Wanderer's Diary: Weeks Twenty One and Twenty Two + Story update information + Fan stuff + Questions. · 6:24pm Mar 19th, 2013
I know it's best not to blog about every little thing that crosses my mind, unless I genuinely think it's worth it. So with that in mind, I like to make my blog posts as compilation updates. Think of it as like a monthly newsletter, if you will.
Wanderer's Diary:
The Lone Wanderer wakes up in the Capital Wasteland again and regrets doing so, in Wanderer's Diary: Weeks Twenty One and Twenty Two.
This time: Resurrection, whining, and a well deserved break.
And we're back, baby! WD has been on a sort of unofficial hiatus since the main game wrapped up, but we still have Broken Steel and some other DLC stuff to get through yet, and I wanted to take a break before we got to that bit. Not just because I could though, but because I wanted to devote the time to some related projects. TWO new related projects in fact!
The first one? A one shot prequel to Wanderer's Diary. The name? Vault Dweller's Log. And oh yes, it IS based on Fallout 1. It'll tell the whole story of that game in one long update, and you can expect it in less than a month's time. The other story? Well... That's a bit of a surprise...
Other stories:
Van Helsing's next chapter is about ready to go. However, it'll be a little bit before you see it yet for various reasons. An update is close at hand though, trust me.
Discord: House of Chaos isn't going to update yet. Right now, it's under review for submission to Equestria Daily, and the first chapter is undergoing some minor editing tweaks to help it to that end. Nothing you'll notice, trust me. It's just some hyphen and dash stuff. Real minor, like I said. My pre-reader is very helpful though, and once it goes up on EqD, then I'll get started in earnest on the second chapter.
Human is being updated. Slowly. The character of Satan is hard to write, and I'm finding myself rather troubled on how exactly to spring the revelation that he's really Celestia's uncle and has been in an abusive relationship with First for the past six hundred years. All issues I'm sure that most writers are familiar with. I'm kidding, by the way. About most of it.
And also, Draven is increasingly busy, which means all our collab projects are on hold aside from Shades, which he's really devoting all his available time to. I know it doesn't seem like it, but it's a fucking long chapter and needs a lot of work. This unfortunately means that we're not going to see Twilight, Season One until after the next chapter of Shades, which may still be a while. And that really sucks, because I was so excited about TS1. I'll get it out though. Eventually.
Fan Stuff:
I've been meaning to post these for a while, but I keep forgetting. A regular reader of mine, and I like to think friend as well, made this series of Saints Row 3 character creation models based off the humans from Human and Shades. Check it:
Lord Second. I don't even know what point in the story this version is from.
First, as he appeared in chapter eighteen.
Our good friend Hayato, AKA the Third, from Shades of Grey. This is Draven Eclipse approved.
And finally, the ever unsettling and enigmatic entity we know as Nathan Carson-Summers, the unofficial "Fourth."
These were all made by my man Armalite. If you'll go over to his user page, you'll also find he wrote a bunch of poems/short rap verses about both TotEG fics and several others you might know, so go check those out too. Give his stories a read while you're at it. Thanks, Armalite!
Question for my commenters:
I recently had the pleasure of speaking to a fan who explained his interest in Human by telling me how much he liked the metafiction concepts that it uses, and that it's interesting enough that he was even able to overlook the gruesomely dark parts that are scattered throughout the story, even though he usually didn't like the dark stuff.
Human uses those dark elements because it's a vital part of the setting as I see it. A lot of the humour is extremely twisted, perverse, and is itself quite dark at times. If I don't make the world itself dark along with it, then the dark humour would feel more out of place. However, I know it's not for everyone. Though I think it's fair to say that Human is more well known than a lot of fics on this site, I've never really considered it incredibly famous, and it's probably because of exactly that reason.
But I've also held conversations with fans before who followed the story for its darker elements and its actual storyline, and were distracted when the ludicrous humour deflated the gravity and seriousness of the rest of the setting. It made me think a bit. People follow my story for a lot of different reasons, it seems. I'd like to hear what yours are, as a reader. Are you here for the comedy? Is it the dark and twisted shit you like? The concept and metafiction elements? Or is it just the narrative and characters? I'd like to know, actually. I'm curious what aspect draws in the most people.
Answer in the comments below.
Honestly, all of the above. I'm crazy like that.
