Team/Crew Spectrum Regarding: What Comes Next? · 2:35am Apr 11th, 2021
TheIdiot: Hello, everyone! TheIdiot here once more to give an update on matters. And there’s so much to go over, it isn’t just me this time.
To start, there’s Doctor Fluffy – say hi, Doc.
Doctor Fluffy: (Doc says something)
TheIdiot: Well, that was something. As for why here’s here, I’ll let him break the news since it’s his business to do so. Whenever you’re ready, Doc.
Doctor Fluffy: I wish I had some kind of speech here that could hammer in what I want. I wish I could care enough to have more to say.
But as things are, there’s only one thing:
I’m just not having fun anymore.
I’ve been doing this for almost seven years, the guy who I co-wrote Light with has retired as well, and I’ll just be lonely trying to hammer out all of the unpublished material I have, virtually alone.
I’m tired, everyone. I’m just not having fun, and I want to go do something else.
TheIdiot: Hopefully whatever comes next will work out for you, Doc. So long and good luck. Take care.
TheIdiot: And unfortunately, that’s not all that’s going on. To this end, I’m joined by VoxAdam and Sledge115 to give some announcements. Say hello, you two.
VoxAdam: Felicitations, malefactors…
Sledge115: Hello.
TheIdiot: To put this straightforward, back in October 2020, Jed R – a former active member and associate – sent an email to me. One that I passed on to the others. The contents of this email were a request that his characters, concepts, and content be removed from Spectrum to be used for his own, independent pursuits outside of FIMFiction. I believe it is called “Pull To Publish”.
(related to this blog here)
In the months since then, VoxAdam, Sledge115, and I contemplated the request and there were arguing and passionate points made. Ultimately, the choice was reached to accommodate this request in light of copyright law that would be troublesome for all parties involved.
“What Comes Next” is to re-work the main story and all related content, side-stories and all, gradually over time. The easiest thing is to do rewrites of certain character names before advancing to actual content and scenes. Given how the latter encompasses most of Act One, it will take time to scour through. Not to mention how we all have lives outside of writing pony-fiction and other projects as well.
To speak candidly on the matter, none of us are particularly thrilled about this. My reasons why are something I’ll keep private for the time being. All I’ll say is that I get Jed R’s position and why he wants his work back. And I intend to fulfill that after six years of personal friendship, even if it might be the last thing I’ll do for him or the last thing we’ll do together.
As for Vox and Sledge, they’re of their own discretion to voice how the rewrites affect them and it’s not my place to speak for them.
So, go ahead guys. The floor’s yours.
VoxAdam: This is hard, and I’m not sure I have the words.
The last time I wrote for a journal delving into challenges behind-the-scenes, an event which I know many of you reading this will be quite familiar with, I felt far more emotionally strained, but also assured of where I was coming from. I didn’t want to write another post like it then, nor will I write one now. I’m not setting out here to air dirty laundry.
Yet, I’d be lying if I said the circumstances leading up to this haven’t been getting me down. In the past years, Doc has filled out, in private, a lengthy account of our collected memories of OG Spectrum, as a means of making sense out of things – which, true, may just be Internet drama in one small corner of the Internet, but obviously it means a lot to us personally. As I don’t expect much of this will get added to his pages, I’ll try and provide context on what’s led us here;
Basically, after OG Spectrum, we as a Team knew we had a lot to start on from scratch. The original story did have a plan set out by Redskin, only he’d never seen fit to share it in full, even as new writers were granted access to the main story with their ideas.
So in June and July of 2017, while the Spectrum reboot was in its nascency, we were looking for consensus, or at least compromise, on which foundations we’d be working from as the story progressed, including the lore and a basic outline. Without going into exhaustive detail, JedR and TheIdiot did extensive work on pitching a lore proposal, while RoyalPsycho provided a tentative story outline, and I spent those early months on fleshing out the world of Equestria, as I’ve tended to throughout. Cohesion was the name of our game.
When you put all these facets together, while the actual history of what went down may be patchier and more complicated than this, one crucial element comes up that I’d name as the focal point to all which we struggled to reach an agreement upon; Galatea.
