i once took a commission to craft a statue of the mayor of "topaz meet" who is a prairie pony named "wheatberry"
they wanted a style "less abstract and more representative" so i challenged myself to go all in on detail and accuracy
when i showed it to them i complimented them on the choice to celebrate their body's natural beauty instead of caving in to aesthetic trends
it turns out they'd caved all the way in and expected me to somehow infer that
they asked me to revise the sculpture to "trim up some things" to be "more flattering" and i felt so betrayed that i was unkind in my response—
"why ask me? my chisels won't carve away honesty but you seem to keep yours sharp"
later on i apologized for disrespecting their wishes for ideal self-representation
but i'm still not welcome in topaz meet
. . .
i hope i'll be welcome at the arcane congress again soon