Bonus Material: April First Press Release
- In Memoriam -
There’s been a lot of rumors flying around about whether or not this story will continue as planned, and I figured it was time to put these rumors to rest. For those of you who haven’t heard: Tootie Tales, the actress responsible for portraying Derring-Do, was found unconscious in her trailer and was rushed to the hospital under critical condition. Despite their best efforts, the doctors declared her passing at 8:43, 29th of March 2013, at the young age of twenty seven. The autopsy report states that she passed of natural causes, in her sleep and without any pain.
Needless to say, the cast and crew have been devastated by this sudden and unexpected loss. Tootie Tales was originally known for her unbilled work as Rainbow Dash’s stunt-double and look-alike, and it’s hard to predict how her loss will affect season 4 of the official My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic television series (Firefly, the actress who portrays Rainbow Dash, is more than capable of performing her own stunts as needed). There’s been some talk about finding a replacement to finish up the series--all of Tootie Tales’ action-oriented scenes were completed well in advance, but it will be almost impossible to find somepony who can do justice to her quieter, character-oriented performances. This side project was her first real chance to come out from behind the scenes and into the limelight, and nopony could have predicted the originality she brought to the character.
The exact cause of death remains undetermined, and the project has been put on hold until a proper investigation can be conducted. I know there are a lot of rumors about unsafe working conditions and I can assure you they are completely false: every precaution was taken to ensure the actors safety, and they knew the inherent risks of performing their stunts themselves. It is true that Tootie Tales and Firefly (the actress who portrays Rainbow Dash) did experience a mild illness during filming of the jungle scene, as well as some minor frostbite and light-headedness from the high-altitude and cold weather of the arctic mountain scene, but they insisted that it was a small price to pay for filming in such genuine, realistic locations. As I’ve said before many times, this is just one more sign of the dedication she had to her work. The fact that Tootie Tales was also struck on the head by a falling zeppelin anchor while sitting on a crate of special-effects explosives the day before she was admitted to the hospital is a complete coincidence, as her medical report shows in full: immediately after the eight-ton anchor was removed from overtop of her, she claimed it was “nothing at all” and insisted that filming continue uninterrupted. The cast and crew all agreed that she was cheerful and pleasant for the rest of the day, and that she voiced no complaints whatsoever that could possibly indict the director or producer in a court of law.
Those of you familiar with the fanfiction industry’s recent history will no doubt know that this story is actually loosely-based on a much older story (a silent, black-and-white fanfiction from nineteen-twenty-three) that also experienced considerable delays and financial setbacks. Two other fics were attempted in the decades following, both of which were canceled due to the untimely deaths of the actresses portraying Daring Do. I know the fanfiction industry has it’s fair share of superstitions and legends, but claims that the first movie was financed almost entirely by the black-market auction proceeds of a jade seapony idol is, of course, completely irrelevant to the issue. I ask you all to remember Tootie Tales for how she lived, rather than dwell on the nature of her death.
From the desk of Duncan W. Rose
1rst April, 2013
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- DuncanR · 11k words · 254 5 · 7.5k views
- UnweptSchlipps · 17k words · 26 2 · 864 views
- DuncanR · 32k words · 44 1 · 793 views
- OleGrayMane · 24k words · 32 3 · 664 views
- Lucky Dreams · 3.3k words · 49 0 · 964 views
- AliceA020 · 1.9k words · 80 0 · 2.3k views
- AstonMartinLover · 55k words · 49 2 · 2.5k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.028 seconds
Total duration
1,027 users online
1,302,642 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
*snicker* BWUHAHAHAHAH!!
Sounds legit.
I lol'd, good sir... I lol'd.
Let us all take our top hats off gentleman...
And observe a moment of silence...
For the anchor. Poor thing. She killed it without a single speck of remorse.
2356430
2356690
Dude, that's cold. Have some respect, why don't you?
2356838
The anchor itself was actually rendered entirely in CG, since it only shows up in that one scene. Unfortunately, due to a filing error, one of the crewponies filled it with concrete. There's a big crack where it landed on her helmet, but a fresh coat of paint cleaned it up just fine.
2356894
That doesn't make Tootie's actions any less deplorable. How could she do such a thing to a poor innocent CG anchor. And I have no words for her accomplice, that dastardly Acme explosives crate. I hope the authorities catch him soon. He's a material witness.
Edit: ...and somepony give that crewpony a medal! His inadvertent action saved the life of an anchor!
