Songs of the Spheres

by GMBlackjack

[KA] 157 - Goodbye to a World

The Source knew its time was short. It rumbled.

157

-

Goodbye to a World

The End

Author's Note:

Special thanks to my editors:
Keywii_cookies55
VoidTemplar2000
Ponygood11
Omnipresent Microorganism
Blaster Master
Useless Common
Galliar
Mal Masque
Nickle241
Triv the Imaginary Duck

And my patrons:
SgtSarge
Keywii_Cookies55
OmnipresentMicroorganism
Nightsclaw
Sketchy
Ciber
Pink_Man

And, last of all, to all of you who donated for the 130 fund. The leftovers from that were enough to pay for the above video and a little more. I'll continue to use it on further additions for my stories - including The Distant Princess, which I'll go into more detail about at a later date.

Thank you for reading.

-GM, master of Songs of the Spheres.

The ACTUAL Author's Note:

Only one thing remains... the final conclusion of all those chapter polls.

What is the best chapter of all time!?

https://strawpoll.com/rs8zhb15

All the winners of the previous polls are in the running!

Also, if you're interested about the future of these projects and what it all means, here's a blog post:

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/897893/sots-ending-and-the-future

Comments

[Cosmic Breeze]

10189784
Welp, like... just a few moments of when I said it or something, it came out. Who'd a thunk it? Heh.

[Ponygood11]

What a journey. What a journey...

[FanOfMostEverything]

Congratulations. This was an endeavor of truly epic proportions, and you saw it through magnificently. Thank you for a fantastic read and something I will miss as part of my regular reading schedule. Here's hoping they live their lives in peace. As I said to Twilence on the stream:

SEE YOU SPACE PRINCESS...

[Blaster M]

And that is a wrap.

This is the story to end all stories.

The end of an era.

Remember, fanfiction writers, actions have consequences.

Be careful what you write.

images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/f9159e62-274c-4444-bff1-4a17546764d1/d3n03ek-6b17d075-8dd6-4e08-b1f0-cdceb8f40455.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTpmaWxlLmRvd25sb2FkIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi9mOTE1OWU2Mi0yNzRjLTQ0NDQtYmZmMS00YTE3NTQ2NzY0ZDEvZDNuMDNlay02YjE3ZDA3NS04ZGQ2LTRlMDgtYjFmMC1jZGNlYjhmNDA0NTUucG5nIn1dXX0.48XuJa3PAtSzx3_aTlAgFaGf48kuTNBYd8oiPiFBM1c

[guldringr]

This was epic, and you have changed the way I look at a lot of things, but I have elaborated this you did this to you both on the Discord and in previous chapters, so I don't think much more needs to be said

[hauntu4ever]

I commented once before on this story before I had even started reading it. It was just before the end of Doom; I was amazed at the length of Different Views of Reality in particular. I had only just found this story. I thought I'd pick it up after whatever I was reading at the time. Even given the length, I never expected to find something as absolutely massive as this.

Now here we are at the end. 157 has been up for not even half an hour; I've watched it three times. I just want to say thank you for making this masterpiece. A Story to End All Stories indeed.

I guess there's only one thing to say at a time like this:

Physical copy when?

[Voltaje]

Hopefully you are still alive GM, thanks for this magnificent and collosal story, one that deserved waay more readers than it actually got, let's hope now people start reading it now that the complete tag is in place :D. Now let's wait for some Cinder's stories with the League.

[aponyforthebooks]

This is not the end.
This is not the beginning of the end.
It is the end of the beginning.

Sherman the Robot - Millennium

[Mister green]

Well to twilence and all the survivors I have to say is well.....have a good life wherever that might lead.

[LIl]

40/5000

Thank you for this trip it was great.

[prism heart]

A great story has reached it's end. There are times when I wish I had the ability to talk with some of the characters.

[GMBlackjack]

10189841
Physical copy? HAHAHahahahHAHAHA no I highly doubt that'll ever happen unless I get some crazy rich patron that wants it.

