family turkey day

Hi, hi, hi. Monster post today. I talk about the recent updates posted to What They Expect to Give, upcoming plans for writing, music playlists for the Mane 7, and also share some of my favorite generated art. Get it after the jump!

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So I've updated What They Expect to Give twice in the last few days. It was originally one chapter that I had to split in half because it got massive. I'm pretty excited as we're transitioning into a new major story arc. (Here's my gentle plea for comments, let's just get that out of the way.) The first part of the story focuses on how Rainbow and Fluttershy get together and all the obstacles that were in their way. We're past that now, but the problems aren't wrapped up. Nope. Their ramping up, actually. I had seriously considered hastily ending the story, but then I thought... why? Everything could more or less be wrapped up in this time frame. And the story wasn't just about Dashie and Flutters falling in love, it was about their group coming back together.

I'm pretty earnest about trying to finish the story, but I have to acknowledge that pushing the ending further away doesn't just increase the odds of something preventing it being finished, but I also have to recognize that ya'll may not stick around. I feel fairly confident I could convert WTEtG into a publishable original story, but I admit it would take quite a bit of doing to remove all the direct references to MLP. But this new story arc we're moving into? Heavier on the adventure/thriller aspects. Fortunately, that was something I specialized at before I got into writing horse words.

I'm excited to continue WTEtG, but I'm also relieved to be able to take a little break from it. What They Hope to Find has two chapters that are fairly close to ready for publication. I'll take a look at them this weekend after Black Friday. I think you guys will like them a lot! If you haven't read the story yet... Please do? I think once you give it a chance, you'll see that Sunset/Applejack isn't such a hard ship to sell. It's just a nice hurt/comfort fic. I could probably make it angstier, but I honestly think the girls are just too busy to sit around and mope much (though they certainly find time to!)

I've been using this story planning software called Plottr to create a series bible for my College-verse fics. (I dunno what else to call my interconnected stories! The "What They Want" series? The CW-verse? The... nah, I'm drawing blanks.) It's been SUPER helpful in being able to visualize what my story is doing, and it organizes my notes so much better than the Gdoc I was trying to use. I was actually thinking it'd be nice to do a writing blog post about the different story software out there. The game has changed since the last time I checked! Anyway, this is what I've been using the AI art I've been generating for. It's just for my personal use. I've been reconsidering using the images as story art because of the especially strong feelings people have voiced, but it seems a shame not to share some of the cool ones I've managed to generate.

Here's a gallery, but I'll share some thumbnails below. If you want to see it full size, just click the thumbnail. Two of the images wouldn't load for some reason, but they're in the gallery. It's a shame too, they were my pics for Star Weld and Spitfire. The images were generated using a combination of Bing, Midjourney, and Gencraft.

EDIT: Crap, I think I pasted in the wrong gallery link. Now it's lost! Well here's the pic of Star Weld and the pic of Spitfire. I still don't understand why these images won't display like the others.

From the top going left to right, I'll name them. First is Applejack, my buff country queen. I was over the moon over this image! It's so spot-on. Easily the best one I got out of Bing. Next is Rainbow Dash and Sassaflash. I decided Rainbow's hair was passable. I think in real life her colors would mix a lot, not stay in nice neat columns. Especially cuz she's constantly running her hands through her hair. Third is my next attempt at generating what Nightmare Rainbow Dash would look like had her transformation completed in chapter 30. I think this one is better than the one I generated before! Fourth up is Apple Bloom. We haven't seen her in WTEtG yet, but she's been in WTHtF alot. This was also fairly spot-on to how I pictured her.

Fifth image is Chassis, an OC from WTHtF. She's an automotive student AJ hangs out with. Sixth is Sherry Kiss, one of Sunset Shimmer's lovers. Seventh is Big Mac, looking a little haggard, the poor guy. Eight is Sunset, obvs, but she's the best I could get generated for how I envisioned her. Her eyes are off, though. Supposed to be cyan. Nine is Diamond Roller, and after him in image ten is Arctic Haze, another two of Sunset's lovers. The eleventh image is actually a little older, from when I was trying to get one of Sunset riding a sports bike. I can't remember why I didn't share it before as there aren't any weird AI mistakes that I can see. Anyway, I like this one because it actually shows her with a helmet. And I think her gloves are cool.

