Everfree Northwest 2014 Thoughts · 9:48pm Mar 30th, 2014
So! The Everfree Northwest 2014 Fanfiction Contest has just drawn to a close. For those of you who didn't hear about it before now, this was a contest centered around showing a villain (or antagonist, anyway) of the show in a positive light. All entries were limited to three thousand words or less.
My own entry, "The King In Crystal", got runner-up honors, which is honestly more than I expected (but, I admit, not quite what I'd hoped; damn my eternally optimistic self). The winners, along with details on the judging process and commentary from the judges themselves, can be found here.
Since the contest is finally over, I figure now is as good a time as any to give my own thoughts on the entries. Because... well, why not?
Firstly, I knew as soon as I read them that "Broken Gladiator" and "Tarnished" would be first and second place, respectively. I didn't particularly care for them personally, but I knew they would win. That's not me making a jab at the authors, though. Neither story is bad, and both have their high points. They just didn't drive me wild; the metaphor that "Tarnished" centered around felt a bit heavy-handed to me, and Pinkie Pie felt a bit too rational, while "Broken Gladiator" just broke my suspension of disbelief by stating that a group of superheroes would fail to stop the Mane-iac's amnesia bomb every time. Both are great ideas and done quite well. They just weren't my personal favorites.
I did mis-call the third place entry, though. I thought for sure that would be my buddy RainbowBob's "Left In The Dust", because... well, Lightning Dust as Scootaloo's older sister. That's a money concept right there.
As for the entries I would personally have selected... well. First, let's get this out of the way: I'm not using the same criteria that the Everfree Northwest judges were. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other mechanical errors did not factor in for the EFNW judges. They do for me - in fact, they factor in very heavily. If a story isn't mechanically sound, then I'm not going to enjoy it. That's just the way I work.
So. That out of the way, my personal favorite entries (obviously not including my own) were:
Coming in at #4 (because I'm going a step further), RainbowBob! Honestly, this one would have placed higher, but it doesn't particularly touch on the theme of redemption that I feel the contest was going for. It's based around something that feels like a cheap idea meant to get free views, but it manages to come across as something more than that. It actually offers an explanation for the two characters' relationship being the way it is that fits neatly with canon, and the idea of Lightning Dust seeing her younger sister's idolization of Rainbow Dash so soon after her expulsion from the academy is a powerful one.
Unfortunately, due to the word limit, the idea doesn't really get much development, so it feels more than a little unfinished, but it's a mark of how solidly the idea is set up that I want it to be finished. BOB. WRITE MORE.
In the #3 spot, Sharp Spark with the Young Flim-Flam Brothers! Honestly, my only complaint here is that there wasn't a musical numb- no, scratch that. I hate musical numbers in prose.
Seriously, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Having the Flim-Flam Brothers be wandering pickpockets as youths fits their characters and explains why they grew up to become what they are (that is, compulsive liars and swindlers and thieves). More than that, the... I hate to use the word, but it's the only way to get the concept across in a timely manner... shipping between Applejack and Flim was actually quite cute - and, for bonus points, it wasn't pointless. Shipping that actually serves a role within the story and serves to illuminate facets of a character that might otherwise never come to light? What wizardry is this?
Aaaand at #2, we have Flint Sparks with another Lightning Dust story. This one beats out RainbowBob's earlier entry by virtue of being self-contained; while "Left In The Dust" is a great concept, this one is actually a complete story, so points scored on that front.
On the subject of the story itself, this one offers an interesting look at Lightning Dust where, rather than trying to simply explain or justify her actions during "Wonderbolt Academy", the story simply shows how she has grown as a result - and the injuries remaining from the incident. Lightning Dust is taken from a one-dimensional show-hog to a caring individual who has truly learned from what happened, and tries to share that learning with others. It also doesn't ignore the fact that such an occurrence would be very painful for her to go through, and that she has, to some extent, come to believe that she doesn't deserve to go back. It's rare to find a story that can convey so much about a character in so little time.
My favorite of the entries, and winner of this little meaningless blog post: Prince Blueblood and Pinkie Pie!
It's funny, it's sweet, and it doesn't try to set itself up with anything other than what's established in the show. Rather, it takes Blueblood as we all saw him in "The Best Night Ever" - a rich, lazy slob who doesn't care a whit for anyone else's feelings or finances - and brings him down a peg throughout the course of its own story. Or, rather, it brings him up one, in an entirely believable and highly entertaining fashion. Go read it!
Your story was my personal favorite of the ones I read, though I didn't quite manage to read them all. I haven't read Despicable Blue yet, I should go do that.
I agree about Broken Gladiator, it liked the concept, but I just couldn't quite buy it, it felt too contrived. I also agree about Apple of my Lie, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I didn't get to Community Service, so I will also slap that on my read later list. And I couldn't get into Left in the Dust at all, just... dunno, it didn't grab me. I never liked Lightning Dust as a character, good or bad, in the show itself though, so that is probably a factor.
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Thank you for your kind words! I did really like Sharp Spark's story as well.
Ima go read yours now.
1967353 Well, thank you very much.
And I hope you enjoy "Despicable Blue". There wasn't nearly enough comedy in this contest, honestly. I suck at comedy, so I didn't even try, but honestly, this concept had so much potential for funny stories that just went unexplored.
1967372 Ha. Well, I hope you enjoy it. Don't expect anything funny, though. I do horror off-site, and even on here I tend towards the darker stuff.
As previously noted, I am bad at comedy.
1967373 I am awful at comedy too, so I feel your pain. I've managed one comedic story, and that was back right after season 1.
1967383 I poisoned my mind with far too much Poe and Lovecraft when I was but a lad. Now I'm on a regular regimen of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams to manage the aftereffects, but the doctors say a full recovery is impossible.
...But seriously, even though I can analyze comedy pretty well, I've never gotten the hang of actually creating it. It's just beyond me. I envy those who can.
1967395 Well, the world needs its Poes and its Lovecrafts too.
And I'm in the same boat. I think for me it's the timing and the delivery. I do know what's funny, but just putting a "funny thing" in a story doesn't make it funny, it's all about how the thing is presented. My SO Jordanis is terrific at it, and I envy him.
Hey, thanks! I never really thought Apple of My Lie had that much of a shot, particularly given the overall lack of response, but it really means a lot to me to see someone as having enjoyed it.
You can also put me down for not being a fan of Broken Gladiator (I think the underlying moral it presents is... actually kind of distasteful?), but I did like Tarnished well enough. After a point I just found it hard to keep up with reading all the entries, but it's funny... I think your list of favorites is very close to mine!