 |
| Click for full! |
I must be the only pony on the face of the planet who hasn't read and has no desire to read Fallout: Equestria. Have you seen the size of that story? No thank you.
Anyway, more Madmax! Check it out. It's awesome. Presumably.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
132 comments:
Madmax always provides!
ReplyDeleteI has not read either. :3
ReplyDeleteSweet! And first?
ReplyDeleteWow, nice pun there.
ReplyDeleteSUDDENLY IT ALL MAKES SENSE
ReplyDeleteI saw it ages ago on ponibooru
ReplyDelete530,000 WORDS, BRO. Lord of the Rings would probably take less time to read.
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone, cereal...
ReplyDelete@cpbrony Is all you ever post, "(*insert generic positive word here* and first?)"
ReplyDeleteI haven't either.
ReplyDeleteAwww you spoiled the ending of the fic for me.
ReplyDeleteomgosh, I have it on my Nook Color but I haven't read it yet...
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, Cereal. You're not alone. I've never read it either. Mostly because I've never played a Fallout game, so the story doesn't really appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm right with you Cereal
ReplyDeletePfft. It's no problem, Cereal. Just give the first few chapters a look. The size really stops mattering by that point.
ReplyDeleteIts also funny because applejack in the fic lived to have Little Foals...and is the great great great great great grandmother of LittlePip or something...or at least thats the vibe i got when i found out LittePip and Velvet are related along some lines
ReplyDeleteAnd that's how Fallout Equestria was made.
ReplyDeleteThe End
@MaximillianVeers
ReplyDeleteApparently, LOTR only has around 470k words. So, yes, it would be shorter. Wheel of Time, on the other hand...
Anyone know what the "A & D" on AJ's helmet stands for? I have my suspicions, but I hope I'm wrong.
Seriously Cereal, READ FO:E
ReplyDeleteI started at chapter 35 and thought it an impossible task...
1 week later and i was screaming for updates
Haven't read it because for the exact same reason.
ReplyDeleteLove the comic, though!
Madmax is so awesome. ^^
ReplyDelete"Ooooooh. Radioactive. I get it now." <-- probably the best pre-explosion line ever.
@Lightning Delight
ReplyDeleteSame, plus not a grimdark fan
Cereal, I havent read it either, its not the size its just I dont like Grimdark
ReplyDeleteAslo: It's a good thing RD is indestructible now :P
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it, but I'm guessing I probably should. I'll get on it when I get the chance.
ReplyDeleteYou're not the only one
ReplyDeletefirst i didn't wanted to read it because i haven't played fallout and now because of THAT SIZE
I am with you, too, Cereal; no disrespect for the authors of FOE or those that enjoy it, it is just Not For Me.
ReplyDeleteI like the comic though! Especially with the bonus MST3K reference!
@MaximillianVeers Are you serious? 530,000? Just for perspective, Catch-22 is about 170,000, and both Slaughterhouse 5 and Fahrenheit 451 are under 50,000.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it either
ReplyDeleteAnd then Rainbow Dash blew it up.
ReplyDelete@cursormortis I think I know exactly what you're talking about, Brony.
ReplyDeleteGod damn it, Rainbow! You used to be my favorite pony, and what do you do? You freaking go and blow up Equestria and cause years and years of nuclear fallout!
ReplyDeleteHaha, kidding aside, though, I've kinda-sorta wanted to read FoE but never really had the time to... I'm way too concerned about finishing a story, especially if it's as engrossing as everyone says it is.
It's funny because it's the inability to understand and reason with that caused the great war and the inner failings and Ponies and Zebras that doomed the world from all sides, and the inability to see the good or Evil in the other and blindly believing in the Inherent Good/Evil that it was one or the other.
ReplyDeleteBut the Idea that Rainbow dash and Applejack caused it pleases me as well, Partialy because I don't like 'em
I'm with you as well, Cereal. I read the first couple chapters and very quickly decided that it just wasn't the story for me. There was nothing WRONG with the story (in fact it was actually really well done) but post-apocalyptic stories just aren't the sort of things I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteNo worries, Cereal. I'm in the same boat due to the following.
ReplyDelete1) Post-Apocalyptic setting's aren't my thing.
2) I have never played Fallout.
3) The length intimidates me.
4) Real life comes first. (Lolwut? There's such a thing? =P)
I knew I shouldn't have check my dA messages before checking EqD.
ReplyDeleteGo read FO:E people, even if you haven't played the games, even if your not a fan of grim-dark, or even if you think it's too long. It is worth it. If you make it through the first three chapters or so without getting hooked, keep reading anyway. But that probably won't happen, it's just that good.
Me too, Cereal.
ReplyDeleteWhich is REALLY weird considering that I ADORE Grimdark, Crossovers, and even really enjoyed Fallout 3... but for some reason I can't ever bring myself to pick it up. :/
Meh, that's less than Infinite Jest. No biggie. =P
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, Cereal, it's less long than it seems. You just have to devote your whole fanfic-reading schedule to it for about a week. There was a slow couple of days one time, so I started it, and, well, I ended up liking grimdark by the end of it. Sort of. Still won't touch Cupcakes or Hostel-style stuff; I like that in movies just fine, but not in my ponies.
Brohoof to everypony else who read the whole giant thing. working on horizens now.
ReplyDeleteSo awesome seeing littlepip in a madmax comic. Until Ballad of Twilight Sparkle updates, this is the best thing I've seen all day.