See, Galatea was originally designed with a specific purpose in mind, which Jed has shared a little about in posts since. In line with a notion that the rebooted Spectrum take on a Deconstruction aspect towards its predecessor, Galatea was to be a cross between an analogue of OG Spectrum’s “Discord” and an Obi-Wan mentor figure, e.g. a dispenser of information with powers to overshadow most of the cast, but who dies unexpectedly early as an indication of the enemy’s menace. As a character, her motivations were duty and a fear of failure.
But I had reservations about this, from several angles.
For one, personally I felt wary that a Spectrum reboot acting as a Deconstruction of OG Spectrum, which itself self-identified as a Deconstruction on TVtropes, was a rabbit hole we wouldn’t see the end of. Additionally, while I understood what Galatea’s plot purpose was to be, I’m typically lukewarm about certain ponyfiction tropes like a third Alicorn Sister, or a seventh Element of Harmony.
In all likelihood, I would have argued against using Galatea, except at the time, I was also in the midst of a debate with Jed over lore details, and still conscious of my badly botched handling of the Pale Moonlight Arc, leaving me worried about coming off contrarian. I decided then that I’d go along with Galatea onboard, take a chance on what a third Alicorn Sister could bring to our new story. Although, my next concern was just where we’d go with her.
What might give you whiplash to learn is that, initially, Galatea was going to participate and die in the Battle of Boston.
Perhaps this is causing a sense of déjà vu if you’re aware of OG Spectrum and that I was opposed to Redskin’s idea of having Queen Celestia suffer an ignominious death, but it isn’t really like that all; I haven’t got some compulsion to save alicorns from dying, and I didn’t think this a callous way to treat a character.
Rather, what then became my worry was wasted potential, or use of a character in a manner which brought too much attention to the strings pulling them. Factor into this that an OC who fights and perishes in the Battle of Boston is still an OC drawing the spotlight away from the Battle’s protagonist, Princess Luna.
In March 2018, when Galatea made her formal entrance to Spectrum, the story was a long way from developing what’d turn into core features of her character, with Sledge115’s The First Second of Eternity still a whole two years from being even planned. It wasn’t until November 2018 that I’d come up with the idea of Lyra’s Expedition – here you can see how we were already drifting from RoyalPsycho’s proposed outline – or that a disguised Galatea should take part in it. My only certitude was I didn’t feel comfortable with just killing her off.
Unfortunately, if the six-month period after March 2018 was the longest hiatus on Spectrum thus far, this also relates to the Galatea question. That month, Jed informed us he’d be retiring from the story, for reasons elaborated on in his journals from this time. Later, in June 2018, he would set up his own version – then known as the Jed R Cut, later relabeled Spectrum: Redux – in pursuit of greater creative freedom, accompanied by the statement that baseline Spectrum was also free to follow its own course.
While this may have technically afforded the remaining Team new forms of leeway, it did mean a lot of time got spent on refurbishing, because even the most synchronous of co-writers aren’t going to have the same “voice” or driving ideas. As much as I’ll consider Joss Whedon’s Justice League a hack-job that makes Zack Snyder’s Justice League the better film by default, even Spielberg could only do so much to channel Kubrick when he directed A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. I don’t believe too many cooks necessarily spoil the soup, if they can coordinate – our pony friends learn this time and again on the show – but no two cooks have one technique.
I suppose that if we’re to continue on the topic, after I’ve taken up plenty of space as is, now would be a good time for me to give the floor to a writer whom I’ve frequently been said to mesh well with. So, over to you in just a moment, Sledge.
In any case, here’s where I’ll leave things off, for now. After March 2018, an unplanned six-month hiatus was spent on reimagining various story details, including yet not limited to a resolution of the Imperial Redheart’s arc in Ponyville, the nature of Alex Reiner’s arrival to Equestria, Lyra’s future arc as the hero, and the Battle of Boston, until publication resumed on Spectrum in September 2018. Boston has a special significance, since as far as December 2018, one idea we were still planning to use was for the antagonist to be the Tyrant’s Clone.
It isn’t all clear who exactly latched onto Archmage Twilight as the arc villain of Boston, but it became one of those late-in-the-game ideas which shaped so much to follow.
