Two awesome fics for you (and I helped... a little) · 1:37pm Nov 4th, 2013
Well, guys, my CMC Octavia fic got featured, proving once again that the feature box is as borken as a kitchen operated by a Muppet. Lovely detail: every time someone favorites or comments on the story, I basically get a message ending with the word ‘YAY!’ because of how the title is written.
So now that it’s had its pass on the featured box, it’ll draw attention, people might see my profile, read some other stories without even looking at that new one (pleasant surprise), basically I get some exposure to my name.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to do what I did last time and post this massive Author’s Intent blog no one reads anyway. What I will do is what anyone would do when they get their fifteen minutes of fame.
Stroke their ego and abuse the power for all it’s worth. Seriously, though, I’m going to discuss two stories I got involved in and explain why/whether you should read them.
Let me start with a disclaimer, though:
-I got involved with these fics because I like them. I do not like them solely because I got involved.
-I did not pressure the authors into making changes. I commented, offered suggestions, and the suggestions were incorporated. I do not condone hounding authors with 'advice' on how to butcher their vision.
-when I say ‘involved with them’, I do not mean I edited them, there's several other stories I read before they were published and of which I had a glance at the grammar, and some of those are in my favorites, not here. My effect here was not on the execution of the stories, it was on actual content. These stories play out slightly differently, with different scenes added or removed, because of stuff I said. That being said…
-all credit to the authors for the stories themselves, not to me. My mode of action is information overload, it is the authors who then filter out what can and cannot be used. And believe you me, I do not do a half-assed (heh, ass, pony fic *shot*) job at providing material. I didn’t write any of this stuff into it, I just threw it up in the air and some of it stuck.
- I have permission from the authors to post this. I asked, I let them read an early draft of this, they both know.
That should cover the important stuff, let’s get to the stories.
Just Winging It, by arcum42.
What’s the rundown? Scootaloo is given a diagnosis that there’s a slim chance she’ll ever fly. But she still has a chance, so she tries to fly anyway.
What sets this apart from other stories? Scootaloo’s family situation is presented in a manner that still makes sense in show context. Her parents are gone, yes, and she mourns them, but she does not go dumpster-diving in the middle of Ponyville. Nor is this small child left completely on her own. It’s tragic, but not artificially so, which I gather is the main issue with Orphanloo.
Secondly, I get the impression a lot of people like my take on Scootaloo’s wing problem. Now, I’ve written several stories wherein Scootaloo’s lack of flight is addressed, and I use a different angle every time. There’s ‘she’ll grow into it, it’s just her breed’, there’s ‘she just needs to adjust her posture’, there’s even ‘if it doesn’t happen soon, we’ll try pills’. Naturally, every approach has its own solution, its own brand of inner conflict, its own angle.
In this story, you get all the angles. Scootaloo is presented as doing everything she can to learn how to fly, including muscle training and training pegasus magic. All the while, she has family to look after her as well as friends who comfort her when she needs it.
It is also a comedy, as you might expect. Lots and lots of shenanigans.
So where did I come in? On the magic department. There are few things that invoke my ire, frustration, and even wrath than ‘poof’ magic being presented without any paradigm or rules backing it up. Heck, I’ll settle for mutable rules, that’s how us chaoists do it. So, speaking of chaos, I may have kind of, sort of, linked the author to some sources on chaos magic, and the wonderfully comedic potential of sigil magic, especially. Like, the real chaos magic some people (myself included) take as a religious paradigm, yet somehow never manages to find its way into fiction. Sigil magic, I have some past experience with (which reminds me, I should start that up again sometime), and here it blends with ponies beautifully. From what little I've seen, it's an accurate depiction of what sigils do, but then with ponies.
Check this out if:
-you want an example of orphaned Scootaloo that serves the story, makes sense in show context, yet doesn’t dominate/ruin the story.
-you want a good laugh at Cutie Mark Crusader shenanigans as well as some d’awws at the (well-deserved) sympathy the ponies have for each other.
-you want a fic that has Octaloo. Wait, did I forget to mention that? Yeah, this thing has Octaloo, too.
Twilight Sparkle: Night Shift, by JawJoe
What’s the rundown? After the events of the Season 2 finale, Twilight Sparkle joins a secret organisation known as the Night Shift, an organisation dedicated to keeping supernatural threats to Equestrian citizens under control and a secret. Twilight has been hardened by past events, and we gradually learn what they are and how and why they happened.
What sets this apart from other stories? It’s a first-person fic from Twilight’s perspective, which makes for some very, very snarky monologues and trains of thought. There are also some well-executed instances of the bane of every writer: action scenes. It’s a horror mystery fic with humour provided by Twilight’s interaction with others, basically. There’s an episodic nature to it, and with every episode things get darker and darker. The threat of pony death becomes more real every chapter, and actual pony death more numerous. The monsters scale up as time goes along, too. Speaking of which…
Where did I come in on this? Again, mostly in terms of occultist stuff. I didn’t have any real influence in how the monsters were presented, but I did explain to Joe how a modern occultist sees these traditional means of, say, slaying vampires. If you see or notice some minor deviations from the standard means of killing monsters, it might be because I pointed that out. Also a couple stuff he just ran by me for the sake of getting a fresh opinion. I didn't suggest stuff like the ribbon, but I did help with stuff like the stabbity stabbity at that thing at the place, you'll know it when you see it. Also a handful of oneliners, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find them.
Read this fic if:
- the prospect of Twilight being very different because of a tragedy doesn’t scare you.
-you enjoy seeing Twilight Sparkle fighting monsters, while still being snarky as well as Clark Kenting it up.
-as Christopher Lloyd once said “It’s horror for you, boy” (or girl, depending, but let’s not debate statistics here, shall we? Also points if you remember which film it was)
So there's me cashing in my fifteen seconds of fame. Now to relax and set up my schedule for the next two weeks. If I'm quick, I can get that clopfic finished and out before the premiere and then no one will look at alicorn Twi the same way for weeks ^^
Possibly not, though, since I am suffering from college backlog right now. We'll see.
Hm...
One of those I already knew, the other one I might cautiously approach (Dark and Gore tags usually keep me away).
Of course, I'm saying that as if I had time to put even more stories on my reading list.
Also, congratulations once more on your Feature.