AMA: Songs of the Spheres · 1:39pm Feb 10th, 2020
Arc 11 just ended in Songs of the Spheres, and with it almost all secrets and plot twists have been revealed. We have a single arc left, and it will return to a more episodic way of telling stories that we left behind in Arc 10. We'll tie up loose ends, look to the future, and settle down.
And now that all the big stuff is out of the way, it's time... to tell you about how awesome Princess Bubblegum is and how you should all bow to her candy-colored will!
Just kidding, I'm holding an Ask-Me-Anything on this blog post. There's nothing really to hide, no major character moments that will define the story, no philosophy I want you to chew on--I will answer any reasonable question. Though if the answer ends up holding events in Arc 12, I'll put it in a spoiler.
I know there were a lot of things you all argued about in the last arc - forgiveness, rage, justice, character motivations - and I'm willing to explain everything now. Sorry for avoiding the comment section for the most part, I just didn't want to end up citing future events in my answers. Since all is free now, you're free to ask.
And no it doesn't just have to be about SotS, the AMA is ask me ANYTHING, after all. Go nuts.
-GM, master of Bubblegum.
Can we see Omniverse I?
5200517
No. It's gone. Purged from the internet. I doubt the wayback machine has my fanfiction.net profile on it from 2010ish.
-GM, master of profiles.
5200517
Probably not.
What is the oldest entity in the multiverse that’s not the Crimson King or the Dark Tower?
5200520
Randall Flagg has experienced the most metatime, but some of that has been sealed away and locked up. Same for the Gunslinger, who's been around slightly less time.
But aside from them... hmmm... The One Above All is likely the only other character we know about that has lived long enough, though he's taken many, many forms.
-GM, master of blinx.
Can we ever see Emissar in discord?
5200522
She's been in there already! Back when the chapter was first drafted she showed up more regularly.
-GM, master of marshmallows.
Who does your amazing profile pics?
If there were 169 chapters in this story, what would you tell about?
And there is another possible question: What do you like about Bubblegum?
Feel free to skip any or all of these:
What's your personal favorite arc? Chapter? Moment? (I realize this is probably a tough one.)
What work of fiction you've encountered since writing SotS do you most wish you'd known about early enough to incorporate it into story?
Will we ever find out what Seskii's deal is?
Given the Ozymandias-esque Merodi ruins Renee and company found, just how many times did the MU rise and fall before the collapse? Can we ever truly know?
What "wacky" powers will still function after the end of ka? How well will the Burgerbelles and Pinkies and suchlike be able to goof around when there's no audience to please?
Do you plan to write anything else set in the SotS multiverse?
And finally, hi, Pinkie! Great work out there. May you never have to don the massacre dress again.
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
Are you legitimately scared of the concept of infinity?
What made you decide to create such an expanded universe like SOTS? It couldn't have been a whim
Do you like penguins? (ANYTHING, people!)
5200538
The amazing powers of GOOGLE SEARCH and PHOTOSHOP.
Basically I find random images and then slap an infinite-sided die on it.
-GM, master of ∞
5200542
Chapters:
Originally there was going to be 169 chapters, yes, but I realized as I kept moving forward that such a large chapter count would not only be pushing too much, it'd be giving too much time for the afterward. There was supposed to be both a Time and a Ka arc about what happens in the new world, but I realized 26 chapters of that was unnecessary. We're on the downhill slope, there's no need to introduce new nonsense.
Bubblegum:
SCIENCE and PINK and COMPLEX CHARACTERIZATION.
-GM, master of Bonnibel.
5200544
My favorite arc is, overall, Rage and the war with Skarn. Might be why I set LSB in that arc.
My favorite chapter is a toughy. I love 101-Regret and 115-Songs of the Spheres for what they mean to me, but if we're talking about the most fun, that's solidly 032-The Comedians.
The favorite moments are actually the ones that made me feel the strongest emotions when writing them - where I actually cried as the words came out. 101-Regret: Eve reveals who she is in the big argument. 133-The The Emissary of Ka: Eve saves Corona from throwing herself into the volcano. For all the fun, satisfactory defeats, and insane nonsense, those two events are the ones that stand out the most in my memory.
