Story updates, shameless pimping, and PONY ROLEPLAY!

Story Updates

For starters, my followers will likely have noticed by now that Kraken just got a new chapter. As I mentioned in my own comment on it, it was a struggle to get it to work right, but I'm fairly happy with it and now I can move on to the next part. I'll also be trying to put some spit and polish on older chapters in the near future, but not with any intention of resubmitting it to EqD. After hearing some of the reports of their weirdly hypercritical prereaders and their sometimes bafflingly bad advice, I'm just not that interested anymore. To me, this is the site to go to for ponyfic. EqD has its purpose, but fanfiction isn't it.

I've also started work on my next story, a prequel to Derpy Day and Dinky Debates, tentatively titled "Tested". (I couldn't think of an alliterative title, so have some here.) It's one of the plot bunnies I mentioned in an earlier blog post, about Ditzy discovering she's pregnant and reflecting on her relationship with the father and his daughter from his previous marriage. I'll try to work on it when I'm feeling stuck on Kraken, so I can keep the creative juices flowing. If it works out, I'll be alternating between writing one story or the other, instead of just alternating between writing Kraken and... not writing.

Fic Recommendations

In other news, a fellow RPGnetter, Jake Was Here, has dipped his toes into the fanfiction pool with his story Éadóchas. (Sorry, I have no idea how to pronounce that either. ) He posted the chapters to the ponyfic thread there for feedback and critique, and I think it deserves far more attention than it's getting. I'm really looking forward to where this goes.

Also, another fellow RPGnetter, LadyMoondancer, is doing some awesome work in the field of pony folktales with Gobbling and Other Traditional Pursuits. If you haven't read it, you really should.

PONY ROLEPLAY! (Not like that, you pervs)

Lastly, over on the main tabletop RP board at RPGnet, I posted a thread about using the Don't Rest Your Head system for roleplaying ponies: Don't Hate Your Friends. The thread hasn't seen a great deal of traffic (I guess I just got it right, and no one's had much to say besides "good job"? ), but I was about to revive it and see if I could get some more feedback. (If you don't know anything about DRYH and are curious about it, this review gives a quick overview of the mechanics, and the publishers made a free PDF demo kit as well.)

In light of that, I'm (as always) planning to attend DunDraCon this coming February. And I am extremely tempted to run a pony game. I mean, I seem to have the perfect system. The only problem is that I don't really have an adventure in mind. I need to come up with some kind of scenario that I can actually turn into a full-length game session. If anyone has suggestions on that front, feel free to post it in the comments.

Whatever I wind up doing or not doing, I'll blog about here. But I'll be there regardless (badge name CLAVDIVS), so if you are too, feel free to say hi if you spot me.

(EDIT: Image changed to non-watermarked version.)

Comments

[Comma-Kazie]

Updates to Kraken? Huzzah!

Prequel to DDDDD? Alas! (j/k, I'm looking forward to it, conflicting headcanon or not.)

[RTStephens]

Sorry to hear about EqD, but I know that feeling. I've been there before. Still, like you said, this is the place where I get my pony words, so I'm content.

I'm not much of a Role-Player, besides the video game kind, so I'll pass on the rest.

[Jake Was Here]

If I'm not mistaken, it's pronounced "Ay ah doe khess". I may be mistaken, of course -- Gaelic's a bitch to get right.

[Paleo Prints]

RE-submit? So what happened the first time?

[CLAVDIVS CAESAR]

384186

It got rejected. I blogged about it a while back. The prereader made some sound points, but was WAY pickier than whoever approved Derpy Day. Most frustrating was that I never got a response when I asked for clarification on some points, though.

Over on RPGnet, people have been posting about their own EqD prereader experiences, and it's killed my interest in getting featured. Short version, anything with an unusual or experimental format gets rejected, and deliberate stylistic choices are called out as bad writing.

[Paleo Prints]

384242
I assume some of that was my recounting of the trials Cupcakes and Champions went through?

[CLAVDIVS CAESAR]

384182
That sounds right. And yeah, Gaelic... Yikes. o.o
(Have you considered adding the pronunciation to the story description?)

384282
Yeah, I think it was. And LMD talking about Gobbling. I keep forgetting that you go by another name there.

[Paleo Prints]

384307
Irish accents are such a bitch to get right that the guy audiobooking School Daze turned one character from a soccer hooligan to a southern belle.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I hear you on EQD. This story should go on it, as well as Paleo's. Ah, well. can't wait to read this one!

[Lurks-no-More]

Kraken updated? O frabjous day! Calloo, callay!

[CLAVDIVS CAESAR]

In other gaming news, there's a thread about putting a more optimistic, pro-humanity spin on the Cthulhu Mythos. I'm oddly tempted to post a link to Kraken, since that's pretty much exactly what I'm aiming for.

[Creideiki]

a prequel to Derpy Day and Dinky Debates

MFW:
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw2822_small.jpg

[CLAVDIVS CAESAR]

384793

You know what? That's just too adorable for me not to reward.

Tested Preview

Ditzy Doo stared at the small stick of plastic clutched carefully between her forehooves. With a frustrated sigh, she lifted it from her lap and placed it on top of the box it had come from. The marketing slogans on the package claimed "accurate results up to five days sooner", but the most sophisticated test in the world still needed something to actually, well, test. Giving up for now, she rose from the toilet and lowered the lid without flushing. Nothing to test, nothing to flush.