I followed for the metafiction. It has, in part, actually influenced a little of a long series I have been planning since 2011. The first few chapters were shaky actually (it had a feel of a gag universe) but when I finally got to see the logic behind most of the things happened, it sucked me in, even though I disliked dark stories. It was icing on the cake when the dark humor got better and better and First's backstory helped quite a bit as well.
I just wish that the story didn't meander so much though.
Also, my personal note on this universe was: "This show didn't so much jumped the shark as the shark was strapped to a Saturn V, shot directly to the moon and impacted with the force of a thermonuclear weapon". And you know what? I like it.
All of the above. I like that second is a fucking jerk (well, pretty much everyone in your story is, some more then others), yet I still feel sympathetic towards him and secretly (or not so secretly) hope he succeeds in whatever the fuck it is he's doing in the end.
The concept (+meta) comes second from the narrative and characters in terms of why I read your story religiously.
And finally the "dark and twisted shit".... it's not really that dark in my eyes, certainly nothing even near being qualified to be classified as twisted. (wat)
931310
Well, we've seen Second eat ponies and trick Silver into it too. I'd say that's fairly twisted.
931320
The concept is moderately dark I'll admit, but it was so hilariously presented that it offset the dark aspects entirely (for me anyway).
Hey man, thanks for the blog!
I follow the story for many reasons, the characters, the metaness, the humor, the plot; all of it. The characters are likable, and I think a lot of people can relate to Gold Coin. The plot is engaging, and full of turns that continue to make the story more and more interesting without throwing the reader off. The humor in it is just fucking fantastic. You're able to make something incredibly dark like cannibalism, and make me think, "Ya know, I guess it isn't that bad." Or punting baby zombies into the air to distract an enraged zombie princess.
All of it is pulled off well, with an expanded universe, and over a thousand years of history between the series and this. It all comes off as something that we'd see made by a whole other team, like a new My Little Pony written after Studio B stopped working on FiM.
931502
Well, that is the premise the series, isn't it? It's set in a sequel series to FiM made by people who didn't work on or really understand FiM. I don't think anything like it ever will really be made, but I could picture it.
In a way, I guess you could call Human's concept, "What if the sandwich board doomsayers' worst fears came true?"
I'm one of those fans who follows the story because I like the narrative and the witty dialog. Admittedly, I really only like a couple of the characters; the ones who aren't assholes, with the exception of Second because he's the antagonist. I don't really like the darker elements or the dark humor, but it's balanced with lighthearted humor, so it balanced out alright. I will say your use of death has been rather liberal so it feels like it has suffered diminishing returns.
931529 Oh that reminded me of something, I don't usually watch Doomsday Preppers, but I happened to catch an episode, where a man believe terrorists would invade America. Not just attack, but actually invade and occupy Red Dawn style. He was going to fight them off with his bow and arrow and poison the food in his pork shop, because Muslims eat pork. Best thing I've ever seen.
931540
Well, death will be liberal in a series that contains both undead creatures and a confirmed afterlife ran by a real deity. That was kind of the intention, actually. It makes the deaths less dramatic and more something that just happens that I can play around with. There's a lot you can do with a setting that treats death in such a way, and there's a lot I have done with it, and still intend to.
Also, which characters are the ones you consider assholes? I'm assuming Gold Coin, but what of the others?
931542
Human stupidity is a truly special thing, and I think every once in a while we just need to step back and appreciate the full grandness and scope of it.
931592
Yeah, I've come to realize that you're using death in a different way ever since you introduced the meta plot and the afterlife with zombie resurrections. It's a different take, just that the transition in the early chapters was jarring, but since then something I've gotten used to.
As far as asshole characters, (forgive me if I don't remember them all, it's been a while since I've read your story), Gold Coin's one. Silske, is one, even though it's just her nature. I'm not a fan of Soft Spoken. The brotherhood of man, even though most have been killed off. Chain Mail still kind of a dick. It's just one of those things I'm not a fan of, justified asshole-ness. Though my memory might be fuzzy since the last time I read your story was when you updated.
931676
Makes sense, I guess. People have different levels of tolerance for certain kinds of behaviour. Though, what exactly did Chain Mail do? I know most of the other characters have done at least one bad thing each, but I don't think Chains has. Especially not compared to everyone else.
931686
Chain strikes me as someone who only saw in black and white. He's developed over the last few chapters so he's not as bad as he used to be, but it feels like a lot of conflicts started from his lack of empathy as the de facto leader.
