Fic recs, April 23rd · 9:28pm Apr 23rd, 2014
Nothing special to say, save that I'm no longer in need of folks to interview (if you saw my last journal). Honestly, I can't think of a reason why I didn't consider asking for help on Facebook three weeks ago other than "I'm old". :|
H: 1 R: 1 C: 0 V: 0 N: 3
The Somewhere Cycle, Volume 1: Wander and Green Brier by The Descendant
Genre: Historical Crossover
I have long said that this is my favorite fic. I pre-read it for Equestria Daily one fine day, sick in bed with something or other, wrapped in blankets, in tears by the end. It was my introduction to Descendant as a writer (his name had been an excited whisper in fanfic circles in mid-2011) and it got me to approve a story about ponies waging war, something I was very against back then and am still rather uncomfortable with today. However, time lays bare all wounds, and recent rumblings have suggested that it is not, in fact, God’s gift to fanfiction. So between that and my preemptive declaration that As a Mother is my new favorite Descendant story, I figure it’s time to revisit this and lay the question to rest once and for all. (I should, after all, go through everything in the “Old Favorites” folder in my rec group and see if I can’t clean it out one day.)
This is a very unique fic. Just being a historical crossover makes it so. It’s not the only one, nor even the first, but they’re a fairly rare breed of crossover. It tells the story of two military ponies, one from the nobility and one from the sticks, who have spent their whole lives plagued by cyclical visions of a former life as unthinking horses, owned by humans embroiled in a terrible war. Students of American history will likely be able to figure out who their owners are pretty quickly; for the rest of us, the particular war should become apparent within the first two chapters. (For the life of me, I could not figure out who “Sam” was the first time until his last name was revealed in the final few hundred words of the story. It’s just not a name you’re used to seeing.) It should go without saying that The Descendant's knowledge of history is impeccable. War is used well in this piece. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve never been a fan of ponies at war — outside pre-Unification historical contexts, anyway — but it serves two purposes here. First, it lays out the characters’ devotion to Equestria and Celestia in the strongest terms possible (Green Brier notably has a crush on the Princess, which is kind of adorable). They rise up through the ranks by their own exploits, though they never take pleasure in the act of war. Descendant has a very coherent vision of Equestria at war — compare this to A Cup of Joe — actively defending its borders from whatever lies outside so that those who live in Equestria never even need think about the danger. The Chrey are given just enough character to pull that off. (Though not enough that I could tell you what they are.) In the visions, we see the real horrors of war: both characters are staggered as they relive the realization that their owners are not fighting a race of invaders but their own kind. The juxtaposition between the two, with the war in the present day dwindling down and the soldiers going home, while the war from history only escalates, keeps the emotional investment of the characters high, and makes it very clear that they have a lot in their lives worth fighting for.
Also unique is the format. Each section is first-person, delineated by the speaker’s name, and often both speaking in unison. (This is dying for a reading.) The characters’ voices are very strong, though the way Wander’s speech is written gets notably more dialectic as the story progresses. (Also, I wasn’t sure this time around if he was meant to be Southern or Scottish, though his dragon is very definitely Irish.) It helps sell the “they couldn’t have been more different” theme, which in turn helps sell the ending. I suppose though that this is where I should mention the flaws. That unique format does get a little predictable, especially in the fast-paced portions where the speaker is constantly switching and everything each says lines up. More problematic is the tense: it changes constantly. Sometimes, this actually works in the story’s favor, lending a dreamlike quality to the happenings and playing on the back-and-forth between timelines the characters experience. But it is almost assuredly an error (this is a very early fic in Descendant’s repertoire), and something you’ll just sort of have to deal with (I did so by ignoring tense completely and focusing on the verbs themselves, but I’m not sure everyone can do that)… Unless Descendant fixes it, which he just told me he will, so maybe leave off on reading this for a bit? (Funny thing to say in a review.)
Either way, this story has an ineffable quality to it that still hit me hard the second time ‘round. It’s about a subtle kind of magic, perhaps the most understated and powerful exploration of magic-as-friendship I have ever seen. And while I’m kind of a huge softie and reading about animals dying turns me into a miserable faucet, the final scene of this piece is really something else. I cannot overstate how much everyone needs to read this story. Just as soon as it gets revised.
Do I like it more than As a Mother? I’m gonna be wishy-washy and call that my new favorite Descendant fic, but keep this in my #1 position overall. Go ahead and figure that one out.
Highly Recommended: Top Fifteen
Eclipsed by InquisitorM
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: Monologue
This is a short piece inspired by As a Mother, if I’m not mistaken, which InquisitorM posted as a journal entry first before a bunch of people, myself included, convinced him to publish it as a story. In it, we get a scene of battle between creatures of all kinds (this is the first ponyfic where I have seen rhinos used as a race), and one figure standing in the center, saddened by the death and destruction and loss all around her. Of course, I could tell you who it is, but there is apparently some room for interpretation here, judging by the comments left on the original journal, so I’ll let you figure it out. It’s a short piece, maybe a tad melodramatic, but worth the read.
