Fic recs, May 6th! · 4:46pm May 6th, 2015
Hey guys, just a reminder that I am still open for proofreading and editing commissions. I've updated the post a bit, as this is still a work in progress. If I don't hit the halfway mark on the wordcount by the end of this week, I'll likely up the maximum per entry.
Just remember, you can trust me because I'm a store in Scotland!
Thanks to Professor Plum.
:V
Neighrator Pony did a reading of Parable of the Dead Lizards!
As I near the end of my current audiobook, things may slow down, because I've got some longfics to read on my own, but for now I've got a ton of excellent stuff, so hold onto your RILs and hit below the break for Featherprop's The Last Link, A Guide to Magic by bookplayer, FanOfMostEverything's Daring Do and the Weapon of the Ancients and five other awesome pieces from the writeoff and beyond!
H: 3 R: 3 C: 2 V: 0 N: 0
The Last Link by Featherprop
Genre: Character Piece
In the frozen North, ponies fly machines made of wood and metal, striving against the elements and mechanical failure to return home safely.
You may be wondering why I called this a character piece when it clearly has an Adventure tag. Fact is, if you go in expecting an exciting survivalist adventure, you’re going to end up disappointed come chapter ten. However, as a character piece, this excels, introducing us to Featherprop (don’t let self-insertion fears dissuade you from reading!) and a cast of supporting characters as they try to fly medicine to a remote town in the frozen North of Equestria. It’s a story about relationships, about the personal growth of our main character, and about how decisions, both good and bad, are birthed from strings of events that begin long before they're made. There’s a smattering of really good world-building, too; the setting of the Frostmane Territories comes to stark life, and while it may seem strange for a pegasus to be flying an airplane, the author makes the idea fit the world. This has the feel of a 1940’s movie, where men were men and the stakes were always a man and his airplane against some stuffy high-society type who didn’t understand or respect nature or machines. (Mentally, I compared it to the original Thing movie, though it also reminded me of TaleSpin, because Featherprop is totally Baloo.)
There are some issues with the writing, like consistent its/it’s confusion. The tribe names are capitalized, and even just “Pony”. A couple early chapters are very expository. And there are a lot of POV switches; quite often two characters in two sequential paragraphs will give us their views of the same event. I’ve been seeing this enough recently that I’m starting to wonder if it’s some legitimate narrative technique that I’ve grown distant from and forgotten the existence of, in favor of “one character per scene” limited third. Legitimate or not, the switches do often slow the narrative down, as it seems everyone has to weigh in on everything.
Still, there’s a lot to commend here, not least of which is good use of jargon. Proving that technical real-life things should be treated like crossovers, this starts us off with true-to-life aviation flight logs and never lets up, yet I never felt lost. The scenes depicting flight mishaps are tense and visceral, and always, you feel the gravity of the situation they’re in. It didn’t end up being the triumph or even tragedy I was hoping for, but I can’t say I regret reading this. If you want something a little different, check this out.
Recommended
A Guide to Magic by bookplayer
Genre: Slice of Life
Apple Bloom becomes the first non-unicorn to take the entrance exam at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.
Some of you will read the first scene of this story and go “PP y u spoilz :(“. The answer, my spelling-challenged friends, is that this is not a story about “will Apple Bloom go?” By the second scene, we know the answer to that question. This piece focuses on the importance of Apple Bloom's decision, the weight on her shoulders even after she decides to go, and the decision-making process behind what is unquestionably a historical undertaking. There’s a subplot about Spike, too, that has a similar amount of weight and plays out a little differently, for those wanting some mystery. For such a sober story, this has a surprising amount of humor, owing to bookplayer’s skill writing the characters, especially the young ones. It’s a story about the changes that come when you know important people, about growing up and finding out who you are. I loved it in the writeoff, I love it now, and I’m looking forward to the sequel.
Highly Recommended
Daring Do and the Weapon of the Ancients by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: Adventure
Daring Do tries to stop Ahuizotl from getting an ancient, powerful weapon.
Can you tell I’m catching up with writeoff entries? This was a weird one, a good Daring Do story with a divisive ending. There’s a little bit of world-building in this (I liked the addition of the airplane, having just finished The Last Link), but the main sell is just a good strapping Indiana Jones-style jungle delve, the stuff that makes Daring Do worth reading. Also the tiny, tantalizing backstory for Ahuizotl. Also “Llamazon”, because c'mon. But it all comes down to whether you can deal with the weapon’s reveal, because I guarantee it does not live up to the hype. The journey might be worth it, at least.
Recommended for Daring Do Fans
First Act by BlazzingInferno
Genre: Backstory
Beatrix gears up to perform her first-ever magic show.
Trixie background from the writeoff! This is pretty compelling, making her the only unicorn in a backwater earth pony town. The town itself really comes alive, and you can’t help but feel for her given some of the teasing she goes through. That said, this is also a tragedy that shows the inception of Trixie’s character. She oversteps her bounds out of hubris and ends up… Well, I won’t spoil it, but suffice to say she looks ridiculously pathetic by the end. Like, Scootaloo levels of pathetic. Overall, though, this is a good and believable piece that fits into canon well.
