Fic recs, January 18th: Ninjadeadbeard edition · 1:26am Jan 19th, 2023
In case you hadn't heard the news late last month, Fimfiction lost another well esteemed author, Ninjadeadbeard. I can't say I really knew him, but given the stellar plans for his memorial, I'd say he touched a lot of people here. And that's kind of amazing, considering he'd only been on Fimfic since August of 2019.
Despite not having read many of his stories, I had quite a few of them on my RIL, so that's what I've collected here for my own sort of tribute, since memorializing passed authors with a spate of reviews seems to be something I do now. And don't worry, these are all good to really great. He was clearly something else. (And I've added the rest of his work to my RIL.)
Before we get to the reviews, a couple quick updates:
Midnight29 has done a reading of Bakmah Genesis's Jaegerbombs and Tiaras
Scribbler's newest reading is naturalbornderpy's The Only Day, with EclipseReadings, EbonyTails and Midnight29
And with that out of the way, let's remember Ninjadeadbeard through what he left us.
H: 5 R: 6 C: 2 V: 0 N: 0
Memorial
Genre: Immortality Angst
Twilight loses the last of her original friends.
Gosh, really beginning with an a-propos title here. :/ So, this gets off to a good start by not giving us the death of the final member of the Mane Six minus Twilight, but Granny Apple Bloom. I cannot say I have ever seen that before, and I'm glad the CMCs were included in the group of Twilight's friends. Why wouldn't they be, after they're grown up? (Then again, Spike's still around, so I guess he never counted lol.) As for the body of the piece, it's about Twilight tangling with one of the few old friends she does still have left. For immortality angst, this is quite a good work, and it's got a very original idea for what Discord is up to, even if I have definitely seen a story follow these general plot points before. It even has a nice, uplifting -- if incredibly emotional -- ending. Good way to start things off.
Recommended
The Return of Sunset
Genre: [Redacted]
Sunset returns to the castle, but something about her seems different.
That's right, I don't even want to spoiler the genre tag, lest I give the game away. This is one of the most fantastically unique takes on the "Sunset returns to Celestia" story — a subgenre, if you will, that I am very willing to fawn over even the most basic entries of — and you just need to read it to understand. This is clearly one of many reasons why Ninjadeadbeard will be remembered fondly.
Highly Recommended
Twilight, You're Immortal
Genre: Comedy
Celestia and Luna have some bad news for Equestria's newest princess.
Oh my god, is this hilarious. Not to give away too much, but it's the perfect immortality anti-angst piece, even if it does involve a Jerklight Sparkle. Her reaction was simply nothing I could have predicted, and it's all gravy from that point on. :)
Recommended
The Greatest Trick
Genre: Comedy
The Great and Powerful Trixie performs at the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Was anyone else expecting a story about some kind of devil? <.< So, as comedies go, this one's all right. Not bad, not at all, but definitely not quite up to the standard of the previous story. The writing's a little off, maybe less polished, and while Pinkie does have some hilarious one-liners, the rest of the situation is just sort of baseline amusing, and it meanders a lot. Again, not a bad story per se, the last one was just a tough act to follow!
Recommended for Laughs
Soup: Food or Drink?
Genre: Comedy
It's Saturday, and there are not one, but two angry mobs outside the Castle of Friendship.
Now this is comedy. Perfect pacing, completely ridiculous premise, good use of characters, does not overstay its welcome. You could learn a lot from this! And you'll have fun at the same time.
Recommended
I'll Be Home for Hearth's Warming
Genre: Dramedy
Sunset's dreams experience an interruption.
This story does something that bothers me, that being taking a really long time for two characters whom we already know to dance around getting to know one another. I mean, it's good if your story is an epic focused on characterization and building trust and so forth, but in a short one-shot, it tends to just waste time; here, about half the story. But once that's over, this is great. You have Luna and Sunset meeting for the first time and then bonding over how they do and don't relate to Celestia. It's just as good as any "Sunset comes home" fic I've ever read, while being completely original. So despite that slow start, this does well by itself come the end.
Recommended
Waffles
Genre: Comedy/Nuh-uh
Something's always odd about Pinkie, but… never quite this odd.
Oh boy. Here's a comedy a lot of work went into. The writing's a lot more polished than the last couple, the jokes are paced perfectly, and this goes absolutely nowhere you would expect it to. Which unfortunately means it leads into something that not everyone is going to get, necessarily, but if I tagged it correctly, it would give the joke away. I thought this was great, so good luck!
Highly Recommended
Guarded Hearts
Genre: Rom-Com
The Co-Captains of the Crystal Empire's Guard are set up on Hearts and Hooves Day.
I have to say, I was a bit unsure of the pairing, but that ended up not mattering. I've never seen a better advertisement for an AU -- the Anarchyverse -- and you bet your be-hind I'm going to be checking it out in the future. The pacing is excellent, the characterization is great, and honestly it doesn't feel so much like an AU as simply a Future Fic. I mean, just wait till you see who set them up, that was so great, and it only gets better from there. Ends on a nice little surprise, too! What a fun story.
Highly Recommended
High Noon: Applejack
Genre: Western Comedy
Big Iron has been called out, and high noon is just five minutes away.
Oh my god. This story asks the question, "Just how do ponies use guns, anyway?" and then answers it in the most ridiculous way possible, an answer that somehow manages to line up with and redefine Western trope lingo. This is hilarious, especially when we get the peek behind the curtain. I would definitely read the whole book!