-GM, master of copies.

[hauntu4ever]

10190255
Alright, I'll come back and let you know when I'm super rich and we'll get this show on the road

[Gemseeker]

Thank you so much for this story. I think this is the first story that convinced me to actually comment on some of the chapters. I already wrote most of my thoughts in earlier comments, but I am going to miss this story. Of course, I'll probably just come back in a while and re-read it. I'm sure I'll notice a lot more things on a re-read. Also, I look forward to what comes next, whatever that may be!

[Blaze rod]

And so ends the most ambitious crossover I've seen.

I felt like the story went a bit downhill after the war for existence started, but it was a quite a ride none the less.

[UC]

Well, this "SotS' thing gets a 5/10 from me, a rather... mediocre, bland-
But for real.
SotS, in my mind, is, first and foremost, a masterpiece of worldbuilding and foreplanning.
Never in my life have I thought that one could make a crossover of everything with everything in an elegant and logical way.
Well, GM can.
Truly, almost everything that could be done was done here. Science fiction and fantasy. Horror and romance. Tragedy and comedy. Politics and drama. Audience participation and medium blending. Fourth wall breaking and fourth wall entering. Foreshadowing for million words ahead and sudden twists that came out of nowhere.
We went through every Aspect, and then we went right back.
Some things were missed, for one reason or another. Equis Vitis is still a gaping hole in MU's worldbuilding. Mundane universes were showcased exceedingly rarely, despite being incredibly common.
And there were many other flaws in the worldbuilding, plot, and storytelling.
The fact that the War of Existence even started was extremely contrived (in large part due to how contrived the composition and characters of most Seats were), as was the Dusting, as was Lord English's defeat. MU's ascent to class 2 stands out as rather contrived as well, given that Skarn was easy pickings as far as the prize for his defeat goes AND had it coming from an ethical standpoint; and also given that MU could have sicced someone more powerful on him instead of going to war themselves.
In the earlier stages of the story, some characters were extremely annoying and anti-fun, namely Twilence and Pinkies. And the global rules of narrative were rather oppressive, despite the story being based on all stories in general. Although, of course, they were just the rules for their specific period of time. But they did make the plot feel really forced.
The early parts of the story still contain "that he did", "that she was" and "that they are" said by random unconnected characters in overabundance. Will this ever be removed? The author "did not dignify that with an answer".
It is for this reason SotS gets 6/10 from me, it's a pretty lousy pie-
Well, you know, when I started reading this story, I read it's first 40 or so chapters in just a couple of days. It took immediate hold of me. It promised great scale, great adventure, a rise of a great civilization. And it did not disappoint there. The adventure spanned worlds and generations. The civilization arose, and while I would enjoy reading about it in itself more, what we got is already quite fascinating. The scale... really was something. I mean, holy shit, that Lord English rampage, that was a pretty big scale, that warrants a 7 out of 10 just by-
But for real.
This story defined my life for a year and a half. It dragged me into Discord and it dragged me to this accursed site. It gave me online friends who I am truly interested in as people, and who are, or so I hope, truly interested in me.
It continues to define it. The one Discord server I am running is a splinter fan-server for SotS: The Room at the Top of the Tower. You can check it out through a link indirectly found here: https://nogoblinsallowed.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=22149&p=625804#p625804 It's very much not endorsed by GM and it has an 18+ channel, though it is optional and it's mostly a place of memes and chatter and music and silly games. But it's one place out there that I actually run. There wouldn't be one without SotS.
If I'm ever writing an autobiography for some reason, SotS will definitely get there.
The influence goes both ways, even! SotS has some of my own art and writing and ideas in it! I am still proud of that one clock - it's not the best piece of art in [S.] Collapse, but it's definitely the most painstakingly detailed one!
With all due neutrality, I think I'll have give SotS a 10/10, cause that clock I drew really is in there and-
BUT FOR REAL.
SotS has it's flaws. SotS is not a perfect story. Yet it accomplishes exactly what it set out for. It is audacious and fearless. It is, absolutely unironically, deep. It is enormous in all senses of the word. It is a true Magnum Opus. It is a true piece of Art. It was fun to read, and it was quite a fucking journey.
And hey... that's pretty good!