And ya, TBoTS is updating. Within hours. Or at least by tommorow. Can't wait at all. Thought ponies should know.
I wish i got this better but I do like the helmet in the last panel
ReplyDeleteUhmn... Cereal, if it's something that's enjoyable, isn't the fact that there's a lot of it a GOOD thing?
ReplyDeleteAnd if it's bad, you just stop reading after the first chapter, anyway.
I haven't read Fallout: Equestria yet either. A combination of the word count and the mass hype kind of turn me off. If I wanted to read something that long, I'd pick up something other than fanfiction, no matter how good that fanfiction allegedly is.
ReplyDeleteOh hi Cereal. I'm another one of those who haven't read FO:E either. It's on my backlog though... likely when it gets finished, if ever, I'll finally give it a spin.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this comic still gave me a laugh, because this is something Rainbow WOULD do XD
@GWGV
ReplyDeleteLOL hipster brony!
I don't read fanfics
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge story, yes, but it is all fed to you in little spoonfuls. Every 'quest' has an attainable goal (as in the reader knows that they won't be reading from chapter 1 to chapter 29 to reach a key point in the characters' journeys), and each scene leads into the other seamlessly to the point that you end up looking back at what you've read thinking "Have I really come that far?". The fact that the characters share these moments with the reader just makes it all the immersive.
ReplyDeleteAt least all I'm seeing in the comments in regards to people not reading it is people either simply stating that they're put off by the length, or the fact they haven't played any of the Fallout games, or have decided that grimdark isn't their thing, or have even read it and decided that it's just not their cup of tea. I'm quite proud of you guys, not one of you are being unreasonable or harsh - I wish I could say that about people like my dad, who to this day refuses to watch the show and insists that it's girly.
Cereal, that's a great way of saying tl;dr. For some reason, it took me a month to get past the first lord of the rings book, and i gave up on the second one, wheras fallout (which is longer) i power-read through it in under two weeks. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI love GrimDark, epic length stories, Fallout 3, and ponies. I have not read Fallout Equestria, nor do I even want to read it.
ReplyDeleteI have no interest or time to read FO:Equestria either lol.
ReplyDeleteFahrenheit was too short of a book. I wanted to know more about the world.
ReplyDeleteOnto the comic:
I laughed. With her super Nuclear Rainbomb (Heh, terrible name), she would single-handedly spread radiation all over Equestria in a pretty mushroom cloud.
@Jelfes: But it's a good story, even it you hate all literature in general!
@Jelfes its well-written, dont worry. I didnt realize how long it was, because like mattatatta said, the chapters are like their own little stories, or quests. They blend together seamlessly to form one big story, thus making it large. Im hoping of writing a fanfic that epic one day
ReplyDelete@Mattatatta your profile pic is the main character of fallout equestria. Wow.
It's a shame there's so many out there who won't read it, you're missing out on a good story.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, it's a nice comic, and definitely cool to see it brought up by someone like madmax.
It may be the second best story I have ever come across! And Im including books "real" books.
ReplyDeleteIt's epic level and if it wasn't crossover it would be worthy of publishing! (I say that cause copyright laws not dissing crossovers)
@Lightning Delight Same here.
ReplyDeleteThe way I see it, it's just another story. A story that I very much enjoy, but a story nonetheless, and I figure after 7 Harry Potter books, LOTR, Wheel of Time, and other large book series (Forgotten Realms comes to mind), length is never a turn-off. I had a week of vacation, needed a book, and figured I'd see what the fuss was all about. I'd played about 3 hours of Fallout 3 a few months beforehand, but it honestly didn't matter. I liked the story, and kept reading. I actually went back and re-installed Fallout when I was done to get my 'wasteland fix' in between chapters! It doesn't matter how much of Fallout you know, or if you've played any of the DLC (I haven't yet), none of the story is lost to you. Some people might be wary of references that they won't get, but they're so well-hidden that you don't even know you're missing anything until someone points out "Hey, that character is a pony version of _____!"
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like post-apocalyptic stories, I get that. But if size and Fallout are the only things keeping you from it? Might as well give it a shot. You might be pleasantly surprised!
I haven't spent much time to read fics. Past Sins was the first I read and that was back in early Sept I believe. Hell, I just now read the first Silent Ponyville last night out of curiosity and it was only 5 chapters, plus the endings. lol
ReplyDeleteBut yea, this all makes sense though for how it started. Rainbow Dash is now an atomic bomb. I mean, atomic rainbomb.
@Bombedrumbum I'm sure it's well written, I have generally become burnt out on fan-fics, or more, overwhelmed. Everyday there are new fics being added to my, 'to read,' list(FO:E included), but they come at such a rate that I cannot read each one (and I want to, they all look so interesting!). At this point in time, there's more than 200 fics in my, 'to read,' list and less than 50 in the, 'already read,' list. About 20, 'currently reading,' ones as well.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I haven't read the fanfic either. And I highly doubt I'll ever get time it would take to read that entire thing. lol
ReplyDeleteAhhh, so -that's- how it happened. That explains it. :P
I just read all of FO:E and FO:E:Project Horizons in the past week lol. It's addictive.
ReplyDeleteI dislike grimdark and "epic-length" fics (if you ask me, needing more than a couple of chapters to tell your story is a pretty good sign that you've either missed the feel of the show entirely or write like a thesaurus), but I actually did check out a couple chapters of Fallout: Equestria to try and figure out how the hell it got to be 500,000 words. I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that the author desperately needs someone to stand over their shoulder and go "does this sub-plot really need to be in the story?" every couple of minutes.
