What's in a name?
Datsuzoku is a key piece of the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, and is one of the seven aesthetic principles of traditional Zen philosophy. It is perhaps best described as "Freedom from habit or formula. Escape from daily routine or the ordinary. Unworldly. Transcending the conventional."

Breaking free from convention but embracing the imperfection, the incompleteness, of reality... Those ideas stuck out to both of us. Our mere presence as fiction authors is far outside of what would normally be expected of either of us, and while we both have found success as writers, we recognize that the process - the journey of writing - is far more valuable than perpetually chasing a perfection that doesn't exist.

Why this story?
The entire First Contact War (FCW) universe is a creation of AssasinMonkey, who is one of the MLP fandom's most talented artists. GMP is a longtime follower of Assasin's work, and was bitten by the writing bug after seeing Assasin's piece, Solar Rays. A simple one-shot was created around that artwork, but after an initial read, the writing bug bit Loyal as well.

A few chats and emails later, and a new project was born - to draw from AssasinMonkey's exquisite artwork a grand tale of one of Equestria's greatest trials.

Sounds great! what else will you be working on?
For now, this specific account will be focused exclusively on the FCW story. However, if/when GMP and Loyal collaborate in the future, this account will likely play host to whatever ponywords they squeeze out of their minds. ;)

In the meantime though, please check out GMP's and Loyal's individual accounts, where you'll find a plethora of additional stories to read!

Grand Moff Pony
A member of the great FimFiction community for a little over a year, GMP has gone from pipe dreams of writing fiction to a collection of nine completed works, with many more to come. Author of Scars, Full Bloom, and The Furthest From the Tree, his library already boasts accolades from The Royal Guard, Equestria Daily, LasPegasus Tribune, and several trips to FimFic's feature box.

Loyal
Loyal, formerly known as Loyal2-1, has been an active member of the FimFic community for over three years. In that time, he has crafted nearly two dozen stories, including the highly acclaimed A Different Kind of Love and Intimate Details, the provocative and stirring Moonstone, and the definitive TwiLuna epic, Archmage. Loyal's works have been featured on FimFic many times, as well as EQAD and a number of other fan communities.

An Unlikely Team
Loyal and GMP first met on Fimfic through some discussion around Loyal's seminal epic, Archmage. A few months later, GMP responded to Loyal's request for volunteer pre-readers for a new story, and from that partnership came Moonstone. The success of that first collaboration sparked a great friendship, as well as the promise of future collaborative efforts.

Now, Loyal and his friend (and chief apprentice) GMP embark on a new adventure - to bring to literary life the outstanding artwork that is the First Contact War.