9/10.

[GMBlackjack]

10191037
if you intend to read the entire thing, just read Songs of the Spheres (this story) all the way through. It's self contained.

The story Amber Ashes was written for people who were intimidated by the wordcount, for people to enjoy if they couldn't handle a few million words. It has no bearing on the main story whatsoever, but it happens sometime in the middle of Arc 8: Rage.

The story League of Sweetie Belles has some bearing on the main story of Songs of the Spheres. It isn't necessary to understand SotS, of course, and it's forever incomplete, but right now you could start reading it after the chapters entitled The Allure of Time, if you wanted things in chronological order.

Other than that, there aren't many other important things. Enchorus should not be read until after SotS because its stories are random. Compliance (which I didn't write) should be read after the "Christmas Special" chapter 073.5, if you want to know more about Warhammer 40k's offerings.

But that's only if you want the full experience. Reading the main story through is fine.

-GM, master of green comments.

[GMBlackjack]

10191146
Might wanna be careful there, I'm pretty sure there's a fimfiction rule about linking directly to M/NSFW stuff on a non-M story.

-GM, maser of jacks.

[UC]

10191171
Disaster averted, the link is not direct anymore.

What about the rest of the review though?

[GMBlackjack]

10191184
T'was long-winded and gimmicky and didn't get to the point and was too focused on presenting itself in a humorous light instead of actually reviewing the story.

I loved every word of it.

-GM, master of hah.

[Little Duke]

Marvel: Infinity War will be the most ambitions crossover ever!
GM, already having 37 chapters published: ...no

[Silver Screen]

Wait, that's how many chapters?!?... THAT'S HOW MANY WORDS?!?!!!!!!!!

[Tsuguri]

I almost did it. I came really late to the party but I honestly thought I might catch up and finish all of the published chapters in time to catch the ending as it came out. But I was ONE DAY late. Oh well.

It was a fun ride, and while there were a few parts I really did not agree with (looking at you collapse Shimmy + defectors) I am definitely glad I read this. I think one of the best ways I can some this up is with my initial reaction to the end of the video.

Video @ 5:48:
Not All Stories End...

Me:
Not true, Sweetie. No story ever really ends as long as it lives in our hearts.

See you around the web then, GM.

[runtrivena]

10191037
Alternative suggestion re: Enchorus reading order: check the publication dates of the various parts. No part is likely to have been published prior to chapters they would spoil.

Some of us were starting to compile a timeline, but between one thing and another it never got finished.

[dvdspires]

10193451
My mistake. I just went back rechecked the start of the chapter. I hate it when I misread something like that.

[Black Hoof]

I'd advise not making this post as a separate last chapter but to put it all as an author note at the end of "Epilogue Part 2" or as a blog post.
This last chapter "Goodbye to a world", containing a video, a list of thanks, ... isn't a part of the story itself, as the story rules say.
https://www.fimfiction.net/rules#stories

[GMBlackjack]

10194438
Because the chapter number numerology is extremely important I've opted to compromise by just adding a single sentence of story to 157.

I've seen stories with single words before.

But yeah remind me never to try to make videos part of the story ever again because this has been a right nightmare.

-GM, master of grinches.

[Ponygood11]

10197674

Stories are visited in LSB, the ponyfic crossover story that's a companion to this one. Story suggestions for SotS to showcase go there-- specifically in here. You'll be glad to know at least one of your suggestions has already been suggested, but you can still add upvotes.

