1076598

It's kind of you to say so. I'll be brief, so as to avoid unnecessary wordplay that might entangle the point within a thicket of verbiage so dense that one would require a satchel charge to have any hope of reaching it.

New Bon Hadescream chapter is up. I'm really happy to know you continue to enjoy my story about vampires and candymaking commandos. It's really good to know that you like it for enough reasons to need a Powerpoint if you ever tried to explain them! That's very preferable to liking a story only because of a single, boring reason.

I actually have trouble leaving tidy little messages on peoples' pages now in response to their favorites of my stories, since the website keeps auto-purging my notifications... thanks, Knighty. I'm sure it's all for the best, and this whole thing is free, but I kinda wish the guy would give us a heads-up before he breaks crap and use a decent bugtracking system, eh?

Also, wonderful to hear you enjoyed Waxing Moon! I had great hopes for that story to be a critical success, in the same vein as Love is its Own Reward, but... well, long story short, I put it into the queue hoping it would go up in the evening for North America. A good time for a Princess of the Night, no? Instead, it got approved and published in the wee hours of the morning. Worst part was, the story was "locked" after I submitted it to the queue, so I couldn't pull it out of order after a few hours had passed without it being posted, and resubmit it the night after in hope of getting a better spot. Bottom line, nobody read it when it first launched, so I'm terribly excited that anyone is reading it now!

It's always good to hear from a reader, and I hope you've been well.

845631

Greetings and salutations, kind sir! It's been a while, has it not? And yet, in the many weeks that have passed since your last message, I am still without the words needed to articulate my thoughts in any substantial way. What could I possibly say about the latest chapter of Bon Hadescream, or even the interquels that have sprung up in-between now and our last conversation?

"It was good." That's it. That's all I have.

I mean, sure, I could elaborate on these thoughts, and in time, eventually solve the riddle of why I think its good. However, therein lies the question of why would I do such a thing? I honestly cannot say. Perhaps its to appease my mind in some small way, as I know that my subconscious would be unwilling to accept any answer I give. Whatever the cause, I am happy simply reveling in the fact that I do enjoy it. I may not be content with answer, but I'll simply ignore that little pang in the back of my mind. For now, at least.

I suppose I should mention that I've read Waxing Moon in the expansive time between these messages. Multiple times apparently, as I can't seem to recall reading it beforehand. If you somehow interpreted that previous statement as a passive-aggressive way of saying that the story did not stick with me for whatever reason, then you can free yourself from that logic this instant. I just have a spotty memory when it comes to the written word and... well, reading the written word. Hell, even Background Pony, one of the most trying and intimidating experiences that I've ever had the pleasure to read, I can only vaguely remember.

But enough of my soliloquy.

Moving back to Waxing Moon, well... it was good. There isn't much I can really add to that statement that doesn't devolve into a PowerPoint presentation titled "What I Liked About This Fanfic," and I'd rather not go through that embarrassing sequence.

Welp, I'm done. All of the rhetoric is starting to get to me.

834711

I did some research on the LiiOR commenter back when this first happened. I checked with a writer I respect and got his opinion. Said commenter is emotionally unstable and tends to go off the reservation. The other writer had gotten feedback from him before, some of which was "nice", and some was so completely off-base that nobody could figure out where the guy was coming from. It's entirely likely he did it just for attention, since that's sadly the pattern that the other writer noticed in his behavior. Or perhaps he really did misunderstand something, but if so it was on his end. I checked with several other readers and confirmed that they did not understand where he could have gotten the interpretation from. I didn't want to engage him in conversation directly, which turned out to be a wise move based on what I heard from the other writer.

As you said, one has to offer a chunk of yourself to the masses, and sometimes the masses try to break your heart. That's why it's good to have other voices that you know you can trust. Still, the reason it hurt was not because of the validity of the speaker, but rather because the comment was so well-aimed at exactly what I feared most. It meant that the commenter had either put some time into the hate, or got lucky. Either way, it proves a point. One voice can mean a lot. Oh, and while you may never get it like a fellow writer, you're certainly getting it on the reader-level. I hope you're enjoying Bon Hadescream!

