The end of Royal Destiny

To be honest, it's kind of weird to write about the end of RD now, considering I wrote the last chapter all the way back in May and because I'm currently working on editing the earlier chapters, so I really don't feel like it's finished at all at the moment! Still, it is finished. The last words have been written and I'll never start another chapter. And let me tell you, after working on this story for over 9 years, that's weird.

Going through older chapters of RD, I can't help but cringe at some parts. Not only the grammar and the writing style were off. The story itself was very messy in the beginning, and there were too many deus ex machina's for my liking. Still, I won't edit these chapters except for the grammatical errors (and the occasional plot hole); RD is a reflection of how my writing improved the past 9 years.

I loved writing RD. Even though I suffered from writer's block several times during those 9 years and there were times where I felt I would never reach the end, I'm sort of proud that I managed to pull through and finish it. I'm very happy and satisfied with the ending. Finishing it made me feel accomplished and empty at the same time. I hope you will all enjoy the final chapters as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Looking back, I think that as a writer, I'm most satisfied with parts 4 and 5. The earlier parts were all very close to how I had imagined this story back when I was 14, with a lot of random encounters and new ponies showing up out of the blue, which originated from me adding more ponies to my gen2 collection all the time. Parts 4 and 5 though were very different from what I had originally envisioned (which was horrible, with soulless warriors coming out of the Tokowa Lands. Ugh.), and as such I really had to sit down and plot out the story. As a result parts 4 and 5 are more structured and the characters really develop on their own throughout their adventures.

As a person, though, part 3 holds a special place in my heart as Ruki truly is the girl I identified most with at the time. Her journey was severely influenced by things that happened in my own life and all the way up to the end of part 5, I can relate to her emotions. While I love all my characters, Ruki is the one I am sure I will miss the most.

I've posted two short stories on this blog now. Basically that's what I'm doing with my writing time now; write short stories to enter contests so I can get feedback from judges. So far it's been really helpful and I feel like my writing has improved a lot. I'm working on two stories which could grow into full novels, but I can't decide which one I like best yet. I'll keep you all updated, although odds are they'll be in Dutch.

As for RD, the final chapter will be online on my birthday, August 25th, together with a little present for you all. I'm considering doing a short story in the RD world at some point, probably with completely new characters, but not for a while. It's time for me to move on to explore new worlds and to meet new characters, which I hope you will all love as much as you love RD!

The collecting dynamics

Growing up, I always thought my collections would last forever. I'd get more and more things over the years and somehow I had the idea that one day it would be complete and I'd have everything there was to collect on a certain subject (My Little Pony, DVD's, anime and manga) and I'd be happy having it all. Of course, that's not how it ended up working.

As I started collecting things through the internet, the most fun part of collecting was not actually getting new things (while that was fun, too); it was the interaction with other collectors, the trading and making new friends, that made it so addicting. And as much as I enjoyed buying new things, at some point I had so much I began to lose track of what I had and everything went from a fun collection to a cluttered house.
So instead of only buying and trading, I began to sell parts of my collection.

And I loved it. It was awesome to go through my things and select only those that I really wanted to keep and ship off other things to other people, making back some money in the process. I loved seeing my trader feedback grow and I loved using the money I had made selling things to buy new things I enjoyed more.

But lately I haven't been buying much at all; I'm only selling and the size of my collections is shrinking rapidly, and I'm even selling off some things completely. I'm currently in the process of selling my Monster High dolls (all of them) and I'm planning to sell at least 200 ponies because the truth is, I enjoy my stuff more when I only have those things that I really, really want. I used to keep adding things to my collections just for the sake of making them complete, but that just lessened the amount of joy I got from them because they consisted of things I didn't really want.

This doesn't mean I will stop collecting or that I don't enjoy toys or other collections anymore - I most certainly do. I just don't want them to be in every single part of my house and there's so many other things I want to do more lately (writing courses for example). But I am still very much enjoying collecting. Selling, too, is part of the whole collecting experience for me and I love to interact with other collectors on forums and in real life. Besides, I feel like my collections grow stale if I don't go through them every once in a while to make sure I still really want all of it.