[JetstreamGW]

10195245
For a time she considered sparing your wretched little planet. But now you shall witness its dismemberment.

[AppleTank]

10200573
You missed the second part. It would be impossible to block everyone for all of eternity from wandering in and maybe or maybe not getting trapped and killed. What do you do with a sapient bear trap who refuses to stop trapping, and its stuck in a place where you can't construct walls?

[brave2000]

well, here we are. the end of one of the biggest crossovers i have ever read. i don't think i will be able to read stories the same way after songs of spheres. there were many things that i loved about this story, and many things that i didn't. before, i was planning to give a full on review of this story, down with my own opinions and ideas, telling what i liked and what i didnt. but now i don't want to. i will just say that this was an incredible journey. a testament to the great creativity of its author. now, it is time for new stories to be born.

[Pseudonym1]

10204231
Yeah, I know. I've been reading and keeping along with the updates for years.

[brave2000]

10208127
don't you see? that is their fatal flaw. we can't just forgive every single sin by using love as some form of crutch or excuse. at some point they are enabling her deeds by doing nothing about it.
so it is ok for eve to be forgiven but for all the others that commit equal sins, since they don't have their love, it is wrong and deserve to be punished? that is pretty hypocritical if you ask me.

[Cozy Mark IV]

The Doctor turned at the sound of the portal opening behind him.

"Eve? What brings you -"

"Randall Flagg. We both know the longer and more interesting this meeting is the greater the chance it attracts attention so lets keep this quick." She passed him something that looked like a car's keyfob. "Take this. In fact, take two. The next time you're in the same room as Flagg hit the button. Ham it up as a detraction if you like and look surprised and worried when nothing happens, but just do it."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow,

"You do know it's basically impossible to kill him, right?"

"Of course, the force of the story won't let him die for good. But what if we could sequester him away in a universe that's difficult to get out of and very, very interesting. Something that's actually new to him?"

"Well, the story might be enticed to keep him there for a while, but-"

"Its a hard science universe, a predecessor of Equestria with hard rules on what magic is and where it comes from. The current residents are making it a pretty grim place to live, but in another sixty years things are going to get interesting. Rebellion. Anarky. World wide nuclear war."

"... the story might stick him there for that long just to see him deal with what played out. But what's to stop him from leaving?"

"He's bound to 13 right? Well 13 is information, stories and such. This dimension only admits information because a portal big enough to get a person through would take as much exotic mater as the planet Jupiter. Flag is capable of a lot, but most of what he's got is based on dimensional travel. Take that away and he'll be stuck. Even if he dies, he'll just reincarnate in the same world."

"Nautica much? Besides, how do we get him there?"

"I don't know for sure, but I suspect that once 13 is transmitted over, he'll follow, reincarnating on the other side. It won't hold him forever; as soon as the world ends he'll probably find some loophole back, but it should buy us several decades of peace. And if I make my guess right he'll probably get stomped to death by a zebra in the end."

The doctor raised an eyebrow again.

"Pinkie found the script not long after we detected the world. It drew my attention because we couldn't get in, and it took quite a while to figure out a way to see inside after a fashion. The keyfob is a beacon that locks on to some heavy hardware back in Equestria. Push the button and it starts scanning 13 and transmitting it through a portal just a bit bigger than an atom. He shouldn't notice anything until the scan is complete and 13 vanishes."

The Doctor examined the keyfob with a critical eye as his brow furrowed.
"What is the name of this place?"

"The script is called 'Days of Wasp and Spider'".

[Ponygood11]

10210340
...you know you can suggest stories on LSB, right? Or upvote, if they're already suggested.

If that's not the reason you made that passage, then... I, uh... I don't know.

[JetstreamGW]

10211854
We’ll slap my ass and call me Sally, I was wrong.

[JetstreamGW]

10208139
Irrelevant. No one has the right to tell you who you may forgive or not. No one. Ever.

If someone doesn’t like it, maybe there are consequences. But there are always consequences for everything.