Highly Recommended
Joli Rouge
Genre: Comedy
Sonata Dusk gets acquainted with her new boss as part of her community service.
Oh me oh my, what a piece. We're in Sonata's head the whole time, and it's clear that she's not dumb, just easily distractible. Ditzy at worst. And the writing is just so fluid, so effortless and carefree, it paints such a perfect picture of this kind-hearted pony who was just doing what she thought was okay because everyone else was doing it. This also goes to very strange places, and has a real focus on just how strong earth ponies can be, but it is light-hearted fun all the way through.
Recommended
Derpy Saves Hearth's Warming
Genre: A Visit from Saint Nicholas-alike
What can I say? Taken mechanically, neither the meter nor the rhyme are all that great. Quite a few rhymes are rather tortured, at that, though I will give him points for "smidgen" and "pigeon". But given he was using the general structure of the classic Christmas poem, I dunno, being a bit sloppy with it is honestly fine? Even if this does use the dreaded T-word, I'm inclined to be very generous in this review. Also, it's really funny.
Recommended for Holiday Reading
Garland Graveyard Shift
Genre: Bittersweet Comedy
Ponies might think she's crazy for enjoying working on a holiday, but on Hearth's Warming, Ponyville General is right where Nurse Redheart wants to be.
Boy, it's been ages since I last saw the once-forbidden combo of Comedy and Sad tags. And this story 100% earns them both. Most of the word count is used to run us through the ridiculous things that can happen at Ponyville's primary medical facility — not to mention the names of some of the staff! — and oh boy does it get laugh-out-loud hilarious at times. Then there's a hard shift into the far less funny; it should be no surprise, after all, hospitals aren't exactly places made of sunshine and rainbows. I was really taken in by that scene, too, it affected me profoundly, despite all we ever get of the dying pony is his appearance. He's not a background pony, not even an OC, really, it's just the reactions of Redheart and the attendant doctor that sell the emotion. Rounding out the story, then, is a slow reveal of Redheart's back story, a bit of a departure for what until then has just been a series of vignettes. But it ties the whole thing together, and doesn't even have to have her realize what she's there for. We're the ones who get the answer, and that's what's important. I don't know if Ninjadeadbeard has a magnum opus, but I would nominate this one in a heartbeat. It's near transcendent, just amazing.
Highly Recommended
White Noise
Genre: Random Comedy
Princess Twilight Sparkle gives a presentation to Cheerilee's class on the creation of the universe.
I definitely did not expect anything this story had to deliver. Not the intensely silly creation story, not the punchline. Really funny if goofy stuff, and a fun note to end this otherwise somber blog post on.
Recommended
<3
I cannot speak highly enough about Ninja's catalogue - it's basically all hits and that's part of the shame of things. Waffles is the big one you reviewed that I love, and for almost the exact same reasons you point out. It's top tier.
Why have I not heard of this writer until now? Not only are so many of his fics rated HR, but the descriptions sound really like my cup of tea. What a shame he's gone.
EDIT: And now that I've looked at his story list, I've downloaded almost 20 more of them! The Anarchyverse sounds pretty fun, and it's even convinced me to try some EQG fics!
Only one I've read is "The Return of Sunset." Glancing back at my notes on it, there were some nuts-and-bolts issues, but I liked the plot and the writing. It's been long enough ago that I'm now fuzzy on what the plot was.
Ninja was an amazing guy, a wonderful writer, and one of my closest friends here. I remember helping him proofread Waffles! It's really a great one. I just wanna point out, there's one Ninja story sone people might miss, it's In the Garden by me and him. It's the only co-written fic that's not directly on his page. Truly, a wonderful way to remember all the great joys he shared with us.
Wowzers, that is a high volume of Rs and HRs! I’ve only read two fics of his, his Jinglemas 2021 entry and a crackfic response to a plot contrivance in A New Generation. Neither of which are evidently representative of his usual writing. I’ll definitely have to browse these and his backlog to see which most tickle my interest, possibly even for a themed week (as much as five fics can possibly represent an author this great – maybe I’ll make it a jumbo edition…?). With only three fics not complete (one of them being an anthology) and the majority being short stories, that’ll be doable, plenty to choose from.
And iisaw is right, even some of the EqG stories look tantalizing to me!
Real shame he’s gone, and not just for clearly being such a fantastic author, but a great friend to many. And only for being here for three years too! He’ll be well remembered.
One of the most consistent writers on the site with one of the most coherent visions of Equestria. He will be dearly missed.
See, look at all the praise already, I was right about this guy. :)
5709516
Waffles was such a surprise. I was just expecting a silly comedy about Pinkie being Pinkie, and instead I got a favorite headcanon. :D
5709548
RIL'd!
5709534
Just what I was thinking. I don't think I even recognised the name. Clearly I'll have to do something about that. My condolences to the clearly many people whose lives he touched.
5709578 5709584 5709622
If he needs any more praise, let me add this: I stayed up until 3:30 last night reading a half dozen of his stories, and haven't even started on the Anarchyverse ones!
Oh my god, I had just read Garland Graveyard Shift. Memorial and Guarded Hearts are two others on my favorites list.
Alas Ninja, I barely knew you, but you’ll be missed.