And the truth is, I feel like I enjoy everything so much more now - appreciating other people's collections, the few things that I still do buy, the news about upcoming new products; I no longer feel obligated to get it all and I can just be very picky about the things that I add. And it's great to let things go once in a while. Sometimes you just get bored with a toy line or it doesn't evolve in the direction you like and it feels refreshing to say "okay, I'm letting this go and I'll focus on something else", which is how I feel about Monster High now. And sometimes I just feel like selling stuff just so I get to meet new fellow collectors!

The brony issue

So I recently joined a Dutch brony forum after some Dutch bronies were featured on a tv show. I don't really consider myself a brony - I absolutely love FiM and the gen4 toy line, but I would have loved it without the wholy brony hype anyway. I've been a MLP collector for 20 years, and I don't suddenly label myself differently just because My Little Pony is the hot thing right now. However, I think it's absolutely amazing that my little pony has gathered so many new fans in such a short time - and from a completely different audience no less! It's great to be able to say I love my little pony without being considered completely insane right away, and my non-collecting friends also like the series, so that's absolutely fun!
However, this new fanbase seems to exist almost separately from the more traditional my little pony fans. They have their own sites, their own fora. Now this isn't all that weird considering that the bronies are completely different people than the original collectors (young men vs. women in their early 30's, generally speaking) and because they are interested in different parts of the MLP universe. Bronies focus almost solely on the TV show, while collectors seem to be more into the collectibles and consider the show only a part of the gen4 franchise and gen4 only a part of a larger MLP legacy.

None of this is weird. Or eye-opening. And there's nothing wrong with it. What does amaze me, however, is the animosity I feel between bronies and collectors sometimes. Bronies bash the older gens (just look up some clips of the older tv show on youtube) and collectors feel like bronies are taking over their hobby.
To illustrate, let's look at the recent New York toy fair. A group of toys based on characters from the tv show were announced, together with a castle playset with the first boy MLP in over 10 years. These ponies were quickly dubbed the brony-set because it is widely believed that Hasbro created these ponies to cater to the brony fanbase. This in turn upset some collectors who felt that Hasbro was only listening to bronies now.
In my opinion, the problem isn't that there will soon be a "brony set". In fact, I think it's great that Hasbro is considering other demographics than just their target audience of little girls - and to be honest, I can see this set being very popular with girls as well! I don't believe for one moment that girls only want pink and princesses. The problem, however, is that bronies aren't the first who ever asked for less pink, more variety and boy ponies. Collectors have been asking for this for over a decade (ever since the gen3 launch) and Hasbro didn't listen even once. In fact, they did the exact opposite thing from what was asked; they released the core 7 which meant more pink and less variety.

So, of course collectors are annoyed. I know I am. Not because of the bronies; I think they're great. But because Hasbro never once listened to people who have been a fan of this line for over 20 years, who have young daughters themselves, who buy their products and have done so for a very long time, who have seen this line change and evolve all the time and who know what works and what doesn't, and yet a new but vocal group comes along and they have more success than the collectors in only a year.
Judging by the response online to this new set, it's bound to be a success. So why did Hasbro wait this long to release a set like this? Why do they seem to listen to bronies more than they did to collectors? Is it because bronies are simply a lot more vocal than collectors are? After all, collectors generally keep to their own fora and websites, while bronies seem to spam My Little Pony all over the internet. Maybe collectors have been too timid and polite all this time, and Hasbro never considered them a group large enough to make profit of to warrant a large release like the brony-set.

