What next? · 7:57pm May 12th
I don't know if I've mentioned this in a comment or not, but I've finished "They're home." The weekly updates will continue until the end, although I'll be messing around with upload times just to show the story on the "Recently updated" front page to people visiting the site at various times. It should be roughly six more chapters. As for major events and depth of feeling, this one is more about tying all the loose ends from previous two stories of the trilogy rather than setting up tons of new stuff, but I still think it's worth the time spent reading.
The real question is - what's next?
I'm kinda out of major ideas. I want to try something small but packed and to the point, but I feel that a thing like that needs to be finished and edited first before putting it out along with a catchy cover. Of course, there are some hooks to get into if I had ideas - Blueblood's road through depression, small events in the lives of drones, but the only major one I can think of is Gem's pre-Corruption life. Well, one very special one comes to mind, but that one would be straight up only dark, and I like the happy/dark tone of the drone stories. It's one that I tried to reach based on late Tery Prattchett's Discworld stories (the Sam Vimes in "Thud" kind of feeling - a dark and serious story done in a somewhat funny way, although I don't dare to compare myself to the depth of those stories).
No matter, I'm just mulling things over. Thanks for still sticking around, and feel free to give feedback about what you'd like to read.
I know you're lurking, Changeling404, and I don't think I'm in the right headspace to give One Hug Bug another try.
What we need is a changing in time book! I'm sure a friendly changing queen would have stopped moon butt from going nightmare. And just think, a thousand years of pony changing integration would have some interesting outcomes.
Either way I'm excited for your next story
I'd love to see an entire story set on 64k working with the guard, get away from the hive and chrysalis for a while and see them grow as a drone.
In your stories, I like this atmosphere of cute things with drones against the background of which sometimes serious and dramatic events occur.
The story of the Boss's adventures is a good spin-off of these events, but I'm still afraid to start reading "Changelings in Silver Sunlight" because I have a feeling that the story will go too dark in tone.
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Plus I already have Nightmare's storyline post-NMM in the library, which ends with her promise to Straw Basket to leave the world alone for the duration of his lifespan post Silver Sun 1.
I want all my stories to be set in the same universe, so that would be too AU of AU.
5780351
Hmmm, that's an idea I've been toying with for a while, because it also involves Gem's early days in Canterlot as well as Fury's. I haven't thought of any details yet, though.
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Nah, CSS is no darker than Silver Sun 1 and 2 or Lovebugs 1 and 2. I think there's less cuteness due to the time being split between Silver Sun crew and Boss' guys, but it's readable when you're coming from Boss' stories too, I hope.
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Sometimes it's good to jump the shark.. especially with a monster truck.. with pinkie on caffeine driving ;)
I was just about to pop in and say something to the effect of what 5780351 said. I'll be honest, I didn't really like the drones until they were burdened with leadership and had to reconcile with that, though I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority with that. Point being though, I think 65536 is one of the most compelling characters you've written and that shows the most in his interactions with other drones. Just an odd idea, but if you were to do something with it and Gem/Fury in Canterlot then having another drone with them, putting 65536 firmly in the middle ground between the average drone and Gem + passenger could play on that wonderfully.
Thinking too hard about character development aside, since reading Corrupted Lands I've wanted to see changelings navigating that. I can't quite tell whether they'd thrive in that environment or not and I can't remember many changelings, nightmare aside, being present in that fic aside from Chrysalis' hive being in Ponyville. Not necessarily talking about One Hug Bug-type end of timeline shenanigans. From what I remember there was something like 200 years between silver sun and Corrupted Lands to write in.
Something small and packed you say? Hard To Find The Right Words comes to mind. The first of your changeling stories will always hold a special place in my heart because of how character-focused it is. Not to say that there's a lack of character development or something in the rest of your stories, just everything felt very small-scale and Fury's unique situation forced her to rely on those around her. Seriously, I reread Hard To Find The Right Words regularly because the moment to moment character interaction is just that good. If you went for something like that in style — shorter, dense and focused on character shenanigans — I'd probably end up rereading that over and over again too.
This is a whole lot of words but tl;dr Gem/65536 good and corruption arc might also be good maybe.
Maybe both? Probably not.Also, as a side note I realized while thinking too hard about Gem that her situation while she's early on in Canterlot is the Cyberpunk 2077 scenario we briefly spoke about the other day in the comments without the cyberpunk part.I've said it before, but I wouldn't mind seeing a story that focused on 1313. Maybe something about him settling into his baron-hood? After all, it can't have been ALL smooth sailing for him during the four or so years between "They're Everywhere" and "They're On Holiday" and beyond. Or maybe something comes up chronologically after all of that which poses trouble for Northern San Palomino and he and his zebra escorts have to step up to resolve it.
I suppose I could also point out it'd be nice to find out more specifically about what happened to 17070 after it joined the logging team...but I admit I don't know if there's enough there to make a whole story out of that.
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65, G, HHF do have the most potential for a major story, that's true, but as I said, I haven't thought far past "Fury is learning to live while blind", "Gem is trying to survive with Comfort in her head while becoming a semi-legal Walter White", "65536 is learning guard stuff."
Didn't they end up in Canterlot, or is that post-Corruption? Damn. Either way, lings don't resist Corruption much better than ponies, as we know from Lovebugs 2. Boss' crew survived basically only because Twisted were a primitive, weaker version of Corrupted. The one who resisted Corruption the most is that special idea of a long-term story I mentioned, but that would be a damn PROJECT.
That's why I never did a second story with Fury as the main character. I don't think I could do her justice a second time. A lot of that was the format too. Damn I'm washed up. I can't help feeling that I already did the good stories and now I'm just flopping around, and I have no idea if it's just nostalgia or the fact that I'Ve reread the current stories so often while editing that they feel boring, or if I'm right.
There's potential there too, although I don't know if 65536 is still alive at that time. Gem, obviously, is but a drone can have its limits. I know Three exists to break the reality, but he has a divinity-powered body, and Boss' family overall has had tons of real love since hatching and throughout their development, which can't be said for hive drones. I think hive drones would have limited lifespan even under the new order.
I still think Boss' situation in Lovebugs 1 fits more, since the Queens are hostile and memory Chrysalis eventually helps him. Gem's situation is more about One being so damn badass she rides out her own death through Gem while teaching her all she knows. Friends from the start.
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I meeeean, not gonna spoil anything, buuuuut... I'm not cooking up a story, but maybe lightly air-frying some hooks.
I really should have asked this question AFTER publishing They're home entirely.
If a good slice of life writer took the situation they'd probably pull a story out of it, but I don't think I can make it interesting. I need some world-changing stakes and grim adventure. On the other hand, there's a little bit already in store.
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Reality-jumping pink shards on cocaine from alternate universe.
That sounds like a badass B movie from the 80s.
perhaps you could make an anthology based off the idea you and wobble had, along with what happened to 17070, the deaf drone that got left behind before the final battle of 'they're everywhere' - actually, have you already tied up that loose end? i don't ever recall ever seeing 17070 mentioned afterwards in future sequels, so apologies if you actually have