Tirek is Doomed Mass Feedback · 12:53am Feb 26th, 2017
Sands and Storms, what a response!
Right, to business! If you're looking at this post, it's likely because you faved Tirek is Doomed. Or clicked the link I will leave in the comments once this post is done. Why am I writing a blog post instead of putting a comment there?
Because that comment would take TOO long, replying to everyone individually. Especially when so many asked what was essentially the same questions. Which means it is a lot easier to simply make a GIANT group reply and then point everyone there. So, in order then!
First up, a big thank you to everyone who has enjoyed the story and left compliments of appreciation. I'm glad you enjoyed my work, and it is always nice to have that confirmed. Even for something as fundamentally silly as an MLP/DOOM crossover. Thanks for all the praise! I'm glad that I was able to take something bizarre and make it something awesome.
In that vein, to those of you who singled out the greater depth I gave Discord and the Doomguy, thank you! Characters have always been one of my strong points, and while I didn't originally intend for that side of the pair to come up, when it did it was quite natural and fit too well to ever consider taking out. If you like this version of Discord, then please consider checking out my Discord-centric side story Why Me?, and it's soon to arrive sequel, Discord Day Care (which goes from side story to full Novella ... or maybe short novel. I haven't checked the word count yet). Additionally, you don't have to stop there! Plenty of my other works, both fanfic and published, have been praised for fantastic characterization. If you're looking for that, and maybe some deep world building and adventure, check both out! I've covered a wide variety, from Epic Fantasy to Epic Sci-Fi, so there's something for everyone!
Now, the big question on a lot of commentator's minds: Will there be a sequel to Tirek is Doomed?
No. No sequel is currently planned.
And I have good reasons. As much of you would love to read a sequel to Doomed, any sequel simply wouldn't carry the same "punch" to it. Doomed works because of its set-up; throwing one unstoppable force against another. Everything else takes a side-seat to that spectacle.
For a sequel to carry the same "impact," it would need to follow suit. And the fact is that there really isn't a foe that Doomguy could go toe-to-toe with to be impressive. Sure, I could make one, but then that brings its own problems. After all, as pointed out there actually is more to the story than Doomguy's fight. There's his character and the characters swirling around him. But now that they understand Doomguy, what's left for a sequel? Nothing that readers can't easily extrapolate on their own (in fact, several comments did this, one from Fourpony putting a bit of work into it!
But it's nothing more than confirmation of what many already know or expect based on the end of Doomed. Which adds nothing new. That's not bad, but ... it's not what I do. I don't simply write to confirm the reader's expectations, but to surpass them. By doing something like adding pathos to a DOOM/MLP crossover.
In other words, you readers are smart enough to be able to follow the pieces laid in Doomed to their own conclusion. I don't need to write that story because you already know it! Which is a tribute to my own talent as it is to your own imaginations. Where the sequel will be best.
So, basically, a sequel will not carry the same weight. You know the story already, so I don't need to write it. We know Doomguy doesn't want to be redeemed, doesn't want to heal to something that could survive in Equestria. That's not who he is. If he did, he wouldn't be Doomguy.
So, sadly, there will be no sequel. But that doesn't mean you should despair. After all, if you liked Doomed, there's a very high chance you'll like my significantly-sized library of existing works. Check out Why Me? Check out The Dusk Guard: Rise. Or even poke your heads over to my site and check out some of my writing samples of stuff that I've had published to see what you think. If you liked Doomed, odds are that you'll like some of the other things I've written, which will buy me more time to get more stuff out while you look through the backlog.
Now, onto another common question. I answered it in the author's notes, but between the number of people that skip those and flat-out didn't believe me, I'll say it again: The word count being 9,999 was entirely chance. 100%. I didn't even notice it until I submitted the final revision to Fimfic. I swear, 100% chance. Amusing chance, and instantly appealing to me, but chance all the same. EDIT: And it would now appear that fixing a broken-imported hyperlink has changed it. Sad day.
All right, last comment responses ... Oh, yes. Smiling at the end doesn't mean that Doomguy is truly happy. There's been some debate on this in the comments, so I thought I'd chime in. Discord said it best: Doomguy is broken. He may be "happy" to have things to kill in Tartarus, but that doesn't mean he's actually happy. He pretty much can't be the latter and still be Doomguy, as broken as he is. If you want more on this, I'll refer you to a post I wrote on DOOM around the same time I was writing this story titled The Tragedy of DOOM 2016.
