Fic recs, October 25th · 2:40pm Oct 25th, 2015
I am sick to death of having cats. I'm never getting another pet again so long as I live. D:
Rewatching Call of the Cutie reminded me that, while everyone remembers Twist for her lisp, she had an extremely nasal voice, too. Also, Winter Wrap-Up gets an amendment of “Spike is a dick to Twilight the whole time.” :B Seriously, if you ever get mad about the way he’s treated in his own episodes, just remember that he can be a little shit when he wants.
Speaking of episodes, here is one of the most insightful and interesting episode analyses I have ever seen. It’s about the new episode, Hearthbreakers, so spoiler warnings apply. (Also, I called it.)
I just filled out the new Brony Survey (it’s on EQD, I’m too lazy to link to it), where they ask for the names of influential artists around the fandom. They had a “who else?” box, so I threw some fanfic names in there. But oh geez. Coming up with influential names? Easy, take the Big Three plus Cupcakes and Rainbow Factory, bam, done. But I felt the need to include talented writers, and picking just five was nearly impossible. c.c More like, picking four was easy, but the fifth was nearly impossible and I left out a lot of really good names. D: Please consider filling it out and adding in fanfic authors, though!
Reviews below!
H: 0 R: 3 C: 2 V: 2 N: 0
Burlap by LawnPygmy
Genre: Comedy
The mane six hold an impromptu belching contest.
This is the story that reminded me this collection existed. If the thought of ponies loudly burping titillates you, set your mind back to season one and go read this. It’s a hoot.
Recommended
Grammatik Struktur (or “Who Lives Here?”) by Slavoj Zizek
Genre: Experimental/Philosophical
This is one part semantic experiment, one part “Who’s on First?” (I do believe that’s the purpose of the subtitle.) I suspect the bizarre way this is written will turn a lot of people off (all the verbs are in root form, not conjugated for third person), but if you can handle that, this is fun. What’s actually weird about it is the sexual overtones in the way Sunset is described. (Well, and she’s not particularly in character, but I think arguments of character are out the window right now.) I suspect is has something to do with the Slavoj Zizek name, but I don’t know shit about philosophy beyond semantics, which is why I read this in the first place. Check it out if you don’t mind characters communicating via high-grade philosophical concepts; it’s certainly the most original story featuring an “Anon” I’ve ever seen!
Recommended
Last Words by BlazzingInferno
Reading (part 1) by Dr. Wolf
Genre: Slice of Life
When a checkup results in dire news, Big Macintosh decides he has a few things to say to his friends…
I read this story a long time ago and wasn’t really a fan. Sorry to say, I’m even less of a fan now. This is a piece about Big Mac going around and solving everyone’s problems because he’s been told he’s going to permanently lose his voice. It sets up an interesting conundrum: how valuable is something one doesn’t really use when one is on the verge of losing it? But that angle is never really explored fully, and instead this builds to a situation where everyone’s got the wrong idea and Mac is actually making their lives worse, which was at least somewhat funny. What I generally dislike is the shipping: he wants to ask Cheerilee out as part of his “say something to everypony” plans, and he also tries to convince Spike and Rarity to get together. There’s also a late-story scene with Derpy crying her eyes out, which comes before what is arguably the story’s absolute best scene. If there had been more out-and-out humor, I think I’d have enjoyed this more. Instead, I can’t be very enthusiastic over it and can only suggest it if those ships don’t bother you. I mean, it’s not badly written or anything, it’s just a question of content.
Vaguely Recommended
Pinkie’s Magic Pinching Shell of Pain by Noir de Plume
Reading by Midnight29
I found this reader on EQD, and she’s pretty good. A little halting, but good volume and clear audio. I will say that while she tried to differentiate the characters, sometimes her Rainbow sounded like an AJ, and Twilight sounded like a Rarity. It could be confusing if she reads anything with those characters together. But for now, I think she suits my needs just fine.
Genre: Light Comedy
Pinkie Pie shows her friends a shell she found, but they get more than the sound of the ocean when they put it to their ears.