Points at current icon. Take a wild guess.
I even went so far as to insert a reference to Bubblegum way back in Eternity Courses Through Her Veins. Second Bonnibel Bubblegum of Oversight is a thing now. I might be able to use her in LSB, seeing as she's a direct superior.
(also Finn was in the final fight with English, screaming one of his dumb catchphrases)
If I ever get to publish original fiction! Which uh... well, I keep getting new ideas for ponies and other nonsense.
At least two, likely more. LSB and future events in A12 will deal with the last iteration of MU before our modern one.
Burgerbelles and Pinkie will both admit that their powers flat-out won't work after the Tower falls, since they're inherently ka-based. Pinkie will retain some space warping, though, because the toonforce isn't completely ka. Burgerbelle's memes are toast.
Everything I write is set in the SotS multiverse! As is everything everyone writes! HAAHHAHA!
In all seriousness, nothing but LSB will explicitly take place in the SotS multiverse.
Thanks! Here's to hoping!
-GM, master of Qs.
5200545
The answer is ∆.
-GM, master of
5200546
Yes, I am. I see it as a slap in the face of the idea of actual, tangible meaning that isn't just defined by a broken human mind.
I'm also terrified by the idea of finite existence that can be destroyed.
As SotS mentions a few times, it doesn't matter if God or no God, infinity or no infinity, existence is terrifying regardless of what you do.
I PREFER the idea of finite existence to infinite, though, largely due to the aforementioned prescription of meaning. I can't trust myself to define my own meaning since I've been very, very wrong in the past about so many things, which means I'm wrong now. There better be a Truth beyond what I define because if there isn't, what's the point, really? No one ever agrees and no one ever even agrees with their past self. If meaning is all self-defined, then truth isn't even a thing in regards to what matters.
In infinity everything is true all at once. I hate that idea.
-GM, master of ∞
5200555
Yes.
-GM, master of Gunter.
5200544
To repeat what GMBlackjack already informed you, this is actually a really stupid question. It's the World As Myth, so everything else is already set in that multiverse whether it wants to be or not. This causes a lot of problems when you try to crowbar your way into something like the Nasuverse, but professional authors rarely have time to keep that kind of leash on continuity and physics, so what chance to do us amateurs have?
5200575
Could you elaborate on this? I don't really understand why infinity existing would inherently mean that there is no meaning to existence.
5200591
I'm reminded of Owlman from Crisis on Two Earths. He discovered there existed an infinite number of parallel Earths that cover every possible eventuality and concluded that free will was an illusion and nothing you do matters because no matter what choice you make their exists an Earth where you did the opposite.
Long story short he goes crazy and tries to destroy all earths because he concludes its the only real choice you could make.
5200553
When I was young, VERY young, I wanted to stitch all the fantasy maps in all my books together. I would use up pages upon pages of paper, scrawl my own notes, and at one point even tried to tape it all into a globe. (it didn't work.) This, I think, is the first memory I have of the idea. Smash EVERYTHING together.
And then I realized fanfics existed when I was 10-12 or something, and went hunting for the legendary Mega-Crossover that was actually GOOD.
I only found one, and even then, it wasn't really what I was looking for. (That One was Grand Tour, by the way, and it's the reason Nanoha is so prevalent in SotS. It's even referenced indirectly in Nanoha's sub-story in 115-Song of the Spheres.) Most of the mega crossovers were kinda bad, inconsistent, or just plain out of control and not organized. So I decided that I was going to make one myself.
I have called my iterations of this idea the Omniverse Project.
Omniverse I was the first fic I tried to write and it was terrible. It remains the only piece of my work I have deleted from the internet.
Omniverse II was a bit more organized, but I tried to write it with my friends and get everyone on board. I ended up not only being the only writer, but realizing that I had a strange gift for churning out words at a ridiculous pace. I became a brony in the midst of this, but eventually chunked Omniverse II because I realized I kinda sucked at it. You can still find it on my fanfiction.net account under the title "2012".
Omniverse III was The Evermore Recursions, which was an RP that reminded me that you really, really need to have an overall goal in mind if you want a story to be great. It was fun, but it was way too disorganized.