Twelfth image is Torque, another OC from WTHtF. Like Chassis, he's an automotive student and AJ's buddy. Thirteen is Kojote, yet another lover of Sunset's. The last two don't need explaining, do they? I was really happy with how Fluttershy turned out. She's so pretty! And Rainbow Dash came out pretty cool. It took many, many attempts to get the AI to understand that I wanted Dashie to be more androgynous, leaning towards handsome. Not pretty. It's like no matter what I do they keep over-feminizing her, it sucks. Have you guys seen The L Word? I'm aiming for Shane McCutcheon! Y'know, just without the early 00s lesbian hairstyles. Geez, why is that so hard...

Anyway, it's been fun coming up with this stuff. Helps to keep me motivated when I can see the world I've been working on for years suddenly coming to life. I've even been generating images for the regular locations in the 'verse, too. (I'm struggling with this! Ugh, I just need a name for it all... on AO3 I call it the "Mosaic of Love" series, but I kinda hate it) Y'know what else keeps me motivated? Music!

So this is just a copy and paste from a forum post I made the other day over in Positive Ponies but I liked what I had enough to want to share. I even updated it a little with some new songs. Now ya'll (should) know that I make playlists for just about everything I write. I've done smaller character playlists before though, so some of this was pretty easy. Rainbow, AJ, Fluttershy, and Sunset came quickly. But the others? I had to work a little more for those. Each girl should have at least ten songs to them, though they are hardly uniform. I may still come back and edit this as I please. The basic idea is this: What would the characters listen to? So less of a soundtrack thing, and more of a characterization question. This is actually a fun story-planning exercise! I think song choices can be very telling about a person. Hmm, maybe I should recycle this for a writing blog post.

Anyway, the following reflects some of my headcanon, and also the canon of my EQG College Universe fics (blah!):

Twilight Sparkle
She'll like anything intellectual and calming, some indie rock, anything that focuses on STEM, some intelligent dance music (Aphex Twin, etc), and of course some mainstream pop (particularly K-Pop, because in my AU she's half-Korean).

1. Red Velvet (Happiness) - Kpop
2. Aphex Twin (in a room7 F760) - IDM
3. Erik Satie (Gnossiene No. 1) - classical
4. Three Trapped Tigers (1) - Math rock
5. Twin Cabins (Cool Kids) - Indie rock
6. Mother Mother (Hayloft) - Indie rock
7. Grimes (I Wanna Be Software) - Alternative pop
8. Penelope Scott (rät) - Alternative pop
9. Taylor Swift (New Year's Day) - Pop
10. hemlocke springs (sever the blight) - Alternative pop
11. They Might Be Giants (Why Does the Sun Shine?) - Alternative/Indie

Sunset Shimmer
Arguably one of the ones I think about the most in terms of musical taste (after Rainbow Dash) I think she'd like blues, hard rock, metal, indie rock, mainstream pop, goth, post-punk, and emo punk. I could see her listening to some rap, but it would be mostly alternative hip-hop. She's got an edge to her that persists even after her reformation, so I think it makes sense. Add in some gamer music for good measure, and she's set!

1. Cold War Kids (Love Is Mystical) - Indie rock
2. Tegan and Sara (Hell) - Indie rock
3. The Cure (Lovesong) - Post-punk
4. Sisters of Mercy (This Corrosion) - Goth
5. Judas Priest (Leather Rebel) - Heavy Metal
6. Iron Maiden (Aces High) - Heavy Metal
7. T-Bone Walker (They Call it Stormy Monday) - Blues
8. Howlin' Wolf (Smokestack Lightning) - Blues
9. Kid Cudi (Day 'N' Nite) - Alternative hip-hop
10. Led Zeppelin (Babe I'm Gonna Leave You) - Classic rock
11. Dead Kennedys (Halloween) - Hardcore punk
12. Falling in Reverse (Watch the World Burn) - Metalcore
13. Palehørse (The Sweetest Of Bloods) - Nordic Metal
14. JT Music (Hungry for Another One) - Gamer Music

Rainbow Dash
Rainbow would like anything that makes her feel like a bad*** and she'd definitely listen to strutting music. Lots of power metal, punk rock, danceable EDM, mainstream rap, and really anything that feeds her ego. When she needs to get into her feels, she'll listen to some grunge and emo. I think she'd (secretly) have some more sentimental pop and rock classics on her playlist.