2347134 Austreoh
That's the last of 'em. It's been a blast, and I hope you've all had as much fun as I have... but as you all know, nothing can go on forever.
Or can it?
I'm thinking of adding a bunch of the language and geography research I did while planning the story, and some of the real-world cultures and locations that inspired (very loosely, mind you) the plot and characters. Would that be of any interest to you folks?
2463692
Yo, dawg! I heard you like cavalry ponies so I put a pony on your pony, so you can cavalry while you cavalry!
This made me laugh the most for some reason.
Easily the best Daring Do piece on fimfiction. I hate how little attention it got; try submitting it to EQD, maybe.
Loved it; there is not nearly enough high-spirited adventure like this, and the climax didn't dissapoint. I hope you continue writing pony!
So, what ever happened to that machine in the Crystal Empire?
2464217
I might leave it that way. It's an April Fools thing, after all.
2464651
I suppose we'll see what they say! If I get a negative response, I don't think I'll worry about it too much... the whole point of this story was not to get stuck in an endless loop of obsessive editing.
Also, I'm extremely relieved that the ending worked so well... that's always the hardest part to write! I have two other full-length stories sitting around waiting to be edited, so I'm hoping to finish those up and get them posted.
2465623
It's still in the crystal empire, chugging away as always. It only makes medicine, which isn't nearly as dangerous as Azoth or Alkahest.
2469277
I'll have you know that every historical inaccuracy in the series was added intentionally to enhance the authenticity. You'll notice that I refer to the city of New Yoke by it's original name, "Manehattan," since the story takes place before it was changed.
Now, maybe you looked that up, and you say, "Duncan: that's not actually true." That's because you looked it up in a book. Next time, look it up in a wiki. Then you'll get your mistakes right.
2475848
Partly, this was an blatant attempt to balance their abilities: Dash is fast and maneuverable, while Derring is strong and tough. It forces them to rely on each other.
But I have to admit, I don't recall Dash ever being known for brute strength. Sure she's stronger than most, but she's also skilled, agile, fast, and has a great cardiovascular system. She's all about balance, whereas Derring and Perez are trained boxers. This is reinforced during Fall Weather Friends: Applejack easily outperformed Dash at all of the events that required strength. Well... except for the hoof wrestling. After al lthat applebucking, Applejack's hind-legs are probably stronger than her forelegs.
If it's any consolation, neither Derring-Do nor Perez could beat Applejack in a wrasslin' match.
2538715
This pose worked perfectly in my head, I swear. And the ponies have occasionally exhibited a level of flexibility that borders on double-jointedness.
2538654
Yeah... there's just no excuse for this one.
I better go fix these, quick like. As frustrating as it is to have readers spotting errors, it does mean you actually read the darn thing. Did you notice any systemic problems, or are they generally tolerable?
2732540
Interesting observation. Though I must point out that Twilight became a princess, and it had clearly nearly nothing to do with genetics or biology. Even if Alicorns are subject to evolution and natural selection, ponies might assume that they simply ascended to a higher level and thereby removed themselves from the genetic pool.
Hm. Perhaps the princesses represent the power of evolution and natural selection, without requiring subsequent generations: when you live forever, you are a species unto yourself.
2734661
"Queen?" Good heavens... how did I miss that one?
>She may be a pony, but defiantly not a terrestrial pony. Judging by the show, their skeletal structure is closer to that of a feline than equine.
Yeah... I content myself with the knowledge that they are cartoon ponies, which are about as close to real ponies as rubber chickens are to real chickens. Even so, I try to preserve the theme: I can't have ponies "hand" something to each other, nor do their doors have "handles."
Some things, you can get away with... other things just feel wrong. Depends on the reader.
I just finished reading this one, and I have to congratulate you on one of the better examples of an adventure tag story that I've read on here. It's seriously compelling (read in one sitting compelling in fact) and is surprisingly different in tone from the previous work in the series. I'm genuinely surprised I haven't seen it before!
2761802
>It's seriously compelling (read in one sitting compelling in fact)
Eighty thousand words? In one sitting? I must be doing something right.
>and is surprisingly different in tone from the previous work in he series.
This was my biggest concern, actually. I wove in a lot of similar themes, and some mirrored ideas: The first story was Rainbow Dash trying to survive in Derring-Do's life, whereas this story is vice-versa.
In truth, I was initially hesitant to continue the story at all--I'm not afraid to end a story on an ambiguous or frustrating note. In the end, though, the idea for the sequel simply refused to get out of my head.