Omniverse IV was the Galaxy Project, where I tried to tell a grand scoping story around a crossover galaxy. Turns out, trying to tell seventeen different stories at once really tears away from the focus of a story. It was good fun, but there was no HERO.
Omniverse V is Songs of the Spheres, the only truly successful iteration. You know about that.
Omniverse VI does not exist. Yep. Definitely not.
Basically, in summary, the idea has been with me since I was a very, very tiny kid. And it's taken years and years of refinement to finally get it out in a manageable point. I'm proud of SotS.
-GM, master of Songs.
5200591
This is mostly a reply to Nuclear but I'm going to ping the others who might be interested.
5200546
5200598
Why does infinity existing logically lead to a lack of meaning in existence?
Well, it depends. If you believe in the self-defined meaning of the individual, it doesn't. Basically, if you think "whatever I believe matters, that's it", you're good. No problems here.
However, if you believe (like most people) that there is an inherent meaning that applies to all people - that there is a real good and a real evil (or at the very least a code of conduct, or truth, or something) you run into problems with infinity. Any definition of good, evil, morality, or even "correct" falls apart in true infinity. Believe murder is evil? Well there's a universe where that's true, and a universe where if you don't murder everyone in a jealous rage terrors will creep in. Don't believe in God? Well, there's a universe exactly like yours - one that has a God watching over it, and one that doesn't. Infinity demands this is true. Infinity also demands that there are Gods of pure evil, pure good, and imperfection - all of whom, SOMEHOW, end up ruling over a world exactly identical to this one. IT sounds like a paradox - how could this be? - but infinity ensures that every single event that could be imagined always happens. Every last one.
It's not even a 'no free will' argument (though the fact that your decisions do nothing are unsettling). This is a "there can be no definitions of anything in true infinity." There is no encapsulating force or meaning: because the moment you think of a multiverse with one, you can think of a multiverse without one. In a finite world, it is at least POSSIBLE there is some universal Moral Code, an idea of Good and Evil that actually exists. In an infinite existence, it cannot, simply because infinity demands there exist realms where there are and are not defining constants -- and worst of all, that those defined morals in different planes will be DIFFERENT.
Now, this only applies to people who want there to be a real good and evil and morality. (me, and most people, even if they tell themselves they don't care what others think is good and evil). If anyone reading this thinks "my definition of good and evil is good enough for me and that's all that matters" then you're in the clear.
((Though, on a slightly tangential note, my issue with self-definition is that you always change your definition. If whatever you think is as true and meaningful as it gets, why do we change our opinions so much and declare our past selves wrong? They were just as 'right' and 'meaningful' as we are now.))
-GM, master of response.
5200612
always keep childhood fantasies alive. No matter how old you are.
5200617
I'd like to believe most people are more flexible in their views of good and evil. Following a strict definition can be incredibly dangerous.
I've got a question, one that's been boggling my brain for EONS that I feel you may have the answers to:
Why do they sell hotdogs in packages of six while hotdog buns are in packages of eight?
5200643
What hotdogs are you buying? There's 8-packs out there.
Oh, an ask anything blog? Hmm, this is tough; I'm not entirely sure what to inquire...
I suppose this will suffice for now, if you want to answer! Two questions:
> What led to the choices for the certain Aspects and Classes that were bestowed for each of the characters in The Twelve?
> How would you interpret the different powersets for each Class and Aspect in general? Some of it seems obvious, but it is a bit hard for my head to wrap around other Aspects. Hadn't really read Homestuck much, admittedly, but I have been scouring the web and researched a bit.
If you could undo, redo, or in general change anything about Songs, what would it be?
5200647
None that are Kosher. They only come in packs of six.
Are there any characters you wish you could have included in the story? Not just simply for the sake of being in the story but because you feel you could have done some interesting things with the character.
On a similar note is there any character currently in the story you wish you had done more with?
my second question: what was the deal with that golden key way back at the beginning? i speak of the one found on thrackerzod's home world
5200631
Well we better be flexible in our definitions, because if there is a real good and evil we're likely all wrong in some way and should work to align ourselves with that truth. Otherwise there's not much of anything to go off of - who's to say growth in a particular direction is good or bad?
