Sound of Thunder: What's up with the length? · 9:43pm Jan 8th, 2016
Sound of Thunder was a gamble for me as not only did it not directly tie into the events of Bridge proper, not yet at least, but it hinged on a plot twist (the mirror universe) and a main kaiju was a virtual unknown; not from either the Toho or Daiei roster. Over all though, I think it worked out pretty well, least well enough I got several people in the comments and about one, two, five tumblr anons on this first day asking why the heck its "ending" after only five chapters? I understand the number can be jarring, especially considering Bridge proper has gone on for well over thirty chapters so far.
Allow me to explain.
Sound of Thunder is an experimental short story. The Bridge by comparison is a full size story with many different arcs and character journeys going on, often more than one at the same time. SoT is essentially a single arc from The Bridge, condensed down to a small ensemble of characters and published under its own title. The story only contains one sequence of events from start to climax, unlike Bridge which keeps rolling on and could be treated like a series of stories taking place in chronological order. SoT was made to be story you could sit down and read in an hour or two. Having a good finale act, but not taking place so far along in the timeline that it is the last we'd see of those characters.
To make a movie comparison, if The Bridge is a MLP:FiM as a whole; Sound of Thunder is Equestria Girls. A self contained story that takes place in a larger narrative; and while it does have a conclusion, said conclusion doesn't tie up EVERYTHING. This allows characters and plot points to return. After all if Mirror!Godzilla and his team are the main threat in the Mirror!Equestria, would be a little anti-climactic if all the hell they've raised got ended by Raiga dropping in out of nowhere. And then there's the question of just how Raiga got their anyways...
Chapter 5 and the possible epilogue to Sound of Thunder isn't the last we'll see of Raiga or her associated characters. They'll pop up again in the future. Sound of Thunder was made to help introduce more elements to a much larger universe, much like many good spin-off material does. There will be future spin-offs and short stories of many different colors. I even got some rough outlines for a multi-fanon crossover short with some popular MLP fanon made unvierses like Evowizard's Shimmer'verse and RainbowDoubleDash's Luna'verse, just for fun. Sound of Thunder chapter 5 won't be the end, it's just the end of the first issue.
Excellent.
Tarbs, you are awesome.
I was expecting the 'story' to basically be a collection of 'side-stories' in the mirror-verse that followed Raiga around. So I was not expecting it to be 'finished' after one arc. Good story nonetheless.
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To be fair, if I intended to cover the Mirror'verse extensively beyond Raiga, I'd have problem given it a different title. Sorry for the confusion
The Mirror'verse however will be a major focus in a future storyline. This is just our intro to it through the lens of another character being introduced to it.
I knew earlier, but to see a blog with my name in it? You honor me, sir. Besides, I'm not that popular but it's nice to think you like it that much. I wish you the best of luck on what project you choose next.
Thank you for the heads up there, and Im sorta liking the bridge more than the main in many places, (Im not much for the eqg elements of the primary story.) but the bridge has fit and hit much more interestingly to me as a whole, despite it being far shorter. That its more a first chapter is a great thing to hear.
So there is a possibility of Raiga Joining the Main Universe?
I been wondering... Well we see a new type of story by you?
I love your work! But it's just that want to see what else you can take on?
It can be short, that would be fine!
I've never heard of "Evowizard's Shimmer'verse". Can someone please elaborate, as I am a HUUUUUGE fan of Sunset Shimmer.
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This be the spearhead of it https://www.fimfiction.net/story/167106/a-different-sunset
Interesting, that pretty exciting. A lot of spin off's are self contained but there are "crossovers" where both story-lines collide here and there. If that is the intent than I'm looking forward to it. So, this is a very successful experiment in my opinion.
I haven't read the newest chapter yet, simply because several other stories have updated before this one. Which I haven't gotten to yet.
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Gracias Senor. I will definitely give THIS a look. :3
As a Lunaverse author I am intrigued, and as a fan of your own work as well my curiosity is even more galvanized.
Also glad to know this won't be the last we see of Raiga. For a rather obscure kaiju you've certainly given her enough personality that I'm more than happy to see more of her whenever she shows up. Also evil twins are always fun, so its good to know that this Mirrorverse's characters might play a part of things down the road.
If you are worried that we would think 5-6 chapters is too short for an action story with a single main character, don't. I for one think this is the right length to set up the action, and get us into the one big fight the story is supposed to feature. It's given us enough to have a feel for Raiga's character, introduced the villains and threats, and drawn clear lies between the forces of good and evil in the context of the story without bogging things down with unnecessary details. Also, having future tales in separate stories would be like having an anthology written by a single author in a shared setting; plenty of options for a quick, self-contained read with an overreaching story for those who want to read them all. An excellent approach to these tales. I look forward to reading them.
Is there a midquel planned for Lea?
It's definitely gonna be cool with those other side stories.
Okay, I can live with that.