Anyway, I think that about covers it. Thank you everyone who read and enjoyed Tirek is Doomed, and thanks for your faves, comments, and upvotes. They rolled in so quickly, bumping Doomed into the feature box in such a short amount of time, that someone in the Fimfic Discord channel actually openly questioned if I had 'gamed the system somehow' because there was no way it could be real. They were postulating mod favoritism or underhanded shenanigans as the possible reasons since they'd 'never heard of me' (and that's not my fault, lol).
Anyway, in other words, you readers made Doomed so popular that I was accused of somehow cheating the system. Which is awesome. I basically just "won" that hard, if that term applies. Success being a victory, I think it does.
Anyway, a big thank you to all you readers. Those of you that have been following me for some time, thanks for your support and enjoyment of my work, and those of you that are new to the Viking ZX territory: Welcome to the party. I hope you stick around, check out the fun and games, and like what you see!
Thank you for enjoying Tirek is Doomed. I'll see you all again for Discord Day Care!
Viking ZX out!
Your formatting dun goofed. You got italics everywhere.
4436423 Fixed it. Improperly placed bracket. Thanks!
Interesting. I didn't think of a sequel along the lines of going up to be healed in Equestria. I was thinking he would head DOWN.
There are some very innovative depictions of the 9 circles of hell on FimFiction. Courage's Inferno by Damaged is the first that comes to mind. The Space Marine would be an agent of change in the chronically static hierarchy that has calcified among the denizens of Tartarus. Which demons would try to help him to achieve their own goals? Who would have the power to oppose him? Would either party have a chance to survive?
It just goes to show you don't need to be a popular writer to get something featured. It means you are a great writer. Hands (hooves?) down. A question that arose in my mind... How could there be mod favoritism? You pulled no shenanigans... There were no strings, goofs, or snares... It's a pretty foolproof system. Kind of hard to game the system. You just wrote a damn good story.
I think I speak for all of us when I say that this story really rocked. Viking, sir, you deserve our respect.
*clicks follow button*
I commented amarica ftw and someone disliked it I think they need to be banished to Mexico
Personally, I think the story ended perfectly, no need for a sequel. All things being equal, a sequel would only weaken the original work by dragging down the story with, as you said, something wholly redundant.
We already know doomguy thrives in hell. We already know he carves a bloody swathe from top to bottom. We don't need it spelled out.
It was a delightful romp of a one shot. Thank you for your hard work.
4436566
Huh. That actually sounds really freakin interesting! Doomguy in the Equestrian version of Dante's Inferno! It's too bad Viking already said this about a sequel:
"And the fact is that there really isn't a foe that Doomguy could go toe-to-toe with to be impressive. Sure, I could make one, but then that brings its own problems."
So we're not likely to see something like this come about.
Btw, Viking?
"I don't simply right to confirm the reader's expectations,"
You don't simply 'right', huh? You're one of those who absolutely has to make three lefts I take it? XD
4436566
Well, that does sound a bit like melding in other's fanfictions and headcanons, so that's one spot where I'd not have gone.
Even then, though, that proves my point. You're building that story in your head. I don't need to add to it! You've already got it!
4436590
Yeah, there are no strings to pull. It's an automated system, and one that's gotten a lot of the kinks worked out over the years. Some people just immediately leap to the conclusion that someone else's success is only by cheating ... which personally says more about their own thought processes in the absence of any proof.
Especially since I'm not exactly unpopular either. I've never reached the levels of say, Hoopy McGee, but I've got a pretty solid following that's constantly growing. I don't have a lot of publicity, and I sure as Taco Sauce have a nice contingent of irate detractors for whom my every success seems to be a personal insult, but I'm not exactly invisible. A slowly built fanbase, hard work, and good quality (thank you for complimenting it, btw) lead to success, even without some of the more "usual" fimfic channels to popularity being there.
Some people are just immediately suspicious of other's success. Though to be fair, we are talking about an MLP/DOOM crossover story. I mean, 99.9999% of the time something like that appears, odds are it's not going to be the most accomplished piece of literature. I guarantee there are quite a few fanfic browsers who haven't read it and are just scratching their heads asking "How in Equestria is anyone reading this!?" I myself would be suspicious if I saw it in the feature box, lol, given the source material.
Either way, it was amusing to read!
4436668
Thank you! And may you enjoy the content!
4436673
It did kind of have no relevance to the story. And by kind of, I mean none.
4436748
You're welcome, and thanks for the compliments!
4436752
Gah! Fixed. And that is why I don't write when I am sick or low on sleep. I make dumb mistakes like that. Actually, that type of mistake is the most common when I'm sick or tired, which I find amusing.
Anyway, fixed.
4436780 *boops the Viking*
4436780
Honestly, I'm more impressed that you didn't have more typos than that.
