Author Interview » jakkid166's "Detective jakkid166 in everything" [Royal Canterlot Library] · 2:43pm Apr 17th, 2020
Missing out on today's story would be a crime.
Detective jakkid166 in everything
[Comedy] [Human] • 15,616 words
"Every pony thing evre made would be better if it had me in it."
- me
I, Detective jakkid166, will be prepared to make every pony fanficion, video, and game better by me being in it. All you favorite pony content, except it has ME! And even I could be in some episodes of the show except cause the charaters are idiot I'm good at my job.
The ultimate Detective jakkid166 adventures collection, as he goes into EVERYTHING to make it good.
FROM THE CURATORS: "Wait, come back! I'm serious!" Soge said in his nomination. "Writing good trollfic is hard … the best trolls imbue their bad grammar, random typos, and nonsensical plot with purpose. And jakkid's fics are resounding successes in this regard, showing that he is fully willing and able to twist everything you take for granted in a story in order to extract as much humor as possible."
This spurred a debate over whether trollfics were in our mission statement to spotlight the fandom's best stories, and amid that debate, one thing quickly became clear: there indeed is quality here. "OK, so this is… umm... it's, uhh... it's featurable, lemme say right off the top," AugieDog said. "Because this story is nuts — absolutely, gloriously, exhaustingly nuts." Indeed, jakkid166 went on to win rare unanimous approval. "He's just got a phenomenal way to make the reader constantly second-guess themselves," Present Perfect said. "He lulls you into a sense that everything you think you know about writing and the English language might actually be wrong."
That authorial skill came out in sharp comedy and frantic wordplay. "Despite its deliberately broken language, it's quotable as hell," Horizon said. "Every paragraph drips with surprising punchlines and glorious turns of phrase." Soge agreed: "It is impossible to finish this without having one (or several) favorite sentences." And while many of jakkid166's stories offered that same hilarity, this fic in particular was elevated by its structure. "Jakkid grows on you. Like a fungus," FanOfMostEverything said. "Having him intrude on classic tales (and Flash games, and episodes...) elevates his usual blend of impossible awesomeness and incomprehensibility by giving him a plot he has to at least acknowledge."
Several of us similarly appreciated the parody of fandom classics on display. "This fic's vignette style worked just perfect for me," Soge said, and Present Perfect agreed: "I found this a hilarious sendup of numerous fanfics, a la Starlight Fixes Everything, just with jakkid166's own personal brand of insanity." And ultimately, it was adding that to the exemplary-yet-broken writing which won us over. "The fic not only offers a hilarious takedown of some fandom sacred cows, it's almost embarrassingly witty and creative," Horizon said. "That it does so via its insane internal logic is a sign of how much thought went into its construction. It's the fanfiction equivalent of a classic Looney Tunes cartoon inventing its own physics."
Read on for our author interview, in which jakkid166 discusses prison breaks, methlessness, and unsalted soup.
Give us the standard biography.
I am detective jakkid166 the greatest detective in the world. My story start with the unfortunate death of my fortunate father, Jakdad166. You see back in day there was a law that said if you stab someone with a knife you must clean it so the next person you stab doesn’t get infected. But the town serial killer forgot to do that so my dad got stabbed and he died of tetanus, and also the stab wound. and so on that day I decided I, me, yes, would become the greatest detective in the world, to fight against injustices like this.
And eventually, after I bought my Detective diploma (because im american), I was detective. My detective life started out in my home world of Los Angeles, where I was good friends with Phoenix Wright and helped him with his cases except for when I did not help him. I was not as good at writing back then tho so those stories arent as funny. But eventually in the first chapter of Detective jakkid166 Go Equestria Now, you see I fell in th portal and ended up in Equestria and that is where I lived for a long time and wrote about all the crazy adventures that happen there. Twilight sparkle edits my storeys for me sometimes.
How did you come up with your handle/penname?
my name is detective jakkid166. so i take out the detective part.
Who's your favorite pony?
Bob Tool, who was my neighbor in Equestira. he run a hardware stand in the Ponyville boston market. I love him for his funny jokes, like he would say “What do you need to hammer a nail? a hammer!” and I would laugh. the joke is funny because you are supposed to use a wrench
What's your favorite episode?
My favorite episode is Rarity Investigates. Which is 15th episode of season 5. I like it because rarity is detective in it. she actually got inspiration to do that from me specifically.
it was a good one cause I remember after Rainbow Dash got framed for murder or whatever it was, rarity came up to solve the case. So she and rainbow went to go look for clues. They did find a piece of rainbows hair in a very suspicious place (on her head), and it was going well. Then Rarity asked me “detective jakkid166 who do you think did it?” and that was the moment i put the puzzle together. I put the puzzle back in its box and said “Yes i know who it was!” and it was true and we arrested the true culprit. it was a fun episode.
