• Member Since 8th Jan, 2012
  • offline last seen Jan 26th, 2021

Luna-tic Scientist


I actually am a scientist!

More Blog Posts24

Jan
3rd
2017

I'm not dead! · 4:51pm Jan 3rd, 2017

No, really. Christmas came close, though. The equine hit squad still have it in for me (I think it must be a family thing; I offended one of their own and now they all want me dead). More on those murderous tendencies later.

I've been absent a while, due to horse-based distractions (but you figured that, I guess); should have come back to check stuff, but feared the distraction (and a vague feeling of guilt at not doing more). That said, you all deserve an update on my progress:

Ch 32 is done and I have another 10K in draft. They are somewhat disconnected -- I'm writing the primary narrative to its conclusion before filling in with secondary threads. Things have been slow, because it turns out that endings are hard. Not sure how long it's going to take; several months to finish the first draft, then another chunk of time to sort out loose ends, character arcs and so on. This estimate is a pure guess, obviously.

Other news: endrome made me this most excellent picture, currently in use as Wasp's cover art (used with permission). I love it, especially the dogs at the top (Korn is perfect).

Back to those nags.
The first attempt was when I went to feed them in the field; one of the nags decided the (now empty) bag still had food in it. When I tried to scare him off I got a wheel and kick for my troubles. He missed, fortunately (probably wasn't serious). I conducted a fighting retreat back to the gate (a good quarter mile of open ground).

Second was a Boxing Day ride, when my supposedly calm horse (not mine, one of the school horses) decided that shy-buck-bolt was a good tactic. After the third go at dumping me (involving a sudden charge towards a group of parents and children), I got off and led the nag home. On the plus side, I never came close to coming off (turns out I do have some skill -- yay!). It is nice to be tested and actually pass.

Anyway, I hope you all survived Christmas. Thank you for staying with me.

Comments ( 27 )

Squee, favorite author is back! :pinkiehappy:

Have a happy new year, and I can't wait to read more horsewords once you're done.

How much do you like horseback riding? People tend to remember bad news, so perhaps I can only recall the bad bits, but it still seems like your having a real rough time of it.

But anyway, I know quality can't be rushed so I don't mind the wait at all. Blog updates are always welcome though.

Good to hear from you, especially in regards to the not being dead thing.

As for that cover image, I have to admit, it's kind of surreal to see your characters in show style. I always picture them as a lot less cartoonish. In any case, looking forward to the next installment. Who knows? I might even read it within a month of you publishing it. :derpytongue2:

Your association with non-cartoon horses continues to come across as very masochistic. Have you considered loading one into a particle accelerator to return the favor? I've read somewhere that that goes happily for everyone involved.

4367602 So that's where his inspiration came from. Pineta might have something to say about that, though. (Not as cruelty to the horse, just a waste of good accelerator time....)

4367602
Worked out surprisingly not-as-fatal-as-expected for this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoli_Bugorski

4367549
Seconded. The amazing cover art looks weird, but it's a good weird.

Also, the gryphons remind me of Silver Quill for some reason, despite his being a hippogryph.

Sorry to hear that the horses have a vendetta against you. I hope you continue to survive.

4367522
It was a tough year; my previous horse was not suitable for the work asked of him, and it took a long time to reach that conclusion. My current nag is much closer to what I want (and young enough to be trained), but rebuilding my lost confidence is not a fast process. So at the time, not at all. Now, though, it's much better. You are right though, the successes don't get mentioned, likely because they are far smaller and less relatable. They are there -- the first time I went out solo and cantered, the first time I convinced her to cross a small stream, and so on. It's a long-term project and I've only had her for a few months.
4367549
Oh, me too! In my head they are basically horses, and as I've not seen the show for quite some time there is a bit of a disconnect. Once past that it works for me, though, and I can see the characters in them. It's also very nice when something like that appears out of the blue! Made my day, that did.
4367602
Yeah, I have noticed this. Trouble is, accelerator time is hard to come by, not to mention the problems of getting half a tonne of horse into the accelerator tunnel!

4367644
No superpowers or anything! Hollywood lies.

Yay, you're back. I couldn't help myself and started reading final solution, I didn't think it would end up being abandoned but...

YAY! Keep doing that whole.. not being dead thing! And can't wait for the epic conclusion to this beyond epic story.

Also.. that is some epic art.

I'm not dead!

Whew! Thank God! How can I throw money at you if you're not alive to receive it? Huh?

Well, keep living please. I like you alive. I also like your horse stories, and your stories of horses.



P.S. My desire to make your version of ponies into a player-made species in Stellaris is back. I don't know if I have the time for this...

Thanks for the update :D

Being not-dead is good, yes. Welcome sorta-back-whatever!

I always pictured vanca with light gray fur. Cool pick none the less. Korn is surprisingly cute. I figured he was more like that orc in the pervy elf story, ugly and stoic looking, but compassionate

4367678
Honestly its hard for me to see these servitors as anything but the cartoon version, since horses have less natural facial expressions nor the kind of double jointed flexability that comes naturally to equestrian pone. That said. I too picture them more realistically. A real body plan less deformed and more articulate with horse type features. Prey eyes. Nose bridge, muscle tone. Though i dont see them having the girth horses and ponies have

Only just starting reading your story a few days ago. I'm four chapters away from finishing what you have, and I have to say it's currently my favorite fanfiction on this site. I'm honestly kind of dreading when I run out of chapters; it's quite a riveting ride.

4368853
A cross between them, certainly. Definitely the prey eyes and the long muzzle.
4368929
Glad you are enjoying it! Yeah, sorry about that. Endings are hard, so there will be something of a delay.

4367808
Spent four-odd years on it so far, it would be a terrible thing to quit now. Also I believe that there is a special place in Tartarus reserved for authors who don't finish what they start!

4367964
A friend of mine did that; they were monsters.
Ah, I'm glad someone doesn't mind me wittering on. It's helpful to drop these words into the void, so to speak. For a while I wondered if I should continue (the riding, that is); I wished I'd bought a quadbike instead. It will be nice to report some good memories next time.

4367937
Me too!

4369258

Glad you are enjoying it! Yeah, sorry about that. Endings are hard, so there will be something of a delay.

No worries! Better to take your time and write the best ending you can than to rush it and write something you might regret later, yeah?

4367684

Maybe if he bit someone, that guy would then get superpowers.

https://xkcd.com/663/

Thank you for the update. It's appreciated :D

We all miss you! Any sign of another update?

4471205

Has it been three months already???

Writing this thing is a bit like emptying the pacific with an eyedropper, but there has been progress. I've now got ~20K words, so about +10K on the last update. That's 3K a month, which is terrible. Not helped by a few weeks of complete abstinence. Currently at a tricky point (also not helping!), but I'm trying the 'little and often' writing approach, to try and build momentum.

I sincerely hope you are still of the 'not-dead' variety of human, because I am desperate to see the conclusion of this story! It's gripping! Captivating! Other -ing words!

I hadn't checked in ages, but I'm glad to see you're still working on this awesome story! Writing a fitting end to such a magnificent tale must indeed take a lot of work. Please try keeping these horse riding accidents to a minimum to prevent the title of this blog post from becoming false. :)

Hope you are alright.

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