Fic recs, December 14th · 4:39pm Dec 14th, 2015
So Midnight Dancer has entered the realm of fic readings with Twilight Masturbates, and that’s why I can’t link to it. You won’t even find it on her channel, because it’s unlisted. I believe you’ll have to go to the story (or one of her recent journals) to find it. She’s a little on the quiet side, but I’d listen to more. :B
No updates on the computer situation yet, save that I got my new laptop charger today. I want to make sure the backups are working properly before I try using it, though, just in case. c.c;
So I had a great idea: get a general feel of what story numbers correspond to what seasons. The kibosh came when I discovered the date on story #990 to be before story #900. :/ Suffice to say, story #100,000 is from the end of season 3, and story #999 is right after the start of season two, so there’s a smidgen of info for your soup.
Head below for reviews of horizon's The Lotus Eaters, Five Seconds of Everything You've Ever Wanted by Whirring Gears, AugieDog's A Game of Hearts, and, uh... A whole bunch of C's and N's, I guess. :B Sorry this one's not more thrilling.
H: 0 R: 0 C: 6 V: 0 N: 2
The Lotus Eaters by horizon
Sequel to No Regrets
Patreon reward for horizon
Genre: Comedyish?
Flim and Flam have built a machine that lets you live a life without your greatest regret.
The concept behind this is very Machine of Death, and the stories written from it explore not so much the fantasy worlds the characters see as the aftereffects. The chapters vary wildly in tone, and I just wasn’t prepared for the massive amounts of whimsy. Applejack’s chapter is emotional, but so nebulous that I couldn’t get a real grasp of what had happened. Scootaloo’s is described by the author as ‘cruel’, and I suppose it is, but because it’s Scootaloo, I took it as more funny than anything. It’s lightning-fast, either way. Doctor Whooves’ chapter I didn’t much like because, although it’s a good way to explore the central concept of this story, it’s just crossovering with that worst of things, Time Lord angst. D: The final chapter is tons of fun, and worth it for a laugh. But overall? Stick to the original. For all that this explains that piece quite well (and thus is a spoiler for it!), that one tells the better story.
Recommended as Light Reading
An Island, Two Mares and a Bottle of Rum by psp7master
Reading (part 1) by Captain Sand
Genre: Comedy/ScratchTavia
An impromptu drinking contest lands Vinyl Scratch and Octavia on a deserted island.
Here’s a perfect featurebait story: a ScratchTavia comedy filled with fandom memes, ponies drinking and the promise of T-rated sex. And I only have myself to blame for having read it, because as much as I like psp7master and have him followed, this was not in my RIL. I could have just not added the huge-ass audiobook to my list, but nooo. About the time Vinyl admitted to herself that she had feelings for her “friend” was when I decided I did not want to wait around for the inevitable “why is the rum gone” reference. Not even the thought of “how exactly did they get from the bar to a desert island” made me want to continue. The only other thing I can say against it, apart from the memes, is that the POV shifts at random. I’m not part of the audience for this story.
Not Recommended: DNF 2/23
Unforgiven by Silvernis
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: 2nd Person/Dark
Speaking of audiences, the one for this piece is, I have to imagine, very narrow. You have to like second person, for one. You have to be able to accept background TwiDash. You more or less have to know what happens to know whether you’ll like the story, and once you know that, you won’t have to read it, because it’s short. For what it’s worth, the second person thing bothers me, but I found this otherwise enjoyable. I mean, at least it’s not a self-insert; you’re Fluttershy. And as it’s the kind of scene that’s capable of suggesting a whole story, I’m glad the author didn’t give us more than was necessary.
Recommended If You Don’t Mind Second Person
A Visit from the Dentist by Cut Glass (original link)
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Genre: Slice of Life
Fluttershy and her friends help Cerberus with a little dental problem.
For all that it’s pretty cute, this fic is very odd, thanks to the dentist’s identity (identistry?). Given that we do live in a post-canonical-Minuette fandom, I suppose it should be no surprise that “Colgate” was not used, yet I was somewhat baffled by the appearance of the OC and her not-a-good-pony name. Well, names aside, this is still a nice little piece, if incredibly fluffy. Also, the reading has been oddly Americanized, so expect Britishisms if you go after the text.
Recommended for Slice of Life Fans
In Your Dreams! by EveryponyEqual
Mature: Sex
Reading by Captain Sand
Genre: PWP
Twilight’s dream encounters with Luna take a turn for the real one fateful night.
