Eulogy · 4:38pm Apr 3rd, 2017
art by Vexx3
Loss is the one thing we all have in common. Whether from the destruction or theft of something cherished, the failure of something you are deeply invested in, or worst of all the passing of a loved one… loss is something we should all understand and that we can all experience. It unites us like no other force. In the words I gave to Littlepip:
Loss. It doesn’t bring out the best in us, or the worst, although it can do either. It doesn’t show us who we truly are. It just hurts. And it makes us all the same. Even the most sadistic raider, immune to empathy, who draws joy and strength from the suffering of others, will feel grief over a loss they suffer themselves.
In the black pit of loss, we all pray for light.
You may recall my mention in recent months of a YouTuber who goes by the name Powdered Milk and the reaction series he is making. Last week, Powdered Milk lost a deeply loved family member.
Now I know not everyone here was following him, or even recognize the name, but I know that all of us can sympathize, and many even empathize, with someone going though the painful time of mourning. (As I told him, I myself know how it hurts to lose someone so special, as well as the non-consoling relief that they are no longer in pain, as my own father passed away from cancer.)
Let our hearts and prayers be with him.
News regarding Stable-Tec Studios below the break.
art by DarkSittich
I have long held that there are two constant forces in the world that, no matter what we do, can only be temporarily paused or diverted: progress and decay. Things change. The new becomes old. The old erodes. Something new rises in its place. No matter how much you may want things to stay the same, no matter how strongly you fight to keep them so, everything eventually changes. (While not without some controversy, it is arguable that even the grand constants like time and gravity will inevitably change as they march towards the heat death of the universe.) It is with no controversy at all that can assert fandoms change.
For some of us, the joy we find in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has never been stronger, and the show continues to grow ever more meaningful to us. For others, however, interest in the show has faded. I know several who remain in the fandom for the fandom itself, but who have not watched the show in multiple seasons. And we can probably all name people – whether personal friends or just former icons within the brony community – who have moved on to other interests or personal projects. For those who have, we wish them well. And we hope that their time with us and MLP:FiM has brought them joy, stoked their creativity, helped them become better people… or at least helped them make some friends.
And on that note, I sadly bid farewell to Stable-Tec Studios. Last week, Stable-Tec Studios chose to officially shut down.
Stable-Tec Studios launched with an eye towards creating an animated series telling the story of Fallout: Equestria. It was an exceptionally ambitious goal. And while it is true that they never finished their first episode, they did put out a lot of amazing and wonderful side works in the time they were with us. Projects like “Terminal Secrets” and “Confessions of a Wasteland Pony” (which, egregiously, I still have to catch up on), and the songs from Skybolt.
(For years, Skybolt’s songs have been on the playlist that I enjoy traveling to and from work. I am particularly fond of “Sins of the Past” which has been on my playlist since the week he put it up on YouTube.)
Like any long-term fan project, Stable-Tec Studios changed as fandoms do. Huge fan projects require more than just desire, they require an often staggering amount of time and dedication. I speak from experience. I wrote Fallout: Equestria over the course of eight months, and on the weeks that I worked on it, I spent an average of 40 hours of my free time focused on it. Even with all the amazing feedback and support that kept me going, the effort was exhausting. In the last months, I would regularly take a whole week off between chapters to recuperate and keep from burning out. (Once or twice, I even took two, but I strove not to do that out of fear that such breaks would turn into an extended hiatus or even abandonment of the effort.)
While several members kept their interest in the effort and even dedication to the original vision, others lost either interest or the time to devote to the project. Over time, talent was lost. And eventually it become unfeasible to continue the effort. By then, like most large and long-term group efforts, they had grappled with the inevitable challenges of delays, declining interest and even the destructive disgruntled. All of which is natural and hardly something to fault those involved for. Rather, we should look back with thanks on what they did give us. For they gave freely to the community out of their love for us and for the Equestrian Wasteland. And they gifted us with several wonderful works. To Stable-Tec Studios, I raise my glass in thanks and admiration.
It is my honest hope for those involved that the friendships they were able to forge through working together on this effort far outlast the effort itself, and are in no way marred by the death of the project.
Furthermore, while Stable-Tec Studios itself is no longer with us, not all who worked with them are gone. Several are now doing their own projects, including creating their own new Fallout: Equestria-related works. (The previously-mentioned Skybolt, for example, is now at EAST Corp Productions.) It is also noteworthy that Stable-Tec Studios is releasing all of their assets so that anyone interested can make use of them. These good bronies put a lot of hard work and love into these assets, and a hope they find a good home.
I will leave you with one of the beautiful and often haunting works of Stable-Tec Studio's amazing musical talent, The Balefire Symphony:
art by Nathicana
To be honest, I kinda expected the series to be canceled.... They held it off for so long, but still, I give my thanks to Stable-Tec for the hard works and dedication.
This is a sad day but i wish the best for all of the members of Stable-Tec going forward
Stable Tec Studios may be gone, but I won't give up hope. There will be an animated series someday for Fallout Equestria.