ReplyDeleteI mean I guess some of you guys really like the fact that it's got everything and the kitchen sink, but "brevity is the soul of wit" is one of the greatest truisms in writing (and my favorite Shakespeare quote) and one of the most important parts of being a good storyteller is knowing when enough is enough.
@Cereal you're insane.
ReplyDeleteListen to Scorch238's audiobook reading of Fallout: Equestria. So far he's at chapter 17.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry Cereal, you aren't the only one.
ReplyDelete@A Pony Farce
ReplyDeleteAlmost all of the subplots tie into the main story in some way. I'm not sure where you're taking this. FO:E happens in several individual arcs that make up a larger main one. Yes, there are times when a writer needs to know "when enough is enough", but honestly FO:E has almost no filler content to it. The little there is (like say, some visits to Tenpony Tower) are made to clear the pallet after much of the drama and action while still progressing some elements of the plot.
FO:E rarely meanders in its' direction, or at the very least, it rarely feels like it. That is a hallmark of good writing, in my book.
Yeah, I'm afraid I have no interest in Fallout Equestria either. Not because of its length, but simply because I have never played the Fallout games, and don't really care to.
ReplyDelete@A Pony Farce
ReplyDelete._.
This is partly an "epic journey" story. The Odyssey, while being kinda bad compared to more modern everything, isn't a freaking 2,800 year old literary classic for no damn reason. Big, long stories have and will continue to be just as culturally relevant as any other type of storytelling.
And FoE is much more fun than the Odyssey. :D
Yay! I'm not alone in the "Have not read Fallout Equestria" grouping anymore!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the story either, man. :P
ReplyDeleteDoesn't pique my interest, and the size of the fic is just insane.
Reading most of these comments makes me sad. I mean, ok, if you never played any Fallout games (or watched Ghost in the Shell or Deus Ex or 1984, or.. really any dystopian future thing), then I can understand not having any interest in picking it up.
ReplyDeleteBut for anyone else? Really? "It's too long?" It's grimdark, yes, but the a key difference here is that it's darkness with a light at the other side. Terrible things happen, but rarely without purpose, and always forward the plot and work towards a higher goal. The beginning is, admittedly, something which a non-Fallout fan wouldn't find too interesting, but it's neccessary. Much like the pilot of MLP:FiM itself, it's setting the mood and introducing the characters and setting.
And just like our favorite pony show, it gets better. Much, much better. Most of us whom read the fic the moment a new chapter is posted actually wish it were LONGER, because we've fallen in love with the developed characters and immense backstory of an alternate Equestria.
But hey, it's your choice, of course, and one cannot claim to be a true brony if they 'force' things upon others. Just stating my thoughts on.. what ya'll have been saying.
Excuse me. *logs onto Steam as Littlepip and goes on some Wasteland adventures*
I do not read fanfiction. I do not read many books either, although not for lack of trying in the case of either. Long form fiction reading just isn't for me. I decided to give FO:E a chance around when it was at chapter 36, just because of how popular it was. I figured if I wasn't into it I would just stop.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say I am completely addicted and it's totally fabulous, and I'm not even really into the Fallout games. It took a couple weeks of marathon sessions but it was totally worth it. Updates are like Christmas presents at this point, it's that good. When it finishes I would probably read it a second time.
anyone who hasn't read Fallout Equestria is really missing out, it's so well written it could be made into a second mlpfim tv series or a multipart movie. not to mention how close to canon it stays that it's actually plausible and getting more so, especially with Twilight's memory spell.
ReplyDelete@anonycus
ReplyDeleteyou and me both, on the read it a second time thing, I read it as soon as I found out about it.
You don't have to know a single thing about the games, all it does is give it some insite to the world, but it also gives away the story line sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing is some of the jokes such as armor made out of clipboards, but those are rare.
@Altercation
ReplyDeleteWell, there are a couple of basic problems I have with it:
The first is that a lot of the story seems to be focused on world-building, fleshing out the setting and providing background details, rather than, well, the story. That's not necessarily a bad thing, granted, but it's not something I really enjoy in fiction. (No, I didn't really like The Lord of the Rings, either.) I know that some people find those kinds of background details fascinating, but personally I'd rather just get on with it.
The second is that the way it's paced feels very... video-gamey, for lack of a better word. I can't quite place it, and I'm having a hard time figuring out how to explain it, but the way the story is structured feels reminiscent of going on a series of quests like you would in a Fallout-style game. I admit that's certainly an appropriate feeling for it to have, considering, but I don't feel that it really fits the medium of prose.
And, lastly, to be honest I feel like the ponies+Fallout thing is kind of a crutch. I think the author could tell the same story without drawing the setting directly from existing properties, and I don't feel that they're really using either Fallout or MLP in a meaningful way, which defeats the purpose of making it a fanfiction in the first place.
@A Pony Farce
ReplyDelete@A Pony Farce
Shakespeare was more of a playwright than a novelist, so it figures he would say something like that.
Obviously, I disagree with your opinion. Yes, some stories do work work better when they're kept short, but others don't. And saying that "you've either missed the feel of the show entirely or write like a thesaraus" is a rather rude comment. You're saying that every fan fic has to be exactly like the source it is based on, and that a writer isn't allowed to write in their own if it means using a wide vocabluary and large variety of techniques. That isn't what fan fiction is about, hell, that isn't what writing in general is about.