Sledge115: Which is, as we both know, quite the understatement given how much the decision shaped Act Two and Luna and Twilight's storylines, heh. Cadance too was a late addition to Act Two that ended up working marvellously. And regarding who it was who came up with the Archmage as the main antagonist of Act Two, it’s so muddled and unclear who did that I’ve settled on making it a joint credit.
As Vox mentioned, the Battle of Boston would have focused on Galatea instead, with Luna playing more of a supporting role. We decided to restore Luna's role as Act Two protagonist once Jed departed, and it wasn't until the Archmage was proposed that we fully outlined the Act in its present form. I've outlined the whys and why-nots behind this creative decision in a separate post I wrote on my own blog and I certainly do not regret getting to write Luna herself – it was the first time I got to write her in full.
I wish I had kinder words to say apart from that, but regarding the rewrites, I'm going to be honest; I’m not happy about this. Let’s get that out of the way first, off. I’m not happy both regarding the circumstances and the reasons behind these rewrites. I’m all for tightening the script and cleaning things up, but not like this. I’m not fond of being forced to rewrite history, wiping someone else’s slate clean. But fuck me, I guess.
I’m not all that thrilled either that a nine-thousand word scene, one written by Jed and dropped onto our laps without any permissions asked in Chapter Nineteen (‘When The Dust Settles’), is one of the scenes being asked to be rewritten or pulled from Spectrum.
To give you an idea – actually, I’ll outline exactly what happened. Jed caught word of a scene we were planning in tribute to his work, a scene that gives his characters a minor but important role in the ending of Act Two. So one morning, I wake up to find nine-thousand words of said scene snuck into Chapter Nineteen already written by Jed. No warning, no DMs asking for permission. Capping it off was an author's note thanking us for letting him have a shot at this. Come on.
(Of course, I believe he apologised for it, but it doesn’t change what he did, or that now he’s asking for it to be pulled/rewritten.)
Perhaps the most frustrating part of this whole mess – at least, for me – was dealing with Jed's flip-flopping attitude. One moment it's fine and dandy to bring up and discuss Spectrum, and the next, we're told not to mention Spectrum at all to him. One moment we're told Jed has moved on, and the next we're asked why we didn't consult him on changes – and this is after we've been told not to bring up Spectrum to him.
I distinctly remember Jed claiming that he was fine with Galatea diverging from his original vision, for example. That's still a sore point somehow, that we wouldn't let him kill off Galatea in Act Two because we still disagreed with him on that in plenty of ways. This is after he said he was fine with our take as an alternate one.
Actually, hell, Jed has made it clear repeatedly that he was okay with our take on Spectrum being different from his own. How clear? Enough to put it in the author’s notes for Spectrum: Redux, in the chapter “Why You Are Here”;
I don't know what else to say, really. Words can be volatile, and Vox has covered most of the bases as well. But other than that, I feel a profound hurt and disappointment over the present turn of events.
Anyways, regarding the rewrites, no word or guarantee on when the First Second of Eternity rewrites are taking place, and I’m out of commission for the main story rewrites for the most part. I've got a busy semester, a cute little SunFlower story being judged, and this mess has torn my concentration away from where it should be. And lastly, to anyone curious why I wrote a story about Jed’s OC, two whole years after he left Spectrum; I like her. I think Galatea an intriguing character as is, and it was a lot of fun developing her personality for Spectrum separate from how Jed conceived her. Because as Vox said, no two cooks have the same technique.
All said and done, I wish the best for Doc in his next endeavours; I know for a fact his upcoming one is quite the fun one, and I eagerly await to see it up.
Take care, everyone.
P.S. Any questions about the rewrites, you can DM us for those, or leave it in the comments.
P.P.S. Oh, and yes, Jed wished to kill off Galatea in Act Two as a plot device to show how strong the Queen’s clone is, which Vox and I disagreed with. Evidently, he changed his mind on that particular detail too, given that Galatea survived the Battle of Boston in his Spectrum: Redux.
VoxAdam: Ahem, yes.
