Happy Hearth's Warming (More Discussion Of Adagio In Real Life) · 2:32am Dec 21st, 2017
Thought I'd post this now, so it also reaches the poor, lonely individuals who won't be checking fimfiction on Christmas Day. Updates and Adagio Dazzle discussion below.
About six months ago I had an idea for a follow-up to one of my stories, King Of The Stingers. If you haven't read it, it was written to be an extra final scene for Legend Of Everfree just before the credits rolled, and then a short 'stinger' scene to go afterwards, like Sci-Twi at the end of Rainbow Rocks saying how there's definitely something going on at that school. I think it's one of those that really benefits from being read without knowing any spoilers, so if Sunset and her friends getting back from Camp Everfree and having a pleasant chat about holidays, school and coming home sounds like something you might like, then it's only 1,800 words long, and it's better to read it now rather than after, as I discuss the ending in great detail in the next paragraph.
MLP has some characters that cross various real-world archetypes in interesting ways. For example, I think there's a reason Queen Chrysalis and Spitfire haven't been seen in Equestria Girls yet. How would you show all of Chryssi's character angles in any context other than changeling queen? She's a master of disguise who infiltrates like a spy, but she's also a hive tyrant, a singing and monologuing Disney villain, a single mother to thousands whose main drive is to find food for them, and a parasite/predator who feeds on love. How can you do that in a human world? Likewise, Spitfire - we have famous sportsmen and -women in this world, and we have military flight display teams, but how many pilots of the Red Arrows could you actually name? They're not exactly David Beckham. You can't really combine the flying angle as a human with being a world-class athlete - no doubt pilots are physically very fit, and mentally very disciplined, but it's not like they can only fly faster than everyone else because their athletic prowess allows them to do so.
Shall we take a moment out just to talk about this picture? This is what we'd call an oldie but a goodie. Now, it's true, Adagio could be nearer the front, and the santa hat does slightly impinge on the height of her hair. However, that aside, this picture is as close to perfect as we can probably hope for in a picture of Christmas Dazzlings. It casts Adagio as the greatest alpha bitch in cinematic history, they're performing the Jingle Bell Rock but making it a much better song because, come on, that's just what they do. Flash Sentry even has a head wound. I love it. Anyway, back to the discussion:
The sirens, of course, have already made it to the Equestria Girls world, and fitted in wonderfully. But any comparisons with real-life figures can hit some similar problems. There are some obvious examples of singers so adored their fans worship them as something of a cult, from Beatlemania through to Bieber Fever, with a lot of Michael Jackson in between. To take the sirens' ambitions wider, though, of their desire to make everyone in this pathetic little world adore them, the closest parallel I can think of is musicians who get into politics; who are, by and large, dicks.
But, of course, there is one pop-culture celebrity who's made something of a power grab recently. And my idea for the King Of The Stingers follow-up would be that the sirens, during the two years they'd been off-screen, had been doing their own thing trying to get some kind of power back, but had hit a problem when they realised who Adagio's EG-world equivalent is. Princess Twilight has her double in the form of Sci-Twi, Princess Celestia has her human principal counterpart, and Adagio has... another orange-skinned tyrant with unrealistic hair.
So the story was going to be, "Hey Rainbooms, long-time-no-see. Remember all that bad history we have? Yeah, we need to put that on hold for a bit and work together to take down the president."
But... It felt like a sequel where there didn't need to be one, closing an ending best left open. It felt like making it political would probably alienate most of the audience of the original story. It felt like a betrayal of the MLP principles to put so open a misogynist in charge of such an otherwise matriarchal society. And most of all, I felt bad comparing Adagio to that man.
This will be my third blog discussing real-world Adagio parallels. First there was Maria Brink, then Willam Belli, and finally, a much more positive comparison than that mentioned in the paragraphs above.