931707
Oh yeah. I can see that.
Thanks for explaining by the way. It helps more than you'd think.
This is slightly weirding me out for some reason, and I am not sure why, though I suspect that it may be because it reminds me of the Chessgame of the Gods shortened form.
Anyway, its always nice to see an update
i.imgur.com/ZaIyq.gif
931825
Hello there, Garion. I've missed you.
931834
Me too honeybuns, me too.
But I see armalite got a mention in your blog, thats always nice, including your friends.
I will destroy him and eat his flesh if it makes you notice me in public
931851
No need for that. I'm right here. I'm noticing you.
Please don't kill anyone else. You really scared my neighbours with what you did to the milkman.
931868
Yes, now, in the small enclosure of your blog, in a place where the others have already gone away
He deserved it, I saw how he delivered that milk in the smug milk float of his
Well you pretty much already know my answer to all those questions. Yes, I like all of that in your story, hell even the asshole characters out of all the assholes Gold Coin is my favorite. Ok actually he's a close second to Howard.
And didja miss me too, Danny? :D
931875
Every day you were gone.
931883
Yay I'm loved. X3
Say have you read the new chapter of Life and Times of a Winning Pony? Dude that was one depressing chapter.
931892
NO I HAVEN'T DON'T SPOIL IT FUCK YOU.I mean. No. I haven't. Please don't spoil it.
Fuck you.I'm sorry. That was out of line. I'll try again.
I'm sorry, I don't believe I have. Don't spoil it just yet, I need to read it first.
Fuck you.Okay, I give up.
931904
...Well then... I won't say anything and you saw what happened in the last chapter so it wouldn't be much of a spoiler anyway... Ok how about I change the topic before you kill me in a most gruesome of fashion.
I know that you're already busy with the your other stories like Human, Van Helsing, Discord: House of Chaos and Wanderers Diary of course. But have you ever thought of making a Fallout crossover with MLP? Or maybe even your own Fallout: Equestria side story?
931933
No. And I won't ever, because everyone's already made that crossover, every possible idea has already been exhausted, and it'll just be lost to the masses of other Fallout crossovers. Project Horizons has already been made, and anything else I'd create would just be trying to live up to Horizons' greatness. And the definitive FOE adaptation of New Vegas has already been made in the form of Heroes. Nothing I could do with a FOE story would really bring anything new to the table, and if I can't think of an original idea then it's not worth writing.
Tell you what I do yearn for, though. A decent Fallout and Doctor Who crossover. I've searched the internet. No decent one exists. It's madness!
931969
Yeah I kinda figured that with so many it'd be hard to come up with your own original idea. I've tossed the idea around that maybe a crossover with Fallout: Equestria could do? I'm actually following one fic that crossed with Fallout 3 and Fallout: Equestria the author used his own original Fallout 3 character and if I'm honest? It's pretty damn good so far, it really captures the humor and seriousness of both worlds. Imagine if your Wanderers Diary character was tossed into the world of Fallout: Equestria something like that.
Really? I'm following some pretty good Doctor Who crossovers. While they wary in quality I think Loyal2Luna and Sqeakanon did a good job on their own crossovers. I guess it more depends on what you'd like to see in them? Same for the Fallout crossover, do you want an actual crossover with one of the Fallout games and its characters? I'm assuming it's that cause with Fallout: Equestria out there, you already have a pretty damn awesome crossover.
932026
No, no. I know about the good Doctor Whooves stories. I follow quite a few. I'm a big fan of Discorded Whooves on tumblr in particular. But this isn't about ponies or Fallout Equestria.
I mean. A Doctor Who. And Fallout. Crossover.
As in, the Doctor in the world of Fallout.
Yeah.
932062
Ooooh ok, actually that'd be pretty damn awesome now that you mention it. Feels like the only decent fanfics on the internet are here on fimfiction.net. You're right it really IS madness.
But let's just say if The Doctor was in the world of Fallout, what do you think he would do? Let's just use the 11th Doctor in this one.
932101
Okay. Fuck it. I don't even care anymore. I know I said it was going to be a surprise in the blog, but I can't resist.
I'M WRITING IT NOW. IT'S GOING TO BE IN CONTINUITY WITH WANDERER'S DIARY AND THE PROLOGUE IS ALREADY COMPLETE.
I'M SO FUCKING EXCITED, MAN.
