Fic recs, March 8th: Top Ten of 2023! · 2:56pm March 8th
Whaaaaat, two review blogs in a row?
Well hell yes, because I have done much better with the top ten this year and I am inordinately pleased with myself! :3 here's the explanation of the setup, for all that it has never adequately explained what's going on to like, literally anyone:
Title of Top Ten fic - that is, one of the ten best stories I read last year
List of recommendations from Also Liked list, underlining those I’ve reviewed previously
Commentary on the selection
Title and author of fic selected from Also Liked, like usual
Genre like usual
Review like usual
Recommendation like usual
That's all you need to know! Enjoy!
H: 2 R: 3 C: 5 V: 0 N: 0
April Foals Founding Day by Alphamon_Ouryuken
The Pony Variety Show!; Deadpool Meets Equestria; Disorientated; The Equestria Chronicles: Prelude; Discord's New Business; Team Crafted's Pony Adventures!; Six Shooter
All comedy fics, and they all look really goofy, to boot. XD Surprisingly, none I've read before!
X Pony Does Y and Fluttershy Catches Them in the Act by Wanderer D
Genre: Random Comedy
Fluttershy has to go do some stuff, but ponies keep X-ing the Y.
Well, this was a delight. Just a classic, super-random random comedy, written for the lulz but also actually written decently well! And it took me a chapter to realize that the goofy title actually makes this an "each chapter does the same joke" sort of fic, which I myself have written. That's good fun! Hopefully the ages-old broken images aren't a big deal, but I think I can get what they were at least supposed to be. I laughed the hardest at the CMCs' middle names, that's good shit.
Recommended If You Like Random Comedies
Atelophobia by Ice Star
Tear the Sky Asunder; Click; Endeavors of the Enigmatic and Eccentric; Bitter Cold
All but one of these was written by Ice Star himself!
The Symphony of Dawn by Ice Star
Genre: Dark Historical Drama
Clover the Clever knew better than to go out late at night. She did anyway.
This was fantastic. The voice here, of an elderly Clover the Clever who bears a lifetime of physical and mental abuse from her time apprenticed to Star Swirl, rings of literary classics. And then things start getting confused and muddled, and the way her jumbled thoughts are shown is pretty much perfect. Add to this an ancient Equestria where the tribes live in uneasy truce more than friendship, where the night is truly feared and reviled, and the alicorn sisters — both of them — are seen as monsters. Marvelous story, excellent presentation.
Highly Recommended
Garland Graveyard Shift by Ninjadeadbeard
The Faces We See, the Masks We Wear; Apples to Apples; A Heavy Syringe; Tears for Mercy; The Pleasant Profession of Nurse Redheart; The Big Talk; Nightmare Night; Dancing Through Rocks and Memories
This is a healthy mixture of all the main story's tags, and quite a few are Jinglemas fics. Plus one horror story, wtf.
The Big Talk by Jake The Army Guy
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Applejack and Rainbow Dash have a big holiday announcement for the Apple Family. But they aren't the only ones…
I love stories with a well-written, fatally oblivious Rainbow Dash as the POV character, and this demonstrates exactly why. Fitting in with someone else's family always takes a breaking-in period, but it goes doubly so for a family with as many quirks as AJ's, and no one is worse at that kind of thing than Rainbow Fucking Dash. Now, if you're like me, you'll probably see the other announcement coming from a mile away; you will not, however, see what happens coming. This was hilarious, original, and utterly unique. XD
Highly Recommended
The Gentle Nights: Audience of One by PaulAsaran
The Gentle Nights; Fiddling With Her Heart; All the Stars in the Sky; Court Musician; Music of the Night; Trixie vs. Equestria; Movements of Fire and Shadow
Every single one of these is tagged Romance and either Luna and/or Octavia! Go figure!
Filetages Fatidique et Fleurs de Soie by Indulgence
Genre: Romance
In a big city, it can be easy to lose yourself. But it can be just as easy to find someone else…
So disaster lesbian Coco Pommel and bisexual disaster Fleur de Lis bump into each other in a coffee shop after both coincidentally order the same thing. <_< Stop me if you've heard this one! Because I actually haven't, I've just always wondered what people mean when they talk about "coffee shop AUs". All of this takes place under the looming presence of Manehattan. Not just its buildings, but the oppressive atmosphere of impersonality that can cause you to feel isolated and alone amidst a sea of people. That, unfortunately, is more the thesis of this story than anything feelings-related. And this would be all right, save that it sort of precludes any real buildup to emotional payoff. They just sort of get together because it's a story about the two of them getting together. Note, for instance, the eleventh hour twist that seems set to generate quickly-resolved drama that actually goes absolutely nowhere now that I think of it. It's mentioned and over with in a blink. And the writing is all right, but carries that unfortunate wrongness of someone writing in a language they aren't natively fluent in, which I tend to mistake for prosaicness at first. Having that solid first impression slowly crumble as I realized what was going on was disappointing, at the very least. Also, the author is really fond of having characters talk to themselves, like literally to some unnamed entity living in their heads that has thoughts and desires entirely separate from their own, as well as using 'buck' as an expletive. Still, it's not all bad. The atmosphere and so forth do come through excellently, and the character work is great, with Fleur portrayed as a disaffected socialite looking for a change of pace and Coco being adorable as usual. It might not be worth it for shippers, honestly, but I can't think of anyone else to necessarily recommend it to.