Being so bold as to say that an author needs to have someone force them to shorten their story is like saying that someone needs to stand over someone's shoulder while they eat, poop, and sleep to force them to eat a certain way, assume the 'correct' pooping position, and sleep with more efficiency. It simply does not work like that, and thank Celestia it never will, because life would be awful if every story conformed to the same 'rules', not to mention if I had someone telling me that sleeping on my stomach was wrong.
A long story is not really a bad thing. After all, readers have plenty of time to read the story at their own pace, so if one cannot sit and read more than 20 pages before needing to do something else, then it doesn't matter. Moreover, a longer story can simply include much more content, and more opportunities for readers to bond with characters and experience multiple adventures within a single universe.
Kkat writes her story in pretty interesting way. There isn't a clear "Main Goal" from the very first chapter that is ultimately pursued until the final chapters of the story - with nothing but filler and 'the journey' in the middle. Rather, there are several objectives at the start, some more urgent than others, but all within reasonable reach. As one objective is met, others become easier to reach, and gradually new objectives are added in the horizon. This creates a pretty nice flow that keeps the reader away from feeling overloaded with thousands of words in front of them.
This way of storytelling is similar to how the Fallout games play, and it allows the story to maintain multiple 'quests' without overloading nor boring the reader, as each quest brings with it progress to the protagonist's entire journey, new characters, settings, and revelations.
That all said, there is an ultimate ending the story is heading to, it isn't aimlessly wandering through it's own world until the protag just says "The End.". The protagonist, Little Pip, begins telling her story right as it is about to end. So if you desperately need to know that there is a proper ending after the emotional rollercoaster, then you know that when you catch up to Pip in the "present", that the story is going to end.
@A Pony Farce
ReplyDeleteYou've not read the story, trust me, they use both mediums in a meaningful way.
"Feels video gamey"................duh. Sorry but yea it's a crossover.
I hate when Steven King get all into detail, but Kkat does it right, as the story goes on lilpip notices less of the details as she gets use to them, she becomes numb to the gore so we read less about her reaction to it.
@Mattatatta
ReplyDeleteMy interest as a writer lies in screenwriting rather than prose, so it makes sense that I like the phrase so much. It's a valid point no matter what the medium, though.
I think you're reading more vitriol into my comments than is actually there. No, a fanfiction doesn't have to be exactly like the source; in fact, I would say that while a story that plays out exactly like an episode of the show is certainly valid, it misses the true potential of fanfiction as a medium. Still, I feel that fanfiction should, as a rule of thumb, match the tone of its source material and feel like something that could actually take place in the show's universe. True, that's just my opinion, and this very website has more than enough evidence that many people would disagree with me, but I think it's a perfectly reasonable position to hold.
Also, that someone who forces to author to shorten their story is what we like to call an "editor," and a good editor is one of the single most invaluable things any writer can have. A bad editor can absolutely ruin a story, of course, but any author who thinks they're above editing is highly arrogant and probably not a very good author. (And no, I'm not implying that kkat is a bad author here.)
@A Pony Farce
ReplyDeleteComment One:
Your first problem pointed out here is the world-building aspect. In my opinion, the world building is crucial to believing the world FO:E is set, and thus one's overall enjoyment. It is important for numerous reasons:
1. There are people who have never played Fallout. These people will need the world building in order to imagine the type of world FO:E is set in, and to see how it ticks. People who are familiar with Fallout, myself included, still gain from it because the Equestrian Wasteland ticks slightly differently from the various playgrounds visited in the Fallout games.
2. Without world-building, and some backstory, FO:E's setting becomes difficult to believe. FO:E's setting is a stark contrast to the ponies we all watch on TV. In the show, they're happy, peaceful, and apparently unfamiliar with war. So in order to make FO:E believable, there needs to be familiar landmarks from the show meshed in with original locations, as well as a good explanation being given as to how it became like this.
3. The world-building becomes VERY important to the plot and story arcs as the fiction progresses. While it may seem wasteful to describe a location at length when it's first discovered or observed from afar, nopony knows if they'll have to revisit or finally explore that location later. For example, the protagonist discovers a town with a weapons factory in Chapter 4, in chapter 41, the same town is spoken of again, and will probably become the setting of future chapter - which now has the benefit of being free to skip over introducing this town and dive straight into action. Another example is Little Pip observing strange towers in the horizon, and even a city covered in pollution from functional factories, these locations are later visited, and by the time they are, the reader doesn't feel like it just grew out of the ground suddenly.
@Mattatatta
ReplyDeleteI never said a large amount of world-building is a bad thing, only that it's not my cup of tea.
It shouldn't matter that it's long if the story is good (in your opinion). That just means you've got tons of great stuff to read!
ReplyDelete@A Pony Farce
ReplyDelete>Still, I feel that fanfiction should, as a rule of thumb, match the tone of its source material and feel like something that could actually take place in the show's universe.
Now I'm a bit confused. FO:E doesn't match MLP's tone, to be sure, but you complained about it matching Fallout's. And the worldbuilding is needed to explain how we got from the happy tone of MLP to the grimdark tone of Fallout. So where's the problem?
@Voidheartd
While I would generally agree, it really can be a turnoff. I love fantasy, but there are sime series I see and immediately walk away from because they've got 10+ books, and I just don't have the time or energy to put into reading them all. Burnout can also be a problem. I read Wheel of Time, which has 600-900 pages per book (200-300k words, give or take). I used to get the books 3 at a time for Christmas/my birthday, and I'd spend the next couple days reading them. By the time I got halfway through the second book, I just wanted to be done. So I'd say it's perfectly logical for people to be wary of FO:E due to the length.
