the conflict and story is focused on the main characters, not the almost always there sex scene or sex tones that the extreme shippings have. I'm pretty sure in those stories, the readers don't even care what characters are in it.
ReplyDeleteAgain I have to say about the rating, if somepony doesn't like it, they are entitled to their opinion. They shouldn't be blown off just because they don't like a certain type of fic or shipping type. Plus, that's kind of the point to a rating, to tell everyone how the general readers feel about it (even if they haven't read it and just hate the type of fic posted).
@TenchiFreak5 this, I do say.
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for reading my thoughts and explicating them. I would repost your comment verbatim. x)
Adding a few things: The premise is sound. I can see how divorce could be threatened by a party in a relationship even if love still existed. But the conflict feels a bit forced.
Dash's overly harsh criticism of AJ's cooking is not something she, being in love with AJ and in the midst of an unrelated fight, would do (at least in my opinion).
Also, the conflict resolution is rushed. Dash gives up her lifelong dreams with that little emotional turmoil? And, like Techni said, AJ's statement to Dash that the decision was what was in RD's heart the whole time comes at a (somewhat) difficult time for Dash. Manipulating her in a time of weakness like that, even if it is for the good of the family, is not what AJ would do. I just imagine the author didn't fully think all of the angles through before writing.
@Dusty the Royal Janitor
ReplyDeleteI agree that giving a story an auto 5 star is honestly no better that letting the star bombers win. It's still providing a non-accurate rating.
I think they will need a better system for this eventually but since the trolls only started working in earnest a couple months ago it may take time.
@Dusty the Royal Janitor
ReplyDeleteYou sir or ma'am are a very wise pony to have so many insights when you are tired. . .
I applaud you! /)(\
@Daffodil
ReplyDeletei dunno if you'll see this, but do you have to read a certain amount of fics to stay on the pre-reader team?
i could see me doing it from time to time, but not on a day to day basis.
Shipping is usually shit but this is brilliant. Also, giggidytastic ending.
ReplyDelete@Pyrobunneh
ReplyDeleteEven if every single person who hated AppleDash, hated shipping or hated Sad rated this with a 1 star without reading it would not be hit this hard. The star bombing is likely due to a very small number of people with multiple accunts/browsers/proxys to spam 1 stars at the fic en-mass. 1 Rating per hater would not cause this.
@Dusty the Royal Janitor
ReplyDeleteThe issue is, because certain individuals have decided they want to prove what is and isn't the right way to enjoy fanfic, the ratings will never be accurate. If a shipping fic goes up, it'll have 10 legitimate ratings and 30 1-stars within the first hour of being up. Fast-forward a week, and it'll have 50 legitimate votes and 100 1-stars. The individual starbombing isn't playing by the same rules, and as such something has to be done.
No, auto-5-starring stories isn't the best solution, but it's the best one we have at the moment. I wish we could do away with the star system entirely so people could rely on the description and constructive comments from others to determine if a story is worth reading, but I feel I'm in the minority there.
Alas, until someone develops a better rating system for Blogger or the starbombers stop, that's the way it's going to be. I encourage you to read the comments if you absolutely must know what your peers think of a story before reading it.
@wackypony
ReplyDeleteNope. There's no quota or anything. We just read fics whenever we have free time.
Appledash doesn't work well for shipping stories because AJ and RD have too much in common. They're best buds. Without the addition of some external conflict there's nothing to drive the story. That's not to say you can't write a good Appledash story — you can. It's just that other pairings are more immediately interesting (from a fiction perspective) because you can play the two characters off each other and have it feel more dynamic.
ReplyDeleteWith Rarijack you can have AJ complain about frou frou shit while Tabitha St. Germain hams it up like a boss.
With Twidash you can talk about BOOKS!! and have Twilight be awkward as fuck.
With Pinkiedash you can reference Party of One and/or Cupcakes.
With Fluttershy x anyone you can have Fluttershy do exactly what you'd expect her to do.
With Gilda x anyone you can have Gilda be a giant bitch and go from there.
What can you do with Appledash? They'll fight once or twice and challenge each other to a race or some shit and then make out. Wow, cool story, bro. Sounds interesting. Hey, look, I'll be right back, 'cause I think 'Fallout Equestria: Watching Paint Dry Chronicles' just updated. I'm gonna go read that first
You know...i'd scream idea rip due to me already having posted a story idea on another site but it's not worth wasting my breath over.