So there's this guy. He has massive ginger hair, wears way too much eyeliner, that sort of thing. And he's a musician, which I think is probably the single most important Adagio trait to preserve. In fact, this guy is something of a musical genius. He isn't the best singer in the world, he isn't the best piano player in the world (though he's not half bad at either), but his songwriting is second to none. In an age where the music charts had been stuffed to bursting with the Keep It Simple, Stupid principle taken to its extreme conclusion of the minimal quantity of lyrics, melody and instrumentation repeated far too many times, sometimes even that replaced with just annoying sung noises (Um-ber-ella, eh, eh, eh), and producers working on the TV advertising theory of sticking in the audiences' heads through irritation rather than quality, he found a new route. He said, "Hi there, middle classes, smart people, and anyone who gives a fuck about anything, you already turn to stand-up comedy for the intelligent content you're not getting from music anymore, so why not get actual songwriting skill in the same place?"
There were other musical comedians before. There might as well not have been. This is not cover songs in comically-opposed styles, or instruments played intentionally badly, or rewritten lyrical parodies. Just beautiful songs that seem effortlessly catchy and complex, but also brilliantly funny, and far more thoughtful than anything you'll hear on the radio. Every song is a self-contained world built around a unique idea. Pretty much since I started The Song That Makes You Lose It, my notes document has contained the line, 'Adagio idolises Tim Minchin.' Only this week did it occur to me that the parallels might be stronger.
Just sayin'
The artwork there is by Uotapo, by the way, but I'm sure you already knew that. And if you - somehow - haven't heard of Tim Minchin before (his star has been on the rise for the last twelve years; 2005-2011 was stand-up musical comedy, and in the years since he's been writing musicals, most prominently Matilda), or checked him out, then, wow, I envy the day you're going to have. I'd start with If I Didn't Have You, then go onto Rock And Roll Nerd, then the almighty Storm, then perhaps Confessions, and, more than anything else, end with Dark Side. Oh, and if you think he's just using humour to avoid sincerity, or that, while comedy is all very well, only the (sad) emotional songs are truly moving, then he also just happened to write a song for a low-budget film about ten years ago which happens to be the best love song I've ever heard.
Oh yeah! I should probably mention some story update/progress stuff while I'm here 
So, firstly, The Song That Makes You Lose It. So relieved was I last time I published a chapter about finally managing to get an update out after six months that I accidentally let another six months go by without realising. I figured I had some leeway to belt out the one-shots which had been preoccupying my thoughts, freeing myself from distractions to then be able to dive back into the next bit of TSTMYLI. That's where Best Pegasus came from, and a couple of others that haven't made it out into the world yet (one of which definitely will someday, the other I might scrap). Those one-shots were among some of the seven stories mentioned in my last blog entry. Metasirens was not, so perhaps the answer to 'what do I do when I want to work on seven different stories?' is to instead work on a eighth 
But since then I've realised how behind I am on the big projects, and how I really want to get more of them out there for people to read, having spent so long planning them. So I'm halting work on all but the big ongoing stories; no more one-shots for a while unless I'm tearing my hair out in frustration. The next chapter of TSTMYLI is 1,560 words in, which is about 1/4 of the way through the dialogue planned so far, though there'll be maybe 50% more dialogue needed which hasn't been planned yet.
I think Haunted Wasteland will be the priority for the time being, though, as I'm a bit terrified that canon will come along and wreck my plans. I rushed to get it out before the end of season 7, but when that was leaked a month early I gave up. Before I realised it, four months had passed, and season 8 is only another four months away So I want to knuckle down and try to get all of that done before then. The first movement (already published) is about 1/3 of the story, so there's somewhere in the realm of 20k+ words to go. So far I'm 2,154 words into the second movement, which is about 1/3 of the way through the planned dialogue. Again, though, that planned dialogue will make up barely even half of the movement, so I'm more like 1/2 way through planning it and 1/6 of the way through writing it.