What do you get from the show?
Mainly I get lotsa money from being paid to do my detective job, but also my favorite part is gettin to be friends with all the ponies who i love friends. I would take a bullet for them, cause im actually immune to bullets cause I built up a immunity to them from getting shot so many times.
What do you want from life?
simple. I must eradicate All Crime.
Wait actually no i cant be detective if theres no crime. I eradicate MOST crime.
Why do you write?
As greatest detective in the world i simply think that sometime I shud be recognized for my efforts in uncriming equestria. Still many people do not believe they are (mostly) true stories and laugh instead, but it is all good because it is supposed to be fun so who cares! people apperciate jakkid and that make me the Happiest Detective in the World.
What advice do you have for the authors out there?
Do not get too caught up in RULES. Ther ar many ways to write stories. rules help sometime but sometimes breaking a writig rule can be GOOD if you do it right. Make you own rules. it make you writing spicy. this is why i sometimes break the law as detective, to keep life spicy. That is also why i put hot sauce on everything.
What inspired not just this story but your whole wonderfully odd approach to storytelling?
Wel my BIG inspiration to start to write is a storey called DAMON GANT ESCAPS FROM PRISOOOOOOON by Ballistic Dolphin. It is a phoenix wright story that inspire me to actually write about my real experiences cause i know phoenix wright in real life.
With story telling i usually only tell the story as it happen in real life, but with Detective jakkid166 in Everything it was different cause most of those stories are actually mostly made up (i am sorry to be disappointing). I was never really in Fallout Equestria or Rainbow Factory. though I really did meet Billy Joel. so how would I write stories that were not true?
The most important thing is i make sure the way I tell it is entertaining. I did not take lotsa inspiration from one thing specifically because it is mostly me, but I am a bigfan of movies like Airplane and Naked Gun and i like to make jokes like them sometimes when im on my adventures. Even though Twilight edit my stories for me i know i am not the greatest writer in the world, but so instead I use the not greatestness to my advantage. Even greatest detective must be humble and be able to laugh at self, so i make the jokes reflect that.
Is there a method to your madness, or is it just madness?
it is all method and no meth. I think very carefully about how i write mine sentences in stories. I spend a lotta time thinking up new jokes to say on my adventures so I can write them in my storeys. It may seem crazy because detective jakkids life is crazy sometimes. I ask people feedback to see if something is funny or not. But other than true events, I jus write what is funny to me. That is the trueth and my main goal. Be Funny at All Costs. Or BFAC for short. I just made that up.
Would you call your stories “trollfic”?
Google tell me that a troll fic is supposed to make people think theyre accidentally bad or theyre supposed to make people mad. My storeys are not supposed to do either one. My stories do not lie abot what they are, they are just here to entertain you no matter what way they can. So I cannot call it that.
Is there anything Detective jakkid can’t do?
I have escaped people out of prison. I have saved equestria from being Nuked. I got a guy a date with a friend one time which was kinda cool. but. Despite all i do, I canot stop being jakkid166. and for the better or for the worse i must make do with that. I am a Loose Cannon.
also i cant do Random Humor. all my jokes must have Purpose
and lastly i cannot stop partying. because Detective jakkid166 is always in Cool Mode.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Salt to the soup i am eating because its not very good.
That is a joke. for real i want to say I am very grateful for your questions and considerating me. i hope you all enjoy the saga of jakkid, and I present each of you with 50 detective dollars (if you get 500 detective dollars you can have me arest anyone you want to.) However. i must get back to solveng my latest case. so peace out! or peace in. whatever you perefer
You can read Detective jakkid166 in everything at FIMFiction.net. Read more interviews right here at the Royal Canterlot Library, or suggest stories for us to feature at our Fimfiction group.
Are you...
..Is this...?
You know what, sure why not.
EDIT: READER BEWARE! It's a damn salt mine after this point.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Yes.
Just yes.
All the yes.
Because yes.
Also, fish.
Finally, some quality.
Oh me oh my
...Well, this is a thing that has happened.
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Disclaimer: TheAncientPolitzanian has not actually quit. This is a joke.
I regret nothing.
Jakkid gets it. He belongs here.
Listen, I'm personally friends with like 90% of the RCL, and while I haven't talked much with the author of Jakkid, I am at least close acquaintances with them. But this is like.
Actively insulting?
Like, I don't want to make Jakkid themselves feel inadequate, but I am thinking of all the people who haven't been featured yet, looking at this post, and I'm wondering how that'll make them feel. I've glanced at the story. I genuinely don't think it's feature-worthy. I don't know if this is kind of a joke, or just that you're running out of stories to feature, or you just wanted some fresh air -- but this is frankly upsetting.
