Chat Invite and Important Update About Rites · 8:30am Feb 14th, 2013
A little more than eight months ago, at the urging of my then-girlfriend and now wife I started a little project I called Rites of Ascension. It was originally an attempt to explain why Celestia got Worfed in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season two finale.
It’s grown a wee bit since then, by a whopping 1400 favs. While that’s nowhere remotely near the top for Alicorn!Twi fics, it’s pretty damned significant. Also significant is the nearly 350 people following my rambling blog posts, even if it’s just chat notifications and how sick I am half the time.
I’ve also started getting people asking for advice on their own works, and that’s something that really blows my fragile little mind. (For the record, there are much better people on this site for that. I‘m pretty terrible at it.)
Combined, Rites of Ascension and Designing Intrigue have garnered over 1100 upvotes. I’ve also got over 7,000 first-chapter views. These numbers, honestly, astound me.
Now, recently EqD had a thing with some spoilers about the coming season finale where Twilight becomes an “Alicorn” and Josses me and one of the most popular subgenres in the fandom. From what I hear, it’s supposed to actually be a very good episode. That’s going to hurt, I’m not going to lie. I’m going to be depressed for some time about that. Given how I feel about my own work, it’s entirely possible I’m going to feel that canon is going to “give Twi wings” in a far better story than my little rambling randomness.
HOWEVER!
This does not mean I’m stopping Rites. Honestly, I can’t. For one, I’ve gained a little fan base here that’ll feel like Rainbow Dash after Cloudsdale losing the Equestria Games. (Again, the fact that this is true blows my fragile little mind.) For another, however, doing so would defeat the purpose of me doing this in the first place.
It wasn’t just to explain how Celestia could get Worfed. It was to practice to write my own original works. Honestly, looking at the stuff like the upcoming Breaking Barriers side story and comparing it to chapter one... there’s no comparison. I’ve improved a lot already, but I still feel I have a long, long way to go. Even if this new episode shows me up in the worst possible ways, that just means I have that much farther to go.
Now, my original works have already begun taking shape, and I’ll eventually be working on them simultaneously with Rites. However, for now it’s just in the world building stage. (Some of the original ideas in Rites can nicely carry over!) In order to really get good at writing, I need to do a lot more of it, and that means practicing in Rites, no matter what happens Saturday.
To this effect, people have been asking me questions about the internal workings of the Rites universe. Some of this is still too early for me to answer without spoiling stuff, but I’m hoping that sometime in the relatively-near future (no promises on timeframe) I’ll be able to release an external wiki or database with enough information about the Rites universe that other authors will be able to write in it. Fausticorn and I will set it up, likely with material from the internal wiki, scrubbed to remove spoilers.
That’s right, you heard me. We’re setting up a Rites of Ascension Extended Universe.
Now, why in the world am I doing this?
For one thing, I figure that doing this would be a wonderful experiment for me in practicing to create my own original universe(s). (Not that I haven’t done worldbuilding like this before, but I’m very out of practice.) For another, I think it might help grow Rites’ popularity enough to combat the inevitable severe Jossing I and all the other Alicorn!Twilight fic authors are about to experience. (Only the dead will know peace from the coming rustling of Jimmies.)
This isn’t to say that anyone can create a story and have it be canon in Rites. Something I have in mind might well Joss it, but that being said, who cares? This is fan fiction people! I’m not about to stop anyone from jumping in. This is supposed to be fun after all! It’s all about giving you guys a world to have fun writing in. The water’s great, guys!
For another thing, you guys have no idea how many random characters (OCs and otherwise) I have planned for Rites. Some of them I likely won’t have time to do anything with other than a guest spot, but other authors might just take them and run with them. (Some I might even expy to the original works.) The internal wiki has something on the order of 28 entries for characters and by heavens that’s not even all of them that have been written in yet. The ones I have planned in my head? Likely TWICE that number. They aren’t in the wiki because either I haven’t gotten around to them yet or because I don’t have names for them yet. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to flood you guys with OCs all at once, I know how bad that can feel.)
This is a huge story, and it’s going to be an equally huge challenge to keep writing it to the end *and* still write an original novel. (I have to get started on that sometime soon, I feel.) Having other authors out there writing in the same universe will help Rites grow that much better, especially given my slow update schedule.
(One of the nice things about the internal wiki is that it’s much easier for me to add to that than write. This means that if I feel too sick or blah to write in block two, I can often still add stuff to the wiki, thus maintaining some level of productivity!)
So, that’s the news, and I wanted you guys to know what I’m up to here. I’m not quitting Rites, even if the coming ep winds up being awesome. I’m still sick, not as much as before, but enough to be problematic. I’ve got some resources lined up to hopefully deal with it, and I’m still writing in spite of it. More slowly than I’d like, but I’m still writing.