Or is it a gender thing, like some female collectors seem to fear? I have heard the argument that bronies are trying to make MLP less girly because they don't want to be seen as girly men who like pink toys, and are upset that bronies can't accept that MLP is a strong female brand. Personally, I think this isn't true for most bronies; they like FiM for what it is right now, a girl show with a lot of universal appeal. I think it's also a bit silly considering collectors have been asking for less-girly toys for ages as well. Why would it be okay for women to ask for less pink but not for men? My Little Pony is a brand for girls and will always be. That's not going to change because of some hype, and if it did I am pretty sure the hype will die out soon enough. It's a show and a toy line for girls that appeals to both genders at the moment; this is great! When a show for boys appeals to both genders, you don't hear any complaints about there being some more girly aspects, so I don't see why it should be a problem the other way around.
Or maybe Hasbro just needed proof that there was a different demographic for their line and simply couldn't believe that My Little Pony could have such a universal appeal until they saw it happen. Whatever the case, it's bound to be an exiting year with these upcoming MLP toys. I just really hope that Hasbro will also reconsider some other ideas collectors have had for a while; for example, release collector edition sets, make the fair pony a gen1 pony, more variety in the line with for example sea ponies or maybe a gen4 release of other gen1 ponies like Applejack? I'm exited to see what Hasbro comes up with and I think it's amazing that they seem to hear the voice of fans more nowadays!

Ponies Against Plastic

I was really happy this week as I found a new pony!!! please meet Blossomforth, pictured on the right. To be honest I think she looks kind of dopey, but I am really happy to have her. One more pony of wave 3 to go!
However, after I purchased her, I was once again confronted with the horrible task of deboxing her. Now don't get me wrong; unwrapping a new addition to my collection is always fun and exciting, and I'm sure that collectors everywhere can agree with me that it's one of the best parts of collecting!
It's a horrible task, however, because Hasbro uses entirely too much plastic and other packaging material to keep her boxed. In the box, the toy is stuck in plastic to keep her and her accessories in place, which is held to the cardboard back by another plastic cover. If this wasn't enough, her hair is tied in a plastic wrapper as well and the comb is stuck in yet another piece of plastic, and her tail and a part of her mane are also held together by a rubber band.
All of this is waste, as it's impossible to take the toy out and to save the packaging so you can put her back in

for storage or display, as is the case with some Japanese statues and PVC figures. So basically, for one little pony, there's a large pile of waste that will have to be thrown away. While the cardboard can be easily recycled (and is of some value to some collectors), the plastic is horrible for the environment (think, for example, about the Plastic Soup that exists in our oceans)and has little to no value.
What's more, this way of packaging is potentially harmful as the plastic used is often sharp and  if you're not careful you can really hurt yourself (I know I did a couple of times), even as an experienced collector or adult. Imagine a child opening this! They can get hurt on the rough edges of the plastic or even swallow the little pieces.
In my opinion, this has to change. These toys are made for the next generation and carry out an amazingly positive message (Friendship, caring, be yourself, take care of your environment) but the way they are packaged is very damaging for the environment which the next generation needs as much as we do, and toys carry out an important message to children. There's absolutely no way Hasbro can justify wasting this much in this age where it's becoming increasingly clear we need to conserve our beautiful planet. Companies like Lego have already decided to drastically reduce the impact their packaging has on the planet.
I'm actually planning to start a campaign to convince Hasbro to reduce the amount of waste on their products. The recent Brony movement is incredibly creative and vocal and I'm sure that if this is combined with the creativity and care of the collector community, we can convince Hasbro in a fun and engaging way that we care about and love their product but that we would love to see them reduce the waste it creates so we don't hurt both ourselves and the planet!!!

The End is coming closer...

