It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #153 · 8:41pm February 21st
Transitioning but staying on a similar note from last week, I'm actually gonna hit up the newest author to come to my Newbies shelf. The author in question put out a damn good story about a month ago that matches up well with a story I've wanted to feature for a while - so good fortune! I love it when things come together like that.
The new author in question here is Math Spook, a 2023 account who didn't get off to a great start in terms of reception. But late January brought us Requiem for a Friend, which is a big turn-around.
Vinyl Scratch is dead. It was nothing dramatic - a minor congenital heart defect that caused the wrong problem at the wrong time. One minute everything was normal, and the next she was simply… gone. And now Octavia has to wrestle with that.
One of the story's first comments actually sums the whole thing up fairly well: "Grief is hard." The story's core is exactly that as Octavia wrestles with everything. And I don't mean the standard dramatic crying and screaming grief: Octavia wrestles with questions like "What was our relationship, really?" or "Do I have any right to grieve when her family is right here?" Even as she tries to maintain normalcy, she's torn apart by everything she's suppressing and denying in a quiet and very in character way.
And that's kinda the appeal to me: this is an understandable and subtle kind of grief. Octavia wrestling not just with how to process it but to justify herself in the context of it all. It's imposter syndrome: grief edition, and I think we can all understand that. Even her eventual explosion is like that. The story also pushes in with life continuing on - not living with the grief or pushing past it, but the idea of trying to keep up the facade of a life because the world doesn't stop moving.
Rainbow Dash's role is another part I quite enjoy. It's small, but it acts as a great counterpoint to Octavia's attitude - Dash is absolutely destroyed by what happened and is loud and open in her grieving. It fits and contrasts well with Octavia's quieter approach. Really sets it off well.
And on our B-side is a story I've wanted to bring up for a while: Octavia's Last Night by Rune Soldier Dan.
Octavia Melody dies tonight. Bitter and alone, she's pushed herself those last few steps to finish her greatest work before she dies: her Tenth Symphony. As the final note is dotted, she is visited by two divine beings she would rather not meet: Discord, the chaos god, and Tirek, Master of Evil. Tirek's come to collect her soul and drag it to Tartarus for her sins - but he offers her a deal. She can go on to Paradise in exchange for all ten of her symphonies. They will be rended from existence, but she will go free. And then in her moment of indecision, Discord intercedes to show her other possible paths. Ways it could have gone to help her decide.
So yeah. Think It's A Wonderful Life, but with Octavia trying to decide if she wants to trade her music to the devil for her soul. (That feels like it's short-changing the story, but it's the closest comparison I've got to common media.) We peek into critical junctures of Octavia's life: her adoption by Pella Pear as a baby; the malady that took her hearing and drove her from musician to composer; her drifting apart from Vinyl Scratch; the ripples her music created. Each one's a beautiful scene that both paints the picture of who this Octavia is and of how her life could have changed.
But that's kinda the core. As Octavia herself says in one of the later chapters, "Their lives are not mine.” You see not only what could have been different but also why Octavia couldn't be them. It's poignant - she could have such a better life, but what she would give up for it… well. I don't want to spoil more than I already have.
As to be expected, Dan captures the emotion of everything spot on. Octavia's frustration and anger - both in the moment and of her past self - soaks every word, and even in her happy moments you can feel the restlessness of her. Meanwhile parts of it (like Octavia and the stars) just has so much hope that it lightens my heart to read.
And the finale! Oof, what masterful work. It's a crushing blow to see her face Tirek, the scene turning back and forth between them until the absolutely wonderful twist at the end which is set up so well that I both didn't see it coming and also instantly understood what was going on when it happened. To say nothing of that epilogue. I got misty-eyed, and that takes a lot.
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Octavia's Last Night is great. Don't remember a huge amount of specifics, as I read it almost a year ago now. But I'll second what you said; as Ponifications of Beethoven's Last Night goes, it's hard to imagine one much better than this. The range between despair, hope and melancholy at her life, the lives not lived, and the lives to live really is something, losing nothing from being down with pastel ponies.
Ooh, yeah, Dan's story is a good one. But then I've never encountered a dud in his writing either.
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Yeah, I'm hard pressed to think of one of Dan's stories that isn't a good one. But I do feel Octavia's Last Night is one of his best.
Thank you for the kind words and recommendation! Octavia's Last Night was a fic I've wanted to write for many years, a firm checkmark on my FIM bucket list. I also think it is one of my best and I am very happy it touched you.
If you don't mind indulging my greedy curiosity:
Which twist is this (spoiler-bracketed, of course)? There were a few in the last chapter!
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There were, but I specifically meant the big one in the contract. (I think I can get away without spoilering it.) It made me laugh because in retrospect it was so obvious but it slipped under my radar. That's what I mean by how it was set up so well: when it dropped I went "Oh. Oh yeah!" but before that I hadn't clued in yet about how critical that element was. It didn't connect until that moment even though it had been set up so many chapters in advance.
I'd agree. It's easily one of your top three, and given your library that's a pretty tough club.
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Thank you! Although in perfect honesty I must confess there is a similar twist in the pre-ponified source material, so I cannot claim credit for anything but the presentation.
Thank you for the review! It was unexpected. I'm glad you enjoyed the story.
I should say that, while my account is new, I've been writing fanfiction on and off for about 20 years now. Yeah, 20 years. Actually a teensy bit more. I do it for my own enjoyment, which sometimes leads to odd stories. For instance, my first story on Fimfiction was motivated by the urge to troll. (It pretends to be porn, but instead of a satisfying climax, the narrator is murdered. Downvotes on that story make me chuckle. And if you think that's bad, you should see the stuff I don't post.)
Requiem for a Friend was motivated by my history with grief. Like Octavia, I have had a close friend die suddenly. I've also had elderly or ill family members die, and I've known several people who committed suicide. It's never pleasant. You don't get over it; you get used to it. And while nothing in the story is taken directly from my own life, it is very much a product of my experiences. The lives of my passed friends and family were beautiful. No story can convey their full beauty, but I hope this one shares at least a little.