Unto a New Dawn · 4:12pm Oct 29th, 2014
Okay, so, this blog really isn't meant to be in the ways of progress or updates. I mean, I do have something lined up for Halloween. It's not complete yet, so I've got to knuckle down on it if I want it to be released before Saturday. It's a clopfic by the way, so sorry to those who might have been wanting something else. I do have an actual Dark somewhere in the lines though. Actually, you know what? It's called Wispy Woods, and this is the description:
A filly treks through the forest, all alone
Against the protest of her sister’s groanLittle does she know what holds in store
For when she approaches death’s door
It's an in-progress, but I think with its different writing style, it can be pretty good. No schedule for release yet, but I hope I can push through it. The way I've been reading through parts of it, I'm actually thinking it could get into Twilight's Library by itself. That's holding high hopes and all, but I'm trying to be poetically smart with this one. Sort of a, "Whoa, that word wouldn't usually fit into main narrative elsewhere, but here it works brilliantly!" scenario playing off.
Or it could come crashing down. Who knows?
Now, onto something else: I watched Rainbow Rocks. I'm not going to delve too far into it, given that I'm late to the party and all. To make a huge spoiler blog with all of my thoughts and bits about every single detail would be a bit mundane at this point given that everyone else has done it, but to put it simply: I certainly enjoyed it. I enjoyed the first Equestria Girls too, but as a comparison with Rainbow Rocks... I can't really place one above the other. They both have their high points, and they both have weaker points. Rainbow Rocks isn't flawless by any means—there's quite some nitpicks here and there.
For one, the pacing. I've read all over the place that the pacing was rather fine, but I didn't think so. For me, everything seemed to come crashing past like a locomotive on overdrive—things happened way too fast. For me, anyway. The film's barely above one hour, I know that, but it still seemed like things happened went by quickly.
Secondly, plot holes. This has been brought up elsewhere too, and it's not really excusable I guess. Never is in films; most have holes in places. I don't want to go too far into it, but when you link up some information from Rainbow Rocks with the first film, things don't correlate properly. Chalk that up to writing or for the sake of plot, but eh.
With those said, here's what I liked about the film (spoilers possibly, though you've all likely seen it by now):
1. Sunset Shimmer - Loved seeing her play a bigger role than a cliche villain who stands and stares menacingly. She felt like the sixth member of... well, the main six if Twilight were absent. I could get behind that.
2. The Dazzlings - Adagio's hips; that should be a section in of itself. These three were pretty nice villains, especially seeing them growing over time, unlike Sunset in the first film. These three actually stick around and say stuff. I can certainly see where the fics about these three are coming from though - Sonata and Taco Tuesday, yep, I've got it. Why hasn't anyone made a Crossover with The LEGO Movie for that one yet?
3. Ponies - As in, the pony segment of the film. I preferred it to the first film, which really was more of a large info dump for plot. In this one, the problem is seen, the backstory is provided fine enough, and Twilight sets off, which leads me to:
3b. Twilight does a science. Come on, when she went and built that giant machine mirror thing, you loved it. Twilight; she did a thing! And then Pinkie explained all of her science-y blabbering in simple terms. I'll tell you right now: the TwiPie vibes were huge during the pony portion of the film. The way Pinkie understood all of that techno-babble got me thinking of their synergy. Which also brings me to:
3c. That tiny moment when they all hugged Twilight before she set off, and Pinkie hugged her for a second longer. It's the tiny things that count. 
4. Maud Pie - A tiny cameo, sure, but it was great regardless. Boulder stole the scene. Admittedly, the entire slumber party portion of the film was rather... uneeded. It really only serves so Twilight and Sunset can get together and have their conversation. Still enjoyed it though, considering we haven't seen anything slumber since Look Before You Sleep.
5. Vinyl ex-machina. Need I say more? THAT FREAKIN' CAR! WHY AREN'T THERE ANY FICS ON THIS THING?
6. There's likely more, but I'll end with the big one: the soundtrack. My god, this thing is amazing! I've listened to this thing so many times already, and I just keep replaying it and lose myself to it. The time just breezes pass.
Nifty link, but this thing is really great. Loved the songs in the film, especially the Shake Your Tail and The Rainbow Dash Ego Song (that's my name for Awesome as I Want to Be) segments. Overall, a great soundtrack (though the film was missing Perfect Day For Fun - stupid short exclusive, it's a good song) but the one song I'm not all fond of is Tricks up My Sleeve. Yeah, the one that many claim is the biggest surprise to grace the film, and it's my least favourite. Eh, just not a fan.
But since I've seen Rainbow Rocks, I can now read the gazillion fics about it. I've read a few, but there's still time to catch up. Time to see how many Sonata ships exist.