Granted, I didn't actually check for others until a few moments ago, well after I wrote that comment about 'right', so if you spellchecked yourself to make sure there weren't any others since then, then that works too.
Personally, I've actually found myself having a harder time with typos the more I write lately. I don't know if it's just me getting faster with typing or what, but it seems like I'll look back and find the strangest typos, and afterwards I'll catch myself writing typos as I find myself writing but thinking a few words ahead, so accidentally type the word I'm thinking that moment rather than the word that actually goes there. Or worse, part of the word I was thinking and the word that goes there. *shudders* Be far easier if I could just type faster than I could think, yanno? Though that might run into the problem of writing things that really should have gotten reviewed in my head a few more times before they got put down onto the page...
As Kaff Tagon said, "'You cheated' is loser-speak for 'I didn't see that coming.'"
(Come to think of it, I can totally see Rainbow saying that...)
It may not quite fit the specifics of what happened, but it amuses me to bring such quotes up when I get the chance.
(That was from the "vandalized" version of the 70 Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries, in case you felt like tracking down the quote. Not a long read, but a good one.)
Congrats again on making such a splash with your delightful serious crackfic! Here's hoping it leads a bunch of people who had never heard of you before to check out your other works.
4436780 I don't know how much about doom
Thanks! It was a good story!
May the Doom Guy never rest. For when he rests, the memories will come back. May he find true happiness one day.
4436780
4436752
The challenge with DoomGuy is that he doesn't speak. He might silently agree with a suggestion, but any dumb (as in, can't speak) protagonist is going to be a challenge to build a 9 chapter story around without making it as repetitive as John Wick.
The benefit of working with Dante's 9 Circles of Hell: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, etc. is that they are so open ended. You can mold nearly any story you want into that framework...any story except for Celestia's quest for her stolen cake slice...actually, an enraged alicorn with the sun trailing after her, tearing through anything and everything as she carves a blood path to the bottom of Tarturus, the entire time yelling in the Royal Canterlot Voice "GIVE ME MY CAKE!!!!!"...that might have some possibilities....
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"Please, Your Highness," grovelled the minor demon, "my master will provide you any cake you wish! Any at all!" He shielded his eyes from the radiant glow enveloping the alicorn, only his thick, segmented hide that could comfortably withstand the hottest magma keeping him from being burned to ash in an instant. He risked a glance above him. The collapsed shells of the three upper levels of Tartarus continued their disintegration, the merciless sun that had never been seen in the realm continuing its relentless burrowing through miles of earth. Occasionally a demon would lose its race against the slumping shell of its realm and burn in a brief flash of hellfire.
"I don't want YOUR cake. I want MY cake. My cake was stolen. YOUR cake would never taste as sweet. Besides, it's MINE." With a blur of a front hoof, Celestia kicked the demon, causing it to explode like an over-ripe melon.
"Apparently, everything in this abysmal place is hard of hearing."
Great story, I fucking love Doom, the new game just sealed my already love for it. However I want to refer to the Tragedy of Doom thing you wrote, and I like that interpretation of the story (especially the alt. timeline theory, that could possibly tie to the previous games), but I don't think the almighty Doomslayer is as lost as you say.
I say this because there is one scene at the end (SPOILER ALERT) when you overheat Vega to destroy him, doomguy does one thing, he saves a copy of Vega. Why does he do this? Because he saw Vega as useful, more so than Hayden, so deep down in the hell, brimstone, and unbridled rage that is doomguy's psyche he still is capable of rational thought. It's just that his idea of rationally dealing with demons is to purge them with extreme prejudice (and I have to agree with him).
That's just my slightly more than two cents, whatever, I want a sequel (for the game, Hayden needs to die), kickass as fuck story. Rip and Tear until it's done
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4437581
*dies laughing* I want to see a completed version of this so much! XD
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Hah, I just realized how to express why I think a sequel would actually work, and you actually wrote it yourself in these two quotes.
A sequel which explores Doomguy and his interactions with the ponies would absolutely work because it is fundamentally the same as his battle with Tirek. On the one hand you have Doomguy who is an unstoppable ball of directed rage and is completely unwilling to change. On the other you have the insurmountable will of the ponies and the very nature of Equestria towards peace and harmony. It may be a conflict of ideals and beliefs rather than guns and fists, but at it's heart it's the same clash of unstoppable forces as the first story and is in its own way more true to the core of Doomguy against the world that runs through the games than the first story was.
The story definitely still stands on its own and doesn't need a sequel by any stretch of the imagination, but I still felt like it was worth tossing this your way in case it gave you any ideas.