FMF 16: 31 March 2017

Hey guys and welcome back to another Fandom Music Friday! (on Friday this time! ) This week's been pretty crazy as you might have guessed by my most recent blog. Really, these past twoweeks have been crazy. Musically, I'm all over the place. Last week's entry was a month old. and the entry before that was from the wee days of the fandom. The piece of music before that was exactly two days old at the time of the blog's publication. This week, I'm featuring a piece of music that's five years old! I'd say it feels like just yesterday, but it doesn't. Besides representing a quarter of my life, these past five years (and especially these past two) have fundamentally shaped me as a person. One of the strongest driving forces, of course, has been music.

In the earliest days of the fandom, an author named Pen Stroke debuted his story titled Past Sins. It's one of the fandom's most popular stories of all time, and Pen is still number one on FimFiction for followers. (And if you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for!? Those links are there for a reason!) My first introduction to Past Sins was via readings of the story on YouTube. (I was deeply hidden as a brony back then, and the security of having redundant windows and tabs to hide behind was appealing. Now, I'm only a loosely hidden brony. But I'm working on that. ) Anyhoo, at the end of each chapter, the same piece of music played during the credits. Turns out one forcedmodo created a main theme for Past Sins an impressive two weeks after reading it! (More talent than I'll ever have in that field, I'm afraid.) Forced went on to make soundtracks for each chapter, but petered out around a year ago, last uploading Chapter 13's music. It's truly unfortunate. Seeing how well the main theme has stood the test of time, I'm sure a full soundtrack would have been amazing.

I feel there's really something special about this piece of music. Maybe it's the aimless and repetitive way the notes flow that reminds me of both Nyx's struggles and my own. Maybe it's just such a good interpretation of the weight Nyx bears that reminds me of my own past. What else can you be when the whole world defines you at an impressionable age and confines your personality in a box? What else can you be when circumstances far beyond your control leave you scarred and hurting? Well, according to Past Sins, you can still be anypony you want. It won't be easy, and nobody ever said that it would, but it's more than possible. And beneath the wandering, aimless notes in the music, there is hope and peace. Intentional or not, the song feels like a lullaby, soothing the listener. I find myself returning to this piece frequently to curb anxiety and stress. Paired with a walk around campus, it works wonders. Nyx inspires me and reminds me that nopony is beyond a second chance.

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Story Updates:

Next Project (surprise): (priority--high)
          Goal: 6-8K words
          Progress: 3.6K words
First chapter close to publication; likely within a week
          Projected chapters: 2

History Lesson Bonus/Cut content: (priority--medium)
          Projected: ~3-5K words
          Progress: 800 words

History Reimagined: (priority--low)
          Goal: very approx. 55-65K words
          Progress: 4.4K words (largely just a rough outline of characters and key events)
          Projected chapters: 10-ish
          Release date: Fall 2017