I’ve never seen a fic so focused on sex. We start in medias res, at the end of one of Twilight’s wet dreams about Luna, then move straight into her getting off over thinking about it. All that’s left is the extended sex scene between the two. There’s literally nothing else. Of course, along with plot, this also abandons things like characterization (this is obviously post-Sleepless in Ponyville, yet Luna has zero agency) and POV, not to mention uses LUS and fails the Luna Test in a single line. There’s really nothing to recommend here, and you’d only want to read it if your desire for TwiLuna sex outweighs your desire for anything literary. But what I really want to know is, is this rape? For all that Twilight takes the initiative, she thinks she’s asleep and Luna isn’t real. So by going along, does Luna in fact rape her? <.< Is it the same as consent given under mental impairment? Discuss in the comments.
Not Recommended
Five Seconds of Everything You’ve Ever Wanted by Whirring Gears
Genre: Second Person Shipping
Night Glider gets the closest she’s ever been to Double Diamond.
First, Prak panned this story, which didn’t surprise me, given its subject matter. Then, Titanium Dragon recommended it, and I became very confused. In situations like this, the only thing to do is figure out who’s right first-hand, so here we are. The actual story plays out pretty well, from Night Glider’s longing for Double Diamond to her guilt over not doing more to fight Starlight Glimmer. There’s a tiny undercurrent of the tragic that is cut by her actions at the end, and that’s a good thing, as it keeps this from maudlinity. The writing is good, language-wise, though there’s distinctly fewer commas than there should be. As for the perspective? Eh, I dunno. Like most second person fics, this feels like it could have been first or third and lost nothing. I will say that it’s the kind of second person I prefer, akin to To Love the Sun, where you’re more or less given a role to fill. (And, like in Unforgiven, one that already has an established personality!) So I’m going to end up taking the wishy-washy middle-of-the-road decision and solve nothing. :B Sorry.
Recommended If You Don’t Mind Second Person
A Legion of One by GeneralLiberator
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Mass Effect Crossover
Little Twily’s wish for a friend, or just somepony to talk to, is answered in the form of a synthetic being from beyond the stars.
I came into this with just enough understanding of Mass Effect to know how much I didn’t know and was thus very concerned about this being accessible. I can safely say it absolutely is; if you like science fiction, this will probably please you. The best thing about it, I think, was the decision to set this during Twilight’s childhood. The average writer would just have Legion or whoever show up in the middle of present-day Ponyville, and there are quite enough stories like that, thank you. Filly Twilight is adorable as fuck, and the time period gives the story something to do besides a First Contact scenario, as Twilight’s family and neighbors conduct a desperate search for her. That said, this won’t appeal equally to all readers. The writing is decent and the pacing good, though the last half of part four is something of a Mass Effect-based infodump. This is done in the service of building to an emotional climax, but it does drag the story down a bit. There’s a definite appeal to emotions here, too, framed no better than in the final, bonus chapter, which is pure ME fanfic but at least shows that some change came from the encounter depicted in the story. That reassurance was appreciated because about halfway through, I realized that nothing was really coming from this: Legion shows up in Equestria, meets Twilight, they talk about Equestria, they talk about Mass Effectstria, and Legion leaves. That background filly search is much ado about nothing because she goes back home before they can find her. Most egregious, though, are the POV issues. Perspective is generally that of whoever was talking last, though it sometimes switches to an external-to-all viewpoint that nevertheless doesn’t quite feel external. That irked me somewhat. But for all that this story doesn’t amount to much and really plays up the “adorable filly, you have feels now” angle, I appreciated it for what it was and feel it’s one of the better insertional crossovers I’ve ever read.
Recommended If You Can Forgive POV Shifting
A Game of Hearts by AugieDog
Edited by Me
Genre: Rom-Com
Rainbow Dash has a bug in her bonnet about Rarity and Big Macintosh, and she’s gonna find out what they’re up to, one way or another!
This is a very odd shipfic. It starts out seemingly as a RariMac, which quickly becomes obvious is merely a figment of Rainbow’s imagination. The fact that she’s the one who thinks they’re getting together for romance struck me as odd, and quite possibly is the reason why I felt just a little off-kilter about the whole story. What the ship is, I will leave as a surprise, but I have to say, that’s not a good way to attract shipping fans: RariMac fans are going to feel cheated, and [REDACTED] fans won't know to read this. Still, it's pretty darn funny, even including some sexual humor toward the end, and the writing is of course of the caliber we’ve come to expect from Augie. This is one for folks who don’t mind a little shipping in their comedy, or who aren’t too picky about who ends up kissing by the end.
Recommended for Shippers
Well, that was an unexpected mention. Thanks, PP xD
3617782
DO MORE >:V
3617787 lol im open to suggestions
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MFW
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/7/19/939731__oc_twilight+sparkle_blushing_suggestive_comic_upvotes+galore_princess+twilight_smiling_human_bedroom+eyes.png
I enjoyed A Game of Hearts quite a bit myself, and it even managed to fall in line with at least one of my preferred ships.
