Fic recs, September 20th · 5:55pm Sep 20th, 2015
So this is easily the best reviewing format I’ve ever seen.
For those of you seeking advice on your writing (and who isn’t, really), cleverpun has a brief but solid blog about writing children that should definitely be read.
So I’m in season one now, starting with Best Night Ever and I have two things to note: This is the only time we’ve ever seen horses (granted, they were transformed mice abominations), and it proves they’re considered animals or at least a servant species; and we should have already known that Rarity wears false eyelashes, because she puts one in while they’re getting ready. :V Also, I was whining about Rarity buttering up the delivery pony in Rarity Investigates, but she’s been doing that since S1, so I guess I just need to get over it. :B
Also, I think I can continue to call Party of One my favorite episode ever. I mean, Pinkie Pride was great because Weird Al, Sleepless in Ponyville, Hurricane Fluttershy and Amending Fences are all fantastic character pieces, Twilight’s Kingdom was great because explosions and The Last Roundup and Magic Duel hit the right pandering notes, but none of them hold a candle to the nonstop comedic setpieces and surprising subversiveness of Pinkie’s first big personal challenge. It’s a good feeling.
Anyway, enough with the chit-chat, time is candy. I’d had plans to release a big ‘edition’ review today, but that will have to wait until tomorrow because certain things transpired and I had to put this out right now. So check below for, uh... not a lot of variety. o.O
H: 1 R: 0 C: 5 V: 0 N: 0
Sweetie Poo by DontWannaKnow
Reading (part 1) by Captain Sand
Genre: POOP
A brony is visited by his favorite pony. Things don’t go as planned.
Ask Sweetie Poo was one of my absolute favorite pony ask tumblrs (RIP ;_;), and a story based on it? Well, I just kind of have to fav it on principal. (It came pre-faved, by the way.) That said, there are some missteps. Too much time is spent setting up “I am a normal, average brony” at the start. A lot of the tumblr’s non-native-English charm is lost, though at least Sweetie is portrayed as really dumb. This is not a story that will have widespread appeal, but if you really like puns, you might want to stick it out for the final one. The poo-averse need not apply.
Recommended If You Think Poop Is Funny
Drop Bombs and Float On by FuzzyFurvert
Reading by Patrick Rowberry
I happened to notice this in the story comments. Okay, so, you know how I’ve complained in the past about certain readers not being loud enough? There is an upper limit. The problem here is that the microphone is so close to his mouth (or else the volume has been raised so much) that the words are distorted and hard to understand. That, and from what I could hear, he’s got a very weird cadence to his reading, possibly due to hesitation. I did at least notice the editing in play, so he’s doing that right. Likely has potential, but not right now. (He did tell me he's gotten a new mic and is working on improving his readings, so I'll have to revisit him in the future.)
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Episode Followup
Maud Pie recounts her experience at the Grand Galloping Gala.
The one thing that caught me on this is that it feels very unfocused. Maud jumps from idea to idea sometimes, and while that may very well be intentional on the author’s part, it didn’t seem — to me, anyway — like something Maud would do. Well, that and this doesn’t really go anywhere beyond “episode from another perspective”. That said, there is a lot of funny stuff in here, and Maud’s placid, dry humor comes through well. It’s a fun, short read.
Recommended for Maud Fans
Sombra, Aman by The Elusive Badgerpony
Genre: Character Study
King Sombra looks out over his empire, beneath the sunless sky.
This is one of those neat looks into Sombra’s character, equal parts backstory and study of power. The way he experiences power while looking out at his slaves really gets us into his head. And his backstory isn’t meant to make him sympathetic, just to explain why he reacts the way he does at the end. That said, not all parts of this story are equally good, with some slip-ups here and there that point out how good the rest is. Still, it’s a pretty decent piece all told, and may satisfy if you ever wanted Sombra to have more, y’know, anything.