1. Lady Gaga (Applause) - Pop
2. Pearl Jam (Rearview Mirror) - Grunge
3. Taylor Swift (ME!) - Pop
4. Panic! At The Disco (Victorious) - Alternative pop
5. Fall Out Boy (Champion) - Pop Rock
6. Carpenter Brut (Turbo Killer) - EDM
7. Poppy (BLOODMONEY) - Alternative pop/metal
8. Angel Haze (The Wolves) - Hip-hop
9. Megan Thee Stallion (Her) - Hip-hop
10. Dragonforce (Through the Fire and Flames) - Power Metal
11. Ensiferum (In My Sword I Trust) - Viking Metal
12. Disturbed (Indestructible) - Metal
13. Simple Plan (Perfect) - Emo rock
14. Styx (Lady) - Power ballad

Fluttershy
She enjoys love ballads, pop songs, and anything romantic. She LOVES harmonies, and yeah, she's a HUGE Mariah Carey fan. She's always up for an upbeat house mix. Also can't forget the metal! Personally, I think she'd like power metal the most, but on those dark days when she can't put her negative feelings anywhere else, can I imagine her listening to death metal? Yes. Yes I can. I also had to add at least one show tune. I think Fluttershy and Rarity would LOVE musicals.

1. Caravan Palace (Lone Digger) - House
2. Styx (Come Sail Away) - Progressive pop
3. Seal (Kiss From a Rose) - Alternative pop
4. The Temptations (My Girl) Soul/R&B
5. Mariah Carey (Fantasy) - R&B
6. Silversun Pickups (Lazy Eye) - Shoegaze/Indie rock
7. TV On The Radio (Will Do) - Alternative pop
8. Jimmy Eat World (The Middle) - Emo rock
9. Owl City (Fireflies) - Alternative pop
10. Hellogoodbye (All of Your Love) - Pop rock
11. Woodkid (I Love You) - Alternative pop
12. Fleetwood Mac (Don't Stop) - Pop rock
13. Spice Girls (Say You'll Be There) - Pop
14. Benighted (Versipellis) - Death Metal
15. West Side Story (I Feel Pretty) - Showtune

Rarity
She'd be into sassy, sophisticated, and trendy runway/fashion music. A heavy appreciation for gay musicians and aristocratic crap on a harpsichord. Obviously she'd love pop, and yeah I agree with the consensus that she'd be a heavy Adele fan, lol. On nights when she wants songs with a little more heavy mood, she might listen to some Billie Eilish, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or Metric. After further discussion on the forum, I decided that Rarity probably listens to Evanescence, Nightwish, and KISS. Didn't mean to make her the longest playlist, but she'd also love Queen. And I mean LOVE THEM. She'd be snatching the mic on karaoke night belting out Bohemian Rhapsody! Finally, I added some noir/spy music, because of her interest in detective stories, and also I think she'd like the cool sophistication.

1. Todrick Hall (Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels) - Pop
2. COBRAH (WET) - Fashion EDM
3. Billie Eilish (Oxytocin) - electropop
4. Bree Runway (THAT GIRL) - Pop
5. MIKA (Grace Kelly) - Pop
6. Adele (Rolling in the Deep) - R&B/Pop
7. Patrick Wolf (Magic Position) - Alternative Pop
8. Shakira (She Wolf) - Pop
9. Lizzo (About Damn Time) - Pop
10. Metric (Help I'm Alive) - Indie Rock
11. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Maps) - Art Rock
12. Corona (The Rhythm of the Night) - Eurodance
13. Violaine Cochard (Premier livre de pièces de clavecin, Premier ordre: No. 8, Les silvains) - French Noble Crap (lol, whatever, Classical I guess?)
14. Evanescence (My Immortal) - Alternative Metal
15. Nightwish (Amaranth) - Symphonic Metal
16. KISS (I Was Made For Lovin' You) - Glam Metal
17. Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody) - British Rock
18. Saint Motel (A Good Song Never Dies) - Alternative Pop
19. Peggy Lee (Why Don't You Do Right?) - Jazz Noir
20. Breakfast at Tiffany's (Moon River) - Showtune

Pinkie Pie
Party girl gonna want the happy boppy songs, the gag songs, the "let's all laugh while the world is burning" kinda songs. I think she'd be HEAVY into Ska, but also the irreverent humor of 90s alternative rock too. And does she like Tenacious D? Of course she does. I can also see her winding down with some straight up reggae classics. I've also updated this to reflect some insights brought to my attention on the forum. Always gotta remember depressed Pinkie, no floof, all rage and pain. Slipknot is an easy choice. Maybe some Napalm Death? I added some Dark Pop too.