3617899
I will never not like that comic.
The Luna Test? As in, poorly executed Lunaspeak? Something else? I ain't read'n that to figure it out from context!
...ummm, if Twilight was asleep, and Luna made no attempt to tell her that the dream was 'real' then yes, that's a type of rape.
3618100
Yeah, the Luna Test is use of proper Early Modern English. "Art thy all right?" is distinctly not. :B
The Great Second Person POV Debate! Is it irritating or merely pointless?
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Debate time! Devil's advocate, go!
I find it hard to believe that Twilight could have reasonably believed that dream-Luna wasn't real-Luna (since the story is set post-Sleepless and presumably she wrote a friendship report on it!) … but, for purposes of discussion, let's assume that she was genuinely ignorant, since otherwise this becomes about her own responsibilities. (For the moment, let's also assume that at no point during the act itself did Twilight withdraw consent, although that might change the question somewhat.)
I do not believe the stated situation to be rape. What we're told is that Twilight initiated sex with Luna in the dream and desired sex with Luna in the dream: she consented to (actually, proactively started) a dream experience in which dream-Twilight and dream-Luna got it on. And that's exactly what she received: a dream in which dream-Twilight and dream-Luna got it on. To argue otherwise quickly gets into the metaphysical weeds of whether a pony's dream-selves and waking-selves are different individuals — and if Twilight argues that dream-Luna and waking-Luna are different, then by the same principle, how can waking-Twilight have been violated by dream-Twilight's sex act?
If there is a violation here, it's a privacy violation: Twilight did not expect waking-Luna to have knowledge of the dream, and given her reaction it's fair to say she wouldn't have consented for waking-Luna to know what happened. I don't think it's been established that Equestria has a right to privacy (much less a right to private dreams when that's specifically in one of the immortal rulers' portfolios), but if it does, there's a serious question of whether Luna should have reasonably expected Twilight to be ignorant of her powers (and thus whether she had a responsibility to get affirmative preconsent to her conscious involvement, or whether she could have reasonably expected that Twilight approved).
I think the best counter-argument to this position would be an affirmative statement from Twilight that she did not believe herself to be making love to Luna, but to an internal mental construct of Luna created by lucid dreaming, and that she thus intended to creatively masturbate. The problem with that argument is that it's awfully implausible that a mage of her talents would know enough about oneiromancy to shape such a dream for herself, and yet somehow still be ignorant of Luna's abilities. If she did know what Luna was capable of, then it boils down to one of the following: 1) Luna dismantled or bypassed whatever protections Twilight had installed against her, and replaced the construct with herself under false pretenses (obvious rape); or 2) Twilight screwed up her oneiromancy, and Luna believed herself to be invited (an unfortunate miscommunication, but not rape because she had a reasonable expectation of informed consent).
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I feel like this argument presumes that Twilight was lucid. (I haven't read the fic in question yet, because my standards say that I shouldn't read clopfics at work, but my standards apparently have no qualms with discussing clopfics at work, go figure.) In most of the canonical dream sequences, the ponies in question have shown a "wait, I'm dreaming?" moment whereupon they gained lucidity. Unless the text explicitly mentions her lucidity, I feel that the default assumption should be that she wasn't lucid.
If she was not lucid, then I don't think it's fair to infer consent. Dreams are fueled by the subconscious. Nightmares and more abstract dreams point to the fact that our minds are simply "working through stuff" and that not all dreams convey desires. Even a wish-fulfillment dream isn't quite consent. Let's say that Twilight had the IRL-hots for Luna, but because they were both princesses and thus their love was forbidden, Twilight made a conscious decision to not give consent. The fact that her subconscious constructed a dream doesn't override her conscious decision. Now granted, if Luna spoke to a lucid Twilight, she probably would consent since she has the hots for Luna and because a dream would have no lasting ramifications, but would is not did.
Fuck's sake, PP, I'm going to personally write a goddamn OctaScratch that's nothing but a bullshit excuse for OctaScratch ("WE HAVE TO HUG FOR EIGHT HOURS OR ELSE THE BUILDING WILL BLOW UP!") with the explicit purpose of having you review it and like it. This has gone way too far.
(I didn't like An Island, Two Mares either -- barely made it past the first chapter, if I remember correctly, but it's a matter of pride at this point.)