Recommended for Shippers
A Love Letter by Butterscotch Cream
What Meets the Eye; We Had Today; Silverware; My Time Among Clothes Hangers; Reading Between Lines; Lucky Horseshoes; A Hearth's Warming Carol
Lots of Butterscotch Cream's own work, no surprise there. Also no surprise that it's all shipping.
Candied Apples by Butterscotch Cream
Genre: Shipping
Caramel asks Braeburn for some romance advice.
I chose this story because I'd read it before! And downvoted, apparently. This might have something to do with this being Butterscotch Cream's first ponyfic. To be sure, it's definitely way rushed, lacking in a lot of Butterscotch's more nuanced later stories. Or, y'know, just giving the sentences room to breathe. Plus, the whole "I got the mare right here" thing is distinctly weird? This is all about Braeburn having a sudden gay awakening as he realizes what's going on, but like… Buddy, you even called yourself a mare, are you okay? You got something you want to get off your chest? And of course there's the ever-present question of whether or not Caramel is part of the Apple Family; at least here, it's made clear he isn't. So, in total, it's really far from the best shipfic, or even M/M fic you could ask for, but back when it was written? We didn't have a whole lot else to choose from.
Recommended for Shippers Only
Piece by Piece by Krickis
Thicker Than Water; Coda; Up in the Air; In Pieces; The Setting Sun; Empty Sky; In Her Shadow
Hey look, it's all WWB, don't care, reading the next one :V
The Open Road by Krickis
Sequel to Piece by Piece
Genre: EQG Adventure/Drama
Wanting some respite from a life of constant scrutiny, Twilight, Sunset and Fluttershy take a road trip in the human world.
In many ways, this is the fluffiest entry in Who We Become to date. The vast majority of it is low-stakes romantic shenanigans in the human world with one girl, two ponies and a dragon turned into a dog. And it's fun, don't get me wrong. But — and not to spoil anything — if you're here for drama, don't expect any until the final chapter. In fact, you won't even know what there could possibly be to promote drama until very late in the story, which was sneaky. But I'm not complaining. :) With three POV characters, we get plenty of viewpoints on the human world, and there are even some updates on how the Humane Six are doing as well as a pleasant surprise! This was very good, and I am, as always, looking forward to the next installment!
Recommended
The Rain, the Poison, and the Job by HapHazred
The Dreams We Share; Protecting a Soaring Rainbow; The Last Ride; Dashing Through the Stroke; What's Really the Most Important?; Rainbooms of Thunder; Dear Daddy; Captains Crash
So this is actually the Similar results, though the story in the review slot is the single entry in the Also Liked. Lots of shipping and Wonderbolts here!
Sepia by Incandesca
Genre: Character Piece/Sad
Long in years, Granny Smith looks back over her life.
The first half or so of this very short piece is not bad in the slightest, but also about what you'd expect given the summary. Granny, her scrapbook, memories of family and so forth, not all of them good. It's her pronouncement after she closes the book that really shocked me, again despite the story's own description, and there's something beautiful and really memorable about it that I simply had not been expecting.
Recommended
A Season of Giving by JasonTheHuman
"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, Squirt"; The Haunting in Ponyville; Something Like Feeling; Moonlight; Honey Pie; Well Grounded
A few holiday stories, a lot of CMC stuff, a lot of Lyra and Bon-Bon stuff, and The Haunting in Ponyville. <_< Well, at least that makes sense because it's also JasonTheHuman's.
Caretakers by JasonTheHuman
Genre: Dark Comedy
When Twilight and her friends take a vacation together, they get Lyra and Bon-Bon to watch over their homes. Surely, it won't be more than they can handle.