Yesterday evening I finished the last chapter of part 4 of Royal Destiny, and I also wrote the Epilogue. When I had finished that, I realized that this was the last Epilogue I was going to write for RD, ever, as part 5 doesn't have one.
It took me a while to realize this was the first "the last one" I have written for RD. Only sixty chapters are remaining which will keep me occupied for a while still, but after that it's done. After eight years, RD is finally coming to an end.
I'm happy with the way Part 4 turned out. I made up most of this story as an adult (I had a general outline for parts 4-5 from my childhood, but that was really vague and I ended up removing quite a lot of stuff, except for the very end of part 5, and I redid most of it) unlike parts 1-3 which were heavily based on what I had come up with when I was 14. This meant the tone of part 4 was quite different; there wasn't a general bad guy or threat that had to be vanquished, it focused mainly on the main characters and their personal problems, and the effects of their actions on others. I really like this way of writing more, to be honest; it allows for more character development and more interesting plot lines.
Part 4 and 5 are heavily related to each other, even more so than the other parts were. Part 4 was mostly the setup for what will happen in part 5, where all the storylines will come together. This meant that at the end of part four not much is resolved yet, but I hope I managed to give an ending to the part none the less, because the events at the end of part 4 will be a turning point in the story.
So what's in store for part 5? Of course, it'll be the end of RD, so you'll get a lot of answers and closure. The characters will be revisiting old places and you'll get to discover a bunch of new ones still. Also, there will be a new POV character. She'll be the POV for the end of part 4 as well. Can you guess who it will be? I hope you will all stick around with me until the end of RD and I really, really hope you will enjoy the final part!!!

I'm going to write a large part of part 5 in Nanowrimo, so look forward to hearing me rant about writing struggles as well!

Also, the picture at the top of this post is an insert drawing for chapter "The Mysterious Pony" (Princess Awakening, chapter 81). 3 insert drawings will be added to each part eventually! I'm really looking forward to what Lunacat will make! If this picture is any indication, I'm sure it'll be -amazing-!

Colorful inspiration

It's probably no big secret to my readers that My Little Pony has always been (and still is) a great inspiration for me. These innocent and colorful ponies always manage to make me calm and help me relax so that I can go to that silly inner place where stories come from. In contrast, my pullips always make me more excited and I want to show them off in photographs, telling their stories through pictures instead of words.
My Little Pony is a wonderful brand that is reaching out to a lot of different people; not just little girls and collectors, but also to a new audience of young people, mostly boys, who are greatly inspired to not only make awesome artwork but also write an amazing amount of My Little Pony fanfiction. I think it's amazing that these little toys have touched so many people!

The current My Little Pony line (gen4) has never inspired me to write, however. My Royal Destiny is very different in setting and tone than the Friendship is Magic television show (which I completely love, don't get me wrong), and the toys don't really represent the kind of characters I would love to write about, be it in RD or another setting. While the show's characters are awesome, I don't particularly like to write fanfiction with characters that are made up by someone else; all the characters in Royal Destiny are of my own creation and I love that I can just make them grow in whatever direction they're moving into without having to take someone else's ideas into consideration. I do have a great amount of respect for people who can write fanfiction like that and pull it off nicely; it's hard to take a character and write your own story while still remaining true to the character someone else created.

That doesn't mean that the gen4 ponies don't inspire me to any creativity, however. Oddly enough I absolutely love photographing them! I never really liked this with older ponies, because My Little Ponies are really quite static; it's hard to have them express any kind of emotion as you can't move their limbs or eyes like you can with dolls like Pullip and Monster High. The gen4 ponies, however, seem to have more of a personality to each individual pony (I think it's because of their eyes) so it's more fun to take pictures of them in different settings. It would be nice if a wider variety of ponies would be released instead of just ponies in the same pose in different colors (what I'd do for boy ponies!), but that's maybe something for next year. I'm already happy enough that I can go to toy stores hoping that they have a new pony I want to have; that's something I haven't been able to do in over 2 years after all!

Royal Destiny Cover!

Here it is, the Royal Destiny cover for the main page of the Royal Destiny site!!! Lunacat finished it yesterday evening. I don't even know how to begin to thank her because it is beyond what I could have possibly expected. Thank you Lunacat, thank you so, so much!!!!

