It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #136 · 6:59pm Oct 25th, 2023
It isn't often I pick a connecting theme for two stories and then realize I can't actually use it. Not because it's bad or unworkable, but because it actually spoils the stories. So I'm not really sure what I can say about them together - as it is I'm probably gonna have to drop spoiler bars at least in the second one. I guess the best I can say is that it's about the Crystal Empire alicorns and their relation to antagonists? (Note from later on: why do I pick stories that are so hard to talk about without ruining them?)
Anyway. Up first is Heartless by Silent Whisper.
This one's hard to summarize without deep spoilers - it begins with Cadance bursting into her throne room and facing down Chrysalis. It isn't the first time. As the magic works over them, the two need to confront that they can't keep doing this. Even beyond what the conflict is doing to them - it's destroying their family. Flurry Heart, in particular.
God, that's such a terrible summary. But I can't go deeper into the story's core without spoiling and that would ruin it.
The duality focus here is what makes it work so well: in the comments, FoME mentions Cadance and Chrysalis as two sides of the same coin, and it's an accurate summary. Most stories of the two portray them as polar opposites rather than mirrors of each other, and the few that do rarely go this direct about it.
It's subtle, too. What's going on doesn't key in immediately and it's only when Silent does the thing with the names that it starts to hit. It's a great creeping revelation. Plus the climax is great, because it bridges the gap between them. They're two different characters, but they've got the unifying connection. It's damn solid and a great read, even if I can't explain it without spoilers.
On our other end, I'm going to pull up one out of the newbies folder - AltruistArtist, a 2018 account that just published their first about a month ago. That story is The Roles We (Are Fated to) Play, and it's a damn great first publish.
Flurry Heart - now entering her teens - is given the talk by her mother. Not the birds and the bees, but of her immortality. Dealing with that (and the argument of her parents over if or what they should tell her), she blindly teleports away. Finding herself at the base of a statue, Flurry looks up towards the stony tomb of Cozy Glow - a filly about her age. One who did something bad. One who had once been an alicorn. One who Flurry keeps coming back to see, even if it's just a statue. And one who Flurry needs to know more about, all the more because nopony wants her to know.
I'll lay this out to start: generally, I'm not a huge fan of FlurryGlow as a pair. There are some pretty great stories with them, but the majority leave me flat because they don't take the time to build a connection. This story, though? Yeah, it takes the time. It builds, constructing not just a present but a past, ties it in to Flurry's life, and does so without letting Cozy out of the stone. Altruist puts the work in here and it shines.
It's also a great characterization for Flurry - she's in a pretty unique place and how she acts reflects that. The scene early on at the schoolhouse does a great job with reminding that Flurry's a child, even with everything heavy that goes on in this story. (I also quite like how she's wily enough to use that to her advantage when dealing with adults multiple times.) She's confronted by big, difficult issues that would vex an adult and she reacts in a way that... well, it makes sense. I appreciate that, and know quite well how difficult it can be to write a child that both feels legitimate and still does what the story needs.
But I'm dancing around the real core of this story and what makes it great. Because I can't talk about it. See, the drama is interesting but it's the mystery that drives this story. It isn't even obvious from the start that there is a mystery. (Moreso because the story isn't tagged as one!) Like the rest of the story, it lays down the blocks slowly and builds to it. What's going on doesn't really start to emerge until about a third of the way in before finally coming to a climax around the 90% mark. And I wish I could talk about it without spoiling everything because it is stunning. I've never seen these two characters set up this way before and it's an incredibly unique take. If it was more widely compatible, I'd steal it as personal headcanon in a heartbeat.
I'm very much looking forward to what Altruist puts out next, because this was one hell of a first story.
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Read the first story and rated it Really Good, though I can’t remember a thing about it now!
Happens.
As for the second, I too am often adverse to stories with Flurry and Cozy, due to not liking the latter and finding most takes on the former not to my tastes. On top of the lack of organic contextualization you mention. But your praise is certainly making me consider relenting, especially for such a solid author debut.
Oh yeah, Heartless is great. One of those fics where it's hard to write much without spoilers, but the concept convinced me as the fic went along. I don't know anything about the second story featured, or indeed its author, but it's caught my attention now thanks to your recommendation.
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This week was really bad for that. There's so much I want to crow about both of them that I can't say without totally ruining the impact.
Silent Whisper is pretty darn good :)
The Roles We (Are Fated To) Play is insanely good. For someone who hates the Flurry-Cozy ship, it still manages to make me like it. Fair warning before you get into it, though, some characters are slightly OCC. Nothing major, but just a headʼs up. Still, the story is amazing and yaʼll should definitely give it a try.
How did I miss this? Your most recent Recommendsday blog had me taking a look at your backlog and I was amazed to see my name appear! Given when it was posted, I'm very sure life had been getting in my way at the time, oh boy
A very belated, yet nonetheless very sincere, thank you for this review! I'm especially grateful you appreciated how I handled Flurry's character. Aside from relatively popular fan interpretations, she's liable to be characterized so openly and that was a bit of a challenge. I'm glad you felt she came across authentically young within the circumstances she's enduring. I put a lot of care into how someone of her age might react to her situation and how she might process her emotions. I'm happy to see that was appreciated! (Especially since I'm well aware the earlier scenes are easily overshadowed by the story's conclusion. I fully empathize with the frustration of not being able to discuss a massive spoiler unless you know you're talking to someone in the know. I hope you got the chance to crow with a fellow reader!)
Again, all my gratitude, TCC56! You're doing admirable work to support authors with these blogs