That's a set of sad news.
I hope everything goes well for them.
....you are like a politician with your words, you disarmed me with casual conversation, then built up my admiration for stable tech before delivering the painful blow, and with all your work in the beginning of the blog i instead felt the way you made me think.....bravo lad
'Ere's to you, Powdered Milk. 'Ere's to dat fallen luved wun of yers, a gesture of good will, hope an' appreciation frum da bottom of me 'eart, an' to da hopes dat dey remain strong in yer soul! Let 'em be a symbol! To remind ya of all the good times ya shared wiff 'em! Dey'll alwayz be dere wiff ya! Never forget dat!
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IIRC some Russian brony recruits a team for FoE 3-d animation... Don't though know how it ended.
And my consolation to Powdered Milk... Know how he feels. Several years ago I lost my great-grandmother.
My heart goes out to Powdered Milk... I also know the pain of loss. I've lost my mother figure in a freak car accident. I even remember I was so desparate in my sorrow and despair I called out with a question to you KKat in a private message, not really knowing what to do, trying to cope. Later on I felt a bit guilty for throwing such a heavy topic at you, a all in all stranger, but it did help me to read your words then.
I love this community and it pains me to hear that one of us is hurt. I hope he will find the strength to move on and remember all the good memories he shared with his mom.
It's sad how life goes, and how things like this happen to the best of people. I may not have known them, or their work, but I hope them all the best going forward. Here's to those who deserve recognition.
sadly I don ' t know Powdered Milk, yet I wish him strength and luck.
About Stable - Tec... for those who follows them for a while possibly follows EAST - Corp knows it was coming for a while. It was extremely ambitious project and those are hard to do without proper funding... so it still hurts to know it is over.
Loss I can understand. My twin sister lost her battle with depression almost two years ago. Sometimes the loss motivates me, other times it cripples me, but mostly it just hurts. You've talked about hope in the past, and about how stories with the absence of hope can be difficult or impossible to get through. I think about that a lot, and found myself fixating on the little points of light out there.
I'm not really going anywhere with this, so I'll clue this comment up by thanking you for the little pieces of insight you drop in your blog. They never fail to make me think.
It's sad that even the one episode didn't work out. I know some of us held on to hope as long as we could, but it just wasn't meant to be.
But we are constantly creating great new things over at EAST Corp and hope people find enjoyment in those.
Thank you to Kkat and all our friends for your love and support over the years. <3
Empathy to powder milk man. We have all lost someone or another in our lives. There is a strange inevitability, whether it be from tragedy, or simply time running its course and them leaivng.
With that stabletech one....... Yeah i am not too surprised at all. IT was immensely ambitious to try and make an animation of your fic but...... it was just too large an undertaking to do.
Hell how owuld they have even managed the final chapters of your story, with so much large scale battles?
They had ambition but jumped the gun and did not prepare properly. Still, it is sad t osee em go
While it is true that Stable-Tec is gone, East Corp is still there. They churn out quality audio plays, motion comics, and even a rendition of the Wasteland Survival guide. With Stable-Tec's passing, let's remember them by celebrating their successors, for they are truly worthy of it.
East Corp Productions Youtube
I love these guys and I try to plug them as much as possible, especially since the Stable-Tec/East Corp split and the loss of Stable-Tec. So, go check out their great stuff.
My prayers for Powdered milk I certainly can relate (as do we all)
Interesting that you spoke about change because that very thing was discussed during a meeting at my workplace. What a strange and intertwining world we live in or at least it is to me (or I'm just tired and not sure what I'm typing makes even a lick of sense). Change is certainly never easy some larger than others whether it's friends moving on to other places, family spreading out to do their thing their own lives, moving to a new home or even parents divorcing (sometimes the last two at the same time)
Point being you have pick yourself up ask God for strength (or whatever gives yout strength) and march through it
Kkat, wordsmithing like always. Now I really want an Fo:E animated series just because it was talked about... My heart goes out to Milk. Suffice it to say, I know the feeling as well.
We have all felt loss and I can sympathize with Powdered Milk's loss and hope the best for them, but the fact is only they can find the thing that gets them past this. Loss is something so personal that no two people will ever feel it the same or find the same reason to keep moving on. The fact is sometimes the best we can hope for is the want to not hurt those around us and the drive to keep ourselves from more hurt.
The loss of Stable-Tec Studios is a bigger things for some than others, but no matter how you look at it, it is a major loss for the fandom as a whole. Anytime something like this happens friendships become strained and other feel the loss so much they wander away from the fandom, sometimes never to return. It makes some wish they could have done more to help, but they had not the skills to be of help. Though I like to think that nothing is ever truly gone as long as there are those who still hold it close to their hearts, and maybe one day Stable-Tec Studios will come back to us.
Hey K, you know about my loss and I thank you for posting on my blog as things were happening. I sent powdered milk my sympathy as well and as for Stable Tech, well all I can say is they were amazing and I hope East Corp continues what they started in the FOE universe.
Omg thank you Kkat and everyone for the support thank you all