I have to agree with the commenter who said this story would be good for very young fans of the show. At least plot-wise, it’s the kind of fare they use for those illustrated Golden Books or whatever. For the average fandom constituent, though, you can probably guess the main joke from the title, and there’s nothing to the story beyond that, other than a lame pun at the end. It’s not bad, it’s just not all that interesting.
Recommended for Your Kids
MVP by totallynotabrony
Reading by Captain Sand
Genre: Football!
Twilight discovers something unexpected after she animates an old newspaper clipping.
I’ll say this much: the “animate a photograph and see what happened” spell could have been monumentally stupid, but it actually worked very nicely. Twilight can’t interact with anything, only watch, and there’s no moment when anyone notices her being there. That said, the story it’s tacked onto isn’t all that great. I mean, the whole plot is given away by the cover art, for one. (By the author's own admission, this is used as an example of such on TVTropes.) For two, well, I couldn’t really get into the alternately detailed and glossed-over scenes of ponies playing hoofball. Sports fans might get more out of this, but again, you can just look at the cover and get the gist.
Vaguely Recommended
Free Falling by Bubble Butt
Reading by StemCell
Genre: Light Comedy
Celestia looks for a distraction from the mundanities of her day.
This was a highly amusing piece, for all that the tags really fit it. Most of the comedy comes from Celestia’s reaction to what happens to her, as well as the aftermath. The description gives things away a bit, but going blind into the reading, I still found myself pleasantly surprised, and overall this is enjoyable.
Recommended
”Go Buck Yourself” by Fire Gazer the Alchemist
Reading by VisualPony
Reading by Captain Sand
Genre: Episode Followup
After Rarity Takes Manehattan, the fandom was inundated with answers to one question: What happened between Coco and Suri? This story is a fairly by-the-numbers entry into that pool. Honestly, it’s not too surprising, just a behind the scenes of the episode that plays heavily on the reader’s desire to tell off their boss. I will say that, much as it’s satisfying to see Fluttershy mk. IIsomeone as timid as Coco Pommel assert herself, it’s even more satisfying to see someone with actual power back them up, and that makes the final line just the perfect thing to end on. Not a piece for those who desire challenge from their reading, but decent enough regardless.
Recommended If You’ve Ever Wanted to Tell Off Your Boss
For those who haven't, be sure to read the comments on GaPJaxie's blog too, there are some interesting observations down in there. My favorite is probably the point about the present hunt. Why hunt for presents? To preserve the secret that sometimes there are none on account of sheer inability to afford any.
Ooh... that's tricky. I mean, famous? Sure. Talented? Yes, off the top of my head I have five very talented writers from the fandom. But actually influential? In the strict definition of the word? That's more tricky if you think outside the Big Three as you put them. As for Cupcakes and Rainbow Factory... are they still influential, or just things that were mildly shocking in an early fandom, but not so relevant now to the point I haven't even seen mentioned until now for over a year?
3495730
Given that people are still writing sequels, drawing fanart and making music based off of them four years on, yeah, they're influential.
3495765 they still are? I haven't seen any, although to be fair, I haven't been looking.
Edit: Also, I wrote down knighty's name on influential people. All due respect for the guy that wrote Cupcakes... sure, there's a bunch of equally bad sequels floating around, but... knighty built the biggest fan fiction site for MLP content in the internet, it has a shitload of members, and more options than most web pages give out there. If anyone here deserves a mention it's him.
That's an interesting take, but it doesn't fit at all with canon. We've had several episodes about how financially unstable the Apples are (Ticket Master, Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, Bats!) and the perceived class differences between them and actually wealthy ponies (Family Appreciation Day, Simple Ways.) The Pies might be even poorer than that, but... they have an awful lot of fancy crystals laying around, and one of their kids is going to college.
Holy fucking shit what the hell why Xizek writing fanfiction now
The name goes back to a really interesting kaizo philosopher of the 20th century and now.
What the hell that story was the stupidest thing I loved it
3495730
Who are the "Big Three" you guys mentioned?