When the second movement is done, I will update the character tags to focus on those in the second movement, which are sort of a spoiler if you haven't read the first. So, if reading about siren relationships is your thing, then you might want to read the first bit before the second is done. I should point out, though, that it's not a shipping story, it's framed with an adventure of Spitfire tracking down a missing Fluttershy, and it looks at how the sirens have found happiness in their lives despite not being a world-conquering threat anymore. It's a story about love, while not being a love story. Hence the romance tag.
Also, I started this blog by talking about King Of The Stingers, and how I did at one point have a sequel idea, but then (rightly) scrapped it. Turns out King Of The Stingers grew a sequel anyway, almost by accident 
So, uh, I have continuity now! Haunted Wasteland is the central work, but while I was planning it I thought how well it would connect with one of the first FIM story ideas I ever had, of Spitfire and Derpy meeting on a train after Rainbow Falls. So I wrote Best Pegasus first, published it, and then started work on Haunted Wasteland, which is set two and a half years later. But sometime towards the end of working on the first movement of Haunted Wasteland, I was thinking about the conversation that must have taken place in the Equestria Girls world between the sirens and the Rainbooms about the former group wanting to return to Equestria. And that was when I realised how perfectly King Of The Stingers already existed as exactly that scene. So the continuity goes: Best Pegasus --> King Of The Stingers --> Haunted Wasteland, but the first two stories don't follow on from each other, they're both independent prequels. So while they all exist in the same timeline/share the same canon/universe, BP looks at one set of characters in one world, and KOTS looks at a completely different set in a different world.
Also, one of the things that I really liked about the idea of KOTS when I wrote it was how open the ending is - you know the sirens are there to talk to the Rainbooms about something, but no suggestion is made as to what. The idea being that it would be a stinger scene to whet the appetites of fans for speculation of the year-long gap between Legend Of Everfree and the movie after. And, of course, saying that KOTS is now part of that continuity offers a definite answer as to what was talked about, and how the conversation went, and clarifies how the sirens felt about the Rainbooms at the time. So I think the best way to view it is that if you think KOTS works better as a prequel to HW, then think of it like that. If you prefer it as a standalone - say, if your own supposition of how its last scene progressed was preferable in your eyes to mine - then I'd say treat them as two independent stories in differing universes.
So that's how things are looking, writing-wise. I'm hammering Haunted Wasteland as hard as I can, and taking breaks from that occasionally to work on TSTMYLI too. No idea when either will be ready. Soon would be nice. However, I've also been involved as a lesser partner on some other fimfiction story projects, and I am very excited about them! Again, I'm not sure when that will be, but at least one is likely to be sooner than my next chapter update, I'd say. I'm hoping to get lots and lots of writing done over the Christmas period, but we'll see how that pans out. And on that note, let's hand back over to Tim Minchin.
It took an Australian atheist to explain to us why Christmas matters.
Happy Hearth's Warming, everypony.
Well, I actually hadn't heard of Tim Minchin, so I guess that's my homework for tomorrow... or later today. Why am I reading blogs at 3am?
Oh, I did have a thought about the Wonderbolts parallel. I suppose this theory wouldn't work so well at this point, seeing as we've seen them fill rolls as both a sports team and a rapid-response unit, but it could be that the Wonderbolts actually aren't all that famous, Dash only knows their names because she's a huge nerd.
4761690 How did the homework go? The songs I linked to in the blog are good starting points, in my book. Among the others, at one extreme you have the sweetness of You Grew On Me, and at the other the not-sweetness of The Good Book. Dammit, I can't discuss him without spending an hour then watching lots of his songs on Youtube
Not a bad idea about the Wonderbolts, but I don't think it lines up with The Best Night Ever, where the top two Wonderbolts are not only invited to the Grand Galloping Gala and chilling in the VIP area, but they're the ponies everypony wants to be photographed with. So I'm thinking that they pretty much are as famous as Rainbow makes out.
