Season four has destroyed my work · 6:10am May 20th, 2014
Everything I've been working on has had an enormous hole blasted through it.
Thanks, Megan McCarthy, for writing a season finale about a centaur that escapes from Tartarus and must be defeated by Twilight and her friends. It's not like that was a major plot point in a novel-length draft I posted almost two years ago. I'm sure the similarity is just a coincidence, because you don't jack concepts from fanfics, right? Of course not.
How can I expect any significant part of this fandom to take my story seriously when everything about it — even the location in its freaking title — clashes with one of the most high-profile two-part finales in the entire series?
I can't. It's blatantly unrealistic.
A huge part of this is my own fault for trying to keep my story from clashing with the show's canon. Still, no matter how much I hate season four, I can't ignore it as though it doesn't exist. Some writers can, and that's awesome for them, but I'm not one of them.
At this point I have two options:
1: Go back and change several major parts of Tartarus Infernum and its essential mythology
2: Stop wasting my time on a canon-crashed story
Obviously I'm leaning towards option two but I'm going to give it some time.
I'm far too infuriated to think clearly at this point.
In the mean time, any input is welcome.
You know, I was looking forward to reading this.
I similar thing happened to my apprentice, GaryOak. He wrote a novel-length thing in late 2011, but it wasn't up to snuff. By the time he had it all ready (with my help) it was late 2012, leading into 2013, and his story hadn't aged well. It had only a few readers who really liked it. He was crushed. But it was an important learning experience for him. He's doing non-pony writing now, and doing good work.
I myself have had to grit my teeth and throw out story ideas as of this finale. But there are always more ideas; you just have to let them come to you. And there's no reason you can't leave your current work up for the curious to see.
I know talk is cheap. But there's no reason to stop.
I'm sorry to hear that. :/ There isn't much advice I could give, since I know that because you worked so hard to make this canon-compliant, adding an AU tag or a little note saying it was written before S4 isn't an option.
Whatever you decide, I hope you don't take the story down. I was looking forward to reading the revised version, but I still love the story as is. It would be a shame to just delete it.
And, whether you decide to continue this series or not, I look forward to your future endeavors.
What few people fail to realize is that this is fanfiction we're talking about. Meaning that it doesn't have to slide snuggling alongside the canon to work. Whether anyone will admit it or not, the purpose is to create your own little story or world within a setting for... well, multiple reasons. Enjoyment, expansion upon the canon, etc.
Until Gen 4 finally closes and there's no further expansion upon the series, it's doubtful that anything will be set in stone before the team working on it decides to crack it open and write a new episode on it. It's why we have people say that things are set 'pre season one' or 'post season two' or whatever.
Just saying. I frankly enjoyed Tartarus Contingency, and would hate to see it go... but in all honesty that's the best I can and will continue to give any author with the crisis of, 'Whelp, not canon made this impossible.'
Hope this bit of advice helps, and I'm sorry for your potential loss Sunder. :/
My reaction to this sort of thing is always a resounding shrug. The whole point of fanfic is to explore things the show doesn't, and ignoring aspects of canon that don't fit in with your vision goes right along with that. The Harry Potter fandom was never so uptight about canon, or new books jossing existing fics; they just tagged their stories "Books 1-4 compliant" or what have you and cheerfully kept going.
Seasons two through four destroyed, in various ways, my PONY Legacy fic, and I couldn't care less. My readers don't seem to either; I routinely get asked when the next chapter is coming out.
Legally, they aren't allowed to read fanfiction. If you could prove they did jack ideas from your story, you could sue them for big bucks. Tirek was a villain from season one if memory serves, and since MLPG4 has a habit of bringing back old elements (correct me if I'm wrong), it's only natural for them to bring back the big mean centaur dude.
To me it appears that your story is approaching critical, too-big-to-bend mass. The predicament has presented you with this crossroads—but you neglected a third option. You could break all of Infinitum's ties to MLP and reform it as your original work. Fanfiction is nice practice, but if you feel your world has been developed to a great enough extent to merit the additional effort, then I don't see any reason why not. You trade being canon-independent for the short-term headache of drafting new versions and backstories for all MLP characters you include in your fic. I'm not saying this is strictly the best option, but it is on the table.
Other than that my recommendation is to put Infinitum on the back burner and start with a clean slate. Write a couple short stories and then get back on the saga horse. That's my opinion, anyway.
*Shrugs* There's a lot of stories that are still awesome despite being outdated by the show, Tartarus Infernum being one of them. It, and Fallout Equestria are still awesome because it's fun to explore the 'what if?' scenario's that otherwise wouldn't have happened in the show.
Did the shows version of Tartarus and Tirek feature epic climactic battles between not just Tirek, but other boss level enemies? Did it feature high profile characters teaming up with the mane 6 to engage in said battles? And did it include the promise of a shadowy overseer behind everything that our stalwart heroes still need to go battle?
I liked Tartarus Infernum because it was a fun, action filled ride set in a more or less alternate universe now, and I plan to continue enjoying it as is.
And besides, I know how you feel. Nothing says fun times like writing a story, spending a few months tweaking it to meet your brand of perfection, juuuust getting ready to release it and hey, guess what? Here's the season finale have fun rewriting it yet again.
I haven't been a big fan of the show since Season 2 ended. I'll tell you this: canon is not the Holy Grail that some others make it out to be. I know you may find it hard to ignore canon, but it may do you good to write something that deviates completely from what has been "established". Keep this in mind: even canon isn't coherent. Wanna know why I'm not a big fan of Seasons 3 and everything after? Because if Faust had stayed, the show would have been different. It would have kept to its original quality instead of unnecessary concepts like "Twilicorn", "Equestria Girls", "The Crystal Empire", etc. The show is not what it was meant to be, and even S1 and 2 would have been different had Hasbro allowed Faust full creative control from the get-go (Cadance wasn't supposed to be an alicorn, Celestia was originally a queen, etc.). So don't worry about deviating from the norm (whether it be the norm established by canon or by the brony "hivemind"). You'll actually be doing the fandom justice by going crazy with original ideas.
Ever read Austraeoh by Imploding Colon? How about Visiden Visidaine's Upheaval series? They are excellent examples of great AU fanfics, and the Austraeoh in particular is WILDLY popular. I think it would be a very liberating feeling for you to throw your limits to the wind and just create your stories however you want. Don't worry about canon, because there are plenty of people who don't like canon anyway. I, for one, would be very happy to read your stories, especially if they're AU.
Of course, it's all up to you.
I don't think you should worry too much about conforming 100% to canon. I think most people already pick and choose their own headcanon from episodes, comics, fics, etc. anyways and can still enjoy a story that differs from their own ideas.
I personally hope you continue with the story as is, but you are the most important one to please with your story so if you want it to be canon compliant then that is your call.