Fic recs, July 13th: Silver Inkwell edition! · 7:03pm Jul 13th, 2023
Here's something I haven't done in a while: Today, we'll be looking at the full output of one Silver Inkwell, formerly Mister Allan! He hasn't done an audiobook in like 6 years, sadly, which tells you something about where I'm at with this "add new fic readers" project. c_c;; Also, he's never read anything I've reviewed before, so no List.
But in searching for a new reader to add, I did come across AppleSawsB again, who seems to have delisted all of his readings except the one for Cyanblackstone's The Eagle Has Landed. Looks like he's just doing Let's Plays anymore. So there's that.
Author Super Saiyan D is open for commissions!
Oh yeah, and VisualPony is of course still hard at work, with RarityEQM's Silver Tongue Tricksters, as well as iAmSiNnEr's Twilight Discovers Nuclear Explosions and MythrilMoth's Applejack Calls Customer Service! Next blog will probably be a week's worth of his readings, then another reader, assuming someone else doesn't suddenly start churning them out again.
H: 0 R: 3 C: 3 V: 0 N: 0
A Musical Wedding by RuinQueenOfOblivion
Reading
Sequel to Musical Love
Genre: Romance
Octavia and Vinyl Scratch are due to be married, but how can Vinyl say her vows at the wedding?
While I have no memory of reading the prequel, the first story reading I used to discover Silver Inkwell, it's probably not even necessary to read it at all. This is a very straightforward Scratchtavia story, wherein Vinyl is mute, and that's about all you need to know ahead of time. But I found my perspective on such stories has changed significantly from the last time I read one. A very close friend of mine lost the ability to speak last year due to long COVID, and so when I see a question like "how can a mute pony read their wedding vows?" my immediate reaction is, well, duh, no one is going to expect them to actually speak the vows aloud! That's a dick move! There are tons of ways to communicate when you can't speak! And so it didn't seem like an issue, really. Turns out, in the story, it really isn't. I mean, there's barely a footnote letting us know that there's an interpreter at the wedding. So little weight is given to them being there that I have to ask why this was ever even suggested to be a problem in the first place. Furthermore, Vinyl is amazed to find out her now bride learned pony sign language to read her own vows, and I'm just like… Of course she fucking should have? How the hell else have you two been communicating for this entire relationship? There isn't always gonna be a pen and paper handy, y'know? So with that potential conflict out of the way, what's left? Well, not much. That Slice of Life tag does a lot of lifting here. Which isn't to say it's bad; it's quite cute, in fact. But there also isn't a ton to separate it from other ScratchTavia stories, especially since I've seen mute Vinyl quite a few times by this point. For my part, I really wish there had been a midquel story about them meeting each other's parents. A lengthy section of this piece lets us know what happened in broad strokes, and it sounds like it would have been really fun if expanded out to full story length. So while I can't say I was too impressed, overall it's a perfectly fine story. If you want a pony wedding, you got it.
Recommended for Shippers
Free Hugs by DoctorDerpy
Reading
Genre: Comedy
Derpy has an idea. And a cardboard box.
You just don't see Derpy written like this all that often, and one has to wonder why. Simple, silly, a walking disaster area with a heart bigger than she is, and everyone's just willing to go along with whatever she's doing at the moment. No one in this story is weirded out by her, or upset at her beyond being worried, and that, I think, is a very important piece of it. As for the plot, it's cute and fun, probably inspired by the cover art. If so, the author got quite a lot out of that one image! I particularly like how she goes in and out of her house. :) I defy anyone to read this and not have a big smile at some point.
Recommended
101 Interesting Facts About Draconequi by naturalbornderpy
Reading
Genre: Random Comedy
Discord loans Twilight a book.
I have to admit, this went beyond expectation for me. The thing that makes it work is the framing story. Not a really deep one, mind, but making this a book the mane six are reading is considerably more interesting than just a list of probably made-up facts. As for that list? Intensely silly. It really runs the gamut, the whole silliness spectrum, including a lot of toilet humor and a surprising number of innuendo, and I enjoyed it all. Abandon all sense-make, ye who enter?
Recommended
Slammed by Enter Madness
Reading
Genre: Drama
Rainbow Dash gets into poetry.