[brave2000]

10224010
you are right. no one has the right to tell you who you should or shouldn't forgive. but there sure as hell a criteria of whether or not someone should be free of punishment, regardless of forgiveness. i can forgive stalin, or hitler or pablo escobar all i want. i can say that he is my friend and my brother and that he deserves to be forgiven. it does not erase his sins. it does not make him immune to judgement. for justice to be held, we can't allow our own personal connections to get in the way. many characters in this fanfic have done horrible things in the name of friendship, justice, love. they judge others while also committing the very same mistakes and crimes. they should be held accountable.

[GMBlackjack]

10239503
I believe it was mentioned a few times that the Green Sun's presence is heavily limiting the higher societies 'destroy the universe by blinking' abilities. But yes the Tower really does like them.

-GM, master of blinking.

[Keywii_Cookies55]

10241165

As the author of the Guide to Librarians I can explain why one would endanger themselves to share the truth of the eldritch entities.

The truth is not all librarians are eldritch in fiction, most aren't. But there's something about them, their quiet nature, their deep intelligence, and their watchful eye. It's only natural humans would become curious, it's one of the two traits we're known for across the multiverse (the other being perseverance) From that curiousity is breed a deep-seated desire to learn the truth, it's what drives the information trade, and wacky heroes trying to uncover things they shouldn't.

Our protagonist, the journal entry writer, has devoted their life, their passion, and their sanity to reveal the truth, the real truth, about those book-loving organizers.

(If I'm being real though, i was inspired by a mix of Monsters University and Welcome to Nightvale when I wrote this one up. I've seen eldritch librarians make a few appearances across media, felt it was worth writing about)

[The Cowardly Christian]

10250861
Sorry that took so long, thank you!

Happy Memorial day!

[Silent_Knight]

10267274
No that's pre-redemption after "our town" she futz'd with time and now has a litteral goddess of time mentoring her if at this moment she gained "princess" status she would be princess of time. Now the other starlight aka starbeat from the clickverse gained princess she would b princess of fate because of her ties to Ka

[runtrivena]

10267226

So she has access to the Patreon drafts, and the comments on Google Docs as well as on Patreon before publishing, and the comments here when published. Ok.

And also FanFiction.net and Archive of Our Own, making up the "comments across three locations".

And this is an interesting point. Even when I read a chapter of SotS on my kindle, I come back here to post, and I know you'll respond sooner or later, or someone else will. In some sense, I'm still invovled even if the story is finished.

And sometimes people who finished a while ago pop back to check for new comments and join in again, or usurp GM's prerogative of answering questions. Hi!

[Jonathon Smythe]

I started reading this just under a month ago because of FoME's blog post about it.

Holy hell that was a lot of words. I enjoyed most of it and was enthralled by all of it. You've built an excellent story here, and I'm sad to see it go.

Thank you.

[Shilic]

Well... I made it.

For anyone reading this down the line, a long time ago, on October 30th 2017, at 7:AM (at least, that's what the site tells me, time-zones and all) GM made a blog post. An announcement of a new story. Of course, the story had been in development for a long time beforehand, and this wasn't even an announcement of it's existence, only it's posting on FIMFiction. That story was, as you could probably guess, Songs of the Spheres. On that same day, at 2:43PM, I made this comment:

This looks sweet. Sounds so cool and right up my alley. Shame I have to wait. (I always wait until stories are complete until I read them)

GM, at 9:53PM, replied:

...Wow, that'll take years man. Good luck on that. I was not kidding when I said this was a huge project.

Enjoy your wait!

-GM, master of posting.

He was not wrong.

I replied, explaining my reasoning, (that I would drop off eventually or I would forget details, at which point I would have to read the whole thing again and this would probably happen several times. I didn't put this in the comment, but I also feared that the story would end up unfinished, because I've invested into too many stories that never got their end) and that was that. The blog post sat, unremarkable, for over two years.

On April 20th 2020, at 9:13AM, GM posted a new reply to that comment.