It almost feels like this is a late April fools joke, or the quarantine has driven us all insane.
Based
Is this like some kind of elaborate Carrie-esque bullying scheme? Are you going to dump pig's blood on him now?
This is genuinely good advice!
Now all shall recognize true greatness.
5244260
Hah. Poped corn.
Huh. Kind of an eye-opening line next to the one that 5244246 pointed out. There's an audience for everything. I like this feature, not just because it's Jakkid166, but because it's a story that shows how randomness can pull in readers, instead of shooting them out of it. That's why back when Jakkid was writing these, people flocked to read what he put out. Every story this guy wrote is a load of insanity that has a plot line that keeps you wondering what happens next, unlike Rainbow Lovin' even though that story is a riot as well for different reasons. Nice addition, RCL!
5244225
I'm not featured, and this story is a banger. Not sure why someone would be upset over Jakkid getting featured in RCL.
EDIT: Since Trick Question pointed out that 'jealousy' is not a fair representation of why people are worried about this feature, I changed it to 'upset over'. My point still stands here.
5244225
5244268
5244275
Granted, this fic's inclusion into the RCL did kinda irritate me at first, but ultimately I think it's best if we just observe this story (and jakkid's work in general) in a similar manner to the way a lot of music critics look at something like, say, Trout Mask Replica or Philosophy of the World—it succeeds not because it does everything right, but rather because it does everything perfectly wrong.
Not everyone's going to "get it", so to speak (I personally am only so-so), but in the end there's definitely something there. We might not be able to tell what kind of thing it is, but it's definitely a thing.
5244281
I don't think justifying it as a story that does 'everything wrong' sounds as good as recognizing what the story did well. Actually, it's almost kind of demeaning, in a way, that there has to be a strict rule of 'what is right' in writing. There are several ways to write a story, not just one. I'm able to tell why this story is in RCL. It has a good kind of absurdity that makes me read stories like this one. :)
Haven't read this one, but I did read the sequel (thinking it was a standalone, and frankly finding it could be a standalone just fine), Detective jakkid166 save Tha World.
I can sum it up thus:
Like it was written by Tommy Wiseau thinking he's Inspector Clouseau thinking he's simultaneously Raymond Chandler, the Tick, and Bruce Willis all rolled into one. And with the same genius grasp of artistic flourish as possessed by Ed Wood.
I think I cracked two ribs that day.
"Well now I've seen everything." BANG!
Controversial suicide aside (complete with dark humour!), Looney Tunes is a good comparison, though. Anarchy filtered through comic genius. Like, there is some legitimately witty lines in jakkid's work. Take this parody of the common "hero is sad and needs a pep talk" scene:
Or this exaggerated overkill of the Lavender Unicorn Syndrome (don't worry, Rainbow gets better):
Or, hell, the whole sarcastic character shilling that is also a more general send-up of the Mary Sue Self-Insert, mangling both action heroism and any attempt to show the hero's intelligence (with chess no less):
That's just a small sample (it's so damn quotable). I concur the deliberately bad spelling and atrocious grammar actually enhances the random comedy. It's pretty much the verbal equivalent of a caricature's grotesque style.
Sometimes, it's nice to know even cartoon insanity has its place at the table. At least, I don't mind seeing it there. It's going to make a fun dinner guest, at least.
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5244300
Fair enough. No matter the word choice, my point still stands.
Hahaha hilarious April Fool's joke, here's my response.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/attorneyonlinevidya/images/4/47/1455235064412.png/revision/latest?cb=20160215151335
EDIT: This isn't April Fool's. As such, I will rephrase my response:
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/attorneyonlinevidya/images/c/ce/FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.png/revision/latest?cb=20160215181731
5244281
5244288
And they acknowledged that, that this is the 1% where someone knew exactly what they were doing while breaking every rule in the book. Still sort of waiting for the sequel to that 5244225 blog where he was going to talk about how to do that. As an aside, are there actually enough people at the RCL for "90%" to work as even the half-assed rounding it was?
5244225
5244268
Since I was the one to initially nominate the story, I feel responsible for this response. Not trying to speak for any of the other curators, but let me be clear: I do believe that this story has genuine merit, and I never meant the nomination as a joke or a slight against anyone. Also keep in mind that I really dislike dadaist art in general, and stuff that is bad just for the sake of meta commentary. I think that what jakkid does requires genuine skill, due to the way he extracts comedy from deconstructing sentences, playing with its unique brand of surreal logic, and from the sheer quotability of the whole thing. 5244299 makes the case for this better than I could.
5244338
Sorry for asking this, but what did you just say here?
From what I think you said, are you saying this story is featured because there's an inside joke or nepotism here? Are you saying that there isn't any skillfully written or planned things in this story? I don't think the curators were thinking "haha funny memez jakkid166 best author bro let's put this in the archive to dab on the site haha". There is a lot of thought put behind this feature, not sure why people aren't recognizing this.
