Fic recs, October 19th · 7:28pm Oct 19th, 2013
I don't know how I keep spacing these out at exactly 3 days. I don't feel like I'm reading all that much. c.c Weird.
H: 0 R: 1 C: 1 V: 0 N: 4
Saturday by Bulletproof
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: Psych Ward Drama
I'm very critical of stories taking place in or even featuring hospitals, because they’re such a go-to setting for authors, and yet so many authors get them so wrong. That said, other than a few stays of my own and a cousin who’s a nurse, I don’t have any particular knowledge of how they work, and certainly not when it comes to mental hospitals. So it is with that in mind that I say this story felt entirely realistic, if you can believe that Equestria has such a mental facility. Lyra goes through her day, we find out why she’s there, and then we really find out why she’s there, and that’s why you should read this. This is a really great take on the Lyra/Humans trope with a fantastic twist ending.
Recommended
Derpy’s Protector by SlightlySerious
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: Cute
I knew from the moment I saw the cover art in conjunction with the title what this story was going to be about: Dinky gets in a fight at school because Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were making fun of her mommy. That is literally the entire story. We’ve all seen it before, unless you’re just tuning in to this fanfic thing, in which case you can definitely do better as far as the “Derpy is misunderstood and mocked by other ponies” trope goes. After the truth is sorted out, the story turns mawkish, heaping on the cute and the overt pronouncements of mother/daughter love. The only reaction this stirred from my cold, black heart was a bitter laugh at the final sentence.
Not Recommended
Lyra Makes Chocolate Pudding at 4AM by Bolding
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: Reference
A picture paints a thousand words, and that’s why this didn’t need to be written. You know the story from the title. You’ve seen that single-panel comic based off the image from… was it Rugrats? Doesn’t matter. But that's literally all there is to this. The fact is, the only way to justify turning that remarkable piece of absurdity into a full story would have been to give us the why behind Lyra losing control of her life. This story toys with that, but never delivers, hinting an insufficient amount to truly go beyond what was suggested by the source material. Seriously, look at the text version of the cover art and you won’t have to read this. Or go watch the episode that produced the original clip and get it in context, I don’t know.
Not Recommended
The Last Crusade by Paraderpy
Reading by Scribbler
Reading by WhoLandon
Reading by Snogwritts
Genre: Coping With Loss
I really like the central idea in this story. It’s revealed well, for one. Though the cover art gives away what’s going on, the particulars were not apparent, and they're shown quite well. The writing was not altogether amazing, however, and in particular I thought the first scene’s dialogue was a bit grown-up for fillies. That said, I think this is a fairly decent look at how kids cope with death, especially with all that’s implied by the narrative. Despite the tags, I actually found myself laughing at this story more than anything else, largely thanks to an extremely stupid turn by my favorite pony, Dummie Belle. I mean, even taken at canon, Sweetie’s not the brightest crayon, but this gets a little ridiculous. And then she pieces everything together somehow anyway. But as your standard “somepony dies and everyone else deals with it” story, this is really pretty unique and worth a read for that.
Recommended as a New Take on an Old Trope
A Mind Confined by vehlek
Genre: Dark
You won't hear me say it often, but this story is not pony enough. It's one thing to have a concept that has nothing intrinsically "pony" about it and could be executed as original fiction with little change; it's quite another when that same piece features drinking, suicide, death, and ponies crying "Oh god!" and thinking of themselves as people. It's the little details that made it hard to buy this. Unfortunately, I also straight-up didn't get it. What I think was going on was the author setting up some symbolism based around domestic abuse. But no matter how I look over the story's events, I really can't figure out what's occurring symbolically. The monster doesn't seem to act in any comprehensible way. Nothing that happens makes any sense. Meanwhile, Riverjump spends the whole three chapters alternately crying, whining, drinking and trying to kill herself, and I found her completely unsympathetic. The other characters can't pick up the slack. There's definitely the kernel of a good story idea here, but the execution just isn't there.
Not Recommended
Sky-Dance in Dreams by Bad_Seed_72
Genre: Shipping
Though this story was already on my to-read, I was inspired to look at it now thanks to this song. After all, it came out only a few months ago and isn’t what you’d call famous. It’s nice to see something fitting those criteria getting this kind of attention, so I thought it would be worth a read. Unfortunately, it really isn't. There are a lot of small errors, plus some blatant fandom references. Rainbow Dash is characterized well, up until the point where the “sky dance” begins, and then she goes into giggly-princess-in-the-arms-of-the-strong-knight mode. And, unfortunately, Soarin pulls the “I’ve always loved you” thing and any merit this might have had goes out the window at that point. It’s just such an unnecessary plot contrivance. The story spends all this time building up an exhilarating flight scene, only to end with that? Anyway, hardcore SoarinDashers might get something out of this, but everyone else will doubtless want to stay away. I’m still glad non-popular fics are getting songs, we just might not want to trust musicians' opinions of what's good.
Not Recommended
Your treatment of "daww" and "ship" fics makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Or that might be the heartburn from that slab of beef I just scarfed down. Either way, I was especially pleased with your review of Sky-Dance. I remember seeing it a while ago and thinking, "this is going to suck, but it's going to do well by premise alone." Glad to see you agree.
Until next time, bro.
I worked in a psych ward for two and a half years. The frequency of accurate of mental hospital depictions set in modern times is the same as the frequency of accurate police procedural depictions. In other words, the real thing is boring and sad so it is never portrayed accurately in fiction/media.
Yes. It's rugrats. The episode where Angelica has to stay over at Tommy's house for a while for... some reason... Vacation for her parents? Mom in the hospital? I don't remember.
Anyway, yeah, she demands chocolate pudding. Fresh pudding.
DiDi: Stu... why are you making chocolate pudding at four in the morning?
Stu: Because I have lost control of my life.
Edit: Oh hey, I paraphrased it. This humorous re-work can tell it better anyway
1435263
There should be a way to make anything interesting while not manufacturing details for the sake of drama.
1435361
Man, it's actually less funny in context. o.O I mean, it's still a great line, not something you'd expect out of a children's show, but taken at face value, there's so much more that can be read into it.
1436175 It's really only funny in the full context of the episode, where Angelica's demands have gotten more and more ridiculous until Stu is basically going insane.
It's been a while since I saw this but I seem to recall that the episode involves Angelica faking a broken leg (and succeeding due to the stunning incompetence of a Doogie Howser expy). Then she basically takes over the household because her leg hurts oh-so-much.
1436175
Oh it's not that it can't be done. It's just that most stories are not served by doing it right. The axtual theories and practises used in mental health are very different from the scary versions of the past, so stories either tend to use archaic versions or invent pop culture fantasy versions.
The Last Crusade by Paraderpy
You got me all excited for nothing you bastard
1436563
WELL IT ISN'T FINISHED YET, NOW IS IT?
I was gonna make a quip about that but didn't. :B