You commented, back in 2017, that you wanted to read the story after it was complete.
I never forgot your comment. The story's complete, 2.5 years later. Enjoy.
-GM, master of Songs of the Spheres.

The fact that GM got back to me, remembered me after so long, is sort of incredible by itself. But, despite that, it was (and I don't want to sound rude here, but I can't think of a better word) unnecessary. Because I hadn't forgotten either. And in that time, that simple statement of excitement had mutated, into a promise.

And so, as that commenter, as someone who waited so long and then kept that promise, I feel like I'm somewhat entitled to a long comment.

So sue me.

I watched. I saw as Songs of the Spheres popped up in the feature box. I saw as it changed cover arts. I saw as GM made blogposts I hurriedly scrolled past in case I saw a spoiler. And I saw the word count rise. 100,000. 250,000. 500,000. 1,000,000. 2,000,000. And, I won't lie, it became intimidating. Something of that size? Even for an Avid Reader like me (excuse an obscure self-reference there), it was a monster. I started to kinda dread the day when it ended, when I would be "honor bound" to read it.

At the beginning, I took it slow. A chapter or two a day, throwing it in when I could. But that started to speed up. As I got more and more into the story, I started reading more and more in each sitting, desperately wanting to know what would happen next. I don't know if I could have even handled reading this story as it came out. 2 months and having every chapter there waiting, and I still felt that feeling that you get when you're waiting for a new chapter. Over 2 years? That might just be too much waiting. I like to binge read my stories, and even steady and frequent updates might not has held me over. Although, based on how long it took me, I could have started when Arc 11 ended and made it here "in time", but eh, that's how thing are. Gotta say though, there are benefits to coming along for the ride, even if nothing will be as absurdly rewarding as The Influence. (My thoughts on that are over on that story, along with a late message for Twilence)

But now here I am. It's 1 in the morning as I type this, but I feel like I need to. It's long and rambly and self-indulgent, but I feel like I have to get this out regardless.

Songs of the Spheres is one of the greatest pieces of media I've ever experienced. It's not perfect, nothing is, but the sheer scope and scale of it, the characters and world-building, the bizarre and unique elements I've never seen in a written work before... It's incredible. GM has manged to craft both a fantastic take on The Multiverse and it's many players, and something fitting to be "the End of All Stories". While it may not be my definitive take on the Multiverse (mainly because I have my own, one that is completely at odds with this one, a Truly Infinite Infinity, but I guess in that case this one can fit in mine, locked off from the rest by The Tower until after the end, but that's neither here nor there), it's certainly the most fleshed out and well developed Mega-Crossover I've ever seen. I love The Infinite Loops, but this one is way more consistent. (also the Loops are canon to The Multiverse anyway, so...)

And now it's over. Well, it's not really over, both for me and for the characters. For them, the world goes on, without a story to guide it. (Kinda upset we never got to see the First Earth, but hey, we were never supposed to) For me, the spin-offs await! The League of Sweetie Belles! Enchorus! Amber Ashes! (which I don't think is really a spin-off but you get the gist). Not to mention all the other SotS related content, all the lore info I can find hidden on the SpaceBattles threads, and also the fact this whole thing has inspired me to actually try to read Homestuck. Eventually. I'm more intimidated by that than I was by this story... Also the Discord. I held off until I was done with the story, but expect to see me pop up in there at some point soon. Not sure if I'll be particularly active, but who knows?

So, as I end this off, I have sappy and overly dramatic messages.

For the characters: Live well. No matter what may lie ahead, go forward and see it. And remember us, just as we will remember you. Sorry I wasn't around to watch it unfold as it got posted. Also, if it turns out the GM was wrong the whole time and outside the influence of The Tower is a larger multiverse or even Truly Infinite Omniverse... well, the possibilities would literally be endless, but if you can get over the horrible existential dread... don't let it make you think your choices didn't matter. Because even if everything ever is always happening, the contents of this story happened to you. You aren't your alternates. But that's just hypotheticals. Who knows, huh? Who knows. (Also I have no idea if you with Awareness can see these comments or any comments after the Tower Fell, but whatever, leaving it here anyway.).