As you can see, the cover isn't really a scene from the book but a collage from several characters. Aras and Taira are the most prominent of course, with the five guardians in the sky in front of the moon. I seriously love Taira's expression - it is exactly like I imagined it in the story when she realizes what Aras has done to her. Aras looks like his evil self, of course. I especially love the details on his wings.
I'm glad the guardians in the sky remained so vague and distant. It's how they are in the story as well. If you look closely you can make out small details between them though!
At the bottom you have the breach, of course. On the right you can see Twinkle Star with her adoptive daughter Câlin and on the other side are Takato and Ruki. Twinkle Star needs no explanation of course. I always really loved writing about her special relationship with Câlin and I'm happy it comes across in this drawing so well, you can really feel the attachment between the two ponies.
And Ruki... What can I say? My beloved little girl looks so amazing. Her sad and cold expression match how she feels in part 2 and 3 so well!!! I especially love how wild and unattended her mane looks. It's such a great little detail. Takato is his proud young self of course. I love how Ruki clings to him.

So yes, if you didn't catch it yet, I LOVE the cover! It's up on the main site now of course, and so is the cover of part 5 (tho there's not much to see yet otherwise on the part 5 page). I'm writing chapter 329 right now, which only just got its name changed. I'm getting close to the end of part 4 which I promise will be a lot of fun (can't wait to write it!). And then it's on to part 5... I can't believe it's the final part of RD!

Rainbow Forest update

I finally found time to get back to working on the new gen2 site again! Now the coding for the site still isn't finished yet so I'm still kind of limited in what I can uploade to the site for now, but it's good to get back into things.
I uploaded some ponies over the weekend (especially in the later years, some royal ladies, some princesses) and I was kind of shocked at how bad the quality of the pictures was. I took them with my older camera. I managed to photoshop some into looking better. Thankfully I now have access to an amazing DSLR camera (and hopefully I'll have my own soon!!!) so I can make better pictures. The ponies above are waiting to be photographed and expect these to have higher quality pictures on their profiles. I hope I can get them on the new site today or tomorrow.

As for the new features: we're still working on a lot of things. An advanced search will be implemented where you can search on, for example, colour or symbol. There will also be more general information like an overview of each year at the top of each year page. I can't spoil much more, but it will be great!

So feel free to look around the beta site! Just make sure to keep in mind that a lot of things are still either missing or not working. Of course I'm always open to suggestions and questions so do let me know if anything comes to mind!

Also, I am looking for people willing to help on a few parts of the site I can't write myself (such as tutorials on, for example, replacing eye gems), so if you think you have something that can contribute to the site, do let me know!

Royal Destiny 5th cover!

So I decided to dedicate my first "real" post on this blog with a scoop: a wonderful piece of art that Lunacat has recently finished for Royal destiny. If you don't know Lunacat, she's the artist who drew all the ponies (and much more) for Pony Island and the author of Worlds Apart, an amazing piece of MLP fiction. She's also the artist who drew all of the illustrations on the Royal Destiny site such as the cover pictures on top of each part. She'll do some amazing other drawings soon as well, but those will remain a secret for a bit longer!

Anyway, as I am close to finishing part 4, I asked Lunacat to draw the cover picture for part 5, The Daylight Star, and she outdid herself once again!

I absolutely love it. The ponies are, of course, Caleantha in the background and Asteria, Firian and Meran in the foreground. Now I won't go into detail about this particular scene yet (considering it would spoil a lot), but I chose it for the cover drawing because of the symbolic meaning. I'm sure it'll be clear in time what I mean by that (and if you read RD, I'm sure you can figure out some things already).
This might actually be the only cover that is not an accurate picture of a scene as I'm not sure if things will be like this in the story (in fact, I'm pretty sure they won't be), but I felt it was important to put it in one picture like this anyway (it's more like a combination of two scenes).
I especially love how Meran looks in this picture. It's so accurate compared with how I picture her in my mind, I couldn't be more pleased. Not that the other ponies aren't accurate, because they are; Lunacat's ability to capture my characters is simply amazing. But when I saw Meran for the first time in this picture I immediately thought yes, that's my girl.

I'll upload the drawing to the website soon. Don't worry though, this won't be the last piece of art related to Royal Destiny for sure!!