What I would really like is to hear from you guys on what you think about this idea of an Extended Universe. Excited? Apathetic? Worst Thing Ever™? I do feel like I’m almost over my head with it, but I’m also incredibly excited about it. Let me know in the comments down below or in chat.
Speaking of chat, I’ll be in chat for a bit if you all want to talk about this or any other topic the chat meanders into. I’ll be online for probably an hour or two (maybe longer if I don’t get tired, or less if I starting feeling sick).
To join me, hit the "Chat" button on your Dashboard, then hit "Connect", then type in "/join #fimfiction-rites".
-Cv
EDIT! Fausticorn has graciously created the Rites of Ascension Extended Universe Group!
It's pretty bare bones right now but with any luck we'll get more stuff up in time! Come join us!
Of all fics of its type Rites stands tall as my favorite and it makes me vary happy to hear that it will be continuing regardless
Your mention of an internal wiki makes me feel bad for only having one long plaintext file with far too many line breaks between random notes
Rites is a lot more its own world, though. Sharing the Night is pretty much all just working up to one reveal 
It's good to know you're not giving up, though! I think I've said before, but I don't actually think of canoncorn!Twilight is as big a deal for established stories compared to the effect it may have on ideas that haven't been written yet.
I'd read more stories in the Rites universe, though, sure
If you ever want someone to bounce worldbuilding ideas off of, feel free to hit me up. Unfortunately, I'm a lot better at worldbuilding than I am at writing. I stole most of the worldbuilding for Aurora from an original story I never wrote more than a few thousand words on, and may or may not end up abandoning entirely.
Rites of Ascension Expanded Universe group.
Its nice to hear of this going to an EU for open writing. I can understand waiting for it, but if you wanted to open it, you can post the general story line you had in mind for writers if you wanted to have spoilers as a vague thing, just not in part how that is done, or not. The setting of season 3, with season 4 announced, opens to show that its a nice world to do what works, and places touched at only in briefly mentioned, like saddle arabia, and others, really lets wide the world, especially given the focus of equestria, there are wide places to look and explore. Find what fits, in what you want of the world, and have a blast.
I feel that your work is not only worthy of attention, but of its own TV Tropes page. Unfortunately, I do not know how to set up a page there. The story you are weaving is without a doubt high quality. It would never gather as much attention as it has if it were not good.
All fics are AU. The events in them did not happpen in the show. That does not stop them from offering entertainment.
Sadly, I missed the chat
Buuuuuuut, I found something just as awesome.
826378
All of my yays
I stand ready to provide editing for Rites if and whenever you desire it, my friend.
Well even if The new episode is amazing they can't take it to your level in this story. You have to realize they are making it for young girls. While thats good and all they can't give it the action or the anger and rage that a fanfic can. YOU CAN!! You can drop all this into a story such as Rites and make a truely amazing Ascension into Alicorn Hood.
Also I think your sickness is catching MY STOMACH IS KILLING ME!!!!!
I personally don't see what the big deal is (regarding the canon's direction, that is)...it's not like your story is suddenly "un-canon" or any some such -- you have nothing to fear whatsoever by what the canon does, or really, ever will do...this is all fanon for a reason: nothing prevents me from writing a story where Rarity is Sweetie Belle's sister...why would I do that? Maybe I just like it, maybe it works better within my story....usually a glance at the post date can let a reader know where so-and-so from the canon probably is relevant or not, but even afterward...it's no big deal - you can post something in the description if you like to let readers xyz is not relevant in this story, or you originally started this story before a certain episode....it's up to you really, but their is no reason to feel apprehensive about this new episode -- me, I'm personally curious on the directions they will go, given that the tone of the canon will mean that Twilight will have to avoid the various mature pitfalls that come with being an Alicorn which sounds creative....for example, many people are fearful for Twilight because they think they she will outlive her friends...but the canon would obviously never go this route; maybe she doesn't have extended longevity, or maybe she gives it up (etc..); however it turns out, the canon will simply portray a different interpretation that doesn't dictate what you do. I suppose it's a bit tricky because you are deliberately following the canon to a certain degree, like the Lunaverse, but as before, it's not necessary to freak out too much.
That said, the idea creating an Expanded Universe....sure, why not? In many ways, you already did simply by going into so much development on Alicorns and Twilight's entry into this bigger world - you already were doing quite a bit of world-building, in my opinion...that you are going to do more, and acknowledge it, feels logical to me -- if it makes you more comfortable and that your universe is more grounded and stands on it's own, by all means.
Expanded universe? Totally awesome! adding to group list.
Hey this sounds exciting to me!! :D