For the Background people: Your lives are important. Or rather, now they're just as unimportant as everyone else's? You know what I mean. We may read about heroes, identify with them, get invested in their stories, but in the end, most of us here are just like you. I would have liked to see more about how you lived your lives, but, well, that's a taxing ask for any writer, and sort of would have defeated the point? I dunno. Same message applies though. Live well. (Also, to the kid who kicked Lord English in the crotch? You get a thumbs up from me)

To the other readers, more specifically the ones that shaped The Influence: Guess you really did influence things after all, huh? I've wanted to say this for a while, but it's really weird that you guys can legit claim that you're friends with a "fictional" character. Without you guys pulling Twilence around in every direction, the story may have ended up drastically different. It may not have been the Pristine ending, but you did good for a "game" where none of you knew the rules and your "character" had a mind of her own.

To the other writers and editors involved in this whole thing: You guys did a great job. I can't imagine the kind of editing this monster needed, and all the submitted segments were great. All the submitted segments were great, really helped give the story a grand scale.

To FanOfMostEverything in particular, even though you will probably never read this: Your segments were always a highlight, your comments always amusing. Thanks for giving this story attention and exposure, and also for answering some of my questions when I started reading it. (Also holy shit you're like the most pleasant person, Aragón is totally right, I'm still impressed after all these years.)

To GMBlackjack: Congrats on surviving your own pre-determined death! (Man, wouldn't that have been a kicker? You actually dying after posting 157. Would have freaked us the fuck out to be sure) You've written a fantastic story. Does it have faults? Sure, everything does. But be proud of it. I'm aware that authors see the flaws in their own work highlighted more boldly, but don't let that stop you from appreciating what you've accomplished. It's something truly impressive. I don't know why this doesn't have more views (perhaps a combination of the waning fandom and it's intimidating size?) but it deserves it. While it's not my style, I regret not coming along for the ride as it happened. I look forward to what you have for us in the future.

Oh, and thanks for remembering my comment.

Welp, It looks like I wrote a story of my own down here, huh? That's gonna make the page longer, but hey, the chapters only a video, so it's fine. I hope. Like I said, self-indulgent. I've basically written my own Refection, and I wasn't even a part of this whole thing. Ah well, might as well get it all out. Regardless, I hope you'll be seeing me in GM's comment sections in the future, and maybe the Discord. There are still more stories to read, and more to tell. (Probably should get around to watching the shows needed to fully enjoy Synthesis before that ends. Or at least familiarize myself with the ones I know nothing about) I'm not abandoning this site anytime soon.

-Shilic, Master of Long Comments, Sentimentality and Stealing Other People's Signoffs

[GMBlackjack]

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I'm sure I'll have a longer conversation with you in the discord or elsewhere later, so I'll keep this comment comparatively short:

thank you for reading, thank you for writing an essay at the end, and thank you for waiting all this time.

Let's keep adventuring, shall we?

-GM, master of comic comments.

[Blaze rod]

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The first episode is pretty much a prologue episode, and takes about 3 episodes to really get going at all.

[omegasnowfall]

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...Oh.

[Joural]

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... and? I'm criticizing it because its a fundamentally boring interpretation that requires one to ignore the lore built up in the show, the games, the mangas, the movies, etc. We actually see brainwashing pokeballs in the movies! They're pretty freaking unsubtle. And bare in mind, they then encounter anime "Ash" with nothing to set him appart from the anime beyond the events of the chapter(so the person who translated the show was the prophet, not the japanese writers... ?), and apply the same logic to his world, and we never get an indication that it may have been hasty. For the purposes of song of the spheres, pokeballs are stated to be brainwashing devices, with no variation shown, despite atleast three pokemon worlds being directly mentioned, two of which use pokeballs.