ReplyDelete@Mad Brochacho
ReplyDeletehonestly, while I agree with your synopsis in general, and have applied it to a number of other ships, I have a few issues with your argument.
The biggest thing I have to say is that, while there may not be much to conflict, there really is a fair amount you can do. The two characters are similar, but they contrast about as well as any other conflicting pairing. WHile they are good friends and have same shared interests, they are very much different in personality.
Overall, I think the issue in this ship is, to at least to a degree, what you have pointed out, but also undeniably that, while their interests may coincide on certain aspects, the huge difference in character between the two starts to make the ship unfeasible in terms of an actually sustained relationship
PinkiexDash ftw
@Mad Brochacho
ReplyDeletei don't entirely agree. The properly IC AppleDash I have seen are epic.
I just find they are so often cliched, or OOC, or juggling the idiot ball, or used as stand-ins as a popular ship to tell a story that really doesn't address the characters. (This fic seems to be all of the above).
The actual dynamics of a romantic relationship between those 2 are great, there just seem to be few fic authors able to actually portray them properly.
(The best AppleDash IMO was in chapter 2 of The Combinatorics Project)
It's like every other pairing the characters seem "themselves" but AppleDash comes along and I'm like "Who are these 2 and what did they do with AJ and RD?"
ReplyDelete@Daffodil Actually, I'm with you. The entire star system has just gone nuts. Besides, tastes are subjective. With comments, you can see WHY people did or didn't like it, and get a much better picture of whether you'd enjoy it or not.
ReplyDeleteIf it was possible, a star review system as compromise might work: having to post why you give it that rating for all to see might make for more thoughtful decisions.
@DPV111
ReplyDeleteI think that you are being a bit unfair to this fic in particular. In attempting to address the characters four years into the future, there is a requisite slight change in character. I, personally, found that this fic did what I considered to be an excellent job of portraying the characters as they might be with four more years under their belt.
I also thought that all the issues in interaction could be entirely justified within this framework. Even RD's final decision, though I may think it should have quite possibly gone the other way, is justified because of her element. Where one pegs a four-years older RD in terms of dreamsV.loyalty is up to the individual, an I thought that this interpretation worked
@Daffodil
ReplyDelete"I wish we could do away with the star system entirely so people could rely on the description and constructive comments from others to determine if a story is worth reading, but I feel I'm in the minority there."
Unless the prereaders are all worthless, a story's mere presence on the site suggests that it has merit. The star system has been completely redundant ever since Seth stopped posting everything that came to his inbox.
@Party Favors
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately that would either limit each reader to only one comment per fic or allow the same reader to rate multiple times.
@Mad Brochacho
ReplyDelete"What can you do with Appledash? They'll fight once or twice and challenge each other to a race or some shit and then make out."
Arguably a lot more than many people claim, even many of the AppleDash fics which I don't think hit on the chemistry between the two nearly as well as they should have.
Yes, they have a lot in common, but no points of conflict? First there is their competitive streak, which if you're getting creative about could be extended well outside of physical competition. Plus, there's the huge contrast between Dash's carefree lifestyle and seemingly lackadaisical attitude which contrasts greatly with AJ's typical protestant work-ethic. Not to mention Applejack's tradition and family oriented life. Then there's implications of RD's goal of joining the Wonderbolts, which I've seen very few, if any, writers bother to address head on. And that's to say nothing about their differing Earth Pony and Pegasus lifestyles they follow.
But the more I think about these contradictions and potential points of conflict, the more fascinating the become to me. Do these things merely drive them apart or does a relationship between the two force them to re-evaluate themselves and how they order their lives?
After all, Dash abandoned Pinkie and Rarity in desert just to chase after Applejack.
@Sciz And the rating system for EqD is any better, where anything below a 4.5 is considered bad? Where everyone who has an account can anonymously vote, and many will vote 1 star for shipping they don't like without even reading the story?
ReplyDeleteI read it, and I'd say it's at least a 4.7 in EqD standards. The arguments are realistic and the conflict is pretty sound. Dash is being forced to choose between afamily that wants her around and a job that demands the majority of her time(next 3 years in this case), which is a common scenario for divorce in reality.
