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TCC56


“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” - Patrick Rothfuss

More Blog Posts244

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Nov
27th
2024

It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #193 · 7:52pm Nov 27th, 2024

Last week, one of my friend groups had a bit of discussion surrounding this blog. (Specifically in suggesting I feature Snowmanmelting's So Many Words Never Said, which is one I plan to but I haven't found a good match for it yet.) Amidst the talk, one asked just how I decide what story connects with what. The truthful answer is that a lot of it is vibes - while there's often an obvious loose connection (like 'Applejack romance') but drilling down deeper the specific picks are just because they feel right together. And I've absolutely started writing a set and then changed who's being featured because I didn't like how they vibed together. I also confessed a weakness for two nickels situations, which just fit so well with this blog series. And as examples I mentioned a few of the ones in my ready queue. Among those examples was 'communing with a dead tree' and the occasionally mentioned TamiyaGuy asked if one of those was a story he'd been looking for but couldn't remember the title of. 

It was, I did remember it, and happily linked it to him.

And you know what? That's totally a fine way to decide which set to do this week. (I'm only human, flattery does work on me, and I enjoy being called 'you absolute bloody lege'.)

Thus, let's begin with the story in question: Séance by Muramasa.

Yesterday, Tirek was defeated. The day was saved - with only one casualty. A small price to pay, they said. But not small to Twilight. She lived there. The tree was close to her heart. And now it is dead, and she finds herself standing before its corpse.

I want you to just read the opening for this one and soak it in for a moment. When people talk about your opening having impact, this is what they mean. Those two opening sentences do so much work framing the story and driving the nail in that it's just… mm! Damn that opening's good. I actually read this story three or four times in quick succession when I was doing the writing for Doll because it was perfect for getting me in the right frame of mind. 

This story falls under that favorite category of short but powerful: Muramasa does an amazing job of packing a ton of emotional force into barely over a thousand words. Which is good, because this is a section of time that really is so ripe for stories. Twilight's home was destroyed, which is already traumatic enough. But as the story points out, the Golden Oaks was a living thing. It wasn't just a place to stay like her tower in Canterlot - it was an integral, active part of Twilight's life. Even we as fans can see that as so many authors still write Twilight as living in the tree. It's a place that has and is a character, and its death deserves grieving. 

Twilight's eulogy for it also fits. She's at a transitional place in her life, growing into those wings and still being quite close to having found her friends to begin with. The Golden Oaks is the first of her friends to die, after all. No matter how you interpret that particular aspect of Twilight's future and mortality/immortality, it still stands that this is really the first time Twilight's dealt with loss on a personal level. And you feel it. The story still manages to be bittersweet at the same time, because sad as it is? The tree cared for her right back. The story's a message of love and loss, not just one or the other. And that, my friends, is what separates it from so many other stories of death.

TSéance
The night after defeating Lord Tirek, Twilight Sparkle speaks with the dead.
Muramasa · 1.8k words  ·  130  2 · 1.5k views

And to match with the death, I choose to talk a bit about life as well. So let's go to Falling Leaves of Oak by Georg.

For as long as there have been library oaks, there have been Oakleafs. But over centuries, the Oakleafs have dwindled the same way the trees have. Now the last Oakleaf has been called to Ponyvilled to try the impossible: to coax life once again out of the ruin that was once the Golden Oaks. He knows it is futile. A young colt disagrees.

Here we've got another really strong start - while this one doesn't have the same instant punch, Georg does a great mix of establishing the story and world building that's really compelling. He really nails the tone, particularly with the opening paragraph (plus one sentence). The rest of the opening section keeps up that pace - builds on the why of what's happening and establishes a lot unsaid. The part with the mayor and Twilight's one that continues to stick with me: it's six sentences but it tells all that's really needed for their two roles in this story. That's skill right there. The way the story works with that tone continues strongly throughout, too. Oakleaf's take on the new Namepending Castle reflects so much on his mindset. (Even towards the end, his minor disdain for compound-type cutie marks really reinforces who he is.)

There's also the dynamic between Oakleaf and Dust that appeals to me. The juxtaposition of 'jaded old veteran' and 'hopeful young apprentice' is something that's reasonably common, but these two make it work. Spending a full quarter of the story on initial, dialogueless set up to establish the tone makes Oakleaf's words carry a lot of weight and makes everything feel that much stronger - and Dust's contrasting position gets carried along with that. (The late entry of Pea Pod unfortunately doesn't give her as strong a chance to shine, but she's solid enough to serve her narrative purpose.)

The theme in the last story was about loss and Twilight dealing with the passing of her first friend. Here, I'd summarize the theme as continuation. It's all about the line - like the tree library went from generation to generation, serving each in turn? Here we have the line of those who tend the trees, of accumulated knowledge both in tree and pony, and of the way of life they represent - soft and comfortable rather than cold and sharp. Tree library versus crystal castle.

EFalling Leaves of Oak
When the Ponyville library is destroyed by Tirek’s rampage, the last Oakleaf is called to cure the destroyed oak. It is an impossible task. However, this is Ponyville, where the impossible happens every day.
Georg · 4.2k words  ·  335  2 · 3.1k views

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Comments ( 3 )

Big full-circle moment here — I didn’t plan on entering the Arboreal Yearnings contest until I read Harmon-Tree!

I appreciate the kind words on this Reccomendsday and others. I know I’m not active so much lately, but it’s very nice to see.

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Big full-circle moment here — I didn’t plan on entering the Arboreal Yearnings contest until I read Harmon-Tree!

Which I find kinda hilarious. But it's always good to inspire, particularly when the results are so damn good.

Amidst the talk, one asked just how I decide what story connects with what.

Hey, that's me he's talking about! Neat!

Anyway do a feature of Snow's story soon or I will mail you a box of angry hornets :heart:

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