Fic recommendation: .out.of.character., by shortskirtsandexplosions · 11:15am Dec 6th, 2015
Here's the link to SS&E's second latest story something he did about a year ago it seems. I just picked it up, and wrote a considerable review for it. It's amazing, and really is a piece of art, so you should give it a look.
You will need to turn your Mature filter off for this one. That's okay. There is both sex and gore in this. The former is pretty discreet. The latter is more explicit. Both are used for shock, so if you don't like fanfic pony sex because it makes you feel icky (as it does me) you can rest your worries.
It is a SS&E fic. However, the prose is very easy to read, and devoid of purple. If you've been putting off his stories because you've heard of its density (as I have) you can rest your worries.
Spoilered version of the review below; stuff that I believe is self-evident I've left unhidden inb4 everything is black splodge. If you're familiar with how I review, what follows below will be nothing new to you. It's of course much better if you could convince yourself to try it before you head below, because part of the fun of mystery stories is always figuring out the little bits for yourself.
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Let's get the boring but necessary parts out of the way. On the most fundamental, crafting level, it works so, so well - very efficient use of words makes for an intense construction, and the way the "story" clashes against Rainbow Dash is a stroke of brilliance, because simply by doing so one gets away with sparsity, using blunt, short-sentence punches for their full effect that would otherwise have dissipated the atmosphere. Basing it mostly on dialogue and careful revelation, coupled with vivid but, again, sparingly handled imagery means that it never slows; I've read fics half as short that felt twice as long. And the setup - the plot - is solid; it runs on a character you really want to see come out on top, facing increasing odds that are extremely meaningful. The purple prose SS&E is infamously tagged with is completely absent, and his grasp on the essence of what makes the characters tick is shown in full force.
Throughout the story, Rainbow Dash fights and fights hard to retain her character, and the faithful portrayal makes it all the more impressive when contrasted with the backdrop. References to well-known fanfiction make it obvious that this is a meta commentary; the way it's structured, rotating around each of the Mane 6, shows that this is more than just a statement on those specific fics. It's a commentary on the consequences, implications of terrible characterization, stripping away all the flash and skill that usually wrap the ugliness away.
"Because you're yourself, aren't you?" Lyra glared. "Think hard. You know in your heart the way things should be.... that this is not a cold and chaotic world... that you have friends who love you and you love them back and nothing... nothing should ever change that." She gulped. "We are born of love and we give love. That's why we've never suffered... at least not until now." She gnashed her teeth. "Because it's gotten ahold of us. And one by one... it is dragging us all to some place where we're not supposed to be... where we simply become its playthings."
"Luna would not condone this. Celestia and her sister would not allow any of this!" Rainbow hollered. "Don't you get it?!" She hugged the kid close, careful not to rub up against her mangled wing-stems. "Th-this is not our world, Scootaloo. Nothing about this is good. Nothing about it is cool or awesome. It's just horrible for the sake of being horrible! When have things ever worked like that?! Even in our darkest days, we still have each other to lean on! We have what it takes to get out of any mess! To overcome any obstacle!"
Cloud Kicker banging everything, a trope that hundreds, maybe even thousands have drooled over, is the polar opposite of the sexy people know it as. Twilight being ruthlessly cold, efficient; Applejack reduced to a horny slut; Flutter/Scootabuse; depressive suicide; Rarity being two-faced - all of the "main events" that the story presents are the logical extrapolation of what happens when bad authorship occurs, and we fail to realize properly the characters we think we know and love. In all of these the Mane 6 are the result of reduction, of taking away, of missing out vital pieces in their construction. These are also what authors do to the characters to bend them to fit plots. It is the broad strokes that make Mature fics Mature. In short - it's in the title.
This is a bold stance. It points vehement accusing fingers at the cornerstones of fanfiction - some much more loved than others, and all with its staunch defendants - and equates them to horror. There's almost a sense of fury born of love behind the intent - why the hell would you turn our ponies into this - that, personally, was so indulgent to soak in. Reading the comments, it seems quite a few readers missed out on other tropes - Rainbow Dash breaking her wings, for example, is a classic trope used to start stories back when ponyfic was growing. The scorn of the community had driven it six feet under (and I am surprised to realize it as I type this), so it took a while to register. The weather, one notices quickly, is always dark and stormy, and SS&E takes subtle shots even at this.
Then, the ending - other comments explain it simply enough. In this, SS&E gives not closure, but an answer nonetheless, and it's very striking: If you don't like it, stop reading - and that is how the loop ends. An argument that has been passed around even longer than the existence of these tropes, framed in such an unexpected but perfect way. It is remarkable how what seemed like simply a moral stance ends up being a piece of advice - the story creates an experience, provokes reflection, and when the mind is hungry digging for hints and being so proud of itself for figuring out the references and hidden bits, the payload is delivered right up the chute. It could be argued as manipulative, but it's so blessedly clever that I can't help but be blown away.
It's likely not an exaggeration to call it art - it's admittedly local to its appeal and effect, but it does everything that scholars claim art should do - it recontextualises what we deem the norm and makes us see it in a different light. It's likely not an exaggeration to say that this is something only SS&E can do - drawing from simply having been there when the ponyfic community was creating the standards we all subconsciously follow, and being a big enough influence that such a story means something coming from him (rather than a disgruntled whisper in the sea of fresh faces). This story is birthed from the heart and of long experience, enriched by deep reflection over time, and so troll satisfied with the ending, how you could just about see Belle in a Chinese dress shrugging as she blasts her way via RPG into the sunset.
So, to both SS&E and Jake The Army Guy, amazing, mindblowing work. I normally keep my Mature filter off, but this is the one exception I'm completely happy with (and it probably helps that it snobs a lot of the reasons I keep it off in the first place).
tl;dr I r8 8/8, it's a giant Take That! to bad fanfic and even more, with a special surprise at the bottom of the box.
“I need you, the reader, to imagine us, for we don't really exist if you don't.”
When I seen that for the first time at the top of your page about a month ago, I was immediately reminded of SS&E's .out.of.character.
Now you look at .out.of.character. and are reminded of that Nabokov Vladimi quote. I think I'd rather be in your position
That idea – that we bring to life the work when we read it and if we don't want it to exist, all we have to do is ignore it, along with SS&E's haunting presentation, rang around in my mind for weeks after it hit me – which was about a week after I read it. At first, when I didn't get it, I hated the story since I thought it was just skirts dumping garbage or abuse on his followers again.
But once I understood it... whoa. It's an insult of the highest caliber to authors who botch characters, and I imagined SS&E being smugly satisfied with what he created. .out.of.character. to me is meta-meta-fic that every wannabe meta-fic aspires to be. It's a piece of art in that traditional sense as you described. I've been through 3.5m words here on fimfic, and I haven't seen anything like it.
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Hmmmm. I gave the second one a read - We Live in a Kind World - and I don't know what to feel about the ending. I could apply the same arguments how it's perfectly crafted, and really relatable - I had to handle someone like that in a community similar to it, and it nailed on the head my feelings at the time - but the ending... blah, I needed more closure and the rational arguments the comments were making wasn't enough. I mean, it gets the feeling and setting across, but the message signal to me wasn't distinct enough. Too subtle, like not enough gravy left when you make your way through the centre of a turkey breast.
And yes - by jove, now that you've mentioned Nabakov in this context the quote makes even more sense. Until now I just thought that it was Humbert showing off his usual arrogance - making it sound so beautiful just to keep his story alive - but I can see the double jab at people who would have been disgusted by the idea. What an amazing author Nabakov was.