AJ, meanwhile, is stressed out about having to be essentially a single mom to a young filly since Dash is rarely around to help. She wants whats best for the family as a whole, but feels that Dash can't see that and prefers being a Wonderbolt over being with them.
@duskdrake
ReplyDeleteWhich is another reason I have no interest in this fic.
I don't care if they're OOC because they're older or just plain OOC. I read ponyfics to read about the characters from the show in new and interesting situations.
There's an old saying: Times change, people don't.
@DPV111
ReplyDeleteI know the ship can work. Any ship can work. It's just that unless you're planning on providing a really realistic, in-depth and psychologically nuanced romance plot in your story it pays to choose a pairing with some more obvious and 'cartoony' points of conflict. Otherwise the main pair just ends up seeming like two idiots who get along, but don't, because the plot conflict depends on it, and the story goes to shit.
@duskdrake
ReplyDeleteRainbow Dash I can buy that for, because her here is the same extension of "what is the best way to be loyal" problems that she has had in the show itself several times. She's pretty decent in this story.
However, I don't see four years of a relationship with Rainbow Dash causing Applejack to change from the most down to earth and straightforward of the cast into someone who is, for lack of a better term, shamelessly manipulative.
@Adam Crocker
ReplyDeleteWhat does religion have to do with work ethic?
May I suggest that giving shipping stories an automatic 5-star rating in the library is counterproductive?
ReplyDeletePeople uninterested in shipping might be interested in top-notch stories regardless of the tag. But this policy suggests that if you intend to filter out 4-star material, you need to filter out [Shipping] as well.
People interested in shipping might want to consider the relative quality of these stories. In which case, making them all 5-star isn't helpful.
It's not clear to me that malicious star-bombing is the cause of low-rated shipping stories. Again, a recent shipping story earned its 5 stars. But even if it's true, I don't see how this policy helps anyone.
AppleDash fic, good.
ReplyDeleteDivorce, bad.
........not sure if want.
@DPV111
ReplyDeleteI should have said "strong work ethic". Though the term "Protestant work ethic" has been tossed around as a cliched phrase so much in my lifetime I guess I lazily assumed that the meaning would be clear. (That's what I get for not paying too close attention to my words after a long day of school work.)
@DPV111 I was actually envisioning the comments and ratings to still be separate. Each account gets one rating, but in order for it to be counted, they would have to type in a quick reason underneath. By clicking on the ratings, a person could read as to why the people gave it the rating it did. Having to type in a reason might give pause to star bombers (maybe), but mainly, if the reason wasn't legitimate, a person looking at the reviews would know to ignore the trash ratings. Meanwhile, the comments section would remain as is, allowing for more in depth analysis and discussion. (Or other things, because this is the Internet.)
ReplyDeleteThis whole system would probably be pretty hard to institute and has a few flaws, so I doubt it'll go anywhere. It's just a thought I had.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@EonMaster
ReplyDelete"And the rating system for EqD is any better?"
No, it isn't. Even the binary like/dislike system only works for sites like Rotten Tomatoes that restrict votes to actual critics.
Facebook probably has the right idea. Just give people a single "like" button that doesn't pretend to be anything more than the popularity contest that internet ratings actually are.
"Ignore the star rating." YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! X)
ReplyDelete@Mad Brochacho
ReplyDeleteThat was a poorly worded post.
What I was trying to say is that you do not need a deep character study to make AppleDash interesting.
It's simply that their differences at a much more basic level of characterization are frequently overlooked for their obvious differences and their casual similarities.
@Mad Brochacho
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with this.
AJ and RD are too alike for me to ever properly enjoy AppleDash, unless you take one of them out of the story, or keep the shipping to a minimum.
Though I can read any TwiDash/RariJack/FlutterPie/*insert conflicting character pairing here* easy peasy.
@Adam Crocker
ReplyDeleteDash had to go after AJ in that scenario because:
1) AJ was why they were there in the first place. Also, no romantic interests there.
2) It would've been entirely retarded to go after Pinkie and Rarity. Also, as Dash said, "They knew what they were getting into"
*See subject of the story* ... *Look at author's name : SanityLost* ... ''Yep, the 2 add up. Lost sanity, indeed''.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute...
ReplyDeleteD-I-V-O-R-C-E, RECYCLE!!!
Perfect.