932112
HA, I knew you couldn't resist writing your own I had some suspicions after you said there weren't any crossovers so I deduced that you must be writing one seeing as you're such a big fan of both DW and Fallout.
So further speaking of crossovers, what do you think of Minecraft x MLP ones? I've seen quite a few but only one stands out as being a more serious crossover and not just for shits and giggles.
932140
Don't even play Minecraft, so I've never read Minecraft crossovers. They might be alright, but it'd just fly over my head entirely. Not my thing.
932195
Ah ok just thought I'd ask.
So anyway, you counting down the days until the second half of Doctor Who series 7 starts? And do you think that with series 7 finale we'll see the fall of the 11th? I know how much big of a fan of the 11th you are so I think you'll be pretty critical towards the 12th.
932224
I don't think I will be. I've always been pretty chill about changes in status quo. If 11th goes, then he goes. The show's always moving on, and we can't reasonably expect Matt Smith to stay on for seven years or something just because Tom Baker did. That said, if he is staying past the fiftieth anniversary, then I'll obviously be glad.
I mean, come on. It'd be pretty hypocritical of me to call out the overzealous bronies who flipped their shit over Twilicorn, and then fly into a rage about the Twelfth Doctor, wouldn't it?
932244
I was kinda hoping you would cause then I could call it out. And speaking of that I had some revelations about the season 3 finale after I gave it more thought, I know I know we already talked about this but I felt compelled to at least tell you these things. I've read some of the problems the critics pointed out. They said while it was grand in scope and the songs were good but at the same time the musical format took away time from the story element.
The next thing was the problem in this finale... there wasn't one, the "problem" was laughable compared to what season 2 showed us. While it's true that switching cutie marks is quite the problem it didn't really feel like it was one, the solution was also hilariously easy and fast found and you know it's true.
And the final thing about the finale? Well when the "problem" was solved at the middle of the episode it did a complete 180 on what the show most of the time tells us with the CMC and that is that you can become whatever or whoever you want and that an ass tattoo doesn't tell you what you can and can't become. Twilights destiny was to be a princess? She could be anything she wanted but nope had to be a princess and that is the one thing that bothers me most about it. The fact that they went and did the stereotype that all little girls want to be princesses and before you say it, yes I know that it's different here but the lesson would have been a thousand times stronger if they said that you can become whatever and whoever you want cause then little girls could be like 'hey if I'm like Twilight I could become whatever I want' and not a just a princess.
Whew, well that was another kinda rant I had to get off my chest, hope you don't mind I really felt like I should tell you these things. Even if you don't care, I'm still glad you lent me your ear.
932300
"Destiny" doesn't mean a lack of free will. That's a whole different thing. And also remember that destiny is apparently decided by cutie marks, not the other way around. Ponies choose their destiny when they get their cutie mark. That seemed pretty clear to me.
People are just really reaching to find something to complain about. They did so much whining about the finale before it aired, and now they're coming up with this stuff to justify it all and not look like they jumped the gun.
That's why unlike an objectively flawed episode like Mare Do Well or Spike At Your Service where you can point out OOC behaviour or continuity problems, all of Magical Mystery Cure's detractors cite what they think this will mean for the series, or what they think it's implying about free will in the MLPverse.
And unfortunately for them, when they base their arguments against the episode on what they've inferred or speculated on from various minor elements, I can respond with a counter-argument that also uses inferential evidence and speculation. And once you start doing that, then this whole argument just becomes optimists vs. pessimists, and that's a worthless fight if ever there was one, so I'd rather not have it again, thank you very much.
932367
Yes I know all that but I was talking about the show and what it teaches and not what the concept of cutie marks is. But if you want to talk about that sure, Twilight didn't exactly decide to become a princess so much as she decided to study magic, now I'm not saying that as a princess she can't continue doing that but that also means she could also continue without the title, also notice how I didn't say anything about the alicorn thing, there's a difference between alicorn and princess or even prince, you said so yourself that there could be a kingdom that's full of alicorns but that also then means that not all of them can have the titles of princes or princesses.
But OK, I can see that she was meant to be a princess from the moment she got her cutie mark which would just make it that she fulfilled it over a longer period of time... reminds me of Littlepip actually she also found out what her mark really meant way after she go it. But the fact still remains that the title wasn't really needed and just because I think that doesn't make me a pessimist and this wasn't meant for you to agree with me, this was about that you could see the points I gave, I've seen your points and can agree on some, I just hope you can see my points, not agree on them but at least see them.
