State of the Scribe: October 2023 · 7:36am Oct 1st, 2023
Hello pones! Time for a spooky month!
Perhaps approrpiately for a month of death and change, this month will see the end of many things, opening the way for some new ones.
Two long running stories are coming to a close this month, so I'll start there.
First we have Deep Below, my Splatoon story about some of the last human survivors emerging into a world that had left them behind. We've followed Cole's journey for most of the year now, but it will soon be time to rest. For those who haven't read it yet and would like to check out a Splatoon themed TF story, I'll put together an epub and pdf soon. Expect to see it in my blog posts in the near future.
I don't actually have a cover for this one, so I might have to get creative. I couldn't use this cute picture of Cole and Cerina, though I would like to. Read here (for free): https://www.patreon.com/RealStarscribe/posts?filters%5Btag%5D=Deep%20Below&sort=published_at
This month also means the end for Don't Bug Me. We will soon learn the ultimate fate of those humans who were transformed. I've written more of my thoughts in the author's notes for that story. I'll just say that it easily could have gone another fifty thousand words or more. But I finished the story I set out to tell, and I'm happy we got that far. Check it out for more over the next few weeks.
There are no new stories coming down the pipeline this month, but one new story will be dropping next month. Want a preview?
Okay so it's not actually a romance as such, though there are some elements. In Shattered Pentacle, Lyra always knew there was more to the world. She learned that lesson painfully, when her own bad choices nearly got her killed by vampires. Years have passed since then. She has a loving girlfriend, a fulfilling job, and a future. Despite all that, she can't help but feel as though something is missing. There's a melody in her mind, a melody missing its last few notes. She will soon discover exactly what those are, plunging her into a world of magic she never could've imagined. But with the help of her friends, she might just survive it, and learn to play the music for herself.
Human Ponies crossed with World of Darkness, with a focus on Mage. Though there will be elements from across the nWoD. I wrote the first two acts of this story already, fifty thousand words or so, so you can tell when I'm excited about something. It also means the story will have the benefit of a revision before most of it has been posted, to hopefully catch any egregious problems with pacing or whatever.
Are there more new stories coming? Probably! I'm not sure how much longer I'll be writing Fanfic, but at least long enough to finish everything I start.
A huge thanks to everyone who continues to support me on Patreon, making these stories possible. Otherwise I'd have to do lame real work, haha.
Now let's take a look at the other stories I have going. For those who don't know...
Spirits of Change still has many chapters to go. This story inspired by His Dark Materials, but with Pokemon instead of animals as the daemons. There the legendary pokemon rule the world with an adorable but iron grip. When Hayden settles as a mew instead of an eevee, their life is turned upside down, as they're swept up into the dangerous world of legendary politics. Think My Fair Lady and Game of Thrones with pokemon and you're in the right zip code. This thing is one of my longest running passion projects, something I never thought I'd get to write, so the chapters really get crazy. You can check it out here: [url=[url=https://www.patreon.com/RealStarscribe/posts?filters[tag]=Spirits%20of%20Change&sort=published_at]https://www.patreon.com/RealStarscribe/posts?filters[tag]=Spirits%20of%20Change&sort=published_at]https://www.patreon.com/RealStarscribe/posts?filters[tag]=Spirits%20of%20Change&sort=published_at]https://www.patreon.com/RealStarscribe/posts?filters[tag]=Spirits%20of%20Change&sort=published_at
As before, those stories are free for everyone. I really need to bite the bullet and start posting them on fanfiction.net or something.
We have Words of Power of course, a story overflowing with amazing art and adventure. In that one, we follow Lotus in her continuing quest to restore her humanity, or at least save the world she's arrived in. Maybe both?
Hand of The Ancients continues on Fimfiction, thanks to one generous patron using the minific slot. Other people can request things with that slot, though in most months they don't. I'm glad to get the chance to complete that story, it really deserves it.
Through the Veil of Sleep is also updating weekly on Fimfic, following Mira's quest to free Nightmare Moon and save the bat pony tribe from extinction. Not an easy task, considering she has no one to teach her dream magic anymore.
Lastly there's the usual group of Patreon stories updating each week. When they're complete (or nearly so) they'll make it to fimfiction, as usual.
Second String, the tale of earth's brave football warriors turned Equestrian liberators, can be explored here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-story-in-78044865
Legio IX Hispania, our historical journey into the question of what if the lost Roman legion ended up in Equestria, unravels here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-story-legio-78027950
Links:
My Discord, a hub of fun writing activities and lots of other pony-related shenanigans: https://discord.gg/J8hq6MX
Obligatory Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/RealStarscribe
Want a copy of one of my books? You can see what I've printed and buy a copy here: https://starscribe.net/
Oh, good, there still are some chapters of Don't Bug Me left. I was wondering about that.
Shattered Pentacle sounds interesting. I'm not familiar with World of Darkness, but I might check it out regardless.
Ooh, Shattered Pentacle sounds like it'll be very engaging. In my experience, most White Wolf games work better for stories than actual games, at least if you're trying to preserve the intended tone. (Granted, that could say more about my own playgroup's tendencies...)
Definitely looking forward to seeing where you go with horsewords and beyond.
I must say Words of power and Spirits of change are my favorites, but sometimes i wished there were a few pictures in spirits of change to see what exactly they look in the chapter and a few times i imagined what a pokemon fangame of this story would look like.
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I very much hope we get to see some art from the story at some point. Though I should warn that Words of Power is an exception, not a rule. The client for that story very much sponsors all that art--it would never be financially viable otherwise.