• Member Since 29th Jan, 2013
  • offline last seen 23 minutes ago

Scipio Smith


More Blog Posts96

  • 67 weeks
    SAPR Rewrite Volume 3 Cover by MRK50

    In another sign of how overly optimistic I once was about how long it would take me to get through this rewrite, back in January 2021 I had a cover for Volume 3 done by MRK50, whose absence from the fandom since then is much lamented. With the new phase of the story due to start on Monday, I can finally share it with you all:

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    10 comments · 738 views
  • 72 weeks
    Shameless shilling of my non-MLP fics

    Those of you who enjoy SAPR, but who possibly find it a bit too big, a bit too slow, or those of who you don't have any problems with it at all but would like to read more RWBY fics from me may be interested in a couple of new fics that I've started fairly recently without any MLP elements.

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    4 comments · 738 views
  • 86 weeks
    Team SAPR and Fluffy by Tianshiko

    A little over a year ago I commissioned this artwork of Team SAPR, the stuffed beowolf and mascot of Benni Havens'; the artist, the very talented Tianshiko, had some health issues and wasn't able to work on it for a long time, but now they've finished it and I hope you'll all agree that it was worth the wait.

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    13 comments · 356 views
  • 114 weeks
    On the future of SAPR

    So... when I first started rewriting SAPR I told everyone that it would not impede the forward movement of the story. I never kept that promise exactly as I intended it at the time that I made it, but I never exactly broke it either.

    Until now.

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    14 comments · 1,232 views
  • 118 weeks
    Signal Boost for Clockwork2003 - Urgent Help needed

    So, I was contacted by another author today, Clockwork2003, who find himself in a position that we, unfortunately, may all find ourselves in at some point in our lives: getting the dreaded cancer diagnosis.

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    4 comments · 395 views
Mar
11th
2013

Back to the Drawing Board · 7:47pm Mar 11th, 2013

Dear Princess Celestia,

If you possess, shall we say, a robust self confidence in your own abilities; then it can be surprisingly easy, if your work is not received as highly as you might like, to begin making excuses for it, ranging from 'It's hard for a noob to get noticed much around here' to 'nobody appreciates what I'm trying to do with my work' all the way to, if you're really unlucky, 'These assholes are conspiring to hate on my fic!'

And, while I wasn't anywhere near there yet thank god, I will confess dear reader that I was on that very train to crazy town...when I got bitten by a plot bunny.

What if Twilight had a predecessor as Celestia's student? What if that student got shown the door upon the revelation of Twilight as the true Element of Magic? What if she sought revenge? (Mild spoilers for Vengeance of Dawn above, though nothing you couldn't gather from reading the prologue and noting that the title includes the word Vengeance) Originally, this character was going to be a minor villain in my ill-recieved fic Empire of the Unconquered Sun, until I realised that a) there was no room in the plot to insert, develop and give a comprehensive arc to this character, especially since Twilight, her rival, would be going place ill-suited to the conduct of such a rivalry. And b), nobody was reading Empire anyway so if I wanted to get my idea noticed I'd have to do it somewhere else.

Me, sore? Surely you jest, sir?

And so I wrote up the prologue for Vengeance of Dawn, uploaded it, submitted it, and was rather astonished to find out that it had gotten more views in three days than Empire had in a month. And seriously, thank you to everyone who upvoted and favourited Vengeance, even fifteen favourites is just amazing for me and you're all awesome, even if you've somehow forgiven Lelouch for geassing sweet Euphie ;).

But it was also a reproof to me; a sign that no, it didn't need more love (and tolerance), it didn't need me to use Vengeance as a bully pulpit for it, people didn't like Empire because it wasn't really very good,. It wasn't hilariously awful maybe, but all that means is that it lacked entertainment value.

And that's why I've revoked the submission on it. Because I still believe the concept is good it was just that the execution was shoddy, and I don't believe in re-writing, certainly not the major re-writing I plan to get around to at some point, in between updates on Vengeance and my original fiction, while the work is in public view.

So, wish me luck next time around.

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