5244359
Them's fightin' words. Jakkid's work is CLEARLY leagues above any other work submitted to RCL or the vault. Nothing you say after this will make up for this transgression.
5244359
Oh, I don't doubt that either, but I also don't like that you're deciding that this story has no merit just because it's not written to your liking. As I said before, there's an audience for everything.
According to RCL, this story fits the 'trollfic' genre well. It's definitely up there in that genre.
5244268
My personal feeling is that while it's fine to disagree with a story being featured in the RCL, I'm just happy for the author. A lot of us work hard to improve our writing, and I would honestly be pretty disheartened to hear someone say my EQD feature doesn't matter since it's apparently "easy" now to get featured there.
While I don't disagree with your sentiment (and it was written very nicely), the people who vote on it for entry into the RCL are also entitled to their opinions, even if it differs from what the masses think. No awards come without controversy every now and again.
5244225
I don't think the RCL is required to feature the absolute best fic that they haven't yet featured.
Honestly, this story achieves what it sets out to do really well, and there is craft to it. It's not craft in the way I would craft one of my stories, but then again it's not the kind of story I would write either, so that's a moot point. My feeling is that, like... complaining about this story's inclusion based on it being a trollfic, is like a darkfic author complaining about a comedy being featured. No, it doesn't do the things a darkfic would do, because it's not that kind of story, so judging it based on that would be meaningless.
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im sorry if i made peopel mad i just like to write detective story
5244398
I love you, Jakkid. You're a true gift to us, and we don't deserve you.
5244359 For what it's worth, I write trollfics. You'll find at least three of them on my account (just look for all the downvotes). And Jakkid is much, much better at it than me; there's a skill to his writing I just don't have. And I say that as someone with a not-troll story in the RCL.
5244398
Love you Jakkid. Keep on writing, dude!
As an RCL featured author, who is featured in the RCL, and who has written a story which was democratically determined by a panel of pony scientists to be mathematically worthy of inclusion of the RCL (in which I have been featured), I would like to use my considerable platform and status afforded to me, as an RCL-featured author
to say
please lighten up.
did I mention I was in the RCL. I don’t know if it came up.
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5244412
5244398 I am sending you to horse jail, detective jakkid. You’ll never work another case again!
This entire comments section right now:
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And I’m so here for it.
Y’all, as one of the foremost shitposters on this site, I can confirm that writing actually good troll stories is more difficult than it seems. Why do you think most of mine suck so much?
Since all of you think you can do it so easily, maybe this summer I’ll run a trollfic/crackfic/shitfic writing contest instead of another feghoot contest. This site could always use more quality trash.
P.S. a lot of you have clearly never read e. e. cummings, and it shows.
P.S.S.: as to my own thoughts on this? I’m really glad this got a feature. And I’m not saying that as a shit poster, I’m saying that as someone who appreciates the extremely wide variety of excellent stories on this site that the RCL chooses to feature. Everyone loves a “Great” story, but sometimes it’s refreshing to read some delicious trash.
5244398
skate fast, eat ass
5244417
Great point.
Sooo... Tramp feature in the RCL when?
5244412
I wouldn't be bandying about that RCL feature too much. I hear they featured a jakkid fic once. The patina's off that pig and ain't nobody tryna break halal.
5244268
I just wanted to thank you, here, for putting into words something I felt but couldn't articulate. Part of this feels like punching down, even though I know that's not jakkid's intention here.
One thing I really don't like about this is that any criticism this story gets is going to be deflected as intentional - it's bad in that way on purpose. It allows jakkid to take full credit for when people like it, and argue that any criticism or disagreement with that just comes down to 'not getting it'. It makes it impossible to actually seriously talk about, which is, I think, why the comments section's gone the way it has.
I get that it's intentional. I get that humour is subjective.
But because this story intentionally refuses to have characters, a narrative, anything besides that joke - whether you get it or not - there isn't more to it. It's entirely, intentionally bad to tell a single kind of joke.
Because there's nothing else to that story except that one kind of joke, it reduces the entire conversation down to personal taste, and any disagreements entirely to personal attacks - blaming people for not getting it. And that's the only discussion I'm seeing possible here, right now.
And that's not the kind of conversations I want to have about a story.
5244422
Three days over three years ago, actually.
- MLP: FiM
- Drama
- Slice of Life
- Tragedy
You're drenched in sweat and ennui. She's fighting the enemy, and you're fighting depression. Stuck forever in a nowhere town, you try to rise above inertia, but you only end up feeling useless. You're always feeling that way.( I know it’s extremely hard to believe but I do occasionally write serious stories.)