-GM, master of legos.
5200643
Market conspiracy.
Six hot dogs and eight buns don't match up, but our human brains want not to waste things, so we either end up in an eternal cycle of buying and using OR we buy enough to match evenly. If we match evenly, the minimum amount of hot dogs and buns is twenty-four.
They want you to spend more money so they don't match the packages.
Of course if we use the better numbers...
ten and eight don't match up until eighty, so the conspiracy is even worse there.
-GM, master of inq.
5200664
Aspects of the Twelve:
BARD OF SPACE: Pinkie - she twists herself through space and has a bunch of random laughter energy. Also kinda setup the powers she already had.
PRINCE OF TIME: Nova - time-related past, destroyed time in the past, just seemed to work thematically.
MAID OF BREATH: Rainbow Dash because wind and exemplifying FREEDOM. Maid because nobody else had that Class.
HEIR OF BLOOD: Jotaro is all about familiy connections. He inHEIRits his power from those who came before him.
WITCH OF LIGHT: Eve, for being the seeker of knowledge and master magician in her own right. She never developed it very far though.
SYLPH OF MIND: Renee, healer, carer, and very generous. Very willing to use her intellect to heal the psyche of others.
THIEF OF HOPE: O'Neill... honestly because it was the last pair to assign. It sorta fits, and it's amusing how he uses it.
PAGE OF RAGE: Flutterfree's classpect is the closest fit and one of the only ones that actually matters to the plot - she has always struggled with her inner Rage, her inner fire, and once she came to terms with it she went too far... much of her character arc is shown through the manifestations of her Rage, and her struggles within.
MAGE OF LIFE: AJ knows how plants work.
ROGUE OF DOOM: Corona is a portent of change, DRASTIC change, but she brings that change through for the sake of others, not herself - hence the Rogue.
SEER OF VOID: Twilence is basically a Seer of Void already, knowing what is not meant to be known.
KNIGHT OF HEART: Allure has the emotional drive to protect those she cares about. She's also adorable.
Classpects in General:
Yeeeah I'm not going to answer this because it's way too involved and a lot of my interpretations rely on "handwaive what works!" I do have a system, but it changes regularly and is so convoluted I get lost.
-GM, master of classes.
5200666
Honestly?
It would be the way I over-swamped my editors with way, way too many words at once, causing burnout and awkward feelings.
-GM, master of changes.
5200712
first question:
*POINTS FRANTICALLY AT CURRENT ICON*
Man I got into Adventure Time way too late.
As for a character in the story I didn't do enough with... Twilence's old friends. We didn't get to see enough of them to truly establish what they were.
-GM, master of dingles.
5200719
We eventually found out that was a Downstreamer invention and White Nettle used it to free her universe-polymer jellyfish body.
-GM, master of WN.
So awhile back you did a poll to decide what series to incorporate into the story: Jojo or My Hero Academia. Obviously Jojo won but did you ever put any thought into how things would have gone had you gone the MHA route?
5200730
Heh, understandable! And I actually thought Eve was a Seer or Mage of Light, not a Witch of Light, since she was able to garner information from simply looking at things. I guess I should've gone back and truly re-read that part, heh. Perhaps it was because she never developed it a lot, yeah. I guess a follow-up question--if you want to answer--would be... what would she have been able to do if she did develop it further?
5200738
Deku or Uraraka or one of the others would have taken Jotaro's place and Jotaro would have been working with Valentine, most likely.
-GM, master of heroes.
5200739
As the Witch of Light, Eve would have (if she developed it) been able to not only see information, but also control the flow of information and it's perception therein. She could focus on an object and know everything about it, or remove information from said object so nobody could figure out it's past, among other things.
-GM, master of oddballs.
One last question.
Are the collapsers truly meant to be viewed as heroes?
This is something that absolutely killed my enjoyment of the story to the point that I stopped reading 3-4 chapters into the current arc. I just couldn't stand the way the story kept trying to paint the collapsers as noble heroes while demonizing anyone who viewed them as villains.