2762200
I read your comments on the differences between the two in the bonus material. It's interesting that I actually agree with your pre reader that the bitter and slightly self loathing Derring from the first story is probably a more interesting character. This story sacrificed some of that, but it's more than made up for in pacing, setting and sense of humour. This is likely the better story, but from a pure characterisation standpoint I think the first is still a bit better. They're both excellent in any case.
2837547
Ah, that makes sense.
And sorry for flooding you with notifications. I just wanted to help take note of some of the more apparent errors while also giving some sort of feedback. Would you like if I PM'ed you anything I notice, or would it simply be better to not comment unless I have something thoughtful to say?
2837606
I wouldn't worry about it. It's way less confusing when I view each chapter individually. I'd prefer to be told about proofreading errors via PM... not because it's nit-picky or critical or insulting (It's very helpful, and I appreciate it), but because once the error is fixed the comment stops being relevant.
I'm not trying to hide my mistakes, though. You can still make comments about non-technical stuff you disliked or found disappointing, or systemic errors that occur too frequently to point out.
I like to comment on stories I have problems with, or at least an opinion more informative than "I liked it." But what else can I say? I don't have any complaints with the story (I can agree with whoever it was that said you do cliche well). I thought the pacing was proper (especially the ending; too many otherwise great stories bungle the ending with lousy climaxes or denouements), the characters well developed (though I have to say Derring was slightly more interesting in B&I, if only because she was so different from conventional representations of the character), etc. I'd say this is my second favourite Daring--slash Derring--Do story I've read (though I admit to only reading around five of them this far.
I guess I don't have much else to say, except it is now clear to me that no story involving ancient ruins far from civilization is complete without a group of fanatical cultists and/or an Illuminati-esque conspiracy. :derpytongue:
Thank you for brilliant story !
I read it yesterday, but did not have time to comment, and knowing that you like feedback so here it goes:
While story itself is very good (and I do not have skill in pointing what makes story good - too many factors, I just know that here is quality story when I read one) - there are few things that did not sound for me while reading:
1) deus ex machina in form of HMS Imbrium. Few chapters before Rainbow and Derring discussed probability of recapturing the ship. Now in this perfect moment ship recaptures herself. While I understand that there were few guards at ship (at least Dash expected it) and that crew possibly took them down – there is no explanation in story what happened on ship and why it happened in that exact moment (the timing is too much even for Indiana Jones style story, imho).
2) Derring’s demand to hire her.
I mean Dash:
- got extra rare medicine directly from foreign royalty
- when medicine did not work – dragged her to mentioned royalty to investigate why
- which granted Derring access to ancient artifact and possible discovery
And then she asks Dash just like ‘you want me to have my name on discovery and possibly find cure for my disability – than pay me for that’ ?
Even if it was impossible request to get rid of overenthusiastic Dash – when Dash returned with money – Derring just took it. I dunno – Derring is jerk in story, but she did not seem like person who could so easily take so large sum in such situation without any remorse. Especially knowing that sum was many times bigger that really needed for such journey. Even knowing that Dash got money from prince.
It looks like there was some scene or dialogue before two days transition but it was cut.
3) Why did Derring lie to Dash about the prism in part 17 ? It just does not seem for me for that she would lie to the direct question from the first person she considers friend, no matter of argumentation. I understand that prism disappearance is needed for final scene with princesses, but still – that dialogue is wrong, imho.
And thank again for the story
It was a great pleasure to read it
R.I.P Tootie Tales.
OK, before I get into reading this, why is it "Daring" in the title, but "Derring" in the description?
4012154
Mu-ha-ha!
I must ask: have you read "Biased and Incomplete" first? It explains the name difference, since it's "part 1" of this series.
4015193 Eenope.
4015193 Well, now I've read both. Well written, but it needs a once (or twice) over to fix SPaG mistakes. I did my best to point out all of them in the story, but I skipped the author note corrections. Great story, even if the A.K. Yearling episode renders it non-canon, and I think I like your version better - she's a more rounded and believable character.
Out of curiousity, have you read the novel Goblinquest by Jim Hines? The method for disposing of the MacGuffin at the end is very similar ...
5449383
Aaaa! Avalanche!!
As much as I love having another seven or eight comments on all of my stories, this is getting a little unwieldy. If you're really determined to be a proofreader for me (which I would certainly appreciate)), I could set you up with a shared Google document where you can leave comments and highlight text directly. Would you be interested?