@A Pony Farce
ReplyDeleteComment Two:
Your second complaint is how the pacing feels similar to the Fallout games. I do not disagree with you there, and while it is unusual to see similar mechanics being applied in prose - especially since the games are free-form, and prose, no matter how you look at it, is linear - I believe it makes the story interesting. I pointed out in an earlier comment that by mirroring the typical gameplay style of the Fallout games, where a player will acquire multiple, short quests, that contribute to a large 'Main Quest' over time, it gives the reader interesting adventures and interactions to enjoy presently while the larger arcs slowly loom across the horizon. This is far better than having a large arc and skipping out on a large block of time just to skip to next time the protagonist has something interesting happen to them.
And your third complaint is one that can be applied to pretty much every crossover fiction - until one has read said crossover. Every crossover can very easily just have it's plot lifted and then dropped into an original story, but the reason why crossovers are written is because it is fun to merge two things together and create an very different world out of the two (or more) worlds being meshed together. I cannot pinpoint the exact chapter where the story simply cannot be lifted out and dropped into an original story as a result of being so perfectly embedded in the crossover, but the fact that it occurs proves that this story simply cannot take place outside of a world crossing FiM and Fallout. Aside from casual references to both sources, a lot of FO:E's mechanics, physics, and even characters depend on the result of carefully merging the two sources together. If FiM was removed from the equation, there would be no memory orbs - which in turn wrecks a vast amount of the story's larger arcs, for example. If Fallout was taken away, there would be no mutants, radiation, probably not even a world war either. It would end up being a world much more akin to a lawless medieval era, thus removing a great deal of the sci-fi tech - and again, destroying the main arcs of the story.
I cannot pinpoint it, because this successful merger takes time, as with all crossovers. When one decides to REALLY give a crossover a chance, they read deep into it before asking if the plot can taken out and dropped into another setting, because a crossover has to tell a story AND weave the influences together to contain the plot.
Zero desire to want to read it. I just don'tsee whats so great about it.
ReplyDelete@cursormortis
ReplyDeleteIt's more a personal issue than anything else. I don't like stories that give the show a 'grimdark' past/future; that's not what FiM is about and it doesn't fit the tone or feel of the show. When I read a pony fanfic it's because I like the characters and setting and feel of FiM; if I want dark and post-apocalyptic I'll go get it from something that isn't pony-related.
It's cool if you like it and all, but it's just not for me.
I played Fallout 3 up to the point where you got to demolish Megaton with the nuke inside it. Then I ran around for a bit and just killed random stuff and got bored. I thought I'd like the game like I had Oblivion but I just couldn't get into it.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, I haven't read FO:E simply cause I don't know anything about the Fallout universe and even then post apocalyptic stuff doesn't appeal to me as a subject. /shrug
@A Pony Farce
ReplyDeleteThat I can understand, and I generally agree. FO:E is an exception because I find it captures the essence of Fallout really well, and I keep hoping to understand the backstory better. I got my degree in history, and I'm very curious to see how a Cold War scenario managed to evolve in Equestria without the equivalent of the first half of our 20th Century.
Still, I think there are certain times that a dark tone fits the show well. Examining what could have happened if Nightmare Moon had won, or if Discord continued to reign, almost requires a dark setting, despite the generally happy and upbeat tone of the show.
I think there's also a difference to be made between character-driven and plot-driven stories. A character-driven story will always maintain a lot of the feel of FiM, no matter how dark the setting gets, whereas plot-driven stories tend to treat characters as pieces to make the story go.
...and now I seem to be rambling, sorry.
@Mattatatta
ReplyDeleteIt's true that I can't say for certain that the story doesn't use either FiM or Fallout for anything more than aesthetic gloss without reading the whole thing (including the parts that aren't yet written), but I see little reason to doubt that it's the case.
If you take FiM out of the equation, you can still have the memory orbs; they'd just be about characters that are unique to the story instead of FiM characters. Now, on the one hand, this probably would be a big blow to the story's popularity, since it's safe to assume that most people only read it in the first place because of the ponies, but I think it could also be an opportunity to improve the story. Not having to try and keep the FiM characters faithful to the source material (and not forcing said characters into situations that are incompatible with the show itself) opens up a lot of options for the author at the cost of immediate recognizability. The reader wouldn't immediately care about these theoretical new characters the same way they care about the FiM characters, of course, but that just means the author needs to make them care.
As for the Fallout element, things like mutants and radiation and world wars and sci-fi tech aren't unique to Fallout. The author could take those same basic ideas that were used in the Fallout games and twist them, making them something more unique and original and tuned to their particular writing style. It's perfectly possible to write a Fallout-esque post-apocalypse without making it just be straight-up Fallout.
No desire to read FO:E?
ReplyDeleteI Love You Cereal Velocity...
Like a brother...
A very CLOSE brother...
Redding is teh hard
ReplyDeleteK-kat approved?
ReplyDeleteOkay, good one...witty and well lovely
ReplyDelete@A Pony Farce
ReplyDelete>"Still, I feel that fanfiction should, as a rule of thumb, match the tone of its source material and feel like something that could actually take place in the show's universe"
There are plenty of stories out there based on FiM that do not follow the same tone as the actual show, yet have earned themselves credit from readers. Fallout: Equestria is merely one of many. The majority of Grimdark fics.