Ears and wings drooping, she trudged into the kitchen and headed straight for a pink cardboard box on the counter, the words "Sugarcube Corner" embossed on the top. Flicking it open impatiently, she ignored the remaining half of the carrot cake and reached for the blueberry muffin instead. Holding it under her nose, she drank in the heavenly scent wafting up from the sweet, crumbly top. The aroma seeped into her brain, awakening happy memories of childhood and sending a soothing wave of comfort all over her. The effect was magnified when she took her first bite, her eyes closing in bliss. By the last, she was finally smiling again. For a moment, she could almost believe that she was a filly again, and ready to give her mother another glowing appraisal of the "test muffin" she'd been given.

Her mood lifted and nerves calmed, Ditzy's thoughts returned to the issue at hoof. "Fluids," she muttered. "I just need to drink some more." She chuckled at herself once she realized how that had sounded, thinking that a shot of whiskey would do wonders for her nerves, but even if she could convince Cloud Kicker to buy some for her, she knew she shouldn't. It would be bad for the... It would be bad.

Opening the fridge, she reached for a bottle of apple juice, but stopped abruptly. She'd gone for it out of habit, but now that the reality of drinking it confronted her, she found her stomach clenching at the thought. Looking away before she got sick again, her gaze landed on the pickle jar. She stared at it for several seconds before realizing what she was feeling: The jar of sour, mouth-shrivelling horror was suddenly and inexplicably enticing to her. Carefully lifting it from the shelf and onto the counter, she stared at it for a moment longer before slowly twisting off the lid. Staring down into the wide mouth of the jar, she realized it wasn't the long-cut spears of once perfectly good cucumber that had drawn her, but the foul witch's brew in which they now soaked.

Sighing in resignation, Ditzy gripped the jar between her forehooves, lifted it to her lips, and drank. Even worse than the salty, acrid taste was the fact that she enjoyed it almost as much as the muffin.

---

Ditzy awoke with a start, surprised that she'd even fallen asleep. Lifting her head from the couch, she saw her roommate cantering cheerfully through the apartment door. "Oh, hey Carr. Good day at market?"

As Carrot Top set her saddlebags down by the door, she let the clinking of the coins within answer for her. "I'd say so... Uh." Her smile faded as she saw Ditzy curled up on the couch, ears sagging and wings spread out defensively. "Yours wasn't as good, was it?"

Ditzy looked away and swallowed. I need to tell her, she reminded herself. I'd decided to tell her. Shutting her eyes tight, she said quietly, "I'm late."

Carrot Top blinked at her. "Late? I thought you had the day off."

Ditzy's eyes shot open, and she gave her friend a desperate look. Or tried to, anyway, though one eye pointed at the coffee table instead. "I'm late. And I can't pee."

Carrot Top furrowed her brow. "Shouldn't you go to a doctor for that? It could be a UTI. Oh, is that what you're late for?"

"NO! I... I need to, but-- well, I don't need to, that's the problem, I need to need to but I don't, and it won't work unless I do, and I threw up my breakfast and I drank all the pickle brine and I still can't pee but I need to because I'm LATE!"

Carrot Top was silent for several seconds. "You hate pickles."

"I do seem to recall that fact, yes."

Carrot Top's eyes slowly widened. As they reached their limit, she bolted for the bathroom, returning a brief moment later. "You're late."

Ditzy sighed deeply. "Yeah. I am."

Carrot Top's mouth formed a series of silent shapes as she stared at the potentially pregnant pegasus, until she could form a vaguely coherent response.

"How did this happen?!"

Ditzy flapped her wings once and landed on her feet on the floor. "How the hell do you think it happened, do I need to draw you a bucking diagram? And by 'bucking diagram', I mean a diagram of the actual--"

"For the love of Celestia, STOP!" shrieked Carrot Top, desperately shielding her eyes from the carnal pantomime Ditzy used to illustrate her point. "I mean, I thought you were using protection!"

Ditzy resumed a normal stance and scratched the back of her neck. "Well, we were. But then I started the pill, and I swear I took one every day, even the same time each day..."

"Whoah, whoah. You stopped using condoms? Like, entirely?"

"Yyyes? The doctor said it was fine."

Carrot Top wiped her face with a hoof. "Ditzy... You remember that nasty cut you got on your foreleg last month? The one that got infected?"

Ditzy narrowed one eye at her. "What about it?"

"They gave you antibiotics!"

"... And?"

Carrot Top dropped her hoof back to the floor and stared slack-jawed at Ditzy. "And there's a pharmacist who's about to lose his damn job if I have anything to say about it!"

Ditzy froze as comprehension sunk in. "Ooooohhhorseapples."

Don't say I never do anything nice for you.

[Creideiki]

384814

Ditzy flapped her wings once and landed on her feet on the floor. "How the hell do you think it happened, do I need to draw you a bucking diagram? And by 'bucking diagram', I mean a diagram of the actual--"

"For the love of Celestia, STOP!" shrieked Carrot Top, desperately shielding her eyes from the carnal pantomime Ditzy used to illustrate her point.

Oh my Celestia, yet another reason why Ditzy Doo is best pony

[CLAVDIVS CAESAR]

BTW, here's an image of Delta Green, courtesy of generalzoi's pony creator and GIMP:

i34.photobucket.com/albums/d120/clavdivs/delta-green-oc-pony.png

EDIT: Here's the ponycode for him:
Body: 3T2T005100FEFEDBFFC49D0000000FE6EUN183740B00000301226B22228B220A107F3FCC004CB2
Accessories: 066CC66B7A7A7A066CC66066CC66066CC6604E8FBAFFFF8C066CC66066CC66066CC66066CC66

EDIT 2: I photoshopped him a bit more (well, GIMPed, technically, but that sounds weird) and turned the glasses into a pince-nez style, like Rarity's. I think it looks better on ponies.