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Another thing I want to bring up is Skype. If you're a member of Rage Reviews, you may or may not know that it has a Skype group. Needless to say, I tried it out the other day, and I've pretty much become a citizen of the thing. It's been... just under a week I think, but the conversations that have happened... by jove. The discussion and stuff that has happened is just... absolutely brilliant. I'm not going to tell you to join or anything if it's not your thing, but... I'm just speechless. So many fics ideas have been given to me from some conversations (the Halloween fic is one of them actually, and that's bad because I've had under a week to make it while real life has been happening).
Joining is entirely your choice of course, but right now in terms of life, I'm on the chat quite a lot. I've certainly felt entertained rather than watching Youtube videos for hours on end. Join in if you want to chat to yours truly, though I wouldn't blame you if you don't want to; some of the things I come out with... let's just say that not everyone would be a fan.
That's it for Skype.
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The main thing this blog is about (and the title for that matter) is promotion of a fic. More specifically, one of my buddy's who is known as -TGM-. You might have seen him around or read one of his fics - most likely Wither. The guy is one of my friends from somewhere else, and originally, he wasn't a brony. He was soon turned, rest assured of that, and I was there when it happened. He's a pretty good writer—better than me, especially considering Wither and the collab he's a part of called A&E: The Case of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (which needs a new update pronto).
But, he released a fic just the other day, and it's rather... been down in the dumps. By that, I mean he released it at the wrong time (middle of the night) and so hardly anyone has seen it, pushing it off the main page. Apart from his followers, hardly anyone would have seen it. He's asked RainbowBob to promote it after a conversation we had, so hopefully that should pick it up a bit. But, I still want to help out here, because it's pretty darn good and he's a good buddy. One chapter so far, but I'm holding high hopes for it. In fact, I might possibly even be writing a chapter myself, pending on our conversation. We've shared some potential ideas back and forth on what may or may not happen, so here it is:
Equestria has not always been the peaceful land it is known as today. In the days of old, ancient beings wandered its lands, all seeking to assert their power over one another. Some sought power, others sought a challenge, even more simply wanted to cause misery in others for the simple thrill of it. Very few and far inbetween were kind, or forgiving, as they were usually the first to perish.
Enter a young mare by the name of Celestia, and her sister Luna. With their parents dead, the two siblings suddenly find themselves in a position of power they are ill prepared for. However, they must rise to the occasion, or their subjects and their kingdom will be crushed underfoot by the monsters that seek to devour them all.
Join these siblings, and experience the pain, struggle, battles, and hardships they both had to endure to make Equestria into the kingdom it is today.
[Teen] [Dark] [Adventure] [Gore]
In essence, this follows Celestia and Luna in old Equestrian times, journeying across the land, defeating evil creatures or titans as you might see them. Think Shadow of the Colossus. As far as I know, each chapter is essentially a one-shot with regards to a different monster or creature, but here's the gist: This is Luna's downfall into Nightmare Moon. -TGM- is providing some headcanon here, but over time, Luna's going to be having mixed reactions and feelings towards their conquest and what it might mean to do things for the sake of other things. You know, what's right and wrong in the world—is a creature truly innocent and being slayed solely because of the threat it may possess? Like I said, Shadow of the Colossus type story here. It also follows canon from the end of the journal of the two sisters, so if you like that, check it out.
At the moment, it stands at a 9:1 ratio with a grand total of 36 views. Of course I'm rather upset about this, because like I said, I think he's a great writer, and he's a good friend. Of course I want him to get better reception. I know I don't have as many followers as RainbowBob, and not everyone is a fan of the tags, but I implore you to give a go if you're just the slightest bit interested. Like I also said, I might potentially be writing a chapter myself, so there's that as well. I just think it deserves some more recognition. When a story about Berry Punch getting raped with the entire rape scene happening within the span of a single paragraph gets more views than this—which is 500 times better than that rape fic by the way—I start to question what some people deem is better entertainment. It's true that -TGM- released this at the inopportune time, but it's the principle!
If you're a fan of Dark and Adventure type fics, and don't mind Gore (it's not really much in the ways of gore right now anyway) then give it a shot. Given how I've mentioned that I've even juggled and suggested possible ideas to -TGM- himself, you can tell I'm rather pumped and miffed about this situation at the same time, not to mention the possible chapter I may or may not be writing. Some of these creatures or beasts that we've exchanged are pretty nice so far, so there you go.
All in all, that's it from me. I guess you could consider this the latest updates of sorts, though the primary reason was to promote Unto a New Dawn. Hope you check it out, and thanks for your time if you do.
words cannot describe how much I love you for this