Story Reviews » SA Reviews #85 · 11:24pm Jun 4th, 2016
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The intern lounged on a hammock attached at the top of the treehouse. He swung idly back and forth, his hands behind his head a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. Besides the rising and falling of his chest, he made no movement.
Ferret climbed up to a branch next to him, her tiny nose twitching in irritation. “Hey, Plum’s looking for you. He wants to know where the next round is.”
The intern lifted a hand and scratched his scalp. The hand went back to its previous position.
“Newbie, we haven’t got all day. People depend on us to provide them with insightful, compact reviews. Now more than ever. Red and CV just got back with a good haul—” She cut herself off as the intern lazily pointed to a spot where a set of branches intertwined, forming a natural platform. Laying in the center were a stack of papers.
Scrunching up her muzzle in a cute pout, Ferret scampered over to the papers and rifled through them. She gave the intern a cross look that would have been more threatening if she wasn’t so cute. “You could have delivered these before you started laying around, you know.”
The intern shrugged and turned on his side, resuming his lying about.
ROUND 85
STORY 1
Chill, by FloydienSlip
Lyra has always thought that humans are real, or were. When something crashes in the Everfree, she discovers that she is horribly right.
Lyra is strange. The fandom decided that one a long time ago. She's on the edge. She sees things others don't see. She's obsessed with the preternatural. This particular Lyra lurks on the boundary between one world and another, between the known and the unknown, and it is across this boundary that she makes each significant discovery in this tale. She's very much the Fandom Lyra, the Pony Who Eats Hands (at least metaphorically), but here we have a subtly different twist on how her obsession was born. It's a nice infill.
It's odd seeing the influences of "older" fics on the younger, influences that may be entirely coincidental, or might be intentional, but regardless appear unavoidable. I'll leave it up to the reader to work out which influences I'm hinting at here, and to decide whether they alter the meaning of the story in any way.
Another Lyra/Human story, you say? Well, yes and no. Yes, Lyra is into finding out about the strange creature she once saw in a sketch found in a secret room (because it’s always a secret room), but that’s not the focus of the story. She doesn’t know that the creature she saw is called a human, and in an amusing bit later on, has trouble pronouncing the word human. What this story is about is finding what you are looking for and then wishing you never had.
While this story does follow the trope that humans are the real monsters, it didn’t play out exactly as I thought it would. Lyra happens across a pair of humans and helps them escape from a lethal situation. Through magi babble, Lyra figures out a way to communicate with them and begins to learn about their origins and history. Lyra can’t wait to show off her new acquaintances to the rest of Equestria.
Except the story earns its dark tag and that doesn’t happen. One of the underlying themes of the story is that ponies look for the best in others and have forsaken war. Both those ideologies are put to the test. Enough is left to the imagination of the reader to draw their own conclusions on how the ending will affect the ponies of the world. If that sounds intriguing, give this one a shot.
Death usually brings more questions than answers.
"Why did he have to go?" "When am I going to die?" "Why is death even a thing?"
Grieving the loss of someone close, one unicorn tries to unravel the mysteries behind life, death, and those who defy both. After all, why can't every pony live forever?
Journal fiction is a popular way to write horror, creating as it does a sense of disconnectedness from the events of the story, a barrier that lulls the reader into some sense of security. At the same time, it exposes the very inner thoughts of the character through their own words, which can result in greater horror still, as we see them justify their acts on paper.
The author uses that to great effect here, as we have a character becoming obsessed with death and resurrection who, in the process of writing down their feelings and thoughts, ends up formulating a plan that takes them from mourning their loss and trying to understand why, to trying to prevent death itself. Unfortunately they get a little sidetracked.
Death is a constant source of fascination for Thanos us mortals. We seek to understand it, with some diving in full force while others shrink away from the prospect of learning too much. One such unicorn, with more time on his hooves than he knows what to do with, decides he should look into the subject of death and unravel its mysteries.
Told through journal entries, the unicorn documents his thoughts and discoveries after the death of a close family member. He begins asking questions as to why some creatures are allowed to live long lives while others do not. The story delves into some Lovecraftian themes, the most prominent being that the more one knows, the closer to madness one becomes.
The framing device of journal entries is used to interesting effect, with some entries coming in one night after another while others are days, even weeks, apart. The progression of the main character may seem a little startling at times, so keep in mind that we are only getting his perspective on things and that he’s certainly biased. It makes for a fascinating character study.
And with all things dealing with death, the end is only somepony else’s beginning.
Hayfever's lived in southern Equestria her whole life, never going far from the town in which she was born. But one day, during her midlife crisis, she decides to get out and see the world, traveling to the Crystal Empire alone and on foot. Her journey will take her all across Equestria, opening her eyes to the land she lives in. As she travels, she records her day-to-day adventures in her journal, slowly compiling a travelogue of all sides of Equestria, of big cities and secluded villages, of mountain peaks and river valleys, of ponies friendly and hostile. This is her journal. These are her tales.