Recommended for Sombra Fans
Would It Matter If I Was? by GaPJaxie
Reading by Illya Leonov, Caitbug and Scribbler
Reading by Goombasa
Genre: Philosophical
I don’t think this one needs any introduction. It’s filled the featurebox with commentary and controversy like few stories have this year. I’ll get right to it and say that the big problem with this piece is that Who We Are answered its central question in precisely the same way, with far more fanfare and a deeper understanding of the characters, three years ago. If this had come out around the same time, it would have had more purpose, but halfway through season five? It’s just not the kind of thing that’s really topical. That said, it does at least stand apart by taking a new logical route through the conversation, and by painting Fluttershy as one of the most likely candidates to be a changeling. (She was always one of my top choices in WWA.) But even she can’t lampshade how off-character she is. I can’t say I was too keen on the fandom references, either, from the intimation that Shining and Chrysalis had sex to the very pointed choices of Derpy and Bon-Bon as examples for the “what if they turned out to be?” question. And, well, it doesn’t amount to much other than “Fluttershy backs Twilight into a logical corner” and a coming-out metaphor. I think this will resound better with the reader who hasn’t read a lot of changeling fics and/or taken time to ponder the title question.
Recommended If You’ve Never Read the Concept Before
Do It Mattered If I Is? by KitsuneRisu
Reading by Illya Leonov, et. al.
Genre: Comedy
Fluttershy, this is neither the time nor the place for an argument you are very bad at making.
Before I get into this story, I have to talk about RealityCheck’s Yes, It Matters. It's a rebuttal to GaPJaxie’s fic, the wedding episode, and just about everything else. I started reading it because it was linked in the comments of this fic, got about a thousand words in, started getting very angry and decided that I know better, darnit, so this is all the review you’re getting.
That said, this is the “certain thing” that I mentioned transpiring earlier. My god, this fic. Just the combination of cover art and title alone are enough to make me die from laughter. As a parody, it’s fantastic, the kind of story I myself like writing and thus reading. Fluttershy is perfectly in character, something I can’t say for Would It Matter, while Twilight is perfectly in character for Friendship Is Witchcraft (and, deviously, there’s a reason for this). It does episode commentary better than Yes, It Matters. Fluttershy’s inability to argue her point is hilarious. There’s never a dull moment, as the narrative always gives us a peek at things like an unconscious Spike. The argument is sidetracked by lots of goofy shit, and you’ll never see the end coming. A question has been posed to Fimfiction, and what matters is that KitsuneRisu has made fun of it in the best way possible. (Ironically, despite what I said about Would It Matter, you’ll really have to read it to get this one.)
Highly Recommended
Rules of Engagement by Craine
Reading by Scribbler, Caitbug and Hayleymarie00
Genre: Comedy
Applejack is determined to teach Rarity how to fight.
Though Scribbler touts it as a Rarijack, there’s really no shipping to be had here. Sure, there’s an undertone (and an overtone), but as a shipper of that pairing, I was left wanting. As comedy, however, it’s just fine. (It’s even got a funny description!) That said, I was also a little confused. I thought surely I must have missed something after the reading, and on a reread, yes, I definitely missed something. I just have no idea what’s being gotten at here. What are the “rules of engagement”? This does take some liberties with Rarity’s character, though I find myself wondering just how much of a liberty that really is. It does at least serve to give the scene momentum, and the ending is at least amusing. There are some punctuation and editing mistakes, but overall, it’s worth a quick read.
Recommended for Laughs
Do Saddle Arabians not count as horses? They're pretty close to baseline equine in morphology.
And yeah, sidestepping RealityCheck was probably the best choice there.
Yeah, I regret not doing that. I really should have taken Perfect's hint.
I know Patrick Rowberry in RL, as it happens. He talks somewhat like that in person as well. You do get used to it after a while, but you're right, he'll be a lot better if he can moderate his volume a bit.
Having read your comment on it, I must now go and read that RealityCheck story. (I've read GaPJaxie's already.)
Pfft, no mention of Fluttershy being revealed to be a member of what might be the cutest changeling subspecies ever by the end of RC's fic? That's about my favorite part of the set of stories so far,
and it's the only one not published because of reasons.Wait, scratch that, it was just published.
I'm just curious, this whole "rebuttal" fic thing, does it happen often? Because I dislike e-drama and am just curious how often it happens on this site.
*goes to read DIMIIS*
Read RealityCheck's fic and yeah, it was painful. Hearing Twilight try to argue that profiling and prejudice are valid and acceptable was infuriating.
Man, the b-day gifts just keep rolling in! Thanks PP!
