January Fifth · 8:04pm Jan 5th, 2016
Howdy. If you are reading this, then it means I finally got off my lazy ass and posted an update on my status. That's good, because that also means that aside from unforeseen events in the upcoming days, my routine is about to go back to its norm. Unfortunately, that means lots of work days. But there is much to look forward to at least. Promotion at work, higher pay in the coming months, and a few other things that I am unfortunately not at liberty of mentioning on the online space.
"But Ed, how does what does this have to do with writing?"
Well, let me tell ya. New year means new energy. that hopefully translates into more completed stuff/new stuff down the pipe. And let me tell ya guys, there is quite a lot planned down the pipeline. Here's a short breakdown of what may be coming up later on. If ya'll stay tuned, ya might just get to see some of it, heh.
No. 1 - Short story titled "Pollyanna"
Can't go into much detail about this one, as the details are still being finalized. What I can say is that it is a story that won't be exactly what many expect. And that's a good thing. All I can say is that it involves an individual making a choice that will dictate his future, all the while keeping his trademark 'Pollyanna' outlook on life as a whole.
No. 2 - "Harbinger" update + conclusion
We are getting very close to the end of "Harbinger". If my notes are to be believed (and they sometimes aren't. But hey, what can ya do?), then there are only two to three chapter's worth of material left. Next chapter changes the viewpoint character, dives deeper into the depraved hole that is the project, and starts generally starts to signal the point where "shit starts to get real".
No. 3 - Latest draft of "Fifth" due
Yes, this one is a long-time coming. In fact, this story has a very, very long history. It dates back to near the dawn of my writing career on this fandom, and has seen countless iterations, each one seeking perfection, and each one being just a little better than the last. For those that aren't really in the know, "Fifth" originally started under the title "Pony Noir", followed by a change to "Equestria Noir". From there, it started to see more and more changes, up to including characters, plotline, and world. The whole list of changes is a story all its own, one that spans almost six years by this point. Yeah, ya read that right, six years. Hell, maybe even seven. it's been that long a time.
This was what the original title screen looked like for the story's second and third incarnation, "Equestria Noir" or just "Equestria" for short:
During this time, the plotline was rather simple. And yes, I am well aware that what follows isn't really 'simple', but that's how I viewed it at the time:
A thousand years ago, events transpired in such a way that saw Princess Luna being the one banishing Celestia into the sun. Luna—young, unprepared, and grief-stricken—chose the selfish thing and abandoned Equestria in favor of self-exile. No leaders=chaos. 800 years of upheaval followed, ended only when a fascist organization (think "First Order" from the latest Star Wars movie) going by the name of "the regime"—yeah, yeah. Imaginative, I know—took control and established dominion over all of the known world. Countless atrocities followed, up to including genocide. On the flipside, the regime, while magic users in their own right, did not solely rely on it to control the world. That, coupled with near constant war, mean technology on par with that one would find in the late 70's and early 80's, with some oddities tossed in, such as mechs and personal processors far more advanced that what should have been present. Think MGSV levels of anachronistic tech to get an idea.
The story followed a young detective going by the name of "Bogart Maltese" as he started the story off in a scene inspired by Blade Runner. This is what Bogart Originally looked like. Be aware that this drawing was my first-ever attempt at making anything on a computer, and was never inteded for public viewing. Also, I was younger. That means I was also quite stupid, heh:
This character would later morph into another when a few people told me that 'subtlety' of my naming choice was just so ingenious. Like I said, I was younger and stupider. His next name was taking right out of one of my favorite genres: Cyberpunk. This name was first popularized in the novel "Neuromancer", and was later used for a program that could be used to distribute graphical cyber attacks. I combined it with a more 'pony' surname, and came up with the next name for the main character: Armitage Obsidian
It would be a while before this character would go on to become "Grogar Tambelon" from the current story, but that's a bit of a long story all its own. If you want to know what he looks like, here's one of the latest proof-of-concept images provided by the always awesome Tapediggity
Continuing on with the story so far:
The MC chases a perp—in-story referred to as a cultist of some kind—and more or less ends his existence with a well-placed shot to the back of the head. After this event, he is given a new assignment: go to the nearby town of Fillydelphia (That's right, it's supposed to be Ponyville, but I went with Faust's original idea for the name here) and investigate what his superiors had coined as 'cultist activity'. On arrival he met the mane six, got introduced 'round town, and eventually got mixed up in with a cult of depraved blood mages out to kill the mane six in order to prevent them from setting things right. For the cult was interested in seeing the solar regent, aka Celestia, return from her thousand year long exile and bring about eternal daytime. From there, the MC became more of a bodyguard as he followed the mane six down their iconic trek into the forest and into the ruined palace of the two sisters, all the while moaning and groaning about his turn of events.
I never got further than that in this particular plot. The reasons being numerous. Once again, I could go into great detail here, but I'd rather save that for a more complete story later.
After scrapping that plotline, dozens more started to be formulated. Some changing small things here and there, while others radically altering the plot. Eventually, the current plot was scrapped altogether when my hard drive failed and took with it almost ten years worth of documents. Despite having every right to quit then and there, I decided to take the opportunity to start over. That's when I came up with the current plot, more or less.
Of course, the current plot is now being changed once more. Goes to show you guys how 'permanent' something is. Time will tell how long it will before a new idea comes along to supplant the old. Yet, it feels as if every iteration so far has been building up to this particular version. I believe this one is the one to become solid. Time will tell.
And finally.
No. 4 - Rewrites and reduxes galore!
There are many stories that I wish to give the 'redux' treatment to. The last story I did this to went over very well. Then again, it was also a my first attempt at a pure romance story, so that could have been a contributing factor. Regardless, I think my skill have risen to the point where older stories that failed due to my lack of skill can now be saved with a well-done redux. such stories are as follows:
- Dear Diary
- Salty Shores
- Perihelion
- Guardian
This one is more of a side-project right now, but I'll certainly keep everyone posted if anything new comes up.
And that about covers all plans for the foreseeable future. Again, I will keep everyone posted as to how things go. You're by all means welcome to comment and make suggestions. Hell, I'll even welcome you guys making fun of me for being such an idiot when I was younger. I certainly deserve far worse than that at this point.
At any rate, happy new years, and I hope to see more of you all in 2016. Stay frosty everyone.