To be clear, the request to drop Spectrum as a topic of conversation dates from around September 2018, which is to say the time when the story resumed publication after its prolonged hiatus that year, and it was apparent it’d be taking a different direction from how the Imperial Redheart’s sub-plot had been proposed to resolve. But all ties weren’t cut – for major ideas like Archmage Twilight’s introduction, I still thought it best to keep Jed in the loop, and there’s the collaborative work between Jed and Doc that kept going on Light Despondent - Remixed all the while.
As not everyone may remember this, I think it’s worth bringing up that in September 2018, all Jed’s in-progress stories for Spectrum were listed as “on hiatus”, and in May 2019, e.g. following the publication of Chapter Thirteen (‘Concordia Maxima’), both the side-stories for Spectrum and the Jed R Cut got taken down, or rather password-locked.
The net result of this was that any material Jed had written for the rebooted Spectrum was only available to read in Light Despondent - Remixed or the main story itself. And for certain concepts that had proven overall well-liked, mainly the “good” HLF, it seemed a shame to let them fall by the wayside.
I’m not going to pretend my appreciation of the “good” HLF was unqualified – in places, I worried their positive traits diverted a bit too much from the PHL, who in turn were subject to the aforementioned “Deconstruction” of how the PHL had been depicted by Redskin. I recall one reader of ours even remarked as much, without us having ever exchanged words on the topic. Still, as a fan of Fallout: New Vegas, I like having faction nuance in a story, and so I proposed letting the HLF play a tense but ultimately helpful role in the Battle of Boston.
Anyway, there is more to this I’ll gloss over for now, but it really isn’t surprising that word would reach Jed about the idea. One thing which Sledge didn’t mention is that in December 2019, I had heard Jed wished to return to guest-write his OCs of Samantha Yarrow and Daniel Romero, so it isn’t as if this were an unannounced occurrence. What did take me aback is that by 2019, TheIdiot had set up a Discord group for the Team to better communicate and plan together, and the nine-thousand-word scene Sledge speaks of didn’t go through the agreed-upon channels.
Is there any more to add? Well, in effect, Act Two of Spectrum and the HLF’s appearance in the Battle of Boston are that which gave Jed the impetus to unlock his stories and, further down the line, to rebrand them under the banner of Spectrum: Redux in April 2020.
The existence of Spectrum: Redux as an independent entity might have solved several problems for all parties, but it’s been a mixed bag when it comes to stories like Doc’s for sharing continuity with both the Spectrumverse and Reduxverse.
The scene with Galatea's flashback at Matinicus Isle in Chapter Twenty-One (‘So Say We All’), which ties into Light Despondent - Remixed, was written to reconcile the inconsistency with her characterisation since The First Second of Eternity. Namely, the cold disregard for life shown in Light Despondent by Galatea, which is inconsistent with the more gentle portrayal of Spectrum's Galatea.
I suppose these are moot points now the Reduxverse is being discontinued.
And this brings me to what may hit me hardest about the requested rewrites; not so much the being asked to do it, as the how of it, and its impact on the Spectrumverse.
When TheIdiot broke the news about the email, my reaction across the board was that I didn’t want any of this to be done with a corporate approach. If there was to be a journal like the one you’re reading right now, we wouldn’t be writing vague platitudes like “creative differences” or “formally acceding to a request”.
Like Sledge, I’m not too happy about doing this either way, but I’m especially unhappy about what I feel this implies for us.
I feel like I am being asked to sweep all the years of a shared history under the rug.
If we don’t pull out characters entirely, we’d be required to rename them, as per copyright law, because this couldn’t simply be treated like a former playmate asking for their toys back. Even if I didn't hear it from Jed directly, a simple "please tell the old crowd that I've got plans" via TheIdiot would still have sufficed; I'd have preferred it to ostentatious legalese. It isn't because I'm prone to use big words myself that I haven't got feelings.
Nor has any such request been made towards the use of characters and concepts in Light Despondent - Remixed – which effectively nullifies the whole point to featuring the HLF in the Battle of Boston, because however you cut it, these same characters won’t be in Spectrum, with a side-effect of further distancing the main story from a couple of its side-stories.
Unfinished or not, I did like Light Despondent; I hope the best for Doc where he goes next.