Recommended
Daring Do(esn’t Need a Special Somepony) by Fahrenheit
Genre: Rom-Com/Action
Every year, Daring Do spends Hearts and Hooves Day trying to stock up on Rainbow Truffles. But she isn’t the only one…
I hear rumblings that Fahrenheit is an Author to Watch, and if this story is any indicator, that might very well be true. This is hilarious almost from word one, and never lets up being either funny or thrilling all the way through. Daring is characterized as not-quite-middle-aged, still mulling over the lesson about teamwork she learned from Rainbow Dash, and a writer through-and-through, leading to a number of meta-jokes about writing and a sense that this might not be the whole truth of what happened. The narrative is fast-paced and the author equally skilled at telling jokes and writing fast-paced, intense action sequences. Actually, if anything doesn’t work, it’s the romance, being somewhat perfunctory and of the “we’re in close proximity, it must be love” sort. But then there’s the whole meta thing, coupled with Daring’s extreme self-awareness and the fact that it’s no less funny a part of the story, making me highly forgiving. (And seriously, Daring Do and Fleetfoot? It’s totally wacky, yet it totally works.) Really, I just haven’t laughed at a story this much since, oh, I dunno, Do Not Serve These Ponies? Do yourself a favor and read this. And if the Romance tag makes you skittish, just remember that AK Yearling doesn’t write romance novels.
Highly Recommended
How Sunset Rose by Oroboro
Genre: Character Piece
Sunset Shimmer decides to show Celestia something special.
This is a really singular piece from the writeoff. In some ways, it’s your standard character backstory, showing how Sunset got her cutie mark and generally portraying her in a sympathetic light. Yet at the same time, it does not compromise her character to do so. Even as a filly, we see her digging up dirt on her classmates to get them off her back. She sees herself in the Sunset Roses because they’re overlooked despite being “superior” to other flowers. There’s no waifuist apologism here. This is definitely a piece to learn from.
Recommended
Surrogate Dashie by Jake the Army Guy
Genre: Shipping/Comedy
Rainbow Dash learns the downside to fame.
This story is so funny, it borders on crackfic. I mean, given the plot, it more or less is, with a healthy dose of everything Jake wants from a shipfic. (If it’s JtAG doing the shipping, you know it’s gonna work out.) I love sexual comedies to death, and this one’s tops. If anything throws me, it’s probably Rainbow’s voice; she’s fond of the word “shaddap”, which just seems off. But it’s not enough to dull the overall effects. Don’t pass this up!
Recommended
The Big Butterfly Brouhaha by adcoon
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Flitter was just out looking for butterflies; she didn’t expect she’d have to save the world from fairies!
You’ve never seen a story like this before, and I dare say you never will again. I have no words. Just go read it, it’s marvelous on so many levels.
Highly Recommended: Top Fifteen
Technical real-life things should be treated like crossovers. Huh. I'd never thought about it like that, but you're completely correct. It's a second body of knowledge essential to understanding the story. In order to make the story accessible to those without that knowledge, it has to be presented to them in the story without feeling forced or driving away those already familiar with it. I'll have to remember that.
And of course the Weapon doesn't live up to the hype. No one ever said great expectations had to be fulfilled.
*Clicks read later on TBBB*
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Yes, the "Shaddup" gag was a sticker for Ferret, as well. What kept playing in my head was that one Monty Python sketch Self-Defense Against Fruit.
"Supposed he's got a point-ted stick?"
"Shaddup!"
Still, glad you enjoyed it, even if my shipping tendencies are transparent as hell.
Eeeeeh.
While I like the idea (even though the Soarin x AJ thing threw me off; it's not really justified but meh whatever who cares it's a crackship I enjoy those too so I don't judge) and the pacing and stuff are good, all the jokes were one rewrite out of being good for me. I couldn't concentrate on the story because I kept thinking on how to improve some executions, if not all.
Like, the rhythm was off here and there (some obvious rule-of-three kind of jokes weren't used, for example) and while there were some running gags I appreciated (Hayseed, Big Mac talking about Dash's ego), they weren't sharp enough to be funny. They sounded like they were intended to be funny, but I didn't get a laugh. It lacked snap, or pizazz, or whatever.
Then again, humor is subjective, so maybe that's just me? But yeah, I didn't really like that story.
Plus, sorry, but Big Mac's voicing was horrible. Calling Dash "Little Bird" and "my baby"? Even if they're together, I don't really see that happening. Dash herself was more in tone I think, but voicing was an issue here.
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Did someone say Waifu Apologism?
Tbh there's headcanon backstory informing how I characterized Sunset in How Sunset Rose, but for a standalone fic, it is what it is. (The longfic I've been working on for the past 5 months may have more to say on the matter.)
As soon as I read the above, I thought of TaleSpin, too. Particularly, the episode where Baloo has to re-earn his flying license because he failed the written exam by one point, so he takes the examiner up in the plane and proves his answer was right.
I'm glad you highly recommend A Guide to Magic it's an awesome story precisely for all the reasons you listed.
Re: First Act
Mission accomplished
Looks like your Scottish store is down the block from InquisitorM. I call collusion!
And yeah, this round was an unusually good bunch of Writeoff stories.
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Honestly, it irked me because when i see that word, I hear my idiot younger brother yelling at his internet friends. :B So that doesn't quite fit Rainbow Dash.
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I swear to god, if he doesn't post a picture of himself "hanging out with Present Perfect"...
3050283
hahaha... wait, what?
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booooo
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Don't blame me, it was there in the picture in the first place!
What I liked most about The Last Link:
--I like Jack London
--I like airplane
--I like ponies
I really like the fusion of the three. The characters are good, and the setting is great. It's a little beyond show-canon (although if you add the IDW comics into the fold, it's not that far a stretch). Finally, as an author who appreciates technical correctness--as much as you can put into a fic about magical talking ponies, anyways--the story's spot-on.
3049598 you should read it sooner than later. 'Tis good.