Again, it's another hurdle that a Crossover fic has to negotiate in order to succeed. Fallout: Equestria goes out of its way to sit as close to canon as possible, there is backstory given over the course of the story (told through memory orbs, dialogue between characters, and what was simply left behind after the bombs went off) that leads to offering a very good explanation as to how FO:E's world became so from a world that once knew no wars, had basic technology, and was filled with happy and carefree ponies.
Ironically, the fact that this backstory takes quite a while to piece together is probably the reason the comic at the top came to be created. The comic gives a very short, concise, and humourous explanation for how FO:E just works.
>"Also, that someone who forces to author to shorten their story is what we like to call an "editor," and a good editor is one of the single most invaluable things any writer can have"
Kkat has at least one editor, and he/she appears to be kept very busy when a new chapter is in the works. The quality of each new chapter speaks volumes about that.
>"When I read a pony fanfic it's because I like the characters and setting and feel of FiM"
FO:E isn't focused solely on the Wasteland, not is it trying to be Grimdark for the sake of being Grimdark. The protagonist goes on her journey and makes friends along the way, one of the biggest things the story has going for it is the cast. Every character from Little Pip's immediate friends, to the random characters she encounters who have few lines or no lines at all, has a personality and story of their own. The interactions between friends, acquintances, and even foes are interesting. A single line from any character drips with personality, and it makes the reader want to learn more.
While avoiding spoilers, one of the main arcs of the story involves promoting good virtues, learning the true meaning of friendship, and discovering the mane 6 and what it means to be bearer of the Elements of Harmony.
While the setting is undoubtedly cruel and unforgiving, the characters living in it and through it exhibit similar behavior amongst eachother as shown in FiM. The only difference being is that the relationships are really tested to see if they really will hold out.
@A Pony Farce
ReplyDeleteI didn't say you had to read it all, just a lot more than you appear to have read. If you want me to, I'll go and hand you a target chapter to reach, where Little Pip sees the quest that made her leave Stable 2 to the end, and believe me, that doesn't too take long.
Its difficult for me to specifically pick out elements that would be broken and/or require a ton of NEW CONTENT (thus increasing the word count even further - which, I must add, will make people like yourself less willing to read it, and chances are people like yourself would complain about the amount of detail and lack of action without realising that the walls of text dedicated to explaining stuff is there because the source material that covered it has been ripped out of it.
I find it somewhat humourous that you think the story is shoehorning original, canon characters from FiM into unlikely situations. Clearly you have forgotten that FO:E takes place 200 years after FiM, the only opportunity the reader encounters canon characters such as the mane six is through memory orbs, and they don't act any more out of character than any fan fiction that deviates from the TV-Y show it is based on (I wave my arm over shipping, Human in Equestria and its inverse, grimdark, and even the "normal" fics for emphasis).
>"It's perfectly possible to write a Fallout-esque post-apocalypse without making it just be straight-up Fallout."
Technically speaking; FO:E is a Fallout-esque post-apocalypse, because it is a crossover story. Even the video-game Rage, which is owned by Bethesda (who own Fallout), can only be called Fallout-esque because of it's similar post-apocalyptic setting.
Oh, and a final note: How would you take the basic ideas from the Fallout games and twist into something original AND merge it into a FiM crossover that stays as close to canon as possible AAANND do it in (presently) 530,000 words or less AAAAAANNNNDDDD make it good?
And with that, I am retiring for bed. It is almost 1am and I need my sleep.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Cereal. That story is HUGE. I have no desire to read it right now. I haven't even finished Past Sins since the revision.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think those are the things I'll do for my holiday breaks from school. I'll read Past Sins during Christmas, and FoE next summer.
All of you non-FO:E readin ass muhfuckas WILL KNEEL BEFORE THE KKAT GOD!!!
ReplyDelete@mycutiemarkisagun
ReplyDelete...Nah, I'm good.
I don't always read 500,000+ word fanfics, but when I do, I prefer Fallout: Equestria.
ReplyDeleteStay Grimdark, my friends.
I find it funny that despite the FO:E reference being the punchline, most of the comments here are from people who haven't read it than those who have.
ReplyDeleteWhat with all the people professing no interest, I felt a stubborn need to speak up that I've read FO:E and enjoyed it :)
ReplyDeleteReally, I don't like it as a fanfiction of either FiM or Fallout; it's its own work and not heavily influenced by either. I like it because it's a good story and interesting setting, and well written (not just by fanfiction standards, either).
@Forte Canter
ReplyDelete*has you restrained with voodoo-doll assisted henchmen while the Blood of Kkat is forcibly poured into your mouth out of a pony skull*
The British in India will be slaughtered. Then we will over-run the Moslems and force their "Allah" to bow to Kkat.
And then the Hebrew God will fall and finally the Christian God will be cast down and forgotten.
Soon Kkat will rule the world!!!
@Ciroton
ReplyDeleteYour pitiful "real life" shall wither and die in the maw of the leviathan that is FO:E. WITHER AND DIE! WITHER AND DIE! KKAT BE PRAISED!
@Mattatatta
ReplyDeleteI never intended to imply that kkat doesn't have an editor; my point was simply that "forcing the author to shorten their story" is exactly the kind of thing that a good editor does, and God bless them for it.