But well, folks, it looks as if once this is done, you’ll be getting a Spectrum 2.1. Hopefully the most polished that Spectrum has ever been, regardless of whether it should ever reach a conclusive ending. Of course, this means we’ll be undergoing a new hiatus until all the necessary work is carried out.
In the meantime, though, one or two fresh side-stories remain in the making, with which we hope your appetite for further jaunts in this ‘verse shall be satiated.
Take care all,
~Vox
TheIdiot: So, that was a lot. And that’s not everything even though I’ve already hung myself with a rope of my own making.
I've personally reached a final decision after reflecting on the past two years and even the almost four years of helming Spectrum 2.0. In these years, there have been plenty of highs, but there have been far too many personal lows. Of those lows are the personal relationships I’ve let sour, directly or not, and what I’ve put people through due to personal negligence or hiding behind my own petty excuses.
To this end, I’ve come to a decision which either will be my final failure or the best (not good) choice I can make at this time. Mark your callenders, mark your watches because at this moment I am giving my notice for resignation from my position in Spectrum.
As for my successor, I name Sledge115 the next Head Author afterwards. I will give to him the main story, the original main story, the FIMFiction group, and everything related either on FIMFiction or beyond it in the coming times.
As for the rest of “What Comes Next?”, that’s easy to say. I’m going to stick around on Spectrum long enough to help contribute to the rewrites and get specific details determined for the future. The characters and concepts I’ve provided to Spectrum will be - for want of a better word - licensed to Sledge and Vox for future use after I’m gone.
To stress this again, the rewrites themselves will be a gradual process since there’s plenty of ground to cover and our own projects to make and lives to live. Personally speaking, as a college student, April is a terrible month since the semester ends next month and time becomes a premium.
Beyond that, you, our fair readers, will have time to archive the current content for yourselves before we gradually go through the necessary rewrites to comply with the P2P request. I would personally recommend starting with Sledge’s story The First Second of Eternity before moving on to Spectrum proper given how much heart he’s put into it and the principle character.
The only other thing I can ask is that everyone please spend some time to mull this all over and not act out of haste. You can give any comments here or message to any one of us - me, Sledge, Vox, or Jed R - but do not harass anyone. If you have a question, ask it. If you have a comment, leave it here or on Jed R's profile.
The last point I will make is that I know the bulk section of this post just sprayed a target on Jed R’s account and made him out to be a terrible person. I know this post escalates matters after he spent two years publically being neutral despite every temptation to vent. But what I know is that all he wants is his work back to finally move on and go on to other, better things. Whatever Jed R wants to do - either respond with a post of his own (which would be more than justified), or just block everyone and move on, then that's okay given how negative this experience has been for him. At the very least, he'll get his material out of Spectrum when this is over and won't have to look back ever again.
As for what will happen next, it’s uncertain but that’s how the future tends to be, isn’t it?
At least, until the first step is made that is.
And on that note,
Till next time,
Sincerely,
~TheIdiot
ouch.
Oh man I’m sorry to hear this. I let myself fall behind in reading the latest updates. To hear this is frustrating. I wish you guys the best of luck!
5495202
Thank you, and I hope you can continue to enjoy our work
this is why I Am against colabs. all it takes is for one guy to change their mind and throw the whole story out of whack. This will be literally the third time you have to rewrite this story. Starting to get annoying of not seeing progress because you have to start over. so you know what. Jed. FUCK YOU. you should have pulled out before the rewrite if you weren't going to stick it. A note saying that your main story with those characters will not be the same versions here are enough but not you. now a story years in the making has to start over again because you HAVE TO HAVE YOUR CHARACTERS ONLY BE A CERTAIN WAY.
At this point is this story ever going to be done? because all it will take is another writer to throw a fit and cause a FORTH REWRITE THEN A FIFTH. To you other writers i am feelign so sorry for you. you are working so hard on this and this keeps happening. I personally suggest if another Jed guy shows ups make sure they can't pull this on you again.
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To clarify, not all parts will be rewritten, only the parts with his characters - mostly in the first half of Act One. So this isn't as substantial as the previous rewrite, and by this point the story has diverged from the original outlines so it will remain on its current course.
I'll be speaking as a reader first, and bluntly: I don't mind a rewrite.