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Just like college! Meaning... I haven't gotten to it yet
I ended up being busy yesterday and it slipped my mind, and I haven't really had a chance to just put on some music and listen yet. Hopefully tonight, if I get to work on some writing I can put it in the background.
Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that part. Man, the Gala ruins everything! Well, I guess it's just one of those things that don't really work in the real world. I mean, if you played around a bit, I suppose they could be like super heroes, but since EqG world is basically mundane, barring portal shenanigans and Pinkie Pie, that wouldn't really work either.
Okay, so, believe it or not, I only just watched Mean Girls for the first time last night. When it got to the part with, I think it was Jingle Bell Rock? I was like, wait, I just saw that! So not I get a joke I didn't get a day ago, and that makes the picture so much better. (Although I have to disagree with Regina being the greatest alpha bitch in cinema history. My vote still has to go to Chandler
)
4762914 In the nicest way, trying to avoid the nasty 'I like this and you don't yet but you will because it's awesome' approach, I wouldn't really suggest trying it with it on in the background. There's a lot of fast, complex lyrics, and while the music is wonderful the words are very much the focus and require full attention, more like you would for a standup comedy routine. And it's made all the better by the expressions he pulls, so watching the videos is better than just listening to the songs.
There isn't really a song that sums up everything he does, but I'd say try putting aside ten minutes to watch these two while doing nothing else and see what you think. If you really like it, and have another half hour to spare, then try these four.
It's the gala I mostly think of them from, as the first time we really got some idea of who Spitfire is. That and Rarity Investigates are her at her nicest, and while she's more interesting and nuanced as a character once her drill sergeant angles come out too, it's sweet seeing her so down to earth.
You hadn't seen Tina Fey's finest work until yesterday?
Does the caption beneath the image on my user page make more sense now? I really can't see any of the Heathers having much chance in that contest, indeed, Regina George was the reason I found Heathers so disappointing, as I didn't think Heather Chandler remotely stood up (unless you meant Chandler from Friends, which seems a bit of a stretch...? 
). Other than Candy Store, I haven't seen the musical; I thought I'd watch the film first and that put me right off.
It's the sheer effortlessness with which Regina George pulls down anyone she wants to, like when she phones up a girl's parents pretending to be Planned Parenthood and gets her grounded for months. Just one phone call, no pre-planning, over in thirty seconds, done and dusted, and that's all it takes for that girl to never be in her way again. Whereas Heather Chandler kind of gets that same thing used against her, with the wake up drink concocted on the spot mostly just to teach her a lesson
She could have been a lot better, I think, if she'd been in the film a lot more.
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He's pretty catchy though. Reminds me a bit of Voltaire, and to a lesser extent Tim Hawkins. I actually have heard a few of his songs, specifically parts of Storm. Pretty funny stuff.
Lol, I know that feeling. I've kinda been that way with Heathers lately
Yeah, I remember the Gala bit more now. Spitfire definitely is an interesting character. I like her most of the time, but I think you pretty much captured her worst trait spot on in that story. She does make a good drill sergeant though, which is something Rainbow Dash sorely needs in her life.
I feel like we are both going to have some "watched first" bias in this one, but I still gotta stick with Heather C. But to mirror your statement, the Heathers made Mean Girls feel a bit disappointing to me
Of course, I'm biased to the musical Heathers for the most part, so there's that too (You should totally check that out by the way). And the original Heathers movie is certainly a bit dated, and that doesn't help it much. BUT. Just going from their actions, I still think Heather C is more alpha than Regina.
Heather C's main handicap is that she is not actually the main villain in her story, so we don't get to see as much of her. But let's take the iconic bitchy moment from each of them: Regina faking the Planned Parenthood call, and Heather faking the love note from Ram. Motivation-wise, Regina acted in her friend's defense. The girl was hitting on the guy Gretchen was interested in, so Regina reacted by taking her down. Not even very publically. She probably got in trouble at home, but assuming she wasn't actually a slut, she probably was able to explain that away. Heather, on the other hand, faked the love note to Martha, for no reason other than to fuck with her. Not only that, she used it to humiliate her in front of the entire school, either in the cafeteria in the movie or Ram's party in the play. She did overall more damage for much less damage.