Also, you seem to be misinterpreting what I mean when I say that the story could potentially be wholly original instead of being a Fallout/MLP crossover fic. Of course it wouldn't work if you just ripped out the references to MLP and Fallout; you can't write a fanfiction, change all the names, and call it an original story. It's just that in this case, I think the author's own ideas (their original characters and plot points and so on) would be better supplemented by a background and setting that is also borne from their original thoughts, rather than being restricted by the existing rules and continuity of FiM and Fallout.
And don't think I'm singling out Fallout: Equestria here- I don't like any shipping or grimdark or human in Equestria fics for the exact same reasons I don't like FO:E (barring the length issue). I know some people are into them but, again, they're just not my thing.
And as for your question, the simple answer is that I wouldn't. If I was going to take the basic ideas from the Fallout games and twist them into something original, I wouldn't make it a pony fanfiction.
@A Pony Farce
ReplyDeleteINT. THE ALTAR
On the other side of the crevasse, evil-looking priests materialize out of clouds of swirling smoke. The priests carry smoke-billowing urns to a giant stone statue.
Now, we see the hideous protectress of the temple, the obscenely malevolent object of the cult's devotion: the bloodthirsty grimdark goddess KKAT!
The red-eyed priests bow at the base of the statue and gaze reverently at their KKAT. Skulls surround her stone feet carved serpents twist up her legs, while around her waist there is a guresome belt of human hands.
Naked to the hips, Kkat's hair falls about her four arms. In her hand, she holds a sword, in the second the severed head of a giant. With her other hands she encourages her worshipers, who are chanting louder and louder!
Kkat's face is loathsome: her earrings are two corpses. Her evil tongue extends out of her twisted mouth and what looks like red blood flows over her long fangs and down her naked breasts.
INT. THE WIND TUNNEL
Watching from the high opening, Short Round looks disgusted.
SPIELBERG'S ANNOYING WIFE
What is it...?
INDIANA
It's a Thuggee ceremony. They're worshiping KKAT, the grimdark goddess of Death and Destruction and fucking awesome fanfics that pistol whip Past Sins.
INT. THE TEMPLE OF DEATH
A huge drum sounds three times and the chanting stops. The silence is chilling as another robed figure appears out of the some on the altar.
This is MYCUTIEMARKISAGUN, the High Priest of the Thugge cult. Mycutiemarkisagun's red-rimmed eyes glare from the sunken sockets in his sinister face. Here is a man who looks as vile and diabolic as the unholy goddess rising behind him.
As the drum booms three times more, Mycutiemarkisagun lifts one arm up from his emaciated body and suddenly there is a scream!
All heads turn toward an unfortunate, struggling A Pony Farce dragged out by priests. A Pony Farce's face and body are wildly painted. He screams again as he's tied onto a square iron frame laying atop a large flat stone.
Mycutiemarkisagun steps forward to the stretched-out victim and A Pony Farce looks up into the High Priest's grotesque face.
MYCUTIEMARKISAGUN
Bali Mangthi Kkat Ma. [Sacrifice is what Mother Kkat desires] Shakthi Degi Kkat Ma. [Power is what Mother Kkat will grant] Kkat ma... Kkat ma... Kkat ma, shakthi deh!
Suddenly Mycutiemarkisagun's hand shoots out toward the man's chest -- and pierces it! The High Priests hand sinks into the victim's writing body and rips out his living heart!
INT. THE ALTAR
Indeed, the bloody heart is still beating in Mycutiemarkisagun's hand! He lifts the heart into the air and the worshipers begin the chant.
THE MULTITUDE
Jai ma Kkat, jai ma Kkat!
I haven't read it either, partly because of the size and partly because Grimdark stories really aren't my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteBut the comic is still awesome.
I haven't read it either... Nor have I played Fallout 3 or New Vegas... That's right, I have a Wii and Mac...
ReplyDeletelol, applejack's hat is in the last panel... along with her skeleton.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it, but I've played both Fallout 3 and New Vegas.
ReplyDeleteWay back when it first appeared, I was tempted to read it, and by chapter seven, it was on my to-read list.
Then it got to be sixteen chapters and then spawned a spin-off and I dropped it from the list.
I'm not particularly interested in crossovers, and I don't have all the time nor patience to sit around and read that much.
Come on guys, it'll barely take all the free time you have for two weeks or so. And I guarantee that for most of you once you get started you'll barely be able to stop!
ReplyDeleteAlso like a third is available in very decent quality audio format so you can get into it while you drive.
Personally I find pony-grimdark is awesome if it's done right, just because of the inherent contradiction involved. And FoE pretty much defines doing it right. It manages to balance the grimdark of Fallout with pony optimism in a feat that feels like lying in a hot bath in -30 degree weather.
There are worse things you could spend like 60+ hours on
I haven't read it either, Cereal. Not into Grimdark. Or hearing about how my favourite characters died horribly. ]:(
ReplyDelete@mycutiemarkisagun
ReplyDeleteI can't say I'm entirely sure what point you're trying to make, but props for the effort.
I read a few chapters then gave up.. just can't finish that one. Isn't it like the longest fan-fic or something?
ReplyDeleteDon't worry - I haven't read it either!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't going to read it but decided to give it a chance; I am now at chapter 41, trying to drag out the last 5 chapters as long as I can. It made me start playing fallout 3 again and have a new respect for all the mane characters. This is not a typical fic, this is a legend that can change your life. This isn't a fic that capitalises on grimdark or shipping but a story that touches on all aspects of life in the equestrian wasteland.
