Endgame and Book 2 and 1 thoughts · 8:42am Mar 6th, 2023
Hello, loyal readers. I'd like to give my thoughts on the story I have written for you all. And kind of talk about endgame, and how I feel about it.
It has been nearly a decade since I started Dadonequus on 4chan. A story that was supposed to be about 1000 words and nothing more, that somehow became over two million across a two major books and and a small movie book, with both major books varying wildly in tone and feeling. "What? Different tone and feeling?" You may ask. But it is, writing for FiMfiction and writing for 4chan caused both books to evolve in their own way. With Book 2, it was 95% my inputs and wanting to do what I wanted to do with the story in terms of making it slice and life and fun, compared to Book 1 where many of the story beats were either on the spot surprises or dictated by the readers.
As many of you know, my regrets for Book 1 was my frustration that I felt writing it after the Flim Flam Arc, and the infamous crossover. But for Book 2? Yes, there are a few regrets as well. For Book 2, I feel like Anon didn't explore the world as much as he could have. No Kirins, no episode interactions, and not nearly enough development with the young six as I would have liked, as Sandbar and Gallus got super shafted in this regard. To be honest, there were six more segments I wanted to do before endgame. Two segments remaking and expanding upon two extra Book 1 chapters I never reposted as I felt they were of low quality, two dealing with the young six and some expansion on his relationship with Diamond in terms of Chrysalis, one segment dealing with Spikes 'father', and a major segment dealing with the spirit of harmony.
The Spirit of Harmony, if I could say there was one thing I did botch with no question, was that. How? By not doing the segment with it at all. See, the reason I skipped to the winter week segment was due to my health and mental health. I have spent a lot of my money to find out I have Jugular vein stenosis at the base of my skill, near my neck bone, and it causes me enough aches, pains, and dizziness to ruin me. Then there's the ear pain and tennitus due to an ear injury, causing lack of sleep and paranoia from the noises I hear. I also recently recovered from Pnemonia. Factors like these, it made me realize my health isn't as good as I need it to be, not as much as it was when I first started writing. I went to the winter week chapters simply to get some slice of life stuff done before getting to the long awaited finale. The very long awaited finale. And thats where the spirit of harmony is botched. I'll do my best with it, but a part of the finale will feel contrived due to not fully covering Anon's 'betterment' after his moment with the spirit.
I'd like to think everything else is covered, and I have enjoyed writing endgame thus far. I'm sure everyone has realized Tempest and the gang will be joining in as well. And there will be one more surprise character joining the group to make the... Well, that would be spoilers. Truthfully, the only other reason I went into endgame is I also had a moment to realize G4 is pretty much over. And I myself have always loved to entertain, it's why I wrote so much in the first place. But due to my health, yeah, I think it was finally time I finally get to endgame and let the book end.
Now, how long that'll actually take? We'll have to see...
Now, writing in general. I'd like to share my thoughts on that as well, given how much I have written in general.
1. Any scene with 4 or more characters is draining. It is absolutely draining writing dialogue when there are four or more characters in one spot, and balancing all their words and actions as to make them feel included or properly represented by the reader. Take note, once this number reaches 6, 7, or even 8, I sometimes just end up writing a super small amount of words per day as it is mentally crushing when all the characters need to feel active.
2. I liked writing the jet chapters, sue me.
3. The callbacks, this was a tough one. Doing callbacks properly is actually not as easy as it sounds. Well, at first it is easy, as continuity is of course the backbone of any lengthy story. But after such a long while, using callbacks requires tact and skill to make it feel right. You may be thinking I'm talking about Cozy's plan coming together throughout the context of the entire story. No, I'm not. I'm talking about things like the train fire. I'd like to think nobody thought it'd come back in proper form and it would be a hilarious callback that actually works within the story. Or perhaps it was seen coming, and was enjoyed in the way it was use. I dunno, I just really enjoy properly piecing things together for the sake of story and entertainment.
4. Chrysalis's redemption... I still don't know how to feel about it. Was it a cheap shot? It was, but it is something I could see Discord doing. Both for the sake of helping Anon and lauding over him that he was the one who managed it. I'm glad I didn't go overboard with it, or hope I didn't. Maintaining her personality that I have written for her while softening her up to other characters for some interesting interactions.
5.Fluttershy... I'm sorry I didn't use you enough.