@wackypony
ReplyDeleteWell no, of course not, but in the course of looking at reasons for pairing them up - as with any other ship - that detail jumped out at me.
I've been waiting for a shipfic to at least try this. The way ships usually go, you'd think most couples never fight, never have ambitions that trump the relationship, never grow apart over time, never seperate, never get divorced. Like....what kind of fuckin fantasy world do YA'LL live in? lol "happily ever after" is BULLSHIT.
ReplyDeleteBut even this fic cheated that. We jumped right into their divorce with no build-up and - worst of all - they wind up back together in the end? Bleh, divorce just became another vehicle for romantic wish fulfillment.
Can we get ONE, just ONE damn shipfic that shows them falling in love, GRADUALLY falling *out* of love, cheating on one another, suspicions, divorce, and eventually detente for the kids sake? Because that's what *actually* happens to the VAST MAJORITY OF MARRIAGES in societies where the husband isn't allowed to kill the wife for "dishonoring" him. Seriously, ya'll fanfic authors need to stop watching that Julia Roberts romantic comedy dreck and pay attention to Annie Hall sometime.
@wackypony
>cause it's lesbian/straight/gay.
Starbombing a fic cuz it has lesbians? LOL yeah that never fucking happens EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
and Fallout Equestria: Watching Paint Dry Chronicles is best fanfic
btw Star-5 is and shall forever be worthless so long as that shitty Mass Effect crossover still possesses it.
AJ was supposed to be mine, Not RAINBOW DASH!!!!! just kidding they're both fine! ^_^
ReplyDeleteNow as for finally commenting on the story itself, it's actually not bad and I don't much trouble in seeing it working. However, the resolution, while fine on its own as a scene of reconciliation,
ReplyDeleteThe story's strongest in the first half of the first part, depicting Applejack's frantic attempts to keep her mind occupied with work, as well as her and Dash's terse engages and Dash's petty sniping over her cooking. That's exactly the kind of pettiness married couples engage in when their divorce is on the rocks. And while I see TenchiFreak5's point about Applejack's behaviour, I can even see that as plausible given the circumstances. Neither would be thinking very clearly in that situation, and Applejack making threats about custody under those circumstances don't feel as implausible to me, even if I wouldn't see the character doing so otherwise. (Though I'll add a qualifier later.)
What doesn't make it work is that after Dash leaves the night passes and she just shows up the next day deciding she doesn't want to be in the Wonderbolts and just wants to be with her family. While I applaud the author for actually trying to tackle the likely difficulties of Applejack and Rainbow Dash's contrasting aspirations, the actual narrative resolution has been pushed off-stage so how Dash comes to her decision. It cheats the reader of what would otherwise be a heartwarming resolution because it doesn't feel earned.
Plus, Dash just drops her dreams after Applejack piles guilt on her and emotionally manipulates her. As I said I could buy Applejack's behaviour in the thick of a nasty, deteriorating relationship. But addressing without addressing it substantively, even after the fact with a simple admission of guilt, it sticks on in the narrative like a rusty nail. And arguably it works against the reconciliation thrust of the ending since only one partner concedes anything.
@mycutiemarkisagun
ReplyDeleteDifferent peeps, different priorities.
There are a bunch of varied scenarios I'd love to see these characters in. Realistic depiction of a failing relationship is not one.
I like my ponyfics believable, but not realistic.
If I was that enamored with reality I would not have any use for FiM in the first place.
@wackypony
ReplyDeleteI agree that the ships involving the greater contrast between characters are usually the more entertaining ones. I personally agree with The best pairings I have personally read are RariJack, TwiShy and PinkieDash but I have read at least one version of each possible pair I have enjoyed at some point (except RariDash).
I disagree with the statement that AJ and RD are "too similar" to be a good ship. I don't find them similar at all. They have traits in common, but so do all the Mane 6.
what dusty just said i think he is totally wrong because applejacks is awesome and orange awesome color and anyone that does like applejacks is awesome too and those who don't like her then they take a kick in the ass trip to the moon.
ReplyDeleteNykkes64 is right about applejacks and rainbow dash is awesome. but RAINBOW DASH is suppose be my all my (cling) (cling) (guns). OK?! ( putting my guns down ) i love AJ and dashie.
ReplyDeleteShipping=Ignore the star rating!
ReplyDeleteIgnore which star rating, it has 2. I think it deserves 5, it's a good story.