ReplyDeleteIt has driven me to tears, made me grin, filled me with anger, and peaked my curiosity while keeping me completely fixated on the story.
Read it! You must, you Mussst! YOU MUST!
This should not be tagged "Not-fanfiction" - just look at the comments.
ReplyDeleteWell, I just watch to the number of chapters to find out I'm not interested enough to read all that stuff.
ReplyDeleteAfter mulling over it for a bit, I'm going to cede the length point. My position was mainly based on two facts:
ReplyDelete1. If you bring any established editor a 500,000-word manuscript, the vey first thing they're going to tell you- before they even read it- is "cut that shit down."
2. If your story is that long, there is most definitely stuff you can safely cut out and/or move around with little to no impact on the overall piece.
These things are still both true, but what I've come to realize is that they apply more to traditionally published novels than something like this. The Internet has opened up a place for insanely long stories that wouldn't be able to exist in the traditional publishing market, and while I still believe that less is usually more when it comes to writing it's possible that in this case the story is better off being incredibly long. I kind of doubt it, but I can't say for sure without knowing the entire plot.
That said I still think the author would have been better off creating an original setting and that grimdark doesn't mix with ponies.
@A Pony Farce
ReplyDelete>These things are still both true, but what I've come to realize is that they apply more to traditionally published novels than something like this.
Very true. Keep in mind as well that this is also produced and "published" in segments of 5-10k words, making it more similar to a serial from the 19th Century than a modern novel. Even if it was published like a modern novel, I doubt it would be done as one giant 500k-word manuscript. I'd imagine an editor would be as likely to say "Well, can we cut this into a couple books" as "Cut that shit down."
are you sure this is the barn we need to destroy?
ReplyDeleteEeeeeeeeyup.
@cursormortis
ReplyDeleteThe editor might suggest ending the story earlier on (and potentially including the rest of it as a sequel) as a way to cut down the length, but they're not going to say "Well, can we cut this into a couple of books?" simply because no publisher is going to accept an entire series from an unknown author unless the first book sells well enough to justify it.
This raised a big contradiction for me.
ReplyDeleteFallout happens because of a nuclear war, and therefore, everyone has shelters/is taking shelter.
FO:Equestria, by this comic's explanation, happens because Celestia left a shed full of plutonium unguarded.
This implies one of two things:
A) Celestia knew it would happen, and yet still killed herself to cause it, but warned some ponies to take shelter.
B) No pony knew it would happen, in which case, no pony would be in shelters and everypony should be dead/dust.
Also, it couldn't have been more than a day or so, otherwise somepony would have looted Applejack's helmet long ago.
You'd be surprised what doesn't get looted. Seriously, I often wonder how there's random bits of food lying around 200 years post-apocalypse in Fallout.
ReplyDelete@A Pony Farce
Based on my understanding of the publishing industry, which I'll admit is somewhat limited, they don't follow the same wait-and-see model that the movie industry does. This may be because they don't stand to lose as much by buying a series as a film company would, I don't know. But from what I've read, it's not unlikely for a new author to get a series deal if the editor likes what they read.
@cursormortis
ReplyDeleteIf it's not a cupcake or pie, I'm not touching it. I'm surprised they haven't made that part of the games yet. Even Persona 3 had fatigue from too much exploring and not enough rest.
Apparently, in Fallout's future, all ponies are really mutants who don't know it and can go for days and days without eating or drinking and sleeping... or even going to the bathroom.
I love it!
ReplyDeleteMan, I need to read this fanfic.
@cursormortis
ReplyDeleteThere's a bit more flexibility in the publishing industry, and it's easier for small start-ups, vanity publishers, and the like to pull a profit, but everything I've read suggests that in general publishing houses aren't going to lock themselves into printing a series unless they're sure they can make money off of it. If you're an established author with a proven track record and work relationships, you can probably get someone to pick up a series right off the bat, but companies usually don't like to take that kind of risk on an unknown property.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love how intellectual and smart these comments got on writing and exactly how to compose a good story, even if they did get a bit argumentative at times.
ReplyDeleteKeep it real, bronies.
It's really an amazing work. I could totally see FO:Eq being published as its own damned novel.
ReplyDeleteWell, were the entire plot not based around copyrighted characters and ideas.
But it's not just because of its sheer mass, it's also because it makes me feel more emotion than any written book has ever had in the past. A balanced mix of sadness, anger, happiness; I've just never had such a strong emotional connection to a written work before.
And then how it makes me question my own philosophies, my own morality. How would I handle having to go through what LittlePip and co. have gone through? Would I stay strong to my beliefs or would the wasteland tear me into something I never wished to be?
For that, for writing a story that could generate so much feeling and so many personal questions, I just have to commend KKat. He is an amazing writer, and I only hope I can come across more writers and stories as impactful as his has been to me.
I haven't read it either. But that's because I never read fanfiction.
ReplyDelete@Jebediah Oldenheimer
ReplyDeleteLittle heads up for you, Kkat is female.
Love the comic, but like Cereal and many others I've never read FO:Eq.
ReplyDeleteI like the artwork that's come out of it and length and source reference isn't a factor(I've read both Past Sins and It's Dangerous Going Outside Your Door and I know of the game though it's from the original ver. from the 90's) I've been tempted to read it every now and then but I just don't care for Grimdark.
The closest I've come to touching the stuff is Deadpony and Crisis:Eq and really that has more to do with the cool cover artwork at the time.
Maybe if someone described the level of Grimdark then I may be more willing to give it a proper try.