932461
I see them. I'm just disagreeing. We've both explained why, and I think we should leave it at that.
932475
And that's all I asked of you, we can disagree on things but still remain friends. And yes I do consider you my friend even if I never seen your face and you very well may be a psycho serial killer... hehehe nah you aren't... well I'll just contact Garion now and tell him that you may be planning to kil- uh I mean bake us cookies, yes cookies and fresh milk... hehehe...
Here are the top three reasons why I religiously follow Human.
(1) It's DannyJness. DannyJness is basically the comedy style that you use. I can't explain it very well, but I would say that It's is a mixture of crazy, witty, and dark. I see it everywhere: in your stories, in your blogs, and even in your comments. I can see why you would be worried that people don't like your story. It's is not everyone's cup of tea, and it might not appeal the the masses as well as just standard humor. I can, however, definitely say that it is my cup of tea, and it the number one reason why I am such an avid follower.
(2) The story, and not just necessarily the meta parts of it, although I greatly approve of them. It's less of a traditional, standard story line in many ways, and I love it.
(3) The characters. I really don't mind that a great deal of your characters are assholes. I mean, most of the time when second makes me laugh, he's being an asshole. I think that the "group of dysfunctional argumentative ponies" that is Sliske, Mystic, Gold Coin, Chainmail, Explodey, and, at one point, Broadsword went well together. Gold Coin's character reminds me a lot of Eddy from Ed, Edd, n Eddy, and I strangely like him even though he's probably the biggest asshole of the bunch. Also, Second is, by far, my favorite character, and I hope that he stays for the whole ride.
This reminds me of one play-through of Fallout: New Vegas that I did. I made a character that looked like the 12th doctor, and installed mods that gave me my very own TARDIS that took me to various location around the Mojave, the sonic screwdriver that opened any lock, and even some Doctorish clothes. I altered his stats to where he had very high speech, science, repair, medicine, lock picking, explosives, intelligence, charisma, and luck, but had very low guns, melee weapons, unarmed, energy weapons (I know it doesn't make much sense), survival, strength, and endurance. I tried to play the game as the Doctor would by trying to solve things diplomatically instead of violently whenever possible, use the terminals to kill things with their own turrets, and stuff like that. I also made Cassidy my companion.
I even made up a little back-story for it that went like this. The Doctor crashes his TARDIS in a parallel universe (the Fallout universe), and his TARDIS only has enough power to let him travel around the Mojave. The reason he's at Doc Mitchel's at the beginning is because the crash injured him. His TARDIS needs a lot of power to get back to his universe, and Hoover Dam could give him that power. With this being the case, he does the Yes-Man play through, where he gets control of the dam, and uses it to give his TARDIS enough juice to leave the parallel universe. needless to say, it was a very fun play through.
932865
Sounds fun.
Although, you know the actual Doctor is in Fallout, right? His TARDIS appears in a random encounter in Fallout 1, and in Vegas, well...
Oh yeah. That's right. NCR have the Doctor's backing. This is why the evil endings can never be canon.
933107
That is amazing. I could totally see the Doctor helping the NCR against an alien invasion from the aliens in the Mothership Zeta DLC.
edit: also, do you ever get any sleep? I mean, you respond to these comments at all times of the day so I was just curious.
For me, Human has been about the characters, and the humor. I love watching these ponies go through some of the most ridiculous shit and reading their reactions. As for the gruesome stuff? Eh, whatever. I've read way worse (namely, chapter 33 of Project Horizons) and been just fine. It doesn't phase me in the least.
Just write the story how you want it to be. It's your story.
Now excuse me whilst I read Wanderer's Diary.
For the story so far, I've mostly been reading because of First and Second, to see what was going to happen to them as the story plays out. Maybe it's something to do with how, instead of normal HiE stories, Human expresses what someone that gained such power and knew so much about the show through working on it would do. I don't think many people would really go through what they've gone through and act normal. Plus, it sort of brings in that "human nature" factor, how our instincts and sort of true nature is, essentially, not to be fucked with. Those metaphors that I find in the story, whether or not they're intentional, are amazing, and the plot line makes me wonder what will happen next. Suspension + Me = MOAR!
933172
DannyJ is actually a series of highly sophisticated AIs working in tandem to produce as much content and answer as many comments as possible in a given timespan.
934108
So that's how you write and edit like seven different stories at once. It makes so much sense now.