Vulnerability. Ironically, Ragina's main disadvantage is that she was the main villain in her movie. Heather is never shown as anything less than invincible, at least socially, until she is poisoned. Hell, even the teachers are kind of wary of her. Regina though, we see being self conscious and worried about her weight, even to the point of being tricked into eating those snack bars.
Final strike. Both Regina and Heather C had one final strike against their "rivals," for lack of a better word. Regina's was framing Cady for the Burn Book, getting her grounded and in trouble with the principal. She even managed to set it up so she would have to take responsibility for it herself. Admittedly a master stroke. As for Heather, this is where the movie and play start to vary, admittedly. In the play, she disowns Veronica in front of the entire school, and the entire student body immediately turns away from her, basically in fear of retaliation from Heather. In the movie, Heather disowns Veronica privately, with the threat of doing it publically the following Monday, which she only doesn't carry out because she is killed. So... I guess point to Regina for style, and for actually pulling off her plan, but I still say Heather was actually the bigger threat.
Downfall. Heather got arrogant, pushed Veronica too far, and was killed. But there really isn't really a defense to that. Regina literally stepped in front of a bus. They were both too self absorbed to notice the danger, but Heather's was a bit more excusable since she was actually murdered, rather than just blindly stepping into traffic. Plus, even before getting hit, Regina got burned by the very rules that
she created. Heather's only rule was "Do what I tell you, bitch." She didn't have to follow a set of madeup rules, and she was free to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, and the other Heathers would go along with it. The plastics were similar, except as soon as she wore the wrong pants she was thrown out on her ass, which is pretty embarrassing for an alpha.
I don't dislike Regina, I just like Heather more
And I am way too into this
Found another candidate for male Adagio
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4875766 I definitely see what you mean! Is he from Thundercats or something?
I forget if I've mentioned Jim Gillette to you before:
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Not otherwise much of a resemblance, but I think that's the biggest (real) hair I've ever seen on a man.
And then there's Seb Bach, who may be the prettiest man alive:
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Again, not otherwise so much of a resemblance (his hair isn't even all that wavy); but something I think she'd approve of as he's one of the most ridiculously competent singers on the planet:
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From Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Normally his hair is black, but they like to mess around with color inversion in a lot of the fight scenes so we got that bit of beauty. Also he is the leader of his group of genetically perfect men who are thousands of years old and have the goal to become perfect beings. Seems very Adagio haha. Except his powerset is weird as hell, even by anime standards...
As much as they would fit in, I just have a hard time imagining the Dazzlings doing hair band music! Well, depends on the song I guess. Hmmm...
Aria would totally do it at least haha.
4875791 He sounds like Khan! Yep, I can see how that would fit. I mean, if Adagio were immortal, that is
I was all set to agree with you about them not going near Hair Metal, but then I thought, well, it's probably the most aggressive genre out there that still deals with seduction as its subject matter. So maybe if you got them angry?
Yeah, I think Aria would be there. Both for the music and those trousers.
4875791 I had another thought about this just now - I’m not a Coheed and Cambria fan, mostly since I find their singer’s voice annoying, which, I know, is the most un-Adagio thing possible. But still, there’s something about him that reminds me of her... I can’t quite put my finger on what...
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This is their one song I don’t mind (awesome riff!), but his hair was a lot shorter then
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This is the best news Ive had today! (It is early though)
Oh my god! So it IS possible to have hair that amazing
4882614 Incredible, isn't it? Just requires being very lucky in the genetic lottery!
There's a French actress called Stéfi Celma who'd have similarly dazzling hair if hers were a lot longer
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