Now I get the idea behind the collapsers, in any other story they would be considered tragic villains the problem is this story seems to actively fight against this idea by demanding we view them as noble heroes despite the fact that they betrayed their friends and family, instigated a multiversal war and their ultimatly goal lead to the genocide of trillions all in the name of what they perceived to be the greater good. And why did they do all this? It wasn't because of a dire situation that required them to make a choice but because Corona decided on her own that the choice needed to be made just because the choice existed.
But what really turned me off of the whole thing was how the story demanded that they just be forgiven because they aren't really evil. Now I like a good redemption story but only when it's earned and not just shoved down our throats, I honestly would have been fine with Corona throwing herself into a volcano, it would have been a rather anticlimactic end to her character but it would have better than her being declared a hero because it turns out she was right to kill all those people. Now maybe it got better and lead to the realization that yeah the Collapsers were evil bastards who everyone has a right to hate. But regardless I just want to understand why the story pushed so hard for them be heroes.
I apologize if this came off angrier than I intended, I really did like this story, but this whole, Collapsers did nothing wrong narrative really did bother me enough to stop reading and I just want to understand the idea behind it.
Here's my big question. This relates to Eve vs Twilight.
I'm only around 67 or so as I ask this.
Basically: Twilight and Twilight-X only differed by about half a day. Why does Eve seem to carry so much guilt over the death of the other Twilight, when neither of them had anything to do with it, and both had thought they had taken proper precautions given what could happen with that device?
Why did Eve not just accept that she was effectively Twilight, same memory, and everything else?
5200961
My understanding was that she was different enough to be considered her own person and not just a copy of Twilight. Personally I never really felt like Eve was different enough to justify all the drama involved and that it would have been better if more work was done to differentiate Eve from Twilight before killing Twilight off but then I guess it would be harder to keep it a secret from everyone else.
I'll be honest for the longest time I didn't even realize that Eve was the copy.
5200961
One of the many things that SotS did is that it explored the moral depths of concepts that many people take for granted. Clone individuality is one of these concepts. A clone, no matter how similar they are to the original or how long they've existed, is just as much a living, independent entity as anyone else. When the clone or the original dies, it's less like at least one version of the same person is still alive, and more like someone died, period.
An example of this phenomenon is the... eh, can't remember its name, but it has to do with teleporters. They work by scanning the person that enters it, disassembling them, then recreating them in their destination. The story goes that a man enters a teleporter and is scanned, but he seemingly isn't teleported. So he leaves and asks a local worker what happened, and the worker reveals that the guy did get to his destination-- is walking around out there right now, even while the original is still alive. Only the disassembler failed; but the scanner was able to get the information to allow the receiver to recreate it. The worker then goes on to say that the original needs to be killed, since he needs to account for the teleporter's malfunction. The man is obviously scared for his life and begs not to die, but he is ultimately disassembled like he should've already been, while his teleporter-clone remains blissfully unaware of all of it and continues to live the life of his original.
In this example, the clone is barely minutes old, yet just those minutes are still enough to differentiate them both. And not just that, but with the original dead, the clone is effectively stealing the original's life, yet none of his friends and coworkers are aware of it. The major difference between this example and Twilight-X is that the Twilights are aware that one's a clone. And so, when the original dies, the clone is completely aware of this and the implications-- that another living being is dead, and that she's stealing her life without anyone knowing about it.
5200961
5200964
A big part of Eve's guilt is not just over Twilight's death, but over the fact that she took Twilight's place without ever correcting the assumption that she was Twilight, and then later lying when she was directly asked if she had anything she should tell them. There's an episode of Doctor Who that tested whether people treat a copy differently simply because they are a copy; spoiler, they did, even though it was demonstrated in front of them that they were identical people (biologically identical they were not, but that's not the relevant point here). Eve was probably (and I suspect rightfully) concerned that her friends wouldn't accept her as Twilight even if she'd been open about it from the start, and the longer a secret like that is kept, the worse the fallout when it comes to light.
ARC. Eleven. Ended!!!!!
And I'm still on arc 3
I wonder if I'll ever catch up with this story