6. Cozy Glow and Tirek. These were two characters I always wanted a chance to write. Though, oddly enough, it was season 9 and the Tirek villain comic that made me excited to write Tirek, even moreso than Cozy. Cozy is actually not that hard to write for, she isn't that complicated a character on her own. But Tirek? There's a lot more potential. He has wisdom, he is well versed in old artifacts and lore, he has some flexible backstory, you could make him come to doubt things or plan for himself. Now, Cozy working with Tirek opens more avenues for writing both of them, of course. Writing their interactions has been a joy, and I hope others have enjoyed them as well.
7. the reason the bowling chapters happened was how much I was hounded with GTAIV memes for never making it happen in Book 1.
8. I hope I can finish the story in due time before I get any worse and lose my mind. Like I said, I have some regrets. But the story as a whole I think has enjoyable moments for everyone. Some wouldn't even need to read the whole story, as I noticed some enjoy sets of chapters as their own mini story to read. The most notable was the Flim Flam arc, which was a highly popular set of chapters both on 4chan and here on Fimfiction.
9. Scrappy, I am really glad I stuck with him, as I had planned to slowly write him out of the story after the crossover event.
10. To those who have been reading, sticking with it, and commenting after so many years. Thank you, you have kept my broken ass going.
To be honest some IRL stuff caused me to be left way behind interns of unread chapters. But it’s been a fun journey reading this story and I’ll catch up eventually. I remember first joining this website and just kinda bouncing from one interesting half-written story to another. But this was one of the first I actually stick with. Whatever you plan to do next, if it involves writing, know you got a reader in me. :)
This has been a great ride, and I'm sorry to hear about the health issues you've been having.
I've really enjoyed the stories over the years, they've been great to read, and I hope you have plans for more going forwards. If not, though? Thank you for your writing all these years.
Can't wait to see this surprise character!
It has been a ride, an excellent ride indeed! The thread used to be called "Children of Chaos", and I remember binge reading through this whole story on Pastebin, keeping track with a Google Sheets document. Can't believe it has been this much time already. The character interaction, their development and just overall the flow is fantastic. I can just say thank you for your dedication! And for always updating us on your whereabouts. Hopefully you'll be better soon and aren't in much pain!
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you're very welcome. I know along the way i made some questionable decisions with the story (Sealing chains anyone? called it on Twilight willing to send a child to Tartarus though, even if she thought it could be Chrysalis). But thank you, actually. the fact that everyone felt that the characters felt true to themselves, or most everyone felt that, makes me feel like I did a great job.
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Maybe some decisions were questionable, but if we take that sealing chapter for example, it kinda made sense if you ask me. Her sister-in-law and brother got attacked, not only by some crook. Everyone thought it was Chrysalis at the time. If we look at her first encounter with changelings in the show where she had a feeling, I guess this just resurfaced. I mean, a lot of things were pointing into this colts' direction. On the other hand, though, there is Twilight Sparkle: Sometimes overreacting, Twilighting.
Without Spike, her number one assistant and probably best friend, Anon would've shared some nice spot with Tirek or something similar. She did not see a kid sitting in front of her at that moment. It was Chrysalis and she saw red. I guess you could say it was the based and levelheaded Spike that made her think for another second and release Anon. This just portrays how Twilight might be powerful, but can act like the average frightened Pony. That is one of the countless things that make this story pretty good because it's the same in the show. Without her friends, she wouldn't always come down to earth so quickly.
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I tried to find a skeletor video to respond to how great this analysis is, but I could not. So just imagine Skeletor having a giant snake wrap around He-Man and saying. "A Brilliant Observation, He-Man. I'm impressed! Now allow me to squeeze every last bit of knowledge out of that muscle bound brain of yours! Nyahahaha!"
I dunno, it fits. Either way, great analysis. Twilight does a lot of batshit or stupid crap when she's not wrangled in by someone. Like, shit like Flutterbat is like, did no one think this would be a bad idea, given Twilight's success rate with these kinds of things is like, 65%? Spike, especially in episodes where he is most level headed, is exactly that. Trying to keep the team together or helping Twilight reach the best conclusion, or just pointing out the obvious that she missed. I guess I was doubting myself a bit on that one since it had been such a long time since I wrote it, but you're right, its fine.
You know, if it wasn't for book 1, I might have never gotten into reading. This fandom has such a great base for fiction and they take full advantage of it. I can't believe how much people are missing out on. I've loved your asshole Discord back then, but mostly it was Chrysalis that sealed me here, you just got her so well.
As for the controversial chapters, I don't mind them. Never felt you've gone too far. Besides, it's your story, you can do whatever you want with it.