1. The Aquabats (Pizza Party) - Ska
2. Weezer (Island in the Sun) - College rock
3. Reel Big FIsh (Party Down) - Ska
4. Streetlight Manifesto (Forty Days) - Ska
5. The Go Go's (Our Lips Are Sealed) - Power pop/New wave
6. Smash Mouth (All Star) - Alt rock
7. Barenaked Ladies (One Week) - Alt rock
8. Tenacious D (Tribute) - Metal
9. Weird Al Yankovic (Like A Surgeon) - Parody pop
10. The Aggrolites (Free Time) - Reggae rock
11. Electric Six (Gay Bar) - Pop rock
12. blink-182 (Dumpweed) - Emo punk
13. Green Day (Longview) - Punk
14. Bob Marley (One Love) - Reggae
15. Napalm Death (Contagion - CW for flashing images) - Grindcore (metal)
16. Slipknot (Left Behind) - Groove Metal
17. I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME (Choke) - Dark Pop

Applejack
Applejack would obviously like country, but I don't think she'd be TOO into the mainstream stuff as much as she'd like the country-adjacent stuff: bluegrass, American folk, Southern Gothic, etc. I think she'd also really enjoy country blues rock and anything with a twang to it.

1. The Steeldrivers (Reckless Side of Me) - Bluegrass
2. The Civil Wars (I Had Me A Girl) - American Folk
3. Parker McCollum (Like A Cowboy) - Americana
4. Whiskey Myers (Bury My Bones) - Country Rock
5. Iron & Wine (Upward Over The Mountain) - Alternative indie
6. J.R. Carrol (Where The Red Fern Grows) - American Folk
7. Zach Bryan (Blue) - Country
8. Blake Shelton (No Body) - Country
9. The Black Keys (Howlin' For You) - Blues rock
10. Lynyrd Skynyrd (Simple Man) - Blues rock
11. Three Dog Night (Joy To the World) - Rock

And that's all for the music! What do you guys think about my playlists? What would you add or take away? Got your own? Share them!

Hmmm... did I talk about what I would do next, writing-wise? Sorry, I'm trash at transitioning between topics, lol.

I think I mentioned that I was planning on focusing What They Hope to Find next. This weekend, actually. After that? I'm fairly open! I got challenged on Twitter to write an Applejack/Luna fic, which was like... man, can't think of anything easier to do, lol. I also have this one-shot EQG fic I wanted to do (yes it's part of the 'verse) based when the girls are still in high school. I wanted to explore further what magical artifacts even are in this world and how they handle them. I also wanted to write a fight scene! I miss writing fight scenes. And I've been craving writing scenes with Sunset and Pinkie just being gal pals. They don't get to hang much in WTEtG or WTHtF (I wanna correct that, but it'll take a bit to get there).

Past that, I was looking forward to working on Eerie Lantern some more. I even had a mind to do something for Her Collar, Her Love? Don't quote me on that! I dunno if I can do it. HCHL, while one of my fave fics, is also one of the most challenging I've ever written. Every single line just takes so much effort (not just because of all the sex scenes, but because I decided to make Rarity... extra, lol) Ah! Speaking of Rarity, I wanted to write a sequel to All The Little Rings.

So basically... it's really up in the air atm? But I'm probably gonna write something. Just wanna hop off the College-verse (AAAH) train for a bit.

Anyways, I doubt many of you will see this today, but if you do, and you're in the USA... have a safe turkey day? I'm kind of loathe to say "Happy Thanksgiving" for a variety of genocidal reasons. Otherwise, just take care of yourselves!

Comments

[Comrade_Soviet]

Theres no way
literally today while I was at work i thought
"hey it would be nice if this guy made some art representing characters from the fic especially Sassaflash"
woah can't believe it actually happened XD

[Nines]

5756268
Heck yes! I liked this one too. Sassy is the best.