Let me expand on that. I see someone in the comments is already reacting rather fiercely over the news, so I figured I'll just put it upfront.
Saying I don't mind is in no way an attempt to somehow diminish the personal value, experiences, or even conflicts, stress and misunderstandings that have arisen over this story's life. I'm saying this as a reader. A guy sitting on his computer, just trying his best to enjoy himself away from IRL stress, browsing the internet, who is owed absolutely nothing from any of you.
I think that's important to note. Nobody here is owed a finished product, a perfect story, a timely update. This isn't a market, you are not a corporation and I am not a customer. I am a reader and you are my authors.
That's not to say those things don't bring with them a great benefit (I'd love to have a dozen perfect stories without any issues at the tip of my fingers.) but I know I am not owed any. And I think it's important the authors realise this too. Not as a carte-blanche 'write whatever, smear the paper for all it matters', that would be incredibly callous of me. But rather, as a 'don't stress over unfortunate things'. The main difference is, we care and value what we already (perhaps even undeservedly) have.
From this, I conclude the rest. If an author rewrites something, I am in for it. If an author removes something, I can lament it and that is entirely understandable, but I am still in for everything else. I cherish what I already got... and of course, like the little addict that I am, would love to have more.
As a responsible addict, though, I know asking too much can create stress upon people who don't deserve it.
With that out of the way... I feel for everyone involved. This isn't a situation one would wish upon another. I am aware everything I know is outside knowledge. It's entirely possible that a thing mentioned could be much deeper and more touchy than a viewer realises. I can't fathom what it felt like for anyone involved to go through this, right there, in the middle of it, with things pressing down on you both inside Fimfic and outside of it, then unfortunate news turns it all around and now everything feels like it's out of control.
I'm sorry to hear something that I like so much lost its luster to you, DoctorFluffy, but I do wish you the best in whatever you've got next. The same goes for TheIdiot, who was thrown a curve ball as the head of a group (I know that can be hell).
Sledge and Vox, I also wish you both the best. As I said, I don't know all of it, can't ever hope to, but it seems like miscommunication was the crux of the matter.
Please don't stress yourselves over it. Your history is not being sweeped over. It was felt and validated by you yourselves. Furthermore, even, by some of us. I appreciate the openness, explaining your side behind the scenes, even if it brought to the forefront some undesirable memories, or at risk of adding fuel to the fire.
If any of what I said seems like I'm 'picking sides', or if anyone reading feels like they have picked a side, please, don't. This isn't a sport, there are no teams, nobody here wants cheerleaders.
Enjoy your day. Also, let the brain focus on something else. It's a sturdy thing, but even the most complex organ needs rest.
5495230
Thank you, RanOut. We'll pull through, I hope, all of us.
Well that's a mood killer, another rewrite and losing two more authors. Not going to lie, this is kinda killing motivation to continue reading since this is the third time this has happened. Do you guys at least have a list of what exactly has to be rewritten since I really don't want to have to go back and reread several chapters worth of material if it's mostly going to be removing stuff/changing characters names.
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Off the top of my head, Galatea is getting a name change. No chapter past chapter seven, which is when Jed departed, should be substantially different, as by then it's mostly our material. All of Galatea's scenes, from at least Chapter Thirteen onwards, weren't written by Jed, so it's a matter of changing her name
The prologue, for one, might be different in some respects. Some minor scene tweaks here and there. A full list might be made by the time we finish.
The point I'm stressing is that by this point, the story has long diverged from what Jed planned it to be, so we are remaining on the current course. This is not something on the magnitude of creating an entirely new story.
I’ve been following Spectrum since the OG story got big. To say this development is... concerning would be an understatement. I personally want nothing more than for you to achieve your collective vision for the story, it’s characters, themes and everything in between. Hearing that things behind the scenes have accrued vast amounts of stress and burnout is never good to hear, but that’s just how things go when you spend as long as you all have on a single (well sort of single) project. I was sad to see Jed leave, as I am to see both TheIdiot and DoctorFluffy, and I hope those remaining take the time they need to rest and recuperate from this sudden upheaval.