This is JasonTheHuman's second fic, the first after Anthropology, published for the 2012 February write-off. Hands up if you remember that! It did not produce the best writing, just a lot of it, and to wit, I had this pre-downvoted, which surprised me. Maybe it's just a case of the old star rating system switching to ups-and-downs? Whatever the case, I was dumb and have since flipped my vote! This is really dark but it's also really funny, which also means it's really horrible in that "oh god why but also I love it so much" kind of way. I daresay this is a decent attempt to write a story about something this dark happening while still keeping everything show-tone. Not completely, mind — I did say it gets horrible, after all — but I dunno, this is kind of genius and I really enjoyed it. Don't listen to old PP, he didn't know shit. :V
Recommended
A Song of Spice and Ire by Fahrenheit
Remaining Strangers; Figments; I Think It's Called Ponytown; Terms and Conditions
A short list. I'd have expected more comedies, but this actually mostly seems to be AUs? Interesting.
Lügen by Casketbase77
Genre: AU/Emotional
Princess Fizzlepop's first foreign negotiation: The monarch of the Changelings.
I've seen bits and pieces of this good Chrysalis AU in fanart before, but I think this is the first story I've ever read about it. (Or wait, is she from the comics? I'm suddenly unsure.) Gotta say: I was intensely preoccupied wondering just why the heck good Chryssy is German. >_> I had also been hoping for a bit more plot than just laying out how the AU is different. But since the emotional drama centers on knowing how the two worlds differ, there really isn't a whole lot else. That said, the whole thing is both realized and written well, and I think a longer story in this setting by this author would be quite excellent. This just seems to be more an experiment in sussing out how to use the characters. I can't say they weren't used well!
Recommended If You Like AUs
Womb by mushroompone
Stop Making This Hurt!; (We Need) A Forest Fire; Seeking: Fountain of Youth; The Forbidden Subject; transequestrianism; Speak Not of the End of the World; Manhunger
I think these are all dark-tagged! Lots of weird, creepy and often experimental stuff. Totally fits, and quite a few of these ended up on my RIL just now. :)
There Is No Mare in the Shadows by Equimorto
Genre: Horror
Stories are just that.
This was in the Horror and Experimental categories of some Thousand Word Contest, and as an experiment? Honestly, really good. I kind of wanted the negatives to be building to something very specific, but instead what I got was a reminder that, oh yeah, there's no magic in our world, and that to me is the true horror. :( Or at least disappointment. I've always said, if there were hungry beasts lurking in the shadows, I'd take that, because it would mean something about this reality was magical. Regardless, this goes about where I expected it to, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the trip. :)
Recommended for Fans of Experimental Horror
Self serving comment… but… if someone *wanted* a reading of Candied Apples… there’s one here: https://youtu.be/sPz4TyaHWVE?si=dJ316rSNqeep2LB6
Thank you for the review! Your reaction is exactly what I was going for on that fic hahaha, I wanted to lull people into thinking it was all fluff and then BAM the drama
Wow, I'm honored to be in your top ten!! It's always nice to hear that stories of mine - even little ones like womb - have that sort of staying power :) it's incredibly gratifying as an author to have a story live beyond its wordcount in that way.
I'm even happier to see those recommendations: The Forbidden Subject, transequestrianism, and Speak Not of the End of the World (especially this one!!) are all lovely works by friends of mine, as is (We Need) A Forest Fire - though you obviously don't need my word on that one ;) I hope you enjoy them if you get around to reading them!
Always nice to see The Gentle Nights: Audience of One on a list like this. It's still my all-time favorite on the site after all these years. Good choice of fic.
Hey, thanks! I'm honored whenever I make any of your lists!
5771576
you're already on the list! :P
My dude, that Highly Recommended has done more for my mental well-being than anything else in a long time. I'm truly happy you enjoyed it.
I see I've already downloaded several of these, yet the list grows longer!
5771704
it's like the ride never ends or something :B
Holy shit did I just get two recommendations AND HOLY SHIT A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WHAT
IS THIS LEGAL?
This format is definitely confusing.
5771900
I know neither why nor how I could improve the explanation :B this is why I didn't become a teacher
5771901
Simplify.
Top Ten Story Title
Genre
Brief Review (3-4 sentences)
That’s it. That’s all you need. Your list has more than 10 stories you’re linking to, which confuses the heck out of a “top ten” list. You wanted to include “these are also good stories”? Ok, that’s what end-notes or footnotes are for, not that main list.
Your main problem here is you have *too much* information.
5771902
The point is to use the top ten stories to direct a set of ten new reviews. The top ten were already reviewed last year.
Does that not come through in the slightest? Are people just not familiar with the Also Liked function? I don't get what's confusing about this. ._.
5771937
Yes. If that was the intention, then it was completely lost in this. I didn’t see that desire at all.
5771677
Wha... Wha... What????!!!
5772310
Search your name.
5772351
Oh! Awesome! Thank you!!