Your writing style is unique, fun to read with bite-sized chapters being easy to consume. Your upload schedule is astounding, I can't believe how often I come back here and see chapter after chapter coming out on a weekly basis. Honestly, sometimes it was even too much for me.
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if my health was better, my upload schedule would be like it was when i wrote book 1 for 4chan, I assure you.
I kind of want to go into Discord and Chrysalis a little more actually. The original story was actually started on a basic prompt before it became the "Children of Chaos", I was under the impression that the story was always going to revolve around Discord and Anon. I think most of the beginning of Book 1 shows that. When the prompts were being covered by others with their own stories and the thread evolved into the "Children of chaos" or "/dad/", I started to expand a little more since the expected end of the story never came. The story itself was supposed to end after a few posts (Which clearly, didn't EVER expand to be nearly a decades worth of posts extending to FiMfiction). It eventually brought in Chrysalis. As mentioned, Chrysalis was supposed to be one off in the story. One and done, I didn't really want to write her further than the prank. But also as mentioned, people REALLY like her, and wanted her to return, with many wanting her to be a mainstay character in some way.
So, per the whims of the readers, I came up with a way to stick her in Discord's house (Man, those were the days). Since Chrysalis literally only had one episode, and then a bit more insight with the alt. future ep later on, I had to take some ideas from the comics and then really REALLY try to expand her character in some way. I read some fanfictions of her here on FiMfiction, but... None of them really screamed canonical Chrysalis to me. Chrysalis was cruel, able to manipulate, quick to anger when things falls apart, will treat others like shit if they fail her and yet will put herself in the spotlight if it means a victory. She also seemed the type to reward her brood for success or on a whim, or even through pettiness like pissing the ex-captain off (those were the days, lol). I did my best with her, and she sort of became the readers' favorite. The story then started to deviate from Discord and slice-of-life adventures and more into the 'Anon and Chrysalis Hour'.
The Flim Flam arc was actually decided in a straw poll of which alt. future to do, with Sombra coming in second. I felt like it was my readers trolling me, challenging me to make that future work. Aside from a few rushed elements, I think it was the perfect buddy adventure for Anon and Chrysalis. Heck, I think the arc works well enough as its own individual story.
Anywho. Chrysalis went from a one off to the main attraction, pretty much. Her character requires a painstaking amount of effort from me each time to make sure she's enjoyable with every chapter she's in. I feel the same for, perhaps moreso for Discord, who I made it a mission to make sure people find him fun or at least entertaining with each appearance.
People may think keeping characters in canon form is tough. It really isn't, the show has enough contradictions to itself and character focused episodes to allow interpretations of said characters without it feeling off. The real challenge, especially with AiE stories, is keeeping their canonicity around the main character. Most stories I see either have Anon as the end all be all, or the butt of all jokes. As I wrote on, I wanted Anon to feel like he didn't belong, yet did. That this Anon doesn't have the world revolve around him, rather he is just part of the world and the characters will like or dislike him due to his actions or rumors centered around him. Anon got to start with a cleaner than clean slate, a deconstruction really, of the well liked OC. The story did this through Discord making it so on purpose. And as Anon's true character started to become known, some characters began to dislike him, others liked him more, and some just didn't trust him.
And then there's the human factor. The human influence. This is the greatest yet most difficult aspect to write. Anon enjoys human aspects of himself, he was human before, afterall. The trick was somehow melding it into the story without it feeling 'off'. With Chrysalis, all it took was being around Anon some, and witnessing human power and relationships through 'documentaries'. Starlight? Well, since she was reformed by Anon, she had a chance to be around him enough to not really like his human side that much at times, yet come to enjoy using cursing as 'word enhancers' and came to enjoy the aviation side of human technology due to her love of kites.
Pretty much by the end of Book 1, and throughout book 2, the story became it's own beast. Chrysalis, I will admit, wasn't meant to come back for Book 2, as I thought Book 2 would be short and her story could have been covered through the extra chapters. And, welp, that didn't happen and the extra chapters became noncanon. I'm glad I brought her back however, it has been a joy to write her, both for her highs and lows. And after all this time, I can finally admit, Chrysalis is pretty much the show stealer of the story. She's interesting in all of her showings, her contrasting nature makes her fun in every scene she's in, and even her intake of human culture helps her more than hinders her since it gels well into the story's version of her without it feeling tacky or overbearing.
So, at the end of the day. Even if I somehow fuck up the endgame of the story, I am glad that everything before it was good. and I'm glad I was able to make a really good Chrysalis.