I thought Would it Matter was interesting, if fairly OOC and definitely one-sided (Twilight really does nothing but sit there and be lectured). But t was nice and easy to read -- I like the nebulousness of GAPJaxie's fics.
I mean, I don't know if that's the right word to describe it, but it's the one that comes to mind. They're like, dunno. Vague enough to keep me interested. His characterizations, if sometimes a little bit on the nose, tend to be really neat.
As a platonic dialogue it was cool, I guess. It was controversial, but as you said, hardly topical, and with some clear issues.
(Seriously, the Shining Armor/Chrysalis thing had no business in there, it felt as if GAPJaxie just wanted to dump some headcanon for headcanon's sake).
Oh wow thanks for the new followers!
Also MFW checking out the comments on "Yes, it matters".
3407077
Don't, please. D:
Also, you should totally coach him on voice stuff. :V
3407085
I didn't make it that far. <.< Also, I'd wondered what you were talking about NOW I KNOW.
3407115
It might, I dunno. If nothing else, I can't fault RC for making sure GPJ was okay with his fic. Usually, rebuttals get posted without that much courtesy, and that's where drama spawns.
In regards to your other comment, whereas GaPJaxie's fic is allegorical for the struggles of LGBT youth, RC's comes off as more "We should have killed more Muslims after 9/11". :/
3407279
I think GaPJaxie's done far better. :/
3407382 You realise I'm even more likely to read it now? I (somehow) made it to the end of The Canterlot Conference, which literally made me feel sick, so I expect I can cope with this one.
Could be tricky as I only really see him at meets, but you never know. :)
3407382
Yeah, and if anything the fic makes it clear why the mistreatment of Muslins and those of East Indian decent in the real world is a bad thing - the Changeling attack just happened, Twilight is too personally close to the incident to judge the situation without her own bias influencing her decisions, and emotions are still high resulting in paranoia of another attack. If the fic was set in Season 3, or another period of time when the Canterlot Wedding has passed and ponies have calmed down, Twilight would react differently.
Of course, this presumes much on the part of the author and his depiction of Twilight in that fic.
3407382 Muhahahahaha!
Badger did a great job with that little fic series that starts with Sombra, Aman (Woo, shoutout to muh Slint homies!). Every single story in that was utterly amazing.
3407382 But she's so cute!
mlpg.co/art/src/1377994743470.png
(Admittedly not a perfect representation, but still.)
3407459
Reviews to come!
3407611
dafuck is that
3407971 sweet
I'm really going to need people comparing it to treatment of Muslims to think through the differences between the fic and the real world scenario. There are major differences that need to be taken into account.
The real world scenario is that a terror attack was committed by a small subset of a pre-existing group causing fear and hate to flair up against that whole group.
The fictional scenario posited by RC is that an invasion is launched by a completely unknown race without provocation causing fear and hate to flair up against that group.
The difference in whether or not the group is known is exceedingly important. With Muslims we have lived with, interacted and known for years and years. We have knowledge of each other, a history and we know not all Muslims are terrorists because otherwise Ahmed from down the street would have blown me up instead of being an investment banker. It makes sense not to allow a singular subset to color your perception of the whole group because we already have knowledge of the rest of the group.
This is not what happens in RC's fic. The Changelings are entirely alien. There is no history, there is no knowledge of others in the Changeling race or disinterested parties. The only interaction that is had is an invasion. That is it. This is wholly different from any modern day real world scenario. This is not Muslims, this is invaders from Mars.
So, if we continue with this line of thinking, you have a complete unknown race that has aggressively attacked. Separating out any sort of emotional bias, which is a safer option: To proceed under the assumption that changelings you will encounter will be hostile or to proceed assuming that there are non-hostile changelings?
The answer is to go off available evidence and make as few assumptions as possible. So you proceed with the safest course of action.
That's my piece. It's just really annoying hearing it compared to the current situation with Muslims when there are major factors that limit the usefulness of the analogy.
3408626
And this is something I thought about. The end result is that any similarity to the real-world scenario would necessitate the viewpoint being argued from the perspective of the most ignorant of Americans (who do exist, let's be honest). Which absolves him of using the characters as a mouthpiece. :)
3407971
That appears to be Fluttershy as a mothpone, which does look pretty cute.