Secondly, you're completely right that beauty is fragile. That's why it's such a noble, if doomed, quest to preserve the things that are precious. Entropy always wins, but the glory is in the struggle! That's a central theme of many a time-tested story. What I was referring to when I said "twisted perversion of literature" was certain stories that proceed to take characters completely out of character, place them in absolutely unwinnable situations, then, often as not with poor grammar and worse logic, proceed to do horrible things to them merely to sate the author's own fantasies. There is no struggle, no development, no purpose other than self-gratification... which is all well and good, but if you're going to do that with a character who shares no similarities to a popularly established one save for name and appearance, then why not just make a new character and write your own little story?

Oh. Right. Because no one would read it, or at least not in great enough numbers to stroke such an author's ego. That's what I meant! I too enjoy a good story where the "bad guy" wins if he's brutal and cunning enough, but one where the "bad guy" wins because he's a black alicorn with a red mane who's the author's self-insert and instantly beloved by all the ladies once he's done abusing them just makes me want to puke. That's really one of the guidelines I use for writing Vinyl Scratch in Bon Hadescream. I think of her as "someone who uses the tools of evil to do good". For instance, look at how casually she tore down the Blueblood Concertorium. It was a very pretty place, but to Vinyl, all that marble and decor was just another battleground. Yes, she nods to Celestia, and yes, she listens to Octavia... sometimes, but at the end of the day she's not a happy white knight. Vinyl Scratch is a possessive, domineering, egotistical madmare of a DJ who loves the spotlight.

She loves the thrill of the kill, lives on the pain of others, and (though I haven't really mentioned this yet) plans to take over the world if she thinks she can get away with it. She's an anti-hero who understands that she's a monster and revels in it. She's the one who smashes through the stained-glass window so she can get the first crack at the target, offers you a slow death if you don't comply and a running start if you do, but most of all she's the one who can be evil and get away with it. She's a monster, but she wants to be loved and adored by others because they choose to adore her. Anything less than that makes her feel more hollow than she usually does.

That's why we root for her to kill the "sparklepires". That's why we smile when she brings the roof falling down. She's the red-eyed madmare with the touch of evil who'll slurp up your soul and make you love every second. She's Vinyl Scratch, and there's nopony else like her. The universe couldn't handle it.

Bother. That went on rather long than I expected. Thanks for your feedback, and I hope you're enjoying Bon Hadescream! More coming soon, but in the meantime I've published a little short story about Luna that might interest you. I tried to stay close to the Luna we see in the show, not the "Oh, Nightmare Moon was a misunderstood Hero of the Oppressed Ponies who stood against the Evil Tyrant Celestia" invention of certain writers. If it sounds like your cup of tea, let me know what you think!

833643

You overestimate me. kind sir.

As I've said before; I'm no artist. While I can understand what you mean on a basic, conceptual level, I, being a consumer, can never truly get it. I do know that doing anything creative requires offering a small piece of yourself to the masses. I also know that attempting to do myself has led to a heartbreak that I still haven't recovered from.

But enough about me.

In regards to the one commenter on Love is its Own Reward, have you talked to him? Not that I'm trying to tell you what to do, but if I was in your position, I would like to find out how he came to that conclusion. Sure, he may have been "wrong," but something as simple as a botched line or lack of sufficient character development can snowball into a different interpretation. Or maybe he was just stirring shit. Who knows?

Moving on, While I do enjoy the beautiful things, I must admit that I also enjoy the twisted perversion of literature for the sake of "fantasy." When done well, of course. It's these dark, evil things that make us truly appreciate the beautiful things. All it takes is a single second, a wanton act of destruction to erase that. Beauty is fragile. It's also a little humorous to me to see something beautiful destroyed, then again, I am a bitter individual. Schadenfreude aside, something horrible happening in a story is an easy way to raise the stakes and inject character development. It's always interesting to see how a character reacts to a tragedy, moreso if it's inner tragedy, but that's much, much more difficult than having an actual, physical manifestation to have a character lash out against. Battles of the mind are kinda like montages: If it's too short, then it's unconvincing, but if it's too long, it's tedious.