3495920 Good question. Maybe Pen Stroke, device heretic, and kkat.
3495913
Eh, farming is one of those trades that demands year-round attention for highly seasonal profits. The real measure might be how comfortably each farming family could weather a bad crop. While the crystals on the Pie farm looked great, I couldn't shake the thought that they were probably family products, possibly objects destined for sale that they were using temporarily.
As for Maud, based on her skills she could be working her way through on her own or riding a scholarship.
I'm not saying any of this absolutely fits, but I see possibilities
3496565
Yeah, but that's specifically what Super Speedy Cider Squeezy is about--- without cider profits they can't even make it through the winter.
Thanks for the review!
"if those ships don’t bother you" sounds perfectly fair. I intended for Big Mac to be disruptive more than anything: helping some, hindering others, and generally learning that the world is a better place when he sticks to his two favorite words.
Fun fact: my notes on Fluttershy's section consist of the following: Fluttershy - tells her to stick up for herself more. Convinces her to punch him, swearing she can't do him any harm. He's mistaken.
3496579
Good point. I guess the answer is "not very long"
3495913
Yes, but just one of their kids. And she's such a whiz with rocks, there's every possibility she's gotten no small amount of financial aid. Meanwhile, the others still live at home with their aging parents, despite them having handed over control of the family farm to one.
As for AJ, I think it makes sense, and maybe it's because I come from a working-class family. When they're well-to-do, they don't feel like they're well-to-do. That sense of "we're poor farmers" pervades their psyches, clouding reality. Though they do get used to things like better food, maybe improved materials for things like bedding and home repairs, they're used to being poor, but not that poor, and they're quite happy to be well-off, thank-you-very-much.
Of course, when the barn falls down, they have to scrimp and go back to austerity to put it back together. All that extra money? It's been spent. Because there are walls that need patching and blankets that need mending and hips that need replacing. There's no "this is where we are now", everything gets spent because it feels like a windfall, and even if it's put away, fate will conspire to make those savings necessary. So why not treat yourself a little while things are good? It's just that, when they're continually good, you're continually being treated, and so...
3495920
3496395
Fallout: Equestria, Past Sins and My Little Dashie. Others near the top include Eternal and Background Pony.
3496640
That was actually one of the better moments in the story. :D Totally unexpected.
3496803
Like I said, look at Super Speedy Cider Squeezy. They didn't actually bet the farm in that episode. They bet the right to sell cider. But AJ pointed out earlier in the episode that the farm wouldn't make it through winter without the profits from one fall's worth of cider.
They were leaving Ponyville not because Flim and Flam owned the farm (though it seemed they planned to buy it) but because they couldn't keep it up without the profits from cider.
So, if the Apples are any better off than the Pies, it's either in the last three seasons of the show (so no wonder they're still in a poverty mindset, and their Hearth's Warming traditions would be based on that poverty from three years ago, not some new rich Canterlot traditions) or the Pies are in dire straits and Pinkie should probably not be living with the Cakes, but helping out at home.
3496803
New theory: the writers are drafting up episodes specifically to provoke arguments in the hardcore fandom
3496880
The bastards have been trolling us for a while. D:
3496876
One more idea:
Maybe we're digging too deep. Maybe we could leave it at the Pies are used to celebrating a more frugal HWE, be that from necessity or simple tradition.
There are millionaires out there who live a penny-pinching lifestyle, after all.
3496990
I have no problem with that, but it doesn't speak for or against GaPJaxie's point, which was what I was arguing with.
His idea was that the Pie's traditions are different not out of, well, differences but out of necessity, meaning it was rude for the Apples to come in with their "upper class" traditions and treat the "poor" ponies badly when they were doing the best they could.
I totally disagree with that, because the Apples have been portrayed in canon as barely making ends meet themselves. So if the Pies are even poorer than that, they're pretty much destitute, which brings up a whole bunch of questions about Pinkie spending money on parties and Maud going to university while their family is scraping to get by.
It seems more likely to me that they're approximately the same class financially, with the Apples being maybe a little luckier, and the Pies having that weird quasi-religious austerity thing going on. The Apples are more Wal-mart working class, and the Pies are more penny-pinchers. But that's not a class difference, like GaPJaxie argued, it's a tradition/taste thing, just like the show said.