Not actually editing yet- just making a first run at laying out pages to get a rough starting estimate I can use to get the printing quotes. That has to be done before I can set the Kickstarter goals.
But so far I'm up to Sol 105, which is the end of what will be Chapter Fourteen.
That comes in as page 276 (leaving eight pages for titles, dedications, etc. at the front).
... not to vend, but to attend. (I will have CSP and Fort Libris in the car... a couple blocks away... but I won't be bringing them in, because in-venue sales are for people who paid for that.)
But more to the point, I'll be handing out cards announcing something there.
Subtitled: "The only adult within thousands of miles drags a couple of idiotic children away from an explosives experiment they started without proper supervision."
On the one hand The Maretian has 26 pieces of fanart tagged as associated with it, which is very impressive. On the other hoof 26 is far less than a story as epic as The Maretian deserves.
It's a great illo. That said, I've always found it hard to credit this race of sapient ponies who are so tiny they would struggle to lift a simple tool.
It makes far more sense if they're the size of English Ponies. For reference, an English Pony standing straight on four legs would put their head level with an adult male of average height. So about 5'10". Add some necessary evolutionary changes so they can do things with their arms that humans can do but normal horses can't, and you have a completely functional evolutionarily evolved pony race. Just my quibble, I guess.
5822487 I chose to have them so that the ponies (who are all ladies in the story) would, on hind legs, stand about as tall as a short human woman. Had Big McIntosh gone to space, he'd likely stand at least as tall as Mark Watney (again, on hind legs).
5822487 Personally I'd err more toward Shetland ponies, based on calculations against held objects of known size. You end up with the average mare standing around 80cm at the withers (the base of the neck) and with alert quadrupedal posture an eye level a fair bit below the average human. This would line up fairly well with Kris' interpretation, albeit resulting in a creature which weighs far more than a healthy human, around 125-150kg if I'm remembering the maths correctly. Not impossible for a human to lift one per arm in 0.4g, even accounting for gear, but Watney was probably pretty sore after the adrenaline crashed!
As for the limbs, they seem to be double jointed and we know hoof grip is non-magical because it's seen in use in scenarios where magic is entirely unavailable. Van der Waals' forces neatly explain that, though it'd be a huge headache for spacesuit makers since Van der Waals' based grip can't transmit through other matter. They'd need some sort of pincer (assuming the tech for proper augmetics is unavailable) or another workaround. That, or expose the forehooves and use very good seals isolating them from the rest of the pressure suit, though I doubt that'd be healthy over the span of a few hours. You could use a sort of medical sock to avert the worst effects of swelling, but I'd still expect bruising around the suit seal, burst capillaries in the exposed frog and probably some damage to the spatulae responsible for grip. Plus temperature hazards on contact with other objects, increased radiation exposure and chance of suit failure via Murphy.
5822888 Nah that's fair. I figured I'd ask as a curiosity thing. CSP+Maretian is a long duration combined read as it is and it's always fun to go back and re-read. I'm quite interested to see what you're planning next.
5822899 Right now, my jumble of priorities: (1) the Peter is the Wolf novel project; (a) re-editing The Maretian for my own print edition; (I) third and final re-write on my isekai project, The Ex-Hero's Inn; and (mu) new chapters of Friendship is Deceptive. (I've written myself into a dead-end on Haycartes, so that's firmly backburnered, but everything else is more or less of equal priority, so none of it actually gets done...)
having checked out the the maretian art tag on derpibooru the only thing I've got to say is that I honestly thought and therefore imagined Fireball to look very similar to garble(spike's bully who kinda redeemed into a bongo player???)
That's art!
Really liked it. Paid a visit to the artist gallery and 'The Maretian' tag. Brought back good memories.
Happy holidays!
You just made my day, great pictures ♡
It's an excellent pic, and I love how absolutely pissed Spitfire is, lol.
I really love The Maretian. Definitely in my top five pony fics.
5822328 Indeed, I've read it three times and I still reconsider doing it again every so often.
Awesome! This story has been in my "Read Later" bin for too damn long...
Congrats!
That's fantastic!
Cute, why is Starlight so giddy looking, I wonder.
Hahaha, that's grand! Just... why no description? Ahh, well. Is gud!