Whatever you decide to do next, be that here or elsewhere, I hope you do enjoy it and that it can help you continue to hone your skills. The last thing I think any of us wants is for your creative passion to die out due to one project gone crazy.
As for the request, I can understand both sides. I understand Jed wishing to reuse concepts and characters and removing any possible “loose ends” they may be associated with for professional reasons. Hard to have your original novel taken seriously or whatever he is planning if people find out the ideas involved were for some random gritty horse fanfiction.
In the other hand I understand that with group projects like this, one member suddenly requesting or demanding changes or rewrites not only sours friendships but also creates all new stresses. I’d be lying if I didn’t think voice how callous and downright unfriendly such a move comes off. Especially when said party has no intention of providing aid in said request being fulfilled or even a form of compensation (be that a thank you or something else, nothing monetary mind but just some curtesy).
Its difficult for me to really try and find all the words to describe how this makes me feel. On the one hand I don’t really really know you all, not your personal dynamics or history. On the other I’ve spent years reading your collective works and blogs, which often can create a false sense of “knowing someone” on this wacky thing we call the internet. Regardless of what the future holds, and regardless of what happens with the story, I intend to be here for as long as it is. Both because I enjoy those behind the silly screen names, and the world they have all crafted together. No matter what, at the end of the day, i know I’ll look back on Spectrum and all it’s iterations fondly for all the creativity and enjoyment they showed me. Here’s to the future!
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But Galeta has been in this alot and since you can't have her that is alot of reworking
5495250
Thank you for staying as long as you did, and I hope this doesn't sour your experience in reading it all.
5495255
Galatea stays. Her characterisation in Spectrum is separate from how Jed conceived her at first, and the concept of a third alicorn sister is nothing new.
5495263 With a different name, mind you.
5495263
that does help a bit since it's only slight editing.
5495274
Yeah, while some of her earlier scenes will be tweaked, her scenes afterwards are in need of a simple name change, as none of them were written by Jed past, what, Chapter Ten? Chapter Thirteen and afterwards, all of her scenes were written by me or Vox
5495818
Thank you for your kind words
Fret not, the main story shall continue for as long as it can.
Sorry to see it happen. Sad, from an outsider's perspective, that things went in what sounds like a pretty unpleasant direction toward the end. I'm still excited to see where Spectrum goes next, and I wish the best to everyone involved.
5497984
Thank you
We'll stay on as long as we can to see this through.
I'm short on time and will, so while I unfortunately have to make this short, I'll make another, longer comment sometime in the future. Just one thing for now: While I'm sure this is a rather complex situation, and I am sorry for all involved, I have to protest having to change Spectrum for any other reason than to make it better. The loss of Jed's word contributions will be an unfortunate thing, but most of all I will be extremely disheartened to see the characters changed – Galatea most of all, as one of the main characters and an alicorn no less. While the words will, by nature, stay in the past, the characters of any story are its past, present, and future; its life. We develop relationships to these characters and cheer, cry, rage, and elate for them. If nothing else, I wholeheartedly wish that the characters can and will be kept... please. And I do't mean with changes.
5506052 The gray-colored alicorn will be around if by a different name so don't fret.
I gotta say, I have been reading your story for a long time now (from my previous accounts as well, which I also sent a story example to Doctor before.), I kinda guessed this was going to happen. Don’t get me wrong, it is fascinating to see you guys make strong bonds and produce such work; but there was a reason why the Spectrum 1.0 was cancelled. History just repeats itself. You don’t owe anything to anyone, it’s all good.
Anyway, all I can say now is, I hope Vox and Sledge can continue on with writing Spectrum and I also hope I’ll have a chance to participate. Respect...
5506052
It's a complicated situation indeed, but we'll pull through. Fret not, Galatea shall remain. Thank you for the support, as always
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Thank you for the well-wishes
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That is what I'm fretting about, TheIdiot.
Ich bin sprachlos....
But I encourage the team to not give up
Because all good things come in threes.
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I've no intentions of giving up, either. Stay tuned
I wonder how copyright even works with OCs.
In any case, I was wondering why SPECTRUM had been a while... and i found this. :c
I feel for y’all.
5537207
Yeah don't know how it works but, yeah.
Fret not, for we're still working on it. Stay tuned