Journal fiction is a popular way to write an adventure, creating as it does a sense of connection with the character, a bridge that draws the reader into the events of the story by granting them access to the very inner thoughts of the character...
I could cheat and write the entire previous review again here, but that would be silly.
I like this character. I like characters who just sit up one day and say "I'm going to do something crazy like walk across the country". I like characters who look at the world and marvel at how huge it is, how beautiful, and then want to see more. Meet someone on the road? Drag them along with you. Is that a mountain? Let's climb it for fun!
Hayfever, the protagonist, is irrepressible and refuses to give up in the face of even obvious danger, and I like that too. And most of all... this has worldbuilding.
And I like that.
As has been said before by many people, in real life or fiction alike, sometimes the journey is more memorable than the destination. Hayfever, deciding that she needs at least one adventure in her lifetime, sets out to prove that notion right. Equipped with a waterproof tent and a journal (yep, this one’s told through journal entries, too!), she heads for the Crystal Empire.
What I liked most about Hayfever’s story is her sense of progression and discovery. She learns about the lands beyond her town, going so far as to sample the different flora and jotting down the differences in taste and texture. However, that’s not all, as she learns just as much about herself and her own personal likes and dislikes as she makes her way through the land.
One of the things that kept me thrumming through the entries (each chapter is a journal entry, many no bigger than a few hundred words), was the possibility of Hayfever coming into contact with some of Equestria’s fearsome predators. Would she or won’t she and how would a simple pony like herself deal with them?
Better click above and find out! I’m here to give you guys the hook. This isn’t a spoiler fest.
Music was in Vinyl’s blood, no one who listened to her would ever deny it. It was her favourite class in school, she almost never watched TV if the stereo was free, and her best friends, teachers, and mentors were all musicians-well, at least until her career took off and she had to start dealing with the rest of the industry.
But for someone who would be happy only ever having to think about music and people who love it as much as her, teasing apart and getting bogged down in every nuance of the culture surrounding it, Vinyl somehow forgot how much there can be below the surface when it comes to one colleague in particular. Finding herself chastised for thinking like an industry stiff and not the professional she is, Vinyl remembers that musicians are often as complicated as their work, and that she’s no less prone to making sweeping generalizations.
Octascratch fics are a dime a dozen, which makes those rare few that stand out from the crowd all the more special.
We begin with a story. Given the romance tag I wondered what exactly was going on, but I was drawn in regardless by Vinyl's depth of character and the vivid portrait that the author draws of both her and the old, lonely man she encounters at the very start of her career.
From there we switch – rather abruptly – to "now", where Vinyl and Octavia flirt, drink, moan about their audiences and share stories about their youth and their encounters at band camp. Or not, in Vinyl's case. As transitions go it was odd, surprising even, but it creates a feeling of tension throughout the rest of the story as the reader tries to find the place that prologue is going to inhabit. And tension, as eny fule kno, is one of the pillars of a good romance.
I’m going to refrain from making the obvious American Pie joke that the title tempts me with. I’m sure most of you finished it in your heads, anyway.
With that out of the way, what we have here is a tale about making assumptions. Vinyl meets with Octavia for some drinks and the two share tales of their business exploits and how they deal with the people they play music for. And, despite both sharing common experiences even with two very different forms of music, Vinyl can’t help but tease Octavia about that time at band camp and what she obviously must have done there. Or did she?
This story is rather low key on the romance, but that’s fine as this explores the characters more than just shallow reasons for them to hook up. I found the characterization of the two leads refreshing, as they don’t follow many of the same old traits that the fandom has built for them. That doesn’t mean they will be totally unrecognizable, but rather a different approach to what is normally seen.
One thing to note is that the beginning of the story may leave readers scratching their heads. I’ll just say that if you finish the whole fic, it will all make sense and fall into place. Sometimes a little non-sequitur is what’s needed to lead into the meat and potatoes of the rest of the story.
“Hey, intern,” Ferret said as she poked at the intern’s face with a stick. “You gonna come back down or just lay up here the whole night?”
The intern gave a noncommittal grunt.
“You know, we need to work on your communication skills. Let me hear the sound of FALLING!” With strength disproportionate to her size, Ferret smacked the underside of the hammock with her tail, flipping it over. Her ears twitched to the lovely sound of a body impacting every branch on the way down and the pained yells that accompanied each hit.
Feel free to visit our group for more information and events, and to offer some recommendations for future rounds. See you all next time!
Oh, hey, you took my recommendation. Neat.
Don't worry, intern. I've heard that ground does a great job of stopping falling objects.
Ouch!
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/319198/wanderlust
Oh, damn. Wasn't expecting that. Thanks, you guys!