Recommended
I Want to Come Inside, Rainbow Dash! by writer
Reading by Hero541
Genre: Second-Person
Just going by the title, you know you’re gonna have to lower your expectations despite the lack of a sex tag, but… Come on, it’s like the author went out of their way to mischaracterize me. I mean, I may be a nerd, yes, but I’m not enough of a dickbag to make Twilight cry like that. Not to mention I don’t think I could stand being in a relationship with Rainbow Dash, and I certainly would never “knock boots” with her, especially not when I’m human and she’s a pony. Snarking aside, the main problem with this is Rainbow Dash. “Softy affectionate” Rainbow Dash is not really a thing that exists, and the only justification we’re given for the way she acts is “Hearts and Hooves Day means a lot to her”. I was not sold. Not to mention she comes off as your standard crazy, capricious, demanding girlfriend. This is just a little too Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus for my tastes. And I should add that, while there’s a good bit of wordplay as suggested by the title, it’s broken up into small sections separated by relationship pap that I didn’t care about, to the point where I had to wonder what the point of invoking IWTCIRD even was. At least it wasn’t a clopfic.
Not Recommended
The King’s Pawn by RubyRed Phoenix
Reading by D.Fatman
This guy picked a bad story to read. He can’t roll r’s (not that I can throw stones there) and his “bad guy” voice is awful. Beyond that, his audio quality is ehhh, okay, but he’s definitely too fast.
Genre: Episode Reimagining
So the idea behind this is that the Alicorn Amulet contains what’s left of King Sombra after his defeat in Crystal Kingdom. Unfortunately, how it goes about informing us of that is through redoing Magic Duel, only with more ponies being thrown against walls. It’s close enough to the episode to be irritating and far enough removed from it to make me wonder why the author didn’t just decide to write an original story. The writing isn’t great, very telly with flat dialogue, not to mention fast pacing. In all, not a great read.
Not Recommended
To Be a Mother by TittySparkles
Reading by TheLostNarrator
Genre: Ploy for Sympathy
I have many reasons to dislike this story. It latches onto the fandom’s obsession with the idea that Chrysalis and Shining Armor had sex before the invasion of Canterlot. It uses Chrysalis as a Sympathy Sue, lost and alone, and nearing the end of a tumultuous pregnancy caused by a stallion she hates. It’s a naked ploy for “feels”. (I’d like to direct your attentions now to this wonderful post by bookplayer about simple vs. complex emotions in stories. It's quite illuminative as to why stories like this don't work.) But most of all, as the narrator was describing her newborn child laying there, unmoving, and Chrysalis becoming increasingly anxious, I laughed so, so hard, as I tend to when I realize just how hard the author is trying and failing to get me to feel something. And then I looked at the actual text and the author’s note, and the author is playing the “based on real events card” and now I feel like the lowest form of life on the planet. I mean, I’m not, this is fiction, but that’s the “feel” this wrung from me. So basically, fuck this story.
Not Recommended
Addendum: For anyone paying really close attention to my review group, I've moved Who We Are to Highly Recommended, because it turns out I gave it that rating back when I did the reading. I've also removed The Boneyard from "Old Favorites" because I technically reviewed and recommended it back in 2012. I removed The Life and Times of Caughlin Mare as well because it's in progress and I'll review it when it's done. :V I think that's all the changes, anyway.
Huh. Slim pickings this time around. That Chrysalis fix reminds me of Cadance in A Minor, a fic that I've enjoyed despite of how squirmingly uncomfortable it gets.
10/10
2040211
Get this:
When Chris reviewed it recently, he flipped the fuck out because of mind-control appearing in the story.
Now, I've always thought that I was pretty sensitive to mind-control. I rather detest it and flip the fuck out myself, that's part of the reason I had such a strong reaction to Friendship Is Optimal. But I and a few other readers noted that we either hadn't seen the mind control, or weren't bothered by it. It seems odd, though I suppose it's possible he's just slightly more sensitive to it than I. But I mean, I'd just done the audiobook and I hadn't noticed it. D: It's killing me.
2040343
whaaat
Seriously?
...
Okay, just went and found it and read it. I guess I can sort of see where he's coming from... but I never interpreted the memory-altering spells to be as pervasive as he did. I took it as the pony equivalent of a human forging enough identity papers (SSN, driver's license, etc) to get into the "system," and then just rode on that base deception to the point we see in the show/fic. (Like if it's Pinkie -- she inserted herself at a young age into her family's memories, and maybe some others close to the Pies, but that was all that was necessary.) It's been a while so I can't remember if that position is actually directly supported by the fic.
Coming at it another way, to my mind, the Mane 6's friendship must be True, or the Elements of Harmony wouldn't work for them.
2041582
That's an important thing to note!
Also, so that's what Somewhere Cycle is about. It actually sounds like something I'd love to read, so thank you for that. Adding it to my bookmarks!
I remain happily confused that The Somewhere Cycle: Volume 1 remains so high in your estimation, Present.