I had an idea of what this story was going to be like ahead of time, and I'm pleased to say, I was very wrong. I mean, think about it: "Rainbow Dash tries… poetry"? Obviously, she's a big, dumb jock, so she's going to write a stupid poem that sucks so we can laugh at it. And that's not to say I don't like those kinds of stories! You don't even have to lean into any sort of stereotype to connect to that thread of "I wrote something once and it sucked". It's good to laugh at ourselves. But laughter isn't the point here. Even though we see the poem in its entirety — and, yes, it's very simplistic though she has a way better grasp on meter and rhyme than half this site — the focus here is on where she is and what she's doing. It's about putting yourself out there, the fear and self-doubt we see on display in Sonic Rainboom. And I'll bet this will still resonate with a lot of writers on this site. Nicely done, and different to boot.
Recommended
Please Forgive Me by RuinQueenOfOblivion
Reading (part 1)
Genre: Drama
How is an orphan supposed to write a school essay about her family?
I am very, very glad that the opening mystery of this story is dealt with by the end of the first chapter. Because this isn't a mystery story, for one, and for two, it's just not a mystery at all. Look at that description, look at the cover art, you know exactly what the big revelation is going to be. Heck, even if you just went into the reading completely blind, you would no doubt figure it out before Rainbow says it. So this is instead about the characters dealing with that revelation, and so is a pretty decent drama. That said, it's also one of those dramas that ends up being resolved by one character running off and being menaced by a monster. A monster that is so underdeveloped, I should add, its identity not even known or revealed by the characters in the story, that it may as well not even have been there. Yes, spoilers for a seven year old fic, it gets the sequel hook at the end, but I think it was completely the wrong direction to go. I mean, Scootaloo deciding she can't live in Ponyville anymore? Makes sense. But running off to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters by herself? She's not an idiot, guys. She knows better by this point than to fuck around in the Everfree. That, along with the very unnecessary "X's point of view" headers at the start of each section and, I guess, the fast pacing mean I wasn't completely thrilled by this. But like I said, it's a solid drama, and if you're the kind of person who always wants a happier ending for Scootaloo, this will no doubt satisfy.
Recommended for Scootalove Fans
Poor Unfortunate Souls by TheOneAJ
Reading
Genre: Humanized Drama/Romance/The Little Mermaid Crossover
I have to say, I love the idea of Bon-Bon being the daughter of a high-class family that doesn't understand her, something I've seen but a handful of times and used to good effect here. I also love the idea of her and Flash Sentry being cousins. Why was that done? I don't know, but it leads to this story's most original concept. I would say that this ultimately leans far too heavily on the Disney movie, including some lines and scenes from it as well as describing absolutely nothing when it comes time to go visit the sea witch. You're just supposed to know what the eels look like and why they're there, for instance. But to the author's credit, splitting the Prince's role in two was a great idea, and does give the story a lot of room to breathe on its own. There's a lot of wordage spent on trying to be gay in this period-ish fantasy kingdom, too. However, this is also one of those EQG fics I would paint as "needlessly horny". Never can a girl do so much as get ready for a swim without the narrative going into pinpoint detail about just how much she is or is not wearing. And while that criticism could be chalked up to personal taste, it does also impact the romance, since they go from a tentative first kiss immediately into fucking. I also have to criticize the ending. Without spoiling much, it's very different from the movie, but it's also a severe anticlimax. There's no great overture of love happening here, they just… win. All but effortlessly. So the romance may be a bit of a disappointment, all told. But if you like mermaids and transformation, hey, this was written for a contest about those very things, so there's that!
Recommended for The Little Mermaid Fans Only
Huh. A set where I actually haven't read any of the stories before. Been a while since that happened.
5737719
that's what a half-dozen audiobooks from like six years ago will get you! :B
A pony wedding without any changelings around or involved!?
Gah.
Oh damn do I hate it when an author declares the perspective at the beginning of the scene/chapter. If that's not obvious to the reader from the writing alone, the author is officially doing it wrong.
5737773
what's worse, it was totally unwarranted in this case
I don't think there was a scene where you couldn't figure out who was talking after more than a sentence
Well the Derpy one has my attention now. It's odd to think of but the emphatically silliest of ponies has very few comedy stories that clearly come to my mind. Bronies love projecting their angst onto her, so a fearlessly silly story sounds like a delightful change of pace.
5737900
I think that's the other thing about this story: She's not the butt of the joke. Her behavior is goofy, and we can laugh at that, but at the end of the day, this is about her having a big heart. :)
5737910
Peak Ditzy, honestly.
I think this is my best reviewed story yet 😁