It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #108 · 7:51pm Apr 12th, 2023
So since I've been doing a lot of bigger names lately, it's probably about time I swing back around and bring the spotlight to some newer writers again. And we're actually doing well on that front! I've got a half-dozen new writer stories in the chamber - there's been some real good stuff this past quarter and I'm eager to point a few of them out.
So I'll lead this week with probably the best performing off the shelf: Stood Up by Charismatic Pony.
Rainbow Dash may not be the most romantic pony in Equestria, but tonight she has a date! ...had a date. Who didn't show up. And now with the restaurant closing, she has to limp home alone.
This one's a short piece - but you know I like that in a story. It's a simple one at the core, too, and focused almost entirely on Dash's introspection and emotions after being ditched. A lot of stories in this vein - particularly by new authors - would saturate the story with angst and woe. And while that's here, Charismatic does it just lightly enough to not be overwhelming. (The brevity, I think, really helps with that.)
A lot of what goes through Dash's head is also damn understandable - and really gives her extra depth as a character. Sure, she's the take-no-prisoners athletic badass of the main crew, but that doesn't mean that she's invincible. She's got wants and needs and vulnerabilities beyond being pony Sonic the Hedgehog. And while it uses very little space, this story does a good job of both expressing those desires and making them feel real to the character.
In all, it's a brief story but it's packed with good emotion that's both atypical for the character while still feeling legitimate. That's a tough line to land, even for veteran writers. Plus damn if Dash's feelings aren't familiar ones. Even if it wasn't from a failed date, I'm pretty sure everybody's had those moments of self-doubt and seeing yourself in the worst possible light.
Now on the more mature end - and so please note that this is NOT SAFE FOR WORK - we go to A Ring by Any Other Name by Tela.
Star Hunter (not to be confused with Star Tracker, which is a mistake I made initially when reading) is an expert navigator. This is relevant because he's partnered up with Galiano the Great, a griffon adventurer who is generously described as 'bombastically daft'. Galiano is a bigger-than-life adventurer with high aims, exceptional talent, and no self-preservation instinct. Star Hunter is (relatively) grounded, has his mind firmly on reality, and somehow keeps going along with Galiano's plans. Together, they go on adventures and find ancient artifacts.
And this time, Galiano is attempting to solve his latest problem: How do pony marriages work? You see, he saw two ponies proposing to each other. (It was Lyra and Bon-Bon.) They exchanged rings, but he doesn't understand one part. The unicorn wears a ring on her horn, but where does the earth pony wear it? Galiano makes the entirely logical leap of logic that the earth pony is obviously trans and it's a cock ring. (Bombastically daft, remember?) What follows is sixteen thousand words of absolute comedic lunacy as Galiano attempts to reconcile his insane misconception with reality and Star Hunter attempts to keep them out of jail and preserve his sanity.
This is one of those stories where if you read that summary and didn't go "Yes, that sounds hilarious and I want to read it," I'm not certain I can convince you otherwise. It's utter madness in the best of ways, and Galiano's so damn self-assured that his playing it straight is beautiful. Poor Star Hunter's a great foil as well: he knows this is all ridiculous, but also understand he can't stop what's going on and can only try to mitigate the damage. The two characters have wonderful chemistry; the story is absurd but in a way that makes a certain kind of sick sense; and the dialogue his hilarious comedy bouncing between the madman and the straight man. (Then of course there's the second punchline at the very end that says out loud what I as a reader was thinking the entire time, and was perfect in doing so.)
This one's a bit raunchy because of the subject matter (though to note, nothing's actually shown on-screen) but it's top tier comedy from a new writer and is way underrated for the quality that's here.
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Liked everything, pretty impressed!
I've been staring at this blog for the past five minutes just. trying to reconcile the fact that these things were written about something I wrote.
I don't know if I can adequately put into words just how much this made my day. Thank you for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you so much for the signal boost
5722756 So glad you liked it!
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And that's a large part of why I do this. Being a new author's tough and it's easy to feel like you're getting lost in the noise. I remember how good it felt to get just a little encouragement when I was starting out and consider it a responsibility to pay that forward.
Keep up the good work. You got readers out there who think you're doing well and enjoying what you write. I can't speak for anybody else, but I'll be there in the audience for your next piece.
(And seriously, Galiano going "Trans rights" made me laugh out loud. It was a blast.)