I've begun to lose the point I was trying to make in my needless rambling, so I'll just cut myself off here. Heck, I can't even remember the point I was trying to make.

That's the other major reason that I don't talk much; I lose myself in my words until it's nothing more than a cacophony of jumbled nonsense. I'm no writer.

833193

Pressed for time at the moment, but such are the demands of fickle emotion that I will have no peace until I pen this...

You. You are the person I write for. The quiet one, who believes your thoughts are unimportant, and your words unworthy. The reader who wants to see Octavia break free of her father's conditioning, or Vinyl overcome her fear of losing what makes her an artist, because you know that the greatest struggles are those of the mind. But it is more than that.

You want to see a world filled with beautiful things, not one ripped apart and ground underhoof in the name of perversion and "fantasy". There is enough wretchedness and oppression in the world already. You're one voice among many, but that voice is no less valuable than if it spoke alone. If Bon Hadescream is worthy of your interest long enough for you to reach the later chapters, you'll see why one voice can matter so much. In the Bon Hadescream Organization, it is not the grand heroes with mighty powers who always save the day. It's the many little voices, the nameless Operatives who hold the line. They are meek compared to Vinyl, but they stand. Because that's how Equestria endures, not because of some great hero, but because of all those little voices who face their fears and speak up.

That's my opinion at least, admittedly an opinion expressed through persuasive writing that has been spurred on by the rather grand surprise of actually hearing back from the fiftieth person to favorite Bon Hadescream. Now, fifty is but a number, no more or less special than any other number, and yet... coincidences can be wonderful things, no?

Most importantly, I must impress upon you the energy that such responses give a writer. Without knowing that someone else gets it, I'm just writing for myself. If I know that someone else is reading my work, catching the little references, and feeling enriched by the story, then I have motivation. As an example, Love is its Own Reward, a story I originally began as a single chapter with a five-hundred word followup, was extremely well received. I expanded the second chapter, which met with even better reviews. The story was not about "puppy love" so much as honest romance between two hearts. Oh, and I threw in some tanks and sky pirates, along with a dash of Knight-Commander Fancypants, but that's here nor there. The story grew well beyond its original design, and though I personally feel that the first two chapters are the best, the readers loved the other seven. I wrote them for the readers, but to my own standards. Just like Vinyl in Render Unto Them Wubs, I gave them what they wanted. More me.

That's what every little voice does. It counts. One of the little voices in Bon Hadescream's comments noticed my references to HP Lovecraft. Another suggested that I add in some high-grade orbital firepower, real city-scorching hardware. I had toyed with the idea for a while, but hearing from a reader made me commit to using it in a future chapter I already have half-written. When it comes, it's going to be sweet, but I'm going to do it right because that's what the readers are really asking for. More awesome. More of my style and standards.

That's why every voice is so precious. One commenter on Love is its Own Reward's final chapter posted something horrible. He claimed that I had put Rarity and Spike into an abusive relationship where she emotionally extorted him until he did whatever she wanted. I don't know how he got that out of the story, and neither do any of the others I consulted with, but his voice had still spoken. It hurt a lot, since it seemed that he had crawled into my head and posted exactly what would make me feel all my hard word was ash. but I had other voices that I could rely on to tell me that he was wrong.

Well, now I've chuffed up my ego a bit, back to you, Hoarseplay. You get it. I don't know about other authors, I've seen quite a few who openly admit they're just in it for the fame, but I write so others get it. I don't care if Equestria Daily never knows I exist, or if I don't get invited to conventions and wild parties. I write because I love to write, but I publish my writing in the hope that I am not alone in what I enjoy. This little post from you tells me I am not alone.

And that... well, my dear reader, that means more than all the statistical gobbledygook in the world.

Plain' speakin'.