So glad to know I'm improving! For awhile there, I think I was over-correcting on removing commas.
I like my references like I like my coffee: obscure.
*sips cofffee*
Ahh, that's good obscurity... with just a hint of inveiglement!
This story came out when the Crystal Empire was brand new, and hadn't had time to integrate with Equestrian culture. I imagined that the Crystal ponies had their own unique spells and architectural science for crystal macro-engineering, and the Equestrians are still trying to understand them. It'd be like trying to teach ancient Egyptians or Romans about decimal mathematics: It's within their capacity to learn, but it takes awhile to sink in.
You have NO idea how happy I am that this workedout: if I didn't do Dash and Derring properly, this story would have been an abysmal failure. I think part of it is the fact that my Derring-Do is bitter and cynical: it makes the two characters different, and you know the old saying about how opposites attract. If they were too similar, there'd be no chemistry.
...I just realized I might have to retcon Prince Gallium as being "the only prince", since "A Canterlot Wedding" came out after this story was written. Then again... is Shining Armor actually a prince, or just a prince consort? Hm. My original assumption was that Gallium was directly in line for succession, but he knew he didn't have the skill or experience to do the job. As soon as Cadence showed up, he sensibly (and quite gladly) passed the throne to her.
5453536
Interesting. This is actually the name of an Arabian breed of horse. I'm always on the lookout for new place-names with suitable horse puns, but this name seemed sufficiently foreign and exotic for my needs.
My research wasn't exactly voluminous, but I was very careful and thorough about it. You'd be surprised how little it takes to make flavor text feel authentic.
I ended up talking about this in one of the bonus chapters. Check it out, after you've read the main story, and it should explain a lot of my research and inspiration.
Might be over thinking this slightly. :)
The air inside the zeppelin is simply low-pressure because weather magic keeps it that way. There's no physical seal required. I figure if a pegasus can push and pull a cloud as if it were a big fluffy cotton ball, then an invisible pressure field should be possible. If it helps, I originally imagined that the skeleton of the zeppelin was made of an enchanted alloy that serves as a boundary for the magical field: the struts hold the magic in place, rather than controlling the pressure directly. If the boundary were broken, the spell would collapse, and the resulting intake of force--though not explosive--would damage the vehicle on a structural level. The stillness of the air, likewise, is a focusing aid: turbulent wind makes it difficult to maintain high-precision weather spells.
Of course, none of this made it past the imagination stage. I couldn't explain it elegantly via plot events, and I dislike info-dumps... normally I'd add an action or stealth scene where all the technical details become relevant.
Hah! You think you're confused? That's nothing! In a later chapter, a character is granted a mysterious nickname from a puzzling foreign language. Within days of that chapter's release, a Google search for that nickname pointed to that exact chapter of the story as the top ranked search.
Ahh, me... good times!
5800897 I already am an editor. I preread fanfics for people all the time xD
2543412
Systemic problems? Well, it is thoroughly readable, but there were a few annoying things that kept popping up. In rough order of prominence:
-Some chapters lapse into center-aligned text, though the paragraphs also retain their first-line indents.
-Use of "it's" in places where "its" is called for. "Its" follows a pattern of possessive pronouns having no apostrophe: his, hers, ours, yours, mine, theirs.
-Obscure misuse of quote marks, especially at the end and beginning of paragraphs. Usually, it's when somepony finishes a paragraph with an em dash, a second pony says something, then starts another paragraph with another em dash. Always put an open quote before the first word a character says in a paragraph (though I'm pretty sure you followed the "one speaker to a paragraph" rule), and include closing quotes with one exception: if a character speaks the last word of one paragraph and the first word of the next, use only the open quote, and leave the close quote off the earlier paragraph.
-Some names weren't capitalized all the time.
There might've been some misspellings not already caught, but they weren't memorable.
Actually, I was wondering; what happened to Derring's snakebite? I was imagining she'd died either in midair or (probably not) on impact, and only then did the miracle cure kick in.
Also, I like your device of cherry-picking quotes to title each chapter.
Part 2
Part 12
Hey, you ref...oh, wait it's just the cocktail party effect.
Part 14
Bonus Material:Research, References and Rambling
Perez Walski = Przewalski
I cannot believe I missed that.
2838104 Duly noted, red pencil incoming.
Oh yeah, also faved and upvoted.
You can has review!
Excellent story, well done.