So as of today, it has been ten years to the day since I first published Ducenti Septuaginta Septem, or CCLXXVII for short. Though, if you really want brevity, you could also go with DSS or 277.

Anyways, I won't be doing much navel-gazing and nostalgia-bathing for this one; the last blog post should probably be enough of that for another ten years.

Read More

Hello everyone, I'm back at it, publishing a new chapter, ending the hiatus on CCLXXVII, just in time to fulfil my promise of a 2019 release—wait, it's 2020 now? It's August already? Uh, quick, look at this distraction from my failure to keep deadlines and stuff.
Look, there, the show has ended! That's a thing that most definitely isn't old news by now. And there's a global crisis I guess? What is even happening anymore. Anyway, new chapter. Go read it, maybe.

Read More

Those of you who've been following Ducenti Septuaginta Septem (CCLXXVII for short) for a while will have noticed that I try to post a chapter at least once every year.
This is me telling you that I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it this time. Worse even, since the universe is keeping me otherwise occupied at the moment, I cannot say with any confidence when I will be able to finish the next chapter.

Read More

As of now, I have Chapter Fourteen done; not as early as I would have liked, but not as late as I might have feared. I could have managed to post it in July, however, a few things got in the way that had me otherwise preoccupied.

Read More

Basically, the earlier drafts of Chapter Eleven included a jolly little musical number performed by Theory. Maybe not what you might expect from a mind-bending aberration, but, hey, the story also has Discord. Like a few other things, the song didn't end up making it in, but I did actually write some lyrics for it. And since I just rediscovered those and think they're actually not all bad, I thought I'd share them with you.

For the musical side of it:

Read More

It's just really weird to see when things come up in the show that're oddly similar and fitting to things I've come up with. It's happened before, and it happened again.

So, I'm just throwing this out there:
My first drafts of the Second Paradoxon, not published (but finished since more than a month ago) as of today, date back to late June 2014. (Don't get excited though. At least five more chapters will have to be written before it factors into the story.)

Read More

Ergh, the things it takes for me to post something.

So, I've been quiet for a while, and all the more I want to talk about.

First, about writing Ducenti Septuaginta Septem:
As all of you will have noticed, my writing speed is quite low, and it's not getting any faster anytime soon.

Read More

Do you know the term "wordsmith"?
For me, it invokes the mental image of an author standing in a forge, placing their manuscript on an anvil and hammering away at it.
Do you know what happens if a smith is bad at their craft? The stuff they forge ends up wonky and misshapen.

That's what writing sometimes feels like. Like beating up words for hours and in the end, they still don't look quite right.

Read More

One year. Three hundred and fifty-six days. π·10⁷s. That's about how long it's been since I published Ducenti Septuaginta Septem.
Well, yeah.
Now, fifty thousand words later, I have to admit: I am a lazy bum. Or, put more nicely, I am a slow writer.

Anyway, it's been quite fun. There have been a few nice comments, and nobody has told me my writing makes their brain melt, so I guess it was a success.

Read More

So, this is as good a time as any to tell you all a little itty bitty something on what I've been up to in regard of the story. Why? Duh, because... er—look, behind you, a three-headed monkey!

Contains spoilers for Ducenti Septuaginta Septem! Duh! If you haven't read that, why are you reading this post? Get off my property!

Now, where was I?

Read More

Attention, please! Attention! This is an announcement! Attention! This is an announcement! This is a pre-recorded message!
A temporary change in schedule has been issued. All facility associates are to remain calm and wait for instructions.
*static*
Transmitting message in three...
two...
one...
*static*

Guess who'll turn up in the next chapter.

Read More

Attention, please! Attention! This is an announcement! Attention! This is an announcement! This is a pre-recorded message!
A temporary change in schedule has been issued. All facility associates are to remain calm and wait for instructions.
*static*
All further scheduled activities are to be postponed for up to three months.
*static*
This change of schedule is occurring as scheduled by the schedule. There is no reason to panic.

Read More

The Castlemaneia Episode felt like a present. It did not create any problems, in fact only helped making aspects of my story fit better into Equestria, such as the facility below the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Another great detail is that the big stone stand of Harmony seems to have aged more during the first three seasons than in the millenium before (compare the flashback in S04E02, S01E02 and S04E03 to each other).
I can even fit the pony of shadows into my story like a snap.

Read More

...there's some good news! It fits perfectly with what I have written so far.
Except the fact that the unexplained change of Twilight's tiara is now canon. But that is not important, so I'll just ignore it.

As to the other good news: I don't have to change anything for the rest of the storyline, either! Some things now fit even better. And there I was getting all panicky, but apparently the script writers are really considerate.

Read More