Short Review: Distorted Fate · 4:41am Jan 11th, 2016
Today's Story: Distorted Fate, by Silvak
Completion Rate: Chapter 51 of 51
Cover image of Distorted Fate, taken from story cover page.
There seems to be a certain lack of drama both in this story and the main character that stars in it.
Not to say you are looking for drama in a Slice of Life story, I know, that's what the Drama tag is for. But, I mean, there still needs to be something for me to care for in order for me to keep reading further, and i was hoping for me to discover that something as I continued, but it never occurred.
There was nothing that made me particularly care for the main character, much less worry for them when some form of trouble reared its ugly head. The protagonist is partially a Gary Stu/Mary Sue, being able to think clearly in potentially stressful situations and perform accordingly. Not to say, that this makes a bad character, in fact, their behavior and professionalism perfectly reflects their past and how they've lived their life. However, if a character has a backstory that matches their behavior, that doesn't make them a well-rounded character. A character could have the most epic, heart-wrenching backstory this side of the Earth has ever seen and still fail to provide interest to the reader through the arc of the entire plot of the story. There is just nothing that causes tension in the story. The protagonist finds themselves encountering some sort of potential hurdle, but then with sheer intellect and mental ability, they overcome it without much, if any trouble at all. The lack of conflict makes the story a boring read.
But, once again, I think it's my fault for not reading the damn tags. Slice of Life stories don't exactly hand themselves to warm, deep material to read. However, I don't think that Slice of Life stories have to be boring. Dullness isn't the primary aspect of a Slice of Life story. The problem with Distorted fate, is that there is no primary conflict, there is no goal for the protagonist to attempt to reach by the end of the story, and if there was then the author failed to address is clearly enough. Only when very late into the rising action does a large conflict presents itself, and even then it is solved without much hassle. You get a stick of dynamite expecting a big, resounding boom, but instead get a myriad of crackles like fireworks. Sure, there are little, secondary conflicts that the main character must attempt to surpass, but even then, in the end much of the tension the story tries to present gets defused from the nature of the main character, and how they never make a mistake.
There is very little character growth as far as the story is concerned. Most of the character growth is performed on the supporting cast, who do make mistakes and who do learn lessons as to try not to attempt mistakes again. The main character does grow, but not much. With an air of grumpiness, distaste for everything around it and an overall negative-emotion lifestyle, the protagonist snarks their way past characters such as Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, adorning such attitude that changes little throughout the story. Not much of the main character is likable. Do we read stories for likable main characters? No. Does it help their case when the author wants you to root for them? Yes. So, when the protagonist is unsociable, barely changes through the story and has very little faults in them, it makes for an uninspired character that is easily forgettable among the mass of quality stories the writers of the site have managed to pump out.
Overall, I mean, it isn't a terrible story. The mechanics are there, the supporting cast is written in character, and the plot is unique. However, in this case, comedic elements can't carry this story too far out of the ditch it has dug for itself. It's not good enough for a like, but it's not bad enough for a dislike. I've seen better, but I've seen much, much worse.
