Present Perfect vs. Bubbles · 2:25pm Nov 14th, 2015
Today's story has been in the fandom as long as I have, according to the date on its Equestria Daily page. Bubbles, by a self-avowed anonymous author, comes from a time when Derpy had just taken her first steps into fandom darlinghood, Cupcakes was still relevant, and season one hadn't even finished its run. I always liked it, and I'm glad I'm getting a chance to read it again, but is it any good? Head below to find out!
(Today's review brought to you by Captain Sand. Here's another by ShadowOfCygnus.)
I'll start by admitting a certain bias for this piece. It's written from the perspective of Derpy, who is not only young, but obviously very heavily developmentally disabled. I adore fiction like this, especially when one can piece together what's going on through the narrator's naivete. So on a reread, I was predisposed to like this, and like it I did.
Honestly, I think this story lives up to the hype. "Retarded Derpy" was a classic trope to explore her through before we got canon Derpy, and using her as the POV character was not only a good idea, but executed perfectly. Through her eyes, we get to see a loving but absentee father, and a mother who is beyond her wit's end, absolutely unable to deal with her mentally challenged daughter.
That's where the tragedy of this piece comes in: Derpy's mom is ready to get rid of her, and uses her husband's absence as cover for her attempts at filicide. It's tragic because, to Derpy, nothing's wrong. Mommy's had to take a lot of her special medicine. Mommy fed her muffins that weren't her favorite, but that's okay, because she likes muffins. Her tummy hurts and she has to go to a new place that's all white and full of strange ponies, but that's okay because Daddy's with her and she has fun. She and Mommy go out into the woods, and Mommy teaches her how to make bubbles. (This is, of course, a cutie mark story.) Everything's wonderful to Derpy, and she stays optimistic throughout the entire piece regardless of what's happening.
Now, that's all well and good for general fiction, but we've come to perhaps the single criticism I could level at Bubbles: it's not very pony. This is a hallmark of dark, sad and tragic fics from season one, when the world was far more open and had fewer rules. But even back then, it's a little hard to think about a pony trying to murder their child. So if that idea turns you off the story, well, I can't say I blame you.
But frankly, my dears, I don't give a damn. I love this story, I love its unreliable narrator and her unwavering joy in the face of mortal danger, and I love that I can still love it four years on. It's not many classic fics that can stand the test of time like that.
5/5
A classic that holds up even today.
One of the key reasons why I started writing ponyfiction was to portray Derpy in some way that was neither mentally handicapped nor related to the Doctor. That being said, this one... This one is different. It doesn't play the issue for laughs, nor does it abuse Derpy in an attempt at comedy. I have to agree with your assessment.
3541846
Whew! At least that's one. Now everyone else can tell me how wrong I am. :D
3541854 I'm no good at coping with sad/tragic etc fics, so I'll stick with the Rainbow Dash Presents version, but I do recall even when this story came out that it got a lot of good press.
Ah, the story that got me into ponyfic. For me, getting into a show and getting into writing stories for the show are entirely different animals. I need to feel like I'm able to dig in and explore the universe first. I gotta see it as a prosey place instead of just a toon-ey place, if that makes any sense.
So, for me to write fanfic I need to read good fanfic. Before Bubbles, the fics popping up didn't seem that interesting or have anything interesting to say. But then Bubbles comes along and suddenly these ponies had a fleshed out world to be interpreted in ways besides surface-level shipping and cutesy meandering. Suddenly ponyfic seemed legit and I wanted in.
Also, it's one of the three pony fanfics that managed to get me to cry in my five years in this fandom, I've got to give it props for that, too.
Oh, yeah. I personally adore this story. It's obviously designed to make the reader feel sad, but the voicing was good enough for me not to care about the possible artificiality of the thing. I just really really liked it.
3541882
This is 100% my reaction.
Goddamn, yes. I still remember crying like a bitch the first time I read this thing. Beautifully done story.
The RDP version is still better.
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3541951
Honestly, I've never been a fan of RDP. :B
I remember reading this ages ago, back in 2012 when I joined the fandom. The fact that I still remember it years later is a testament to how well done the story really is.
3542124
Bubbles is funny, and Cupcakes and Bittersweet are both absolutely hilarious. Somewhere We Only Know is kind of funny if you've read the fic. Those are the only ones I've seen that I liked. But watch Cupcakes and Bittersweet if you haven't.
I finally got round to reading this a while back, fully expecting it to be like so many S1 fics and feel far below standard. But it didn't. I knew the author was emotionally manipulating me, but they did it well enough that it still worked -- even though a modern story with the same premise would probably put me off from the start. I can't dislike a story that can do that. Of the very early six-star EQD fics, this is easily my favourite.
The only problem is, since no one knows who wrote it, it's ineligible for inclusion in places the the RCL or Pony Fiction Vault--places designed to put great stories like this one on the permanent record.
Hell, I would give up my spots in either of those places if it would somehow get Bubbles in there. There, I said it.
3542507
If I had anything to say about it, that wouldn't be a problem. :|
Woah. That sounds… heavy. Your review makes it sound like a masterpiece of dark tragedy that, I confess, I probably couldn't bring myself to read. Not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate what it is from a distance.
I rediscovered this short piece of fiction last night while catching up on PP's blog. I had read it years ago. I do not remember it being quite as powerful back then, but perhaps it was. These days I sometimes record the pieces I like. This one is a little challenging but I wanted to try. So last night, a little past midnight, I recorded it. I had to stop twice during the recording process because I was so choked with tears that I could not voice it properly. But I needed to do it, one take, minimal editing. No de-breathing. It needs to read like a child telling a story. I have done the best I can. I will post it tonight when I can get to my editing equipment for making the YouTube video.
3545967
oh my god yes :D
Here she be: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5yrgwqtwhw Try not to cry.
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i.imgur.com/AdiBPrO.jpg