5822380 Well, the title of the piece is on top of it- "The Maretian, Sol 37." That's all that's necessary for context, really.
When the wizard casts 'Summon Perchlorates', it's time to leave.
alternative title 'before the boom'
5822384
aint that the truth, poor starlight...she doesn't mean for things to explode around her, it just kind of happens... lol
Subtitled: "The only adult within thousands of miles drags a couple of idiotic children away from an explosives experiment they started without proper supervision."
Captured Starlight's childlike self satisfaction perfectly.
Ah, good times... Good times
On the one hand The Maretian has 26 pieces of fanart tagged as associated with it, which is very impressive.
On the other hoof 26 is far less than a story as epic as The Maretian deserves.
5822394
Ostensible adult.
5822460 More like "alleged adult".
5822478
I’d like to know who’s doing the alleging!
It's a great illo. That said, I've always found it hard to credit this race of sapient ponies who are so tiny they would struggle to lift a simple tool.
It makes far more sense if they're the size of English Ponies. For reference, an English Pony standing straight on four legs would put their head level with an adult male of average height. So about 5'10". Add some necessary evolutionary changes so they can do things with their arms that humans can do but normal horses can't, and you have a completely functional evolutionarily evolved pony race. Just my quibble, I guess.
5822487 I chose to have them so that the ponies (who are all ladies in the story) would, on hind legs, stand about as tall as a short human woman. Had Big McIntosh gone to space, he'd likely stand at least as tall as Mark Watney (again, on hind legs).
5822487
Personally I'd err more toward Shetland ponies, based on calculations against held objects of known size. You end up with the average mare standing around 80cm at the withers (the base of the neck) and with alert quadrupedal posture an eye level a fair bit below the average human. This would line up fairly well with Kris' interpretation, albeit resulting in a creature which weighs far more than a healthy human, around 125-150kg if I'm remembering the maths correctly. Not impossible for a human to lift one per arm in 0.4g, even accounting for gear, but Watney was probably pretty sore after the adrenaline crashed!
As for the limbs, they seem to be double jointed and we know hoof grip is non-magical because it's seen in use in scenarios where magic is entirely unavailable. Van der Waals' forces neatly explain that, though it'd be a huge headache for spacesuit makers since Van der Waals' based grip can't transmit through other matter.
They'd need some sort of pincer (assuming the tech for proper augmetics is unavailable) or another workaround. That, or expose the forehooves and use very good seals isolating them from the rest of the pressure suit, though I doubt that'd be healthy over the span of a few hours. You could use a sort of medical sock to avert the worst effects of swelling, but I'd still expect bruising around the suit seal, burst capillaries in the exposed frog and probably some damage to the spatulae responsible for grip. Plus temperature hazards on contact with other objects, increased radiation exposure and chance of suit failure via Murphy.
you have a decent number of fanart for your story, well done.
Loved all your stories involving this universe, and I wish that they all had more art.
Ya ever consider doing an AU to your own AU as a 'what if the friendship 5 didn't get stuck on mars' progression of CSP?
5822883 Not especially. I have had extremely little energy for writing in 2024, and what I do have I use for new ideas, not re-hashing my old ones.
We only have so much time and fire in this life, and you don't advance by going round in circles.
(EDIT: said the man whose relaxation hobby is driving virtual cars around virtual racetracks.)
5822888
Nah that's fair. I figured I'd ask as a curiosity thing. CSP+Maretian is a long duration combined read as it is and it's always fun to go back and re-read. I'm quite interested to see what you're planning next.
5822899 Right now, my jumble of priorities: (1) the Peter is the Wolf novel project; (a) re-editing The Maretian for my own print edition; (I) third and final re-write on my isekai project, The Ex-Hero's Inn; and (mu) new chapters of Friendship is Deceptive. (I've written myself into a dead-end on Haycartes, so that's firmly backburnered, but everything else is more or less of equal priority, so none of it actually gets done...)
One of my favorite scenes from the Maretian. I'm rereading CSP right now and debating a trip in Feburary to the Cape.
having checked out the the maretian art tag on derpibooru the only thing I've got to say is that I honestly thought and therefore imagined Fireball to look very similar to garble(spike's bully who kinda redeemed into a bongo player???)