3618344
3618424
Ultimately it comes down to the exact mechanics of how dreams and dreamwalking work in FiM, and the fic specifically. If for whatever reason Twilight is both fully lucid and aware she is dreaming, but unaware that that the Luna-shaped fucktoy she's imagined up is in fact the real Luna utilizing her dreamwalking abilities for, uh, reasons, then that's merely iffy consent rather than outright rape. On the other appendage, if Twilight having a dopey, stream-of-consciousness experience more closely approximating a real dream while Luna is fully lucid, then that's rape; Twilight being unable to make an informed decision to resist or initiate intercorse.
Canonical showings of Luna's dreamwalking in Sleepless in Ponyville and Bloom and Gloom show that ponies seem unaware that they are dreaming until Luna directly manifests and informs them. If she chose not to do that, then it's a matter of speculation exactly how lucid and aware ponies would be in a dream, or how much Luna's presence might affect that. Dream mechanics are iffy :(
3618424
An excellent point, but one that leaves me with some jibblies … because if we assume that Twilight was not lucid, our first question should be whether Twilight is a rapist. Twilight initiated the dream-sex, after all, and saying that not being lucid means that you cannot meaningfully process consent is a sword that cuts both ways. (Luna, as Princess of Dreams, can be assumed to be lucid and capable of self-defense if she does not consent to Twilight's advances — but what if Twilight had had the dream-hots for a different pony?)
3618655
Stop being reasonable! There's no quicker way to end a debate than to meet in the middle!
3618635
That could be an amazing basis for a deconstruction/reconstruction/subversion of Scratchtavia. It's not just that they have to kiss or die, they have to keep making out at a minimum frequency (like the bus in Speed) due to some crazy plot where the villain expects them to develop Alien Shipping Syndrome and end up actually falling in love with each other because fourth-wall breaking reasons probably. So they're making out at gunpoint and desperately racing to foil the plan, and suddenly have to start wrestling with the fact that they actually work kinda well together, and hey I'm not going to give in to this sort of blackmail but after the guy's behind bars do you maybe wanna go out on a date — no that's the stupidest idea ever because you're just going to give him what he wants — well what if it's reverse psychology and he's just trying to keep us apart by poisoning our feelings with this stupid threat — etc.
Do eeet.
3618677
...Luna is the only pony shown who is capable of dreamwalking, so unless Twilight spontaneously develops the ability to suck her hypothetical other crush's mind into her dream, the only things that need to worry about being used by the Princess of Friendship as masturbation aids are figments of her imagination.
Sucks to be them.
3618635
Hey, I've liked one or two. And I still have to write you that clopfic, hush. V:
3618718
this just sounds like a fantastic sendup of shipping :D
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3618741
This has been an excellent discussion so far. Thank you, gentlemen!
I've always liked The Lotus Eaters. In fact, I believe I gave it a highly coveted "highly recommended". :V
3618326
There's a reason games use the second person perspective, and I don't think they're wrong in doing it.
The main question with the second-person perspective is mostly, "Is it going to be more immersive to treat the reader as living in the shoes of one of the characters?"
To Love the Sun is an interesting piece because it cheats; it appears to be written in the second person perspective, but you could argue it actually isn't, and is actually written in the first person, with the protagonist of the story talking to themselves the whole time.
I think that's mostly the most useful form of second person, but interactive stories can make it work as well (which is why video games work).
As noted, this story doesn't pretend that "you" and Night Glider are the same person; rather, it deliberately puts you in the shoes of Night Glider, directing everything at you as if you were standing in the place of the character. In stories like this, it is really more like a weird form of the first person perspective; "you" aren't "you", you're Night Glider, and the story is expecting you to get into the mindset of Night Glider. It is actually a bit like roleplaying, ultimately, where you are assigned the part of a character and expected to think about things from their perspective.
3619101
That's why horizon wanted me to review it, and I just had to go and not be impressed by it. :B
3619115
So... irritating, then.
3619115 I sometimes find the mode of second person narration in which the perspective character is talking to themselves (1.5 person perspective?) as more natural than first person narration. I don't know if this is just me, but the thoughts in my head tend to be second person (alright, you can do this) rather than first person (I think I can, I think I can). In first person stories, the narrators seem cognizant that they are speaking to an audience, whereas in second person narration, it feels as if I'm hearing the unfiltered inner voice of the narrator.
Or maybe I just poisoned my mind with reading too much homestuck fanfiction back in the day.
And she did quite the wonderful job, too.
3618989
Oh God. I wanted a shitty fic by you, but not like this.
Never like this.
3618718
You can tell it's a good concept because it's not entirely mine -- it came from the Seattle's Angels Skypechat, which also gave birth to the Celestia hates the Apples prompt. Which I should probably write at one point in the future, too.
But yeah, the movie Speed but with hugs. And shitty romance tropes subverted first and played straight later. Fucking masterpiece, right there.
3619757
It's the only way it can happen, and it's all your fault! :V